Author: The Metrognome

Categories
Do

Travel smart tomorrow

As the city gears up for annual Chaityabhoomi rendezvous at Dadar, know the routes to take and avoid when commuting.

It’s tough to commute by road as crowds of Dalit devotees have already converged on Chaityabhoomi and Dadar, for the December 6 observance of Dr BR Ambedkar’s death anniversary. If you’re going to take the road to work or home, the Mumbai Traffic police want you to know which roads to take and which ones to avoid. Keep this list with you and know which roads to duck and where you can park, among other things:

ONE WAY/CLOSURE OF ROADS

– SK Bole Road will be one way from Siddhivinayak Junction up to Hanuman Temple, i.e. no entry from Hanuman Temple.
– Bhavani Shankar Road will be one way from Hanuman Temple/Kabutar Khana up to its junction with Gokhale Road South, i.e. no entry from Gokhale Road South viz. Gopinath Chavan Chowk except BEST buses and emergency utility services.
– SVS Marg from Siddhivinayak junction up to Hinduja Hospital will be closed for vehicular traffic. Local residents can go up to Road No 5, i.e. Pandurang Naik Marg junction from Hinduja Hospital.
– Ranade Road will be closed for all types of vehicular traffic.
– Dnyaneshwar Mandir Road will be closed for all types of vehicular traffic from its junction with SVS Road up to Dadar Chowpatty.
– If necessary, vehicular traffic except BEST buses and emergency and utility services will be closed from Dadar TT.
– Kataria Road will be closed for vehicular traffic from LJ Road up to Hinduja Hospital.
– SVS Marg from Mahim junction up to Kapad Bazar (Shitaladevi Road) junction will be closed for vehicular traffic.
– All heavy vehicles, goods vehicles including tempos except BEST buses will be diverted from Mahim junction via Mori Road towards Senapati Bapat Road.

In case of heavy traffic congestion at and around Shivaji Park, the advisory is as under:

SOUTH-BOUND TRAFFIC

Vehicular traffic coming from Western Express Highway and proceeding towards South Mumbai shall go up to Kalanagar junction, take a left turn to proceed to Dharavi T junction to Sion Station or 60 feet Road, Dharavi via Kumbharwada to Sion Hospital and take right turn to BA Road. Commuters can also use the Rajiv Gandhi Sea link via Bandra to Worli  and proceed further.

NORTH-BOUND TRAFFIC

– North-bound vehicular traffic coming from Colaba and CST may use P D’mello Road, Barrister Nath Pai Marg, Zakeria Bunder Road, RAK Marg up to Matunga Arora bridge, then take right turn along Dr BA Road, and further on via Sion Hospital junction. Or, they may take a left turn at Gafarkhan junction on Dr Annie Besant Road for Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link and further to the suburbs.
– North-bound vehicular traffic coming from Mahalaxmi Railway Station via Dr E Moses Road may use Senapati Bapat Road.

PARKING RESTRICTIONS

Parking restrictions will be imposed from 20.00 hrs on 05/12/2012 till 21.00 hrs on 07/12/2012 on either sides of these  roads:

– SVS Road.

– Ranade Road

– NC Kelker Road

– Kelusker Road (South), Kelusker Road (North)

– LJ Road

– Gokhale Road (South), Gokhale Road (North)

– Kataria Road

– Tilak Bridge

– SK Bole Road

– Bhavani Shankar Road

PARKING SPACE

Cars can be parked at Senapati Bapat Marg and Five Garden.

 Source: Mumbai Traffic Police.

(Picture courtesy kemmannu.com)

Categories
Film

The actor and the Godfather

Our system is lenient towards film stars, not others. What else explains how a star got off easy despite DUI?
by M | M@themetrognome.in

Guess who decided to visit a Bollywood superstar on a recent morning? The law. This superstar was summoned by the court in a hit-and-run case dating back to 2002, in which one man was killed and four other injured when the star’s car ran over the employees of a Bandra-based bakery. The star was arrested, but in the mind of the layman, despite the severity of his crime, the star was not compelled to serve jail time or appear in the court unless absolutely necessary. The star goes to court on December 27 next.

The star was arrested in 2002 and denied bail four times until his release later that year. His family went door-to-door in this period of catastrophe, because (as per their bail petition) the ‘sole bread earner’ of the family was behind bars. They even conducted a religious ceremony at their residence where young kids living in and around Bandra were invited to participate in a mass prayer service for their son/brother’s release. Such prayer ceremonies are seldom conducted for those running over people asleep on footpaths at midnight and killing them – Alistair Pereira’s family didn’t have one, for instance. Finally, the actor was released on bail.

But what had changed in his fifth bail plea? Why was he released this time and not before?

Enter the Godfather.

The Godfather is a very powerful leader of Maharashtra State politics. 10 years ago, he was next-in-command in the ruling party, with a very firm grip over the administrative affairs of the state. In the case of our star, at first, the Godfather was hell-bent on punishing the guilty for the crime; but this changed rather quickly after the star’s family started visiting him at his office and residence.

The family is said to have played every trick in the book to emotionally hook the Godfather, including the one that probably tipped the scales: the star’s mother belongs to a Maratha Hindu family that has always supported the Godfather and his politics. The actor even agreed to pay a heavy compensation to the victims’ families and personally apologised to the deceased’s mother. However, latest news reports reveal that only four families received the compensation amount, whereas the family of the man who died in the accident was denied compensation because they could not provide proof of identity.

With a little arm-twisting, our star was out sooner than he should have been. Ever since, he has travelled across the world without any restrictions, hosted TV shows and acted in several Hindi blockbusters. The police force has been accused of showing leniency towards him, falsifying evidence and delaying the investigation. In return, the star has showed his gratitude by attending police functions with regularity.

Prayers or politics? Maybe both worked in his favour, while others arrested for DUI have not been so fortunate. Nooriya Haveliwala was recently sentenced to five years in prison for killing two people with her SUV. We all know what happened with Alistair Perreira. We will probably have to wait for the courts to decide on what we like to believe is the ‘parity of justice’. Till then, we will see a man responsible for killing another human being under the influence of alcohol, week on week on national television, hosting a show and becoming a bigger star than he already is.

Sharp as a tack and sitting on more hot scoops than she knows what to do with, M is a media professional with an eye on entertainment.

Categories
Guest writer

We really love big fat weddings

In a grim economy and with inflation hitting the roof, one would think Indians were planning austere weddings. Think again.
by Khalid Isar

With the on-going wedding season in India, Indians the world over are spending more abundantly on celebrations this year.  Site analytics on Alibaba.com, an e-commerce platform for small businesses, seem to suggest that ‘extravagant is the theme that will lead this year’s wedding celebrations.

Given the wedding season, Alibaba.com has seen that ethnic clothing (21 per cent), suits and tuxedos (11 per cent) and dresses (19 per cent) all showed an overall year-on-year increase in searches from October 2011 v/s October 2012. Indian buyers are also increasingly searching for garment accessories and various gift items during the wedding season.

The preparations for the wedding season started a few months ago. The ethnic clothing category search, which saw an overall increase of 21 per cent (year-on-year), began seeing an increase in January 2012, in preparation for the wedding season. April 2012 saw the biggest monthly spike at 19 per cent, followed by a 17 per cent search increase in January 2012. Three months prior to the wedding season in India, Alibaba.com data saw another drastic increase in month-on-month search results at 14 per cent (July 2012).

In addition to clothing this year, event and party supplies witnessed a sharp year-on-year  increase in searches at 24 per cent, suggesting lavish celebrations this wedding season. When looking at the gift and craft category searches, there was also an increase in searches for items such as incense (5 per cent), frames (2 per cent) and gift sets (2 per cent).

Weddings are planned well in advance of wedding season. As such, small merchants and businesses are looking to source their related apparel and gifts far in advance of the retail season. For suppliers listed with us, not only can they can take advantage of India’s huge homegrown demand, but also supply to wedding-related merchants throughout the year, around the world.

During this season, India has emerged as the fifth largest buyer market while traditional buyer markets such as the US and the UK led the overall demand for various products. The US is the top buyer market for Indian suppliers, constituting 23 per cent of inquiries. Indian manufacturers also supply locally with the country being the second biggest buyer market with 17 per cent, followed by the UK at 8 per cent of inquiries.

Indian suppliers have also been receiving inquiries from other buyer markets, including Australia, Canada and France.

Khalid Isar is the Country Manager for Alibaba.com.

(Featured image courtesy daveandcharlotte.com)

Categories
Big story

Indu Mill land issue heats up

Dalit organisations warn of forcible occupation of Indu Mill land, Government says final decision will be taken before December 6.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

December 6 is a special date for dalits across the country – on this day, lakhs of dalits make the pilgrimage to Chaityabhoomi to pay homage to Dr  BR Ambedkar. This week, as the city’s security personnel gear up for the rush of pilgrims, there is another issue likely to create a ruckus in Mumbai – the handover (or not) of the Indu Mill land for a memorial dedicated to Dr Ambedkar.

The issue is about 10 years old. Dalit organisations in Maharashtra, primarily the Republican Party of India (RPI) and the Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh, have been demanding that 12.5 acre of Indu Mill land at Dadar be handed over to them for the building of the Ambedkar memorial, however the Centre and the State have not yet taken a decision on the same. Two days ago, nine dalit organisations in the State declared their intention to come together and fight for the land – they have demanded that the land be handed over before December 6 this year, or else they would forcibly occupy it.

To this, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has assured that a final decision would be taken before December 6. Last year, dalit organisations had forcibly occupied the land for two weeks, before the State managed to pacify them.

Chavan had a meeting with Anand Sharma, Union Cabinet Minister in charge of Commerce, Industry and Textiles, in New Delhi, yesterday. After the meeting, Chavan said, “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved of the idea of erecting a memorial on the Indu Mill land, in principle. Naturally, there is no legal issue that we need to sort out. The Centre and the State will see to it that there is no legal hassle in erecting the memorial at the site. However, I urge all parties concerned to not politicise this issue.”

The twist in the tale is that the land is currently in the possession of National Textile Corporation (NTC), which is reluctant to hand over the land to the State Government, citing that it wants a compensation to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore. The State has countered this by saying that the compensation would not exceed Rs 1,000 crore. After the meeting today, Sharma said, “The memorial will certainly be constructed, but we are in the last stages of sorting out the transfer issue. This is why the final decision has taken some time.” The Central Government wants to keep the ownership of the land, while the State is willing to develop the memorial on it.

Chavan said that the technical issues regarding the reservation of the land and the question of how to make changes to the reservation had caused delays in the final decision. Both he and State Home Minister RR Patil have urged leaders to exercise restraint. Meanwhile, it is learnt that Patil is reviewing security arrangements for December 6 in the light of this development.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
Read

Mumbai Police website to be disabled-friendly

First police force in India to adopt disabled-friendly approach via its website; screen readers and videos will make access easier.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

How often have we accused our Government and even our society of not being sensitive enough to the needs of disabled persons in the country? Where physical infrastructure like buildings and transport are designed for people with ‘normal’ abilities, even the technology available in the market today does not take into account the needs of Persons with Disabilities (Pwd). But the Mumbai Police are set to do something about this.

Yesterday, on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Mumbai Police announced that its website www.mumbaipolice.org would soon be made accessible and user-friendly for PwD. Mumbai Police Commissioner Dr Satyapal Singh made the announcement in Mumbai yesterday. NASSCOM and BarrierBreak Technologies would work on the project. “The Mumbai Police website would soon be accessible to persons with all disabilities, including the deaf and blind. The website will allow visually-impaired to access information using screen readers, while the hearing impaired will be provided access to videos.”

Contending that PwD must also avail of the services offered by the Mumbai Police, Rajiv Vaishnav, Vice President of NASSCOM, said, “Working with Mumbai Police on this project is a part of bringing technology closer to PwD and making information relevant and useful to them.” He added that the website would conform to international standards like Web Content Accessibility Guideline 2.0.

(Pictures courtesy in.com and guardian.co.uk)

Categories
Event

Run for a greener city

Mini marathon will promote the theme of recycling waste for healthier Mumbai, on Sunday; BMC and celebs support the cause.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

While the city continues to be deluged with trash and waste of all description, there are a few ways to spread awareness of the problem. Take this Sunday’s event, for instance. Hanjer Biotech Energies, a global waste recycling and resource recovery company, is hosting a mini marathon in association with Mithibai College’s Kshitij, to create awareness of proper disposal and recycling of waste in the city. The event is supported by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and a few celebrities like Vivek Oberoi, Tusshar Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Amrita Rao and Ahmed Khan.

The Hanjer Green Run will start at 8 am from Jamnabai Narsee Grounds and go up to Sea Princess Hotel, before retracing its steps. Sunil Prabhu, Mumbai Mayor, will be the guest of honour for the event.

Dr Irfan Furniturewala, Promoter, Hanjer Biotech Energies, said, “This is a mini marathon to create awareness in Mumbai about the urgent need for proper disposal and recycling of municipal waste in the city to reduce the increasing risk of various life threatening diseases such as malaria and dengue. The recent death of revered film maker, Yash Chopra, who passed away after suffering from dengue, is a case in point. These diseases are caused due to non efficient measures to dispose garbage and waste products.”

He added, “This is a wake up initiative to spread message through this marathon to join us in saving the environment and improving public health by handling waste responsibly.” The first prize is Rs 10,000 cash and the runner-up prizes are cash amounts between Rs 5,000 and Rs 7,000. The categories for participation are 14-16 years, 16-25 years, 25-45 years, and 45 years and above.

Log on to ‘www.facebook.com/hanjerhere’ on Facebook or www.mithibaikshitij.com to register.  

 (Picture courtesy globalgujaratnews.com. Picture used for representational purpose only)

 

 

Exit mobile version