Weeklong Bandra Fair begins today Mumbai: The annual Bandra Fair, which follows the birthday celebration of Mother Mary, begins at Mt Mary Basilica on Sunday. The weeklong festivities end on September 18. Lakhs of people arrive to pray and savour the simple delights of the fair, including Goan sweets like sugar-coated ‘kadio bodio’ as well as chana or black gram. Bishop Agnelo Gracias will officiate at the special mass on Friday while Oswald Cardinal Gracias, the archbishop of Bombay, will do so next Sunday. The newly appointed rector of Mt Mary Basilica, Bishop John Rodrigues, says lakhs of visitors of all faiths arrive everyday to pray before the statue of Our Lady. “Every morning, we have a series of masses starting from 5.30am through 11.30am. Most of the masses are in English but the one at 11.30am is held in numerous regional languages like Marathi, Konkani, Tamil, Malayalam and Gujarati for the benefit of ethnic communities. This year has been declared as the Year of Mercy, and several believers have been coming to enter through the Door of Mercy in our church. There are others who merely sit and gaze at the statue of Our Lady and attain peace.”— Bella Jaisinghani
WEATHER Colaba
Santacruz
30.8°/ 31° / 22.6° 26° Sunrise: Monday 0625 hrs Sunset: Sunday 1845 hrs Forecast: One or two spells of rain/showers likely to occur . Maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be 31deg. celsius and 24 deg. celsius respectively. Relative humidity: Colaba 82%, Santacruz 69% Season’s total rainfall: Colaba 1792mm; Santacruz 2243mm
FAREWELL, MY LORD
Mumbai: Over 1 lakh people in India and abroad have registered to participate in simultaneous rallies to be held in 45 cities across the country and 30 international spots to press for stronger animal protection laws. The massive ‘India Unites for Animals’ demos will be held on September 18. “Animal carers have decided to stage this massive pan-India rally as we are really getting more and more frustrated by the weak prevailing animal rights laws, wherein the abusers can easily get bail. Also, pay a paltry penalty for something as heinous as burning puppies alive or beating a horse to death. It is about time this cruel madness ends in India,” said Mumbai-based activist Anand Siva, who is among the core organisers for the event. Siva added that they are constantly receiving missed calls on their hotline number (1800-30005581) to participate in the rallies. It will be held in all the big metros as well as other places including Jaipur, Pune, Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, Bangalore, Lucknow, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Goa among others. “By simply giving a missed call on the number, thousands of citizens and those abroad have shown that they do care for animal rights, which is heartening. However, our big challenge is to get the parliamentarians to get a stringent Prevention of Cruelty
K K Choudhary
Govt’s new ‘bid’ to get pvt players in public projects State Drafts Policy To Let Entrepreneurs Pick Works Prafulla.Marpakwar @timesgroup.com
Ganpati idols being rowed out for immersion at the Koparkhairane pond in Navi Mumbai on Saturday
Mumbai: The Devendra Fadnavis government, on Saturday, has drafted an ambitious Swiss Challenge Method (SCM) to encourage private sector participation in taking up projects of public interest, which were so far not taken by the state government. “It’s new concept for taking up projects, which were ignored or could not be taken up owing to resource crunch. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have already successfully taken up projects of public interest with the help of private sector. We have circula-
ted the draft policy and invited suggestions and objections, once the exercise is over, we will come out with a comprehensive policy on SCM,” a senior bureaucrat told TOI. Elaborating on SCM concept, the bureaucrat said it is expected that an entrepreneur will identify suo moto, a project of public interest and submit a comprehensive proposal to the government. Then the government will float tenders for the project, if there are some better proposals, then the original project proponent is given an opportunity to review his own proposal and submit a fresh one if required. He also said that the original project proponent will have to justify the ne-
ed of the proposal submitted by him, prepare a detailed project report and expenses incurred by him for the survey work. Then the proposal is examined by the concerned department. He made it clear that it will be ensured that under SCM, no monopoly will be created, proposals below Rs 50 crore will not be accepted and that the proposals should not be contrary to the provisions of law. “The Supreme Court has prescribe guidelines for SCM. In our draft policy, we have ensured that the guidelines prescribed by it are implemented in toto. We are in the process of publishing a comprehensive list of works, which can be undertaken under SCM ,’’ he said.
Indo-Swedish exhibition to capture tales of differently-abled Mohua.Das@timesgroup.com
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ushma Chandanshive’s drive to be independent has often moved her to tears. Using a wheelchair meant dropping out of school and landing a job at a care home but the 25-year-old from Mumbai is determined to pursue a better calling. “If only there was a way to access transport and offices with a wheelchair,” she says. Sahar Mosleh, on another side of the globe, is a lesbian and an immigrant with congenital brittle bones who sits on wheelchair and stands out in a crowd in Stockholm. “Why should I have to explain myself ?” asks Sahar, an operations leader. What the giggly Sahar values most about living in Sweden is a personal assistant, nine hours a day that has helped step up her game.
On Sept 18, pan-India rallies to seek stringent animal protection laws Vijay.Singh@timesgroup.com
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TIMES CITY
SUNDAY TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI SEPTEMBER 11, 2016
ACTIVISTS’ DEMANDS Animals’ Welfare Bill must be passed by Parliament. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act was passed in 1960 and has not been changed since Better enforcement and tougher punishment for abusers Greater accountability Accord tribunal status to Animal Welfare Board of India and stop interfering in its functioning Work, fight and drive for an animal-friendly agenda in the country, with intent to work closely with relevant authorities to Animals Act, as that will be a deterrent for those who abuse animals for either profit for sadistic fun,” he said. The horrendous bashing of horse Shaktiman led to massive public outrage as did the way a puppy was flung off a terrace by students. Many more such recent instances of animal cruelty have stirred the animal lovers to take this significant step in order to be heard by the government. The systemic killing of stray dogs in Kerala with government support also helped trigger this protest. Several NGOs like FIAPO, HSI/India and others have pledged their support for the rallies.
Personal stories like Sushma and Sahar’s will form the core of a two-week photo exhibition starting September 12 at the Welingkar Institute titled ‘AccessAbility’ that will feature snapshots of differently-abled Indian and Swedish individuals, each detailing their hopes and sorrows. In another showcase titled ‘Design for Dignity’ at the same time and place, 22 Swedish inventions will be on display designed to improve the quality of life for differently abled including the ubiquitous tetra pack for those with reduced hand function or easy cutlery for ones with difficulty in opening their mouth. “The aim is to encourage social inclusion for individuals with disabilities and strengthen Indo-Sweden ties, adding to the 2009 MoU signed between the two countries in public health. It is important
MOVING STORIES: Among those featured will be Stockholm’s Sahar Mosleh (left) and Mumbai’s Sushma Chandanshivey
that we take proactive measures to bring people with disabilities into the development process, as policy makers, implementers and beneficiaries,” explained acting consul general of Sweden in Mumbai, Jan Campbell Westlind. Empowering people living with impediments continues
to be a struggle in most societies, especially in India where no national data is available yet. No school or college is barrierfree, nor are most public places. In contrast, Sweden boasts a robust disability policy enabling the differently-abled. The question most often asked in the Scandinavian capi-
tal is not ‘what is accessible?’ but ‘what isn’t?’. Not simply by providing more wheelchair ramps but actually serving all types of disabilities. From lowered kerb-stones, ticking traffic lights and step-free entry into shops, restaurants and museums to laws against discrimination, free personal assistance, talking newspapers and specially adapted hotels, finding your feet in Stockholm is more than just an idiom for those with special needs. In a city of 9.5 million people with 15 per cent living with impairments, “service and care for people with disabilities” is a priority for Sweden’s district councils. A governmental agency founded in 2014 under the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs—The Swedish Agency for Participation— has been working to ensure full integration.
In 2011, activists thronged the windiest stretch before the parliament every week until it became mandatory for ministers to pick up flyers protesting inadequate accessibility that crawled its way into the Swedish Discrimination Act four years later. Finally, say activists, disability rights are being taken seriously. Today the second largest company in Sweden is the state-owned Samhall whose mandate is to gainfully employ those with impairments and currently has 22,000 employees. If Sveriges Television, Sweden’s primary TV station offers channels with subtitles, spoken text, sign language interpretation and audio description, the library law makes production of talking, tactile and braille journals imperative for MTM, Swedish agency for accessible media.
Youth accused of robbery, kin held for abusing cops Mumbai: A team of cops from the Kurar police station were obstructed and abused by the family of a 19-year-old youth whom they had gone to arrest in a robbery case. The incident took place at Pratap Nagar in Malad East on Saturday morning. The youth, Neej Singh, and three of his family members have now been arrested on charges of ‘obstructing a public servant from doing his duty’. Neej was accused in a case of robbery. Around 11am, constable Sanjay Kadam and his team went to Neej’s house in Pratap Nagar. But Neej’s mother, Vandana, and relatives, Preeti and Dheeraj, obstructed the police team and used abusive language. This helped Neej escape as his family kept the cops busy. Subsequently, Neej was arrested, along with the three family members. TNN
Couple hurt in LPG blast
A
man, Somnath Wagh, and his wife, Sweta, suffered burns when an LPG cylinder exploded at their Kalyan residence on Saturday. TNN
SWACHH BHARAT AIR QUALITY INDEX
PM2.5
Delhi
85
Good
Tomorrow
89
Good
Pune
43
Good
Tomorrow
41
Good
Mumbai
72
Good
Tomorrow
75
Good
Source: SAFAR@MoES-IITM-IMD (10 stations)
Hyderabad Chennai Kolkata
90 65 62
Good Good Good
US Embassy data calculated as per Indian standards by SAFAR@MoES-IITM-IMD Based on 1 Station Data Per City at 4pm