The Dynamic Daily Newspaper of Navi Mumbai

Thursday, 22 October 2020

VOL. 14 • ISSUE 115 RNI No. MAHEN/2007/21778 POSTAL REGN. No. NMB/154/2020-22/VASHI MDG POST OFFICE

Pages 8 • Price 2www.newsband.in

By Pranab Jyoti BhuyanNavi Mumbai

The number of aban-doned vehicles has started increasing on the roads of Navi Mum-bai after the city traf-fic department stopped their special drive against such vehicles earlier this year.

In February, 2019, the traffic department had started the special drive to clear the city roads of the abandoned vehicles. Whenever they noticed a vehicle lying abandoned on a road, they would put a sticker on the wind-shield of that vehicle

asking the owner to re-move the vehicle within one month. If the owner did not remove that ve-hicle within a month, the traffic officials would tow away that vehicle to Panvel.

The Panvel City Municipal Corporation

(PCMC) had provided them with an open plot and all such towed away vehicles were dumped there. Later, when the owner of the vehicle reached there, he would have to pay parking

Abandoned vehicles reappear on city roads

14-year-old boy sexually assaults an

11-year-old girlA 14-year-old boy

living in Panvel area sex-ually assaulted an 11-year-old girl living next door to him. Panvel city police have arrested the minor boy on charges of rape under POCSO Act…

(More on page 2)Onions from Iran,

Turkey, Egypt arrive in APMC

To offset the dwin-dling supply of onion, the bulbs are being imported from Iran, Turkey and Egypt. The Agriculture Produce Market Com-mittee (APMC) received around 40 tonnes of on-ion from Iran on Monday and Tuesday

(More on page 3)

Traffic officials go slow on drunk drivers

due to Covid-19With the opening of

the bars, drunk driving has become a matter of serious concern for the Navi Mumbai traf-fic department. While the traffic officials have realized that a section of motorists are driving vehicles getting drunk, they are unable to check them properly as they are scared of getting in-fected with Covid-19.

(More on page 3)

Women commuters can now travel in local trains during non-peak hours

CONTINUED ON PAGE... 7

CONTINUED ON PAGE... 6

By Abhitash D. SinghNavi Mumbai

On Tuesday Octo-ber 21, 2020, the railway minister Piyush Goyal said that all wom-en are allowed to travel in the local trains from Wednesday between 11am to 3pm and after 7pm till the last train. All the women commuters ex-pressed happi-ness with the announcement and said that this will help in easing their travelling diffi-culties.

S a m r e e n Barakab, who works in a mall in Navi Mumbai and travels to Sion from Vashi said, "It is really heartening that the local trains have been started for women commuters. I used to face lots of in-convenience as the fre-quency of buses is limit-ed. But now I can travel from Vashi to Sion by local train and can reach

home earlier."Savita Pandey, a res-

ident of Sanpada speak-ing with the Newsband correspondent said, "After a period of seven months, I will be getting an opportunity to travel by local trains, which are rightly called the life-line of all the people of

MMR region. It's good that finally government has announced the open-ing of local trains for women commuters from Wednesday. I would say that soon the railway board should announce the local trains for all."

Women comprise nearly 40 per cent of the 8.5 million daily com-muters.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has allowed women to travel in local

trains from Wednesday

By Chandrashekhar HendveNavi Mumbai

With an aim to en-sure that every citizen is able to afford the mask, the government of Maharashtra has set a price cap on N95 and dou-ble and triple-lay-ered masks. With this it becomes the first state in the country to take such a step. N95 masks will now be available at Rs 19 to Rs 49, while two-layered and triple-layered masks will be available at Rs 3 to 4 respectively, announced

Health Minister Rajesh Tope, on Wednesday, 21st October, 2020.

“The prescribed

maximum selling price limit for various grade masks will remain in force till the Epidemic Diseases Act is enforced

in the state”, said Tope.The state govern-

ment has been appealing to citizens to use masks

and sanitizers to prevent the spread of Novel Cor-onavirus. It is also taking

Maharashtra caps mask prices

N95 masks to range between Rs 19 to Rs. 49; double /triple-layered mask to cost Rs. 3 and Rs. 4 respectively

Navi Mumbai: Re-publican National Presi-dent and Union Minister of State for Social Jus-tice, Ramdas Athavale on Thursday, 22nd Oc-tober will visit the vic-tims affected due to the floods. He will first visit Pune on 22 October; fol-lowing Satara, Solapur and Sangli districts.

Union Minister of State Ramdas Athavale to visit flood victims

2 Thursday, 22 October 2020

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By Vikram GaikwadNavi Mumbai

When due to the pandemic situ-ation, almost all Uni-versities faced several problems in conducting exams, like failure of the server, poor response of students resulting in can-celling or postponement of the exams, the Yash-wantrao Chavan Maha-rashtra Open University (YCMOU) conducted all its exams without any hurdle for around 2 lakh students. (1 lakh 90 thousand 339). These will continue till 30th of October, 2020.

How could YCMOU do this when servers of other Universities were failing, students were unwilling to appear and question-papers were leaking?

Replying to this, the Registrar Dr. Dinesh Bhonde said, “We had noted that due to the pandemic conventional class-room exams were not possible. We, there-fore, planned in advance and created question banks of each subject. We formulated questions over 3 to 4 times of the usual need and decided to conduct all exams in

the ‘online mode’. This relieved us of the prob-lem of social distancing.

The servers often fail due to logging in of too many students at one time. So, we gave students 5 hours for one paper. The students were enjoying the liberty to write their answers in any one hour of this pe-riod of a given 5 hours. Due to this arrangement they enjoyed the comfort of choosing a convenient time plus the server was never overloaded.

The automated ques-tion bank was providing a different paper for each student thus preventing the possibility of paper-leakage. The time table was also drafted to en-sure equitable number of students falling in each slot.

The Amazon Cloud server of the University is scalable that trans-fer the extra load on a new server each time.

Student were permit-ted to use any system from Amazon, Google, 3 Savers & Azure and any browser from their laptop, android phone, Tablet or P.C.

As the Open Uni-versity’s jurisdiction is spread all over the state, students were in most re-mote and difficult areas of Maharashtra as well. To get good connectiv-ity, some students went outside their homes, some on the terrace and some even climbed hills but none failed to appear. When in the 1st session the turnout was 77% in the second session itself it rose to 87%. Now the exams will be continu-ing till 30th of October 2020.

Dr. Bhonde, also not-ed that this was possible due to the preplanning by his team and insistence on aggressive use of technology by the V.C. - Dr. E. Wayunandan.

Smart planning & technology help Open University to conduct exams of

2 lakh students without any hurdle

Nirgun Sahebrao Kapale, a student of Shirad-hon Kendra in the Nanded division of Yash-wantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University, is on the Jammu and Kashmir border. He com-pleted his third year B.A. Photographs taken while taking the exam online.

Bhagwant Waghmare, a student from here, is doing his online exam of Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University while Border is doing his duty at Rajestha in Military.

By Crime ReporterNavi Mumbai

A 14-year-old boy living in Panvel area sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl liv-ing next door to him. Panvel city police have arrested the minor boy on charges of rape under POCSO Act.

The minor boy and the victim girl both live in the same building and as the victim's mother goes for work, the girl

and her brother stay at home all day. Last week, the victim was returning home from the market, a 14-year-old boy who lived next door to her forcibly took her to the building's terrace. He then sexually assaulted her.

The accused threat-ened to kill her brother if she told anyone about the incident. Scared, the victim girl did not dis-close about the incident

to anyone. However, the next day, when she started to feel unwell, her mother started ques-tioning. She then told her mother about the incident. The victim's mother then lodged a complaint with the Pan-vel City Police Station. According to Assistant Inspector Rajendra Jad-hav, the minor was taken into custody after filing a case against him under the POCSO Act.

14-year-old boy sexually assaults an 11-year-old girl

By Crime Reporter Navi Mumbai

An unidentified woman has alleg-edly cheated a man by giving plain paper against US dollar in re-turn. Kalamboli police have registered a case of cheating against the woman and have started searching for her.

The victim, Balasaheb Khade, 35, is a resident of Adai village in Panvel. On Tuesday morning, while Balasaheb was on his way to Kalamboli for work, an unidentified woman approached him near the Shiv Sena branch. Upon seeing the woman in distress, Balasa-heb asked if she wanted any help, the woman said that she had more than Rs 10,000 in foreign currency and if he

took it and give her Rs 5,000, in In-dian currency it would help her. She also showed him the bundle of dollar she had with her.

After Balasaheb told her that he had only Rs 3,200, the woman took the money and pretended to be giv-ing him dollars in return. Sometime later, Balasaheb inspected the bundle of notes given by the woman, he found that only the first note at the top of the bundle was of 20 dollar and the rest were just papers. Realizing that the woman had cheated him, he reached Kalamboli police station and lodged a complaint. Accordingly, the Kalamboli police have registered a case of cheat-ing against the unidentified woman.

Woman dupes man of Rs 3000

By Chandrashekhar HendveNavi Mumbai

Southern Command, Pune is organising an open online competi-tion with theme “Indian Army : A Symbol of unity in Diversity”. The contest is open to all under various age cat-egories with a total prize award money of Rs 1,22,000/- (Rupees one lac twenty two thousand only) along with award of merit certificate from Indian Army. The com-petition details have also been uploaded on South-ern Command Facebook page “SouthernCom-

mand.IndianArmy” and Twitter handle “IaSouth-ern”.

The competition will involve four competition i.e. Slogan Writing, Vid-eo Making, Photogra-phy and Painting under various age categories. The Videos, Photo-graphs, Paintings and Slogans will have to be uploaded as a message in the Southern Com-mand Facebook page or forwarded on email id sconlinecomp@gmail.com along with mobile number of the contestant and a copy of Aadhar Card / Age Proof.

Headquarters South-ern Command, Pune said the aim of the on-line competition was to nurture and tap the vast talent available in our Nation and urged that people should actively participate in the online competition. The en-tries are open from 19th October 2020 and will close on 10th Decem-ber, 2020. The results of the competition would be announced on 16th December 2020 on the occasion of Vijay Diwas on Southern Command Facebook and Twitter handles.

Southern Command opens online competition

3Thursday, 22 October 2020

By Chandrashekhar Hendve, Navi Mumbai

To offset the dwindling supply of onion, the bulbs are being import-ed from Iran, Turkey and Egypt. The Agriculture Produce Market Com-mittee (APMC) received around 40 tonnes of onion from Iran on Monday and Tuesday.

There is a shortage of onions in the local market due to excessive rainfall that lashed the onion producing areas and damaged the crops. Due to rising demand and less supply, the prices of onions have scaled northwards. In the wholesale market, onions are being sold at around Rs 50 per kg. While in the retail market, the price ranges be-tween Rs 60 to Rs 80 per kg.

In mid-September, the supply of onion at the onion-potato market at the APMC in Vashi was around 7000 quintals. The average price was Rs 15 to 25 per kg then. Presently, only 80-90 trucks of onion are arriving in the market, which is half of the normal supply.

On Monday, around 66 tonnes of onion from Iran arrived at the JNPT of which 40 tonnes arrived at APMC,

Vashi. According to a trader from the APMC, the price of imported onions is around Rs. 40 to 55 per kg.

“The excessive rain adversely hit the onion crop and hence the sup-ply dipped drastically in the market,” said a trader from the Vashi APMC. He added that it will take at least two months for the fresh crop to arrive in the market. Till then, the market will have to depend on export.

“We are receiving onions from Turkey, Egypt, and Iran,” said another trader.

Meanwhile, JNPT has received 600 tonnes of onions from Turkey, Egypt and Iran.

Onions from Iran, Turkey, Egypt arrive in APMC

By Dinesh Pawar, Uran

Gharapuri Gram Panchayat has demanded that the construc-tion of the proposed sea wall at the Gharapuri Island should be started at the earliest. The officials of the Gram Panchayat say the construc-tion of JNPT port has caused huge erosion on the world famous coastal island of Gharapuri Island.

Gharapuri Gram Panchayat Sar-panch Baliram Thakur said, despite consistent follow-up and demand to curtail further erosion caused by the tidal waters, no action has been taken by the concerned officials.

He further said, “After con-tinuous follow-up by the Ghara-puri Sarpanch, 18 months ago, the JNPT has proposed a sea wall at a cost of about Rs 37.50 crore to curb the massive coastal erosion of the island. However, the JNPT failed to get the required permits from the en-vironment department in time. In ad-dition, the work of Gharapuri coastal embankment has been stalled for the last 18 months due to protests by some environmental organizations”.

“The coastal areas around the three villages of the island, Shetban-dar, Morabunder and Rajbandar, have been badly eroded. On the shores of the port of Mora, the roads have been

destroyed and washed away”, said Thakur. “JNPT and Uran tehsildars were made aware of the fact, but it is being ignored”.

Geeta Pawar, assistant conservator of the state's Kandlavan Cell Forest Department, said, “Delays in getting the necessary permission from the Kandalvan Committee and the Envi-ronment Department for this work and subsequent opposition from environ-mental organizations has delayed the construction of the wall”.

Gharapuri Gram Panchayat demands immediate construction of the sea wall

By Pranab Jyoti BhuyanNavi Mumbai

With the opening of the bars, drunk driving has become a matter of serious con-cern for the Navi Mum-bai traffic department. While the traffic officials have realized that a section of motorists are driving vehicles getting drunk, they are unable to check them properly as they are scared of getting infected with Covid-19.

A senior officer from the Vashi traf-fic division wishing not to be named said, “Nor-mally people go to drink at the bars in the evening and return home drunk at night. Some people are now doing this at Vashi too. We can understand that from the way they drive or ride their ve-hicles. But our officials do not show interest to

check them by going closer as they are scared of getting infected with Covid-19. We can un-derstand their problems. The norm of social dis-tancing is applicable for the traffic officials too. Therefore, we are not

forcing our officials to check the motorists if they are not willing to do it on their own.”

According to the traf-fic officials, the problem of drinking driving is normally more in the ar-eas such as Vashi, Kopar Khairane, Nerul, CBD Belapur and Panvel.

“These places have

more bars and restau-rants and hence the number of drunk driving is also more here in com-parison to other places. Our officials have been deployed at all important junctions. However, due to this pandemic we are

unable to take ac-tion against quite a few drunk drivers,” the officer said.

Arun Patil, as-sistant commis-sioner of police (traffic) said, “The menace of drunk driving was under control as the bars

in the city were shut. However, the scenario may not be same now. It is true that we have not started any drive against such people during this pandemic and the rea-sons are obvious. We ap-peal to the city residents to abide by the traffic rules and not to drink and drive on the roads.”

Traffic officials go slow on drunk drivers due to Covid-19

By Crime ReporterNavi Mumbai

A married woman, who could not bring Rs 12 lakh from her parents for buy-ing a house, committed suicide by hanging her-self at her residence in Kunde village of Uran. Following the incident, Mora Marine Police has registered a case against seven persons, including the husband of the de-ceased, and her father-in-law for inciting sui-cide. Her husband and father-in-law have been arrested.

The deceased, iden-tified as Chandrabhaga alias Aarti, 26, of Parb-hani district, was mar-ried in 2015 to Laxman Pralhad Andhale, 30, of Latur district. At the

wedding, Chandrabha's father had given all kinds of household items and a gold ring to his son-in-law Laxman Andhale. After marriage, Laxman Andhale came to live in Kunde village of Uran with Chandrabhaga. After few years of mar-riage, Laxman Andhale started beating Chan-drabhaga and forced her to get Rs 12 lakh from her house to buy a house. Chandrabhaga informed this to her parents. How-ever, Chandrabhaga's father, Vitthal Latpate, told about his inability to give the amount as he was not getting income from agriculture. Since then, Chandrabhaga was harassed and tortured by her father-in-law and husband.

Last month, Lax-man Andhale also threw kerosene on Chandrab-haga with an intention to burn her. For the last five years, Chandrab-haga's father-in-law had been harassing her in various ways. Fed up with this, on Octo-ber 18, Chandrabhaga committed suicide by hanging herself at her residence. After Vitthal Latpate lodged a com-plaint at the Mora Ma-rine Police Station, the police registered a case against Chandrabhaga's husband and other mem-bers of the family. Her husband Laxman And-hale and father-in-law, Ram Andhale have been arrested, said senior po-lice inspector Sandipan Shinde.

Married woman commits suicide after being tortured by in-laws and husband

7 people charged with harassment; husband and father-in-law arrested

4 Thursday, 22 October 2020

We often dream of going to a place which is new, adventur-ous, fierce, scenic and picturesque but with the lockdown commenc-ing, a lot of people are craving to even watch a beautiful sunset at a nearby seashore or just having a nice walk with a friend or a confidante. This is how our life has turned out to be because of all the distancing caused due to the virus. I remember my friends speaking of missing the “Local Train” jour-ney which at one point, all of us hated but with our life literally coming to a standstill, all of us want that chaotic morn-ings of hush and push while reaching our col-lege or our work place. The feeling of being that special person who is be-ing envied by the whole “dabba” after getting the window seat was just phenomenal.

When I speak of

trains and students, it is directly proportional to all the middle-class kids who travel to get bet-ter education and qual-ity learning in various known colleges through trains to various parts of the city. I remember having this conversation with my friends on how different it is for a per-son who travels to CST for college and a person who travels to Panvel.

I asked one of my friends about her experi-ence as a traveller who travels to CST for her college, she exclaimed that her journey includ-ed a lot of rush but her solace was the 15 min-utes power nap she took every time before she reached her destination. She said, “It is inevi-table, the crowd and the rush in a CST train and in all these chaos there will be a student who was wishing to have a peaceful journey to his/her college, but as time passes this becomes a major part of the jour-ney and sooner than he remembers, this whole noisy situation there is something the person

cannot enjoy this with-out”.

On the other hand, when I spoke to some of the students travel-ling to Panvel, they ex-plained that their journey couldn’t be completed with the whole view of greenery and beautiful mountains and small streams that come on way and looking at

them makes them feel alive again. It becomes a ritual for some students to see all of it while on their way to college which reminds them that between all of this rum-pus, we need to be alive and living the best of our lives.

I personally wouldn't compare both these jour-neys because they are so much different and vivid

in their own way and have their own specific importance in a person’s life. It has become so much of a part in every middle class’s life that with this lockdown, we have started to miss our local train journey and cannot wait to get back there in a full jam packed ‘dabba’ with people ask-ing for us to shift a little

more, move a bit and trying rigorously to get ourselves a seat. Every single journey of a per-son has a personal touch to it. I still remember when I was in College, I always met this girl who used to read the Harry Potter series while on her way to college and I always wondered which house she preferred. There was this lady who

used to board the train from Mankhurd and used to get down at Pan-vel. She was something different. I always loved the smile on her face, the glow, the excite-ment on her face felt so refreshing even to a per-son looking at her. Only after months of seeing her travel with me I rea-lised that every time she boarded the train, she used to video call a per-son and used to speak in sign language. I clearly remember this one time I sat besides her and she was speaking to her and I smiled and she turned towards me to tell that it was her Husband who was verbally disabled and she called him every time while she was in the train as her husband wanted to make sure that she was safe. I think that was the most beautiful thing for a long time.

While speaking to an expert, Dr. Nahid Dave, who is a consultant psy-chiatrist, she exclaimed how everything we go through in a day be-comes a part of our life which means that travel-ling also becomes a part

of our life and we look forward to it every single day. There are biologi-cal and psychological reasons why we tend to miss our normal regular life. So, when our rou-tine gets disturbed, our biological sleep wake cycle gets disturbed as well. Also, everything that we see now in our surroundings, is within the four walls and lacks stimulation and there is no change as we are see-ing the same things over and over again without anything new to see or experience.

Dr. Dave added, “If you are travelling by train or in a bus to your college or your work-place you tend to see something new every single travel or meeting a new person. It could be as small as seeing a new type of car from a new shop that has opened on your way. So, there is always some novelty, some kind of curiosity going on in your mind. That stimulation is total-ly gone right now with the Pandemic hitting us suddenly. We didn't ex-pect our lives to come to this standstill and the

The urge to have a regular life once again

What is fluoride?Fluoride is a natu-

rally occurring mineral which helps prevent cavities and makes teeth stronger. It is present naturally in food and water. Fluoride levels in ground water and tap water are regulated between 0.7-1.2 ppm (parts per million).

Why is fluoride im-portant for teeth?

Fluoride plays a role in mineralization or de-velopment of the tooth. This imparts strength to the tooth structure mak-ing it resistant to tooth

decay.Permanent teeth start

to erupt around the age of 6 years. They con-tinue to grow and erupt until the age of 12-13 years. During tooth development, fluoride helps in calcium up-take and strengthens the tooth. External applica-tion of fluoride up to the age of 6 years can prove to be helpful by prevent-ing decay in milk teeth and strengthening per-manent teeth.

Fluorides are avail-able in various forms for application by dentists and for use by patients. Fluoridated toothpastes and mouthwashes are available for use by children. A pea sized amount of fluoridated

toothpaste should be used to prevent excess application.

Fluorides can be ap-plied professionally by dentists in the form of a varnish, gel, solution and foam. These contain higher levels of fluo-ride and can be carried out 2-3 times a year de-pending on the requirement of the patient.

In adults, fluoride appli-cation can help tackle initial tooth decay to a certain extent and help prevent newer cavities. Fluoride application also helps to tackle tooth sensitivity.

Fluoride applications are recommended for patients who suffer from extensive tooth decay, dry mouth (xerostomia), gum disease, etc.

Fluoride toxicity: Too much of anything is bad. Similarly, intake of high levels of fluoride causes fluoride to be de-

posited in the teeth and bones in excess amounts making the teeth and bones hard, brittle and of poor quality. This condi-tion is called fluoriosis. Mild fluorosis can cause whitish spots or streaks over the tooth surface. More severe forms lead to dark brown stains and pitting over the tooth surface. Fluorosis of the body can cause osteo-porosis, arthritis, brittle bones, etc. In young children, signs of fluo-rosis can also present as nausea and vomiting.

In India, states of Andhra Pradesh, Guja-rat, Rajasthan, Karna-taka and Maharashtra are among the few states where high fluoride content is seen in wa-

ter. Children growing in these areas frequently present with fluoro-sis of the teeth. Dental fluorosis is permanent and cannot be reversed. However, extreme cases of tooth discolouration and pitting can be treat-ed for better esthetics.

In summary, fluo-ride treatments are safe for most people. Side effects commonly oc-cur only after ingest-ing large amounts of fluoride. Tooth brushing with fluoridated in chil-dren is recommended and should be monitored closely to prevent swal-lowing or use of excess toothpaste.

Dr. Aditi Mahajani is Periodontist and Oral

Implantologist

Tooth Be Told: Fluoride treatments: What you need to know?

By: Dr. Aditi Mahajani

By Ryhea George

CONTINUED ON PAGE... 5

5Thursday, 22 October 2020

Jai Ambe Navratra Ustav Mandal, Sector 9, Vashi is celebrating Shardiya Navratri for the 25th year with devotion and religious fervour, devoid of any fanfare this time around. The devotees will be performing daily aartis of Goddess Durga twice a day while adhering to all Covid-19 norms as laid down by the state government and local civic authorities during the course of the nine day festival. Special prayer will be held on Ashtami from 11.am onwards at the venue. Founder President: (Late) Prakash S Mate, Chairman: Mahesh Mate; Secretary: Bhaskar Shetty; Treasurer: Vilas Kamble. (By Ashok Dhamija)

Jai Ambe…

A glimpse of Shri Ratneshwari Devi, Jaskhar in Uran taluka (By Dinesh Pawar)

Uran: Founder President Gurukul Academy, Prashant Patil, offering prayer to Goddess at the Academy’s Sarvajanik Navratri Festival 2020 (By Dinesh Pawar)

Set up state water grid to address flooding problem in Mumbai: Nitin Gadkari

By Chandrahekhar Hendve

Union Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari has called for formation of a State Water Grid in Ma-harashtra to overcome the recurring crisis of floods being faced by Mumbai. In a letter written to the Maharash-tra Chief Minister Shri Uddhav Thackerey on Wednesday, the Minister reiterated that formation of a State Water Grid would also help the government ensure availability of water in drought prone areas.

“We have experienced that every year Mumbai suffers huge losses due to the floods. Hence, there is an ur-gent need to prepare an integrated plan to handle flood situation effectively to avoid losses” said Gadkari. The Minister further said that, if system-atically planned, flood water, drainage and sewerage can be diverted towards Thane and entire diverted influx can be stored in a dam, after treating this water mid-way. This water can be used for irrigation, industries around the city and for supplying water to nearby horticulture belts. Through pipelines, excess water can be car-ried to other drought prone areas of the state as well. Shri Gadkari also called for setting up of water recycling plants in large residential colonies of Mumbai and its satellite cities as part of sustainable initiative.

The Minister said that the prob-lems of floods, drainage management, sewerage, potable water in Mumbai should be given an integral thought as the issues are interlinked. Shri Gadkari

asked the State Govern-ment to get a Detailed Project Report prepared by an international con-sultant under the work coordinated by MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Development Authority) since the problems are not limited to city limits of Mumbai.

Shri Gadkari, who holds the portfolio of Road Transport & High-

ways, also asked the State Govern-ment to take up the project to convert all city roads in Mumbai into cement concrete roads. Stating that the tar roads do not sustain the heavy rains that Mumbai witnesses, the Minister gave the example of Mumbai-Pune Express Highway, built nearly two decades ago, that has stood the test of time. “On the same lines, concrete roads can be constructed in Mumbai along with advanced drainage system to carry sewerage and flood water” he added.

The Minister also asked the Ma-harashtra Chief Minister to support the water transport initiative and said “the MbPT (Mumbai Port Trust) has already planned for water transport services and a sea tourism that will make Mumbai, along with being the financial capital, the country’s hub for Sea Transport & Tourism”.

Shri Gadkari also sought the sup-port of NCP chief Shri Sharad Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Ajit Pawar, State PWD Minister Shri Ashok Cha-van, Water Resources Minister Shri Jayant Patil and other senior leaders for his proposals.

NAVI MUMBAI: Terming the proposed 21 floor commercial tower at Vashi bus depot by NMMC a ‘White Elephant’, city activists have request-ed the State Government to keep it on hold and prioritise public health.

People's health, and not commer-cial towers, should be the top priority, said activist B N Kumar, director of NatConnect Foundation.

In a letter to Chief Minister Ud-dhav Thackeray, the activist said, “The decision to build the 21 floor tower at bus depot plot at Vashi is go-ing to cause lot of infrastructure cri-sis than solving any. The environment clearance is only technical, but from practical point of view it spells disaster for Vashi traffic and other logistics.”

The plot is surrounded by narrow roads that are barely able to bear the current traffic load, he said and point-ed out, “That is why, during non lock-down times, we see traffic jams even at 10 in the night. Moreover, the com-mercial tower is going to be a white elephant.”

The real estate is in severe crisis with lot of unsold stock, including commercial. Several malls which have been shut down due to lack of

demand are planning office/commer-cial complexes, he said. Moreover, post COVID, the office landscape is going to change - in fact is already changing. Work from home or work from anywhere where one can main-tain distancing, is the new normal.

“We, as tax payers, urge you to re-consider the decision to construct the tower, go for thorough research be-fore venturing into it, and also exam-ine the infrastructure and logistics,” says Mr. Kumar.

Vashi is below the sea level and is always prone to floods and water log-ging, said Nandakumar Pawar, Head bof Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishthan. “At a time when one is concerned about floods in Parel, Worli, why do we want to create similar problem in Vashi?” he questioned.

The activists therefore, requested the CM to ask NMMC to keep the Bus Depot Development plan on hold and focus on local infrastructure de-velopment.

“World Health Organization has already warned of more deadly virus attacks in future even if we have vac-cine for COVID. Please reconsider the priorities," Kumar added.

Vashi bus depot tower a ‘White Elephant’, say activists

worst part is that we don't know when it's go-ing to end and there is no particular deadline to this. It keeps on extend-ing and that uncertainty is playing on in every-one's mind. The other thing is that the bus or

train is a representation of us moving freely or having a changed envi-ronment as we are social beings, so such changes make a huge difference in our lives.”

We all have those days when we just want to wander and find a new place to visit. We all need to have a break from this

sedentary life that we are having and finding a new place where we could find some solace in all this turbulence. I hope things get better in time and we all get back to our normal ‘dabba’ days with all the lovely commotion and drama which was the source of entertainment back then.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

THE URGE TO HAVE A REGULAR LIFE...

6 Thursday, 22 October 2020

EditorialISSUE: 115 22 OCTOBER, 2020

Slowly and gradually, the world is drifting towards a climate catas-trophe which can easily be termed as the biggest crisis facing humankind. We can see glaciers melting and collapsing on the web; ice losses in Antarctica have tripled since 2012 so that sea levels are rising faster today than at any time in the last quarter-century.

The scientists have been warning about the impending danger since long. In 1896, a Swedish scientist said that adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere could lead to warmer global temperatures. By the 1930s, scientists were measuring the in-crease and in the late 1960s, they had documented the impact of melting ice in Antarctica. However, inspite of these warnings, human beings have allowed the problem to grow deeper and today we are standing at the threshold making it impossible to ignore the climate change any fur-ther. According to NASA, 18 of the 19 warmest years ever recorded have occurred since 2000. The last five years have been the hottest since re-cord-keeping began in 1880, it is said.

We tend to think of climate change as a monumental global chal-lenge that can be reduced only by the concerted efforts of nations and by governments and international corporations. While this is true to a certain extent, but the responsibil-ity towards our planet earth lies with each one of us as well and we can all contribute in solving the problem at

an individual level.To begin with, we can make our

commute green. This can be done by opting for public transportation rather than own vehicles or by car-pooling. Going to work or markets by bike, if possible, is another best option and will go a long way in cut-ting down carbon emission.

Secondly, we can be more con-servative with energy usage. Simple steps like turning off lights and un-plugging devices when not in use; replacing light bulbs with energy ef-ficient bulbs help in saving electric-ity thereby reducing pollution.

We can also contribute immense-ly by recycling or reusing products. Manufacturing plants emit a large number of greenhouse gasses per year. It is unavoidable in the produc-tion of goods that we use on a regular basis. However, an alternative solu-tion is to invest in recycling, which is cost effective and eco-friendly process.

Most importantly, we can spread awareness among others about cli-mate change. Either by word of mouth or social media, it is essential to educate others on what climate change is doing to our planet and the impending danger.

It is already quite late and we have inflicted serious damages to the environment. Along with the govern-ment, it is the responsibility of each one of us to save the environment and preserve the planet for future generation.

Impending danger

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1ABANDONED VEHICLES..

charge (of every single day) according to the rules and regulations of PCMC. Due to this drive, almost all aban-doned vehicles had van-ished from the roads by end of 2019.

Arun Patil, assistant commissioner of police (traffic) said, “We had towed away hundreds of vehicles that we found abandoned on roads. However, we had to stop the drive after the announcement of the lockdown as our priori-ties changed during the pandemic. We are plan-ning to restart it in next couple of weeks.”

Explaining why people abandon vehi-cles, Patil said, “A huge number of housing so-cieties in Navi Mumbai do not have sufficient parking lots. But sev-eral families purchase two to three vehicles. When one of those ve-hicles gets defunct, they normally leave them on the roads. Such vehicles remain on the roads till the time the owners find people to sell those.”

The residents claim that a huge number of cars were abandoned on the roads in the past four to five months.

Vivek Pandey, a res-ident of Belapur said, “The roads around our

building were empty before the lockdown. However, now we can see quite a few aban-doned cars on the roads. We don’t know where these cars came from.”

Sudhakar Bhosale, a resident of Kopar Khairane said, “There is hardly any desig-nated parking lot at Kopar Khairane. So, people who come to shop here, have to park their vehicles on the roads. Now because of the abandoned vehicles, we cannot even do that. The traffic department should pay due atten-tion to the matter and restart the drive against such vehicles.”

By Ashok Dhamija, Mumbai

Central Railway (CR) have decided to run 48 Puja / Festival season Special Trains between Mumbai-Gor-akhpur / Patna, Pune-Nizamuddin/Madgaon and Nagpur-Madgaon to clear the extra rush of passengers. The details are as under:

A) Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Gorakhpur Bi-Weekly Superfast Specials

Train No. 02165 Bi-Weekly Spe-cial will leave Lokmanya Tilak Termi-nus (LTT), Mumbai at 5.23 hrs o n ev-ery Monday and Thursday from 22nd October to 30th November,.2020 (12 trips) and will reach Gorakhpur at 11.25 hrs o n next day. On its return directions Train No.02166 Bi- Weekly Special will leave Gorakhpur at 15.45 hrs o n every Tues-day & Friday from 23rd October to 1st December, 2020 (12 trips) and arrive at LTT, Mumbai at 21.30 hrs o n next day. The above Bi-Weekly Spe-cial will include O ne AC-2 Tier, Four AC-3 Tier, Eleven Second Sleeper Class and Six Second Class Seat-ing Coaches. Halts en-route includes Thane, Kalyan, Igatpuri, Nashik Road, Manmad, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Itarsi, Jabalpur, Katni, Satna, Pryagraj, Jang-hai, Bhadohi, Varanasi, Mau and Deo-ria Sadar stations in both directions.

B) Mumbai-Patna Bi-Weekly Superfast Specials

Train No. 03260 Bi-Weekly Su-perfast Special will leave Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Mumbai at 11:05 hrs o n every Tuesday and Friday from 23rd October to 1st December, 2020 (12 trips) and arrive at Patna at 15:35 hrs next day. Train No. 03259 Bi- Weekly Superfast Spe-cial will leave Patna at 13:00 hrs o n every Wednesday & Sunday from 21st October to 29th November,.2020 (12 trips) and arrive at 15:35 hrs CSMT, Mumbai next day at 16:05 hrs. The above Bi-Weekly Special will include O ne AC-2 Tier, Four AC-3 Tier and Eight Second Coaches. Halts en-route includes Bhusaval Jn, Jabalpur, Satna, Prayagraj Chheoki, Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay Jn and Raghunathpur in both directions.

C) Pune-Nizamuddin AC Super-fast Weekly Specials

Train No. 04418 AC Superfast Weekly Special will leave Nizamud-din at 21.35 hrs o n every Tuesday from 20th October to 24th November, 2020 (6 trips) and will reach Pune at 21.25 hrs next day. On its return directions Train No. 04417 AC Superfast Week-ly Special will leave Pune at 5.15 hrs

o n every Thursday from 22nd October to 26th November, 2020 (6 trips) and reach Nizamuddin at 5.35 hrs next day. The above Weekly Special will include Six AC-2 Tier and 10 AC-3 Tier Coaches. Halts en-route includes Lonavala, Kalyan, Vasai Road, Vapi, Surat, Vadodara, Ratlam, Kota and Mathura stations in both directions.

D) Nagpur-Madgaon Weekly Specials

Train No. 01235 Weekly Special will leave Nagpur at 16.00 hrs o n ev-ery Friday from 23rd October to 6th November,.2020 (3 trips) and reach Madgaon at 16.40 hrs next day. On its return directions Train No. 01236 Weekly Special will leave Madgaon at 19.40 hrs o n every Saturday from 24th October to 7th November, 2020

(3 trips) and arrive Nagpur at 20.30 hrs next day. The above Weekly Special will include O ne AC-2 Tier, Four AC-3 Tier, Eleven Second Sleeper Class and Six Second

Class Seating Coaches. Halts en-route includes

Wardha, Badnera, Akola, Bhusaval, Nashik Road, Igatpuri, Ka-lyan, Panvel, Roha, Mangaon, Khed, Chiplun, Sangameshwar Road, Rat-nagiri, Rajapur Road, Vaibhavwadi Road, Kankavali, Sindhudurg, Kudal, Sawantwadi Road, Thivim, and Kar-mali stations in both directions.

E) Pune-Madgaon Weekly Spe-cial

Train No. 01409 Weekly Special will leave Pune at 18.45 hrs o n ev-ery Friday from 23rd October to 6th November,.2020 (3 trips) and arrive Madgaon at 8.30 hrs the next day. On its return directions Train No. 01410 Weekly Special will leave Madgaon at 16.00 hrs o n every Saturday from 24th October to 7th November, 2020 (3 trips) and arrive Pune at 5.50 hrs next day. The above Weekly Special will include O ne AC-2 Tier, Four AC-3 Tier, Eleven Second Sleeper Class and Six Second Class Seat-ing Coaches. Halts en-route includes Lonavala, Panvel, Roha, Mangaon, Khed, Chiplun, Sangameshwar Road, Ratnagiri, Rajapur Road, Vaibhavwa-di Road, Kankavali, Sindhudurg, Ku-dal, Sawantwadi Road, Thivim, and Karmali stations in both directions. Bookings for all above Specials can be made at all computerized reserva-tion centres and on website www.irctc.co.in on Special charges. Confirmed passengers are advised to adhere to all norms, SOPs related to COVID19 during the boarding, travel and at des-tination.

CR to run additional 72 Puja/Festival season special trains

7Thursday, 22 October 2020

punitive action against those who do not wear masks. However, due to the huge increase in the price of hand sanitiz-ers and masks, the gen-eral public were finding it difficult to purchase these.

Accordingly, a com-mittee was set up to fix the rates of sanitizers and masks. The com-mittee held discussions with the manufacturing

companies before fixing the rates. The production area, office, warehouse of the manufacturer, supplier, and distribu-tor were visited and the cost of production of the manufactured goods and its net price were deter-mined with the help of the Cost Auditor.

The maximum sell-ing price limit will be applicable to all mask manufacturing compa-nies/distributors/ retail-ers in the state. All mask

manufacturers/ distribu-tors/ retailers in the state will be required to dis-play the quality of the mask and its fixed maxi-mum selling price.

The minister further said, “In case of any grievance in this regard, at the state level, the Commissioner, Food and Drug Administra-tion and at the district level, the Collector will be the competent au-thority for action against the grievances”.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1MAHARASHTRA CAPS..

22

PUBLIC NOTICEThis is to the notice of the General Public that my client MR.RAJKUMAR CHANDRASEN CHAVAN, constituted attorney of MRS. BEENA RAJKUMAR CHAVAN, address – At & Post Hari-hareshwar, Post. Maral, Tal. Shrivardhan, Dist.Raigad, as per his request, publishing the said notice. MRS. BEENA RAJKUMAR CHAVAN is the lawful owner and peaceful possession of the fol-lowing mentioned property, as follow :-

SCHEDULE OF THE PROPERTYFlat No.B-002, Sai Sadan Co-op. Hsg. Society, Plot No.56,

Sector – 19, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai – 410210.The original Share Certificate bearing no.16 dated 11th May 1999, Society Reg.No.669 dated 21.07.1998 in respect of the said flat has been lost and / or misplaced by my client on 10.10.2019 while traveling from Harihareshwar to Shrivardhan by S.T. Bus.My client has lodged document missing complaint in Shrivard-han Police Station under Doc.Missing Reg.No.211/2019 on 16.10.2019.If any person holding or anybody found the said original Share Cer-tificate, please hand over the same to the following address. If any person/s misuse the said document and sale and transfer the said Flat, my client will not be responsible for the same. Sd/- SUHASINI S. MOHITE Advocate, High Court 14, Prabhat Centre, Sector-1A, CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai - 400 614. M. No.9833129528

By Abhitash D.Singh, Navi Mumbai

Very soon the Navi Mumbaikars will be able to travel to South Mumbai and back in just 30-40 minutes. As of now the travelling dis-tance is 1-2 hours, but the upcoming water taxi services by the Mum-bai Port Trust (MbPT) will make the distance shorter.

Earlier the project was scheduled to be completed in October, 2019 and later it got postponed to February, 2020 but again due to the pandemic and lock-down in the country it was not possible to start the services. But finally the water taxis are likely to start by early 2021.

Speaking with the Newsband correspon-dent, the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) official

on the condition of ano-nymity said, "We have appointed six agencies to operate water taxis from the domestic cruise ter-minal (DCT) at Princess Dock in South Mumbai. The operation by the agencies will be from DCT to Belapur, Nerul, Vashi, JNPT, Karanja, Kanhoji Angre, Revas and Dharamtar. Also Kanhoji Angre Island is also being developed as a tourist spot."

The official further added that, " The cost of the project is Rs.35 crores which includes five speedboats and the destination will be covered from MbPT to Thane, Airoli, Vashi, Nerul and Belapur, the upcoming airport in Panvel, JNPT, Mand-wa near Alibaug and Karanja near Kanhoje Angre. The service is likely to start within five months."

Water taxis to shorten travel distance for Navi MumbaikarsServices to start by early 2021

PUBLIC NOTICECHANGE OF NAME

I, MR. BAGARAM JODHAJI PRAJAPATI, age 56 years, resid-ing at Flat no. 202, 2nd Floor, Swami Krupa Niwas, House No. 0469, Sector 9, Diva Village, Airoli, Navi Mumbai - 400708, inform all public as under: That my old name was MR. BASANT JODHAJI PRAJAPATI, in all documents. At the time of making of my aadhar card my new and present name was recorded as MR. BAGARAM JODHAJI PRAJAPATI. That in my all identity My correct and present name is MR. BAGARAM JODHAJI PRAJAPATI. That Now I want to record my name as MR. BAGARAM JODHAJI PRAJAPATI in my all identity and documents. My aadhar Card no.4837 5883 5318 and I am presently resending at Diva Village, Airoli, Navi Mumbai. That I am publishing this public notice for all purposes and to sub-mit to the Government authority and any Government office the same to confirm and declare that my new and present name is MR. BAGARAM JODHAJI PRAJAPATI. Solemnly Affirm at Navi Mumbai On this 19th day of October, 2020 Sd/- MR. BAGARAM JODHAJI PRAJAPATI, Deponent

By Crime Reporter Navi Mumbai

Pretending to be police, three men looted gold chain worth Rs 12,000 from a senior citizen. The CBD police have registered a case and have lunched the search.

The victim, Anant Govind Vichare, 66, a resident of Dombivali, works in an office in Sec-tor 11, CDB Belapur. On

October 17, after getting down from the bus, he started walking towards his office around 11 am. Two men, who were standing on the side of the road near the Central Bank, intercepted him, pretending to be police. During the same time, a third man approached him and asked him to re-move the chain and keep it in the bag.

Believing them, he himself removed the gold chain from his neck and put it in his bag. As they engaged Vichare in talks, the duo removed the chain from the bag and fled.

When he checked the bag, he realised that his gold chain was looted. He then reached CBD police station and lodged a complaint.

Fake cops loot senior citizen

PUBLIC NOTICENotice is hereby given that my client Mr Aslam Ibrahim Shaikh the is the owner of flat at 102, A wing, Mukesh Apartment, Pooja Na-gar, Mira Road, Dist- Thane 401107, along with Document No 3518/95 has been lost/misplaced and not traceable even after her diligent efforts. If any person have found the same shall return it at the below mentioned address within 15 days of the publication of this notice or the same shall be considered as lost and after which necessary process shall be followed. Sd/- Adv. MRS. SUJATA JOTIBA PATIL B.A. LL.B. ADVOCATE HIGH COURT VISAVA CHS., PLOT NO.E-124 /13, SECTOR-12, KHARGHAR, NAVI MUMBAI - 410 210. Date :22.10.2020 Mob. 8879416483

I, Shashank Shankar Jad-hav father of Mrudul Sha-shank Jadhav rectified her name from MRUDUL JADHAV to MRUDUL SHASHANK JADHAV.

Affidavit 6985/2020 date 19/10/2020

CHANGE OF NAME

8 Thursday, 22 October 2020

By Ashok DhamijaNavi Mumbai

The prevailing COVID-19 pan-demic has provided an important reminder for each one of us that one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of germs and viruses, in a bid to stay healthy, is to wash hands. Keeping hands clean by washing it with soap and water regularly, will not only prevent onset of diar-rheal disease but also respiratory infections, such as a cold or the flu in many instances across all age groups.

To inculcate this habit among the stu-dents and to make them aware of present pan-demic situation, Ryan Christian School, Vashi organised an online ac-tivity for its Mont I to Grade II students on the occasion of ‘Global Handwashing Day’ under the leadership of Section Head Shar-let Fernandes. On the occasion the teachers imparted their knowl-edge to the little ones on the various aspects that need to be incul-cated in day to day life, especially at key times such as after using the bathroom, when pre-paring food, before eat-ing, and after coughing, sneezing, or blowing nose. The enthusiastic children also took part in fun filled activities which included poster making, fancy dress and practical demonstration based on the theme of the day from the safety of their homes

“Many germs that can make people sick are spread when we don’t wash our hands with soap and clean, running water. Each year on October 15, Global Handwashing Day highlights the im-portance of this fact be it at home, work place, in the community, and around the world. That is why this day serves as a yearly reminder that hand washing with soap and water is one of the

best steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. A number of fun filled virtual activi-ties were also organised by our institute for our young students to drive home this message” shared Sharlet Fer-nandes, Section Head of the institute

Edwin Fernando, Principal of the institute added “The 2020 Glob-

al Handwashing Day theme is ‘Hand Hygiene for All’. This year’s theme follows the recent global initiative calling on all of society to scale up hand hygiene, espe-cially through hand-washing with soap. This year’s theme reminds us that we must work to-ward universal access and practice of hand-washing with soap for now and for a healthy future”.

Handwashing- Key to safe health

Work towards universal ac-cess and practice of hand-washing with soap for now and for a healthy future

Sharing the importance of Handwashing

Do it frequently

Make those bubbles kill those troubles

Simple steps for washing hands

By Pranab Jyoti BhuyanNavi Mumbai

Seven residents of Uran were scandal-ized after they spotted an Indian spectacled

venomous cobra near a bus stop on Monday morning.

According to the residents, they were waiting for the bus at the bus stop at Taki village around 9.30 am. That was when they spotted the venomous snake trying to enter the bus stop from a side. Scared, they raised an alarm and came out of the bus stop from the other side.

One of them im-mediately informed the Care of Nature (CON), an Uran based non-governmental organiza-

tion (NGO) about it. The volunteers from the NGO reached the spot after a while and rescued the snake.

“There is a forest

area behind the bus stop and we believe that the snake came out from there. The snake was not so big, but was capable to harming the people. We captured it carefully and later released it at the dense forest near the Ransai dam,” said Raju Mumbaikar, founder of the NGO.

The Indian specta-cled cobra, also known as the Asian cobra or binocellate cobra, is a snake found, in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan, and is a mem-ber of the ‘big four’ spe-

cies that inflict the most snakebites on humans in India. It is revered in Indian mythology and culture, and is often seen with snake charm-

ers. It is now protected in India under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972).

“Most people have no idea about how to handle reptiles the right way. We have observed that many people try to kill the snake as soon as they spot one. Instead of killing them if anyone calls us, we will send our members to that place and they will rescue it,” Mumbaikar said.

If anyone spots a snake in, the NGO can be contacted on 9819198947.

Indian cobra enters bus stop at Uran, rescued by NGO

New Milan Housing Society Women's Group celebrating Navratri Utsav in Uran (By Dinesh Pawar)