RNI No. MAHEN/2007/21778 POSTAL REGN. NO. NMB/154/2017-19/VASHI MDG POST OFFICE The Dynamic Daily Newspaper of PAGES 12 • PRICE ` 1 Navi Mumbai VOL. 13 • ISSUE 93 August 2019 SUNDAY 18 Cont. on pg. 3 Cont. on pg. 2 By Abhitash D. Singh NAVI MUMBAI: 68 pro- posals worth Rs. 100 crores will be tabled in the general body meet- ing of the Navi Mum- bai Municipal Corpora- tion (NMMC) on 20th August, 2019. The overall developmental work is expected to be completed within six months, it is learnt. However, there can be a delay due to the up- coming Vidhansabha election in Maharash- tra and also Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) election in 2020 and the imposition of moral code of conduct during the elections. According the NMMC Public Rela- tionship Officer Mahen- dra Konde, “In the up- 68 proposals to be tabled at NMMC general body meeting The developmental work will take 6 months’ time coming general body meeting which will be held on Tuesday, 20th August, 2019, around 68 proposals worth Rs.100 crore will come up for discussion. Most of the proposal pertain to developmen- tal work like concreti- zation, road repair work, construction of drainage channels, cov- ering of manholes, re- pairing potholes, devel- opment of tree belt, beautification of ponds etc. Many developmen- tal works were initiat- ed during the tenure of former NMMC Com- missioner Dr. N. Ra- maswami and many corporators and also leaders did a regular follow-up with him to get their work done. He also took several other initiatives for the devel- opment of the satellite city. Now the new Com- missioner Annasaheb Misal is having a look at all the work which was initiated by his pre- decessor and he is also keen on developing the education, health and the transportation facil- ities along with other developmental works.” One of the NMMC contractors on the con- dition of anonymity said, “It takes more than six months to ini- tiate any developmental work after the tender- ing process. Moral code of conduct will be im- posed in the month of By Abhitash D.Singh NAVI MUMBAI: The City and Industrial De- velopment Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd (CI- DCO) on the Indepen- dence Day, 15th Au- gust, 2019 got four ad- vanced fire technology for its Fire department. The fire engines were inaugurated by CIDCO Vice President and Managing Director Lokesh Chandra in the presence of Assistant MD Prashant Nar- navre, Ashok Shrin- gare and Chief Vigi- lance Officer Nisar Tamboli and the offi- cials of CIDCO. Speaking with Newsband CIDCO Pub- lic Relationship Officer CIDCO Fire department gets more advanced technology Four fire engines added in the city planning authority’s fire department Priya Ratambe said, “The four advanced fire engines will make the CIDCO fire department more equipped and ad- vanced to combat fire and the work of fire of- ficials will become more effective.” Apart from four fire engines, the fire offi- cials of the CIDCO’s fire Posing as actor Salman Khan a man cheats woman of Rs 38,000 By Crime Reporter NAVI MUMBAI: Keen to launch her minor daughter in movies, a woman from Ghansoli was duped of Rs 38,000 by a conman who posed himself as renowned Bollywood actor Salman Khan. In her complaint registered with the police the victim said that she got in touch with a person who had put the picture of actor Salman Khan as his profile picture. The victim first sent a ‘Hi’ message for which she got a reply of ‘Good Morning’ from him. Thinking the person to be the actor himself who is re- sponding to her messages, she regu- larly started chatting with him. During one chat session she shared her daughter’s profile and a TikTok video of hers. The man told her that the child needed an artiste card and gave the number of one of his friends, whom he referred to as his manager. The alleged manager called the victim on August 6 and intro- duced himself as Amar Bhatola and asked her to send the child’s Aadhar card, passport size photo, birth certificate, school identity card through WhatsApp. Accordingly, the woman sent photos and all the docu- ments. Next day, Amar Bhatola told the woman that it was important to make the child’s passport for which he demand- ed money to be sent to his account, the details of which he shared with her. The victim first sent Rs 12,000 and then Rs 10,000. Bhatola later demanded Rs 16,000 more. However as the woman didn’t send the money Bhatola later called the woman and stated that the child’s artist card and passport have got cancelled as the woman failed to pay the money on time. He then asked her to share bank details so he could return back the money. She shared Cont. on pg. 3
Transcript
RNI No. MAHEN/2007/21778 POSTAL REGN. NO. NMB/154/2017-19/VASHI MDG POST OFFICE
The Dynamic Daily Newspaper of
PAGES 12 • PRICE ` 1
Navi Mumbai
VOL. 13 • ISSUE 93August
2019SUNDAY
18
Cont. on pg. 3Cont. on pg. 2
By Abhitash D. Singh
NAVI MUMBAI: 68 pro-posals worth Rs. 100crores will be tabled inthe general body meet-ing of the Navi Mum-bai Municipal Corpora-tion (NMMC) on 20thAugust, 2019. Theoverall developmentalwork is expected to becompleted within sixmonths, it is learnt.However, there can bea delay due to the up-coming Vidhansabhaelection in Maharash-tra and also NaviMumbai MunicipalCorporation (NMMC)election in 2020 and theimposition of moral codeof conduct during theelections.
According theNMMC Public Rela-tionship Officer Mahen-dra Konde, “In the up-
68 proposals to be tabled atNMMC general body meeting
The developmental work will take 6 months’ time
coming general bodymeeting which will beheld on Tuesday, 20thAugust, 2019, around68 proposals worth
Rs.100 crore will comeup for discussion.Most of the proposalpertain to developmen-tal work like concreti-zation, road repairwork, construction ofdrainage channels, cov-
ering of manholes, re-pairing potholes, devel-opment of tree belt,beautification of pondsetc.
Many developmen-tal works were initiat-ed during the tenure offormer NMMC Com-missioner Dr. N. Ra-maswami and manycorporators and alsoleaders did a regular
follow-up with him toget their work done. Healso took several otherinitiatives for the devel-opment of the satellitecity. Now the new Com-missioner AnnasahebMisal is having a lookat all the work whichwas initiated by his pre-decessor and he is alsokeen on developing theeducation, health andthe transportation facil-ities along with otherdevelopmental works.”
One of the NMMCcontractors on the con-dition of anonymitysaid, “It takes morethan six months to ini-tiate any developmentalwork after the tender-ing process. Moral codeof conduct will be im-posed in the month of
By Abhitash D.Singh
NAVI MUMBAI: TheCity and Industrial De-velopment Corporationof Maharashtra Ltd (CI-DCO) on the Indepen-dence Day, 15th Au-gust, 2019 got four ad-vanced fire technologyfor its Fire department.The fire engines wereinaugurated by CIDCOVice President andManaging DirectorLokesh Chandra in thepresence of AssistantMD Prashant Nar-navre, Ashok Shrin-gare and Chief Vigi-lance Officer NisarTamboli and the offi-cials of CIDCO.
Priya Ratambe said,“The four advanced fireengines will make theCIDCO fire departmentmore equipped and ad-vanced to combat fireand the work of fire of-ficials will becomemore effective.”
Apart from four fireengines, the fire offi-cials of the CIDCO’s fire
Posing as actor Salman Khan a mancheats woman of Rs 38,000
By Crime Reporter
NAVI MUMBAI: Keento launch her minordaughter in movies, awoman from Ghansoliwas duped of Rs38,000 by a conmanwho posed himself asrenowned Bollywoodactor Salman Khan.
In her complaintregistered with thepolice the victim saidthat she got in touchwith a person who hadput the picture ofactor Salman Khan ashis profile picture.The victim first sent a‘Hi’ message for whichshe got a reply of
‘Good Morning’ fromhim. Thinking theperson to be the actorhimself who is re-sponding to hermessages, she regu-larly started chattingwith him.
During one chatsession she shared herdaughter’s profile anda TikTok video ofhers. The man toldher that the childneeded an artiste cardand gave the numberof one of his friends,whom he referred toas his manager. Thealleged managercalled the victim on
August 6 and intro-duced himself asAmar Bhatola andasked her to send thechild’s Aadhar card,passport size photo,birth certificate,school identity cardthrough WhatsApp.
Accordingly, thewoman sent photosand all the docu-ments. Next day,Amar Bhatola told thewoman that it wasimportant to makethe child’s passportfor which he demand-ed money to be sent tohis account, thedetails of which he
shared with her. Thevictim first sent Rs12,000 and then Rs10,000. Bhatola laterdemanded Rs 16,000more. However as thewoman didn’t send themoney Bhatola latercalled the woman andstated that the child’sartist card andpassport have gotcancelled as thewoman failed to paythe money on time. Hethen asked her toshare bank details sohe could return backthe money. She shared
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Laxmi Eye Institute conducts 72 free cataract surgeries on Independence DayBy Chandrakant Hendve
PANVEL: Laxmi EyeInstitute, Panvel,which offers compre-hensive and superioreye care services fromlast three decades, con-ducted 72 free cataractsurgeries for patientsfrom Thane and Raigadrural zones.
“After 72 years In-dia has achieved manythings and has gonethrough several victori-ous changes over theyears. Indians have wit-nessed major changesin their lives, but life inseveral rural parts ofthe country is yet to getbetter healthcare facil-ities at their doorstep.The prevalence of blind-ness due to cataract ishigher among those inlower socio economicstatus,” remarked Dr.Suhas Haldipurkar, se-nior Eye Surgeon,Laxmi Eye Institute. Toaddress this problem
Government of India isdoing a lot of work.Laxmi Eye Instituteand Laxmi CharitableTrust are also contrib-uting a great deal byproviding eye treatmentfor poor people in theform of advanced eye
care services such ascataract operations andeye banking, he added.
“There is also aneconomic cost associat-ed with vision impair-ment for the nation: glo-bally, poor vision re-sults in an economic
productivity loss in bil-lions! In a further studyexclusively among Indi-an workers, the WHOconcluded that good eyecare and vision correc-tion led to an increaseby over 32% in theirincomes and by over
26% in productivity. Onthe occasion of Indepen-dence Day our entireteam will celebrate“Freedom from Blind-ness” mission, wherewe will operate cata-ract patients from low-er socio economic back-
ground. We want tospread awarenessabout this urgent prob-lem, and request mem-bers of society to sup-port us in this endeav-our,” remarked Dr. Hal-dipurkar.
Laxmi CharitableTrust is actively work-ing on various projectsto achieve the abovementioned goal. Manyphilanthropic individu-als and organizationshave joined them inthis journey. Over allthese years, they havebeen able to conductmore than 1687 campsin rural areas and couldperform more than72053 free cataract sur-geries for poor andneedy people in the Dis-trict of Raigad andThane. The most ad-vanced and latest med-ical facilities are acces-sible for patients ofLaxmi CharitableTrust Eye Hospital.
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September till the declaration of results of Vidhans-abha election. Again after six months in 2020 NaviMumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) will beholding election and again there will be a moralcode of conduct. So completing all the developmen-tal work in six months’ time will be a difficulttask.”
On 20th August, 2019 during the general bodymeeting most of the corporators will try their lev-el best to do follow-up and also ask for funds to getthe developmental work done in their particularwards, especially in view of the upcoming NaviMumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) election.
MGL has been informed by ONGC that opera-tion at ONGC Uran are getting progressively nor-malized. Operation of all MGL’s CNG stations andsupplies to MGL customers will be normalized intandem with improvement of supplies from ONGC.Full normalcy is expected to be restored by to-morrow.
68 proposals to be... Cont. from pg. 1
PANVEL: Bharatiya Janata Party Panvel as-sembly booth worker will be holding a meeting onSunday 18th August, 2019 at 10 am at CKT Col-lege ground at Khanda Colony.
Education Minister Ashish Shelar, RaigadGuardian Minister Ravindra Chavan, former MPRamsheth Thakur, CIDCO President PrashantThakur, Konkan Mhada chairperson BalasahebPatil and Mayor Dr. Kavita Chautamol and oth-ers will be present. Taluka President Arun ShethBhagat, City President Jayant have appealed theworkers to attended the meeting in large num-ber.
Panvel assembly booth workerto hold meeting today
Free Jaipur FootCamp today
PANVEL: As part of the ongoing birthday cele-bration of CIDCO and BJP Raigad District Presi-dent Prashant Thakur, Ramseth Thakur SamajikVikas Mandal today in association and SadhuVaswani Mission Pune will be organising a campon Jaipur foot in Panvel.
The camp will be held in the Market Yard Hall,Panvel and all the patients availing the facilitywill be examined by experts. The patients are re-quested to bring along with them their Aadharcard, ration card and two passport size photos.The organizers have appealed that the needy pa-tients who have amputated limbs should came inlarge number and avail the benefit of the camp.
73rd Independence Daycelebrated at Reliance IT Park
By Sumit Renose
The Central Indus-trial Security ForceUnit (Reliance ITPark), Navi Mumbai,celebrated 73th Inde-pendence Day with
great enthusiasm.The event was flaggedoff by Mrs. PhalenesiaFernandis, who wasthe chief guest. Vari-ous programmes wereheld on the occasion
like parade, use ofweapons with blind-fold, Reliance Man-agement's dog squadparade led by DeputyCommandant A.KNag.
Maharashtra La-bour Welfare Board,Panvel and Panvel In-dustrial Co-operativeEstate Limited cele-brated IndependenceDay with great patri-otic fervour. The chiefguest on this occasionwas Vijay Lokhande,Chairman, Panvel In-
Maharashtra Labour Welfare Board, Panveland Panvel Industrial Co-operative Estate
ja, Virendra Shrivas-tava, Sunil Suchak,Entrepreneur, GauravJoshi, Entrepreneur,Prakash Bhandare,E n t r e p r e n e u r ,Kirtharpatel, Entre-preneur, Vijay Desh-mukh, Entrepreneurwere present on theoccasion.
Navi Mumbai- Malhar Yuva Pratishtan, Vashi, collected flood relief material for thevictims of Sangli and Kolhapur (By: Vijay Kamble)
A helping hand
By Chandrashekhar Hendve
PANVEL: On 14thAugust 2019, underthe advocacy ofMayor Dr. KavitaChoutmol and PMCCommissioner Mr.Ganesh Deshmukh,Mass Swachhata
Students pledge to keep city clean
Pledge was organizedby Panvel MunicipalCorporation andInfinity Foundation.
23,000 studentsacross the cityobserved pledge inpre decided hour of7:00 am to 8:00 am.
“The major Intent ofthe event was tospread the word ofSwachh Bharat andcreate a sense ofresponsibility to-wards cleanliness,”remarked a memberfrom the Foundation.
department also re-ceived 135 highlyequipped fire suits.
“The city planningauthority will very soon
get two water tankerswith very good capaci-ty and also the aerialladder which can reachuptp 22nd floor. This
will empower the firedepartment and the fireofficials further. It is theendeavour of the CI-DCO to always work forthe betterment of thecity,” added Ms. Rata-mbe.
CIDCO Fire department...Cont. from pg. 1
the information afterwhich Bhatolaswitched off his
mobile.As the number was
switched off the victimrealized that she hadbeen cheated, and shelodged a complaintwith her husband at
the police station. Inthis connection, thecybercrime police havelaunched a searchagainst the unidenti-fied persons involvedin a fraudulent case.
PANVEL: An impor-tant meeting of all theowners, operators, fit-ters, mechanics of allgarages and sparepart shops in WardCommittee 'D' in thePanvel Municipal Cor-poration was held un-der the chairmanshipof House LeaderParesh Thakur andDeputy CommissionerJameer Lengarekarand D Ward Commit-tee Chairman TejasKanpile, senior corpo-rator Anil Bhagat andward officer ShriramHazare to discuss theissue of inconve-nience being caused tothe residents due tovehicle repair workbeing carried out onthe roads.
This was the first
Vehicles should be repaired in garagespace only- Paresh Thakur
meeting held by thePanvel MunicipalHouse Leader,Paresh Thakur, toprovide relief to citi-zens and to systemisethe garages, spareparts shop owners, forproper improvementin traffic. The meetingwas attended by morethan 100 garage own-ers.
Garages throngthe narrow and wideroads in Panvel. Vehi-cles that are broughtfor repair to the ga-rage are parked onthe road thus re-stricting the space.Moreover, garbageand oil gets spilled onthe road, which posesrisk to the pedestri-ans and health hazardsto the residents living
in the vicinity. Fur-ther, as the roads getconstricted, there is al-ways traffic congestion.During the meeting Mr.Thakur instructed theowners and garageworkers to keep the ve-hicles within the ga-rage space and not torepair on the road. Healso advised the garageoperators to keep thesurrounding clean andinstructed them to op-erate in their own spacewithout encroaching onthe government proper-ty. People who are cur-rently occupying foot-paths and roadsideshave been given a dead-line till September 15 toremove their belong-ings following whichthere will be action tak-en against them.
Emphasis on physical education essentialIn today’s mechanical era where all the facilities are available
at the click of mouse, physical activities have become minimal.This has resulted in an alarming increase in a number of healthproblems right from the young age. Realising this, it was decidedby the state education department to introduce examination forphysical education at school level. This indeed was a good step asit will make the students take greater interest in sports and willenable them to become more health conscious.
With the advent of modern technology, physical education hasnot been given much thought in the past. Instead of spending timeoutdoors in fresh air, children these days prefer to sit in the com-pany of computers or watch television. Pressure of studies, ambi-tious academic programmes of the schools, ever growing numberof books etc. have also made it difficult for them to indulge in sportsactivities. The present day picture of education is young studentscarrying heavy satchels to schools, spending most part of the dayin the class room and coming back home to have another heavydose of home work. This is not only taking heavy toll on the healthof the children, but is also affecting their creativity. Instead of brightand cheerful children what we see today are overburdened young-sters for whom the words “success” and “career” are the mostimportant. The saying “All work and no play makes Jack a dullboy” has long been forgotten and what we hear these days is “Onlywork and no play are the keys to success”.
It is quite unfortunate that the system of education has neverbeen given much thought in our country. The studies conductedworld over has proved the harmful effect of forcing the children tothe mechanical system of education. The children, especially inthe initial six years, should be allowed to grow with nature till theygrow strong in the atmosphere of freedom and realize the impor-tance of education and knowledge. It should be realized that alongwith academics, extra curricular activities, especially sports, arevital for the overall growth of the children and for better perfor-mance.
Children are the citizens of tomorrow on whose shoulders liethe future of our nation. Not only they have to be imparted rightknowledge in the right manner, they have to be made emotionally,spiritually and morally strong to face the future challenges. Ourmain aim should be to make children not robots but human beingswith mind and heart bustling with enjoyment and enlightenment.
By Dinesh Pawar
URAN: To render med-ical assistance and tohelp people affected byflood and provide otherbasic essentials, a teamof doctors of Uran Medi-cal Welfare Associationfrom Uran, Navi Mum-bai held a medical campat Amnapur village, Tal.Palus in Sangli districtof Maharashtra.
The team comprisedof Dr. Sanjiv Mhatre,President UMWA, Dr.
Doctors from Uran Medical Welfare Associationrender service in flood affected regions
Suresh Patil, Dr. ManojBhadre, Dr. Ghanashy-am Patil, Dr. Thakre,Dr. Adesh Dahiphaleand Dr. Ajay Koli.
People were exam-ined by the doctors andwere provided with med-icines and other basicneeds like sleepingmats, food items andbedsheets. Women wereprovided with sanitarynapkins and schoolchildren were also pro-vided with schoolbags
and notebooks, pencilsetc. The medicines wereprocured by personaldonations from almostevery member of UranMedical Welfare Associ-ation. The other utili-ty items were providedby Mr. Martand Nakh-wa, the chairman ofVaishnavi Mata Mach-chimar Cooperative So-ciety, Karanja, Uran.
Around 1200 peoplebenefitted from this so-cial activity.
By Ashok Dhamija
PANVEL: SouthernRailway has decided torun One way SpecialTrains from Trivan-drum Central to H.Nizamuddin via Kon-kan Railway (KR) routeto clear extra rush ofpassengers. The detailsare as follows :
Train No. 06095Trivandrum Central –H. Nizamuddin OneWay Special will leavefrom Trivandrum Cen-tral at 19:15 hrs on Sat-
One Way Special Between TrivandrumCentral - H. Nizamuddin Via KR Route
Halt includes Panvel Jn too
urday, 17 th August2019 . The same willhave a brief halt of fiveminutes at PanvelJunction from 20:40 hrson Sunday 18th August2019, before arriving atH. Nizamuddin at16:55 hrs on Monday19th August 2019. Theabove Special will com-prise of 18 LHB Coach-es. This includes OneFirst AC, Five 2 TierAC, Nine 3 Tier AC,One Pantry Car andTwo Generator Class
Varsha, Urmila,Rekha Gunjwate,Manjula Mhatre,Manju Sarode, ManjuChandravrat, SangitaPawar, INS Tunir'sJawans and others.
By Chandrashekhar Hendve
NAVI MUMBAI:Funakoshi ShotokanKarate – Do Associa-tion (FSKA-DO),organized FSKA-DOIndependence Cupkarate championship2019 at Agri-KoliSanskrut Bhavan,Nerul. Players fromMumbai and Punedistrict participatedin the competition.
In the ‘Kata’ and‘Kumite’ competitionaround 500 playersparticipated fromvarious districts ofMaharashtra. Thecompetition wasinaugurated by theAssociation PresidentGanesh Margaje.Industrialist VarunDas, Sunita Sukla,Alka Kawad, RDhotre, Vyankat,
Karate competition held at Nerul
Hement were alsopresent.
The best fightersand grand masters inthis competition were:Divya Darshani,Swaraj Bharade,Aryan Kunjavne,Harshada Sable,Subham Tambe,Sagar Malik, VikiTambe and from PuneVaibhavi Nigade,Shradha Dhumal,Vedant Parab, GargiDesai, Rohit GaikwadDipti Kalas.
Speaking on theoccasion, FunakoshiShotokan Karate –DoAssociation PresidentGanesh Margaje said,“Our association hasorganised this compe-tition for the firsttime in Navi Mumbai.It is heartening to seethe enormous re-
sponse that thecompetition receivedfrom the players. Weare planning to
73rd Independence Day celebratedat Konkan Bhavan in CBD Belapur
(Sumit Renose)
Amrita Vidyalayam CelebratesI-Day With Pomp & Fervor
An energetic presentation by the students showcased patriotic fervor
Chief Guest Brigadier Shushil Basin, along with others salute the national flag duringthe Independence Day celebration at Amrita Vidyalayam, Juingar
By Ashok Dhamija
NAVI MUMBAI:Amrita Vidyalayam,Juingar celebratedthe Independence Daywith pomp and fervor.The celebrationsstarted with theunfurling of thetricolor by BrigadierShushil Basin, whichwas followed by theNational Anthem inpresence of Br.Avyayamrita Chaitan-ya and the.PrincipalBrni.Rekha . Anumber of activitieswas organized by thestudents to highlightthe significance of theday and pay tribute tothe freedom fighterswho’s contributedtheir lives for thisnoble cause. Thehighlight beingnumber of patrioticsongs, speech inEnglish by NidhiShetty and a RoadSafety skit “HamaariSuraksha HamaariHaathon Mein”depicted the impor-tance of “SafetyFirst”.
Simple living isthe key in the pursuitof happiness” saidBrig. Bhasin who hasserved the IndianArmy for over threedecade. A well-knowncorporate trainer onleadership skills,decision making,communication,collaboration, trustand other behavioralissues the formerArmy veteran con-nected instantly withthe students by hisenergetic speechwhich made thestudents to ponder onthree importantvalues, added “Freedom should notbe taken for granted,simple living is thekey to happiness andself discipline isutmost important forself-development”.
Speaking on theoccasion PrincipalBrni.Rekha said “This time around Itlooked like the starsaligned themselves onpurpose to combinethe auspicious Raksha
Bandhan and 73rdIndependence Daycelebrations. Brig.Bhasin who inspiredthe gathering with hiswords of wisdomfelicitated the winnersof Amrita Fest (VII-X)by giving themcertificates andmedals. Swamiji Br.Chaitanya from MataAmritanandamayiMath, used an aptSanskrit shloka andtoo shared his lifeexperiences to expandon his thoughts on theimportance of Free-dom” She further said“To celebrate theauspicious occasion ofRaksha Bandhan, afew teachers and ourstudent leaders tiedRakhis to the wrists ofSwamiji and the ChiefGuest, did Aarti, gavesweets and soughttheir blessings. Itwas indeed a joyousmoment. Overall theprogrammes receiveda lot of applause andappreciation by theGuests and thestudents”.
By Chandrashekhar
Hendve
NAVI MUMBAI: On15th August, 2019,Shivaadhar SansthaCharitable Trustorganised Raksha-bandhan with adifference atJuinagar, Chinchava-li talav where theytied rakhis to thetrees and celebratedRakhi Purnima.
“The way rakhi istied on the hand of
Rakhi celebrationto save Environment
brothers by sisters fortheir protection, thesame way tress alsoprovide us withoxygen and should beprotected by each oneof us. But for the
development of manyinfrastructures weare cutting down thetree,” remarked amember of the Trust.
The girls alsodonated money and
relief materials whichthey collected for theflood affected peoplein Maharashtra.These will be distrib-uted on Friday inSangli.
The 73rd Independence Day was celebratedwith great enthusiasm by the students of
Hindi Kanshiramji College in Rabale(Sumit Renose)
Navi Mumbai Police Commissionercelebrates 73rd Independence Day
(Sumit Renose)
Inspire- 10 : SwamiVivekananda and Freedom
By Dr Vandana Mahajani
“Freedom is the goalof nature, sentient orinsentient and con-sciously or uncon-sciously everything isstruggling towards thatgoal,” said Vivekanan-da. The whole universeis but a manifestationof that freedom.
Vivekananda wasnot only a spiritual lead-er of our nation, butalso was a staunch na-tionalist. His vision ofIndia was that of deity,Mother India. He wor-shipped her. His wholeand sole objective wasto arouse the physicaland mental strength ofthe masses of this coun-try to see his nation asa prosperous nation.The poverty that he sawall around broke hisheart. He taught peopleto get rid first of selfinflicted bondages andresultant miseries.
“Let a new Indiaarise out of the peas-ant’s cottage graspingthe plough; out of thehearts of the fisherman,the cobbler and thesweeper. Let her springfrom the grocer’s shop,from beside the oven ofthe fritter-seller. Lether emanate from thefactory, from the martsand from the markets.Let her emerge from
the groves and forests,from the hills andmountains”
He therefore startedhis work of making themasses aware of theglorious ancient heri-tage of India. His na-tionalism is based onHumanism and Uni-versalism, the two car-dinal features of Indianspiritual culture. He istherefore considered asan architect of ModernIndia. His speeches mo-tivated and chargedmany of the wellknown personalities inhistory of India. Hecould never openly con-demn the Britishers ,because he was a San-yasi first. Secondly henever wanted to wastehis energy on politicalissues , for his work layin the area of spiritual-ism and arousing themasses for doing greatwork. He said that inIndia religion was thebasis of freedom. Helaid stress on Unityamong all religions.This only he felt wouldgive strength to thenation. He said diversi-ty in religion was a signof life of the nation
Great men andwomen who have con-tributed to India havebeen influenced by Vive-kananda. Dr.Radhakrishnan has ob-served “Nationalism isa political religionwhich stirs the heartsand wills of men androuses them to serviceand self sacrifice in away that no purely re-ligious movementshave done in recenttimes.” Much before
this observation SwamiVivekananda stirredthe hearts and minds ofIndians with enthusi-asm for strength andfearlessness; ready forservice and self sacri-fice for nation.
Bal Gangadhar Ti-lak equated SwamiVivekananda withShankaracharya, whorevived our spiritualityin the later half of 19thcentury. RabindranathTagore suggested "Ifyou want to know India,study Vivekananda. Inhim everything is posi-tive and nothing nega-tive." Sri Aurobindo hassaid: "Vivekananda wasa soul of puissance ifever there was one, avery lion among men,but the definite work hehas left behind is quiteincommensurate withour impression of hiscreative might and en-ergy. BrahmabandhavUpadhyay told, Vive-kananda and his mis-sion encouraged him togo to England and prop-agate Hinduism andVedanta there. BipinChandra Pal felt, Vive-kananda's messagewas "the message ofmodern humanity".
In 1893, during thejourney from Yokoha-ma to Canada on theship Empress, Vive-kananda accidentallymet Jamsetji Tata whowas also going to Chi-cago. During the con-versation Vivekanandatold Tata about the ne-cessity of establishing aworld class scientificInstitution in India and
this encouraged Tata toestablish the Indian In-stitute of Science,which gradually be-came one of India's best-known research cen-tres in pure sciences inIndia.
Netaji SubhasChandra Bose consid-ered Vivekananda ashis spiritual teacher.He called Vivekanandaa "full-blooded mascu-line personality – anda fighter to the core ofbeing". Bose told, un-der the "sacred influ-ence" of Ramakrishnaand Vivekananda hisown life got awakened.Vinoba Bhave praisedVivekananda's contri-bution to make Indi-ans' conscious of theirstrength and said thathe showed them theirshortcomings and de-fects and taught themto overcome these. Hefurther mentionedthat at the time ofVivekananda people ofIndia were shrouded intamas, ignorance andun wisdom, and failedto distinguish betweenweakness and non-at-
tachment and peace.In such a situationVivekananda broughtnew light and hetaught "The same Soulresides in each and all"and suggested to servemankind consideringthem manifestations ofGod daridranarayan(meaning: "povertystricken god").
C. Rajagopalachari,who became the firstIndian Governor Gen-eral of India, said,Vivekananda savedHinduism and India.He stated that we oweeverything to Vive-kananda. Gandhi con-fessed that his love forIndia grew manifoldafter reading Vive-kananda. The firstVice-President and thesecond President of in-dependent India Sarve-palli Radhakrishnansaid that Vivekanan-da's was born in a "crit-ical period" when thenation and her peoplewere collapsing in "de-spair, frustration andhopelessness" and insuch circumstancesVivekananda's teach-
ings gave them newhope and taught themto rely on spiritual re-sources. PranabMukherjee said thathis work paved way forgrowth based on mutu-al acceptance of peoplefor each other. Jayala-litha, Anna Hazare,Baba Ramdev, andmany more are ardentfollowers of Vivekanan-da .
Present Prime Min-ister, Shri NarendraModi’s life has been in-fluenced to a very largeextent by Vivekanan-da. One can see it in hisgoal oriented approachof living life accordingto principles of KarmaYoga. No wonder wehave achieved so muchpolitically and sociallyin such a short timewithin our country.Our PM is living swa-mijis dream.....
As Vivekanandasaid, "Great works areto be done, wonderfulpowers have to beworked out, we have toteach other nationsmany things”
The writer is NagarPramukh, Vivekanan-da Kendra Kanyaku-mari, Navi MumbaiBranch
Inspire- 10 : SwamiVivekananda...
Cont. from pg. 7
73rd Independence Daycelebration in Uran
By Dinesh Pawar
On the occasion
of the 73rd
Indian
Independence on
Thursday at 9.30
am, National flag
was hoisted with
great enthusiasm
and respect by
Uran Tehsildar
Kalpana Gode in
the courtyard of
the Tehsil Office.
By Ashok Dhamija
Navi Mumbai: CentralRailway (CR) will operate MegaBlock on its following suburbansections (Harbour and Main lines)for carrying out maintenancework for infrastructure upkeepand passenger safety o-n Sunday18 August, 2019.
A) UP & DN Harbour LineBetween Vashi & Kurla
From: 10.21 am to 3.08 pmUP Harbour line services for
Chhatrapati Shivaji MaharajTerminus (CSMT), Mumbaileaving Panvel / Belapur / Vashifrom 10.21 am to 3.00 pm and DNHarbour line services to Vashi /Belapur /Panvel leaving from10.34 am to 3.08 pm will remainsuspended.
However, Special services willrun between CSMT, Mumbai –Kurla and Vashi – Panvel sec-tionsduring the block period.Harbour line passengers arepermitted to travel via Transharbour Line and Main Line from10.00 am to 4.30 pm during blockperiod.
B) Matunga-Mulund DN
CR Mega Block Today
Main Fast LineFrom: 9.53 am to 3.18 pmDN Fast/Semi-fast services
leaving Chhatrapati ShivajiMaharaj Terminus (CSMT),Mumbai from 9.53 am to 2.42 pmwill be diverted o-n DN Slow linebetween Matunga and Mulundstations halting at all stationsbetween Sion and Mulund and willarrive destination 20 minutesbehind schedule. DN Fast trainsbeyond Thane will be re-divertedo-n DN fast line from Mulund.
All UP fast services leavingThane from 10.46 am to 3.18 pmwill halt at Mulund, Bhandup,Vikhroli, Ghatkopar and Kurlastations in addition to theirrespective scheduled halts and willarrive destination 15 minutesbehind schedule. All Slow servicesarriving and leaving CSMTMumbai between 11.00 am and5.00 pm will arrive destination 15minutes behind schedule.
Due to these blocks, suburbantrains are likely to be morecrowded than usual. Passengersare requested not to take anyrisks while travelling.
Harbour services between Vashi & Kurla to be affected
Maha Harinaam Nagar Sankirtan TodayBy Ashok Dhamija
KHARGHAR : As aprelude, to Janmash-tami Utsav, a MahaHarinaam NagarSankirtan is beingbeen organized byISKCON, Khargharat its Sri Sri RadhaMadanmohanjiTemple on Sunday,August 18, 2019,from 4.00 to 7.00 pm.The same will com-
mence from LittleWorld Mall, Sector 2,Kharghar and con-
clude at Sri Sri RadhaMadanmohanji
Temple at Sector 23,Hare Krishna Land,Central Park Oppo-
site, Kharghar GolfCourse, Navi Mum-bai. All are invited tojoin the religiousprocession andparticipate wholeheartedly by chant-ing the holy name ofthe Lord, Shri
Krishna and seek hisblessings.
Three drowned in Ganpatipule beachBy Tutu
NAVI MUMBAI: Threetourists including aminor from Kasba Bav-da, Kolhapur drownedat Ganpatipule beachin Ratnagiri district onSaturday morning. Agroup of seven had ar-rived here on an outingwhile three of them en-tered into the treacher-ous sea at around 6.30am. All three bodieshave been recovered.Two of them are wom-
en - Kajal Machle (17)and Subhan Machle(25) while one is a male- Ashok Bagde (28).They are basically fromHubli, Karnataka.
The Ratnagiri dis-
trict PRO PrashantDaithankar said,“Three tourists weredrowned at the Gan-patipule beach on Sat-
Narendra Modi,the energetic PM ofthe world’s largestdemocracy and afearless leader’sappearance on ‘Manvs Wild’ with BearGrylls produced forDiscovery Communi-cations India, isanother step infamiliarizing the manbehind the post withthe population. Peopleacross 180 countrieswill be able to see theunfamiliar side of ourPM Modi as heventures into Indianwilderness to createawareness aboutanimal conservation& environmentalchange. There is nodoubt, that PM Modiis perhaps only onepolitician who hasmanaged to break theglass ceiling farnumber of times thanany other politician.
After PrimeMinister NarendraModi’s pre-electioninterview withAkshay Kumar, thecitizens of India areexcited to see PM’slighter side again asthe trailer of his ‘Manvs Wild’ episode wasunveiled on theoccasion of Interna-tional Tiger Day.Speaking on thisassociation with ‘Manvs Wild’, PM Modihas pointed out thatthat "For years, Ihave lived amongnature, in the moun-tains and the forests.These years have alasting impact on mylife. So when I wasasked about a specialprogramme focusingon life beyond politics,and that too, in themidst of nature, I wasboth intrigued andinclined to take partin it.”
For Modi, thisshow presents a greatopportunity to show-case to the world thatIndia's rich environ-mental heritage andstress on the impor-tance of environment
conservation andliving in harmonywith nature. For him,it was a great experi-ence spending time inthe jungle with Bear,who is blessed withindefatigable energyand quest to experi-ence nature at itspurest. ‘Man vs Wild’show documents hostBear Grylls’ efforts tosurvive and find away back to civiliza-tion, usually requir-ing fighting thenatural odds that hefaces inside deepforests.
The special episodewill throw light onIndia’s wildlife,wildlife conservationeffort and impact ofenvironmentalchange. We mustremember that likeforests, wildlife is alsoa national resource,which not only helpsin maintaining theecological balance butis also beneficial fromeconomic, recreation-al and aestheticpoints of view. Therewas a time whenhuman interferencewas minimum thenumber of wildanimals was quitehigh and there wasno problem of theirprotection or conser-vation. On theoccasion of GlobalTiger Day, Modireaffirmed India’scommitment toprotecting tigers.
India is strugglingto protect its environ-ment and its wildlife,as a huge and grow-ing population putsever more pressure onits wild spaces. In adeeper analysis, itwill appear thatprotecting wildlife isvital for the presentas well as futuregenerations. Life inthe wild promotesbiological diversity,which in turn,provides materials forfood, clothing, medi-cines, papers, bever-ages and spices fordaily use. India,which stretches from
snow-bound Himalay-an heights in thenorth to steamytropics in the south,is home to most of theworld’s remainingwild tigers. It isreported about theendangered wild cats,including leopards,coming into morefrequent conflict withvillagers as theanimals' habitatshrinks.
PM Modi is India'stiger leader. And hisappearance in Msn v/s Wild will spread amessage that India isa country whereseveral steps havebeen taken for wildlifeconservation. It is acountry of variedwildlife, where morethan 500 types of wildanimals, 2,100 typesof birds and about20,000 types ofreptiles and fisheshave been found.According to anestimate, in India,about 200 species ofwild animals andbirds have alreadybecome extinct andanother 2,500 are onthe verge of extinc-tion. There is nodoubt that humanreasons play the mostimportant roles in theprocess of destructionof wildlife. Humanreason includedeforestation andsenseless exploitationof natural resourcesof the earth. In thewords of Modi, Iwould say that “Indiais committed to doingwhatever it can tofurther animalprotection and conser-vation.” What weneed today is to keepup our mission ofspreading the positivemessage to conserveand protect the silent,harmless wild ani-mals from nature andpoachers. Let everyindividual should feelresponsible andprotect our country’swildlife resources.Vinod Chandrashekhar
Dixit is freelance journal-
ist, writer & cartoonist
By Chandrashekhar Hendve
NAVI MUMBAI:Scores of Malayalessfrom Mumbai andNavi Mumbai arejoining hands insupporting the FloodRelief operation for thepeople affected by floodin Western Maharash-tra. Around 40 tonnesof relief food itemshave reached VashiKerala House and thepeople are busypacking these essen-tials in small kits.
Mumbai, Navi Mumbai Kerala Community joinhands to support Flood Relief Operation
Packing started twodays back and the
work is still inprogress.
PSI commits suicide inPolice rest house
By Tutu
NAVI MUMBAI: A po-lice sub-inspector post-ed with the Raigad po-lice headquarter com-mitted suicide byhanging himself fromthe ceiling fan usinghis blanket in the po-lice rest house at Ali-baug on Friday ataround 8pm. He washandling the complaintsection, it is learnt.Prior to that he waswith the SID, Mumbai.
According to police,the 50 year old Pras-hant Kanerkar hadjoined the Raigad po-lice three months agoand was on leave forten days. He resumedhis duty on August 15.His body has beenhanded over to his fam-ily. His family stays inDadar, Mumbai.
The Raigad PROSN Yamgar said, “ThePSI PrashantKanerkar (50) wasfound hanging from afan in the rest house ofthe police headquarters
around the evening onFriday. He used hisblanket to commit thesuicide. "
Yamgar added, “ThePSI had resumed duty
on August 15. He hadjoined at the SP officeon June 19, 2019. ThePSI was handling thecomplaint cell at thepolice headquarter. Heproceeded on leave onAugust 5, 2019. Hewas posted with SID,Mumbai. His family isstaying in Dadar,Mumbai. The postmortem has been con-ducted and his bodyhas been handed overto his relative.”
PSI, a native ofSindhudurg has a 17year old son who isstudying in class XIIand a 14 year olddaughter, who is study-ing in class X. An acci-dental death case hasbeen registered withthe Alibaug police.Further investigationis going on.
It is a great feeling that both cricketers and cine actors live inthe same world in the field of play. Both get name and fame andwhen we lose them the feelings of their fans come out with greatemotion. Both Vidya Sinha and VB Chandrasekhar lived in a wonderworld and we miss them today from their respective field.
A look at their career: VB. Chandrasekhar (VB) was also activelyinvolved with the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise ChennaiSuper Kings (CSK) in the capacity of a cricket manager. He repre-sented India in seven ODIs, while he amassed 4,999 runs at 43.09 inhis first-class career. After his playing days, he served as the SouthZone representative in the national selection panel from 2004 to 2006.Popularly known as VB in the cricketing fraternity, Chandrasekharis survived by his wife and two daughters. He was six days short ofhis 58th birthday. VB’s untimely death is big loss to Tamil Naducricket and cricketers. He was an astute leader, good student of thegame, very good fighter on the field and helped lot of cricketers to agreat cricketing career. He was the man instrumental in pickingDhoni as the mainstay of Chennai Super Kings.
The multi-faceted Chandrasekhar wore many hats. He was a Na-tional selector from 2004 to 2006. He was also an exceptional talentspotter. VB’s explosive batting skills came to the fore in the IraniTrophy of 1988-89 in Chennai, where he reached his century off 56balls, which was then the quickest hundred by an Indian in FirstClass cricket. During Tamil Nadu’s triumphant Ranji campaign in1987-88, VB scored 551 from eight matches at 45.91, often disman-tling attacks at the top of the order with his barrage of strokes. Hecherished hitting the ball straight. Soon he was drafted into the In-dian ODI team. In the early 1990s, VB travelled to New Zealandwith the Indian team. He was a warm, friendly man, who broughtwith him charm, elegance and wit. He would regale you with anec-dotes laced with a sense of humour. VB was an entrepreneur. Heowned the team VB Kanchi Veerans in the Tamil Nadu PremierLeague. Cricket meant everything to him. VB was also the owner ofa state-of-the-art cricket academy in Chennai. His death is a greatloss.
For a younger lot of viewers, Vidya Sinha’s name might resonatefor her TV appearances in shows like Kkavyanjali, Qubool Hai andmore recently Kullfi Kumar Bajewala, but her glory days were inthe 1970s when she rode the wave of the middle-of-the-road cinemathat balanced itself ingeniously between the outright commercialand the resolutely art house. The veteran actor passed away in aJuhu hospital. Vidya Sinha was a successful actor of Bollywood withcharming face while young and at present she was working in tele-vision serials. A Miss Bombay and a model, Sinha may have kept upwith the fashion trends of the times with the bouffant, extended cat-eye liner, pearls and chiffon sarees in bold prints, but still retainedher individuality. Those were the days when beauty was not mass-produced and homogenised and allowed for imperfections. Born inthe year that India won Independence, Sinha passed away, ironical-ly, on the 73rd Independence Day.
Sinha got ample opportunity to make a strong impression eventhough she had absolutely no grounding in acting. Based on MannuBhandari’s story Yahi Sach Hai, the film captured the dilemmas of ayoung woman with subtlety and sensitivity as did the delicate titletrack by Lata Mangeshkar — Rajnigandha phool tumhare — writ-ten by Yogesh and composed by Salil Chaudhury. The next film,Chhotisi Baat (1975), again from Chatterjee, may have had Palekarat its Centre but as the woman he can’t express his love to, Sinhaagain caught the eye of the viewer with her simple, easy going, un-affected ways and her appeal got defined as that of the girl next door.
As a cricket enthusiast I followed VB from 1987-88 but at the sametime I did saw Vidya Sinha in many film during 1978 and I was ableto meet her in a cloth shop in Matunga, forty years back. We miss thetwo on the 73rd Independence day and great loss to the film and crick-eting world. RIP- VB Chandrasekhar and Vidya Sinha.
- C.K. Subramaniam, Millennium Towers, Sanpada
Singer Ishaan Khan givesscintillating performances atNagpur police welfare show
Neha Kakkar, Varun Urvashi, Ali Asgar and Divyanka Tripathi
entertained the audience through their performances
By Abhitash D. Singh
Aapla Nagpur ’ssinging sensationIshaan Khan, who is allset to launch his maid-en single later thismonth, sang the song‘Lakk Boom Boom’ ex-clusively for his cityfolk to much applauseand appreciation. Itwas a house full showat the stadium for theNagpur City PoliceWelfare Show. Thecrowd ranged from tinytots to grandparentsalong with scores ofmusic lovers and fansflocked to the venue forthe star-studded con-cert.
The entertainmentloving buffs swarmed toMankapur Indoor Sta-dium recently to wit-ness the spectacularmusic and entertain-ment show ‘SurSandhya’ organized byNagpur police to sup-port the family of police-men who laid their livesin the line of duty orwho are unable to workdue to any physical in-jury. The police welfare
show was received withmuch fanfare and hugeapplause from the au-dience who hit the ven-ue to catch a glimpse oftheir favourite perform-ing Bollywood stars. Ce-lebrities present at theslow included ‘Fukre’aka Varun, Urvashi,who entered the scenewith echoes of song ‘Ur-vashi Urvashi’, televi-sion diva Divyanka Tri-pathi, ace comic star AliAsgar aka ‘Dadi’ ofKapil Sharma Show,and finally the melodyqueen Neha Kakkarwho rocked the stagewith her enchantingvoice amid the hugelaud and cheers by the
audience.According to the re-
ports, Ishaan Khan hasbeen really workinghard to shoot his up-coming song and hechose to sing it at theNagpur City Police Wel-fare Show. The song‘Lakk Boom Boom’gives the flavours ofPunjab with an ethnictouch. NeverthelessIshaan’s fans are load-ed with excitement forthe release of the song.
The audience’s appe-tite for it was more, asa few talented Nagpu-rians got a grand plat-form to show their tal-ent during the pro-gramme.
Anupriya Goenka who is seen portrayingthe role of Saif Ali Khan’s wife Megha inthe show ‘Sacred Games2’ was seen inthe city on 16th August for the specialscreening. (By Abhitash D. Singh)
urday morning. They are KajalMachle (17), Subhan Machle (25) andAshok Bagde (28), All are residentsof Kasba Bavda in Kolhapur. Theyare basically from Hubli, Karnata-ka.”
A lifeguard Raj Dev said, “Sevenpersons had arrived here on Fridayand stayed overnight. They startedtouring the beach early in the morn-ing even when the lifeguards had notcome. Three of them entered into thesea and fell prey to the treacherouswater current.”
The deceased Umesh Bagde (28)is a government employee. Otherswho were with them are Kisan Mach-le, Puja Bagde, Nirmala Machle andAishwarya Machle. All are relatives.One of them lost his wife, one hissister while the other a brother-in-law in the drowning tragedy, in-formed the life guard quoted above.An accidental death case has beenregistered with the local police sta-tion.
It was in Kochi, while cycling on a breezypath skirting the golden beach this Febru-ary, that I had decided I was craving the un-forgiving mountains again. It was then inMumbai when yielding to insomnia that Iprinted out a dozen maps and permits de-picting the Himalayan states. It was finallyin Delhi when stunned by the 45 °C Junewhiplash that we sat down with pens to markour maps, and thus our routes.
The Instagram made famous Lahaul-Spi-ti valley is home to less than half a millionpeople, two of the country’s most spectacu-lar lakes, a few ancient monasteries, andabout a dozen of those vil-lages whose names whenpronounced right soundlike the call of a Himalay-an bird. Once the windingroads past the Rohtangpass cease and make wayfor a more pleasurabledrive, the deserted lookingvalley comes to life. It isjust the time and place tohear all about the legendsand histories of Lahaulfrom people who call ithome. A shared local cab isan under valued blessing toa couple of wanderers.
Keylong is an importantdistrict town on the NH3that has for long been seenonly as a convenient nighthalt for people on their wayto Baralacha la. To the un-assuming traveller, it ap-pears to have nothing spe-cial to offer. It is rarelyspared even an hour by dis-gruntled motorists who arecompelled by the fadingdaylight into making an early stop here, in-stead of the more challenging Jispa. Whilethe seasonal apiaries are nowhere as impres-sive as the internet has one believe, the tentsmentioned are missing all together. What itdoes have is a marvellous set canvas for qual-ity tourism, and none of the tourists.
The fair probability of reaching Keylongfrom Manali around the sun-set hours makesit look like a dreary resting town to thosewho plan on leaving before dawn. For if onestays, it is a medieval fairy tale come true inthe day. Even the most basic guest housesby the highway boast of traditional woodenarchitecture similar to that of Ladakh. Bigglass windows facing any of the half a dozenmountain ranges visible nod a subtle show ofclimate change with unseasonal snowfallwashing the entire valley white just over-night. The reflected sunlight that wakes oneup past these is then sheer magic.
It was Eid, the day I woke up in Keylong.As a distant observer from my vantage pointby the ornate windows, I watched what sor-cery counts for regular in the valley. Hairydogs herded Pashmina goats onto the nation-al highway, throwing superior attitude eachtime they flung their heads back to watchtheir charge. Toddlers were passed from arm
Keylong invites those answering mountain callsto arm, their giggles colouring the air pink.Convoys of military vehicles moved to securethe summer borders after clearing the snowbound passes ahead. Young men franticallychecked their cell-phones for a hint of signalafter a tower had been felled accidentally. Thescenery was as picturesque as a Postcard andyet something I was absolutely unfamiliar with.Keylong, nesting by the border of Garhwal andLadakh, artfully imbibes the appeal of both.
The Keylong market is a being in itself. Notquite like its counterparts in Manali, Shimlaand Leh, it is much more graceful and sleepy.An hour walking up and about its steep streets,I took a few notes. One, my companion and I
were the only tourists the town interiors hadseen in weeks. Given that the army-men hadvisibly made themselves at home, we were theonly outsiders and clearly too welcome at that.Two, currency is but a formality. Every time Icouldn’t hand over the exact change, I was ca-sually asked to pay the next time instead!Lunch could be had for Rs 30, dinner for Rs 60.Each ‘dhaba’ had a different story to tell. Richin local flavours and decor, one is guaranteedto meet each time a different assorted groupof old men discussing the current government.The thukpa, momo and ‘gosht’ dishes with thelocally made spicy red chutney work well foracclimatizing stomachs. As a bonus, there arealso gourmet restaurants run by the IGNOUeducated enterprising youth.
Under-rated is a word coined keeping Key-long in mind, and the few other towns aroundit. They have the comfortable rooms, the de-pendable commuting options and the resource-ful stores too. There are specialised Bike re-pair shops and cyber-cafes thrown in, asidefrom all the adventure activities that one needsto ask about. Add it the utter gorgeousness ofmiddle Himalayas, the rawness of Lahaul Spi-ti and subtract just the crowd. What more doesa genuine “call from the mountains” sound like?
While the whole terrain and ambience al-
lies with that of a remote Greek island mi-nus the sea, the roaring young Chenab doesinjustice to Portugal’s blue dragon fame.
The literacy rates are pleasant withschools allowing visitors to volunteer. A daywith Ladakhi-Himachali children is worth ayear long of therapy. There are farmlandsand orchards, the field workers ever enter-taining visitors. There are local families, en-tirely willing to invite tourists home for din-ner. There are the owners of small business-es readily handing over the keys to their ve-hicle for those who wish to explore the valleynearby. To those that do not instantly hop ona bus going to towards Leh, Keylong can qui-
etly surprise you into nev-er leaving.
The most importantmonastery of the Drukpa’s,a few centuries old marvel-lous piece of history, lieshidden in the mountainsnear Keylong. Two smallermonasteries, a few stupas,a ‘parikrama’ route, a gla-cial trek and spiritually re-vered peaks make up forother offbeat experienceshere. Any one of these vis-its shall demonstrate toyou the need for premiumlevel fitness to take in thebeauty of the town. A local‘pahaadi’ woman suggestedwe make the hour long trekup to Shashur monastery.It took us about three, giv-en the breaks we took. Iwould say they were all forphotography but it would bepart lie.
Off the road, Keylong isa wonderland. Sparklingstreams, vibrant birds, art-
ful mansions, humble huts and fluffy cattlepaint a delightful picture. The paths are lit-tered with only rock covered lichens, mush-rooms and a dozen varieties of bright wild-flowers. The latter are used by the ‘vaidya’as jadi booti to cure the ailing common-folk.There are also the rocks with religiousscriptures carved into them that add a wholelot of heavy aesthetics to the background ofpoplar tree stumps. The whole valley is a pic-nic spot if your legs agree.
Farming plots with mechanized sprinklersoverlook the river basin and provide greatvisual backdrops, as do the few pricey hotelsup the mountainside. The monastery in it-self is considerably big, welcoming all hikerswith tea and refreshments. It also providesrooms to stay and halls to exhibit. An art gal-lery and seminar hall are the last things oneexpects to see at an altitude 4300m. But thenan eighty year old arrives, having trekkedup in an hour! I would describe the architec-tural splendour around and the boy llamasplaying cricket, or I could narrate tales ofthe idol that loses its temper and the moun-tains that signal the death of village resi-dents, but I would rather let the old men sip-ping butter tea do it for you, if and when youmake it there.
Hridaya Rode, Std II, Fr. Agnel Multipurpose school.
Kid’s Zone
73rd Indian Independence Day celebrationat Pushp Niketan English School Campus
By Chandrashekhar Hendve
PANVEL: On 15thAugust Pushp Niket-an English SchoolCampus was decorat-ed with tricolorsignifying courage,peace and prosperity.PNES ChairpersonMeena Bansal un-furled the NationalFlag.
Cultural pro-gramme was orga-nized by the culturalcommittee andstudents presentedskit on 'Kashmir VijayDiwas'. PNESFounder Mr. RajeshBansal, TrusteeMember Mr. AakashBansal and ShrutiBansal along with
Principal RevathiNair, teaching andnon- teaching staffwere present on theoccasion. Studentsshared their views onIndian Independencestruggle and alsoperformed a variety ofprogrammes thatenthralled the audi-ence.
Truck accident at CBD Belapurflyover on Sion Panvel Highway
(Sumit Renose)
Dear Young Read-ers,Here is a chance tobring out your creativityand the hidden talent!NEWSBAND will bestarting a column forthe kids every Saturdayfrom 4 January 2019where you can send usyour drawings, poemsand short stories.Interested kids cansend their works alongwith their Names,Residential Details,School Name andStandard by everyWednesday either viaemail or post to thefollowing email id :[email protected] or toNEWSBAND, RealTech Park, Office No1313/1314, 13th Floor,Plot No 39/2, Sector30A, Vashi, NaviMumbai - 400 703
