B_O_M_B_A_Y
Bombay has no bombs and is a harbour not a bay.
Churchgate has neither a church nor a gate. It is a railway station.
There is no darkness in Andheri.
Lalbaag is neither red nor a garden.
No king ever stayed at Kings Circle..
Nor did Queen Victoria stay at Victoria Terminus..
Nor is there any princess at Princess Street ..
Lower Parel is at the same level as Parel
There are no marines or sailors at Marine Lines.
The Mahalaxmi temple is at Haji Ali not at Mahalaxmi.
There are no pigs traded at Dukar bazaar.
Teen bati is a junction of 3 roads, not three lamps.
Trams used to terminate at Kings circle not Dadar Tram Terminus (D.T.T.)
Breach Candy is not a sweetmeat market, but there is a Hospital.
Safed Pool has the dirtiest and blackest water.
You cannot buy coal at Kolsa street.
There are no Iron smiths at Lohar chawl.
There are no pot makers at Kumbhar wada.
Lokhandwala complex is not an Iron and steel market.
Null bazaar does not sell taps.
You will not find ladyfingers at Bheendi Bazaar.
Kalachowki does not have a black Police station.
Hanging Gardens are not suspended.
Mirchi Gully does not sell chillies.
Figs do not grow in Anjir Wadi.
Sitafals do not grow in Sitafal Wadi.
Jackfruits do not grow at Fanaswadi.
But it is true that you may get fleeced at Chor Bazaar!
AMCHI MUMBAI
A City where everything is possible, especially the impossible
Where telephone bills make a person ill,
Where a person cannot sleep without a pill.
Where carbon-dioxide is more than oxygen,
Where the road is considered to be a dustbin,
Where college canteens are full and classes empty
Where a cycle reaches faster than a car,
Where everyone thinks himself to be a star,
Where sky scrapers overlook the slum,
Where houses collapse as the monsoon comes.
Where people first act and then think,
Where there is more water in the pen than ink.
Where the roads see-saw in monsoon,
Where the beggars become rich soon.
Where the roads are leveled when the minister arrives.
Where college admission means hard cash,
Where cement is frequently mixed with ash.
This is Mumbai my dear, But don't fear, just cheer, come to Mumbai every year!
THINGS TO PROVE YOU'RE A BOMBAYITE
1. You say 'town ' and expect everyone to know that this means south of Churchgate.
2. You speak in a dialect of Hindi called 'Bambaiya Hindi', which only Bombayites can understand.
3. Your door has more than three locks.
4. Rs 500 worth of groceries fit in one paper bag.
5. Train timings ( 9.27 , 10.49 etc) are really important events of life.
6. You spend more time each month traveling than you spend at home.
7. You call an 8' x 10' clustered room a Hall.
8. You're paying Rs 10,000 for a 1 room flat, the size of a walk-in closet and you think it's a 'steal.'
9. You have the following sets of friend: school friends, college friends, neighborhood friends, office friends and yes, train friends, a species unique only in Bombay. (REALLY TRUE)
10. Cabbies and bus conductors think you are from Mars if you call the roads by their Indian name, they are more familiar with Warden Road, Peddar Road, Altamount Road.
11. Stock market quotes are the only other thing besides cricket which you follow passionately.
12. The first thing that you read in the Times of India is the 'Bombay Times' supplement.
13. You take fashion seriously. You're suspicious of strangers who are actually nice to you.
14. Hookers, beggars and the homeless are invisible.
15. You compare Bombay to New York's Manhattan instead of any other cities of India.
16. The most frequently used part of your car is the horn.
17. You insist on calling CST as VT, and Sahar and Santacruz airports instead of Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
18. You consider eye contact an act of overt aggression.
19. Your idea of personal space is no one actually standing on your toes.
20. Being truly alone makes you nervous.
21. You love wading through knee deep mucky water in the monsoons, and
actually call it ''romantic'.
22. Only in Bombay, you would get Chinese Dosa and Jain Chicken
Salaam Bombay...
Monday, March 8, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Mumbai Election Watch
Mumbai Election Watch
AGNI, Association for Democratic Reform, Bombay Catholic Sabha, Citispace, Dignity Foundation, NAGAR, Public Concern for Government Trust
WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE
1. MLAs make laws
2. MLAs influence policy
3. MLAs can ask questions and obtain clarifications in the Assembly on behalf of their constituents
4. MLAs have access to discretionary funds to use in their constituency
5. The allocation of funds is Rs.1 crore per annum for 5 years the tenure of the MLAs
6. Given below is a broad outline of some of the areas where the discretionary funds can be used. Some projects may not be relevant for our constituency and some may appear ambiguous as they have been translated from Marathi ! Amounts given are only indicative.
| 1 | Community Hall | Rs 10 lacs |
| 2. | Library, including external structure, furniture and fixtures, provided 10& of the fund are directly invested in books | Rs 10 lacs |
| 3. | Road Improvement, including Foot Bridges, Stone Pavements and Drainage | Rs 10 lacs |
| 4. | Banks/sides of Nalla, Kolhapure style | Rs 15 lacs |
| 5. | Water Supply | Rs 10 lacs |
| 6. | Educations – Schools for Scheduled Caste | Rs 10 lacs |
|
| Schools for Tribal Areas | Rs 10 lacs |
| 7. | Gym/Health | Rs 10 lacs |
| 8. | Cremation Ground | Rs 10 lacs |
| 9. | Four Cross-road | Rs 10 lacs |
| 10. | Flood. Disaster Rehab | Rs 15 lacs |
| 11. | District Office | Rs 5 lacs |
| 12. | Beautification of Open Spaces, Waterfronts, Ponds, Rivers, Forts, Pavements, Bus Terminus, Tree Guards etc. | Rs 10 lacs |
| 13. | Compound Walls | Rs 10 lacs |
| 14. | Cleanliness & Toilets | Rs 10 lacs |
| 15. | Public Utilities in declared slums | Rs 10 lacs |
IMPORTANT
1. The elected MLA will have to deliver on specific projects over 5 years.
2. This is their duty.
3. There is money for it.
4. The citizens responsibility must be to give the elected MLA our wish list.
5. It is wrong to ask after 5 years of silence what the MLA has done for us.
Suggestion: With this information MEW 187 can draft a wish-list for our constituency by a method of consensus. Perhaps, to start with, all Resident Associations could make up their individual wish-lists, which could then be collated, sent around, and finalized at a joint meeting, where a final consolidated list of demands could be drawn up. Other suggestions on haw to go about this would be very welcome.
Of course, all this would be effective only if we, the constituents, engage with the MLA and demand from them what we need in a continuous and sustained manner.
On behalf of MEW 187
Nayana Kathpalia Neeraj Punj Gul Asrani
187
Mumbai Election Watch
AGNI, Association for Democratic Reform, Bombay Catholic Sabha, Citispace, Dignity Foundation, NAGAR, Public Concern for Government Trust
Mumbai Citizens Charter
MAHARASHTRA ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS 2009
The Maharashtra Assembly Elections are set for October 13, 2009. Vital problems and needs of Citizens come under the purview of the State Assembly. The following Charter emerges from consultation with Citizens, we demand:
1. Better quality of life !
Bijlee: Uninterrupted electricity at affordable prices
Paani: Adequate supply of safe, potable water on a reliable, regular basis
Sadak: Discourage private vehicles, encourage public transport, Smooth traffic, Walkways. Quick Implementation of projects (e.g. flyovers, Metro etc.)
Makaan: Implement plans to build 11 lakh low cost housing units,. Those benefited must bear a reasonable part of the costs, security of tenure. Access to credit form organized financial sector. Social amenities and infrastructure. Rental housing , not just ownership
Protect Open spaces: save them from “caretakers” and vested interests
Take Effective steps: against hoarders to check prices and ensure better public distribution systems for all essential commodities.
2. Rule of Law, Better policing !
Ensure strict impartial enforcement of law and speedy justice
Oppose politics: that divide people on religion, caste, region, language basis
Adopt recommendations of Police Commissions: save the Police from political control –investigation and prosecuting machinery must be free from control / interference
3. Citizen Consultation and Participation !
Enforce Citizen Charter and ensure accountability: on promised services
No arbitrary changes by government: in development control regulations and
Development Plans without prior consultation with citizens
Set up a calendar: for consultation with citizens in the constituency
Consult with them: on how MLA discretionary funds shall be spent
Pass the Nagar Raj Bill: in harmony with the letter and spirit of the Model Bill circulated by Government e.g. Area Sabhas (AS) for 4/5 polling booth areas, obligatory consultation with them, election of AS representatives etc
Pass the public Disclosure law: Citizens must be well informed on issues of their interest. Enforce compliance with Section 4 of the RTI Act 2005. (Suo motu, Proactive disclosure by government departments)
Friday, September 11, 2009
On issues surrounding the Great Shivaji and others on terror.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
17 students were diagnosed with H1N1 and went on to get well!
Mumbai Mirror
On the day Mumbai recorded its second swine-flu related death, a few cool lessons from this school where 17 students were diagnosed with the infection and went on to get well. Seventeen boarding students have survived swine flu at St Peter’s School, Panchgani, and only because school authorities were quick to react when they started showing symptoms like persistent fever, cough and cold. When the boys didn’t get well after being treated by school doctors at the campus hospital, they called in senior doctors who took the students’ throat swabs. Two days later, they confirmed that 17 out of 32 affected students had tested positive for swine flu. The school immediately put the 17 students in two quarantine rooms. Suspected swine flu cases were kept in another room. Tamiflu tablets for five days and a two-week quarantine were enough to put the boys back on their feet, along with a good dose of ‘tender loving care’ from school principal Nitin Salvi, whose son was among those quarantined. - click here
Well done St. Peters!
Dr. Swati Piramal had cautioned the Maharashtra C.M. at CII, in the beginning of May that Maharashtra was at Bio Security Level 2 (inadequate). She had called for a core committee to be set up to focus on policy development; & the up-gradation of labs, provision of auto analyzers, development of vaccines, provision of anti-virals and distribution. Its been 3 months now. Have we moved forward satisfactorily?
On the day Mumbai recorded its second swine-flu related death, a few cool lessons from this school where 17 students were diagnosed with the infection and went on to get well. Seventeen boarding students have survived swine flu at St Peter’s School, Panchgani, and only because school authorities were quick to react when they started showing symptoms like persistent fever, cough and cold. When the boys didn’t get well after being treated by school doctors at the campus hospital, they called in senior doctors who took the students’ throat swabs. Two days later, they confirmed that 17 out of 32 affected students had tested positive for swine flu. The school immediately put the 17 students in two quarantine rooms. Suspected swine flu cases were kept in another room. Tamiflu tablets for five days and a two-week quarantine were enough to put the boys back on their feet, along with a good dose of ‘tender loving care’ from school principal Nitin Salvi, whose son was among those quarantined. - click here
Well done St. Peters!
Dr. Swati Piramal had cautioned the Maharashtra C.M. at CII, in the beginning of May that Maharashtra was at Bio Security Level 2 (inadequate). She had called for a core committee to be set up to focus on policy development; & the up-gradation of labs, provision of auto analyzers, development of vaccines, provision of anti-virals and distribution. Its been 3 months now. Have we moved forward satisfactorily?
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