Author: The Metrognome

Categories
Enough said

Are we looking at new realities in Kashmir?

An already battered Kashmir Valley is about to set the stage for a political battleground in the days to come.
Humra Quraishiby Humra Quraishi

How many more will be shot dead in the Kashmir Valley before the powers that be decide to take some firm action? Within two days of the Macchil verdict, where five Army men were sentenced for killing civilians in a fake encounter, comes the news of yet more killings – a teenager in Kulgam and a carpenter in Handwara.

Last fortnight’s killing of two young men by the Army in Chattergam is still haunting the locals. How brute and barbaric one must have to be to open fire on a car full of defenceless youths. I often wonder: would these same Army men kill commuters and car drivers in Mumbai or New Delhi if they didn’t halt or brake when signalled to? How is the administration still allowing these murders done in the name of ‘security’ and upkeep of law and order?

Is this some new form of governance, where you demand subservience by force? After all, it is easy to implement. Plus, you can show your ‘concern’ later by announcing monetary compensations for the victims’ families.

I wonder what lies ahead for Kashmir. In the coming days, the political rulers of the day will descend on the Valley in droves. Naturally, any normalcy in the region will be shattered by endless traffic regulations, more curfews and lockouts, and lengthy speeches that promise a lot but say nothing at all.

The Kashmir Valley was never in the grip of a communally-tainted Government, and there hasn’t been a Hindu-Muslim divide as much as anyone would want us to believe. But with Fascist forces spreading all over the country, it is just a matter of time before such a divide is actively created and deepened.

And all this, while the region still limps back from the brink of hell after being ravaged by floods.

What will happen to Kashmir in the coming days, I wonder…

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

(Picture courtesykashmirvoice.org. Image used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Achieve

When children take up the cleanliness challenge

Two Mumbai based research organisations are taking the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan to the city’s schools, one initiative at a time.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The Narendra Modi-led Swachh Bharat campaign continues to find resonance among the country’s populace, and Mumbai is already witness to several individuals and organisations taking up the challenge. What’s interesting, however, is that organisations are rightly seeing that such initiatives need children’s involvement to really become successful.

Two Mumbai-based organisations – Observer Research Foundation and Mahatma Gandhi Centre of Cleanliness, Sanitation and Community Health – have jointly decided to keep children in the city’s schools at front and centre of the Abhiyaan in the city. They recently observed the ‘Bal Swachhta Week’, a sub-celebration of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, with the release of the ‘10 commandments for Swachh Bharat’ pamphlet at Nityanand Municipal Primary School, Andheri, with the support of Ms Mansi Apte, the local Education Officer.

Snapshot-of-pamphletThe pamphlet focusses on the key themes of Clean Self, Clean School, Clean Surroundings, Clean Water, Clean Food, Clean Toilets.

The pamphlet has been conceptualised by the ORF-CASER (Change Agents for School Education and Research) team of Aparna Sivakumar, Adithi Muralidhar, Ameya Pimpalkhare and Hamsa Iyer, and is presented like a comic book that opens out as an accordion, making it a simple and exciting novelty for kids to safely keep and make swachhta exciting. The artwork was done by artists Nilofer Rehman and Chetna Morkhade.

Says Adithi, “The focus of the comic-based commandments is on personal hygiene (brush, bathe, grooming, trim your nails and hand wash), healthy food and active lifestyle, conserving and drinking safe water, not littering, good toilet etiquette and the principle of Refuse-Reduce-Reuse-Recycle.”

She added that the Week witnessed a flurry of activity, from children’s round tables to self-fulfilling shramadans and from the ambitious launch of making Councilor ward 92 a ‘Zero Garbage Ward’, inaugurating the place-making of a park with provision for walk, play, talk for people of all ages, women and sanitation issues, and concluding with a vital discussion on upliftment of safai karmacharis’ lives.

“At CASER, we believe that children are the change agents for the Swachh Bharat. During the  November 13 Children’s Roundtable, what was absolutely thrilling was how children spoke about the current scenario, narrated their personal tales of them fulfilling their responsibility and shared perceptions about many issues. They even went on to share how they dealt with problems and discussed do-able solutions.

“Some of them stated that they should be responsible for cleaning their schools and even toilets, critiqued the civic education that does not prepare them to be ‘better, active citizens’ imparted in schools and acknowledged their responsibility towards the environment. With such an approach from our children, our future is in good hands.”

The pamphlet will soon be available in high resolution and multiple languages, and will be registered under Creative commons for all to reuse and share across the country.

(Pictures courtesy CASER)

Categories
Tech

This just in: Celkon Millennia Epic Q550

The new Android smartphone comes only in a black variant for now and will have a Windows version in two weeks.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

Celkon has launched its new Android 4.4.2 KitKat smartphone in India called the Millenia Epic Q550. The phone sports a 5.5-inch (1280 x 720) screen, is 8 mm thick and weighs about 143 grams.

Q550 Under the hood, there is MediaTek’s MTK 6582 (1.3 GHz quad-core processor) along with 1 GB of RAM. For connectivity options, there’s Bluetooth, microUSB (supports USB On=The-Go), WiFi, GPS, FM Radio and 3G.

On the back, there’s an 8 MP (AF) camera that can record HD videos; while the front has a 2 MP camera. This dual-SIM phone comes loaded with 16 GB of internal storage, which is expandable up to 64 GB via a microSD card. The Q550 is powered by a 3,500 mAh battery unit.

Commenting on the launch, Y Guru, Chairman and Managing Director – Celkon Mobiles, said, “At Celkon, we have always believed in upping the ante, each time we launch an offering. With the new Millennia Epic Q550, we have raised the bar one more time. At just 143 gm weight and 8 mm thick, we have been able to pack  a powerful battery for longer life in a uni-body design at an astounding price tag. We aim to become one of the largest in the country and with many such exciting offerings lined up, we are sure to achieve significant growth this fiscal.”

The company is also planning to launch a Windows Phone device in a couple of weeks, and an Android One device early next year. The phone comes in only black colour, and will be available from retail stores as well as online channels for Rs 10,499.

Categories
Trends

‘Free housing’ will not benefit Mumbai: Study

Praja Foundation’s White Paper on Mumbai’s housing situation reveals a multitude of slums, homeless people and a complete lack of planning.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

In the recently held Assembly elections in Maharashtra, all the political parties acknowledged that one of the main problems that Mumbai faces is ‘Housing’. Governments in the past, including the current Government, have all come to power promising the citizens of Mumbai solutions to this problem.

The Special Township Policy, Cluster Redevelopment and Slum Rehabilitation Scheme, among others, are all projects which the Government has put forward; but unfortunately, these have not delivered much for the citizens of Mumbai – 52 lakh Mumbaikars still stay in slums!

Releasing its first White Paper on ‘Status of Affordable Housing in Mumbai’, Nitai Mehta, Managing Trustee, Praja Foundation said, “Praja through its ‘Praja Dialogue’ project has been engaging the citizens, the elected representatives and the Government on issues that concern the citizens of Mumbai. Education, health, crime, civic issues and working of the elected representatives are the topics on which we engage with them. This year we are adding ‘Affordable Housing’ to this list.”

Affordable housing is one of the most important issues faced by Mumbai and Mumbaikars, and it is also the most complex and challenging problem of this city.

What the study finds

As per the Praja White Paper:

– 11.36 lakh households stay in slums in Mumbai, out of a total of 28 lakh households

– 15,274 homeless households

– 57 per cent households live in one room

– 8 per cent households do not even have one room, but share a room with others

– Only 203,624 units of public housing were created between the year 1995-2014

– Average cost of a 269 sq. ft. house (at minimum ready reckoner rate) is 12 times the median annual income of Mumbaikars, whereas the norm is that it should be less than four times the annual income.

Milind Mhaske, Project Director, Praja Foundation added, “The political-social-industry discourse to solve the problem of housing revolves around two extremes: one, provide free or hugely subsidised houses and second, increase FSI (Floor Space Index) thus increasing supply and rationalising costs. Since 1995 about 203,624 lakh affordable houses have been added to the stock, whereas we need atleast 11.57 lakhs houses as of today. This estimate does not even take into account the future requirements. Clearly, ‘free’ housing schemes are not providing the remedy.”

Explaining why increasing FSI (Floor Space Index), i.e. building more dwellings on the existing land is a very flawed and lop-sided solution, well known town planner and one of the earliest proponents of ‘Navi Mumbai’, Shirish Patel says, “Proponents of higher FSI in Mumbai are not taking into account aspects of density, crowding and its impact on quality of life. Increasing FSI and building more dwellings translates into need for more amenities such as road space, open spaces, educational institutions, health care facilities, work spaces and so on; and this calls for more land. Thus, if more land is provided you end up again diluting the FSI or if not provided, then you end up cramping more people in the same space without any concern for infrastructure and amenities.”

(Pictures courtesy Praja Foundation and upload.wikimedia.org)

Categories
Deal with it

Watch out for this ‘cancer van’ in Mumbai

Recently inaugurated by CM Devendra Fadnavis, the mobile van will offer free diagnostic services and will tour the State, too.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Cancer is a huge threat to India today. It is killing increasing numbers of Indians every year, and many more are found to have the disease. Several succumb to it owing to lack of proper diagnosis in the early stages of the disease.

It is this latter element that is a big worry for health professionals – the lack of proper diagnosis, which enables the disease to spread unabated and become difficult to control at an advanced stage. Keeping this in mind, the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently inaugurated the State’s first mobile cancer van that will tour all over Maharashtra and travel to other parts of the country as well.

Conceptualised and operationalised by the Mumbai-based Shri Subhaschandra Runwal Education Foundation and the All India Marwari Yuva Manch, the van is said to be fitted out with the latest equipment and know-how required in cancer diagnostics. Patients will be screened and tested for free, and additional inputs on their condition will also be sought with a research laboratory based in Canada. Said an official connected with the initiative, “The van will travel all over Maharashtra, and also Assam, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. We are hoping that our initiative will help in the fight against achieving a cancer-free India.”

Categories
Event

Celebrate Bandra returns with 40 artists

The much-awaited ‘Celebrate Bandra’ festival will showcase the work of 40 Indian artists all around the suburb from November 22.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

‘Celebrate Bandra’ is back.

The latest edition is scheduled to begin on November 22, 2014 and will go on till November 30, 2014. The festival that began in 2003 was conceptualised with a view to bring people together through world-class entertainment that is free of cost and accessible to all. In the process, it showcases professional talent and provide a platform for budding talent to grow. This year it promises to be bigger and better.

Art has always been the major highlight of ‘Celebrate Bandra’. This year, visitors can spot extraordinary art forms at unexpected venues that will fill up the entire suburb, in and around Bandra. This year, 40 national artists from various cities have come together to create art works all around the suburb. Curated by renowned art curator Minali Thakkar, Art Head of the festival, ‘Celebrate Bandra 2014’ will see exciting functional, public interactive and visually appealing installations like benches, 3D street art as well as light art displayed at Carter Road, Bandstand, MET, parks and other such public locations.

Each art installation have a message to convey; for example, MET will have a huge web light art installation which is an artistic take on the current textology and Whatsapp trend. Minali says, “We wanted people to notice art in an unconventional setting. People will bump into a complete new world in their daily life setting through art and that would be a welcome change from their mundane life. Art has the energy to bring people together, emit positive vibes and bring a change in small ways and we hope to connect people through art.”

Artists are working round the clock to create art works on ground, rocks, grass, and windows using materials like fishing nets, rubic cubes, balloons and metal scrap, to name few. Be it the huge limousine or an armour skirt and choli designed to protect women, the organisers claim that each art piece will mesmerise viewers and leave them with a food for thought.

For all the art lovers and enthusiasts, ‘Celebrate Bandra’ will also host an Open Air Art Classroom in a setting where one can sketch, paint landscapes and create designs. Don’t forget to get your art bag along. This will be held on daily basis during the tenure of the festival at 4.30 pm at Carter Road Promenade and Bandstand Promenade.

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