Category: Trends

Categories
Trends

Maharashtra’s done well for its people: UNICEF

However, as per the State of the World’s Children Report, State needs to redouble efforts to prevent crimes against women.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

This year happens to be the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of Child.  The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations’ General Assembly on November 20, 1989 and came into force on September 2, 1990. As per the UNICEF’s report ‘State of the World’s Children’ released in Mumbai last week, Maharashtra State has done well on the fronts of the handwash campaign for school children, as also reaching its Millenium Development Goals (MDG) for Under-5 years mortality and Maternal Mortality Rate.

The report was launched by the State Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai. On the occasion, the Governor called upon UNICEF, Maharashtra to reach out to the State’s poor children through its various programmes and to serve as a bridge between the Government of Maharashtra and the people.

Expressing concern over the killing of girl child and the practice of sex-determination, the Governor called for counselling of doctors who were conducting sex-determination tests. Complimenting the UNICEF Maharashtra for making significant gains in Health, Nutrition, Education and Child Protection in Maharashtra, the Governor lauded its efforts in implementing the handwash campaign for school children in rural areas of Maharashtra. The Governor called for making the campaign broad-based by including students who are outside the school system.

Said Rajeshwari Chandrashekhar, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Maharashtra, “Maharashtra reached the MDG for Maternal Mortality Rate in 2010 (87) which is lower than the national average of 178. Further, Maharashtra has reached the MDG for Under-5 Mortality in 2009 (28), which is lower than national average (52).”

Some of the highlights of the UNICEF State of the World’s Children Report for Maharashtra:

  • State reached MDG for drinking water in 2003.
  • 30 per cent of open defecation-free villages in India are in Maharashtra
  • Increase in literacy rate from 77 per cent to 83 per cent between 2001 and 2011: rate higher than the national average
  • Performance of students in both language and Math significantly above the national average
  • Three-fold jump in the number of RTE compliant schools (from 7,355 schools in 2013 to 23,148 in 2013)
  • Child marriage decline from 31 per cent to 12 per cent (from 1998 to 2013)

 (Picture courtesy Raj Bhavan, Mumbai and www.unicef.org)

Categories
Trends

‘Free housing’ will not benefit Mumbai: Study

Praja Foundation’s White Paper on Mumbai’s housing situation reveals a multitude of slums, homeless people and a complete lack of planning.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

In the recently held Assembly elections in Maharashtra, all the political parties acknowledged that one of the main problems that Mumbai faces is ‘Housing’. Governments in the past, including the current Government, have all come to power promising the citizens of Mumbai solutions to this problem.

The Special Township Policy, Cluster Redevelopment and Slum Rehabilitation Scheme, among others, are all projects which the Government has put forward; but unfortunately, these have not delivered much for the citizens of Mumbai – 52 lakh Mumbaikars still stay in slums!

Releasing its first White Paper on ‘Status of Affordable Housing in Mumbai’, Nitai Mehta, Managing Trustee, Praja Foundation said, “Praja through its ‘Praja Dialogue’ project has been engaging the citizens, the elected representatives and the Government on issues that concern the citizens of Mumbai. Education, health, crime, civic issues and working of the elected representatives are the topics on which we engage with them. This year we are adding ‘Affordable Housing’ to this list.”

Affordable housing is one of the most important issues faced by Mumbai and Mumbaikars, and it is also the most complex and challenging problem of this city.

What the study finds

As per the Praja White Paper:

– 11.36 lakh households stay in slums in Mumbai, out of a total of 28 lakh households

– 15,274 homeless households

– 57 per cent households live in one room

– 8 per cent households do not even have one room, but share a room with others

– Only 203,624 units of public housing were created between the year 1995-2014

– Average cost of a 269 sq. ft. house (at minimum ready reckoner rate) is 12 times the median annual income of Mumbaikars, whereas the norm is that it should be less than four times the annual income.

Milind Mhaske, Project Director, Praja Foundation added, “The political-social-industry discourse to solve the problem of housing revolves around two extremes: one, provide free or hugely subsidised houses and second, increase FSI (Floor Space Index) thus increasing supply and rationalising costs. Since 1995 about 203,624 lakh affordable houses have been added to the stock, whereas we need atleast 11.57 lakhs houses as of today. This estimate does not even take into account the future requirements. Clearly, ‘free’ housing schemes are not providing the remedy.”

Explaining why increasing FSI (Floor Space Index), i.e. building more dwellings on the existing land is a very flawed and lop-sided solution, well known town planner and one of the earliest proponents of ‘Navi Mumbai’, Shirish Patel says, “Proponents of higher FSI in Mumbai are not taking into account aspects of density, crowding and its impact on quality of life. Increasing FSI and building more dwellings translates into need for more amenities such as road space, open spaces, educational institutions, health care facilities, work spaces and so on; and this calls for more land. Thus, if more land is provided you end up again diluting the FSI or if not provided, then you end up cramping more people in the same space without any concern for infrastructure and amenities.”

(Pictures courtesy Praja Foundation and upload.wikimedia.org)

Categories
Trends

Mumbai walks more than Delhi

Mumbaikars reveal feelings of calmness, better self esteem and improved physical and emotional health due to walking, says a survey.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Walking regularly helps people restore their work life balance, makes them calmer, happier and more positive towards life, reveals Max Bupa Walk for Health Survey 2014, a first of its kind study of nearly 1000 walkers in Delhi and Mumbai.

According to the survey, 83 per cent walkers in Delhi and Mumbai experience positive lifestyle changes post walking. 43 per cent walkers in Mumbai and 47 per cent walkers in Delhi feel they have become calmer after taking up walking, while 26 per cent in Mumbai say that their work life balance has improved post walking, as they have started leaving office on time,to walk.

WalkingThe survey reveals that more Mumbaikars also feel that their sleeping habits have improved as a result of walking, and many have experienced an improvement in their self-esteem and confidence. Interestingly, 70 per cent patients suffering from serious heart, respiratory, obesity and bone or joint-related ailments also experienced improvement in their physical, mental and emotional health after walking.

The Max Bupa Walk for Health initiative aims to encourage people to integrate walking into their daily schedule. Buoyed by the participation of more than 40,000 people in the two editions of Max Bupa Walk for Health 2012 and 2013, the third edition of Max Bupa Walk for Health is scheduled for November 9 this year in Delhi and Mumbai.

A significant number of regular walkers say that that they have started avoiding junk food (60 per cent), started waking up early (51 per cent) and have become more inclined towards a healthier lifestyle than before. 1 out of every 3 regular walkers in Mumbai prefer walking over driving short distances. The incidence of walking instead of driving shorterdistancesis also high among cardio (47 per cent) and obese patients (35 per cent).53 per cent patients who walk regularly experienced decrease in stress and 41 per cent said it helped improve their blood pressure levels. Weight loss is also one of the positive after-effects of walking, visible within six months in most patients. On an average, patients reported losing more than four kg through regular walking. Cardio and obesity patients reported an average weight loss of six kg and five kg respectively.

Manasije Mishra, Chief Executive Officer, Max Bupa said, “The findings of the survey reinforce the numerous physical and psychological benefits of walking, including better health, positive lifestyle changes, improvement in eating and sleeping patterns, among many others. It has emerged from the survey that walking is a super pill, prescribed by 96 per cent doctors to people across age groups, including patients suffering from chronic ailments like heart diseases, obesity and asthma.”

Pointing at city wise walking trends, the survey revealed that while Delhi walks more on weekends, Mumbai walks the same distance on weekdays and weekends. However, Mumbai walks longer (45 minutes) than Delhi (34 minutes) at one go.

“The survey shows that companionship makes walking more enjoyable and presence of a companion is a motivator for people across age groups to walk regularly. Over 50 per cent people in Mumbai prefer to walk with their families,”added Anika Agarwal, Head-Marketing, MaxBupa.

Interestingly, the survey also revealed how technology motivates different age groupsand genders to walk more. People in the older age group are more disciplined and focused while walking, however those in the middle and younger age groups like to multitask, engage on social networking sites or apps while walking. Respondents said they listen to music, check emails or talk on the phone as they walk.

(Pictures courtesy arunshanbhag.com, caveviews.blogs.com. Images used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Trends

More Mumbaikars think sitting MLAs were corrupt

Praja Foundation’s survey based on the October 15 State Assembly polls reveals people’s perceptions about incumbent MLAs and their parties.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The Assembly 2014 verdict for Maharashtra is already out, with the BJP securing the most numbers of seats in 2014’s second consecutive election in Maharashtra (after the Lok Sabha polls). Numerous exit polls had already predicted this result, with such factors as anti-incumbency and a purported ‘Modi wave’ doing the rounds.

However, the Praja Foundation and Hansa Research has just revealed a survey which shows why Mumbaikars could have voted the way they did. It turns out that as per data mapped over the years 2011 to 2014, there is a 17 per cent increase in Mumbaikars rating their sitting MLA as ‘corrupt’. This could be fuelled by the MLAs’ performance, or the lack of it, in such areas as crime, health, education, and civic issues.

As regards health, some Assembly constituencies like Borivali, Magathane, Dahisar and Vikhroli have performed consistently poorly in areas of control, prevention and deaths related to malaria, diarrhoea, tuberculosis and dengue. These constituencies, apart from Chembur and Colaba, also feature under the ‘Crime’ category, having done poorly in the areas of murder, crimes against women, chain snatching and rioting.

Mumbaikars have also logged in more complaints on civic issues every year since 2011, with there being a 13 per cent increase in the numbers of people saying their quality of life has decreased in Mumbai.

These are the worst performing Assembly constituencies across all categories, as per the survey:

(Picture courtesy indianexpress.com)

Categories
Trends

Malls staying open longer this season

Malls are cashing in on consumers’ festive spends by staying open longer than usual; many other experiences are on offer.

by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

This Diwali, you can go shopping at midnight. Really. You don’t have to wait for your weekend break to go shopping and wait endless hours in long lines at the payment counter, either. After work, just head to the nearest big shopping mall.

Malls in the city have revised their closing time to suit the increased footfall and busy lifestyles of Mumbaikars, with most major stores remaining open till midnight to suit shoppers. High Street Phoenix was the first off the block, with timings being revised from October 1, 2014. The mall added many new brands before the month began, and has thrown in midnight musical performances for shoppers as well. The mall remains open till 11 pm on weekends and 10 pm on weekdays.

Said Rajendra Kalkar, Senior Centre Director, The Phoenix Mills Limited,”We are enthused about extending our timings for new initiatives which are customised to the comfort and convenience of our patrons. We witness many shoppers who find it difficult to manage their leisure time post work due to accessibility at odd hours. This campaign intends to be a boon to such work-life balance.”

Other malls, too, like the Inorbit Mall in Malad and Vashi, have reportedly extended their timings to suit shoppers this season. Veera Mukherjee, a housewife based in Kandivali said, “I hope malls always remain open till late hours, because there are huge crowds in the evening hours of 6 pm to 8 pm. Shopping becomes easier once the crowds beginning to taper. If possible, they should also open for business earlier so that people can shop on their way to work.”

Another shopper, Akhil Morarka, said, “I need to buy gifts for my family back home in Bangalore. It is great news if malls remain open beyond 10 pm so that people like me can go shopping after work. Otherwise I have to do some last-minute shopping over the weekend.”

(Image courtesy mumbai77.com. Picture used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Trends

17,665 dispute-free villages in Maharashtra?

Over 17,000 villages in Maharashtra are reportedly free of petty and major disputes, due to a Government scheme launched in 2007.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Is it possible, in today’s hectic times, for any place to be totally dispute-free? If findings from the State Government are to be believed, as many as 17, 665 villages in Maharashtra are completely dispute-free?

A press release from the Chief Minister’s office last week gave the findings of the Government’s Mahatma Gandhi Tantamukh Gaon Mohim (Mahatma Gandhi Dispute Free Village Scheme) launched in year 2007. CM Prithviraj Chavan said, “Maharashtra is one of the largest states in the country with a huge cosmopolitan population spread across both rural and urban centers. With such dynamics, being able to make almost 17,665 villages completely dispute-free is a proud achievement for the State. Our innovative approach has been recognised on the international platform too as a model project by the United Nations. We believe the Scheme will continue to act as a catalyst for the welfare of villagers by engaging citizens to bring prosperity through peace.”

As per the Scheme, 1,741 villages became dispute-free in 2012-2013. Now, 47 villages are set to receive the Special Peace Award. 10 out of the 47 villages are from Buldhana district, followed by Sholapur (8), Kolhapur (7), Chandrapur (7), Yavatmanl (1), Nagpur Rural (1), Parbhani (1), Ahmednagar (3), Satara (2), Jalna (1), and Osmanabad (2).

The Scheme was launched with the aim of resolving minor conflicts, land related problems, cattle grazing, cremation grounds, etc. that normally snowballed into bigger communal and anti-social issues in the State’s villages. Under this scheme, villagers come together, collect data and amicably settle the thousands of pending cases in their village. The idea of this novel experiment was to decrease the number of pending cases in the judiciaries and so it is conducted without any help of lawyers and judges but by the police officials, police jawans and the active participation of residents.

Since its inception, says the Government:

• Record 17,665 villages dispute free in Maharashtra

• Complaints Resolved – 11,00,000

• Gram Panchayats felicitated (cash prize) – 16,004

• Gram Panchayats awarded (special prize) – 1,223

(Pictures courtesy www.panchayat.gov.in)

Exit mobile version