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[1] From: MUMBAIKAR <madhu_sawant2000@yahoo.com> Date: Mon Aug 15, 2005 Subject: Disastrous JOHNY JOSEPH on way OUT. IAS officers to face MUSIC Disastrous JOHNY JOSEPH on way OUT. IAS officers to face MUSIC 15.8.2005 ---------------------------------------------------------- Date:Aug 15, 2005 To, Editor / NGO, Sub.:-Disastrous JOHNY JOSEPH on way OUT. IAS officers to face MUSIC Dear Editor / NGO , The head of the Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Mr. Johny Joseph. who allowed the Mumbai disaster to spread like wild-fire in Mumbai now has to face MUSIC. He played" Fidel Like Nero" while Mumbai city was sinking ,rotting & suffering . The Disaster caused avoidable loss of over a thousand precious lives, Crores worth of property, gross inconvenience and physical and mental agony and the severe life-threatening diseases hanging over Mumbai City. Who is responsible ? Not an easy answer for sure, but undoubtedly one person who can??™t escape responsibility is none other than the Municipal Commissioner. The only way to make our Commissioners responsible for their (in)actions is to set a precedent by dismissing this Commissioner ,so as to send out the clear message to one an all in the IAS cadre that if they do not perform their duties due to lethargy, pressure, or any other reason, in the interest of the city, they are bound to face the axe / Music. Thank you. ( MADHU SAWANT ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Publication:TOI Mumbai; Date:Aug 15, 2005; Section:Page Number: Unread warning report fished out after deluge By Yogesh Naik TIMES NEWS NETWORK Mumbai: Will the two committees set up by Vilasrao Deshmukh to prevent a repetition of Terrible Tuesday amount to much? If past experience is anything to go by, the reports will probably decay in a government godown until the next disaster strikes. Had the government and the BMC implemented a 64-page report that senior IAS official Rani Jadhav filed following the floods in Mumbai on July 11-12, 2000, much of the chaos that followed the deluge on July 26 this year could have been avoided. Jadhav, who was asked by the state government to probe the administration??™s handling of the 2000 deluge, filed a report that zeroed in on the anomalies in the system that accentuated the floods, and suggested a plan of action to avoid similar failure in future. However, the report gathered dust soon after it was sent to the then chief secretary Arun Bongirwar. Today, the relief and rehabilitation department claims it has never seen a copy of it. TOI excerpts some of Jadhav??™s suggestions and checks out whether they were implemented. Report says: Vihar and Tulsi lakes overflowed in 2000, causing damage to 240 families staying in encroachments along the Mithi. Desilting of the river needs to be done and hutments removed. Action taken: None. Encroachments have increased since 2000, and the Mithi river caused havoc in the Kalina area during these rains. Report says: Cattle sheds along many important drains pose a risk. Action taken: None. On 26/7, carcasses of buffaloes clogged the drains of Mumbai and affected the flow of storm water. Report says: Information should be passed on to officials in the government immediately. Action taken: None. On 26/7, messages were not conveyed. This time additional chief secretary, home, A P Sinha, who chairs the disaster management committee, was not in India. Report says: There is no permanent staff in the emergency operations centre at Mantralaya and no proper record is maintained. Action taken: Even after repeated reminders, the control room of Mantralaya still does not have dedicated staff and is manned by officials drawn from various departments who work in shifts. Report says: The emergency operations centre must get proper feedback from the control rooms of the police and BMC. Action taken: Even in the 2005 rains, the communication was minimal, say sources in Mantralaya. Report says: On July 11 and 12, 2000, there was no official communication regarding the weather forecasts between various government agencies. Also, the forecasts are too generalised. Action taken: The forecasts are still the same and there was not much communication this time too. Report says: In 2000, of the 55 calls made to the control rooms in Mantralaya, only three were answered, that too with the response ???We will revert.??™??™ Action taken: This time too, things were no better. When a top bureaucrat said the army needed to be called in, the staff in the control room did not have the numbers. The control room also realised that it did not have enough phone lines. Report says: At least 44 electronic display boards should have been set up from Cuffe Parade to Borivli and Thane to enable dissemination of information during disasters. Action taken: The BMC has two boards, one at Chowpatty and the other at Haji Ali. But these are not in working condition any more. Report says: The administration failed to recognise and respond to the grave situation on the ground promptly... There was a total breakdown of communication.... The public had no education on what to do. Action taken: The situation was exactly the same in July 2005. Report says: Slums located along hilltops and slopes, under high-tension wires and along railway lines should be removed. Action taken: Slums on the hillocks and other places have not yet been shifted. Report says: There should be a public address system (PAS) in trains and wireless communication between motormen and guards. Action taken: Though the railways have fitted suburban trains with a PAS, they have yet to start using it. Thanks to this, commuters were left in the lurch during the 26/7 downpour. Report says: The BMC should hold meetings of the disaster management committee at headquarters and at the ward levels. Railways officials do not attend the meetings, which they should. In 2000, the wireless given to the railways was found in the chief freight manager??™s stenographer??™s room. Action taken: Vilas Vaidya, disaster management head of the BMC, says the participation from the railways at the ward-level disaster management committee is still poor. Report says: Undertake the Brihanmumbai Storm Water Drain project (Brimstowad) to immediately change the 70-year-old Mumbai drains which cannot take more than 25 mm of rain during high tide. Action taken: For five years, the BMC slept over the plan. It is only after this deluge that chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has written to prime minister Manmohan Singh to sanction the funds. Report says: There was no communication between the home guards and civil defence control room during the July 2000 rains. Action taken: Even during these rains, the civil defence was alerted very late, sources in the state control room said. Report says: The BMC has suggested punitive measures for ensuring strict compliance with Disaster Management Plan procedures. Action taken: No one in the BMC has been punished for his/her unprofessional attitude during the crisis. Report says: Include the traffic police in the disaster management plan. Action taken: ???We are now a member of disaster management plan. In fact, we attended one of the meetings too,??™??™ said joint commissioner (traffic) Satish Mathur. But deputy CM R R Patil was very upset with the performance of the traffic police. Report says: There must be a proper line of communication between the fire brigade and meteorological department, BMC and other control rooms. Action taken: Communication gap existed this time too. Chief fire officer A D Jhandwal said this time the fire brigade had communication with BMC control room. Deputy police commissioner, Zone X, Ravindra Sengaonkar said despite repeated reminders to fire brigade, they turned up 17 hours late at Saki Naka landslide. "If we fight, we may not always win, but if we don't fight, we will surely lose." MADHU SAWANT Save--our-- Mumbai ----------------------------------- [2] The RSS TV channel From: naresh shenoy <knaresh5@yahoo.com> Date: Mon Aug 15, 2005 Subject: SudarshanTv a unique TV channel dealing with Hindu issues and culture and Bharat - the first in the world starting in Mumbai n Delhi inaugration on Aug 15 You can log on to wwww.sudarshantv.com and check the website too. regards Naresh Shenoy K ---------------------------------------------------- [3] From: Sukla Sen <suklasen@yahoo.com> Date: Mon Aug 15, 2005 Subject: Nepal Towards A New Dawn: Despotism On Its Way Out? The TelegraphAugust 15, 2005 BLIND TO NEPAL'S REPUBLICAN TRENDS Bharat Bhushan A political paradigm shift is taking place in Nepal. The people of Nepal are questioning every assumption - from the institution of the monarchy to the role of the political parties and the Maoist agenda. Nothing is as it was six months ago.There is probably more pro-monarchical sentiment in India's ministry of external affairs and in some political parties in Delhi than in the entire opinion-making elite of Nepal. While Indians continue to see the monarchy as a one of the twin pillars of stability in Nepal, the Nepalese themselves see it for what it is - a rapidly sinking pillar that will bring the entire edifice down.Yet, on Friday, the national security council reiterated its faith in Nepalese monarchy. The prime minister, Manmohan Singh, still thinks that King Gyanendra can be converted from an executive to a constitutional monarch. The NSC press release says that it is against disturbing the "balance" between constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy. That, it believes, would not be in the long-term interests of the Nepalese people. This is pure uninformed assertion.Yet, within Nepal more and more people believe that the king will have to go, the only question is when? It is amazing that the Nepali Congress, the largest political party of the country which actually sacked its student leaders for their republicanism once, is likely to drop references to constitutional monarchy in its resolutions to be adopted at its national convention at the end of August.Several significant changes have occurred in Nepal over the last six months of the King's direct rule. Public protests are undoubtedly on a slow track but the battle of ideas has been raging as never before. The protests by political parties have been sporadic and are not expected to take off in a big way till the monsoon ends, and the largest of them, the Nepali Congress, holds its four-day national convention. On the outcome of the convention would depend not only the future of the party but also of Nepal.Yet students and professionals - lawyers, doctors, engineers, and journalists - have come out in the streets in large numbers. The open protest of the government employees - especially non-gazetted ones - is perhaps the best indicator of the lack of support for Gyanendra's rule. They are totally dependent on the state and yet they protested in the streets against changes in Civil Service Act to take away their trade union rights.Protest by civil so- ciety organizations against the king is drawing a mass response - this was most recently demonstrated when thousands of people sat through in pouring rain in Kathmandu for several hours at an event organized to challenge the king's actions.Those who had hoped that King Gyanendra would reduce corruption and give good governance have been disappointed. The way the state machinery was used to get customers for the king's son-in-law's mobile telecom company was there for everyone to see. In the name of providing good governance, convicts (junior minister Jagat Gochan) and bank loan defaulters (vice-chairman of the king's governing council, Tulsi Giri) had been appointed ministers.The economic situation in Nepal has also worsened in the last six months. There is no fresh flow of foreign direct investment and earlier investment is exiting. Nepal has precious little to export. With travel advisories aplenty in America and in Europe, dollar-paying tourism is down. There is no development activity. One-third of the entire budget goes directly to defence and no one knows about the invisible flows. To raise revenue, this year a 5 per cent tax has been imposed on textbooks. People are openly saying that books are being taxed to buy guns.Although India loves to berate Nepal's political parties for not getting their act together, seven mainstream political parties have in fact joined hands. They are: the Nepali Congress, Nepali Congress (Democratic), Communist Party on Nepal (UML), Jan Morcha, Samyukta Vam Morcha, Nepal Sadbhavna Party (Anandi Devi) and Nepal Mazdoor Kisan Party.They are unanimous about a dialogue with the Maoists. But they have nagging doubts about the Maoist professions of faith in multi-party democracy, and of respect for the rule of law and civil liberties.The informal talks between the political parties and the Maoists seem to have gone off well. However, the political parties have shied away from nominating an official team for a formal dialogue. A lot of mutual confidence building is still required though almost all the parties agree, directly or indirectly, on the need to elect a constituent assembly.The most significant development has been a serious rethink among the Maoists. After much deliberation and debate, the Maoists have come to the following conclusions:a. That the main enemy in Nepal is the monarchy and that the focus should be on attacking the king rather than anyone else;b. That it is not feasible to capture power militarily and retain it.c. That they should evolve a common minimum agenda to fight the monarchy with the political parties through a process of dialogue;d. That if the political parties do not agree to the immediate removal of the king and the ushering in of a democratic republic, then the process of electing a constituent assembly should be explored with them;e. If the settlement is for a constituent assembly, then the armed forces of the two sides should be managed preferably by the UN or otherwise, by any neutral party acceptable to Nepal's two biggest immediate neighbours, India and China.The two most important decisions are that the Maoists see the king as the main enemy and that given the international situation they do not see the feasibility of sustaining a classic insurrectionary revolution in Nepal.The biggest contribution of the Maoist ideologue, Baburam Bhattarai, lies in situating not only the Nepalese Maoist movement but also other third world communist movements in the international situation, raising questions of political strategy about how they might survive today. He has argued that unlike the Fifties and Sixties, there is no prospect for a communist revolution in Nepal seeking sustenance from friendly movements or states. As in Latin America, a momentary capture of power could be subverted in no time.Given the geo-strategic position of Nepal, sandwiched as it is between China and India, the Maoists believe that Nepal cannot choose a political path that both states find unpalatable. Nor do the Maoists think that given its low level of industrial development, Nepal can leapfrog to a socialist or communist stage without going through a phase of bourgeois democracy.After asking themselves whether the king or Indian expansionism was the bigger threat, the Maoists have decided that the king is the bigger enemy. They have thus the option now of seeking the help of democratic forces in India in their struggle for democracy in Nepal.From these crucial political formulations follows the newfound desire of the Maoists to negotiate with the political parties. These two forces - the parliamentary political parties and the Maoists - are coming together, and the king's days are numbered. But it appears that the South Block mandarins are determined not to see this. ---------------------------------------------- [4] From: Parvez Jamasji <parvez1942@yahoo.com> Date: Mon Aug 15, 2005 Subject: Re: [indiathinkersnet] kaun banrahahe Carorpati Calculations Excellent ! Time passed fruitfully ! Who says india is a poor country ? See the Crs coming & going. Proves a head for GK can also become a Cr-pati, besides - - - Smart is the other name for money, & WHY NOT ! Regi P George <george_regi@...> wrote: kaun banrahahe Carorpati in Reality.... 6 * 100 * 10 * 20 * 20 = 2400000 24 lakhs in 20minutes.. cue is KBC 2! Any guesses ?? ----------- [5] From: "dn.rath" <dn.rath@gmail.com> Date: Sun Aug 14, 2005 Subject: Fw: MEDICAL RELEIF WORK BY S.U.C.I. IN KALYAN - ----- MEDICAL RELIEF WORK BY S.U.C.I. IN KALYAN - BHIWANDI The death tolls in Mumbai and in the sub-urban areas has risen to 233 ,due to leptospirosis and other water-borne diseases Socialist Unity Centre of India , Mumbai Unit organised Medical Camps in assocociation with the Medical Service Centre. It held medical camps in Attala,Ambivalli, Ashoknagar, Baldhuni of Kalyan areasand Ambapada of Bhiwandi areas in three consecutive days 13th., 14th. and 15th. of August. Earlier the Socialist Unity Centre of India (S.U.C.I.) Mumbai Unit has started the medical Relief work in the flood affected slum areas of Mumbai. The free mdical treatments camps were setup in Motilal nagar No-1, Motilalnagar no-2, Bhagat singh Nagar, linkroad of Goregaon west, Maurya compound, Pal nagar of Goregaon East, Hanuman nagar, Nadam Wadi, Pimpir Road of Kandhivalli East. Free medicines were given to the patients after treatment . The medical relief is carried with the help of a team of doctors belonging to the Medical Service Centre (MSC). The Medical Service Centre a socio - medico organisation worked for 24days in Gujarat Flood 2005. Earlier they worked in Tsunami affected arteas of South India, Andamn Niccober, Gujarat Earthquake 2001, killer cyclone in Orissa, Laturand Khillari earthquake in Maharastra flood affected areas of Assam. The S.U.C.I. Mumbai Unit will continue the medical relief work with the help of the Medical Service Centre in the affected area of Mumbai. So it appeals for kind contribution from the people to carry on the Medical Relief works in Mumbai. Our party office in Kurla was under water and is damaged. Most of the comrdeas and workers houses in slums are damaged.. So you can contact us over this mobile phone -09833444029. , such that we can contact you. Again you can contact us by this email.sucimumbai@... Your financial help will be of great relief. Please contact me in this Mobile Number-09833444029. Avdesh Tyagi, Incharge , S.U.C.I. Mumbai Unit You can contact us in the follwing address also- Umasankar Maurya, Juni Chiklwadi- 47/ C Raoji Manaji Chawl Room No- 7 Grant Road (West )Mumbai -7 400007 ------------------------------------------------------------ [6] Mumbai floods: A disaster foretold Environmentalists have long warned against the follies of allowing unrestrained construction to disturb the natural drainage patterns of Mumbai. Why did Mumbai suddenly become a victim of floods that would have done Bihar proud? Why did 435 people lose their lives in the floods, and the metropolis come to a complete standstill for so many days? Yes, it is possible that Mumbai, which received over 900 mm of rain on July 26, 2005, received more than her share of rain, but that still does not account for why the water took so long to recede. Why was the flooding particularly bad in the Kurla-Kalina region? Surely there is a connection with the mysterious Mithi River and the Mahim Creek. The Mithi River, which at one time must have been a glorious channel of water, has now been reduced to a filthy nalla of muck and pollution. The river runs from Powai, reaching the Arabian Sea via Kurla and Kalina. The Mahim Creek acts both as a filter for the incoming Arabian Sea and a drain for the river. In 1999, when the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Ltd. (MSRDC) gained permission to start construction on the Bandra-Worli SeaLink, reclamation work at the mouth of the Mahim Creek began. In 2001, the Indian People??™s Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights was requested to conduct an investigation into the feasibility of the Bandra Worli SeaLink. During the investigation numerous experts and environmentalists deposing before the Tribunal objected that reclamation and blockage of the Mahim Creek could lead to increased flooding. To quote the report (???An Enquiry into the Bandra Worli SeaLink Project??™, July 2001 Pg 23) ??“ ???by disturbing the natural course of events and redrawing the geography of the Mahim Creek the link has gradually upset the flow of effluents and floodwaters that drain into the Arabian Sea. Experts say that this in turn may cause the Mithi River, which starts upstream at Powai and runs along the Andheri-Kurla Road to back up and cause inordinate flooding along the adjacent areas???. (The report is available at _www.iptindia.org_ (http://www.iptindia.org/) ). If one connects this with the flooding that Mumbai saw on Tuesday July 26, 2005 it appears that maybe the experts were correct. In the past, even with heavy rainfall, water would never collect for such a long period of time. Also, the particularly bad flooding in Kurla-Kalina points to the fact that the river was not able to discharge the water as rapidly as it used to. One cannot of course contribute all the flooding to this but in our quest for development, we often fail to take into account nature and its forces. Every disaster is followed by the same pattern ??“ Stage 1: the lack of early warnings, the existence of good Samaritans, the resilience of the people, Stage II ??“ the collection of relief and rehabilitation aid, Stage III ??“ relief and rehabilitation not reaching the most needy and a recognition that many of the effects of the disaster could have been avoided if a few small precautions had been taken earlier. As Sandra Steingraber in her book Living Downstream says, ???Once there was a village near a river, every day the villagers would find one or two people drowning in the river. The villagers would rush and try and save these people. In time the villagers became proficient in rescuing people who were drowning in the river and the pattern continued for a while; until somebody began to question: ???what was happening upstream that caused these people to fall in???™??? -- Deepika D??™Souza (India Centre for Human Rights and Law) PS: All India Christian Council had taken up relief work in the Mumbai Floods under the leadership of Dr. Abraham Mathai, Pray for his health and the activity. |
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