Category: Kharcha paani

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Palghar cops indicted in Facebook arrests case

Inquiry report in the matter yet to reach the Chief Minister or Home Minister RR Patil; IG indicts local cops.

The Inspector General (IG) of Konkan range, Sukhwinder Singh, who was entrusted with preparing an inquiry report into the arrests of Shaheen Dhada and Reenu Shrinivasan over a Facebook comment and ‘like’ five days ago, has indicted local cops in Palghar in the report.

The report conclusively states that the local police flouted seniors’ orders to not carry out arrests in the matter. It may be known that Sanjeev Dayal, the Director General of Police (DGP) had instructed that no arrests be carried out in the case when he learnt of the police complaint made against Shaheen and Reenu by Shiv Sena shakha pramukh Bhushan Sankhe. However, personnel attached to the local police station – Senior Inspector Shrikant Pingle, Additional Superintendent of Police Sangram Nishandar and Superintendent of Police Ravindra Shengaonkar – still went ahead with the arrests, allegedly on under pressure from a huge mob of Shiv Sainiks. The IG’s report indicates that the police showed insubordination to their seniors’ orders.

Also, the girls were called to the police station for questioning after sunset. Additionally, the police did not follow the usual norm of seeking counsel from cyber experts in a case pertaining to possible cyber crime. After the Home Department’s consideration of the matter, and if the police officers are deemed to be guilty, they may be transferred.

Meanwhile, it is likely that all charges against the two girls may be dropped. The Chief Minister says he has still not received the report – it has first gone to the Home Department, whose chief RR Patil is currently out of Mumbai.

(Picture courtesy www.arabnews.com)

 

 

 

 

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‘Rename Dadar as Balasaheb Thackeray station’

Other suggestions include renaming Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Bal Thackeray’s name; the NCP wants a world-class memorial at Shivaji Park.

Even as the Congress in the State government deliberates on whether a memorial dedicated to deceased Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray should be built at Shivaji Park (where he was cremated with State honours), and the Shiv Sena-BJP combine in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has not taken a decision on it yet, support for the idea is growing from other political quarters. For starters, the NCP wants a world-class Balasaheb Thackeray memorial built at Shivaji Park.

“It should be a memorial that captures the spirit of Balasaheb Thackeray and that the city will be proud of,” said Sena councillor from K-West Ward, Yashodhar Phanse today. Meanwhile, Congress councillor Naina Sheth suggested in the BMC today that Dadar railway station be renamed as Balasaheb Thackeray station, while another suggestion was that the Bandra Worli Sea Link be renamed in Bal Thackeray’s memory. Yet more suggestions include renaming Churchgate station, or naming the yet-to-be-complete projects such as the airport at Navi Mumbai, and the coastal road and Mumbai Trans Harbour Link in Thackeray’s name.

The demand for the memorial was first made by senior Sena leader and ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi, and the demand was instantly upheld by a majority of Shiv Sainiks. However, Shiv Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray has thus far not committed his stand on the demand, saying only that he will “not stand between” the Shiv Sena chief and Shiv Sainiks. The State Government also seems amenable to the idea, but Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has not yet decided on the matter.

Both Houses of Parliament paid a tribute to Bal Thackeray today.

What do you think of the idea for a proposed Bal Thackeray memorial at Shivaji Park? We’d like to hear from you.

 

 

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Become

“Mumbai needs proper city guide apps”

Mikhail Madnani tells us how he created the wildly popular Mumbai On The Go app and how you can, too.
by the Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

You’re heading to a specific address but you don’t know which bus will take you there.

You suspect the auto driver ripped you off with a fake tariff card.

You want to know just how taxis and autorickshaws calculate the per kilometre fare.

Mikhail Madnani (24) wondered about these things, too. But he went a step further – he built an app that would give all of this information easily, thus saving Mumbaikars a lot of heartburn via peak- hour fights with errant cabs and autos, and unnecessary waiting for buses to turn up. Read on for his story.

My background and prior experience…

I am an Electronics and Telecom engineer. I have been doodling around with typical programming languages for a while in engineering since the courses taught here are pretty bad or theory-based. I started learning objective C (the language used for iOS apps) in July last year with a friend. You need a Mac to test code, so I used my mom’s MacBook Air for learning on weekends when it was available. I bought a Mac soon after and then finished work on v1.0 of Mumbai On The Go in early September last year. I worked on the app with a friend on weekends mainly. The remainder was spent testing and eventually it was released. 

I work…

… Mainly from home. I work on apps remotely with my friends Adib Parkar and Amar Kohli. Each of us handles different things and then we get everything together and start testing. Barring my work on apps, I write for Beautiful Pixels, review a few technical books and music for a few other sites.

I created Mumbai On The Go because…

Quite a few factors led to my decision to do this app. Many taxi and auto drivers blatantly rip off passengers with excuses like ‘old card/fare, new fare is higher,’ and all that. I travelled to college for four years by train and found it extremely annoying to use those books they sell at stations for approximate train timings. The buses in Mumbai are really good, but there was no proper source of bus routes available to people on mobile devices at the time. Also, switching buses was really hard to do with no proper directory of routes available easily. There was also a dearth of properly updated and usable travel apps for Mumbai on iOS.

Apps as simple as an auto meter would never be updated for over a year. The fares here change often and I wanted to make something that would be really useful. The app is also completely offline so it can be used on the iPod Touch as well while travelling. I did the same for the second app I created, Bengaluru On The Go, which is also available on the App Store.

Creating the app…

…Was a learning experience, since it was our first app. It also involved some ground work for getting up-to-date fares and routes. Testing was very important, since everything was new. Luckily I had access to different iOS devices from friends to test apps on. I also needed the app to work offline for iPod touch users while they travelled. That meant having a very fast search through a huge database of routes.

Appstatic!

The app is often in the top-25 overall paid apps in India, and was at number five overall in Mumbai when I put it on sale a few months ago. The app is also the highest-rated travel app in India on iOS. I made this app for people from abroad travelling here, and I’m always surprised by the number of downloads from outside India.

The best compliments…

I love it when people tell me they saved a lot of time or money thanks to the app. Someone saved over Rs 150 when the fares had just been increased, thanks to the app. It was also reviewed in T3 India, Chip magazine and Tech2, along with many online blogs.

I may rework some aspects of it…

I am working on some new graphics for the app and features requested by users, in addition to something that I think will make this app much better, which will be revealed later.

Promoting the app…

I used Twitter for the promotion and a few of my friends and people I know on Twitter helped me promote the app. Magazine and blog reviews helped. Being featured by Apple often in their What’s Hot sections is also really nice.

The most popular apps currently…

WhatsApp is always at the top of the charts here. Given the amount people used it to spam yesterday, I think it is safe to assume that it is very popular here. Games like Angry Birds Star Wars (that recently released) and the overrated Temple Run are always popular. Flipboard is probably the best news reader app available and I still have no idea why everyone doesn’t use Whatsapp.

What Mumbai needs…

Mumbai needs proper city guide apps. I think Zomato is also an essential app for someone here. When I travel abroad, I always look for apps for the places I’m visiting. I’m sure people do the same when they come here, and I’m glad they have some apps for the same now.

I wish I had designed…

…Any apps by Tapbots or Ender Labs. They make amazing apps.

If you’re going to design an app…

I do iOS apps now. To develop iOS apps, you need to know Objective C, work with Xcode and use a Mac. You cannot develop for iOS on any other platform. Each platform has their own design rules and they need to be followed. There are some great books available that help a lot. My recommendation for all programming-related books is mostly anything from O’Reilly publishers. They have some great beginner books in their ‘Head First” series and advanced tools like Cookbooks as well. They also do non code-related books that deal with designing.

 

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How Shivaji Park has shaped up for today

The famed park has been meticulously laid out for those who want to pay their last respects to Bal Thackeray.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

If you’re going to pay your last respects to Bal Thackeray, who died Saturday, November 17, after a long illness, you can head to Shivaji Park today. Thackeray’s body is going to be kept at Shivaji Park from 10 am to 5 pm today, Sunday, November 18.

Here are a few details of how Shivaji Park is gearing up to allow Bal Thackeray’s followers a last glimpse of the leader:

– Thackeray’s body will be brought to Shiv Sena Bhavan at about 6 am.

– His body will be kept on a large viewing stage erected on the Veer Savarkar Marg end of the Park. The stage will accommodate the Thackeray family, the party’s senior leaders and will also allocate space for the Press.

– The viewing stage will be at a height on a five-foot high, 10 foot long, and 20 foot wide stage erected near the Ganpati mandir just under the Shivaji statue.

– Access for the body’s viewing will be provided from two points, both from Keluskar Marg – one is the Meenatai Thackeray gate and the other is from MB Raut Road.

– There is an exit planned leading from the two access points and out on the road leading to Raja Bade Chowk.

– Barricades placed on two sides of the stage will ensure that nobody can get closer than 10 metres of the body.

– The Veer Sawarkar Marg and Lady Jamshedji Road will be closed to traffic. Alternative parking arrangements have been made.

– The BMC has set up over 26 mobile toilet blocks and has provided over 50 temporary drinking water connections for those who arrive for the darshan.

– At least 11 Senior Police Inspectors, 21 Sub Inspectors/Assistant Police Inspectors, and 310 other security personnel will be deployed for security.

– Over five lakh people and VVIPs are expected to attend the darshan today.

– The cremation is expected to take place at 6 pm at Shivaji Park, where members of the Thackeray family have previously been laid to rest.

(Source: BMC)

(Featured image courtesy www.thehindu.com) 

 

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Trends

More Americans studying in India

12 per cent increase in numbers of Americans studying in India; however, India sent fewer students to US last year.
by The Diarist | thediarist@themetrognome.in

The numbers of foreign students coming to India and its metros to pursue education are only increasing every year. And while the US still remains the destination of choice for most Indians wishing to pursue a post-graduate degree, a new trend to emerge in recent times is the rise in numbers of American students coming to India for studies.

As per the Open Doors 2012 report for 2011-2012, published by the Institute of International Education, a not-for-profit educational and cultural exchange organisation in the US, 273,996 American students studied abroad for academic credit, an increase of one percent from previous years. The report says, “US students studying abroad increased in 17 of the top 25 destination countries. Five per cent more students studied in China and 12 per cent more students studied in India than in the prior year.”

Open Doors further reports that while the United Kingdom was still the top destination for American students , as also Italy, Spain, France and China, an increasing number of Americans were opting to study in “several non-traditional destinations outside Europe, such as Brazil, Costa Rica, India, and South Korea.” The increase in numbers of Americans coming to India in the 2011-2012 academic year has thus made India the 11th leading destination for away studies.

Further, in an effort to increase opportunities to study abroad in priority countries, the “State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs awarded 10 grants to expand capacity of American institutions to send US students abroad, and the capacity of host institutions overseas to receive them.”

Says Adam J Grotsky, Executive Director, United States India Educational Foundation (USIEF), “US universities are making strategic efforts to engage in India, which include comprehensive initiatives on India at their home campuses. US universities and study-abroad consortiums have developed more programmes in India, and I believe more American students are attracted to India because of the efforts made at their home institutions to teach about the economic, strategic and cultural importance of this region of the world.”

But Indians going to US have decreased

As per the report, there were increases in the numbers of students going to the US to study from 12 of the top 25 places of origin such as Brazil, China, France, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Venezuela, and Vietnam. “At the same time, numbers declined from several major sending countries, including India (down by four per cent), South Korea, (down one per cent), and Japan (down six per cent). The factors driving these declines may include global and home country economic factors, growing higher education opportunities at home, and stronger employment opportunities at home after graduation.”

(Picture used for representational purpose only. Picture courtesy www.nvonews.com) 

 

 

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Illegal Bangladeshis working on infrastructure projects

1,121 illegal Bangladeshis arrested this year; Special I Branch has carried out drives at major Mumbai construction sites and malls.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Where are the necessary security checks when they are needed the most? Though terror attacks keep striking the city with alarming regularity, and even as the Mumbai police and State Government admitting that the illegal entry of Bangladeshi migrants into India poses a major security hazard for the state and country, the police have rounded up Bangladeshi migrants illegally working in the city from – surprise! – two big-ticket infrastructure project sites in Mumbai.

In a special drive conducted by the I Branch of the Mumbai police last week on November 8, the cops raided the monorail project site undertaken by L&T, a site where beams for an MMRDA flyover were being made by the J Kumar company, and a 50-acre project being developed by L&T and Lodha Builders in Wadala. Of the 2,200 workers rounded up and questioned, 48 were found to be illegal Bangladeshi migrants.

The four contractors working on these sites and who had hired these migrants have been arrested. The incident raises concerns about valid security checks that major companies are supposed to undertake before hiring help on their projects – such as issuing ID cards after verifying the workers’ credentials, checking their antecedents, etc. With such lapses occurring on major infra projects, it is little wonder then, that the city’s housing societies are often guilty of not verifying security personnel’s credentials before hiring them.

A question of security

The I Branch had, earlier this year, identified the problem of Bangladeshis entering the country illegally and taking up work on construction sites, factories and malls, and started conducting regular drives from June this year. In the period from June 2012 to November 8, the Branch picked up 734 illegal migrants from various spots in BKC, Ghatkopar, Kurla, Pant Nagar, Byculla, Parel, Dadar, Worli and Vikhroli. Till date, 1,121 such illegal migrants have been arrested in 2012, and 250 more have been deported to Bangladesh.

As per a press release issued by the Branch, “India’s security is at stake with the entry of illegal Bangladeshis. These migrants have also been found to part of several fake currency rackets operating in the country, and in helping terror outfits.” The release adds, “Bangladeshis enter the country via West Bengal, and the contractors over there send them for work purposes to Mumbai. They are paid very little wages, and since they are here illegally, they cannot complain about the low wages they are paid.”

(Picture courtesy www.hollypickett-com.photoshelter.com. Image used for representational purpose only)

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