Where have the birds gone?

The Flight in the Air, originally uploaded by deshpande.devidas.

In the winter, the birds flock to India and Pune, with its cool climate attracts lot of them. But in recent time the number of birds coming to city is fast dwindling. They were seen in hundreds at the riverside but both Mula and Mutha rivers of Pune have turned into little more than a nallah. So these creatures have no place to go now. This time, even winter has not showed its presence in the sorrounding.

The environment status report of Pune Municipal Corporation has stated that the number of birds on trees is reduced because most of the trees in PMC's gardens are foreign. They do not fit in in the natural habitat of the environment. Birds coming from other countries go to Veer or Bhigwan dam besides city. But these sites have also noted less birds in the last few years.

According to observations made by bird watchers, number of crows, kites and Black wings Stilt has gone up in recent years pointing to the increasing filth at riverside. The environmentalist say this is a bad sign for the ecological balance of the city.

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Uddhav’s Brave Front: Too Late, Too Lame

That Uddhav Thackarey, executive president of Shiv Sena spoke over his party’s defeat after full four days after election results were out in itself speaks volume about his preparedness to tackle the situation head on. He might have taken this much time to come out of the shock he received at the hands of his cousin Raj Thackarey. Maharashtra Nanirman Sena has truly emerged as the party to watch during this election with its 13 elected members. Shiv Sena has received the worst drubbing in the sense that it has been relegated to fourth position in terms of number of seats. And worse is that BJP has come out with more seats than Shiv Sena, its alliance partner, even though the situation was other way round since 1984 when the alliance was formed.

What Uddhav has said shows that he is not ready to read the situation in its true sense. It was never a characteristic of Thackarey family, be it Balasaheb or Raj or Uddhav, to acknowledge own follies. The latest rhetoric from Uddhav goes on the same line. He is saying that MNS factor, which was key in losses suffered by Shiv Sena will be washed  out within two years. On the contrary, political analysts and observers, majority of whom constitute the detractors of MNS, are unanimous that it is MNS which is sure to play the role of main opposition party in next elections, unless some drastic measures are adopted by Shiv Sena.

Those measures are still to be seen. Uddhav missed to be a brave man in facing the loss generously. Instead, he hid himself and came out when his statement mattered too little. His analysis also did not show any hard hitting retrospection which could have helped the sinking fortunes of the party. It was a lacklustre statement and going by the common Shiv Sainik’s natural instincts, it was a lame excuse for the defeat.

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Congrats, CM Ashok Chavan

It was the replay of the developments for Ashok Chavan. First of all, I would like to congratulate him for the success to his party as well as his becoming chief minister again. Chavan was chosen on Saturday night to head the Congress Legislature Party in Maharashtra. He will be the chief minister for the second time, nine months after taking over the affairs of the state.

Chavan, who was selected as the CLP leader by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, owes his selection to his non-controversial brief tenure as the chief minister of the state. To his credit, it must be said that during his brief tenure as CM, there was no major controversy affecting the reputation of the Congress party. He was elected to the post following resignation of Vilasrao Deshmukh in the wake of Mumbai terror attack in November last year. Since then, he has steered clear of any shortcomings. He had some big rivals in the form of Narayan Rane and Vilasrao Deshmukh, but ultimately his close relations with Gandhi family prevailed. He deserved to be rewarded and indeed was rewarded.

Like I mentioned in my post immediately after he became CM for first time, Chavan also hails from Nanded like me. I have observed he initiated so many projects and works in Nanded, that if they are truly realized, the city could soon surpass Aurangabad.

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End of an epoch in Maharashtra politics?

With Diwali over, every politician, journalist and gossip mongers were behind the results of the assembly elections. While all major surveys and exit polls had gone in favour of the ruling Congress and Nationalist Congress Party alliance, they are still seen with a suspect given the impeccable track record of such surveys in the past. Opinion and exit polls are considered fickle next only to the forecasts by meteorology department in India. With large numbers of rebels, new enfant terrible like Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Jan Surajya Party and Republican Left Democratic Front, the fight was sure to be most difficult of all times. but even than that, this election will go down in the history of Maharashtra as one bringing an epoch to close.

That epoch of course being the political rivalry and influence of two personalities who have influenced the politics of state for over three to four decades. Yes, you guessed it right. After the result, Bal Thackerey, the Shiv Sena chief and Sharad Pawar, the NCP chief will not hold the sway like before in this election. Thackerey, who founded Shiv Sena in 1966 and headed single handedly since then is now an old tiger. He is credited with bringing the first non-Congress government in state which worked its full term. That this government was formed in alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party does not make any dent in his contribution. On the contrary, he was the only acceptable mascot of the alliance in state.

Bal Thackerey was the chief pioneer of Marathi son of soil agitations. An entire party was built on this issue but he had to relegate the issue to give it a broader ambit, that of Hindutva. But such was his clout that not a finger was raised towards him for navigating to other waters. He had built a dedicated supporter base and those supporters were ready to follow him wherever he lead. No questions asked, no questions permitted either. For years on years, media watched him addressing rallies at Shivaji Park in Mumbai . People thronged in hordes, growing in numbers each year. Media used all sorts of words to downplay his cult following, ranging from rhetoric to venom. But he grew in clout. He grew manifolds. Soon, Shiv Sena was seen ruling in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation , next only perhaps to legislature assembly in terms of political and administrative importance. The power in the MMC also gave access to immense resources to the party. Within 25 years from the formation of the party, Shiv Sena was seriously challenging the hegemony of Congress rule. In 1990 assembly elections, the SS-BJP alliance missed political power by whiskers. Within a year, it got its biggest shock till then.

Chhagan Bhujbal left Shiv Sena in December 1991 since he was miffed after being ignored for the post of leader of opposition in state assembly. His expectation was justified as he was party’s lone knight in the assembly since 1985. Still, Thackerey, who was now called Balasaheb with an appreciative accent by even his detractors, did not mend his fences. He still kept his hold on the party, dictated his terms and reigned over Mumbai. With some favorable developments and vigorous campaigning, he managed to what he called, “Furl the saffron flag on assembly.” Even though SS-BJP combine suffered losses in later years, in terms of seats and human capital also, that Bal Thackerey is a catchword in the Maharashtra’s political scene is a foregone conclusion. From trade unions to Bollywood, from students to the average middle class person, from women to activists, there is no as mesmerizing thing as a call  from the octogenarian leader.

On his part, Thackerey has seldom missed a chance to show that he is a truckload of fire in his belly. For a party constantly harping on Chhatrapati Shivaji’s name for its livelihood, it is nothing less than a blasphemy to denounce the project of Shivaji memorial which is coming up in Arabian sea off Mumbai coast. It was not without nothing that the party telecasted a long interview of the Old Tiger recently on all major Marathi channels. It is a last ditch effort to encash its most successful brand in an era when the party is desperately missing the aggressive frontmen. This interview also proved that for Marathi audience, there is nothing as entertaining, as enthralling a presentation as a direct speech oratory of Thackerey.

Now with Shiv Sena losing the election, then it is over for Thackerey who pledged last time that he will not remove the beard unless the party is voted back in power. With his frail health and lost hopes, he is not expected to guide the party in next elections, let alone lead it. His struggles against the Congress will be recorded as a crusader who showed that David can fight the Goliath while becoming Goliath himself. We should see his latest outbursts against his nephew Raj for betraying the Marathi cause. At this age after so many decades, it is always hard to digest the bitter truth.

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Diwali issues in Marathi culture

As the Diwali approaches, so are the Diwali issue of Marathi magazines. Diwali issues are the hallmark of the festival for the Marathi people and Maharashtra. Many houses in the state get a hint of the festival's arrival by thick issues of magazines stacked on the news stands. Its cultural standing is matched only by the Durga Puja issues brought out by Bengali newspapers and magazines. Many writers in Marathi owe their career to the existence of the Diwali issues only. In north India, Diwali means gifts and present full of mithai boxes. In Maharashtra, mithai is accompanied by Diwali issues.

It was exactly hundred years ago, that the first Diwali issue of Manoranjan, a popular magazine of that time saw light of the day. Since then, the tradition has only grown to encompass in it all types of print as well as new medium publication. Some years ago, there came audio Diwali issues, then with advent of time they changed into video ones. Now, more than five web portals in Marathi bring their own issues. In one such issue last year, I wrote about the advent of web technology in indigenous languages. Diwali issue is a thing of status in Marathi media and no publication is complete unless it has one. Actually this will be a statement as there are more brands of Diwali issues in Marathi than the reqgular magazines. Some like Awaz, Ravivarchi Jatra, Maharashtra Times and Loksatta have a tradition of almost five decades and they require no marketing. Some like Dhanurdhari come only in Diwali issue form but are always looked forward to.

Even though known for their entertainment value, the Diwali issues have contributed to the exchange and growth of thought in Maharashtra. Prior to arrival of TV and web media, it offered a platform for discussion or debate an many controversial topics. Much of today's contemporary Marathi literature owe its existence to the Diwali issues. Not limiting to that, they have also helped put new thoughts. It is not surprising to find Diwali issue dedicated to women's issues or philosophy, medical issues or astrology lined up for sale. It is also not a novelty for the Marathi readers to find these issues selling like hot cakes. Even though one can find older people grudging about the decreasing habit of reading, the sale of the Diwali issue do not stand witness to that. The business of publishing Diwali issues have stood test of time. Even advertisers do not shy away from putting their money in it.

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Load Shedding Still Haunts Maharashtra

I have just arrived in Nanded. The temperature is already touching 30 degrees celsius at about 10 AM. This is strange for normally in October, it is already one month into the winter season. But there is no sign of a cold weather welcoming this old boy from the town who has in more ways than one unable to severe ties with the town, however he might try. I do not know what exactly is going on here but it is very quiet what with assembly elections being over only four days ago.

Meanwhile, the electricity production in the state is set to be hit by the shortfall in the water. Irai dam, which provides water to the power generation plant at Chandrapur, is reportedly lying dry. The management has closed two big gensets in the plants under the garb of tube leakage which will result in the reduction of 1000 MW power generation.

Irai dam now has water which can last only three months. The water level in the dams stands at 202.25 meters.while the capacity of the dam is 19 Million Cubic Meters, it has about 15 MCM water in store. As per state policy, the first priority to provide water is drinking supply, then industries and then comes irrigation.

MahaGenco, responsible arm for the generation of electricity of power companies in Maharashtra, has requested to avail water from the Chargaon dam, which is 35 kms. from Chandrapur. It is expected that the request might be approved but still, it can only last for one month. Why it makes sense to write on this subject?

because as I come here, I found there was no electricity supply in the house. It is what people call load shedding. It is what I call the helplessness of the public. Living in Pune gives some advantages among which one is load shedding free life. You tend to take it as granted but its real worth is only understood when you come to a place like this.

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It is the Diwali time, the biggest festival in India. It is matched only to Christmas in the European countries in the proportion of celebration as well as trade. In view of the movement of the people, almost all mode of transport fail to provide adequate service. The private bus operators literally make hay during this time. There seem to be no body to control the scandalous malpractices of the trade.

The private tour operators have increased the bus fare for cities like Nagpur, Latur, Nanded and Solapur, where most of the people move during the Diwali vacations. Most of the young people residing in Pune, because of study or service, come from far places in Maharashtra. People coming from other state constitute less in the number compared to Maharashtrians. These people flock to bus stands to catch a vehicle to their respective village or town. But state road transport corporation (MSRTC) fail to provide adequate number of buses. This year, it is also handicapped by the large number of buses deployes in the service of election commission. Railways have limited trips and it does not have as wide reach as the road travel service have.

This lefts the traveller with little option but go for the private operators. These operators do not lose a chance to make profit during this time. A common ticket for seating chair bus costs Rs 250-300 in normal times. Just last week, I found it was being sold at Rs 500. Sleeper class bus ticket is normally available at Rs 300-350. It is now available at Rs 600. Compare this to the ticket fare charged by MSRTC which stands at Rs 330.

Regional Transport Office official make it clear each year that RTO does not have any control over the fare structure. It is upto these operators to decide the amount. RTO comes in picture only when the bus has more passengers than capacity or if any passenger complains. With short span of time in hand and too much confusing procedures, hardly anybody dares to do that. This leaves the road open to private operators.

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Police Personnel to build Megacity

The police personnel from the city have come together to form a housing society and build a housing colony for them. This Megacity of police will come up near Lohgaona and will provide shelter to police personnel from all over the state. The project has been started with the initiative of Pune police.

Satypal Singh, police commissioner of Pune has provided the guidance to the project while Anant Rokade, deputy commissioner has taken the lead. All serving and retired police department employees can be a part of the venture. In the project, flats ranging from one room kitchen to 3 BHK will be built by the B. E. Billimoria company from Mumbai. They will be priced from Rs 5.35 lakh to 17.47 lakh.

The officers have already started selling the applications for the flats which will be available till Oct. 20. The project will start once at least 5000 applications are received.

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In Italy, newspaper Comes as a Protest

it is impossible in India

In this age of cyber media and online journalism, it is heartening to see that even today old form of print media are being used for protest. In Italy, a new newspaper has been launched against what is termed as the oppression of expression by Sylvio Berlusconi government. Il Fatto, meaning the fact was launched in the last week by some leftist journalists.

Relation between Berlusconi and the media soured from the day he came to power for first time. The media mogul of Italy, who controls almost all TV channels attracted bad attention few months ago because of his reported relations with commercial sex workers. In June, he publicly appealed not to give publicity to his opposition parties and leaders. The new joural is owned by some entrepreneurs who control 70 percent of the company and 30 percent is owned by the journalists. Public at large is also invited to be a part of the venture. The paper has already received 27000 subscribers which the founders say are a good number to start with.

Expectedly, the paper wants to focus on the sexual activity of the Italian prime minister and also probe his source of wealth. This is bound to bring some problem therefore the company has already hired two best advocates of country who are expert in the information rights law.

On the face of it, this is a grand experiment. Even though the paper is chiefly printed, it is available on net also. In India, the penetration of internet is still so low. Therefore the print way is still the best way. Problem with the print media is it is absolutely impossible in the country to run a paper without advertising. Il Fatto claims to run independently, without the influence of economic or political power of Berlusconi. But that kind of thing can not be done in India. Here the media is chiefly influenced by the conventional centre of power. Like I wrote in an earlier post, Indian media will never probe the antics of the Gandhi family. Last time it was done in 1988 but the flash point of that episode, Bofors scandal, was given by Swedish radio. It was not a handiwork of Indian organization.

However, an independent and alert newspaper is the need of the hour.

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Raj Charges Up the Scene-2

Spreading the Foothold


Shiv Sena started to spread its wing in the late 1980s. At that time, Raj was heading the Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena (BVS), student wing of the party. He was also looking after Marmik, the weekly mouthpiece of party, chiefly drawing cover cartoons for the same. His grooming was done clearly by Balasaheb himself which was evident by the fashion in which he talked, spoke. His body language and mannerisms were just a replica of the original leader. Millions of party workers saw in him the next avatar of their beloved leader.

But the original leader thought in different ways. After the party shared power with BJP in 1995 to 99, he started promoting his own son Uddhav, who preferred his artistic hobbies over politics. A man of reclusive habits, he was seldom found in gatherings which was a hallmark of SS. This anchored a split in the party with Raj having no other option but to found his own. He waited for almost 10 years before giving birth to MNS.

That Raj opting for Son-of-the-Soil politics was less a choice than a logical conclusion. After following the same line for almost 20 years, he could have done little otherwise. A U-Turn over the policies was out of question. He bid his time before plunging into full stream. Also, by opting to pursue a hard agenda over the Marathi Manoos issue, he also took the game in the Shiv Sena’s court itself. This is the reason why Uddhav is targeting Raj more during the campaigning instead of ruling alliance in the state, which is his natural political enemy. He is well aware that in terms of oratory, pull and dedicated workers, he is no match to Raj. While Uddhav has given a new, sophisticated and mellowed image to SS, a vacuum was left for a party with stern activism. SS workers were fed on this mentality and they could not shed their aggression in trade of a corporate politics, which was never their cup of tea. SS was no longer a party of rioters and hoodlums. Raj capitalized on these elements.

To be fair to Raj, he did not chose violence as his primary recourse. Before the infamous agitation in early 2008 against North Indians, MNS had organized several programs encouraging Marathi literature and culture. Many instances can be given like organizing a book exhibition in Mumbai, drama festival in Pune. When MNS was in incubation mode, he personally visited all Ganesh Mandals all over the state. MNS had even sent letters to many government departments as a form of protest. Very few of those activities actually were reported by the media. Raj entered on first pages of print media and prime time of electronic media only when he raised his voice against Abu Azmi, whose credentials as a cultured politician is always in question. Before that period, even local periodicals thought it unnecessary to give enough space to the man. Whatever came related to Raj was either making a mockery of his activities or criticism.

By the time that agitation had come to an end, media had carved out a new Hitler and general Marathi public had got a redeemer. Polarization followed day by day, MNS was persecuted with each passing day. No stone was left unturned in demonizing the man and with each attempt, MNS and its leader become dearer to the public.

It came to such a passé that no Marathi channel could afford to bypass a rally addressed by Raj. No channel could throw a press release of MNS in the dustbin. There was a race between them to telecast the developments live to garner more and more TRP. OB vans from all channels waited outside Krishnakunj, Raj’s residence in Dadar area whenever there was a significant developments. Press conferences by Raj began to turn out into a houseful shows. Even then, he was seen someone who filled the need of a superstar in a entertainment deficient state. “yes, t’here is a crowd for him. But can he fight an election,” was a popular refrain from media quarters who in this age think it a kind of status symbol to keep their ears away from the ground.

The jolt came in parliamentary elections five months ago. MNS had put 12 candidates out of 48 in the state. Each candidate of the party, barring one in Pune, pulled up more than one lakh (0.1 million) votes. This was an eye opener for every player. In an era when the winning margin of a candidate does not generally crosses 25,000, the number of votes received by MNS was nothing less than a thunderbolt. It upset the ambitions of SS-BJP alliance in the state whose tally of seats remained just 21. These statistics are the basic foundation on which the duel between Thackerey cousin is going on currently in the state.

(To be Continued)

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Notice to Facebook Over Tobacco Content

The Facebook is facing its first major challenge in India. The social networking site is just served a notice for failure in removing content related to tobacco products. The failure of the social networking website “Facebook” to remove pages and groups relating to various tobacco products, brands and articles is now likely to land the company in legal trouble.

A social activist and crusader for public health causes, Hemant Goswami from Chandigarh has issued a legal notice to Facebook to remove all pages and groups relating to promotion of any kind of tobacco product or which promotes its consumption. Hemant who is also a notified member of the “National Steering Committee on Tobacco Control” formed by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said, “Apparently Facebook claims to have a policy of not advertising tobacco products through paid advertisement on its website; however this claim remains ineffective as it allows all brands and tobacco products to be promoted through member pages and groups. Not only this; contrary to the claims, Facebook allows promotion of smoking culture through advertisements. We have sent a copy of links of such examples which are considered an offence under the Indian law to M/s Facebook.”

In the notice, served to Facebook Inc. and Facebook Ireland Limited, faxed to its California office, Hemant has alleged that, “many pages on www.facebook.com promote various cigarette brands and the concept of smoking. All such pages are visible on all computers, and all terminals installed in India through which the site Facebook.com is accessed. Such pages are also advertised through Facebook and are displayed on the pages of facebook users.” The notice warns the owners and managers of Facebook of their legal liabilities and reads, “The advertisers M/s Facebook and owners of the company are also equally liable and responsible for any such advertisements.”

The Indian law on tobacco control, “Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003” provides for imprisonment up to five years for violating the provisions relating to prohibition of promotion or advertisement of tobacco products and brands.

“We are very serious in our pursuit to end this kind of promotion of tobacco brands and tobacco products on social networking site like Facebook. To achieve this we will do everything possible. Governments across the globe are spending billions to end tobacco and have joined hands by way of the international treaty called “Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)” to end the menace, but it is unfortunate that small opportunistic companies allow promotion of tobacco products for petty gains. Such companies need to punished and civil damages too should be claimed from them to offset any profits these people might be making.” Hemant Goswami emphasised.

(Original Press Release: India PRWire)

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Raj Charges Up The Scene

He enters the place where a grand stage is erected. As he put his foot on the ground towards the direction of the stage, whole atmosphere comes alive with the sound of crackers and bursting of fires in the sky. To top this lighting, a cumulative voice soars new height with each passing moment hailing the young leader. As he comes to the microphone, there is a pin drop silence. Next one hours, the crowd of at least over 50 thousands hears to the leader. He minces no words in deriding his opponents and steals the show by hitting a cord with each member of the crowd.

This is Raj Thackerey for you.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief has taken centrestage in the ensuing assembly elections in the state. He is the clear winner of this political game, at least for now, even before the assembly elections are over. Every party leader is on his backfoot while coping with the popularity of Raj. This has led them to go into denial mode. Surprisingly, each one expects that MNS will eat away share of other party?s votes. After affecting the election results in the parliamentary elections just six months ago, nobody is ready to undermine MNS as far as electioneering is concerned. His party is seen as a potential Shiv Sena in the making

It is ironic that foremost among Raj?s opponents turned out to be Shiv Sena of which he was a prominent leader just three years ago. After being sidelined in SS by his uncle and SS chief Balasaheb Thackerey, who favoured his own son over Raj, he chose to trade his own path. He formed MNS in May 2006 and chose Marathi pride as its main plank. This was the same agenda on which SS worked on for four decades. It did not afford to lose his issue. Adding fuel to fire, Uddhav, the heir apparent of SS did not have the charisma or following which Raj inherited from Balasaheb.

Just yesterday, there were three rallies in Pune: that of Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar and Raj Thackerey. Political analysts unanimously agreed that the most lively and most crowded of all these meeting was addressed by Raj. This when he held three successive rallies in the city on a single day. How many candidates of MNS can be elected is not that important. What is important is the relation he establishes with the youths-his core voters. No other leader in the state is able to charm the youths like Raj does. This is the reason why Ajit Pawar today said that NCP will not shy away a government with the help from MNS. Since he knows that the clout Raj enjoys is surely going to tore apart political equations, made by Congress-NCP as well as Sena-BJP.

(To be continued)

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A Bad Advice

It is too late too odd

Do Indian leaders have to follow every act by their American counterparts? Why I am asking this? Because latest missive from Salman Khurshid, minister of company affairs smacks of nothing less than following the US steps. It is in a way bizarre way to propagate the austerity drive, pursued by the Congress party, even when its fruitlessness has been pointed out by media.

Khurshid has directed that CEOs of big corporates should not take the salaries which might appear as shameless. His obvious reference might be Anil Ambani, who just last week emerged as the most earning person in India. The reason why Khurshid did not take Anil's name publicly perhaps was Anil has not taken any salary at all this year. It was his arrears from year 2007 which made him the highest salaries person in India. Taking into consideration Anil's connection with Samajwadi Party, bête noire of Congress in Uttar Pradesh, it is hardly surprising that Khurshid has targeted the CEOs.

Why his act appears misplaced is that situation in India and US are quite different. When Barack Obama appealed to bosses of big companies not to take high salaries, the US economy was really in bad shape. It still is. Relatively speaking, corporates in India made more noise about recession that the actual losses. Government of India announced two big packages for corporates which largely eased the state of affairs. Profit margin of companies never went so low as to initiate a damage control exercise. Luckily enough, during the onslaught of melt down, political scenario in the country was hotted up by general elections at central level. Those who are familiar with Indian election system, know very well how much it ignites the economy. In Maharashtra alone, it is estimated that at least Rs 500 Crores (50 million) changed hands during the elections.

The elections for state assembly are currently underway in Maharashtra. A policeman on election duty told me each corporator is asking for Rs 50 lakh to the candidates for campaigning. There are 288 constituencies in the state and more than 250 serious candidates. If each of them spends at least Rs one crore (10 million) there will be exchange of Rs 250 Crores. Isn't this sufficient to infuse running spirit in the economy which is already going fit, if not strong.

Therefore, the statement by Khurshid appears more through the 'loyal than king' syndrome. Without really taking course to austerity, he wants to become messiah of poor and labourers at the cost of corporate culture.

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