Mumbai Weekly

Run by the students of Udaan

MumbaiWeekly Volume 01 Issue 17

metro

Friday 15, JUNE 2012

feature

sports

arts

Pre-monsoon showers hit Mumbai

People dance in the splash of a wave on a sea front in Mumbai on 8 June 2012. Abhinav Reddy / Mumbai Weekly (more images on page5)

Nation shuts down, protests rising fuel prices

Internet community protests censorship

A man walks past a public transport bus damaged by protesters in Mumbai on 31 May 2012. Nikhil Sangle / Mumbai Weekly. (more images page2) The city that never sleeps came to a grinding halt when political parties opposing the Government called for a nationwide bandh, a complete shut-down of all businesses, to protest the government‘s decision to hike fuel prices. The bandh was a near total success in Mumbai with taxi, rickshaw and other private transport operators joining the call. The

city remained largely peaceful during the entire day marring stray reported incidents of damage to public transport vehicles and attempts to block vehicles on main roads in the city. Protesters attempted to stop trains at Dadar and Thane but the attempt was thwarted by the Police, resulting in a temporary disruption. Top State opposition leaders court-

ed arrest on the day. State Government officials said there was 49 percent attendance in government offices on the day. Economists estimate that the bandh cost the city up to Rs. 300 crore, as markets and other services remained shut through the day. The State Government employed services of paramilitary forces and companies of the Central

Reserve Police Force as a precautionary measure. Several police personnel were posted on the streets, especially in sensitive areas prone to sporadic protests. The day remained peaceful in the rest of the State. Students, enjoying their summer vacations at present, were not affected by the bandh.

(Cont’d on page2)

People protest in Mumbai against the governments policy to allow internet censorship. Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly (report and more images page3)

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PEOPLE

FRIDAY 15 JUNE 2012

Mumbai Weekly

A protestor argues with security personnel in Mumbai Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly

A protestor shouts anti government slogans in Mumbai. Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly

A truck driver sits outside his vehicle in an empty wholesale vegetable market in Navi Mumbai on 31 May 2012.

Pratham Gokhale / Mumbai Weekly.

People walk past a store displaying a ‗closed‘ sign in Mumbai.

Shankar Narayan / Mumbai Weekly

Mumbai shutdown (Cont’d from page1) In a rare incident, Mumbai‘s famous tiffin courier dabbhawalla‘s did not deliver tiffins, supporting the bandh.

The Government did eventually roll back the fuel increase by Rs. 2, some cheer for people hit by the last increase of Rs 7.50, the highest

fuel price increase ever.

The opposition parties, though, are still demanding a complete reversal of the increase in fuel costs.

Security personnel grapple with protestors. Pratham Gokhale / Mumbai Weekly

Police personnel on duty in Mumbai, on 31 May 2012. Saarthak Aurora / Mumbai Weekly

Police arrest a protestor attempting to block a road in Mumbai Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly

A busy market wears a deserted look in Vashi, Navi Mumbai. Pratham Gokhale / Mumbai Weekly

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metro

FRIDAY 15 JUNE 2012

Mumbai Weekly

Annually thousands of flamingos fly from the Rann of Kutch region of Gujarat to the mudflats in Nerul on the out-skirts of Mumbai - a feeding ground for the birds. Apart from flamingos, many waders like the godwits, shanks, sandpipers, stints, gulls and black-headed ibises, egrets, herons and pied king-fishers were also observed along the mudflats. However, the flamingos and other wetland birds of Mumbai are facing a major threat due to loss of their habitats like the wetlands , mudflats and mangrove forests, due to rampant reclamation and encroachments, say wildlife conservation activists.

Pratham Gokhale / Mumbai Weekly.

Chemical fumes halt traffic

Policemen put sand on a box containing thiophosgene, a toxic chemical that fell off a handcart in Mumbai on 5 June 2012. Pratham Gokhale / Mumbai Weekly

A box containing the toxic chemical thiophosgene, fell off a handcart it was being transported on emitting pungent fumes at DN Road in downtown Mumbai, on 5 June 2012. Traffic came to a halt and panic spread when motorists exposed to the fumes started vomiting and complained of headaches.

Po-lice, Fire and personnel of the Bomb

Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) cordoned the scene and took all pre-cautionary measures fearing the chemical might be explosive in nature. After ascertain-ing there was no threat, the box and its contents were cleared from the site.

The Azad Maidan Police have detained the two cart-pullers, Madansingh Purhit and Ramlal Pal.

People cover their noses to protect themselves from fumes emitted by the chemical in Mumbai. Pratham Gokhale / Mumbai Weekly

All taxi‘s to be fitted with electronic meters Transport officials are keen on e-meters being made mandatory for old Premier Padmini taxis and plan to propose this to the State Government so that all cabs in Mumbai old and new compulsorily switch over to the electronic device. Transport authorities have stated that the Premier Padmini taxis were exempted from the emeter rule as there was a shortage of the device in the market. Recently,

the transport department authorized 11 meter manufacturers to install e-meters in new autos and those arriving for annual fitness tests.

At present, taxis with mechanical meters are under no compulsion to switch over to e-meters.

Taxi unions are opposed to e-meters being made mandatory for all cabs. The final decision on e-meters will be taken by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority.

A man walks past parked taxi‘s in a parking lot in Mumbai. Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly

Protest against internet censorship

Muslim girl can marry at 15 if attains puberty: High Court

Above: People participate in a protest called by internet hacker activist group Anonymous India against laws, they claim, give the Government more control over the internet. Protestors wore masks depicting Guy Fawkes, a historical English figure, during a silent and peaceful protest in Mumbai on 9 June, 2012. Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly It was a small group of students, technology professionals and activists that led the 50 member protest against internet censorship in Mumbai. Donning the now famous Guy Fawkes masks, protesting members peacefully made their presence felt by posing for camera men and answering questions from the media.

When questioned about the low

turnout a man in a mask replied, this was just the beginning, a warm up to a movement that is going to sweep the nation and bring all young minds together. ―Anonymous‖ (as the internet hacker activist group calls itself) first struck India this year on 17 May, when they made the websites of the Supreme Court and the ruling Congress party inac-

cessible. This was to protest Government efforts curbing online access after several video sharing websites like The Pirate Bay and Vimeo were banned by a Court order. The internet hacker activist group also said that if the file sharing websites were not unblocked, they would carry out more attacks on Government websites.

Muslim girls pose for a photographer in Mumbai. According to an Indian court ruling passed on 5 June 2012 a Muslim girl can legally get married at fifteen years if she attains puberty.

Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly

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FRIDAY 15 JUNE 2012

EDITORIAL

Mumbai Weekly

POINT OF VIEW: Support the world together

A boy rides a bullock cart in a procession in Mumbai. Shankar Narayan / Mumbai Weekly

force. This is the story lift weight more than their own body weight.

Indian children are Along with the inhulargely victims of child man working condilabor. According to the tions these children are International Labor also beaten and deOrganization (ILO) prived of food for the almost 10 million chil- slightest mistake . As dren are employed as gory as this sounds this domestic help across is the story for many India and another 55 child laborers working million work in various across the country. industries. These chil- According to research, dren, claim voluntary the two main reasons agencies, are made to for the large number of work under grueling child laborers in the circumstances. Chilcountry can be nardren are known to be rowed down to poverty made to work long and lack of education. hours of hard physical Poor married couple work and even made to have many children

Shailesh Andrade of child labor.

Childhood is the phase of human life when children should be carefree, able to play, while learning and being cared for, building the foundation for a successful life ahead.

However many children spend this phase of their lives being controlled, tortured and forced to work against their will. With no other option to escape this life these children continue to be where there are, not by choice but

either due to the lack of knowledge of birth control or intentionally to raise them as money making machines. In either case when these parents cannot support these children they sell them to employers as bonded labor.

Though eradicating this problem seems like an impossible and immense task, many steps are being taken to put an end to this problem.

The first step it to understand the cause of child labor. Exploitive employers employ them as they are easy

to exploit, add the this the ease of availability and the fact that some circumstances like debt, drought and lack of work force parents to sell their children to these employers.

Employers and industries employing these children argue that they give the child a better life that what they would have had living with their parents and also teach them a technical trade that would come handy in the future.

India accounts for the highest number of

child laborers second just after Africa. The statistical information for child labor can not be termed as precise because there are many areas where no accounting has been done. Children are normally employed in small one room factories. These children are made to eat, sleep and work there without ever going outside.

However agencies working towards solving this problem often work on tip offs to raid such factory premises and rescue these chil-

dren.

The government has formulated and created many laws to defend children against exploitation. This however has not been enough to solve the problem.

Many voluntary agencies working together with the government to identify and rescue children face the problem of these children being returned back to their employers after being rescued and returned to the families.

Rescuing children from factories and their employers will not stop

the problem of child labor. Maybe if the government looks at schemes to make child care cheap and easily accessible to all along with education and incentives to parents for keeping their children in school we could make a dent and take a step ahead in solving the problem of child labor.

in society equal to her male counter parts.

Over the last few months the media in Mumbai had a field day capturing raids organized by various departments of the city Police on an alleged tip off.

Images of women shying away from the media with their heads covered with cloth, buried in their hands, body language completely defeated, being huddled into Police vans have appeared in numerous occasions in our newspaper and television.

The woman without a face! We have been seeing these images a lot of late, bar dancers, waitresses, women arrested form a party for dressing scantily or dancing too lewdly or drinking without the presence of male friends. Images of

shame? Definitely not!

While a flourishing business thrives in the red light district of Mumbai a thought arises, why is the urban woman being made a target of ridicule and shame? Is this because a few people in power cannot see women move ahead with time or is it just a mere abuse of power by a person in authority to gain some media recognition.

Whatever the reason, controlling a persons choice according to me is in a way a curtailment of freedom. This selfrighteous prejudiced, moral policing has to stop and can only happen when we as a society unite to fight this wrong doing

The above views are the personal views expressed by the author.

OPINION: A matter of shame

Shailesh Andrade The image of the Indian woman has changed so much over the years.

From the humble beginnings of a woman carrying a pot over her head, to being a home maker , to making strides in the fields of business, medicine and research the Indian woman has gone places. In Mumbai women are associated as the strong working mother who braves crowded locals in the morning and beats the rush home in the evening to tend to her family. Indeed the urban Indian woman has progressed with time to carve a niche for herself

The above views are the personal views expressed by the author.

A woman hides her face from media persons after being arrested for working in a bar in Mumbai. Shankar Narayan / Mumbai Weekly

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FRIDAY 15 JUNE 2012

economy

Mumbai Weekly

No extensions, go digital, says Govt

Antenna's for digital reception of cable TV are seen on top of houses in Mumbai on 4 June 2012. The Government announced there will be no extension in the 30 June date for compulsory digitalization of cable TVs in metro cities, Mumbai included. On 8 June 2012, the ministry reviewed preparations for digitization and heard the views of broadcasters, multi-system operators (MSOs), local cable operators (LCOs), representatives of consumers' rights organizations among others. The cable operators and MSOs pointed out that only about 30% of the set-top boxes had been placed in four metros — Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Nikhil Sangle / Mumbai Weekly .

Sachin bats for ―Support my School‖ Legendary Indian batsman joined the celebration of another milestone off the pitch. Batting as brand ambassador for NDTV and Coca Cola‘s ‗save my school‘ campaign, Sachin Tendulkar was the chief guest at a function to commemorate the 100th school supported by the foundation. This campaign was started on the 24 Jan 2011 and supports government schools with the following five point agenda.

These include: improved access to water; water conserva-

tion by providing rainwater harvesting structures; hygiene and sanitation by providing toilet facilities for girls and boys; better environment by providing plantation and landscaping; healthy active living by providing sports facilities like basketball court/ volley ball/ sports kits.

Currently the foundation is adding 100 schools across 10 states in India, having clusters of 7-15 schools in each area on all the above points.

Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar interacts with school children at a function in Mumbai.

Nikhil Sangle / Mumbai Weekly

Car buyers hit the brakes, car sales drop The steep increase in petrol prices saw an immediate impact on sales of vehicles. The most impact was felt by mid size smaller cars driven by petrol engines according to figures released by a market research company. Auto major Maruti Suzuki saw 29% fall in sales in its mini car segment during May 2012. The segment consists of entry-level cars like the M800, the Alto, the Alto and the WagonR.

The Nano small car by Tata Motors which has is the most fuel efficient car in India witnessed 31% rise in its sales.

Auto companies are providing buyers with large discounts and freebies to maintain the sales and growth of petrol vehicles. Maruti India declared a cut in the production of 50000 petrol units in an effort to increase the production of diesel vehicles during FY 13.

A man works at a vehicle scrap yard in Mumbai on 2 June 2012. Car companies witnessed a drop in sales across all segments following the rise in fuel costs and drop in rupee value according to figures released by a market research company.

Sathya Keerti / Mumbai Weekly.

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FRIDAY 15 JUNE 2012

feature

Mumbai Weekly

Showers in the city, Monsoon almost here The weather Gods send a gift to Mumbai every year carried by the South West winds in the form of monsoon clouds. These cool winds carry dark clouds that block out the sun, and on the date predicted by the weatherman, shower the city with rain. The first rains always brings excitement and a sense of fresh-

ness to the city as temperatures drop and the rain water washes the dust giving the city in a way a new life. Mumbai Weekly photographer Abhinav Reddy headed out onto the street to capture the essence, excitement and romance the first rains brings to the city of Mumbai.

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Art and Entertainment

FRIDAY 15 JUNE 2012

Mumbai Weekly

Not just clowning around

The circus came to Mumbai on 3 June 2012 sans the traditional tent. Heralding what might be a new era of acrobatic entertainment the artists performed in an auditorium normally associated with experimental theatre and fine arts. Mumbai Weekly photographer Shailesh Andrade spent time with the clowns in the ‗green room‘ only to find out clowning is no funny business at all.

Vidya on a roll

Laugh out Loud!

Children laugh at a Laughter Therapy Event in Mumbai on 9 June 2012. Saarthak Aurora / Mumbai Weekly

Children were treated to a dose of laughter therapy in Mumbai.

Guided through a se-

ries of instructions by a laughter therapist the children were made to laugh while

doing funny gestures, making funny sounds and even laughing at the selves. An organ-

izer of the event said that laughter is the best medicine for children.

Indian Actress Vidya Balan poses for the media in a function in Mumbai on 2 June 2012. Balan was felicitated by an Indo American association for her contributions in indian Cinema.

Saarthak Aurora / Mumbai Weekly

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FRIDAY 15 JUNE 2012

Sports

Mumbai Weekly

Mumbai‘s Women‘s Football League comes to an end Mumbai‘s Womens Football League (WFL) drew to a close after two weeks of football .

Reigning champions Fr. Agnel Gymkhana successfully defended their title against Sea View SC with a match ending 3-2 in their favor.

Angel Braganza scored all three goals for the winning team in a fast, fierce competitive game. Bodyline FC defeated SP Academy 4 –0 for third place.

Mumbai Weekly deputed photographer Saarthak Aurora to cover action in the event.

Street style football qualifiers in Mumbai Redbull Street style qualifiers were held in Mumbai 1 June 2012.

Free style is a growing popular sport around the world in which a participant is free to do any trick using any part of this body with a football. In Redbull Street style two players are pitted against each other in a show down lasting three minutes.

The ball changes players every thirty seconds and at the end of the buzzer the players performances are judged by three judges. The winner moves to the

next round hwre he meets another opponent, this continues by elimination till there is a winner. This years challenge was won by Adrian Fernandes who beat Archis Patil in a close and well contested performance. The football action was interlaced by latest dance style performances, beat boxing and an emcee to entertain the crowd. The winners from this qualifier head to Kolkatta to meet the rest of the qualifiers from all over the country.

A participant reacts to the stunts being performed by his opponent during the Red Bull street style qualifiers in Mumbai on 1 June 2012.

Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly

Vishwanathan Anand brings world chess championship title home Defending champion Vishwanathan Anand of India won the World Chess title for the fifth time after he defeated Israeli challenger Boris Gelfand in the tie-breaker in Moscow on 30 May 2012..

Anand beat Gelfand 2.5 to 1.5 in the four-match tie breaker.

Anand went ahead in the tie-breaker after winning the second game in 77 moves following a draw in the first. The first game

ended in a draw in 33 moves.

The remaining two games ended in a draw a Anand defended his world championship title for the third time in a row.

The tournament went into the tie-breakers after Anand and Gelfand drew the 12th game, Monday.

They were tied 6-6 after the final round.

Anand will received $1.5 million, while challenger Gelfand bagged $1 million.

A group of men play chess on a street in Mumbai on 3 June 2012. Nikhil Sangle / Mumbai Weekly Published by: Udaan School of Photography. Editor: Shailesh Andrade Photo editor: Nikhil Sangle Chief Photographer: Sathya Keerthi Email: editor.mumbaiweekly@gmail.com