Kartik Lokhande's blog

* Rs 700 crore made available so far and funds will be made available as and when required, says Chief Minister   * Rs 120 crore to be made available for Bawanthadi irrigation project   Staff Reporter   Finally, the farmers will be getting water for irrigating their farms. Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister, paid a visit to Gosikhurd irrigation project site in Bhandara district on Sunday and said that the project will irrigate farms in three years. He also announced that Rs 120 crore would be made available for Bawanthadi project, thus giving a boost to irrigation development in Vidarbha region.   Keeping his word, Fadnavis visited Gosikhurd irrigation project and took stock of the situation, understood various problems that needed to be sorted out, and issued necessary directions. After that, he announced that Gosikhurd waters will irrigate farms in three years. During his visit, Chief Minister reviewed progress on various counts -- from rehabilitation...

Staff Reporter   The 69th Independence Day of India proved to be a momentous occasion in India-China relations vis-a-vis the Line of Actual Control (LAC). For, on this day, both the countries operationalised a new Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) point near Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) in the cold desert of Ladakh.   The new BPM Point was operationalised in line with Border Defence Cooperation Agreement signed between the two countries in October 2013 and would go a long way in ensuring peace and stability along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh. This will be the northern-most meeting point between armies of both countries on the LAC near DBO. In the inaugural Border Personnel Meeting at DBO on the occasion of Indian Independence Day, a delegation of Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) of China took part in the celebrations hosted by the Indian side.   Senior officers of the Indian Army (left) welcoming those of the Chinese PLA.  Addressing both delegations during the funct...

* In the 220-page draft of State Disaster Management Plan, the State Government outlines various measures to be taken in case of natural or manmade disasters  By Kartik Lokhande  After a long gap, Maharashtra Government has come up with a draft of revised State Disaster Management Plan (SDMP) in true sense of the term ‘revision’. The draft plan, which borrows some ideas from SDMP of Gujarat, spells out several new measures like disaster-linked insurance, storm-water management regulations, making available fire-fighting services in rural areas etc.   The draft SDMP, which runs into 220 pages, contains detailed guidelines for various departments ranging from Fire and Emergency Services Department to local bodies to Health Department. It also focusses on effective co-ordination between different agencies viz. Indian Meteorological Department, National Disaster Response Force, Central Water Commission, Indian Space Research Organisation, Ministry of Defence etc....

* NCDC and NFSC, which are headquartered in the city, will be merged to create NDRF Academy  By Kartik Lokhande  Now, the announcement has come from the highest level. Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, announced on Wednesday in the Rajya Sabha that an integrated National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Academy will be created at Nagpur by merging the existing National Civil Defence College (NCDC) and National Fire Service College (NFSC).   ‘The Hitavada’ had first reported about the decision of Union Home Ministry on July 30. O P Singh, Director General of NDRF, had disclosed this to ‘The Hitavada’ in an interview during his visit to NCDC here. The proposed NDRF Academy will help provide specialised training to NDRF personnel in a dedicated manner and to ensure synergy in providing training to fire service, civil defence, and NDRF personnel, Rijiju told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.   Further, the Union Minister of State in his written...

* ANO, Special Action Group, Gadchiroli Range are critical units and all are without full-time heads By Kartik Lokhande  Can one expect the army to fight a war without commander? At least, Maharashtra Government expects so in case of anti-Naxalite operations. For over one year, Anti-Naxalite Operations (ANO) headquartered at Nagpur is functioning without any full-time head. Similar is the case with other critical posts in the operations against Maoists. Since the transfer of Anup Kumar Singh one year ago, the post of Inspector General of Police (ANO) is lying vacant. Anup Kumar Singh is currently posted as Joint Commissioner of Police (Administration), Mumbai Police. Rajvardhan, Joint Commissioner of Police, Nagpur, is holding additional charge as IG (ANO). The task of Joint Commissioner of Police, Nagpur, itself is a big one as the city is growing in prominence. Whereas, the position of IG (ANO) requires full-time attention as it is critical from operations point of...

By Kartik Lokhande This is the only word that can best describe the acts of self-proclaimed intellectuals, judicial activists lacking in prudence, and learned individuals who are out-of-sync with the overwhelming national sentiment. And, there was one more segment -- the media. All these put together staged an outrageous show before the nation, and achieved in part what they set out for -- polarisation on communal lines using the hanging of terror convict Yakub Memon’s hanging. It all started with the issuance of death warrant regarding Yakub’s hanging reaching to his family. Within a matter of a few days, the nation was stirred up with the ‘anarchist elements’ opening up a front to discuss why the terror convict -- whose acts resulted in killing of 257 innocents and left more than 700 persons injured in 1993 serial bomb blasts -- should not be hanged. They roped in activists, became activists, ranted and panted day in and day out. In all this, Nagpur -- the city where ...

* Govt to compensate loss of municipal corporations by way of providing them revenue earned through stamp duty collection from urban areas * Amnesty Scheme extended up to August 15 Staff Reporter Maharashtra Government, on Friday evening, announced that the Local Body Tax (LBT) would be abolished from August 1, 2015, for the traders having annual turnover below Rs 50 crore. The move will provide relief to 99.85 per cent of the traders enrolled for LBT in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said while making a statement before the State Legislature. The announcement comes as a great relief to traders across Maharashtra and Nagpur, the Second Capital. For, though the deadline of July 31 was drawing closer the municipal corporations had not received any final communication regarding abolition of the much-discussed tax from August 1. Chief Minister informed the State Legislative Assembly on Friday that LBT would be abolished in the limits of 25 municipal corporatio...