NMMC to beautify Juhu Gaon pond

Date of Publishing in Dainik Jagran Cityplus: 2011-06-17 00:00:00.0

A pond in Sector 14 of Vashi, which is also known as Juhu Gaon, has been in a deplorable state for a long time troubling residents. Considering the demands of the residents for the makeover of the pond, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has now decided to give it a facelift.
One of the residents Ravi Patil expressed, "The 500-square metre pond is utilised every year for various religious rituals, the biggest one being the Lord Ganesha emersion. And as there is residential area around the pond, garbage can be found in it in large quantities polluting the water of the pond."
Another resident Sunita Khandagle said, "The boundary grill and the walkway are also in a dilapidated condition. Considering all this, we have been demanding redevelopment of the pond and its surroundings."
Local corporator Prabhakar Bhoir expressed, "Considering the condition of the pond, I had been continuously demanding redevelopment of it at standing committee meets. Fortunately, now that the chairman has interfered and the pond is being given a facelift." The contract has been allocated to V B Bhoir construction company and the whole work will cost around Rs 23.33 lakh. And the work will be completed within five months.
NMMC city engineer Mohan Dagaonkar informed, "We will remove the sludge from the pond, repair the gate and grill, install new arch gate and a huge grill will be installed on the boundary wall to stop residents from throwing garbage in this pond."

Risky transport for school children puts parents in a spot

File photo of Satish jadhav

Date of Publishing in Dainik Jagran Cityplus: 2011-06-17 00:00:00.0

Parents have been facing problems in finding safe transport for their wards nowadays. Auto-rickshaws, vans and school buses are the modes of transport available in the city but most of these vehicles are 10 to 15-year-old and unsafe for commuting.
Parents dread to send their children to school in these vehicles but are forced to do so due to unavailability of a safer option. One of the parents Inderjeet Singh said, "For a few years, the city has been witnessing many school bus accidents and many innocent children have lost their lives due to the negligence of the drivers. The transporters do not follow RTO norms as well. And most of the vehicles used for boarding schoolchildren are more than 10 to 15-year-old."
Riyaz Shaikh, another parent said, "Many parents like me prefer sending their children by autos and vans, but they aren't safe, as the autos and vans carry more than the specified number of the children at a time, but there is no other option."
Deputy RTO Sanjay Raut informed, "The state government has framed a new set of rules under the Motor Vehicles Act, 2011 allowing private vans with a seating capacity of maximum 12 children to be used as school buses. We have sent the circular to all the schools operational in Navi Mumbai limits to adhere the norms. We are trying our level best to implement these norms in the buses to drive safely as the children are on board. Some of the schools have hired private vans and mini buses looking after the safety of the children. The school buses must follow the norms mentioned in the policy to safeguard the life of the children otherwise legal action will be taken against them."
He added, "The autowallahs are strictly warned to take only 5 children at a time to drop them to school. If the autowallahs are seen not following the norms they will be fined and restricted. Parents should prefer sending their child through school buses, mini buses, vans which are given the permission and are seen following the norms, they must not rely on autos as they are risky and some of them ply without permissions."
S V Dhivre, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) informed, "To ensure the safety of the children, we in-coordination with RTO and schools have been organising various awareness camps for the school teachers, students, bus drivers, attendants and contractors".
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For school buses

• Buses should have the words 'School Bus' written on the front and rear.
• If they are contracted by a school, the words 'On School Duty' should be displayed.
• They should have a first-aid kit.
• A fire extinguisher should also be placed in every bus.
• Windows should have protective grills, not just a couple of bars.
• There should be space beneath seats to accommodate school bags.
• The name of the school and its telephone number should be mentioned on the bus.
• At no time, should the number of students exceed the seating capacity.
• The bus driver should have a minimum five years of driving experience.
• The driver should have no criminal record.

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—Jaspal Singh Naol

Garbage dump, an eyesore for many

Date of Publishing in Dainik Jagran Cityplus : 2011-04-29 00:00:00.0

The residents of Sector 12 of Vashi have been facing a lot of problems due to a garbage dump which has been developed over a vacant plot in the area and want the area to be developed into a beautiful park for the benefit of the residents.
This garbage dump has been posing health hazard and has become a breeding ground of different kinds of mosquitoes endangering the lives of the residents. The residents have lodged numerous complaints in this regard but to no avail.
Trupti Joshi, a resident informed, "The vacant plot has become a garbage dump needs to be cleared. Many people in the area dump scrap, debris and other garbage here which troubles us a lot."
Sunaina Tendulkar, another resident said, "We face a lot of problems due to this garbage dump and authorities should do something at the earliest to solve this problem. This dump also gives a bad look to our area."
Sunanda Raut, local corporator informed, "I have received several complaints about this plot and have also personally visited the spot. This dump is a threat for everyone. I have asked Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation authorities to take proper action and transform this land into a beautiful garden."
Vashi Ward Officer Ashok Madhavi informed, "I have just come across the said problem and will send my team to cross check. The NMMC has a special vigilance patrolling team which curbs illegal dumping done in the city. However, my team will clear the area. But at this very moment, I cannot say anything for transforming this land into a garden. This decision is to be taken by General Body and Municipal Commissioner.

MGM residents demand recreational area

Date of Publishing in Dainik Jagran Cityplus: 2011-04-29 00:00:00.0

Residents of Mahatma Gandhi Mission (MGM) Cooperative Housing Society have been demanding a multipurpose building from the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation for organising various community-based events of the society for a long time but to no avail.
Residents of the society face difficulty in arranging get-togethers, birthday parties, etc due to unavailability of the facility.
Heera Patel, a resident of MGM Society Sector 14 Vashi expressed, "We need this facility as organising an event in the area is an uphill task and also very expensive. It also leads to chaos in the area."
Another resident Vijay Jain said, "There is a small stage in Priyadarshini Park in our society, but it hardly serves the purpose. As it is an open stage, it is not much of a help. It can be of great help to children, youth, women and senior citizen, who can use this place for leisure activities."
Shilpa More, local corporator informed, "It will be great if we get such a facility. Right now the children have no space in the vicinity to come together and play indoor games. The women, senior citizens also need this facility for recreational purposes. The only solution is the transformation of the stage of Priyadarshini Park into a multipurpose building. I have demanded the same from the Municipal Corporation and expect that the facility will come up soon."
Ward Officer Ashok Madhavi informed, "We have got the demand of the residents and it is really acceptable, but for now, we are waiting for the orders in this regard from the Municipal Commissioner."

Vashi Depot makeover, a sigh of relief

Date of Publishing in Dainik Jagran Cityplus: 2011-04-29 00:00:00.0

Residents of Vashi finally have something to cheer about. The makeover of Vashi Bus Depot undertaken by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has brought respite not just from commuting woes but has many other benefits.
There are a large number of colleges near Vashi Bus Depot, the biggest relief of this bus depot renovation has come to these girls. Earlier they use to face a lot of problems due to eve-teasers who had made this depot, their den. These anti-social elements used to gather here in groups and regularly create nuisance.
Minakshi Ughade, a resident informed "Many girls had started avoiding this area due to this problem. These men used to sit at some specific spots in the depot and make it impossible for the girls to cross this area. Illegal hawkers used to add to the problem. This facelift has been a great sigh of relief for the girls."
Shifting of Nerul Bus stand and widening of roads are the two best things that the corporation has done. This has reduced the influx of these anti-social elements. The newly-made boundary wall along gurdwara road has also helped a lot in the cause.
"I am a student of ICL College. Initially, I and my friends used to come down to Vashi depot to catch a bus for Koper Khairane but due to the nuisance created by these eve-teasers, we had started avoiding this place but now that the depot has been redeveloped, we have finally decided to catch the bus from this bus depot," said Zulfin Bux, another resident.
NMMT Turbhe Depot administrator Sunil Salunkhe informed, "We had received many complaints earlier about this and had also asked the police to look into the matter. The police used to organise regular patrolling to ensure that no such nuisance is created. We have redeveloped and shifted few of the stops from here, so the buses don’t cross each other, this would avoid chaos on the roads."
Though now most of the problems are resolved and people have started frequenting this depot. But the problem of illegal vendors still needs to be taken care of. Sharmila Rane, a regular commuter on this rooute said, “No doubt the transport authorities have removed the illegal hawkers, but still cigarettes are sold at the corner of WOW tea centre which troubles us as many people while smoking stare at girls entering and exiting the depot. As per rules, selling cigarettes at public places is an offence. But to the dismay of girls, the authorities are not taking any action.

Many girls were earlier avoiding this depot due to eve-teasing. The renovation work has instilled confidence in them. ”
— minakshi ughade

—Jaspal Singh Naol

Uneven, encroached footpaths trouble Koper Khairane

Date of Publishing in Dainik Jagran Cityplus: 2011-05-06 00:00:00.0

Footpaths in Koper Khairane are of no use for the residents as many are uneven or have been occupied by NMMC's sewage pipeline which has been dumped here for a long time leading to many problems.
Uneven footpaths are also a big problem for residents here. All the complaints of residents in this regard have not been fruitful. The footpaths, which were in a good condition, have been encroached by the NMMC for more than a year and the residents have been forced to endanger their life by walking on the roads.
Saif Khan, a resident said, "The Corporation is only focusing on the external part of the city. Sector 1 has the most uneven footpaths with broken drain covers. The link pathway of Sector 2 Row Houses to Sector 4 main road behind Terna College is in a poor condition. The some footpaths have been encroached by pipelines stocked on them like on the one ahead of Skylark Apartments towards D Mart in Sector 15 near Yashwantrao Chauhan College."
Khan added, "It's the vacation time so the students are not on the roads, once the college gets started the youth will be again seen walking at the centre of the roads risking their lives."
Zulfin Bux, another resident said, "It is only due to the negligence of the NMMC that the works have been delayed. It may be recalled that the corporation had planned redeveloping of the dilapidated footpaths a year back but still the works are going on at some places. In monsoon, the situation will worsen and lead to many accidents as walking on road will be very risky."
NMMC city engineer Mohan Dagaonkar informed, "We are carrying out various development works in the city for the welfare of the residents. We keep the material near the site and so these pipelines are kept on the footpath. However, the residents can also used the footpath which is on the opposite side for the time being.”

Water shortage in Sector 15 puts residents in a fix

fix

Date of Publishing in Dainik Jagran Cityplus: 2011-05-06 00:00:00.0

24 x 7 water supply still a distant dream
Residents of Sector 15 are a troubled lot nowadays due to the scarcity of water in the area. The residents claim that the water supply is not sufficient and has a very low pressure which troubles residents a lot. In such a situation, 24 x 7 water is still a distant dream.
For a few months, the water has been coming with a very lower pressure in the area for just two hours in morning and evening. This has led to water scarcity troubling residents. Manisha Salunkhe, a resident of Omkar Society Sector 15 expressed, "In such scenario, our family members can only take bath in morning and there is a little water left for washing clothes and other works. This troubles us a lot."
Nothing has been done on the promise of 24x7 water supply. Dhananjay Shinde, a resident of B 2 type society said, "It has been almost two years since it was announced that the residents will receive 24 x 7 water supply, but to the dismay, we are facing water shortage due to low pressure of water supply."
Local corporator Sindhu Naik expressed, "I have taken up the matter with the Navi Mumbai Muncipal Corporation (NMMC) and also demanded them to start 24 x 7 water supply for the residents. This is possible as now we have our own Morbe Dam which has surplus water. The water shortage due to low pressure of water supply is really embarrassing."
Deputy Engineer Raut expressed, "There is no water problem in the area. If some of the societies are facing water problem due to low pressure, then there is a need to clean the strainer, which can be easily done."
On the demand of 24 x 7 water supply in Vashi and nearby areas, Sanjay Desai, head of water department, NMMC said, "We have received funds under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission for the augmentation of the water supply and accordingly many internal old lines are being replaced by the new lines which will provide water in higher pressure to the residents. The work is presently under going in all the areas. But due to the monsoon, we will be postponing the rest of the work. Once the work is completed, the residents will be able to enjoy 24 x 7 water supply.

I have taken up the matter with the NMMC and also demanded them to start 24 x 7 water supply.”
— Sindhu Naik,
Local corporator
—Jaspal Singh Naol