Goa Carnival Package by Indian Railways - train to leave Mumbai on Feb 5

Indian Railways have come up with the Goa Carnival Package. It will be by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC) in association with Goa Tourism Development Corporation. Thee would be a special carnival charter coach that will go to Goa during the annual Carnival. It would be in association with a GTDC tour package that has been specially designed for its passengers between February 6- 9, 2016.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 14 January 2016.

The Carnival is from February 6 until February 10 and passengers who avail this package will get an opportunity to enjoy the four-day event which also includes watching the Carnival float parade in the capital city - Panjim on Saturday, February 6.
The package is of a total duration of five nights and six days out of which, the duration of stay in Goa will be three nights and four days. This includes accommodation and sightseeing. The special charter coach will leave Mumbai on February 5. The three-tier AC sleeper coach can accommodate around 70 passengers and will arrive at the Margao Station on February 6 at 7am.
The packages has two categories - Standard Comfort and Deluxe. The prices are between Rs 7,695 and 17,395 per person. The tour of Goa would be to places of touristic importance in North and South Goa apart from visit to beaches, temples, churches, historical sites. Bookings are on-line only.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Air India flight to London returns to Mumbai after a rodent spotted in cabin

It was an Air India flight to London that had taken off from Mumbai but had to return to base after a rodent was spotted in cabin. The rat was was seen scurrying around the cabin by some passengers and, when alerted, efforts were made to capture it but in vain.
The pilot, therefore, the pilot decided to return to Mumbai for the safety of passengers.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 31 December 2015.

The aircraft would have to, now, be fumigated before it can go back into service. Once a rodent is sighted, it must be traced and eliminated otherwise there are fears that it could gnaw into electrical cables and cause a serious accident. The airline arranged an alternate plane to fly the passengers on to London.
Incidentally, in the recent past, there were several incidents that have hit Air India flights in the past day. In one of these cases, a pilot had to abort take-off after a stray dog ran onto the runway in northern India. In another incident, a plane from Mumbai collided with a catering van at the Newark airport in New Jersey, US.

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Christmas cakes in Mumbai - bakeries cater to non-Christians also

Christmas is a festival of Christians but the bakeries in Mumbai go all out to woo non-Christians with their cakes and other goodies. The most stylish new bakeries have come up in enclaves that do not have a Catholic population. On a half-km stretch of Lokhandwala Complex in Andheri thee is a line-up of fashionable confectioneries. Obviously, the buying trends at Christmas have taken on a new look. THis has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 23 December 2015.

The days of ordinary crumbly plum cake soaked in rum, carrot and banana cake are now history. Customers have switched over to new varieties like red velvet, orange juice, chocolate nougat, truffle, blueberry, Ferrero Rocher and Oreo flavors. It seem children are particularly drawn to these cakes on Christmas - the reason is that they have bright fluorescent colors, layers of fruity filling and white and brown chocolate shavings. Its all about variety. The price ranges from Rs 1,000-1,200 per kg for cheesecakes topped with red, purple, blue, green and yellow are steeped in berry or fruit flavors. Normal cakes come for Rs 800-900 per kg on an average while pastry slabs are cut for a tenth of the cost. However, a 400gm cake costing Rs 130 is also available - it is from old-time Irani bakeries. They cannot match steps with the new setups and decorate their shops at Christmas and bake rum-flavored plum cakes.

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Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai to donate 40-Kg gold to Modi's gold scheme

The two-century-old Shree Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai, devoted to Lord Ganesha, is reportedly holding 160-Kg of gold in the form of jewelry that had been donated by devotees. The temple trust plans to deposit a portion of this with banks under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to recycle tonnes of idle bullion to reduce imports and the country's current account deficit.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 10 December 2015.

The deposit would be a big boost for the gold monetisation scheme that has attracted only one kg in its first month. AS the trust says - it plans to melt 40-Kg of the jewellery with lower purity to make bars and deposit those bars under the gold monetisation scheme.
The Siddhivinayak temple has in the past given 10-Kg of gold to a bank under an old deposit scheme. However, the final decision will be taken later in the month.
It may be recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the scheme to tap a pool of over 20,000 tonnes of gold that is held by households and temples in India. Such deposits would reduce imports of the precious metal that accounted for 28 per cent of India's trade deficit in the year ending March 2013.

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Japan to give India her first Bullet Train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad

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The first high-speed Bullet Train would run initially between Mumbai and Ahmedabad and, in future, could be extended to Delhi.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 10 December 2015.

The Rs 98,000 crore project was cleared by the cabinet and is set to be announced during the visit of Japanese premier Shinzo Abe's later this week.
Incidentally, the Shinkansen System had the best safety record with no fatalities in addition to the fact that delays on a trip did not exceed a minute.
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Mumbai restaurant makes customers pay extra for wasting sambaar

The management of a Udipi restaurant in Matunga (E), Mumbai, had been launched 10 years ago and, its management does not encourage the practice that some patrons have of wasting food. This is the Udipi Idli House which is a highly rated restaurant has come up with a method to combat the rising prices of toor dal. This dal is the most important ingredient of sambhar and, its prices have soared. Therefore, in order to not increase the price rise to customers, the restaurant has begun to penalize those who waste the precious sambaar.
For the last 15 days, it has begun to charge Rs 13 extra from the patrons who leave the sambaar and rasam unfinished.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 9 November 2015.

As the restaurant management reveals - several patrons order extra bowls of sambaar and rasam but end up wasting it. Many may not like its taste - they can always ask the waiters to leave it out of their orders.
For the last 10 days, notices have been placed at all the tables informing patrons that an extra Rs 13 will be charged for wasting sambaar and rasam.
Incidentally, toor dal costs Rs 145 to Rs 175 per kg in the wholesale market, and Rs 200 per kg in the retail market.

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In view of increasing number of high-rise buildings in the city, Chennai fire and rescue services department plans to procure ladders that can reach up to 102-m high to tackle fires. The department plans to purchase two aerial ladder platforms, each of which can reach a height of 102m. Since the height of each floor is roughly 3m, such a ladder can reach the height of a 34-storey building.
As indicated by a senior fire safety official, they now have two fire tenders with ladders that can reach a maximum height of only 54m. This is inadequacy considering the fact that there are now around 30 high-rise residential buildings in the city that are 60m high. Obviously, such buildings are, at present, out of reach of firemen in case of an emergency.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 7 November 2015.

Incidentally, Mumbai's fire brigade has recently commissioned a 90-m hydraulic ladder at a cost of 16 crore - it can reach buildings up to 30 floors high. Its ladder is believed to be the tallest snorkel in the country. Once Chennai acquires its ladder, it will steal a march over Mumbai.

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Two 17-year-olds kill a boy to get a chance to compete in TV reality show

The charms of gaining entry into a starry life through competing in TV dance reality show was the reason of why two 17-year-olds abducted a 13-year-old boy for ransom and finally killed him. They had been influenced by the success of another boy who came from a humble family, had made it big in a dance show and is now a celebrity of sorts. It seems the boy had been assured of moving to the next level of the competition if an amount of Rs 40,000 was paid.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 26 September 2015.

The boy was the son of an electrician, the girl the daughter of a daily wage worker. Both were 17 years old and, obsessed with the idea of becoming dancing stars. The boy had left school after Class X and the girl is a first-year student in Delhi University living in an unauthorized colony. Therefore, they allegedly abducted and killed a 13-year-old for money.
The accused boy had apparently made it to the first round of the reality show on a previous occasion and someone had promised to take him through the second round if he could arrange Rs 40,000. The girl was his dance partner.
These teenagers are examples of how youngsters from lower middle class backgrounds passionately go in to practice dancing hoping to, one day, get a foothold on the ladder to stardom. Their hopes are based on examples of others who have made it big through dancing. A general opinion is that TV dance reality shows are proven avenues of social mobility for thousands of underprivileged boys and girls from small-town and urban India.
They have before them the example of the son of an auto-rickshaw driver from Mumbai's Ghatkopar, who won a major TV contest in 2012 and is now a star.
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Beauty conscious belles fly from Delhi to Mumbai for an Rs 10,000+ haircut

Those who say India is a poor country need to do a rethink because, it is here that ladies jet across from Delhi to Mumbai to visit beauty salons and spend upwards of Rs 10,000 per visit. One target of these beauty conscious belles.is a Jean-Claude Biguine (JCB) salon in Mumbai – it is a French salon chain and does not have a presence in Delhi yet.
The business of beauty salons is growing rapidly in India and, the frequency of visits has gone up to 2.5-3 times a month. This is closer to the global average of four times a month and is attributable to increase in disposable incomes.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 22 September 2015.

An example of the charges are - a haircut along with color at a mid-level to premium salon costs a consumer anywhere between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000. The consumers are usually in the 25+ age group, but younger ones of around 17 are also experimenting with hair styles and nails.
As the CEO, JCB India has remarked - consumers who visited salons once every few months now visit more than twice a month. JCB is a global chain that is worth 150 million euros and has presence in 18 countries.
Hair forms a large part of the grooming consumption in India and, the professional hair care market is of the order of around $150 million (around Rs 1,000 crore).
This attraction to salons and grooming is due to exposure to global brands and, is resulting in a 25% growth in some of its salons.
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This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 30 August 2015.

The above information is based on BMC's yet-to-be-released Environment Status Report for 2014-15. As per this report, wastes like plastic, glass, metal and paper account for 17% of the total waste generated everyday while 73% is grains and vegetables.
The worry is about plastic waste since there is no way to process the same.
The two dumping grounds in Mumbai at Deonar and Mulund have reached their full capacity and there is stiff resistance from environmentalists and NGOs over the Kanjurmarg landfill. Obviously, it is a major problem for the BMC and Mumbai has to reduce the amount of waste that the city generates every day.
This dry waste of plastic, paper and glass, is collected and sent to the over 30 segregation centers operated by NGOs and their ragpickers. However, in spite of the best intentions, plastic waste continue to reach the dumping grounds. (Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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It was a tragic accident when two trains derailed at the same spot at the same time and killed 29 passengers – five of the dead were children. The tragedy occurred while the trains were crossing a culvert on the swollen Machak River in Harda district, 160-Km from Bhopal and the time was 30 minutes before midnight.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 6 August 2015.

There were ten bogies involved - seven from the Varanasi-bound Kamayani Express and three from the Mumbai-bound Janata Express.
Most of the casualties were reported from the Mumbai-Varanasi Kamayani Express, which had almost 200 people travelling to UP. Some of the people were victims of electrocution because the overhead traction wire snapped and fell on the tracks.
Rescue operations started nearly four hours after the tragedy.
Incidentally, 20 minutes before this tragedy, the Pawan Express and a goods train had crossed the same spot safely. The railways blamed the tragedy to flash floods triggered by a breach in a bund (embankment) at the nearby Mandla village under Khirkiya tehsil. However, the Harda administration denied that embankments on Machak River had collapsed and blamed the accident to erosion of the soil below the railway tracks.
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The local trains in Mumbai are the lifeline of Mumbai and, in order to ensure safety of women passengers, there are separate ‘Ladies only’ coaches – but, it has been revealed that crimes committed in these trains ae mostly by children. There are others behind them and, the ones who get caught are basically children who are released within a few days of being caught – and, they get back to the job.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 24 July 2015.

The Nirbhaya squad of the police has a band of women who troop out in ladies coaches and on platforms to nab offenders. Their basic job is to ensure the safety of women commuters. It seems the squad has found that children are involved in crimes in ladies compartments and on railway platforms. And, in most cases, they work at the behest of adults.
Since the offences are petty, these offenders are released within a day or two and they come back and go in for picking pockets and snatching phones on railways. And an example is that of a 17-year-old girl with an infant on her hip – she is an expert at picking phones from handbags.
There are many other offenders who are hooked to drugs – all they want is the hard cash and, hence, they take that and throw away the purse that may original documents like Pan cards, election IDs, ATM cards and season tickets. It is, therefore, necessary to not just nab them but also to conduct rehabilitation program for them to wean them away from crime.
As per records, between January and June this year, the WR and CR's Nirbhaya squads have solved 28 cases in all and nabbed 26 offenders and the maximum number of arrests, at eight, were made in the Kurla-Mulund stretch.
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Heavy rains disrupt the life of financial capital Mumbai

It has happened again - heavy rains have disrupted life in Mumbai, the financial capital of India and resulted in waterlogging in low-lying areas apart from throwing out of gear the local train services which is the lifeline of this metropolis. Many long distance have been cancelled.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 22 July 2015.

Two deaths have been reported due to a wall collapse at Govandi due to the incessant rains and waterlogging have also occurred in low-lying areas like Kurla, Chembur, Tilak Nagar, Andheri, Parel and Lower Parel apart from neighboring areas of Thane, Navi Mumbai and Raigad.
This waterlogging during the monsoons is a perennial problem and whichever political party is in power promises to remove this menace but, even though enormous sums of money are allotted and spent on this account, the problem remains. Many dreams have been woven to make this city like Shanghai but, nothing appears to have been done. Shanghai rhymes with Mumbai and, there the similarity ends.
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Mumbai auto rickshaw drivers not returning change, thrash passenger

People who use the auto rickshaws in Mumbai are faced with a problem of not having small change - the auto rickshaws have increased the minimum fare to Rs 18 from Rs 17 and when the passenger tenders either a Rs 20 note or two Rs 10 notes, the drivers do not return the balance of Rs 2 with the excuse that they do not have the change. This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 14 July 2015.

In the latest incident that took place at the Linking Road junction in Santa Cruz over "loose change", the driver thrashed the passenger and threw him out of a moving rickshaw by a group of drivers when he asked his driver for the change. An offence has been registered at Santa Cruz police station.
In order to resolve this problem, some of the unions plan to approach neighborhood temples and collect coins to distribute them among drivers at stands outside stations during morning and evening peak hours.
A more ambitious proposal in keeping with the age of mobile phones has been put forth by a member of Mumbai Autorickshawmen's Union. In his opinion, payment through mobile apps could be a solution to eliminate fights and arguments.
Incidentally, Kolkata already has experiences of such fights between drivers and passengers. In March 2015, an auto driver on the Jadavpur-Santoshpur route punched a passenger following an argument over loose change at the auto stand.
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Mumbai, the financial capital of India, paralyzed by heavy rains

Mumbai has no respite from monsoons and it keeps happening year in and year out. No matter which political fixation is in the saddle, none of them are able to tackle this menace of waterlogged roads and train tracks.
There are plans to run bullet trains between Mumbai and Ahmedabad but, if Mumbai cannot prevent waterlogging of railway tracks, how will they handle bullet trains.
Mumbai came to a standstill this year also due to heavy rain that battered most parts of the city and threw normal life totally out of gear, simultaneously exposing the lack of preparedness of the financial capital of India. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has taken stock of the situation and has appealed to Mumbaikars not to come out of their homes unless absolute necessary.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 19 June 2015.

The heavy downpour and waterlogging have affected the train services which are considered to be the lifeline of the city. Many long-distance trains like the Deccan Queen, Panchavati Express and Pragati express from Mumbai have been cancelled. Moreover, a whole lot of trains were stuck in between CST and Kalyan.
Apart from railways, vehicular traffic has also been affected and has led to chaos across the city. Most of the flights have also been delayed.
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Autorickshaws go off the roads in Mumbai – fight for survival against radio cabs

Over a million commuters, office-goers and students were inconvenienced in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane as around 20,000 autorickshaws went off the roads pressing for their demands to ban radio taxis and having a social welfare scheme.
The funniest part is that due to their strike, the radio cabs had a field day.
This has been reported in zeenews.com dated 17 June 2015.

Mumbai Autorickshawmens Union has blamed the government for the inconvenience to the citizens because it is now a matter of survival of the autorickshaw and those who drive them. The reason is that private taxis, tourist vehicles and call center cars have come into the field to transport the people to various areas in the suburbs. On top of that, other cabs like Ola cabs and Uber cabs ply beyond their jurisdiction which is also affecting the autorickshaw drivers.
Unless things are set right, there could be more such agitations in future.
Transport Minister of Maharashtra has indicated that the government has taken note of their demands and would consider them.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Delhi does not care for its old – neither do most of the metros

Life in Delhi, the capital of India, is not all a bed of roses – a study has shown that it is one of the metros that is least bothered about its old people. Neither do most of the metros. Family life as depicted in popular TV serials are far removed from reality because, in real life, it is all about nuclear families where there is no space for parents or elders.
As per statistics revealed by HelpAge India, 92% youth of Delhi are unwilling to act followed by 64% in Chennai, 45% in Hyderabad, 41% in Ahmedabad, 37% in Bengaluru and 35% in Mumbai.
This has be reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 16 June 2015.

The survey was carried out in 200 households selected from 20 middle and upper class localities in 10 cities. The country head of HelpAge India has said that financial reasons were the most perceived factor for elderly abuse.
Moreover, 'attitudinal and relationship issues' also played a prominent role.
Incidentally, the reasons of elderly abuse in the past had been attributed to son and daughter-in-law.
The survey report was released at India International Centre, New Delhi and many elderly persons were present on the occasion. As one of them has lamented – the children have no time to talk because the son and daughter-in-law are busy with work and the grandchildren are busy with their mobile phones. As a result, the elders feel isolated at home.
Another elderly person lamented that he had spent most of his savings in buying a house for the family and children's education. Now, when he approaches them for money for small things, they often refuse.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Uber cab hires women drivers to ensure safety of women passengers

Uber cabs in New Delhi have faced flak due to some of its errant drivers who had misbehaved with women passengers. There was an instance of rape reported and, it faced criticism once again for the recent molestation case in Gurgaon.
Therefore, the cab aggregator firm Uber has decided to employ women drivers to boost customer confidence. It has already done so in Mumbai where it has recruited 20 women cabbies to ensure safety of women travelling alone, especially in the night.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 15 June 2015.

As one of the woman drivers has remarked - women feel safe when ferried by women drivers. She has joined Uber recently and earns up to Rs 3,000 per day and is, probably, one of the highest paid woman cabbie in the city. She has explained that the numbers may soon increase to 100 as more women are coming forward to join this profession. They have the option to switch off the mobile app and attend to household chores. And, once free, can switch on the app to accept bookings.
Other operators like Ola are also encouraging women to join the profession.
Recruitment of women cab drivers is seen as an attempt by Uber to enhance its image which has been sullied by the rape incident last December and the recent molestation complaint.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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India’s first bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad would be cheapest in the world

India’s first bullet train is gradually taking shape – at least on paper. It would cost Rs 98,000-crores, would have 10 stations and the fare for the 534-Km journey would tentatively be in the region of Rs 2800 – the current fare in AC-I class is Rs 2800. Moreover, the distance would be covered in two hours against eight hours as at present. This has been reported in indianexpress.com dated 3 June 2015.

The fare charged by Japan’s Tohoku Shinkansen (Hayabusa trains) for a 713-Km journey on the Tokyo-Shin-Aomori sector is about Rs 8,000. And, a second class ticket on China’s Jinghu High Speed Railway for the Beijing-Shanghai route comes to over Rs 5,000.
The feasibility report would probably be submitted to the Railways Ministry in July. On initial estimates, about 40,000 people would be using the corridor every day by 2023.
It is of interest to note that this corridor, along with 5 other corridors, had been introduced for feasibility study in the 2009–2010 Rail Budget by then Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. An impression is gaining ground that it is being done at the initiative of the Modi government.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Daring daylight robbery from ATM cash van in Mumbai

#cashvan #securitycompany #westernexpresshighway Police have, reportedly, picked up four suspects who are believed to have been associated with the loot of Rs 2 crore of cash from an ATM cash van in suburban Vile Parle.
The robbery has the makings of a James Hadley Chase mystery novel. It appears to have been carried by an employee of the security firm that was responsible to transport the money from the bank to the ATMs located in the suburbs.
The cash van had in it Rs 2 crore worth cash and it was looted on Western Express Highway in suburban Vile Parle by four persons, one of whom was an employee of the security firm. The police have picked up four suspects and interrogation is underway.
The modus operandi, as presumed by the police, is that the cash van left the offices of the security company at Lower Parel with four employees, including the main suspect who was the guard. On the way at Worli, the guard asked his three colleagues to stop the vehicle at Worli under the pretext of some work. Later, he brought tea for his colleagues – the tea was spiked with sedatives. As they fell asleep near Parle, a car came and blocked the cash van, three accomplices came out from it, removed the cash and decamped with it along with the guard.