Category: Kharcha paani

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Kharcha paani

Shops now want to remain open 24/7

After the Maharashtra Government recently allowed small shops to remain open on all days, traders now want shop timings relaxed.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Last week, the Maharashtra State Government decided to allow medium and small shops to remain open on all days of the year, earning a rousing cheer from traders all across the State. Now, shops are aiming to remain open for 24 hours, if not all year, then at least during the festive seasons.

In a letter addressed to Prakash Mehta, Minister of Labour, Government of Maharashtra, the Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA) has requested the State to allow shops to remain for all 24 hours; failing the granting of this request, the FRTWA has asked for a relaxation of shop timings at least during festive days. In the letter, which has been signed by Viren Shah, President, FRTWA, traders across the State have called for shops to remain open up to 00.30 am for 10 days during Diwali, Christmas and Eid every year, apart from other festival days “which can be mutually discussed and decided.” Writes Shah, “We would also request that shops remain open for 24 hours on the day of Eid, when the moon is seen. Also, AHAR (Association of Hotels And Restaurants) would be happy if restaurants were kept open 24×7.”

Says Shah, “We have made this request so that business and employment will receive a boost in Maharashtra. Already, 35 lakh small and medium shops across Maharashtra are affected by the Government’s decision to allow shops to remain all days of the week, 365 days of the year.” He adds, “We are hoping that the Minister (Mehta) will invite us for a meeting to discuss our request further.”

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

 

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Mumbai needs more dialysis machines

Several kidney patients in Mumbai report renal failure that requires dialysis, and their numbers are going up – requiring more dialysis machines.
by Dr Jyotsna Zope | Senior Consultant Nephrologist, Mukta Kidney Dialysis Centre

Mumbai is witnessing a long list of kidney patients waiting for treatment. With the rise in renal failure cases, the number of patients requiring dialysis has increased by many folds in hospitals across the city. As a result, despite many having multiple dialysis machines, the patients are forced to wait, said Neprologists.

Dialysis is an important component to treat the patient in case of End Stage Kidney Failure (ESRD). The kidneys help in maintaining the body’s cleanliness on the inside. Dialysis is suggested when the kidney fails to do its job. It is an artificial means to clean our blood and in turn our body. ESRD is a last stage of kidney failure. After this stage, if a person wants to clean the body, dialysis or transplant is often recommended. In India, dialysis is offered at an affordable cost, thereby trying to meet the requirements of people suffering from ESRD.

The Haemodialysis Units are, till date, mainly located in major cities. Mumbai and its surrounding areas are catering to the huge demand with almost 210 centers of various sizes from one or two dialysis stations to 25 dialysis stations. Some of the dialysis units are part of the hospitals while others are just stand-alone units catering to the maintenance dialysis Patients. These entire units together have almost 2,000 haemodialysis machines working full-time. They are taking care of approximately 22,000 ESRD patients.

Doctors attribute this surge in cases of renal failure mainly to an increase in diabetes and hypertension.Figures show that almost 30 per cent of diabetic patients develop diabetic kidney disease. And with an exponential increase in the number of diabetics in India, the number of patients suffering from diabetic kidney disease is set to rise high. According to the International Diabetes Federation, one in 10,000 of the world’s population will have diabetes by 2035. Estimates show that people living with diabetes will surge from 382 million to 592 million by 2035.

There is not just the need for haemodialysis machines, but there is also the need to maintain the quality of dialysis, which is equally important as there are higher chances of catching infection from various sources. The leaders in this field are very eager to give quality care to all their patients, but they face mountainous difficulties. They find it difficult to maintain the quality standards, amounting to paucity of funds. There is a lot that needs to be done to give long fruitful life to our dialysis patients. People need to understand that prevention is better than cure, so get yourself properly screened for lifestyle diseases, including diabetes and hypertension to prevent kidney failure in the later stage.

(Pictures courtesy www.ghrc-abu.com. Image used for representational purpose only) 

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Mumbai is counting its trees

IT based census of trees recently included Governor’s residence, Raj Bhavan, Mumbai, which has about 3,000 trees of Mumbai’s 19 lakh trees.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is currently on a tree-counting spree all over Mumbai. Recently, the exercise was carried out at the Governor’s official residence in Mumbai, the Raj Bhavan.

The IT-based census of trees in the Raj Bhavan took place on Friday; it turns out Raj Bhavan has 3,000 trees. Additional Municipal Commissioner SVR Srinivas (in pic above) is in charge of the project.

The Tree Census has been undertaken by the BMC for the first time, carrying out the exercise using IT. The process involves GPS-based tracking and GIS mapping of trees. The earlier census was conducted in 2008, but manually. Then, the tree count in Mumbai was 19 lakh.

According to the information provided by the BMC, the tree census using GIS and GPS-based paperless exercise involves physical survey and recording of individual trees in the defined area with relevant details such as spatial location, botanical name, common name, girth, height, canopy diameter, canopy type, condition (healthy, average, poor), family/genus, phenology, economic importance (medicinal, ornamental, fruiting), flowering season, colour of flower, carbon sequestration potential, etc are collected.

The exercise is scheduled to conclude in a couple of months. As per figures from the 2008 tree census, Bhandup has the most number of trees in Mumbai (1.59 lakh), with Andheri East coming in second (1.56 lakh trees) and Borivali coming in third (1.44 lakh trees). Chandanwadi has the lowest green cover, at just 3,919 trees.

(Picture courtesy indianexpress.com. Image used for representational purpose only and shows BMC Additional Municipal Commissioner SVR Srinivas undertaking a tree census in Mumbai)

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Attend: Fashion Dialogues with Sonali Dalwani

Learn all there is to learn about accessories and their place in fashion from renowned accessories designer Sonali Dalwani, tomorrow.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Students of fashion in Mumbai, pay attention.

Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion is hosting its 2nd edition of ‘Fashion Dialogues Series’ with Sonali Dalwani, the owner of Crimzon Accessories, tomorrow at Film City. The ‘Fashion Dialogues Series’ is a platform for those who are looking to get their creative ideas into action. Accessories play an important part in completing the look of an outfit and through this workshop, Sonali will give tips to budding designers on how to make attractive accessories.

Sonali curates the customary Indian craftsmanship market at Crimzon Accessories. Her collected works include bags, belts and shoes designed from excellent silks, faux leather and with natural fibers. She works with worldwide trademarks and design accommodations of USA and Europe, like Ponz, Quintana, Valentino, Channel, Charles Jordan, Karl Lagerfeld, Mary McFadden, and Ungaro.

This session of ‘Fashion Dialogues’ will be an interactive session where Sonali will share her views and give tips to the fashion aspirants on accessory designing as a career. “An accessory could be anything to everything that people wear in addition to the garment. The focus of the masterclass will be on talk points like how to start your own accessory brand, importance of styling and accessorising and understanding the expressive power of accessorising,” says Sonali, adding that she would also focus on different materials of bags, shoes and belts, which add a different dimension to one’s look.

Whether you’re a fashion design student or a fashion enthusiast, this will be the perfect opportunity for you to develop your skills.

Head to Whistling Woods International, Film City Complex, Goregaon (E), February 21, 2015 from 11 am to 2 pm, Entry is open to all.

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Western Railway stops rodent control operation at last minute

The operation aimed at killing at least 10,000 rats at Mumbai Central station; WR stopped the operation at the last minute.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Here’s an interesting turn of events – today, a pest control company was to conduct a free rodent control operation at Mumbai Central station, after the Western Railway (WR) approved of the drive. However, just before the drive could commence, WR officials reportedly shut it down without assigning a reason.

Said Dr Sanjay Karamkar, owner of Laxmi Fumigation and Pest Control Ltd. “As a part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, our company initiated the process of rodent control at Mumbai Central station at platform 1 to 5 yesterday, February 9, 2015. Considering the menace of rodents at railway stations and their increasing population, this initiative was a boon.We had pledged to catch about 10,000 rodents at the railway station. It was at the commencement of the drive that Western Railway Administration got cold feet about the publicity and the apparent defamation that it would face, considering the huge number of rodents at the station. They then compelled us to abort the process.”

In 2014, the same company had successfully caught 8,000 mice in a hospital in Indore. Dr Karamkar says he had all the requisite permissions from WR for the drive, which was a free pest control operation. “The Railway administration had agreed and granted us the permission, but on the day of the operation when 15 of our representatives were about to begin their operation, they were stopped by the railway authorities and were asked to leave the premises without any explanation,” he claimed.

Dr Karamkar added that despite questioning the authorities, he was asked not to continue with the drive and no explanation was given for the revocation of permission. He also alleged that WR was probably afraid of bad publicity after the drive. On his part, he has issued a written complaint to the Union Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu, against Western Railway administration, by email.

(Picture courtesy moreindia.in)

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Municipal schools seeing more dropouts every year

A Praja Foundation White Paper projects a 63.6 per cent retention rate for year 2015-2016, lower than last year’s 70.6 per cent.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It is by now a known reality in Mumbai that most parents are unwilling to send their children to the city’s municipal schools. A recent study by Praja Foundation has revealed that parents are worried about the quality of education provided in the city’s municipal schools, and are hence, unwilling to send their children to these schools.

The Foundation’s White Paper on the state of Municipal schools in Mumbai paints a dismal picture: “In the last five years (2009-10 and 2013-14), 51,649 children have dropped out of the municipal school system, and in the corresponding five years the Municipal budget allocation to the Education Department has more than doubled from Rs 1,255 crore to Rs 2,534 crore. In 2009-10, 10,67,477 children enrolled in Class I in municipal schools, whereas in 2013-14, this dropped to 39,663,” the Report states.

“Infrastructure-wise, BMC schools are 100 per cent compliant. However, when we compare the performance of children studying in BMC schools with those studying in other schools, (Private unaided, private aided and unrecognised), there is a huge difference. In 2013-14, students from municipal schools had a passout rate of 67 per cent compared to 83 per cent for students from other schools in Class X (SSC),” the Report adds, stating further that the highest numbers of dropouts in 2013-14 were in the Hindi medium (17 per cent) and Urdu medium (13.1 per cent).

Praja has also suggested an action plan to tackle the problem:

– More transparency and accountability in the Education Department.

– Empower and strengthen school management committees (SMCs) to improve accountability at the school level.

– Focus on teacher trainings, SMC trainings and capacity building; free teachers from unnecessary administrative duties.

– Rigorous filling out of Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) reports and inspection reports. Link reports with performance appraisal of respective teachers.

Read the entire White Paper here.

(Image used for representational purpose only)

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