PARTNERS - SATTE Event Report...forum in the region.” Welcoming the guests and dignitaries at the...
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Transcript of PARTNERS - SATTE Event Report...forum in the region.” Welcoming the guests and dignitaries at the...
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Domestic Airline PartnerInternational Airline Partner In collaboration with Official Mobile App Partner
Official Media Partner
Partner States
Partner Hotels
Partner Countries Feature Destination
I t ’ s a p leasure
Online Trade Media Partner
Supported byMedia Partners
Supported by SATTE 2015
PARTNERS INDEXINDEX
Show Statistics .................................................................... 04
Event Overview .............................................................. 05-07
Demographics ............................................................... 08- 09
Social Awareness ........................................................... 10-11
Buyer / Visitor Testimonials ........................................... 12-13
Exhibitor Testimonials ................................................... 14-15
Glimpses of SATTE 2015 ................................................ 16-19
Print Media Coverage .................................................... 20-21
Online Media Coverage ................................................. 22-24
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Hailed as the region’s biggest show, SATTE 2015, organised from 29-31 January, recorded an unprecedented
growth breaking all previous records. The 22nd edition of SATTE concluded amidst record growth notching an increase of over 15 per cent in terms of the show area and a staggering 50 per cent increase in business visitors
Amidst massive industry response, the show attracted more than 750 exhibitors that included 35 National Tourist Offices, 26 State Tourism Boards from India, airlines, hotels, DMCs, cruise liners and the entire other gamut of travel and tourism suppliers showcasing their incredible range of products to 16,234 travel trade attendees, including pre-registered and hosted Indian and international buyers.
Spread over a massive 17,500 sq mt of area in New Delhi’s exhibition landmark, Pragati Maidan, the 22nd edition of SATTE was a testimony to the enormous mandate that the global travel and tourism industry
gave to the Indian market as the show was hailed by the United Nation World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) as “the biggest event and leading networking forum in the region.”
Welcoming the guests and dignitaries at the opening function of SATTE 2015, Michael Duck, Executive Vice President, UBM Asia said, “Being a composite travel and tourism show in this part of the region, SATTE provides a platform to domestic and
international buyers and professionals across the travel and tourism industry. So it is very important that we have with us here many international buyers hosted by the industry here and by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.” He also added that UBM is proud to be partnering with the Ministry of Tourism. It has been a tremendous interaction between the company and the Ministry over many years now.
While opening the inauguration ceremony of SATTE 2015, Joji George, Managing Director, UBM India shared the key highlights of the exhibition this year and thanked the industry partners and Government for their support in making the event in India. “There are events. Then there is SATTE!” he said.
Lauding the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, for helping SATTE 2015 with the hosted buyers programme, George stated, “Government of India, all the major travel and tourism associations, State Tourism Boards, National Tourism Offices of more than 35 countries,
SATTE 2015 registers a record year of growth
“SATTE has always been a catalyst and driver for the growth of the Indian travel and tourism industry. It has
been reaching out a quality audience in addition to ensuring a good visitor
turnout. There is no doubt that SATTE is an important event for the fraternity.”
There are events. Then there is SATTE!
Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State, Government of India.
- Joji George, MD, UBM India
16234 Travel trade professionals attendees
750ExhibitingCompanies
26State Tourism Boards
35 CountriesRepresentation
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hotels, airlines, cruise liners, theme parks and of course the UNWTO have all contributed in giving SATTE a great start. We hope to come back with SATTE 2016, even bigger, brighter and provide a great opportunity to all of you from the entire travel and tourism ecosystem to converse and create great alliances and opportunities.”
Congratulating UBM for the commendable job in making SATTE what it is, Girish Shankar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India said, “With a 15 per cent growth and 750 plus exhibitors and 26 State Governments also being present here, SATTE definitely has become a landmark event in South Asia.” The Additional Secretary wished that SATTE grows much faster in the coming years and it becomes a big global event.
“Year 2014 has been a historical year for the Indian tourism industry. For the first time the central government has given it the due importance and priority. Every time the Prime Minister
speaks on a public forum, he never forgets to mention the potential of the tourism industry. This clearly shows where tourism stands in the minds of the people who are running the country. And it is not only reflected in the policies. It is also getting translated into action, such as the ETA supported Tourist Visa on Arrival, among other initiatives,” he said.
Shankar informed that, in 2014, India recorded a growth of 7.1 per cent in inbound arrival with the overall figure reaching 7.5 million arrivals to the country. On domestic front, the number grew at 9.5 per cent to a staggering 1.2 billion visits.
He also used the platform to inform the industry about some of the new initiatives by the Government on various fronts, including international and domestic air connectivity, tourist visa on arrival, inter-ministerial coordination, new tourism circuits, infrastructure development at pilgrimage destinations, security perception, cleanliness, 24*7 tourist helpline numbers, a state-of-the-art and more tourist friendly website, a closer working relationship and synergy with industry bodies, among others.
In an audio visual message delivered on the occasion, Taleb Rifai, Secretary
General, UNWTO lauded SATTE for its continuous growth year after year. He said, “Today’s SATTE is the biggest event and leading networking forum in the region.”
Underlining the role of events like SATTE in growing international tourism and developing new source markets
and destinations, he informed, “In the first ten months international tourism grew by 5 per cent making us expect the international tourism to reach record number of 1.1 billion tourists in 2014. South Asia is a leading sub-region in tourism development with India at its forefront. International tourist arrivals reached 16 million in 2013 with a growth of 10 per cent growth over the previous year. India accounted for 44 per cent of its arrivals and 75 per cent of its receipts. Today’s India is not only a powerful economy and technological giant; it is also a
global tourism powerhouse.” Rifai also used the occasion to red-
flag concerns such as sustainability. “Tourism’s progress is synonymous with economic growth, job creation and inclusive social development. Yet tourism’s success also underlines the great challenge of sustainability. We need to all work together to ensure that tourism growth and the protection of our natural and cultural heritage grow hand in hand. Sustainability is also a great opportunity. Sustainable tourism boosts tourism contribution to socio-economic growth, job creation and the transformation to inclusive economy,” he emphasised.
While making a strong pitch for the Philippines as a destination tailor-made for Indians, Ramon R. Jimenez JR., Tourism Secretary, Philippines said, “It gives me a great pleasure to invite you
this year in particular to the Philippines because this year has been declared as the ‘Visit Philippines year 2015.’ I urge you to look very closely at what we have to offer. We hope to transform tourism to primary seven units for the Philippines that can help create new jobs and opportunities.”
Tse Heng Sai, Cecilia, Deputy Director, Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), while highlighting Macau’s various tourist attractions including
its heritage and legacy, culture, food, world class entertainment events and gaming, said that Macau is a tourism city and treasures and values tourism as an industry.
Cecilia also informed that Macau will increase its marketing efforts in India in a significant way this year and has appointed VFS as its representative office in India. Macau was the ‘Feature
Destination Partner’ at SATTE 2015.Congratulating SATTE for putting up
a bigger and a better show, the Odisha Tourism Minister, Ashok Chandra Panda, reminded of the great maritime and cultural connect that Odisha has shared with the South East Asian countries over thousands of years. “We must have a Look East Policy because the South Asian and South East Asian countries share more cultural links with the Indian union, be it Buddhism,
maritime trade or in many other ways that took place over the centuries,” he stressed.
Panda also used the occasion to point out the poor connectivity to Eastern States, and hoped that the Central Government’s recent Look East thrust will bring in improved connectivity between Odisha and South East Asian countries. “Without international connectivity this type of conference will not attain its full meaning. I hope that SATTE, while emphasising on marketing and increasing inbound and outbound tourism, will also recognise the need to stress for improved international connectivity and expanding Visa-on-Arrival.”
Highlighting SATTE’s catalysing role that the event has played over the last two decades, , Subhash Goyal, President, IATO, whose association with SATTE dates back to the event’s inception, said, “22 years ago we had a dream. We wanted to have a show in India particularly for those who could not afford to go to international marts. We conceived an idea and were also supported by Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) and others for this event. And I am very happy that SATTE has come of age. It is an excellent event for the buyers and sellers. It has grown into a world event. And I am proud of the fact that I have been associated with this idea since its inception. I feel that SATTE is doing a great service to the tourism industry.”
Goyal also used the occasion to urge the Indian tour operators operating in the outbound space to open the inbound division and help the country meet its national objectives, such as the 1 per cent share of international tourism.
“With a 15 per cent growth and 750 plus exhibitors and 26 State Governments also being present here, SATTE definitely has become a landmark event in South Asia.”
“Today’s SATTE is the biggest event and leading networking forum in the region.”
“SATTE is one of the leading industry exchange platforms in our country. It is very effective in promoting tourism in the region, as well as a great platform
in promoting inbound to India from the world. SATTE can be a mini ITB of South Asia. I wish great success to SATTE in its
future endeavours.”
Girish Shankar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
Taleb Rifai, Secretary General, UNWTO
Dr Lalit K Panwar, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India
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DEMOGRAPHICSDEMOGRAPHICS
Overall Sucsess (Exhibitor Rating)
Poor Scope for Improvement
Good Very Good Excellent
1%5%
7%
45%42%
Overall Success (Visitors Rating)
ExtremelySatis�ed
Moderately Satis�ed
Hardly Satis�ed
Unsatis�ed
44% 45%
8%
3%
Quality of Exhibitors
Awareness
Television = Commercial
Newspaper = Print
Social Media
27%
20%
53%
94% of the Exhibitors and 93% of the Visitors rated SATTE between Good to Excellent which reinforces SATTE’s position as the best platform to pursue business opportunities on a global scale
Business Goal at SATTE
Did not achieve
Hardly achieved
Moderately achieved
Achieved Fully Achieved
48%
3% 9%
8%
32%
Buyers Profile
Inbound/ Domestic Tour
Operator
Outbound Tour Operator
Both
OTA
Other
37%
2%15% 35%
11%
Buyer Origin
National
International
78%
22%
Indian Buyer Origin
East
North
South
West
24%
12%
20%44%
B2B meeting scheduler
Poor
Scope for Improvement
Good
Very Good
Excellent
40%
5% 5%
7%
43%40%
Unsatis�ed
Hardly Satis�ed
Moderately Satis�ed
Satis�ed
Extremely Satis�ed
49%
6%
5%
0%
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Visitor Reach
Advert In Magazine
Telemarketing
Direct Mail
Editorial
Email from Exhibitor
Online Search
Banner Advt
4%
9%46%
9%
2%
7%
7%1%
13%
2%
SOCIAL AWARENESS
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CONTEST WINNERS
increase in likes
60%
SOCIAL MEDIA GROWTHCOMPARED TO LAST YEAR
increase in followers
increase in followers
37% 25%
BUYER’S / VISITOR’STESTIMONIALS
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The experience at SATTE was very good. All the meetings went really well as per plan. I had a really productive time at SATTE this year. One word that comes to my mind when I think of SATTE is “Networker’s Paradise”
SATTE is great. We are really happy to be here at SATTE. We have already achieved our business objective and we will definitely visit SATTE Mumbai. Three cheers to SATTE.
SATTE helps us gain exposure to meet, network and generate business. SATTE should happen more often as it is an annual event and the wait is too long. One word that comes to my mind for SATTE is “exuberant”.
It is my first experience at SATTE and it is much more that what I expected. SATTE gives me an opportunity to know people personally and network with the who’s who of the travel industry. It is the place to be for every travel agent and tour operator.
SATTE 2015 has most of the DMCs from across the globe. It is a great improvement compared to last year. We get to meet our B2B partners, meet our business goals and build concrete relations at SATTE. SATTE is the “SAATHI for travel agents”.
SATTE is a great hit. It is a very big platform for integrating with key suppliers of the industry. It is the best place to do business. I wish all the very best to SATTE for the forthcoming editions.
SATTE – The world of tourism under one roof. We met our business objectives here and we are very happy to attend such a magnificent show. We wish all the very best to SATTE for the coming years
SATTE is the best forum to do business, marketing, public relations and networking. It is getting bigger and bigger and I wish all the success to the entire team of SATTE.
I have seen SATTE growing every year. This year the participants and buyers seem to be far more than last year. SATTE contributes to our business as we get to do fruitful meetings, meet new vendors and achieve our targets.
It is my first time at SATTE and it is a very good experience for me as a buyer. I have done effective business meetings at this expo and overall I am very pleased with the event.
Andreas Calabrese, Director Sales, Mosaica Travel, Italy
Kaushal Vora, Representative, AKS Holidays
Sana, Proprietor, Wonderful Trip Travel, Phuket
S.P Mahapatra, Proprietor, Shree Tours & Travels
Alok Singh, Executive Director, Ventura Holidays
Ashish, Representative, Life Holidays
Saikat Das Gupta, General Manager, Everett India
Polina Pavlikova, Tour Prestige, Russia
Sagar Ahluwalia, Secretary General, Pacific Area Travel Writer Association, UNWTO
Azgar Ali, Proprietor, Universal Express Travel and Tours
I am so happy to be here at SATTE as I have met all my partners and achieved my business deals. I am glad to be a part of this show. It is the most important fair in India, and for us, as buyers, it is very crucial to attend this fair to promote India in Italy.
Alessia Dascanio, Isole Lontane, Italy
SATTE has established a great name in the tourism arena. It’s been a great experience as I met a lot of experienced people sharing their thoughts and ideas and helping promote tourism, which is beneficial for India and tourism across the world.
Paras Kochhar, Director Sales and Marketing, Haut Monde Hotel, Gurgaon
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EXHIBITOR TESTIMONIALS
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SATTE has been wonderful and that’s why we have been participating every year. We have more quality visitors coming to our booth as compared to last year. It is just fantastic.
SATTE provides you a platform to meet, interact and network with key delegates. It is a platform where we get to meet Indian DMC’s. SATTE 2015 is a very exciting show; we find a lot of potential here and expect to participate in a bigger manner next year. SATTE is a very compact and vibrant show.
SATTE 2015 is really great as under one roof we are able to meet lot of international tourist offices, key DMC’s, tour operators and travel agents from the international markets. We are able to meet around 500-600 travel agents in 3 days and we have closed a lot of deals as well. SATTE means “pure business”
I am very happy that SATTE has come of age. It is an excellent event for the buyers and sellers and has grown into a world event.
We have been participating in SATTE for a very long time. SATTE gives us a platform to interact with a lot of people from various parts of India. One word that comes to my mind for SATTE is a “Mecca” of travel.
This year SATTE is very good for Nepal as there are a lot of international countries with so many private sectors, hotel chains and tour operators. SATTE is getting brighter and more glamorous every year. It is the best place to promote tourism in the original sense.
SATTE has supported Mexico a lot in its growth over years. It is contributing tremendously to the tourism industry. There are a lot of travel agencies who are interested in Mexico and getting a lot of business deals. We are very happy and will participate every year.
SATTE is a very big forum. We are happy to participate in this expo. We look forward to taking advantage of this platform to attract more tourists to the states. SATTE encourages us to participate every year as we have always benefited from the show.
SATTE is the best platform for Goa Tourism to showcase its products to domestic and international markets, as there are a lot of foreign buyers who are our key clients. SATTE 2015 is better than 2014 as far as Goa Tourism is concerned.
Achinto Bose, Marketing Manager, Tourism Malaysia
M. C. Patra, Additional Secretary to Government, Department Tourism of Odisha
Deepak Narvekar, Public Relations Officer, Goa Tourism
Patricia Najar, Deputy Director, Mexico Tourism Board
Dhruba Rai, Director, Nepal Tourism Board
We are participating at SATTE for more than 5 years now. It is one of the biggest and most professional tourism exhibitions in the Indian market. The private sector of Turkey wishes to participate and promote their packages at SATTE every year.
Ozgur Ayturk, Representative, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Turkey
Damcho Rinzin, Media Spokesperson, Bhutan Tourism
Every year opportunities at SATTE are increasing and it is a very interesting event and a very good forum to promote your destination, state or country, all on one platform.
Vivek Mathur, General Manager, Madhya Pradesh Tourism
Samir Arora, General Manager, Ramada Downtown, Dubai
Sandeep Raghav,Director Sales, Fraser Suites
Subhash Goyal, President, IATO
The response at SATTE has been very positive. It is a platform where you meet your actual trade partners and get assured business deals. We are really happy and will go for increased space next year.
Randhir Gupta,Director Sales, Accor Group of Hotels
GLIMPSES OFSATTE 2015
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GLIMPSES OFSATTE 2015
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PRINT COVERAGESATTE 2015
20
Express Travel WorldHindustan Times
Travel Trends Today
Statesman Hindustan Times
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The Free Press Journal
Mumbai - Feb 09, 2015
Page No: Type:Page Name:Size:AVE: INR 14,681
15 Business 34 sq. cm
Language:Circulation:Frequency:
NewspaperEnglish120,000Daily
News monitored for: SATTE 2015
The Free Press Journal
Page 1/1 © The Free Press Journal www.freepressjournal.in
The Financial Express
Bangalore - Jan 30, 2015
Page No: Type:Page Name:Size:AVE: INR 25,304
19 n.a. 158 sq. cm
Language:Circulation:Frequency:
NewspaperEnglish9,000Daily
News monitored for: SATTE 2015
Page 1/1 © The Financial Express www.thefinancialexpress.com
Bangalore - Jan 30, 2015
Page No: Type:Page Name:Size:AVE: INR 25,304
19 n.a. 158 sq. cm
Language:Circulation:Frequency:
NewspaperEnglish9,000Daily
News monitored for: SATTE 2015
Page 1/1 © The Financial Express www.thefinancialexpress.com
The Statesman
Delhi - Feb 05, 2015
Page No: Type:Page Name:Size:AVE: INR 16,104
4 n.a. 322 sq. cm
Language:Circulation:Frequency:
SupplementEnglish7,815Weekly
News monitored for: SATTE 2015
The Statesman - Section II
Page 1/1 © The Statesman - Section II www.thestatesman.net
Times of India
THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAITHURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 20154 TIMES CITY
Congested locali-ties and old pipe-lines are some ofthe major factorsresponsible for
contamination of water sup-ply in the city. BMC officialssaid in C ward for instance,which received the most con-taminated water for threeyears in a row, the major rea-son for contaminated watersupply is old and bunchedwater pipelines runningthrough house gullies.
“The gap between twobuildings is hardly a few feetand residents throw garbageand waste in the gullies,which get blocked manytimes. If there is any leakagein the pipeline, sewage orwaste water gets into theline,” said an official.
The ward has a ratio of91,991 people per sq km, the
highest in the city. Besidesthe resident population, thefootfall of floating popula-tion in the ward for businessis more than 7 lakh every day.The area houses 38 wholesalemarkets like Asia’s biggestcloth market, a diamondmarket, and busy hubs forelectronic goods, jewellery,gold, hardware, umbrella,stationery and paper, and Da-va Bazar.
The BMC every monthcollects water samples fromall wards. About 3,500-4,000water samples are collectedevery month and tested inthe civic laboratory. On thebasis of lab reports, thehealth department takes pre-ventive measures if the con-tamination is likely to affecthumans. Contaminated sam-ples often have contents likesewage water, mud or E.coli.
Dr Altaf Patel, director ofmedicine at Jaslok Hospital,said consuming contaminat-ed water can cause gastroen-teritis and several other wa-ter borne diseases even ifsmall doses of the water areconsumed continuously. “Inthe West, in many countries
people directly consume wa-ter from the tap but herethat’s not the case because ifthe water is contaminatedwith any kind of bacteria itcan lead to a number ofhealth complications otherthan gastro, such as typhoidand hepatitis,” said Dr Patel.
Deputy chief hydraulicengineer, Ashok Tawadia,said whenever the BMC re-ceives any complaints of wa-
ter contamination fromhousing societies, it inspectsthe pipeline during supplyhours. “Contamination isfound either in the form ofcolour or smell. If we findcontamination, we flush outthe contaminated water ei-ther using a fire hydrant orthrough a flushing point.Once we find potable watercoming in, only then do we al-low it to be supplied to resi-
ter increases and stagnantwater enters through leaksin the pipeline.
The long term solution tothe entire problem is to re-place old pipelines, whichare a part of the complex wa-ter supply network in Mum-bai city. The BMC has startedthe process of changing thepipelines, but it will taketime as the process is cum-bersome, officials said.
dents into the main buildingtank,” said Tawadia.
E.coli has been found on asmaller scale in Chinchpok-li, Byculla, Bhendi Bazar,Mazgaon, Kurla, Govandi,Andheri, Goregaon, Kandiv-li and Borivli. Most areaswhere E.coli has been foundare slum pockets. Usually,complaints increase duringthe monsoon as due to heavyrains the turbidity in the wa-
C Ward ReceivedWorst WaterFrom 2011-14
Ward-Wise Contamination Rate In 2014
A Colaba, Nariman Point up to CST
B Mohammed Ali Road
7
10
24
10
14
10
13
5
6
8
8
8
8
5
22
15
18
21
10
21
10
9
9
7
C Marine Drive, Zaveri Bazar and Kalbadevi
D Malabar Hill, Tardeo, Nana Chowk and Girgaon
E Byculla, Ghodapdeo
F-South Parel, Kalachowkie, Dadar(E)
F-North Matunga, Sion and Pratiksha Nagar
G-South Worli, Elphinston Road and Prabhadevi
G-North Dadar (W), Mahim and Dharavi
H-East Bandra East to Vile Parle
H-West Bandra West to Vile Parle
K-East East side of Vile Parle, Andheri and Jogeshwari
K-West West side of Vile Parle, Andheri and Jogeshwari
L Kurla
M-East Chembur
M-West Govandi
N Ghatkopar
T Mulund
S Bhandup R-North Dahisar East and West
2011-12 P-South (Goregaon)
C Ward (Marine Drive and Kalbadevi)
2012-14 C Ward (Marine Drive and Kalbadevi)
Best Wards
Worst Wards
Supply & Treatment
Usual Contaminants Mud and E-coli They cause gastroenteritis and diarrhea
R-South Kandivli East and West
P-South Goregaon East and West
R-Central Borivli East and West
P-North Malad East and West
Five Steps Of Water PurificationPre-chlorination, Alum dosing, Settling, Filtration and Post-chlorination
E-Coli
2011-12 F-North(Matunga-Sion)
2012-13 P-North (Malad)
2013-14 G-South(Worli-Prabhadevi) and M-East (Chembur)
Total Supply
3,750 million litres
F-North
P-North
P-South
G-South
C
Lakes Supplying Water Tulsi, Vihar, Tansa, Modak Sagar, Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna and Bhatsa
Lost In Transit20-25% (approximately)
Water Treatment Plants Panjarpol in Thane district and Bhandup in Mumbai city limits
Average
11%
WATER WOES AFFECT SUBURBS, ISLAND CITY
Figures in %
The gap betweentwo buildings insome localities is
hardly a few feet and residents throw garbageand waste into the gullies,which then get blocked. Ifthere are any leakages inthe pipeline, the sewage orwaste water seeps into thesupply lineA BMC Official
Congested lanes and old pipelines toblame for supply contamination: BMC
Despite announcingtwo fare hikes, forFebruary andApril, BEST con-tinues to stare at a
cash-strapped future. Alsolooming large is the fear of re-funding crores collected overthe years in cross-subsidyfrom the undertaking’s powerconsumers.
BEST has now proposed toits parent body, the BMC, togrant a special transport fundof Rs 100 crore annually andapprove transport cess inproperty tax, which can rake
in an additional Rs 300 croreper year. It has also looked atexisting regulations towrench out funds. For in-stance, it has demanded Rs 50crore under section 63 of theMunicipal Act, which stipu-lates that "it is the duty of thecorporation to provide for pur-chase and maintenance oftransport facilities in the cityand also for the supply of elec-tricity to the public”.
A senior official said aBEST committee delegationwill soon meet governmentrepresentatives at Mantra-laya to seek subsidy or taxwaiver to the tune of Rs 400crore.
To curtail BEST’s losses,
the state power regulator al-lowed it to levy a surchargefrom its 10.5 lakh power con-sumers in the island city.Known as transport divisionloss recovery (TDLR), the sur-charge will be in effect tillMarch 2016. But on October31, 2014, the appellate tribunal
for electricity granted a stay onthe levy. BEST moved SupremeCourt, which will soon give itsverdict. "In case the verdict goesagainst BEST, the undertakingmay be directed to refund itspower consumers,” said an ex-pert. The refund, if directed,will be Rs 1,200 crore.
Fare hikes insufficient forBEST to meet `̀850cr gapBMC & State
Govt Asked ToMeet Deficit
3,395
3,406
4,650
4,200MOUNTING LOSSESOVER THE YEARS
Losses (`cr)
2005
-06
2006
-07
2012-132013-14 2014-15
2502005-06
Loss per bus (`lakh)
3642006-07
633.52012-13
767.72013-14
2014-15 896.7
Undertaking’s demands
Planned fare hikes
BMC should grant a special transport fund of `100 crore annually
Civic body should approve transport cess in property tax, which can rake in an additional `300 crore per year
`50 crore should be granted under section 63 of the Municipal Act, which stipulates that “it is the duty of the corporation to provide for the purchase and maintenance of transport facilities in the city and for the supply of electricity to the public”
State government should give subsidy or waive taxes to the tune of `400 crore
4,288BEST’s fleet size
What’s bleeding BEST most284 air-conditioned Cerita
buses with a ridiculously high rate of breakdowns
The buses were purchased for `276 crore
Maintenance costs are `100 crore per year
7.4
10.7
13.6
17.9
21.4
Minimum fare | from `6to `7. AC bus minimum
fare: from `20 to `25
Minimum fare | from `7 to `8. AC fare
minimum fare: from `25 to `30
Feb 1
April 1
Mumbai: While clearing theChartered Accountancy (CA)exam is never a cakewalk foraspirants, for Thane’s Rush-abh Kapasi, the task was evenmore daunting. Kapasi (24)suffers from almost 100% vi-sion loss due to a birth defect.He was born with cornealopacity in both eyes. But de-termined as he was, Kapasimanaged to clear his CA withhelp from his parents and afew readers. As he was nottrained in Braille, study ma-terial had to be read out tohim. He cleared both Group Iand II in his third attempt inresults declared on Monday.
His parents sat with himfor over 10-12 hours each dayfor four months to read out notes. Kapasi has an exceptionalacademic track record. Hehas always scored above 80%.
Haresh Kapasi, his civilengineer father, said, “With
the help of the National Ass-ociation for the Blind, he con-tinued to get readers and writ-ers who helped him clear hiseducation. In the last attemptin the CA exam, he did nottake help from any reader aswe helped him in his studies.”
Rushabh aims to get intoteaching. “In a few years heand his younger brother, whotoo is pursuing CA, can starttheir independent practice.
My son wants people to takeinspiration from him and weare willing to offer guidanceto aspirants,” said his father.Institute of Chartered Ac-countants of India officialswere also helpful, he said.
Praffula Chhajed, vice-ch-airman, board of studies,ICAI, said the institute does-n’t differentiate students bas-ed on disability but extendsfull support.
Visually impaired youth clearsCA, hopes to inspire others
[email protected] OF GRIT
➤ Rushabh Kapasi was born with corneal opacity in both eyes
What is corneal opacity?
It is a disorder of the cornea. Cornea is the transparent structure in the front of the eyeball. Corneal opacity occurs when the cornea becomes scarred. This stops light from passing to the retina
➤ SSC | 85.69%
➤ HSC | 82.33%
➤ TYB Com | 87.88%
➤ CA exam cleared in third attempt
First group |224/400
(appeared now)
Second group |202/400 (appeared before)
His academic record
BEST has decided to shut downone of its AC bus routes,
Wadala depot to Kalamboli busstation (number AS 503) fromFebruary 1. Officials said the routewas loss-making because of poorresponse from commuters. TNN
AC bus route shuts
Graphic: Shailesh Warang
Sujit Mahamulkar & Richa Pinto TNN
THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAITHURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 20154 TIMES CITY
Congested locali-ties and old pipe-lines are some ofthe major factorsresponsible for
contamination of water sup-ply in the city. BMC officialssaid in C ward for instance,which received the most con-taminated water for threeyears in a row, the major rea-son for contaminated watersupply is old and bunchedwater pipelines runningthrough house gullies.
“The gap between twobuildings is hardly a few feetand residents throw garbageand waste in the gullies,which get blocked manytimes. If there is any leakagein the pipeline, sewage orwaste water gets into theline,” said an official.
The ward has a ratio of91,991 people per sq km, the
highest in the city. Besidesthe resident population, thefootfall of floating popula-tion in the ward for businessis more than 7 lakh every day.The area houses 38 wholesalemarkets like Asia’s biggestcloth market, a diamondmarket, and busy hubs forelectronic goods, jewellery,gold, hardware, umbrella,stationery and paper, and Da-va Bazar.
The BMC every monthcollects water samples fromall wards. About 3,500-4,000water samples are collectedevery month and tested inthe civic laboratory. On thebasis of lab reports, thehealth department takes pre-ventive measures if the con-tamination is likely to affecthumans. Contaminated sam-ples often have contents likesewage water, mud or E.coli.
Dr Altaf Patel, director ofmedicine at Jaslok Hospital,said consuming contaminat-ed water can cause gastroen-teritis and several other wa-ter borne diseases even ifsmall doses of the water areconsumed continuously. “Inthe West, in many countries
people directly consume wa-ter from the tap but herethat’s not the case because ifthe water is contaminatedwith any kind of bacteria itcan lead to a number ofhealth complications otherthan gastro, such as typhoidand hepatitis,” said Dr Patel.
Deputy chief hydraulicengineer, Ashok Tawadia,said whenever the BMC re-ceives any complaints of wa-
ter contamination fromhousing societies, it inspectsthe pipeline during supplyhours. “Contamination isfound either in the form ofcolour or smell. If we findcontamination, we flush outthe contaminated water ei-ther using a fire hydrant orthrough a flushing point.Once we find potable watercoming in, only then do we al-low it to be supplied to resi-
ter increases and stagnantwater enters through leaksin the pipeline.
The long term solution tothe entire problem is to re-place old pipelines, whichare a part of the complex wa-ter supply network in Mum-bai city. The BMC has startedthe process of changing thepipelines, but it will taketime as the process is cum-bersome, officials said.
dents into the main buildingtank,” said Tawadia.
E.coli has been found on asmaller scale in Chinchpok-li, Byculla, Bhendi Bazar,Mazgaon, Kurla, Govandi,Andheri, Goregaon, Kandiv-li and Borivli. Most areaswhere E.coli has been foundare slum pockets. Usually,complaints increase duringthe monsoon as due to heavyrains the turbidity in the wa-
C Ward ReceivedWorst WaterFrom 2011-14
Ward-Wise Contamination Rate In 2014
A Colaba, Nariman Point up to CST
B Mohammed Ali Road
7
10
24
10
14
10
13
5
6
8
8
8
8
5
22
15
18
21
10
21
10
9
9
7
C Marine Drive, Zaveri Bazar and Kalbadevi
D Malabar Hill, Tardeo, Nana Chowk and Girgaon
E Byculla, Ghodapdeo
F-South Parel, Kalachowkie, Dadar(E)
F-North Matunga, Sion and Pratiksha Nagar
G-South Worli, Elphinston Road and Prabhadevi
G-North Dadar (W), Mahim and Dharavi
H-East Bandra East to Vile Parle
H-West Bandra West to Vile Parle
K-East East side of Vile Parle, Andheri and Jogeshwari
K-West West side of Vile Parle, Andheri and Jogeshwari
L Kurla
M-East Chembur
M-West Govandi
N Ghatkopar
T Mulund
S Bhandup R-North Dahisar East and West
2011-12 P-South (Goregaon)
C Ward (Marine Drive and Kalbadevi)
2012-14 C Ward (Marine Drive and Kalbadevi)
Best Wards
Worst Wards
Supply & Treatment
Usual Contaminants Mud and E-coli They cause gastroenteritis and diarrhea
R-South Kandivli East and West
P-South Goregaon East and West
R-Central Borivli East and West
P-North Malad East and West
Five Steps Of Water PurificationPre-chlorination, Alum dosing, Settling, Filtration and Post-chlorination
E-Coli
2011-12 F-North(Matunga-Sion)
2012-13 P-North (Malad)
2013-14 G-South(Worli-Prabhadevi) and M-East (Chembur)
Total Supply
3,750 million litres
F-North
P-North
P-South
G-South
C
Lakes Supplying Water Tulsi, Vihar, Tansa, Modak Sagar, Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna and Bhatsa
Lost In Transit20-25% (approximately)
Water Treatment Plants Panjarpol in Thane district and Bhandup in Mumbai city limits
Average
11%
WATER WOES AFFECT SUBURBS, ISLAND CITY
Figures in %
The gap betweentwo buildings insome localities is
hardly a few feet and residents throw garbageand waste into the gullies,which then get blocked. Ifthere are any leakages inthe pipeline, the sewage orwaste water seeps into thesupply lineA BMC Official
Congested lanes and old pipelines toblame for supply contamination: BMC
Despite announcingtwo fare hikes, forFebruary andApril, BEST con-tinues to stare at a
cash-strapped future. Alsolooming large is the fear of re-funding crores collected overthe years in cross-subsidyfrom the undertaking’s powerconsumers.
BEST has now proposed toits parent body, the BMC, togrant a special transport fundof Rs 100 crore annually andapprove transport cess inproperty tax, which can rake
in an additional Rs 300 croreper year. It has also looked atexisting regulations towrench out funds. For in-stance, it has demanded Rs 50crore under section 63 of theMunicipal Act, which stipu-lates that "it is the duty of thecorporation to provide for pur-chase and maintenance oftransport facilities in the cityand also for the supply of elec-tricity to the public”.
A senior official said aBEST committee delegationwill soon meet governmentrepresentatives at Mantra-laya to seek subsidy or taxwaiver to the tune of Rs 400crore.
To curtail BEST’s losses,
the state power regulator al-lowed it to levy a surchargefrom its 10.5 lakh power con-sumers in the island city.Known as transport divisionloss recovery (TDLR), the sur-charge will be in effect tillMarch 2016. But on October31, 2014, the appellate tribunal
for electricity granted a stay onthe levy. BEST moved SupremeCourt, which will soon give itsverdict. "In case the verdict goesagainst BEST, the undertakingmay be directed to refund itspower consumers,” said an ex-pert. The refund, if directed,will be Rs 1,200 crore.
Fare hikes insufficient forBEST to meet `̀850cr gapBMC & State
Govt Asked ToMeet Deficit
3,395
3,406
4,650
4,200MOUNTING LOSSESOVER THE YEARS
Losses (`cr)
2005
-06
2006
-07
2012-132013-14 2014-15
2502005-06
Loss per bus (`lakh)
3642006-07
633.52012-13
767.72013-14
2014-15 896.7
Undertaking’s demands
Planned fare hikes
BMC should grant a special transport fund of `100 crore annually
Civic body should approve transport cess in property tax, which can rake in an additional `300 crore per year
`50 crore should be granted under section 63 of the Municipal Act, which stipulates that “it is the duty of the corporation to provide for the purchase and maintenance of transport facilities in the city and for the supply of electricity to the public”
State government should give subsidy or waive taxes to the tune of `400 crore
4,288BEST’s fleet size
What’s bleeding BEST most284 air-conditioned Cerita
buses with a ridiculously high rate of breakdowns
The buses were purchased for `276 crore
Maintenance costs are `100 crore per year
7.4
10.7
13.6
17.9
21.4
Minimum fare | from `6to `7. AC bus minimum
fare: from `20 to `25
Minimum fare | from `7 to `8. AC fare
minimum fare: from `25 to `30
Feb 1
April 1
Mumbai: While clearing theChartered Accountancy (CA)exam is never a cakewalk foraspirants, for Thane’s Rush-abh Kapasi, the task was evenmore daunting. Kapasi (24)suffers from almost 100% vi-sion loss due to a birth defect.He was born with cornealopacity in both eyes. But de-termined as he was, Kapasimanaged to clear his CA withhelp from his parents and afew readers. As he was nottrained in Braille, study ma-terial had to be read out tohim. He cleared both Group Iand II in his third attempt inresults declared on Monday.
His parents sat with himfor over 10-12 hours each dayfor four months to read out notes. Kapasi has an exceptionalacademic track record. Hehas always scored above 80%.
Haresh Kapasi, his civilengineer father, said, “With
the help of the National Ass-ociation for the Blind, he con-tinued to get readers and writ-ers who helped him clear hiseducation. In the last attemptin the CA exam, he did nottake help from any reader aswe helped him in his studies.”
Rushabh aims to get intoteaching. “In a few years heand his younger brother, whotoo is pursuing CA, can starttheir independent practice.
My son wants people to takeinspiration from him and weare willing to offer guidanceto aspirants,” said his father.Institute of Chartered Ac-countants of India officialswere also helpful, he said.
Praffula Chhajed, vice-ch-airman, board of studies,ICAI, said the institute does-n’t differentiate students bas-ed on disability but extendsfull support.
Visually impaired youth clearsCA, hopes to inspire others
[email protected] OF GRIT
➤ Rushabh Kapasi was born with corneal opacity in both eyes
What is corneal opacity?
It is a disorder of the cornea. Cornea is the transparent structure in the front of the eyeball. Corneal opacity occurs when the cornea becomes scarred. This stops light from passing to the retina
➤ SSC | 85.69%
➤ HSC | 82.33%
➤ TYB Com | 87.88%
➤ CA exam cleared in third attempt
First group |224/400
(appeared now)
Second group |202/400 (appeared before)
His academic record
BEST has decided to shut downone of its AC bus routes,
Wadala depot to Kalamboli busstation (number AS 503) fromFebruary 1. Officials said the routewas loss-making because of poorresponse from commuters. TNN
AC bus route shuts
Graphic: Shailesh Warang
Sujit Mahamulkar & Richa Pinto TNN
Times of India
Mumbai: Thursday marksMakar Sankranti, the firstfestival of the calendaryear. Dedicated to the Sungod who nurtures life onearth, Sankranti is vari-ously celebrated as Pongalin Tamil Nadu, Bhogali Bi-hu in Assam and Uttarayanin Gujarat. Across India,people take a dip in holy wa-ters and pay respects to theSun as it begins its ascentinto Capricorn this day.
Over in Malabar Hill,Assamese native PradipSarma recalls Bhogali Bi-hu celebrations in his na-tive village. “People buildthatched houses made withstraw from newly harvest-ed paddy. We in Mumbai areunable to replicate the vil-lage bonfire or cook sweetwater fish but do includethe Bihu song and dance infestivities,” he says.
Sarma who is a memberof the Assam Associationwill join 500 people at a Bho-gali Bihu meet in Vashi onSunday, January 18. Thesix-hour programme, be-ginning 4.30pm, includes atraditional Bihu feast and‘khel dhimali’ or games,music and dance pro-grammes and painting
competitions for children.Members are pulling out allstops for the event as elec-tions to the executive com-mittee are scheduled thesame evening.
Tamilians are prepar-ing to celebrate Pongal onThursday with a morningvisit to the Sun temple.Women cook the tradition-al sweet Pongal rice withmilk and jaggery. The NaviMumbai Tamil Sanghamwill lead a procession inhonour of Saint Thiruval-luvar from Shivaji Chowk
on Friday. “On February 1,we are hosting a lavishfeast for 2,000 people,” sayschairman N Mahadevan.“Last weekend, we held acompetition based on thesaint’s couplets which wasa grand success.”
Maharashtrian en-claves are preparing to ex-change til gur sweets whileGujaratis look forward toflying kites in the few openspaces left in the city.
ISKCON Chowpatty or-ganized a kite flying eventin aid of poor childrenWednesday.
Makar Sankranti festivities willbring out India’s diverse colours
* THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAITHURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 20154 TIMES CITY
Mumbai:It does not compareto the grand chariot of theSun god Surya that is steeredby seven powerful horses. Yet,this solar wheelchair un-veiled shortly before MakarSankranti will likely come asa godsend to disabled peoplethanks to its multiple uses.
The wheelchair has beenmodified into a petty shop forhandicapped users of modestmeans. It can function as astall to sell tea, paan, fruitsand vegetables, ice cream,newspapers and magazines,or double up as a mobile re-pair shop or bus pass counter.
“This small space can pro-vide an independent incometo handicapped people. In fact,the idea germinated when wemet some disabled personswho were unable to find empl-oyment owing to lack of educ-ation or skill. They cannoteven be hired as security gu-ards. Some severely disabledpeople are unable to travel bypublic transport,” says ArchiSerrao, the Bangalore basedinnovator of Ostrich Mobility.
Reva Mahindra donatedthe pilot model for the ven-ture. The solar-powered whe-elchair also works on batteryto ensure mobility in case sun-light is not available. It has a
joystick which allows for easymanoeuverability by severelydisabled people. “A single fullcharge can ensure mileage ofup to 15 km. The battery can becustomized to last longer dis-tances, even 30 km, though thecost would rise,” says Serrao.
The device costs Rs 94,000and the Bangalore-based ma-nufacturers are aware thatpoor beneficiaries can’t affordit. So they are pitching it tostate governments as well as
corporate donors and NGOs.The device has been donat-
ed to disabled persons byNGOs in Bangalore althoughit is yet to be introduced in Mu-mbai. The initial response isheartening because users aresimply happy that the new-found mobility allows them tobuy groceries and drop chil-dren to school. The chargercan be plugged to normal pow-er sockets in the house, so nomodification is required to theexisting infrastructure.
Wheelchair drivenby solar power toempower disabled
RISE AND SHINE
Mumbai: Even before an Indi-an Institute of Managementcould come up in the state,heads of several businessschools have slammed the gov-ernment’s decision to “gift” itto Nagpur. The location of theinstitute will determine its fu-ture, say experts.
“An IIM in Mumbai orPune will take it to the level ofthe IIM-A in about a decade.But if there is political
interference right from the start about the location of theinstitute, then the very firststep is in the wrong direction,”says a former IIM director.
The state has not yet sub-mitted its plan to the HRD min-istry, which has already re-ceived information on thelocation of the other new IIMs in Andhra Pradesh, Bi-har, Odisha, Punjab and Hima-chal Pradesh.
An IIM in Maharashtrameans a lot. It will go a long wayin bolstering Maharashtra’sego that was pricked at least
twice when the IIM-Ahmeda-bad and the Indian School ofBusiness came knocking on itsdoors but went away when thestate demanded a quota for lo-cals. Ever since, Maharashtrahas been pitching for an IIM,but to no avail. It even lost outin the most recent expansionin 2010-11 when new manage-ment schools were added. Finally, after finance ministerArun Jaitley announced the setting up of five new IIMs, Maharashtra will behome to one.
“The location for an IIMmatters immensely. At oddplaces, it is difficult to get visit-ing faculty from the industryto travel to the campus,” saysIIM-Trichy head Prafulla Ag-nihotri. “The presence of di-versified industries aroundthe city in which an IIM is lo-cated will immensely help anIIM to connect with the indus-try by inviting their managersas visiting faculty, to get liveprojects for students, facultymembers can do consultingand research with the compa-nies in and around the insti-tute and so on.” He added thatthe relationship of industrywith the management insti-tute was like having a hospitalconnected to a medical college.“Management education can-not be complete without appro-priate practical orientation tostudents and faculty and thepresence of industry will onlygive the same to managementstudents,” said Agnihotri.
Several younger IIMs havefound it tough to draw Indiansteaching abroad. Pointing atthe usual obstacles they facewhile getting such teachers, asenior faculty member fromIIM-Lucknow said, “Whenthey uproot themselves andtheir families, they look atcoming home to a city that hasa job for their spouse, top classeducation for their childrenand a lifestyle that is compara-ble to where they come from.”
Slam PoliticalInterference InChoosing Site
Experts unhappywith Nagpur as
new IIM location
CURRENT STATISTICS
INSTITUTESTUDENT INTAKE
(2013-15)
IIM-Ahmedabad 385
IIM-Bangalore 382
IIM-Calcutta 462
IIM-Indore 450
IIM-Lucknow 419
IIM-Kozhikode 375
IIM-Shillong 120
Mumbai:After being given freelaptops by the BMC, corporatorsare now demanding WiFi con-nectivity at the civic headquar-ters as without it “optimum useof the machines is not possible”.The BMC has spent crores tobuy the laptops.
At the standing committeemeeting on Wednesday, the cor-porators said they would returnthe laptops if WiFi connectivitywas not provided.
In its attempt to go paperless,the corporation had given its 227corporators laptops two yearsago. But on Wednesday, the cor-porators raised several issuespertaining to the laptops andsaid that the software was neverupdated. SP leader in the BMCRais Shaikh said, “We are notgiven full access to SAP. We needto be updated with information.We have come to know that offi-cials have warned against giv-ing out any information.”
Opposition leader in theBMC Devendra Ambekar saidthe BMC should at least send thestanding committee meetingagenda via email considering itwants to go paperless.
Manoj Kotak (BJP) too de-manded WiFi and threatened toreturn the laptop.
Additional civic commissio-ner SVR Srinivas said they wou-ld follow up on the issue and wo-uld get WiFi installed. “But withregards to SAP access, I will ne-ed to check,” said an official. TNN
After laptops,corporators
want free WiFi
Mumbai: Western Railwaycommuters are likely to travelon new advanced, faster andmore comfortable Bombardi-er trains from January 26 withthe commissioner of railwaysafety (CRS) declaring the trialrun on Wednesday a success.
Two prototypes of the newrakes with electrical fittingsfrom Bombardier Transporta-tion arrived in the city in Octo-ber 2013. But the trains had sofar failed to get clearance fromthe CRS owing to technical rea-sons. The trial runs that werefinally held on Wednesday be-tween Churchgate and Borivliand back went off without anyglitches. “There were no prob-lems in the ride that I took onWednesday. I am now waitingfor the clearance for only oneaspect of rolling stock from theRailway Board. Thereafter, Iwill send a report to the board,which will decide when thenew trains could be pressed in-to service,” said CRS (centralcircle) Chetan Bakshi, who tr-avelled on a new train fromChurchgate to Borivli.
An MRVC official said, “Ja-nuary 26 has been set as theday to run the new rakes. Wehope to get all clearances be-fore the date. We have missedthe deadline, but at least, thesense of urgency has forcedthe organization to get crack-ing on this project.”
Almost 15 months after theprototypes arrived, they could
not be introduced into servicesfor over a year as they were notgiven the clearance by the CRSwho insisted on a coupler-forcetrial by Research, Design andStandard Organisation. Cou-plers hold the compartmentstogether to form a train. Tho-ugh the tests are mandatory,they were not held for the long-est time. After the CRS reiterat-ed his demand for the test afterdecoupling of a train led to itsderailment, the exercise washeld. But the nod for the trial ofthe new rakes kept pending.
Finally, the bureaucracyswung into action after Mum-bai’s Suresh Prabhu was appo-inted as the new railway minis-ter. Prabhu, following repeatedbreakdowns of trains and agi-tations by commuters at Diva,listed out a charter of plans toimprove the functioning ofsuburban services, and this in-cluded using the advancedBombardier rakes. Now thatthe trial is over, Mumbaikarscan expect faster train travelswith fewer breakdowns.
Under Mumbai UrbanTransport Project (MUTP)-II,the MRVC has placed an orderfor 72 rakes, which are compat-ible to run on 25 KV Alternat-ing Current (ACT) Traction.Of these, 32 will be allotted toWR, while Central Railwaywas supposed to get 40. CR hasclaimed that the new rakeswere taller than the existingSiemens trains and would notbe able to run on its network,though the MRVC maintainedthey were fit for the railway.
The commissio-ner of railway safety carried out the trial run from Churchgate to Borivli and back around noon
The trains ran at 100 kmph, the
FOR BETTER TRAVELThe two rakes
tested are the first of the 72 new trains to be procured
The coaches are energy-efficient, have better seats, good interior lighting and broader windows
The electrical fittings provided by
Bombardier Transpo-rtation are compatible to run on
25 KV Alternating
Current
TRIAL RUN permissible max speed limit
The CRS observed the speed, braking system and the time taken to travel the distance
NEW TRAIN
Total Cost
`3,041crore
The new rakes have stainless steel body
WR commuterslikely to get new
trains from Jan 26
Around 20 permis-sions are neededfrom the BMCand the remain-ing from non-
BMC agencies such as theministries of railways, envi-ronment and forest, civilaviation, and the tree author-ity Mhada, high rise commit-tee, etc (see box).
The BMC action plan pro-
poses to trim the waiting pe-riod for all its permits. Forinstance, it wants to reducethe period required for fireNOC from 45 days to 15 days,traffic clearance from 30days to 15 days, heritage NOCfrom 45 days to 30 days andpest control from 30 days toseven days.
“The civic body can re-duce the period, but in cer-tain cases, delay is bound totake place as the BMC has nocontrol over the agencies ofthe central government,” theofficial said.
The BMC has envisaged apanel of experts and a high-level coordination commit-
tee comprising nominees ofcentral agencies for quickdisposal of applications.“We feel a developer can ac-tually start work on the basisof the recommendationsmade by experts approved bythe BMC. If there are short-comings at a later stage, thesame can be rectified,’’ the
bureaucrat said.The power connection
process too will be stream-lined as a large number ofpermissions are required atthe moment and many ofthem are unnecessary andtime-consuming.
Experts feel the time-bound action plan and dead-
lines for each permissionwill also limit the scope forcorruption in the BMC.
The bureaucrat felt thechange of political leader-ship has made a difference.“BMC bureaucrats were sub-mitting their remarks on theWorld Bank report, but so farno CM took note,” he said.
Traffic | Nalla | Storm Water Drains | Sewerage Project | Water | Roads | Pest Control |Assistant Engg (environment) | Property Tax |
Shop & Establishment | Electric Co. | Chief Engg. M&E | Town Planning | Ward Office | Collector or Urban Land Ceiling | Mhada | Fire (completion) | Garden (completion) | Storm
Water Drains (completion) | Drainage (completion) | Roads (completion) | Water (completion)
Proposed timeline 7-15 days
Total Time Taken Now
180 days
EASE OF DOING BIZ: BMC GETS CRACKINGIf a business needs to put up a construction in Mumbai, it takes months and 70 no-objection certificates or permissions. A lowdown & the proposed simplification
Tree authority |Defence | MOEF
Proposed timeline30 days➤ No control over central clearances
Highrise panel |Maritime board | Civil Aviation | ASI | CRZ |
Jail authority | Forest dept | Railway | Highway | MIDC | Directorate of Industries
Proposed timeline 30 days➤ No control over central clearances
Fire | Heritage (specific cases) |Development Plan dept
Proposed timeline 15-30 days
Timeline Proposed
45 days
90 Days 60 Days
30 Days
45 Days Proposed Wait
21 Days
Time Needed For Power Connection
Now
105 days
Mumbai: Three years after hewas nabbed for raping his neigh-bour’s four-year-old daughter,the Bombay high court upheldthe life sentence of a 28-year-oldman, Sandeep Dhaigude. “The-re is sufficient evidence to provebeyond reasonable doubt thatDhaigude committed the offe-nce,” said a division bench of Ju-stice Vijaya Kapse Tahilramaniand Justice Indira Jain. The HCconvicted Dhaigude under therape laws that deal with sexuallyassault on a girl aged below 12.
On November 11, 2012, thegirl went missing while playingoutside her home. Her motherfound her crying outside Dhai-gude’s house. On spotting herbleeding from her private parts,she raised an alarm. A medicaltest on the girl confirmed sexualassault. A sessions court sen-tenced Dhaigude life imprison-ment in 2012. He moved the HC,saying he was falsely implicat-ed. At the trial, the doctor, whoexamined the girl, denied the cl-aim the girl had fallen off a cycle.
Life term forrapist of
minor [email protected] K Choudhary
TAKE ME HIGHER: Youths are busy flying kites ahead of Makar Sankranti
Chief minister DevendraFadnavis has convened a highlevel meeting of the ‘Make InMaharashtra’ committee onThursday. Departments ofindustry, environment, law andjudiciary, and irrigation, stateelectricity distributioncompany BEST and BMC willmake separate presentationson reforms. Fadnavis is keen onone-window clearance for alldepartments, cutting thenumber of permissionsrequired and the time taken togrant them.
CM walks PM path
BMC proposes to coordinate withcentral agencies for quick NOCs
�From P 1
Mumbai: A sessions court onWednesday sentenced a man toseven years imprisonment forpossessing arms and ammuni-tion allegedly shipped from Pak-istan via sea in 1999. Judge Sri-kant Anekar convicted HanifSumania (35) under the ArmsAct. Public prosecutor S M Pan-dit said, “The convict, out on ba-il, will have to serve the sente-nce. Nine aides were acquitted.”
Pandit said the trial againstone more accused, Osman Jasr-aya, will start on Friday. “He hadturned an approver and grantedpardon. But he turned hostile.”The prosecution said the recove-red cache included two AK 56 ri-fles, two magazines with 20 car-tridges, two empty magazinesand a bag of 133 cartridges.—Rebecca Samervel
Man gets 7 yrsfor possessing
illegal arms
Mumbai: There will be trafficrestrictions for smooth con-duct of the Standard CharteredMumbai Marathon on January18 and to ensure safety and se-curity of participants and spec-tators along the route.
Additional commissionerof police (traffic) Quaiser Kha-lid sounded a note of cautionbut said they were prepared toconduct the marathon smooth-ly. “Our emphasis is on asmooth and hindrance-freerace so we have made all ar-rangements for proper flow oftraffic. The marathon will passthrough important areas of thecity. A total of 110 intersectionswill have 30-40 pressure points.
“Roads to CST will be closedand parking will be cleared bynight. Only vehicles connectedto the marathon will be allowedon the route,” he said
Mumbai’s Asian Heart In-stitute (AHI) is the medicalpartner for the event. Dr NileshGautam, head, preventive car-diology and cardiac rehabilita-tion at AHI, said they would bebetter prepared and had adopt-ed an innovative approach to re-duce casualties. “We have in-creased representatives from360 to 485 to reduce casualties.Research revealed that duringthe final one mile people tend toget more exhausted. So, we willhave spotters with binocularsto identify runners who are ex-hausted. We have also in-creased the beds at two basecamps,” he said.
Residents along the mara-thon route have been requestedto park vehicles elsewhere. TNN
Cops announcetraffic curbs for marathon
Bombardier Rake Trial Run A Success
Mumbai: A teenaged boy fromMumbra, Kadar Shaikh (18),died after he fell off a trainwhen a co-traveller pushed himaccidentally between Sion andKurla stations on Wednesdaymorning. “Shaikh was stand-ing on the footboard of the pa-
cked compartment. The com-muter behind him pushed himaccidentally and Shaikh fell onthe tracks. He was taken to ahospital where he was declareddead,” said a GRP official.
The accused was arrestedby the Dadar GRP for causingdeath due to negligence. TNN
Teen diesafter falling
off train
ACCIDENTAL PUSHBY CO-PASSENGER
Mumbai: Thursday marksMakar Sankranti, the firstfestival of the calendaryear. Dedicated to the Sungod who nurtures life onearth, Sankranti is vari-ously celebrated as Pongalin Tamil Nadu, Bhogali Bi-hu in Assam and Uttarayanin Gujarat. Across India,people take a dip in holy wa-ters and pay respects to theSun as it begins its ascentinto Capricorn this day.
Over in Malabar Hill,Assamese native PradipSarma recalls Bhogali Bi-hu celebrations in his na-tive village. “People buildthatched houses made withstraw from newly harvest-ed paddy. We in Mumbai areunable to replicate the vil-lage bonfire or cook sweetwater fish but do includethe Bihu song and dance infestivities,” he says.
Sarma who is a memberof the Assam Associationwill join 500 people at a Bho-gali Bihu meet in Vashi onSunday, January 18. Thesix-hour programme, be-ginning 4.30pm, includes atraditional Bihu feast and‘khel dhimali’ or games,music and dance pro-grammes and painting
competitions for children.Members are pulling out allstops for the event as elec-tions to the executive com-mittee are scheduled thesame evening.
Tamilians are prepar-ing to celebrate Pongal onThursday with a morningvisit to the Sun temple.Women cook the tradition-al sweet Pongal rice withmilk and jaggery. The NaviMumbai Tamil Sanghamwill lead a procession inhonour of Saint Thiruval-luvar from Shivaji Chowk
on Friday. “On February 1,we are hosting a lavishfeast for 2,000 people,” sayschairman N Mahadevan.“Last weekend, we held acompetition based on thesaint’s couplets which wasa grand success.”
Maharashtrian en-claves are preparing to ex-change til gur sweets whileGujaratis look forward toflying kites in the few openspaces left in the city.
ISKCON Chowpatty or-ganized a kite flying eventin aid of poor childrenWednesday.
Makar Sankranti festivities willbring out India’s diverse colours
* THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAITHURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 20154 TIMES CITY
Mumbai:It does not compareto the grand chariot of theSun god Surya that is steeredby seven powerful horses. Yet,this solar wheelchair un-veiled shortly before MakarSankranti will likely come asa godsend to disabled peoplethanks to its multiple uses.
The wheelchair has beenmodified into a petty shop forhandicapped users of modestmeans. It can function as astall to sell tea, paan, fruitsand vegetables, ice cream,newspapers and magazines,or double up as a mobile re-pair shop or bus pass counter.
“This small space can pro-vide an independent incometo handicapped people. In fact,the idea germinated when wemet some disabled personswho were unable to find empl-oyment owing to lack of educ-ation or skill. They cannoteven be hired as security gu-ards. Some severely disabledpeople are unable to travel bypublic transport,” says ArchiSerrao, the Bangalore basedinnovator of Ostrich Mobility.
Reva Mahindra donatedthe pilot model for the ven-ture. The solar-powered whe-elchair also works on batteryto ensure mobility in case sun-light is not available. It has a
joystick which allows for easymanoeuverability by severelydisabled people. “A single fullcharge can ensure mileage ofup to 15 km. The battery can becustomized to last longer dis-tances, even 30 km, though thecost would rise,” says Serrao.
The device costs Rs 94,000and the Bangalore-based ma-nufacturers are aware thatpoor beneficiaries can’t affordit. So they are pitching it tostate governments as well as
corporate donors and NGOs.The device has been donat-
ed to disabled persons byNGOs in Bangalore althoughit is yet to be introduced in Mu-mbai. The initial response isheartening because users aresimply happy that the new-found mobility allows them tobuy groceries and drop chil-dren to school. The chargercan be plugged to normal pow-er sockets in the house, so nomodification is required to theexisting infrastructure.
Wheelchair drivenby solar power toempower disabled
RISE AND SHINE
Mumbai: Even before an Indi-an Institute of Managementcould come up in the state,heads of several businessschools have slammed the gov-ernment’s decision to “gift” itto Nagpur. The location of theinstitute will determine its fu-ture, say experts.
“An IIM in Mumbai orPune will take it to the level ofthe IIM-A in about a decade.But if there is political
interference right from the start about the location of theinstitute, then the very firststep is in the wrong direction,”says a former IIM director.
The state has not yet sub-mitted its plan to the HRD min-istry, which has already re-ceived information on thelocation of the other new IIMs in Andhra Pradesh, Bi-har, Odisha, Punjab and Hima-chal Pradesh.
An IIM in Maharashtrameans a lot. It will go a long wayin bolstering Maharashtra’sego that was pricked at least
twice when the IIM-Ahmeda-bad and the Indian School ofBusiness came knocking on itsdoors but went away when thestate demanded a quota for lo-cals. Ever since, Maharashtrahas been pitching for an IIM,but to no avail. It even lost outin the most recent expansionin 2010-11 when new manage-ment schools were added. Finally, after finance ministerArun Jaitley announced the setting up of five new IIMs, Maharashtra will behome to one.
“The location for an IIMmatters immensely. At oddplaces, it is difficult to get visit-ing faculty from the industryto travel to the campus,” saysIIM-Trichy head Prafulla Ag-nihotri. “The presence of di-versified industries aroundthe city in which an IIM is lo-cated will immensely help anIIM to connect with the indus-try by inviting their managersas visiting faculty, to get liveprojects for students, facultymembers can do consultingand research with the compa-nies in and around the insti-tute and so on.” He added thatthe relationship of industrywith the management insti-tute was like having a hospitalconnected to a medical college.“Management education can-not be complete without appro-priate practical orientation tostudents and faculty and thepresence of industry will onlygive the same to managementstudents,” said Agnihotri.
Several younger IIMs havefound it tough to draw Indiansteaching abroad. Pointing atthe usual obstacles they facewhile getting such teachers, asenior faculty member fromIIM-Lucknow said, “Whenthey uproot themselves andtheir families, they look atcoming home to a city that hasa job for their spouse, top classeducation for their childrenand a lifestyle that is compara-ble to where they come from.”
Slam PoliticalInterference InChoosing Site
Experts unhappywith Nagpur as
new IIM location
CURRENT STATISTICS
INSTITUTESTUDENT INTAKE
(2013-15)
IIM-Ahmedabad 385
IIM-Bangalore 382
IIM-Calcutta 462
IIM-Indore 450
IIM-Lucknow 419
IIM-Kozhikode 375
IIM-Shillong 120
Mumbai:After being given freelaptops by the BMC, corporatorsare now demanding WiFi con-nectivity at the civic headquar-ters as without it “optimum useof the machines is not possible”.The BMC has spent crores tobuy the laptops.
At the standing committeemeeting on Wednesday, the cor-porators said they would returnthe laptops if WiFi connectivitywas not provided.
In its attempt to go paperless,the corporation had given its 227corporators laptops two yearsago. But on Wednesday, the cor-porators raised several issuespertaining to the laptops andsaid that the software was neverupdated. SP leader in the BMCRais Shaikh said, “We are notgiven full access to SAP. We needto be updated with information.We have come to know that offi-cials have warned against giv-ing out any information.”
Opposition leader in theBMC Devendra Ambekar saidthe BMC should at least send thestanding committee meetingagenda via email considering itwants to go paperless.
Manoj Kotak (BJP) too de-manded WiFi and threatened toreturn the laptop.
Additional civic commissio-ner SVR Srinivas said they wou-ld follow up on the issue and wo-uld get WiFi installed. “But withregards to SAP access, I will ne-ed to check,” said an official. TNN
After laptops,corporators
want free WiFi
Mumbai: Western Railwaycommuters are likely to travelon new advanced, faster andmore comfortable Bombardi-er trains from January 26 withthe commissioner of railwaysafety (CRS) declaring the trialrun on Wednesday a success.
Two prototypes of the newrakes with electrical fittingsfrom Bombardier Transporta-tion arrived in the city in Octo-ber 2013. But the trains had sofar failed to get clearance fromthe CRS owing to technical rea-sons. The trial runs that werefinally held on Wednesday be-tween Churchgate and Borivliand back went off without anyglitches. “There were no prob-lems in the ride that I took onWednesday. I am now waitingfor the clearance for only oneaspect of rolling stock from theRailway Board. Thereafter, Iwill send a report to the board,which will decide when thenew trains could be pressed in-to service,” said CRS (centralcircle) Chetan Bakshi, who tr-avelled on a new train fromChurchgate to Borivli.
An MRVC official said, “Ja-nuary 26 has been set as theday to run the new rakes. Wehope to get all clearances be-fore the date. We have missedthe deadline, but at least, thesense of urgency has forcedthe organization to get crack-ing on this project.”
Almost 15 months after theprototypes arrived, they could
not be introduced into servicesfor over a year as they were notgiven the clearance by the CRSwho insisted on a coupler-forcetrial by Research, Design andStandard Organisation. Cou-plers hold the compartmentstogether to form a train. Tho-ugh the tests are mandatory,they were not held for the long-est time. After the CRS reiterat-ed his demand for the test afterdecoupling of a train led to itsderailment, the exercise washeld. But the nod for the trial ofthe new rakes kept pending.
Finally, the bureaucracyswung into action after Mum-bai’s Suresh Prabhu was appo-inted as the new railway minis-ter. Prabhu, following repeatedbreakdowns of trains and agi-tations by commuters at Diva,listed out a charter of plans toimprove the functioning ofsuburban services, and this in-cluded using the advancedBombardier rakes. Now thatthe trial is over, Mumbaikarscan expect faster train travelswith fewer breakdowns.
Under Mumbai UrbanTransport Project (MUTP)-II,the MRVC has placed an orderfor 72 rakes, which are compat-ible to run on 25 KV Alternat-ing Current (ACT) Traction.Of these, 32 will be allotted toWR, while Central Railwaywas supposed to get 40. CR hasclaimed that the new rakeswere taller than the existingSiemens trains and would notbe able to run on its network,though the MRVC maintainedthey were fit for the railway.
The commissio-ner of railway safety carried out the trial run from Churchgate to Borivli and back around noon
The trains ran at 100 kmph, the
FOR BETTER TRAVELThe two rakes
tested are the first of the 72 new trains to be procured
The coaches are energy-efficient, have better seats, good interior lighting and broader windows
The electrical fittings provided by
Bombardier Transpo-rtation are compatible to run on
25 KV Alternating
Current
TRIAL RUN permissible max speed limit
The CRS observed the speed, braking system and the time taken to travel the distance
NEW TRAIN
Total Cost
`3,041crore
The new rakes have stainless steel body
WR commuterslikely to get new
trains from Jan 26
Around 20 permis-sions are neededfrom the BMCand the remain-ing from non-
BMC agencies such as theministries of railways, envi-ronment and forest, civilaviation, and the tree author-ity Mhada, high rise commit-tee, etc (see box).
The BMC action plan pro-
poses to trim the waiting pe-riod for all its permits. Forinstance, it wants to reducethe period required for fireNOC from 45 days to 15 days,traffic clearance from 30days to 15 days, heritage NOCfrom 45 days to 30 days andpest control from 30 days toseven days.
“The civic body can re-duce the period, but in cer-tain cases, delay is bound totake place as the BMC has nocontrol over the agencies ofthe central government,” theofficial said.
The BMC has envisaged apanel of experts and a high-level coordination commit-
tee comprising nominees ofcentral agencies for quickdisposal of applications.“We feel a developer can ac-tually start work on the basisof the recommendationsmade by experts approved bythe BMC. If there are short-comings at a later stage, thesame can be rectified,’’ the
bureaucrat said.The power connection
process too will be stream-lined as a large number ofpermissions are required atthe moment and many ofthem are unnecessary andtime-consuming.
Experts feel the time-bound action plan and dead-
lines for each permissionwill also limit the scope forcorruption in the BMC.
The bureaucrat felt thechange of political leader-ship has made a difference.“BMC bureaucrats were sub-mitting their remarks on theWorld Bank report, but so farno CM took note,” he said.
Traffic | Nalla | Storm Water Drains | Sewerage Project | Water | Roads | Pest Control |Assistant Engg (environment) | Property Tax |
Shop & Establishment | Electric Co. | Chief Engg. M&E | Town Planning | Ward Office | Collector or Urban Land Ceiling | Mhada | Fire (completion) | Garden (completion) | Storm
Water Drains (completion) | Drainage (completion) | Roads (completion) | Water (completion)
Proposed timeline 7-15 days
Total Time Taken Now
180 days
EASE OF DOING BIZ: BMC GETS CRACKINGIf a business needs to put up a construction in Mumbai, it takes months and 70 no-objection certificates or permissions. A lowdown & the proposed simplification
Tree authority |Defence | MOEF
Proposed timeline30 days➤ No control over central clearances
Highrise panel |Maritime board | Civil Aviation | ASI | CRZ |
Jail authority | Forest dept | Railway | Highway | MIDC | Directorate of Industries
Proposed timeline 30 days➤ No control over central clearances
Fire | Heritage (specific cases) |Development Plan dept
Proposed timeline 15-30 days
Timeline Proposed
45 days
90 Days 60 Days
30 Days
45 Days Proposed Wait
21 Days
Time Needed For Power Connection
Now
105 days
Mumbai: Three years after hewas nabbed for raping his neigh-bour’s four-year-old daughter,the Bombay high court upheldthe life sentence of a 28-year-oldman, Sandeep Dhaigude. “The-re is sufficient evidence to provebeyond reasonable doubt thatDhaigude committed the offe-nce,” said a division bench of Ju-stice Vijaya Kapse Tahilramaniand Justice Indira Jain. The HCconvicted Dhaigude under therape laws that deal with sexuallyassault on a girl aged below 12.
On November 11, 2012, thegirl went missing while playingoutside her home. Her motherfound her crying outside Dhai-gude’s house. On spotting herbleeding from her private parts,she raised an alarm. A medicaltest on the girl confirmed sexualassault. A sessions court sen-tenced Dhaigude life imprison-ment in 2012. He moved the HC,saying he was falsely implicat-ed. At the trial, the doctor, whoexamined the girl, denied the cl-aim the girl had fallen off a cycle.
Life term forrapist of
minor [email protected] K Choudhary
TAKE ME HIGHER: Youths are busy flying kites ahead of Makar Sankranti
Chief minister DevendraFadnavis has convened a highlevel meeting of the ‘Make InMaharashtra’ committee onThursday. Departments ofindustry, environment, law andjudiciary, and irrigation, stateelectricity distributioncompany BEST and BMC willmake separate presentationson reforms. Fadnavis is keen onone-window clearance for alldepartments, cutting thenumber of permissionsrequired and the time taken togrant them.
CM walks PM path
BMC proposes to coordinate withcentral agencies for quick NOCs
�From P 1
Mumbai: A sessions court onWednesday sentenced a man toseven years imprisonment forpossessing arms and ammuni-tion allegedly shipped from Pak-istan via sea in 1999. Judge Sri-kant Anekar convicted HanifSumania (35) under the ArmsAct. Public prosecutor S M Pan-dit said, “The convict, out on ba-il, will have to serve the sente-nce. Nine aides were acquitted.”
Pandit said the trial againstone more accused, Osman Jasr-aya, will start on Friday. “He hadturned an approver and grantedpardon. But he turned hostile.”The prosecution said the recove-red cache included two AK 56 ri-fles, two magazines with 20 car-tridges, two empty magazinesand a bag of 133 cartridges.—Rebecca Samervel
Man gets 7 yrsfor possessing
illegal arms
Mumbai: There will be trafficrestrictions for smooth con-duct of the Standard CharteredMumbai Marathon on January18 and to ensure safety and se-curity of participants and spec-tators along the route.
Additional commissionerof police (traffic) Quaiser Kha-lid sounded a note of cautionbut said they were prepared toconduct the marathon smooth-ly. “Our emphasis is on asmooth and hindrance-freerace so we have made all ar-rangements for proper flow oftraffic. The marathon will passthrough important areas of thecity. A total of 110 intersectionswill have 30-40 pressure points.
“Roads to CST will be closedand parking will be cleared bynight. Only vehicles connectedto the marathon will be allowedon the route,” he said
Mumbai’s Asian Heart In-stitute (AHI) is the medicalpartner for the event. Dr NileshGautam, head, preventive car-diology and cardiac rehabilita-tion at AHI, said they would bebetter prepared and had adopt-ed an innovative approach to re-duce casualties. “We have in-creased representatives from360 to 485 to reduce casualties.Research revealed that duringthe final one mile people tend toget more exhausted. So, we willhave spotters with binocularsto identify runners who are ex-hausted. We have also in-creased the beds at two basecamps,” he said.
Residents along the mara-thon route have been requestedto park vehicles elsewhere. TNN
Cops announcetraffic curbs for marathon
Bombardier Rake Trial Run A Success
Mumbai: A teenaged boy fromMumbra, Kadar Shaikh (18),died after he fell off a trainwhen a co-traveller pushed himaccidentally between Sion andKurla stations on Wednesdaymorning. “Shaikh was stand-ing on the footboard of the pa-
cked compartment. The com-muter behind him pushed himaccidentally and Shaikh fell onthe tracks. He was taken to ahospital where he was declareddead,” said a GRP official.
The accused was arrestedby the Dadar GRP for causingdeath due to negligence. TNN
Teen diesafter falling
off train
ACCIDENTAL PUSHBY CO-PASSENGER
ONLINE COVERAGESATTE 2015
POST EVENTREPORT
22 23
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