Mahesh Vijapurkar
Read biographyMahesh Vijapurkar likes to take a worm’s eye-view of issues – that is, from the common man’s perspective. He was a journalist with The Indian Express and then The Hindu and now potters around with human development and urban issues.
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Well-muscled and officials in grip, hawkers have little to fear
No one seems to have an idea about the number of hawkers who use roads and sidewalks in Mumbai, but their size is huge. A study over a decade ago is said to have estimated that ten percent of the hawkers alone are licenced by the Municipal Corporation of Greater #hawkers #Jamaalbhai #Mumbai #Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai #TMT Pappu
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Chess and poker: The way Pawar plays his political games
Sudhakarrao Naik, when he was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, confided once that when dealing with Sharad Pawar, it was a political game where both chess and poker (teen patta) were involved. You play only one of the two genres; Pawar almost always came up trumps. These metaphors from a politician #Maharashtra #Manohar Joshi #Sharad Pawar #Sudhakarrao Naik #Vilasrao Deshmukh
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Pawar, Pranab, Thackeray: What’s the fuss about No 2?
In the context of the Number Two position in the Union Cabinet, here is something worth recalling. It involved Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, Behram Contractor, editor of Afternoon Courier and Despatch, and the pecking order in that party. At a meet-the-press organised by the Gujarati journalist, where the answers were #Bal Thackeray #Congress #No 2 #PoliticsDecoder #Sharad Pawar #Shiv Sena
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Why Sharad Pawar cannot dump Congress
Can Sharad Pawar do without the Congress? The explanation for the contretemps with the Congress, the major ally in the Centre, and a presumed equal in Maharashtra would necessarily have to take that question seriously. Sharad Pawar has had a long innings with the Congress party, has moved in and out at #Congress #ConnectTheDots #Manmohan Singh #NCP #Sharad Pawar #Sonia Gandhi
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Shiv Sena’s political path: From aggression to somnambulism
There seems to be something the matter with the Shiv Sena. It has been a series of reckless steps and couldn’t-care-less attitude, which in the short and long term have the potential to run it out of reckoning. It has decided to support Pranab Mukherjee for President. That is breaking ranks with #Bal Thackeray #Maharashtra #PoliticsDecoder #Shiv Sena
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Commuters skip expensive BEST trips for cheaper alternatives
There was a time when one said ‘for the price of a bus ticket’ when something was low-cost, as distinct from cheap; just like one said 'ek cutting chai ka daam’. But that bus fare too has become expensive for some. According to a member of the Brihanmumbai Electric and Transport #BEST buses #NewsTracker
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What Meira Kumar can learn from John Bercow
John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons is a person with immense authority when presiding over its sittings. As The Economist recently wrote, "the Speaker can summon the prime minister to explain himself and silence the mightiest office-holder with a glance." Ever since the Lok Sabha, and then the #ConnectTheDots #John Bercrow #Lok Sabha #Meira Kumar #Rajya Sabha
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Public or private: Why medical care in Mumbai is a nightmare
Take three major cities, adjoining each other and you will find different examples of healthcare arrangements and the Alice in Wonderland - shockingly so - emerges. First Navi Mumbai. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation ordered the closure forthwith of a private hospital since it was admitting more patients than its allotted #Medical care #Navi Mumbai #Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation #Thane #ThatsJustWrong
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Getting the govt back on feet: maybe Chavan spoke too soon
It would have been nice if someone had cautioned Prithviraj Chavan, Maharashtra’s Chief Minister from saying, after the fire that devoured three storeys of Mantralaya, that it – and the government — would start functioning from the following Monday. That assurance, or promise, was a pie-in-the-sky type, hard to ensure. For #Ajit Pawar #governmental machinery #Mantralaya fire #Mantralaya Mumbai #Prithviraj Chavan #Sharad Pawar #World Trade Centre
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Don’t restore, refurbish or redevelop Mantralaya: shift it
With regard to the partially fire-ravaged Mantralaya building, three options appear to be before the Maharashtra Government: restore it, makeover with improvements, or redevelop on a better scale, all of which, of course, have to be in situ. A fourth option with wide-ranging as well as long-term impact on Mumbai #Maharashtra #Mantralaya building #Mumbai #Navi Mumbai #OnOurMind