Brothers in arms to bitter rivals
Once brothers bound by a common ideology, the Shiv Sena and the BJP appear to have drifted apart so much now that political scribes in Mumbai eagerly await their editions of the Shiv Sena mouthpiece, Saamna, every day in order to read fresh salvos fired at the BJP.
A Saamna editorial was extremely critical of the bullet train project after Japanese Prime Minsiter Shinzo Abe and Narendra Modi performed its ground-breaking ceremony. It claimed that the project will benefit only Japanese firms, and that farmers from both Gujarat and Maharashtra will end up losing their lands and gain nothing. Despite the Maharashtra stretch of the proposed bullet train being just 168 km of the total 506 km, the editorial expressed unhappiness that there are only four stops in the state and Gujarat gets eight. Another editorial criticised the Devendra Fadnavis government for giving priority to the bullet train project over the demands of Maratha community.
BJP leadership is by now used to the barbs from Shiv Sena and its mouthpiece, and says that Sena is worried that its legislators are keen to cross over to the BJP at the right time. Pratap Patil Chikhlikar was one example cited by the BJP to prove its point. Chikhlikar, a former Congress legislator, was loyal to the late Vilasrao Deshmukh and quit the Congress to join NCP. Before the 2014 assembly polls, he crossed over to Sena and got elected from Loha constituency. He is siding with BJP essentially because BJP is helping him fight Ashok Chavan in local politics. Other names doing the rounds include Sena MPs Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil and Shrirang Barne.
Lieutenant Swati Mahadik's inspirational journey
Swati Mahadik is now a Lieutenant in the Indian Army. She is the widow of Colonel Santosh Mahadik who died in Kashmir last year while fighting terrorists. Swati, a mother of two, was just 34 when he died. After Colonel Mahadik's death, Swati had received offers from corporates as well as educational institutes who had expressed their desire to appoint her in a senior role in their organsations. She politely declined these offers and had expressed her desire to join the Army, if possible as she knew that age was not on her side. Thanks to then Army Chief, General Dalbir Singh Suhag and then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, the age limit was relaxed in her case. Swati then passed the Services Selection Board interview and joined the Officers Training Academy. She recently graduated from the OTA with flying colours and was selected for the Army's Ordinance Corps. She is now posted as a Lieutenant at Dehu Road near Pune.
Spanner in the works for Metro III
The Bombay High Court has stayed the work of Metro III in South Mumbai outside J.N. Petit Institute building. The HC bench comprising Justices Manjula Chellur and Nitin Jamdar ordered that no excavation work should take place in front of the 120-year-old building of the Institute, which is a grade II heritage structure. The HC has now appointed a three-member committee to conduct an independent structural survey of heritage structures in the area. Two trustees of Petit Institute had recently filed a petition after an ornamental finial fell off due to excessive vibrations caused by the work carried out for the underground Metro III which will run from Colaba to SEEPZ via Bandra. The three-member committee will have structural engineering experts from IIT Bombay and one each recommended by Petit Insitute and Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation.
Fighting over collection of toll tax
Amboli is a one of the most scenic waterfalls in Maharashtra. It is in Sindhudurg district in the Konkan region and links Kolhapur district with Sindudurg. Now, two gram panchayats have locked horns over who will collect the toll from tourists who visit the waterfalls during the rainy season. The waterfall is named Amboli, but it is technically in the jurisdiction of Parpoli village. The district administration had allowed Parpoli villagers to collect Rs 10 per tourist as tourist tax so that it could contribute to village development and maintenance. Realising that the toll amount to be collected could be a few lakhs, both Amboli and Parpoli village panchayats have started claiming that the waterfall is part of their village jurisdiction. Parpoli villagers have even decided to rename the waterfall as Shivteerth Parpoli waterfall. The dispute will soon reach the district collector's office and villagers appear hell bent on using whatever political clout that they can muster in order to get a ruling in favour of their village.Â
