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City News Archives - August 2001/ 02 |
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News
on 28th August 2002
- Raksha
Bandhan turns nightmare
A six-year-old girl died
and several others were
taken seriously ill due
to food poisoning at Mumbra
on Thursday evening. The
affected persons include
the mother and brother of
the deceased. The manager
of the sweet shop has been
arrested and the sweets
seized by the police for
chemical analysis. According
to Manish Ajinkya, Assistant
Commissioner of Police (ACP)
Kalva Division, the victims
purchased some sweets from
the shop of Abdul Gafur
Suleman Mithaiwala situated
at Meraj Manzil, Kausa Mumbra
on the occasion of Rakshabandhan
and enjoyed the sweets with
their relatives and friends
in the locality. "Soon
after consuming the sweets,
they began to experience
nausea, vomiting and giddiness.
The victims were admitted
to Burhani Hospital and
Vaishali Hospital for treatment.
Nandini Rajklshore Sharma,
6, died during treatment
at the Burhani Hospital,"
the ACP informed. He added
that Sunita and Kanhaiya,
the mother and brother of
the deceased
are still under treatment
at the Burhani Hospital.
Ajinkya informed that an
offence was registered against
Munir Abdul Kadir, the manager
of the shop as well as Abdul
Gafoor Suleman Mithaiwala,
the |owner of the shop under
section 304A, 271, 272,
324, I 336 and 337 of the
Indian Penal Code (IPC)
as well as || section 7
and 16 of the Food and Drug
Adulteration Act. While
Munir has been taken into
custody, the police are
yet ||| to arrest the owner.
The shop has also been closed
down I by the police. Those
under treatment at the Burhani
Hospital include Amina Ibrahim
Khan, a 30-year-old woman
and her two children, Yunus
and Sanobar. The trio shared
the sweets with the Sharma
family. The affected persons
are said to be recovering.
In the Vaishali Hospital,
five children were admitted
for treatment after the
incident. Three of the victims
hail from the same family.
"My children Priyanka,
Piyush and Rohit vomited
and fainted immediately
after consuming the sweets.
I rushed them to the hospital
where Priyanka and Piyush
were discharged after several
hours of treatment while
Rohit is still under admission.
His condition was extremely
serious but now he is stable,"
Srikant Yadav, a resident
of Lily Apartment informed.
According to Yadav, Rohit
had consumed three sweets
and was almost comatose
thereafter. "I had
almost given up hope on
him but he is fortunate
enough to survive,"
he said. He claimed that
he went to the Mumbra police
station to lodge a complaint
the same evening but the
police on duty insulted
him and turned him back
without recording his complaint.
-
Villagers
on warpath with government
again
RURAL folks from the 37
villages under the Thane
Municipal: Corporation (TMC)
are once again on a warpath
with the state government
in their bid to free their
villages from TMC rule.
The Agari Yuvak Sanghatana
(AYS), an organization representing
the villagers announced
a rasta roko agitation at
Ghodbunder Road, Thane on
Tuesday morning to press
for their demands. According
to Govind Bhagat, the president
of the AYS, the
agitation is to convey the
feelings of the villagers
to the state government
and get the Gram Panchayat
system of governance re-instated
in the villages. "The
state government has acceded
to the demands of the rural
folks living under various
civic bodies adjoining TMC
but the villages under the
TMC ;:have remained neglected
so far," he claimed.
a The sanghatana had organised
a series of agitations in
the past ranging from demonstrations
to lock out agitations of
civic offices as well as
the boycott of the previous
TMC polls in the villages.
The boycott of the polls
however flopped and the
TMC was able to get its
members elected from the
two seats representing the
villages including one unopposed.
In the recent protest, the
AYS organized a rail roko
agitation outside the Diva
railway station on August
5. Traffic on the suburban
section of Central Railway
was disrupted for over half
and hour due to the protest.
Like the other protests,
this agitation too failed
to pay off and the AYS decided
to continue the agitations
time and again. The state
government had seceded dozens
of villages existing under
the adjoining Kalyan Dombivli
Municipal Corporation (KDMC)
as well as the New Bombay
Municipal Corporation (NBMC)
and Pune Municipal Corporation
(PMC) long back but no decision
was taken on the question
of the 37 villages. While
22 of these villages exist
on the outskirts of Mumbra
and Kausa, the remaining
is situated on Ghodbunder
Road linking Thane to the
Western suburbs of Mumbai.
Farming is the only occupation
in these villages due to
which the villagers claim
that they are unable to
pay the high rate of civic
taxes. On the other hand,
the TMC has also been accused
of neglecting the interests
of the villagers as far
as providing civic amenities
are concerned.
-
Thane
gears up for biggest
dahi handi in the state
FOR the second consecutive
year city is hosting
the biggest ever dahi
festival in the state.
The mega festival is
held to mark the birth
anniversary of Lord
Krishna (Janmastmi as
it is popularly known)
falling on August 31.
The event at Panchpakhadi
would be telecast live
on Doordarshan
Sahyadri (DD Marathi
channel). Giving details
of the event, Jitendra
alias Bunty Avhad, NCP
MLC from Thane said
the Narvir Tanaji Mitr
Mandal (NTMM) is hosting
the function as part
of its campaign to spread
the message of communal
harmony "The event
would provide an opportunity
to people from all religions
and castes to come together
to observe the festival,"
he say "Like last
year, the year too we
are organising two dahi
handi events, one open
dahi handi manda from
all over the state and
the other one for participants
from the city only.
We have kept a prize
money Rs. 1,11,111 for
the first category and
Rs 55,555 for the second
category," Manoj
Pradhan, form councillor
of the Thane Municipal
Corporation (TMC) and
the president of the
mandal informed.
-
Thane
boy tops IIT's master
of management examination
Vishnu Ramachandran
stood first in the Master
of Management Examination
conducted by Indian
Institute of Technology,
Powai, Mumbai. He was
awarded the 'Gold Medal'
for his outstanding
performance at the 40th
Annual Convocation held
recently at IIT campus
on August 9, 2002 by
the chief guest on that
occasion, Nandan Nilekani
CEO and MD of Infosys
Technologies. Earlier,
Vishnu has also been
awarded the 'Gold medal'
by the vice chancellor
of Mumbai University,
Dr Mungekar, for topping
the Bachelor of Engineering
Examination held in
June 2000. He also has
the honour of standing
6th in the order of
merit at the HSC Board
Examination.
News
on 24th August 2002
- TMC
introduces novel tax
THE Thane Municipal Corporation
(TMC) has introduced a new
tax in the city, 'Theatre
Tax'. The new tax has been
introduced for the first time
in the history of the civic
body. The tax has been levied
on all forms of entertainment.
"The TMC had the provision
of the 'Theatre tax' ever
since its origin two decades
ago. The tax regime was however
never introduced for almost
eighteen years. Last year
we mooted the tax and sent
the proposal to the state
government. The state government
has recently granted its approval,"
said Rajesh Kanade, the Assistant
Municipal Commissioner (AMC)
AntI Encroachment, License
and Advertisement. ' According
to the official, notices to
the effect are already being
issued to the concerned people
in the city."We hope
to earn an annual income of
around Rs 50 lakh from the
'Theatre tax'. This year however
the income will not be more
than Rs 40 lakh as the tax
is being levied four months
into the current financial
year," said Kanade.
The tax net covers cinema
houses, auditoriums, video
parlours, magical shows, dance
and music bars, street plays,
Anand Bazars, tamasha parties
and even dramas and cultural
shows meant for entertainment
and held in private places.According
to the AMC the corporation
will charge Rs 50 per show
from cinema houses as well
as Rs 25 per show from tamasha
parties. Circuses will be
charged Rs 50 per show while
Anand Bazars will have to
pay Rs 100 per show. Hotels
and bars with music, dance
or magic show facilities will
be required to pay Rs 150
per day. The TMC will charge
Rs 25 per day from video parlours
and Rs 50 per day from the
street shows.
The corporation hasn't surveyed
the city for levying the tax,
so far. According to civic
estimates there are seven
cinema houses and one auditorium
- the Gadkari Rangayatan in
the TMC jurisdiction. The
number of beer bars with entertainment
facilities are 40. There are
however no figures available
on the number of video parlours
and other entertainment facilities."We
have already given notices
to cinema houses, beer bars
and the auditorium informing
them to pay the tax henceforth,
Similar notices would be served
on other facilities specified
in the list after conducting
a survey," the TMC added.
-
TMC's
privitisation move falls flat
THE unique move initiated
by the Thane Municipal Corporation
(TMC) to privatise collection
of daily license fees from
street hawkers has run into
rough weather with a number
of councilors from the Congress
party The issue came up for
discussion in the previous
general body meeting.
Veteran trade union leader
and co-opted municipal councillor
Ravi Rao of the Congress opposed
the move claiming that the
contractors would misuse the
privatization and will increase
their income by encouraging
more hawking in public places.
This, instead of solving the
problem, will legitimize hawking
and result in still more hawkers
on the city roads. "There
are also chances that the
contractors will seize the
opportunity and set up their
own shops at key junctions
in the city This will aggravate
the problem for the citizens
instead of solving it,"
said Manoj Tukaram Shinde,
a Congress councilor and leader
of the Congress Party. The
TMC earns around Rs 63 lakh
per annum from the collection
of daily license fee from
the street hawkers. The fee
varies depending on the nature
of business of the hawkers.
Vegetable vendors have to
pay Rs 5 per day while hawkers
dealing in cutlery items are
charged Rs 10 per day Likewise
hathgadi wallas pay Rs 10
per day while Pav Bh'aji stalls
are charged Rs 20 per day
There were also allegations
that the employees, who were
responsible for collection
of the daily license fee indulge
in extortion in the name of
official fee. The employees
allegedly charged hefty amounts
and let hawkers do bus ness
on the spots and the amount
never found its way to the
government coiffeur. According
to Rajesh Kanade, the Assistant
Municipal Commissioner (AMC)
Anti Encroachment, License
and Advertisement, TMC had
to depute 27 labourers from
the anti encroachment department
to collect the daily license
fees from hawkers. The task,
he said, should have been
carried out by the clerical
staff instead of labourers.
"The cost of collecting
the fees is almost Rs 27 lakh
per annum which is substantial
as compared to the income.
Besides our staffers have
to play a double role with
hawkers - collecting license
fees from them as well as
demolishing the illegal stalls,"
the AMC added. The official
informed that the operation
was not only costly but also
caused hurdles in the functioning
of the anti encroachment department.
"Privatisation of the
system would have helped not
only to reduce the cost of
collection but also would
have improved the functioning
of the anti encroachment department,"
said the official.
-
Joshi-Bedekar
college open library to
outsiders
The library of Joshi-Bedekar
College in Thane has opened
its membership to outsiders
at nominal costs, announced
Principal S V Gokhale,
at a press conference
held recently. The college
has spent Rs.one crore
on the setting up of the
well-equipped library
The library has about
60,000 books which cost
ranging from Rs. 10 to
50,000. These include
about 5,000 novels, in
addition to magazines,
famous literary works,
autobiographies, poetry
collections, dictionaries
and travelogues.
-
University
recognized beauty parlour
opens in Thane
The first beauty parlour
training center recognized
by a university has been
started in Thane. The
parlour started by Manisha
Samant, a teacher from
Yog Prashikshan Kendra
run by Ghantali Mitra
Mandal has been granted
recognition by Yashwantrao
Chavhan Open University.
The first batch with 37
women has already commenced
training at the institute.
The curriculum at the
training center has been
set according to the guidelines
set up the university.
The curriculum also involves
training in yoga and naturopathy
in addition to beauty
parlour techniques.
News
on 23rd August 2002
- Fake
currency racket busted
TWO businessmen from Kalva helped
the Naupada police to bust a
fake currency racket this week.
Four people Including a 40-year-old
woman, Usha Agarwal and her
two sons have been arrested
In not worth Rs 56,000 were
recovered from their possession.
According to available Information,
Krishnarao Raje Mahadlk, the
businessman was standing at
a PCO near Aradhana Cinema when
a woman got down from a passing
auto rickshaw and asked the
shopkeeper to tender change
for a Rs 500 note. A youth was
also seated In the same auto
rickshaw. The woman claimed
that she had to pay the auto
rickshaw fare, for which she
had no change.
Roshan Jinn, the shopkeeper
handed her the change and the
lady got back Into the same
auto rickshaw and left. The
act made the shopkeeper suspicious
who decided to take a look at
the note. He handed over the
note to Mahadlk standing nearby,
for Inspection. Mahadlk examined
the note against the backdrop
of another note kept In his
pocket and discovered that the
note was counterfeit.
Wasting no time the businessman
and his friend Ramchandra Thorve
set out on the trail of the
auto rickshaw on their scooter.
They were successful In tracing
the woman near the Naupada signal.
The lady was leaving a shop
after making a purchase and
had tendered a fake note of
Rs 500 to the owner as well.
Mahadlk caught the lady and
tried to drag her to the police
station but the woman raised
an alarm that the busnessman
was molesting her. A crowd gathered.
The businessman however managed
to convince the people that
the woman was "a cheat"
and that he was taking her to
the police station.
-
Unfinished
project, a menace for motorists
THE bridge project at the junction.
of the ESIS Hospital, Wagle
Estate is 'never ending'. The
bridge project was taken up
with a view to ease the trouble
of the pedestrians as well as
motorists but it has turned
into a nightmare for both. The
contractor has given up on the
project after digging the existing
road and the Thane Municipal
Corporation (TMC) is content
with imposing fines on the contractor
that never materializes.
The contract was awarded our
months ago. The contractor began
work in May by digging the road
to pave way for the pillars
of the proposed bridge. The
foundation for a few columns
was also laid at that time.
The work came to a standstill
from June 15 onwards and there
is no activity since then. Apart
from scattered the construction
material on the road thereby
blocking a big portion of it.
There is hardly enough room
for motorists to pass through.
The condition of the pedestrians
is worse off as there is no
walking space left for them.
The residents are however bearing
the brunt of it round the clock.
The construction material resulted
in flooding of the area during
the torrential rains that lashed
the city last month. Ashok Vaity,
the local municipal councilors
brought the issue to the notice
of the concerned department
through written complaints but
the authorities have not done
anything so far. Two months
have gone by since the first
complaint was made. SS Mumbaikar,
the Junior Engineer, TMC partially
admitted to the grievances of
the residents but said that
due action was taken to control
the situation. He also a tender
to construct a retaining wall
around the site to prevent loss
of life and property.
"The work for construction
of the retaining walls will
begin soon," he said. RD
Lala, the executive engineer
TMC, at first claimed that the
work on the bridge project has
slowed down due to the monsoons.:
He later admitted that no activity
was going on at the site since
June 15. "We have imposed
a fine of 2,000 per day on the
contractor for the delay,"
the official claimed but said
that the amount would be charged
to him only after he resumes
work, According to the official
the contractor now owes the
TMC Rs 2.5 lakh as fine. "We
will cancel the contract and
appoint another party if the
contractor fails to restart
the construction work,"
said Lala. The official however
did not specify any
deadline for the appointment
of another contractor
-
Thaneites
gear up for Dahi Handi festivals
As the festival of Gopalkala
approaches, the 'govindas'
of Thane are gearing up
for the final event. The
Sahyog Mitramandal was established
35 years ago in the Chiragnagar-Laxminagar
area. The mandal started
their Sahyog Dahikala Utsav
Mandal 15 years ago. The
'govindas' (members of the
mandal) have been favorites
for breaking dahi handis
put up in adjoining areas
for the past four years
now.
For the first time in the
history of the mandal, it
has set up a Mahila Dahikala
Utsav Mandal, who will break
dahi handi s on behalf of
the mandal. The women's
group is also gearing up
for the event and is practicing
every night for the final
event.
News
on 21st August 2002
- Gangster
shot dead in encounter
A dreaded gangster belonging to
the notorious Hemant Poojary gang
from Mumbai was shot dead in an
encounter with the city police
in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
He was involved in 18 criminal
cases including attempt to murder
a police constable at Manmad three
years ago.
Ravindranath Angre, Assistant
Police Inspector (API) In charge
of the Thane Bhiwandi Anti Extortion
Cell received a tip off that Ramsing
Thakur, the gangster was to arrive
at a spot near the Royal Enfield
showroom, Service Road, Panchpakhadi
on Saturday night to extort money
from a beer bar owner.
A police team comprising Police
Sub Inspector (PSI) Vilas Chougule,
PSI Samjay Shinde and staff laid
a trap at the site and waited
for the gangster to turn up. The
gangster arrived at the scene
at 2 am when the police asked
him to surrender. Thakur fired
two rounds from his imported revolver
at the police team.
The police returned the fire in
self-defense seriously injuring
the gangster. Thakur was rushed
to the Civil Hospital, Thane for
treat-% ment where he was 5 declared
dead upon "arrival. An imported
^revolver and four live cartridges
were recovered from the possession
of the slain gangster.
"Hemant Poojary had broken
away from the Chota Rajan gang
and was operating independently
in Mumbai as well as Thane. The
deceased was one of the key members
of the gang. Thakur was involved
in 20 criminal cases including
murder, attempt to murder, dacoity
and robbery in various parts of
Mumbai," Angre informed.
Angre added that the slain gangster
and his accomplices had attacked
a police constable at Manmad and
severely injured him. The constable
collapsed unconscious and the
gangster left him thinking he
was dead. Anger also informed
that the gang had spread his tentacles
in Thane and renowned industrialists
and businessmen dreaded him.
The deceased was also believed
to be involved in the firing in
a Juhu discotheque last week.
"The deceased used to show
the weapon to his victims in Thane
and claim that he had fired the
shots from the weapon in a bid
to scare them into submission,"
the API said and added that he
was yet to ascertain the involvement
of the deceased in the Juhu discotheque
firing incident.
-
Future of technology Careers
EDUCATION Times and NUT, are organizing
a seminar to highlight the new
career options emerging in the
IT sector, in Mumbai on Friday,
August 23, 2002. Titled 'Futures',
this seminar on Future of Technology
Careers, aims at dispelling fears
of the student community regarding
the future of IT Careers. A group
of eminent Academicians, IT practitioners,
Employers, and IT Gurus
from technology corporations will
present their perspectives on
the subject to college students
and their parents between 2:30
to 4:30
pm at St Andrews Auditorium in
Bandra (West). The seminar will
be addressing some of the questions
uppermost on the minds of students
and parents today. What are the
new career options in the IT sector?
Do IT careers have a future in
view of the global
economic slowdown? Is it time
to bid good-bye to technology
solutions? How can students imbibe
new technologies to make themselves
competitive in a non-IT career?
How real is the IT manpower shortage
in India and worldwide? Some of
the Speakers at the seminar would
include; Mr. Suresh Meatier, DirectorHR
(Resourcing) & Principal Consultant,
TCS Worldwide, Mr. Conrad Saldanha,
VP-
Training & Development, The
Times of India, Mr Tapan Mehta,
Regional Head, IBM Software Solutions
Group; Dr. Sugata Mitra, Head,
NIIT's Centre for Research In
Cognitive Systems.
-
Bail
Rejected
The Thane Sessions comi
rejected a pre-arrest bar
application of three railway
police officials, who allegedly
duped a doctor from Thane
Rs three lakh, by assuring
him of admission into ME course
at the Chhtrapat Shivaji Hospital,
Kalva. trio Rajendra Gaikwad
Dyaneshwar Damde anc Subhash
Dudhe demanded the money from
Thane-resident Dr Sandeep
Joshi assured him admission
the post-graduate course.
Dr Joshi filed a complaint
Kalva police station stating
that even after paying the
money he was not giver
admission in his desired college.
When he demanded his money
back, the trio threatened
him. The police arrested Subhash
Dudhe in
this regard. The other two
absconding policemen filed
pre-arrest bail application
Thane Sessions court. Where
the matter came up in cour
recently, it was brought to
the court's notice that theoffence
committed by the tried was
of a serious nature and they
should not be granted bail
News
on 17th August 2002
- TSSIA
demands Industrial Township status
PERTURBED by increasing taxes imposed
on them and little or no development
in their area, the Thane Small Scale
Industries Association (TSSIA) is
now demanding formation 'of an Industrial
Township. Industrialists feel that
being a part of an Industrial Township
is any day better than being a part
of a Municipal Corporation. As of
now 1,700 small scale industries
located in various parts of Thane
district are a part of TSSIA, a
28-year-old association. "Forty
per cent of units in Thane have
closed down. Increasing taxes imposed
by Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC)
is one of the major reasons for
their closure," says Eknath
Sonawane, manager of TSSIA. He explains
that the civic body hiked storage
license fee from Rs 500 to Rs 55,000.
The industrialists in this belt
have to pay drainage tax to the
TMC as well as the Maharashtra Industrial
Development Corporation (MIDC).
Similarly, TMC collects water tax
from the units. "We do not
get any service from the TMC and
yet we have to shell out exorbitant
sums," adds Sonawane. Other
taxes that the industrialists have
to pay include property tax, tree
plantation tax, etc. Not to mention
octroi.
"Employment opportunities will
increase as industry will prosper,
Setting up or starting a unit is
industrial township is beneficial,"
'says Sonawane. To begin with, the
six member governing body of the
industrial township decides the
taxes. Moreover, the taxes are utilised
within the industrial belt. "Today,
taxes collected from our zone are
utilized in the entire city. Look
at the condition of our roads
and one knows what we are talking
about," says Sonawane. The
industry contributes a large chunk
of revenue by way of property tax
to the government coffers as their
property is assessed at higher rates.
The Constitution of India recognizes
the formation of Industrial townships
as a local body.
The amendment to that effect was
made in 1994 and accordingly all
states across India issued a notification.
At a time when Andhra Pradesh has
taken lead in the formation of industrial
townships in industrial areas across
the state, Sonawane believes that
Maharashtra should follow suit.
The industrialists across Maharashtra
have now formed the Maharashtra
Industrial Township Forum to take
up the issue collectively with the
State government. There are 52 industrial
pockets in the State. Of these 13
are already part of the forum. According
to Sonawane others will join hands.
"In an Industrial Township,
industry representatives take decisions.
The governing body of six members
has three members appointed by the
MIDC, two from the industrialists'
association and one appointed by
the district collector," says
N V Bhagwat, an industrialist from
Dombivli MIDC and a member of the
Kalyan Ambernath Manufacturers'
Association. A key person in representing
the issue of formation of industrial
townships in Maharashtra to the
state government, Bhagwat believes
that both industrialists and residents
stand to gain from the move.
The likes of Bhagwat believe that
the industry can play a key role
in two distinct areas if the township
comes into existence. "Hazard
management and pollution control
are two areas which industrialists
understand in detail and thus would
be in a position to attend to them
on priority," says Bhagwat.
Moreover industrialists believe
that the government also stands
to gain from the move, as it may
be easier to interact with a six
member governing body of township
than a local body. With the forum
representing the issue with the
State Government, it needs to be
seen if they succeed in getting
their demands accepted.
-
Discontent in Mumbra over electoral
list
Discontent is brewing up in the
thickly populated suburbs of Mumbra
and Kausa for the last several days
due to the low profile revision
of electoral rolls by the Thane
district collector ate. The fifteen
days exercise was over before most
residents had even heard of it.
A section of the residents have
called upon the civic administration
to repeat the exercise once again
after duly declaration the same
through the media as well as involving
the local social workers to make
it successful. According to Mohammed
Sohrab, a social worker, the exercise
was carried out in the schools of
the suburbs between July 1 and July
15. "I myself came to know
of the same on July 10 and approached
the concerned school to check my
name in the voters list." he
said.
According
to him there was extremely poor
turnout of people at the spot
as hardly anyone was aware of
the same. "The authorities
should understand the seriousness
of the exercise and inform the
masses accordingly so that everyone
can discharge their national duty
at the time of the elector,"
he adds.
"
The state government has recently
extended the period for revision
of the electoral rolls till August
16 throughout the satate,"
an election officer of the collect
orate said. The suburbs have a
population of roughly around half
a million residents. Out of this
only 1.11 lakh people were eligible
voters during the previous election
to the Thane Municipal Corporation
(TMC). Even amongst the registered
voters the names of thousands
were either shifted elsewhere
in other councilors constituencies
or completely scrapped off the
rolls altogether. Hundred of other
did find their name in the rolls
but could not their vote due to
the fact that their names were
struck off in the official copy
and the same was not duly reflected
in the rolls containing the list
of cancelled names.
Due
to this hardly 28 percent of the
voters were able to cast their
franchise during the previous
civic elections. Beside this dozens
of irregularities are also blamed
on the authorities. Saayed Ali
Ashraf, a runner up in the polls
has filed a petition against the
district administration for the
alleged irregularities in the
TMC polls.
-
Female-Male
ratio drastically dipping in
Thane District
"THE steady decrease
in the female population of
the state is alarming. If this
continues, the balance in the
state will be disrupted leading
to trouble in the family unit,"
revealed Dr. R J Bharati, deputy
director of Health Services
in Thane. The Thane Zilla Parishad
is observing August 14-30 as
the Anti-child Marriage Week.
Public awareness campaigns emphasizing
on issues such as child marriage,
fetus sex determination and
gutka ban will be held.
The administration plans to
organizes exhibitions, roads
shows, etc. The Zilla Parishad
has also constructed a 'chitrarath'
to do the rounds in all the
talukas of the district to spread
the message. According to the
2001 census, there were 922
females per 1,000 males in the
district, whereas in 1991 the
same proportion was 934:1,000.
The proportion in Thane district
is 857:1,000 and was 879 in
1991. In nine districts out
of 33 in the state, the proportion
is less than 900. This decrease
is attributed to increasing
cases of pre-delivery sexdetermination
in the state.
News
on 14th August 2002
- Thane
sees increased demand for psychologists
LIFE
is a circle they say, but the worst
circle and the most difficult one
to break out of is the self made prison
of fear. A wise man who once said,
" Fear nothing, but fear itself
underlines the haunting truth of today's
nesses. This self-laid trap of fear
leads the individual from fear to
anger, joy to worry and finally to
sadness, before driving you back to
fear again. Says T Panchal, a qualified
lecturer and I teacher from Thane,
"The intense fear instilled among
children between standard five and
10 is not funny. The fear of failure,
of not fulfilling expectations, of
not being accepted, of a number of
other fears not yet voiced, is leading
to untold disasters that probably
just begin with suicide. The rest
of the fears will play their part
as they unfold in time. As these create
a physiological problem, one has to
check it before it's too late."
She says, "Parents should realize
that getting the child into a fear
syndrome will actually harm the individual
in the long run. They need to guide
the child and have no hesitation to
go in for professional help if required."
Asserts Sunila Digankar, child psychologist
for the past 10 years including an
eight-year stint in Thane, "All
schools need trained councilors.
In Thane, at the Institute for Psychological
Health, we have seen the number of
practitioners grow from about eight
to -illors about seven years ago to
about 15 today, and the children as
patients have grown by about 60 per
cent in the same period. This is as
far as this institution is concerned.
There are probably many more who go
to private practitioners whose numbers
we'd not be able to keep a track of.
As far as my knowledge goes Vasant
Vihar High School, St. John's, Saraswati
High School, JK Singhania School,
Holy Cross and Bhagwati School have
trained psychologists. This is a desperately
needed step to enable early identification
of problems so that preventive and
corrective guidance is given to the
children immediately. I think that
there are still some schools who are
yet to implement the directive to
staff councilors." Asserts Dr.
Bhai Devrukhkar, who is a gold medallist
in acupuncture, "Acupuncture
has a proven track record by which
the child is brought out of this vicious
circle and goes on to achieve his
or her potential. The effect that
the needle has on the nerves is unbelievable.
Psoriasis, muscular atrophy, paralysis,
polio, cerebral palsy, bed-wetting,
and improvement in concentration,
mental retardation and many more illnesses
have been done away by acupuncture,
letting the child enjoy his life.
nd it is practically painless"
He further says, "The basic aim
of holistic healing is to et you out
of this circle and back on your feet
ready to face life as an enjoyable
challenge. The main diagnosis of a
human lies in understanding which
of the five elements namely wood,
fire, earth, metal and water, is out
of balance, and get them realigned
again, to put you back in the best
balanced position so as to take on
the challenge called life."
"One of the most common treatments
is counseling. With trained professionals
available, one should not be hesitant
or be afraid of the neighbor's syndrome,
i.e. being worried of what the neighbours
will say. Then there is hypnotism,
which can bring back the aecfisaary-OQStttve
auUook. Required to make the child
a winner," adds Dr. Devrukhkar.
"Since the beginning of time,
humans have
healed themselves with rituals, prayers
and whatever nature provided. Over
thousands of i years a definite pattern
emerged, which today we call alternative
medicine. Some, other forms of ancient
Chinese treatments i are also used
like acupressure. Do-in, reflex,technology
and more. Among the other treatments,
hypnosis (named after the Greek God
. 'Hypnos') has also been used successfully,"
concluded Dr. Devrukhkar.
-
Poor
Response to Thane District Co-operative
housing federation meet
In the recently held general body
meeting of the Thane District Co-operative
Housing Federation, a demand was proposed
to levy water tax according to the
meter system in the TMC to be made
applicable. The 21st annual meeting
of the federation was recently held
at the Marathi Granthasangrahalaya.
Out of the 6,300 members of the federation,
5,000 are from Thane. But only 60
of them were present at this meeting
as the member population is dispersed
over the entire district. An expense
of Rs 25,000 -30,000 was incurred
to send notification of the meeting
to the members. The same was also
published in local newspapers but
evoked poor
response from the members. The members
present at the meeting also resolved
to publish further notifications to
its members only in newspapers.
-
Five
arrested for casting bogus votes
Five persons have been arrested
for casting bogus votes in the
recently held MiraBhayander Municipal
Corporation elections. The five
are believed to have cast votes
by showing fake identity cards
to the officials. The main culprit
behind the offence has yet to
be pinned down. The five could
be a part of the much bigger racket
involved in manufacturing fake
identity cards. Investigations
revealed that the five were from
Ulhasnagar and had possession
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