ISSUES AND CONCERNS ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಕ್ಷಕಿರಣ

50 new buses turning to junk Bhayandar : It has been around  five years since the public transport utility of the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) became the proud recipients of 50 swanky new buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). However, in a classic example of civic apathy, the buses are gradually being reduced to junk. Left to rot, these buses attract anti-social elements as most of them are stationed on the stretch of a secluded road in Bhayandar, some without wheels doing a balancing act on makeshift blocks which could lead to accidents. Sans security, the buses have become a safe haven for drug addicts and drunkards. The MBMC launched its public transport authority in 2005. After operating services on its own for a couple of years, they adopted the Public-Private-Partnership format and inked a deal with Kestrel Infrastructure in 2010, Subsequently 50 new buses were handed over to the company in 2011. Umpteen complaints...

Bihar electricity department accuses an 18 month old as thief  Patna: In a bizarre incident, an 18-month-old toddler was charged with power theft in Bihar’s Bhojpur district.  The matter came to light when the mother of the child Shubhanti Devi and her husband Shiv Bahadur Prasad appeared before the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) in Ara pleading for bail for their infant. Taking umbrage at the faux pas, the CJM issued notice to the superintending engineer as well as the junior engineer of the state electricity board asking them to explain how and under what circumstances an 18-month-old child was named an accused in a case related to power theft worth Rs 8,800. Sources in the electricity department said junior engineer Baleshwar Prasad, during a raid to check power theft at Dhobha Bazar in Bhojpur, lodged an FIR with the police naming the child and others as accused.  The JE had accused them of pilferage of power to the tune of Rs 8,800.This is the second such...

In Pakistan a 3 year old grabs land! Islamabad : In a bizzare case, a three-year- old Pakistani boy was  booked by police for allegedly grabbing land and stealing property here, according to a PTI report.   The police at the Shalimar police station in Islamabad registered case against the child for his alleged involvement in the crime in sector F-10.  He is accused of grabbing land of a plaza and stealing its property.  The infant’s family  approached the court to secure a bail before arrest for the toddler, Geo TV reported. Upon seeing the matter the bench expressed its displeasure over Islamabad police’s blunder and demanded to know from the child’s legal counsel if securing a bail was even warranted, it reported.  The counsel informed the court that since the child is mentioned in the FIR, therefore bail before arrest is being sought. At this, the additional sessions judge remarked that 'if one institution makes a mistake should the cou...

The Advent of Islam and the Life of Mohammad My dear Gauri, One cannot think of religions in India without considering Islam. The followers of Islam – we can call them Muslims or Mohammadans – are the single largest minority in India. In fact, after Indonesia, India has the second largest Muslim population in the world.  The founder of Islam is the Prophet Mohammad. Among Muslims it is customary to say, whenever his name is invoked: “Peace be upon him”. Mohammad was born in A.D. 570 in the sacred city of Mecca. The people of Mecca had their own gods, as indeed all people everywhere have had theirs. Mohammad was born in a noble family and belonged to the famous tribe of Quraish. He was a posthumous child, his father, Abdullah, having died a few months before he was born. His mother’s name was Amina. In his childhood Mohammad was brought up by his uncle Abu Talib, his mother having died when he was barely six and his grandfather, who cared for him after his mother’s de...

Friends We are into 2016. Old order changeth yielding place to the new. Hence at the outset, it’s WISHING ALL OUR READERs, PATRONs & WELL WISHERs A GREAT NEW YEAR. The year 2015, that went by, like the previous year had its ups and downs, politically, economically and even socially. In U.S, forthcoming, presidential election has thrown up myriad personalities in both Democratic and Republican camp, with Donald Trump making the most controversial demand of banning entry of Muslims into the United States. ISIS attack on Paris, has been the high water mark of emerging socio/political upheaval that this year could witness. Syria and Iraq continues to be a problem area with major political players, like U.S and Russia being joined by France, Britain and Germany in fighting the barbarous terror outfit. Economically the world is rather sedate with China sliding down in its GDP, with only India showing some steady growth. Crude appears to be on a bad spin with prices on a continue...

Jammu & Kashmir: 30 girl students from the state were on a nationwide tour under the Indian Army’s ‘Operation Sadbhaavana’ programme. While in Delhi, they visited Lok Sabha and other prominent places of historical interest. One of the important stop was Rashtrapathi Bhavan. Both the President Pranab Mukarjee and the group of girls were enthusiastic about the visit and naturally as a souvenir, they had a group photograph with the president to take home a copy of it. It was naturally uploaded on the Facebook. Finding it on social media, those who were apparently unhappy with the girls’ posing for photograph with president, started threatening and abusing the girls. So it was not the BJP or the Prime Minister Modi, it was the president, the Symbol of whole of India, that these groups of people did not like. Apparently, they are against the idea of India. May be they would have celebrated if they had met the Pakistani president. Strangely there were hardly anybody who came to the def...

I refer to your I&C, volume 16, no. 189 of Dec 2015 and my observation are as follows: 1. New Delhi- Page No.5 “A PWD project in Delhi Asadpur- Prembhari flyover was completed before time and within the budget,- no extension of time sought and no introduction of inflation clause and saved Rs 100 crores. This is really wonder of wonders. It is very rare, rather never happened.” Very true. You have correctly appreciated the whole achievement. But then Sir, don’t you feel that such a rare achievement should find a place in the first cover page of I&C no 189, than publishing ‘Bihar Election 2015’? I strongly feel that the issue should have been highlighted in the first cover page itself. 2. Bihar- page 7. “To break the psychological logjam vis-à-vis the Bihar Election results, the central Govt., led by Modi shall do well to start acting on the Rs 1.25 lakh crore development funding promise Modi has made before the beginning of election” Well- political suggestion to P.M!! ...