Tag: Maharashtra

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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)

 

Categories
Event

World Snooker Championships kick off in Mumbai today

The event was formally inaugurated by Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, will be held at Hotel Grand Hyatt today and tomorrow.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Lovers of snooker, rejoice! The Indian Open Snooker Championships, a World Ranking event, kick off in Mumbai today.

The event was formally inaugurated yesterday by State of Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, who also played the opening shot. The event is to be held over two days – March 10 and 11, 2015 – at Hotel Grand Hyatt. Over 50 national and international snooker players, including Indian great Pankaj Advani, will participate in the prestigious event.

Advani was also part of the inauguration team yesterday, which comprised of Jason Ferguson, Chairman, WPBSA, and Capt PVK Mohan, President, Billiards and Snooker Federation of India.

(Picture courtesy Raj Bhavan, Mumbai)

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)

Categories
Tech

Ganpati darshan, at the click of a button

Two Mumbaikars have launched a website that lets users develop free Ganpati pages, and look at prominent Ganpatis across Mumbai, Maharashtra.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

For years, Mumbaikars have loved Ganpati and the feeling of goodwill that the elephant God ushers in with his arrival. Moving from mandal to mandal to see Ganesh idols and the accompanying decorations is a favourite activity among Mumbai’s citizens.

But what if you had the chance of a darshan of not just the local idols but the Ganesh murtis in Mumbai and Maharashtra in just one sitting (literally)?

New city-based start-up Web Sizzlers has developed a first of its kind, innovative website www.liveganesh.com, that gives users the chance to have a ‘live darshan’ of the top most Ganpati mandals in the city, look up private murtis inside people’s homes, see the murti in their favourite celebrity’s home, and create their own mini website that gives all the information about their own Ganesh idol at a specially-created, free URL.

pratikKhushal Thakkar

 

Developed by founders Pratik Sejpal and Khushal Thakkar (left to right, in pic above), the site is live and ready for people to register on it and get all the Ganesh-related information they need in Mumbai and Maharashtra. Says Pratik, “When we were young, our parents would take us to local Ganpatis to see the idols and the decorations. But we always wondered what the idols in other areas looked like. Even now, there is a limit to how many mandals you can physically visit. And some Ganpatis can be seen only after you stand in line for 12 hours.”

“Khushal hit upon the idea for this site about a year ago, and we have been working on it since then. The basic idea is to connect people virtually and spiritually with Ganpati during this season.”

How does it work?

Users must first register on the site, and look out for an activation email. “We also generate a unique QR code per user. The added advantage of the QR code is that it can lead one directly to the page of the local mandal, for example, and one can virtually participate in a live aarti,” Khushal says.

He adds that owners of private, residential Ganesh murtis would especially love the features of the site. “Normally, people post daily updates about the murti on Facebook. But we are offering them a separate website, which will have all the details about their murti. They are free to upload as much information about the idol as they wish, with photos and videos. All they need to do is guide people to their website,” he explains.

Using the site, people can manage their Ganpati photos, videos, details such as idol height, type (eco-friendly or other), the decoration details, visarjan area, daily videos of aartis, organiser or member details, etc. “Besides, we offer a live darshan of the top Ganpatis in the city – imagine taking a darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja without standing in queue for a day – and a free registration and listing for mandals,” Pratik says. A bonus point for mandals to register is that for every such registration, the site will plant one tree in the city.

Additionally, the site will offer a look into celebrities’ homes during the Ganpati period. “People are always eager to see how celebrities are celebrating the festival, how their idol looks, what the decoration is like. All of these details and photographs will be available on the site,” Pratik says.

The duo has hired a marketing team to cull out details about mandals and celebrity Ganpatis in Mumbai and the State, and which are being constantly added to the site. “Currently, we are working as a team of four on this project. We are anticipating a good response and we hope many mandals and others make use of our site,” Pratik says.

Write to Pratik and Khushal at info@liveganesh.com for details.

 

(Pictures courtesy Web Sizzlers)

Categories
Event

Silent event for silence at Sanjay Gandhi National Park

SGNP officials, school children, conservationists and volunteers stage silent event at SGNP entrance to demand silence zone at the Park.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It is an idea that needs urgent replication all over the country. A group of over 350 persons, comprising volunteers, school children, journalists, conservationists, bird and animal enthusiasts and more importantly, officials of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), participated in a ‘silent’ event to demand that SGNP be declared a silence zone.

The group met at the SGNP gates at 7 am on Sunday, April 27, and stood silently with placards for passersby to see. The campaign was aimed at spreading awareness that all parks and sanctuaries are hallowed grounds that demand silent appreciation from those who visit their precincts.

“SGNP woke to birdsong in the company of 350 kids, volunteers and forest officials, all gathered to express their silent support for Mumbai’s incredible forest and its wild denizens,” said Valmi Shah Shirodkar of Sanctuary Asia. “The Sanjay Gandhi National Park is Mumbai’s lifeline – it provides us with clean drinking water and invaluable climate control services. It is home to more butterfly species than the whole of the UK as well as free-ranging leopards and countless other mammals and birds. Having the park declared a silent zone will go a long way in protecting the forest.”

The campaign is jointly initiated by Maharashtra Forest Department and Sanctuary Asia. “The forest staff was led by Vinay Gupta, Director SGNP, and there were a host of NGOs, conservationists and journalists. [This is] the first silent event of its kind in support of a national park in India, and we fully expect that this quiet and peaceful demonstration will become a trend across India in the days ahead,” Valmi said.

Young children, some dressed as flamingos and miscellaneous birds, plus a host of volunteers, stood silently at the entrance of SGNP, on both sides of the forest access road, holding up placards for thousands of walkers to see. Later, all participants agreed that the morning provided great relief and contrast against the din and cacophony that engulfs their lives on a daily basis in Mumbai.

Other participants included Conservation Action Trust (CAT), PAWS, Sprouts, Eco Folks, Vanashakti and Valmiki Eco School.

(Picture courtesy Siddharth Mane)

Categories
Big story

‘Blood on call’ to be operational from tomorrow

In case of an emergency, you can call a helpline and get blood delivered to your doorstep within the hour.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It is a novel attempt, and the country’s first, to have a ‘blood delivery’ service operational. Maharashtra will formally roll out its ambitious ‘Blood On Call’ or the ‘Jeevan Amrut Seva’ emergency blood supply service all over the State from tomorrow, January 7, 2014.

The Government has been testing the service for a year now – the pilot project was launched in Satara and later Sindhudurg, last year. Tomorrow, the State’s Health Department and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan will inaugurate the service for all of Maharashtra at the State-run JJ Hospital, Byculla. The inauguration will take place at 4 pm.

What’s the service about?

“Too often, people requiring blood of a certain group have to run from pillar to post to get it. If it’s an emergency, every minute counts. With the ‘Blood On Call’ service, people can simply dial the toll-free number, give the details of the blood group and the reason for requiring it, and the blood will be delivered within one hour,” explained State Health Minister Suresh Shetty. The blood will be priced “at pre-decided Government rates” and will be of “good quality”, the Minister assured. Users will need to dial 104 and the required numbers of packets will be delivered in sealed containers in an hour. The call centre for the service is currently based in Pune. However, coordinating centres in 10 major cities in the State will be fully operational in the next four months, Shetty said. For now, existing blood banks in the State are part of the network for this service.

When the coordinating agency sends its representative to the patient, a quick cross-match of blood type is done via a blood test. Once the blood type and specific requirement (for plasma, RBC, platelet or whole blood) is ascertained, the packets will be sold to the patient at a rate of Rs 450 per bag. Transport costs will also have to borne by the patient – Rs 50 for a distance of up to 10 km, and Rs 100 for up to 40 km.

The service will be operational in Mumbai and rest of Maharashtra from January 7, 2014.

(Picture courtesy zetco.pk)

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