October 20, 2014 – The Metrognome

More Mumbaikars think sitting MLAs were corrupt

Praja Foundation’s survey based on the October 15 State Assembly polls reveals people’s perceptions about incumbent MLAs and their parties.

by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The Assembly 2014 verdict for Maharashtra is already out, with the BJP securing the most numbers of seats in 2014’s second consecutive election in Maharashtra (after the Lok Sabha polls). Numerous exit polls had already predicted this result, with such factors as anti-incumbency and a purported ‘Modi wave’ doing the rounds.

However, the Praja Foundation and Hansa Research has just revealed a survey which shows why Mumbaikars could have voted the way they did. It turns out that as per data mapped over the years 2011 to 2014, there is a 17 per cent increase in Mumbaikars rating their sitting MLA as ‘corrupt’. This could be fuelled by the MLAs’ performance, or the lack of it, in such areas as crime, health, education, and civic issues.

As regards health, some Assembly constituencies like Borivali, Magathane, Dahisar and Vikhroli have performed consistently poorly in areas of control, prevention and deaths related to malaria, diarrhoea, tuberculosis and dengue. These constituencies, apart from Chembur and Colaba, also feature under the ‘Crime’ category, having done poorly in the areas of murder, crimes against women, chain snatching and rioting.

Mumbaikars have also logged in more complaints on civic issues every year since 2011, with there being a 13 per cent increase in the numbers of people saying their quality of life has decreased in Mumbai.

These are the worst performing Assembly constituencies across all categories, as per the survey:

(Picture courtesy indianexpress.com)

The charm of Sunday

As Monday ushers in a new week, we think fondly of Sunday and wonder how the day passed by so quickly.

by Dr Pooja Birwatkar

Every Saturday, everyone at my workplace is tremendously excited, because the magical Sunday is to follow. Since it allows one to rest and eat whatever they want and generally have a good time, Sunday is everybody’s favorite day of the week.

Sure, there are other holidays. Many corporate offices have now adopted a five-day week. But Sunday is still pretty special.

There are no alarm clocks on a Sunday. Most of us wake up late after lounging in bed for as long as possible. There are no rules on a Sunday, for both adults and children. Most of us watch a lot of TV, order our meals from the local restaurant, and some of us go spend the day out shopping and watching movies with our families.

Sunday is also a day of cleaning for most Mumbaikars, whose homes resemble godowns and dumping grounds on other days of the week. With Diwali coming up this week, I am sure many people spent their Sundays cleaning up their homes. Sunday cleaning involves sprucing up the house, arranging everything in its right place and making sure the house looks inviting. And though I often complain that cleaning up the house eats by most of my Sunday, I find that it is a great stress buster, too. I normally follow this up with shopping for groceries at the market.

It seems to me that we actually put in more work on Sunday. So how is this a holiday? I believe it helps us relieve our anxieties building up over the week, because we tie up a lot of loose ends on a Sunday. Completing pending tasks gives a sense of satisfaction.

Sunday is also a day to catch up with people we tend to neglect during the week – our parents, relatives who live far away, friends we no longer have regular time for. Of course, with Whatsapp we are constantly in touch with everyone, so you could say Sunday is a good day to take a break from our phones.

Since most women are home on a Sunday, their domestic help must feel resentful under their mistresses’ watchful eyes. No wonder my maid usually turns up late to work on Sundays and disappears quickly. She sometimes get back at me by not turning up at all, which is nothing short of a disaster.

I also invest Sundays in catching up with myself. I finally get the time to take a long look at myself in the mirror. I get the time to visit the beauty parlour, get my nails done, get a hot oil head massage. Then I traipse home and have a long and luxurious bath. Besides, and I am sure I speak for most working women in Mumbai, the best thing about Sunday is the break from cooking.

For many children, Sunday ends on a horrible note as they may have forgotten to do their homework or put their school uniforms in the wash, or something equally disastrous. I think Monday blues hit school children before they hit the rest of us. For grownups, I think the blues set in as they set their alarm clocks for Monday morning.

And as the new week begins, we sigh to ourselves – oh, I can’t wait for Sunday…

(Pictures courtesy lilpleasuresoflife.files.wordpress.com, indianexpress.com)