TOI Nagpur News :- With festival season come encroachments

With just a week left for Diwali celebrations, roadside shops have flooded busy streets in the commercial areas of the city to cash in on the festive fervour, obstructing flow of traffic. In fact, most of these shops have been set up by encroaching upon a significant portion of roads.


Surprisingly, the crippling traffic jams caused by encroachments are yet to attract the attention of the local administration and the police.


The worst-affected are Dharampeth, Dhantoli and Gandhibagh zones of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC). Almost all the pavements and footpaths in Sitabuldi, Dharampeth, Sadar, Mahal and Itwari market areas have been occupied. Sitabuldi road, one of the busiest in the city, is also crammed with encroachers.


Over 50 shops selling earthen lamps have come up on the footpaths in various localities in Dharampeth zone. Even street vendors display goods on the encroached road, leaving little space for moving around. This poses a serious risk to pedestrians and motorists.


Apart from makeshift shops, there are handcarts and erratically parked vehicles that are adding to the woes of motorists and pedestrians. Citing an example, Vijay Nagre (name changed), a trader in Sitabuldi, said that a group of shopkeepers was engaged in heated arguments with traffic police on Monday for using jammer to a four-wheeler parked wrongly. It is a common sight during festive season, he said. Many permanent shops are also trying to exploit the situation. Some of them have extended their display area well on roads and pavements.


Lawyer Firdos Mirza said that the high court has taken cognisance of increase in encroachments on footpaths and roads. But NMC and city police have failed to ensure that the city is free from encroachments. In fact, it is their joint responsibility under Bombay Police Act and City of Nagpur Corporation Act," he said and added that the elected representatives should also join hands to clear encroachments.


"Rampant encroachment on roadsides is the primary reason for chaotic traffic. The encroachments cause a lot of inconvenience to citizens and restrict the persons concerned from providing facilities to the common people," said deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Jivraj Dabhade. NMC should make efforts to remove encroachments and ensure smooth flow of traffic," the DCP said.


A senior official from NMC's anti-encroachment squad claimed that they frequently conduct eviction drives. "But as soon as the squad goes away from the spot, the encroachers return," he said. Besides, every zone has been allotted a team of around 10 persons to remove encroachments, he said and added that it is the responsibility of each zone's assistant commissioner to assure their areas are free from encroachments.

Nagpur News :- 18-member railway panel in Nagpur today

The Bharatiya Yatri Kendra (BYK) will push for 19 demands with the parliamentary railway convention committee (RCC) headed by Arjun Charan Sethi.
The 18-member RCC will arrive in the city from Rourkela in Orissa on Wednesday morning on a two-day visit to Central Railway and South East Central Railway (SECR), Nagpur division. Senior officials of both the divisions have already arrived in the city.


Although the railway officials were reluctant to reveal the official programme, sources said the committee will meet top officials of both the railway divisions. The committee will also inspect the railway station.


The BYK will submit a memorandum to the panel. The major demands include making Nagpur a railway zone to boost development of the region, said Basant Shukla, general secretary of BYK.


Shukla will also demand developing the east side of the station and acquire the area occupied by MSRTC and MPSRTC to facilitate better parking on the west side of the station. The BYK also wants that development of Ajni station is taken up on priority. Not many passenger trains stop at Ajni.


Shortage of staff is another problem with both the divisions. Shukla said a train ticket examiner (TTE) is supposed to handle three coaches, but has to manage nine coaches. This causes inconvenience to passengers.


Similarly, Shukla demanded streamlining of stalled projects in the region by providing sufficient funds. He alleged that safety has been hit as guards and drivers have to work for odd hours. Besides, safety staff is also being misused by deploying them at bungalows of senior officials.


The BYK will also demand rakes to make Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto a daily service. A demand to start a direct train between Nagpur and Delhi has also not been fulfilled.


Meanwhile, the National Railway Mazdoor Union (NRMU) has threatened to gherao the committee members as the senior divisional personnel officer (SrDPO), who is also the industrial relations officer, has refused to allow a delegation of NRMU to meet the panel.

Nagpur News :- HC confirms death for paedophile

Terming the case as 'rarest of rare', Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court confirmed death sentence for a 35-year-old man for killing a teenager boy after sodomising him.

A division bench of Justice P V Hardas and Justice S B Deshmukh yesterday confirmed the Nagpur sessions court verdict of awarding capital punishment to one Anil alias Anthony Arick Swamy Joseph (35).

Principal District and Session Judge Sunil Shukre on November 29 last year had found Joseph guilty of mercilessly killing Lakhan Vaidya, a 10-year-old city boy.

Selling balloons near a city school, Joseph used to look for little boys. After befriending Lakhan, Joseph kidnapped him on January 10, 2008. Two days after the abduction, he brutally killed the boy. The naked body of the boy was recovered from a water tank. Joseph was found involved in a similar murder case in 1995.

NAGPUR NEWS:-IAF conference begins in Nagpur

Nagpur, Aug 31 (PTI) Senior Indian Air Force (IAF) officers are attending a two-day maintenance conclave that began here today.IAF Maintenance Command Station Commanders' meet was inaugurated by Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Air Marshal P V Athawale, a defence release said.The aim of the conference is to review the progress of ongoing projects, evolve strategies to resolve current issues as well as the maintenance philosophy required to induct new technology and weapon systems in the IAF, it said.Addressing the meet, the Air Marshal said efficiency in productivity and logistics management are primary essentials for better operational preparedness.

NAGPUR NEWS:-Mihan rehab deadlock continues

NAGPUR: The deadlock over rehabilitation of Mihan project affected persons (PAPs) continues, with some residents of Jaitala and Bhamti again demanding that their land should not be acquired for the parallel runway. District collector Saurabh Rao however said that some progress had been made in the meeting held on Friday, adding that next round of talks would be held soon. Some 146 hectares belonging to 180 families in the two villages has to be acquired.

Rao said that some PAPs demanded that they should be provided the technical report, which they claim states that the parallel runway would be required only in 2035, and hence their land should not be acquired. "The rate of compensation was also discussed in the meeting. We have increased the compensation from Rs 87.50 lakh per hectare to Rs 1.20 crore per hectare. The cost of 12.5% developed land has been fixed at Rs 71 lakh per unit."

The collector said chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had directed the district administration to finish the rehabilitation process as soon as possible. "The first meeting with PAPs was held on May 26 and the second on June 9. CM and MADC vice chairman held a meeting with district administration on August 24. Then I convened a meeting with residents of Shivangaon on August 26 and with Jaitala and Bhamti residents on September 2," he said.

Rao further said that the PAPs had also demanded a meeting with the CM regarding the rehabilitation package.

PAP leaders Prafulla Gudhade and Anil Kale told the media that they would not give a single inch of land unless some issues were clarified. "We don't know how much development charges will have to be paid for 12.5% developed land. The administration claims that PAPs are ready on the basis of claims by MLAs, who only talk to a few people. Has a corporator no right to represent his people?" Gudadhe asked.

6 more farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha in last 48 hours

At a time when the Anna-tide has swept the people across the country against the anti-corruption campaign, sadly, the agrarian crisis continues to take a heavy toll on farmers in Vidarbha. Unable to put up with crop failure, crippling debts and not getting remunerative price for their
produce, six more distressed cotton-growers have committed suicide in Vidarbha over the last 48 hours.

Reports reaching Nagpur on Thursday said six cotton growers Kaniram Jadhav of Krishna Nagar (Yavatmal district), Pramod Gawande of Lotwada, Puroshottam Pakhan of Muradevi (both in Amravati), Nitin Fale, Masa (Akola), Sheikh Anwar, Pangarkhed (Buldhana) and Santosh Raut of Malegaon (Washim), ended their lives in the last two days.

With these, the farmers' suicide toll has risen to 44 this month while the figure was 52 in July. As many as 418 farmers have committed suicide because of agrarian crisis in Vidarbha since January 2011.

Talking to Hindustan Times, Shravan Hardikar, the district collector of Yavatmal, one of the worst hit districts in the region, admitted that the rate of farmers' suicide has increased this month in the district. "We are trying our best to prevent such thing in the district," he said.

The institutional banks have disbursed around Rs 650-crore crop loan in the current kharif season as against the target of over Rs 900-crore. "Some nationalised banks are not cooperating in this regard and have been issued a stern warning. These banks have been directed to meet the target of disbursing crop loan to needy farmers," Hardikar said.

He informed that there were reports of 25 farmers' suicide this month in Yavatmal. "We are verifying facts whether these cases were related with agrarian crisis or not," he said.

Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti said that the growing trend of farmers' suicide is alarming. However, nobody is listening it in the wake of Hazare's fast for Jan Lokpal bill. This sensitive issue was overshadowed by Anna's agitation across the country.

"It is pathetic that Anna, who has been fighting for a good cause of anti-corruption, but never bothered about   the vital issue of farmers' suicide in Vidarbha where an average two farmers commit suicide every day," he said. The veteran Gandhian crusader did not even speak about on wanton corruption by government officials and politicians while implementing the Prime Minister and state government relief packages of over Rs 6000-crore to bailout the distressed farmers of Vidarbha, Tiwari said.

The vicious circle of loans and exploitation by moneylenders and the powers-that-be, doesn't seem to be addressed by Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign. The farmers at large, though see a ray of hope in Anna, but those deeply caught in this vicious circle, are unable to cope up with farm distress any more.

"We are insisting that at least the government should treat these distressed farmers as BPL families so that they can get the food grain benefit from the government under the public distribution system to help minimise the farmers' suicide," Tiwari said. However, the government is not doing anything in this regard, he rued.

Tur rates slide but consumers still pay more for the dal

Consumers may still be shelling out as much Rs 70 a kg for tur dal which cost over Rs 100 two years ago. But, for farmers the crop continues to be a nightmare as they are getting hardly Rs 12 to 28 for a kg of tur whole (raw pulses). The huge gap indicates how the traders are profiting at the cost of the farmer and common man.

At the current level, the lowest grade of tur whole fetches a rate which is less than half of the minimum support price of Rs 3,000 per quintal (Rs 30 a kg) declared by the government. At the same time, in some market yards the rates have been capped at Rs 2,400.

Ironically, the MSP only remains in paper as procurement centres have not been set up at all, alleged farm activists.

The rates of tur whole have seen bouts of major declines after touching a peak of Rs 6,500 a quintal and that of tur dal - the edible form - scraping Rs 100 a kg mark. The major decline was seen in April this year when the commodity was priced between Rs 1800 to 3200, coming down from Rs 4,000-4,500 in December 2010. Now, when there has been a further decline, the retail prices have not still receded. "In fact, there was a marginal increase of Rs 2 in retail prices," said trade sources.

Even as the government has declared a MSP of Rs 3,000 a quintal, no procurement centres have been set up. "This has given a free hand to the private traders who for some time kept the rates above the level and brought it down to Rs 2800 soon," said Kishore Tiwari of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS).

In Vidarbha, the National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation had opened a center in June only for a single day. In some places it was on June 13 and June 17.

Myanmar, the major country from where India imports Tur, last week cut the export duty on the commodity from 7% to 2%. "This has brought down the landed price of the imported variety to almost Rs 2,800 a quintal and further reduced the demand for the indigenous crop," added Tiwari.

The rates are expected to improve by March next year only. The fresh crop arrives in December with which the rates will ease. "An improvement can only be expected by the Holi festival next year when the stocks would begin to decline," said Pratap Motwani, the secretary of the Wholesale Grain and Seeds Merchants Association.

Experts say that such a huge difference between raw tur sold in market yards and the tur dal available in retail outlets defies logic.

The overheads for processing one quintal of tur whole is around Rs 900 no matter what the quality is. With the peak rates of the pulses in raw form being pegged at Rs 2800, dal should not cost more than Rs 45 to Rs 50 a kg even after adding the transportation expenses and the traders' margin of profit. "But the current rates of Rs 70 are beyond any rationale. The inferior grades are available for Rs 50 and 60 a kg which should have been lower," said Tiwari.

Docs, cops forcibly send protesters to govt hospital

Team Anna members sitting on a fast at ground zero (RBI Square) were in for a rude shock when medical officers from the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC) and the police forcibly took them to hospital for a medical check up.

TOI had reported about how Team Anna was unhappy with the manner in which the GMC staff was behaving with their members who were fasting. Even though private doctors had certified all of them to be physically fit, the GMC team remained adamant that supporters needed immediate medical care. Finally, around 1am on Sunday, doctors with the help of the police, took all the 11 supporters who were fasting to hospital and brought them back after an hour to RBI Square.

Some of the supporters said that even though they were feeling fine the doctors did not pay heed and urged the police to take them away. "I asked the doctors why they are taking me when I am not unconscious or unwell. But they were not ready to listen," said Srikant Makeshwar, a 30-year-old Anna supporter. Makeshwar further alleged that officials chose a perfect time to execute this surprise swoop. "Since it was past midnight, not many people were present and they took full advantage of the situation and took us away," he said.

Another supporter Bharat Marotiya alleged that even after being taken to the hospital no check up was done. "I was not willing to go but they told me that if I want to carry on with the fast, medical checkup is necessary. But when I went to the hospital, rather than doing my check-up they simply asked my name and identification mark. No medical tests were done,' said Marotiya. However, there were others on whom some medical tests were carried out. Avinash Telang, one of the coordinators of India Against Corruption (IAC), said a private team of doctors takes care of all the protesters who are on a hunger strike. "We are more worried about our supporters than the government" he said.

India start Japan tour on losing note

On a day when South Korea took a double overtime and more than four years to topple the applecart of China in the FIBA Asia Basketball Championship for women, Indian cagers started their campaign in the 24th edition of the tourney, that began in Japan on Sunday, with a big loss against East Asian powerhouse Chinese Taipei.

The Taipei women took almost the first quarter to settle into their groove in their Elite Level opener against a side which is termed as "a team in progress". After a little hustle early on, there was no stopping Chinese Taipei as they rolled on to what finally looked a comfortable 81-53 win.

After a tough contest in the first quarter that the Taipei women won 20-15, they tightened their defense and garnered the second quarter 21-11 to take a handy 15-point advantage at the halfway mark. After the change of ends, Taipei players continued their show of skillful and speedy basketball to stretch the lead further to 28 points by dominating the third period 25-12.

Indians had a good show in the last quarter. Both the teams netted 15 points apiece as Chinese Taipei kick-started their campaign with a facile victory. All the Taipei players took to the court and 11 of them scored, with Liu Chun-yi scoring a game-high 19 points during her 21-minute stay on the court.

India too used all their players, but the scoring was heavily loaded on only three. Geethu Anna Jose, leading scorer of the last two FIBA Asia Championships, was as expected the leader of the Indian scoring with 18 points, and also took eight rebounds. Former India captain Prashanti Singh and Anitha Pauldurai, Geethu 's only two remaining colleagues from the team that earned the Level I promotion at the 22nd edition of the meet at Incheon in 2007, scored 10 points apiece.

Explaining the losing start, India's American coach Pete Gaudet said: "I thought we had a good game. But then we don't have the same kind of players nor did we have the same balance." However, Geethu sounded optimistic about the future. "Don't judge us by this game. Our team is a work in progress," she said.

Meanwhile, world No. 9 Korea stunned defending champions China 99-93 in a thrill-of-a-minute clash in two extra periods. It was the first occasion in the last four years that China had lost a game in this competition - the last time they suffered a loss was also against Korea in the gold medal game in 2007.

Losses force agents to square off deals

This TOI scribe went about seeking information about the Dabba trade which is flourishing thanks to the all time high prices the yellow metal is commanding now. A bookie told TOI that, on the initial amount to be paid, "You can pay with Rs 50,000 and start off trading with one kg, which is the minimum lot size. The amount doubles with the next kg added, but it is still cheaper than the exchanges, where the margin for a single lot is not less than Rs 2 lakh."

So, if you buy one kg of gold for Rs 28 lakh by depositing just Rs 50,000, and the prices reach Rs 29 lakh in a day, you can sell it off, and take home a profit of one lakh. It is a loss if the rates fall and the investor pays instead, explained the agent.

One can bet on a fall in prices too. But many are in deep losses by doing so in gold at this juncture. Going short as it is called, an investor sells the commodity at a particular rate without actually having it. He gains if the prevailing rates at the time of settlement are lower than those at which the deal was struck , and loses, if the rates are higher. Many had expected a downfall after the rates had touched Rs 23,000 a tola, which have now crossed Rs 28,000. They are stuck up with huge losses, he said. This where the margin money comes to play as the amount is adjusted against the client's dues.

"It is only recently have we got stricter on squaring off the deal if there is a risk of losses exceeding the margin amount provided. We have burned our fingers earlier by allowing the clients to trade freely, and they ended up with huge losses which could not be recovered," he said. Having given this information, the agent then led this correspondent to the office. A staircase of an old building led to the office, which no signboard. Men were busy on computer terminals or taking phone calls.

The work continues till midnight as MCX is open till 10pm, explained the agent. There was no entry in the main trading room. "You will have to wait as the traders are having some important meeting. Any way, you have to come here only on Saturdays for the settlement," he added. As the meeting went too long, he just showed the trading terminal from the glass window. The agent advised this correspondent to start at the earliest, but also had a word of caution. "Sir, you will have to be very careful.

Don't over-invest as the rates are too volatile," he said. Experts say Dabba is a known affair but not much can be done about it. "This is estimated to be running in an enormous volume, which may be much more the transactions taking place in a legal exchange. The present system does not seem to be good enough to curb it effectively," said Rohit Jain, the secretary of Nagpur branch of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

Nagpur Year after year, same old potholes

Nagpur Year after year, same old potholes

Most city roads are full of potholes through out the year but if you observe, the potholes are mostly at the same place year after year. There is no evil eye on these spots but several reasons why such spots are a nightmare for motorists.

A road contractor told TOI that potholes develop regularly at a particular spot due to water seepage from old water pipelines. "Many pipelines of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) are in very bad shape. They have developed cracks at many places. The water from these pipelines seeps up affecting the binding strength of the road. If water comes into contact with tar for long time it becomes unstuck. That is why there are more potholes during rains," he explained.

The contractor added that cement roads do not have such problems because the material used in them is not much affected by water. "If you fill up the potholes with cement instead of tar then it won't help. The water will flow to some other spot creating a pothole there. The only solution is to replace the pipeline. We hope that this problem will be solved when the pipelines are replaced under 24X7 water supply project," he said. Leaky pipelines are not the only reason for pothole-prone spots. Some roads have a sag in the centre as a result of which water accumulates whenever it rains.

Water lies there till it gets evaporated. However, by the time, rains are over a pothole develops on the spot. NMC goes in for patching the potholes instead of tarring the whole road. When quality of the patching material is poor, it comes off within weeks. Patching is done again with the same result. As the NMC officials do not inspect quality of the work, this exercise only gives temporary relief at a huge cost to NMC exchequer. A NMC road official said that roads are frequently dug by MSEDCL, telephone companies and NMC's water works department.

"Many roads have been dug up within a span of two to three months by various agencies including NMC for laying cables and pipelines. The road contractor employed by the cable or pipeline department is a small player and does the worst quality work. So the road remains in bad shape till the whole road is repaired," he said. Commenting on the issue, Ramdaspeth resident Anil Wadpalliwar said that NMC should identify such spots and appoint a committee of experts to provide a solution. "They can't just say that some places are potholeprone. How come roads in cities like Chandigarh do not have potholes round the year? These lame excuses won't convince the Nagpurians," he said angrily.

Film fest, nature trail to protect environment

With environmental crisis touching many sensitive souls, yet another initiative to shield nature from being further ruined has been undertaken by Vasundhara Club, Pune.

The 'save nature' effort is aimed at bringing to light degradation of natural, life sustaining elements and loss of biodiversity through Kirloskar Vasundhara International Film Festival in which 35 films from 10 different countries will be screened in 22 cities of Maharashtra. Nagpur is one of the cities where a three-day event has been organised in collaboration with Nirzar Film Society.

In tune with the cause, a cycle rally will announce the start of the festival on Friday which will be followed by the inaugural programme.

On Saturday, a nature trail for children has been planned at Seminary Hills followed by a film screening at Vansabhagruha. At 1pm the same day, an environment status report will be discussed by the panel members along with people in general. On Sunday, there will be a tour of children to Maharajbagh where significance of biodiversity will be highlighted. Two individuals and an organisation will be felicitated with Vasundhara Mitra Award and Vasundhara Sanman Award respectively for their contribution towards protecting and tendering Mother Nature in various ways.

Tata hits the road as Nano sales sag

As sales of Tata Motors' Nano, that was supposed to take the world by storm, sputter group chairman Ratan Tata himself seems to have taken over the driver's seat. Apparently disappointed over his dream car not getting the expected fillip, he is calling on all major dealers in the country and motivating them. Probably trying to encash the charisma attached to his personality for wooing the buyers, he is also interacting with Nano owners and seeking their feed back.

On Thursday, Tata was in Nagpur when he visited both M/s A k Gandhi Cars and M/s Jaika Motors, the two Tata dealers in city. He handed over the keys to new Nano buyers and talked to old ones. Prior to Nagpur, paid a similar visit to Pune and is headed for Lucknow from here, said a source related to tour.

However, he also tried to ensure that the trip remains a low key affair with media kept strictly out of bounds, even deploying musclemen for the job. Sources said he may also go to towns like Bijapur and Guwahati.

Nano sales for July have come down by 64% to 3200 units against same month last year. The dealers in Vidarbha have sold almost 2,500 cars since its launch two years ago with a monthly average of 150.

"Since Nano is Tata's brainchild, he is taking personal interest in promoting its sales which are on a decline. So far the car has not made enough inroads into the desired class of buyers-the middle and lower middle class. It continues to be bought as second vehicle in families already owning one car than generate demand from the masses," said a source.

Market sources said Tata needs to sell at least 1 lakh cars a year to break even while the tally now is close to 80,000. With Sanand plant with a capacity of 2 lakh cars per annum getting ready, this is a cause of concern for the company, said one of the suppliers. It was surprising for the dealers too to have Ratan Tata himself coming down to car showrooms.

Accompanied by top officials, he held long meetings with the dealers in which select customers were also present. His major thrust was on selling Nano saying that the company would offer all support in the effort. "Tata said the company will have a flexible stance in promotion schemes and a cash discount scheme is also being mulled," said A K Gandhi of M/s A K Gandhi cars. "Stand alone dealerships of Nano will also be soon opened in semi-urban areas. We plan to start one at Katol," he added.

Nano sales may be a dampener but Tata's visit certainly lit up the mood on a rainy Thursday morning. Eager Nano owners waited to meet him. A woman among them asked if Tatas could come up with a gearless Nano. He replied, one was designed but it could not have fit into low price structure. A major complain was about lack of boot space. Tata answered them all.

Among the curious visitor was also a Buddhist monk who wanted to offer him flowers. Back at Hotel Sun 'n' Sand, a real estate agent caught up with him to gift a CD about his business. A young girl who followed him all the way from M/s A K Gandhi Cars, finally got an opportunity to meet him as he walked out of the hotel to catch the flight. The girl asked for an autograph to which he responded with a gesture of blessing.

NMC ready to take over all roads

The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has expressed its willingness to take over all city roads but has stressed that the requisite formalities would have to be done before the objective was achieved.

At present, three agencies - NMC, NIT and PWD maintain the city roads - causing a lot of confusion and provides the agencies a chance to pass the buck on to each other.

Avinash Thakre, chairman of NMC's public works committee, blamed the state government for not taking an interest in expediting the process.

"We had sent a proposal to state government in early 2010 showing our readiness to maintain all the roads in the city. We had demanded additional funds for maintaining NIT and PWD roads. However, the government has not responded so far," he rued.

While, NMC says it is ready to take over all city roads, most of its existing roads are in quite bad shape through out the year.

The officials and the office-bearers dish out the usual excuses about lack of funds, heavy traffic, etc whenever they are questioned.

Thakre also slammed public works department (PWD) for not following up on its proposal to hand over 54 roads. "PWD had sent us the proposal in April 2006.

The House deliberated on this proposal following which the administration sent two letters to PWD, one in 2009 and another in 2010, but we have not received any response so far," Thakre said.

He further said that NMC had told PWD that if the civic agency took over the roads then NMC should get government grants for maintenance of these roads.

"Secondly, PWD will have to hand over the roads in good shape. Some of the roads are so bad that we will have to spend crores on repairing them," he stressed.

Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) officials on the other hand accuse NMC of shirking from its responsibility of maintaining the roads. "NMC is the development agency. It collects taxes from Nagpurians. We only collect measly ground rent. As per law it is their job to maintain the roads," an official said.

Thakre said that the NIT had been asked by government to maintain certain roads. "We have received a letter from NIT in this regard two weeks ago. The municipal commissioner will send them a reply soon."

Fun, feast, prayers to mark Parsi New Year

Known for their philanthropic disposition, peaceful existence and financial well being, the Parsis observe Navroz or New Year with these very traits firmly imprinted upon the celebrations. In the city too, the 515 strong Parsi community is out in full force, dressed traditionally, as it visits the agyari or the fire temple and also the homes of friends and relatives to greet them with a 'Navroz Mubarak'.

Elaborating upon the significance of the day, 79-year-old Threaty Jall says, "The day before Navroz is Pateti, which is the last day of the previous year and the day to close annual accounts. The word Pateti is derived from Pazend patet, meaning 'repentance'. This is the day to dwell on the sins one may have committed the previous year and atoning for them."

The Navroz day begins with a bath and decorating the house, especially the main door with flowers and rangoli patterns. The entire family then visits the agyari. The fire temple too is decorated with diyas and flowers and visitors offer sandalwood incense and also light lamps. Shiraz Doongaji, a city businessman, feels that some of the traditions have been lost over the years. "Though the religious aspect of the day remains intact, some things have changed. I distinctly remember there used to be a band playing outside the house early in the morning to wake us up. It was a very unmelodious band making a horrendous noise and we would pay them money to go away. That does not happen anymore and I actually miss it. But otherwise the biggest ritual is of visiting the temple and also homes of relatives and friends and we all stick to it," he said.

Another practice is of giving gifts to each other on this day. Homemaker Parviz Jall says, "It is customary for us to give gifts. So we ask for the preference and usually stick to small items like curios or any other item of choice."

The community is known for its culinary skills and Navroz sees the best spread of Parsi recipes laid out. A must on every Parsi table in the morning are the 'Sev' a vermicelli preparation loaded with dry fruits, served along with sweet yogurt. Meals consist of traditional Parsi dishes, including pulao dal, sali boti, and patra-ni-macchhi. Shernavaz Buhariwala, ex-professor of English at Nagpur University, who is known for her culinary skills, feels that the feasts have got more elaborate over the years. "The most important dish of the day is fish as it is considered auspicious. And though the more popular dish is patra-ni-macchhi, my personal favourite is Macchhi-no-patio, which is fish simmered in curry and served with rice and dal." Lamenting the fact that good fish is not available in the city, Buhariwala adds, "for us the preferred fish is pomfret but now we have to make do with maral, rohu and other less known varieties."

Some of the best known bakeries in the country are owned by Parsis. Ask Shernavaz if that's the reason behind so many bakery items on the table at Parsi homes on Navroz and she replies, "I would attribute it to the western culture that influences us. A cake is a must on our new year. Besides, lots of working couples find it handy to buy confectionary from commercial bakeries."

Saying that the preparations for the new year are done at least a week in advance, Buhariwala informs, "As I do all my baking at home, my fruit and nut cake is ready at least two weeks in advance as it needs time to mature and soak up in rum."

But the high point of the New Year celebrations for the Parsis are the visits to each others place. Navroz Daver, vice-president of the Nagpur Parsi Panchayat describes it as good fun. "Nowadays we have a very cosmopolitan crowd at our celebrations. And most Parsi homes have more than 100 to 150 visitors coming in. Usually we plan the visits and spread it out over the day. The mornings are generally reserved for the family and relatives and over the day we have friends, even the non-Parsi ones coming in. Many of us who have big homes and can afford large scale affair organise a sit down meal for friends. Personally I prefer individual visits to homes of our near and dear ones."

Nagpur loosens purse strings in support of Anna

A small stage jam-packed with people in joyful spirits despite not having eaten for days together, an enthusiastic young crowd swaying to the tunes of old patriotic songs and volunteers soaking themselves in the rains summed up the third day of the agitation in support of Anna Hazare. Everybody assembled at RBI square had a white Gandhi cap and a black ribbon indicating their support to the movement.

Many supporters had their faces and hands painted in the colours of the Indian flag,while many others sported slogans like 'I support Anna', 'Me Anna Hazare' and "Give us Jan Lokpal' tattooed with mehendi on their arms and palms.

Those who were observing fast were cheerily occupying the stage, some chatting amongst themselves, some others hooked on to their mobile phones. They all had their eyes on the latest new flash, monitoring the situation of the protest at the capital. Songs like 'Doosri Azadi' and a 'remix' of the famous 'Sabarmati ke Sant,' rewritten as 'Ralegan ke sant,' received an encore from the young students. Vandana Khushwaha was at the venue with her 18-month-old daughter Anshika and husband Ashish.

"My husband has taken a half-day leave from work. I was at my mother's place at Koradi. When he told me he is participating, I took a bus and reached here with my daughter," she said. Asked what she would do if the toddler turns cranky due to the crowd, she said she had come prepared with toys and chocolates to distract the child. "Anyway, she loves the tricolour and only the sight of it is enough to cheer her up," she said.

Kalpana Chinchkhede was busy painting the tricolour on to every face and hand that was extended towards her. "I came here on the first day with my own set of boxes and brushes, but as I got very good response, the organizers gave me a set of paint bottles," she said. Every day, she has been requested by at least 700 people to paint the flag onto them.

Pappan Gidwani, who was using mehendi to write slogans on people's hands, said, "This is one way of the protestors showing their allegiance to the cause even when they are not at the venue. I may have written on more than 15,000 hands by now."

The white board that has been put up for the protestors to express their views was filled. Some of the eyecatching ones were - 'UPA, Go back!', 'Sonia, prove to us that you are an Indian,' and 'Sibbal, tell us what are fundamental rights.' Other slogans raised were inspired by the latest Bollywood pot boiler, Dabangg.

A young lot was heard summing up their feelings: 'Wah re sarkar tera khel, Kasab ko biryani, Anna ko jail.'

Nagpur chapter Mobilisation and team work, Nagpur chapter

The companies of this duo are running on auto pilot.They have not been home for the last four days. Yet, Ajay Sanghi and Anup Dave, city coordinators of India Against Corruption (IAC), have left no stone unturned in mobilsing citizens to participate in the 'second struggle of independence'.

Inspired by the march taken out by Anna Hazare in Delhi, they made up their minds to do their bit for the noble cause and organized the first meeting of IAC in February. "After seeing the live telecast of the march, we downloaded the salient features of Lokpal bill and Anna's demands. We were convinced that we could bring about a positive change in our country and immediately registered ourselves with IAC," they recounted. Starting with merely 15 members, they managed to draw together people from different spheres of life. Today, thousands of Nagpurians are participating in the drive.

Interestingly, their unattached status proved a boon for them. Sanghi is the director of a software company, while Anup used to run a travel firm, which he has shut down to be able to devote complete time and energy for this mission.

"My parents keep telling me that corruption has not come in a day and will not go away in a day either. But I believe that no one is corrupt, only the system is," he said. Sanghi, on the other hand, is trying his best to manage the office work. "I have to do most of my office work early in the morning and then keep interacting with my clients on phone," he said.

"Initially, all I wanted to do was facilitate the citizens and bring them on one platform. But they started looking for leadership from me which was totally unexpected," laughs Sanghi. Recalling the early days, he said that pulling together a passionate lot of people was easier said than done. "When it comes to creating awareness, text messages and social networking sites get limited response. So,we went to various schools, colleges and offices to mobilize people. I used to carry the recordings of speeches given by Anna and Kiran Bedi to motivate the youth," he said.

Dave said people always offered to volunteer in any way they could. "This is not an organisation or association, it is a movement," he added.

'Asmi' manages to stir but not shake

This one was about Maharashtrian pride. So the young and old had come in good numbers to laud the launch of an assal Marathi band named 'Asmi', at the Vasantrao Deshpande Hall, on Thursday evening. The USP of this four-member band, a product of the city, is that the songs are in Marathi.

The group aspires to provide a different genre to Marathi music. But how difficult it can be to translate ideas into reality was on show at their maiden performance.

The programme began 45 minutes late as the group took time to fine-tune instruments.

Then the introduction of the band was almost hilarious as the announcer, not visible on the stage, was shrieking aloud about the band and its launch in Nagpur. The near-packed house, quite stupefied by this, failed to react with an appropriate applause.

But once the lead singer Subodh Sathe took the mike, things began to fall in order. Beginning with an emotional number dedicated to mothers, 'Aai' with its touching lyrics helped in bonding the singer with his audience.

The next one inexplicably began in English. 'I'm in love, it's a feeling so pure' created a bit of confusion in the minds of the audience. The next one, 'Mana madhye kuthe taari' failed to qualify as rock music with its soft lyrics and low-key music. But the big let down was 'Chal Chal Bidu', which Sathe himself agreed, could have been better sung had he got the rhythm right. But what brought the entire concept of this rock genre in Marathi to naught was 'Shaluchya Dolya Madhe vegala naasha' as Sathe interspersed the song with the ever popular 'Bar Bar Dekho Hazaar Bar Dekho' to cries of once more.

'Asmi's maiden performance lacked the punch of a rock band mainly because Marathi lyrics are set better to melody as they are soft and sweet. This makes it difficult to adapt them to fast beats. The fact that all the numbers had lots of singing and less of music with portions of guitar or drums beats proved this.

But the group's biggest strength is its lead singer Sathe. The young singer appeals with his soft demeanour, his humility to admit his blunders and his versatile voice which is a runaway winner. Asmi needs to pack its act with more punch and hard music to get their audiences on a real musical high.

Law students examine nuances of Jan Lokpal Bill

Law students examine nuances of Jan Lokpal Bill
Law students from various city colleges presented nuanced and articulate views at a debate competition held to analyse the merits and demerits of the Jan Lokpal Bill on Monday in the high court auditorium. The competition was organised by Vidarbha Lady Lawyers Association (VLLA).

Budding lawyers put forth their viewpoints on possible outcomes of the Jan Lokpal Bill. As the Bill drew support of many, the need of another institution to tackle corruption was, on the other hand, dismissed by some.

Pranjali Madnani, a student of GH Raisoni Law School, said, "There is no dearth of anti-corruption acts. The solution lies in effective implementation. There can be amendments to the present law tackling corruption. It is better that we make the best use of what we have."

She added that if the highest executives and judicial officers are included in the purview of Jan Lokpal Bill, there will be 'total anarchy.'

Countering this view was the opinion of some students that existing laws had failed to rein in corruption. "We don't have a single corruption act that has come into force until today. Multitudes have turned in support for the passage of Jan Lokpal Bill. It introduces a foolproof system to make officials from the lowest to the highest grade accountable."

Shyamali Naidu said that the Bill was a revolution and that the government has gone to great lengths to oppose it. "The government does not want to land in soup after being caught red-handed. The establishment of Lokayukta will tackle state-level corruption and will serve as a helping hand to the Supreme Court as probing in every case of CBI is not possible."

Some held that bypassing the whole system was not an effective solution to curb corruption. However, students said the Bill would definitely bring transparency into the system. Rohini Jaiswal said, "If the law for curbing corruption leaves out bureaucrats and higher officials, they would be awarded with immunity against corruption. It will not safeguard anybody if all are not included in its ambit."

Now second line therapy for AIDS in city

People living with HIV (PLHIV) from the region can heave a sigh of relief as the second line treatment for them is now available at city's Government Medical College and Hospital ( GMCH). Earlier the patients had to go all the way to Mumbai to avail of this treatment at the JJ Hospial.

The facility that started at anti retroviral treatment (ART) centre of the hospital since July 30 would be available in the region for the first time. The centre has already been involved in counseling and treating the patients in first line treatment.

First line treatment is administered to a person affected by the virus in the initial phase of the disease. After some time as the patient becomes resistant to the drugs being given, changes have to be made in the combination of drugs being used.

This change is called second line treatment. In order to change the line of drugs, the patient needs to undergo a blood test that was only done in Mumbai uptil now. The patients had to travel to the capital for this test. So far, Mumbai was the only place where second line treatment was available to PLHIV in Maharashtra.

Over 1500 people are using the treatment at the 11 centres in the district currently, including the one at Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital. A team of experts has already inspected the centre. Any hospital can be upgraded as a second line treatment centre only after receiving blood reports from Mumbai and being attested by experts.

The city being frequented by patients from nearby states like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, this facility would prove beneficial for them as well.