Power Policy Of Divide And Rule

Harshad Oak

Maharashtra State Power Policy Of Divide And RuleMaharashtra again suffers from acute electricity shortage and extended power cuts. While the govt. hasn’t shown much innovation or vision when it comes to power supply, it has been ingenious in managing the power cuts. It’s relying on good old “Divide and Rule”.

Considering that the entire state of Maharashtra is short on electricity, an outsider would think that all parts of the state will be facing equal power cuts. But the reality is that the power cuts vary inversely to the political importance of a place in the state.

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The reason for migrating from India is not money or career, but a loss of faith in India

Harshad Oak

Leaving home for foreign shores - Herald Column 17-Mar-07“My column in the Herald dated 17th March 2007”

A few days back, a friend told me about his plans to head for a foreign country because he has had
enough of India. He isn’t one of the ‘crazy about US’ kinds who think that all things American are
cool or who only talks about English music and Hollywood. He is as connected to India as most of us.
Yet he is convinced that he has to move out of India.

That discussion has got me thinking about the topic of young Indians migrating from India. This article is my attempt to put down the various factors that are at work in this matter. I will discuss the history of Indian migrations and then look at why people migrate and why they don’t. If you are expecting a yes or no answer about migrating, I unfortunately can’t provide that.

Although I am taking an Indian perspective, I think most points would be relevant to all developing nations.

Also please note that I am trying to take an objective view on the subject and not a patriotic or
emotional one

(Continued… Click here “Leaving home for foreign shores” for the entire article). Published as part of my fortnightly column for the Maharashtra Herald)

Power Politics – Divide and Rule in Maharashtra

Harshad Oak

This year the state of Maharashtra again suffers from acute electricity shortage and extended power cuts. While cities are facing 2-6 hours of cuts, the villages have to go without power for 10-16 hours a day.

As most in India are aware, the reason for this situation is the incompetence of the politicians and the state run power company they control.

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Drive the development of your part of Pune city

Harshad Oak

Pune Municipal Commissioner Nitin Kareer has announced that citizens can give written applications suggesting developmental works in their wards to the extent of Rs 15 lakhs.

The application forms which include space for name, address and other details are available at all 14 ward offices. The form explains how citizens can make suggestions for development work, based on which they can give their own suggestions.

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Congress NCP reject electoral verdict – Do a policy volte-face

Harshad Oak

The Congress led by Suresh Kalmadi and the NCP led by Ajit Pawar had both promised the electorate that they would not join hands with each other post elections, as they thought the other party was responsible for the ruin of Pune.

The electorate voted under the impression that they won’t come together post election. However like the stereotypical politicians in Hindi movies, both the Congress and NCP now seem keen on coming together in an attempt to grab power. The same leaders who had indulged in extensive name-calling are now on the verge of forming a coalition. You should soon see statements saying that they have come together “For the development of Pune” or “To keep communal forces at bay” or “Our high-command said so” or some such corny line.

While poiliticians continue to behave in this fashion, one can’t really blame the masses for losing faith in Indian democracy.

Deccan Gymkhana (Ward No 67) and Law College (Ward No 56) Candidates – Open Debate and Discussion

Harshad Oak

Wards 56 & 67 mohalla committee has set up a platform for candidates contesting the pune corporation elections. Each candidate will be given 5 minutes to outline his/her development plans for his/her ward.

  • place: kamala nehru park
  • date: january 24, 2007
  • time: 5:30 p.m

The mohalla committee has a google group at http://groups.google.com/group/5667mc

I wasn’t aware of the existence of such a mohalla committee, but this attempt at providing a common platform for candidates is surely a commendable undertaking.

I hope there’s a good turnout and no fist fights at the meet.

Bachchan Temple Treks Are Disappointing

Harshad Oak

I used to think that Amitabh Bachchan was a great role model for Indians. But his regular  treks to temples across India are consistently eroding his stature in my eyes.

Ref- Bollywood’s Bachchan walks barefoot to pray

India is anyway full of religious fanatics and superstitious people who would believe and follow so called god men and waste their lives believing in some hocus pocus.

The biggest name in India acting in such fashion only makes things worse. I am sure thousands of Amitabh followers would soon imitate Amitabh and maybe even try to make the idols drink milk!

In today’s India it seems “Science” and “Scientific Temper” are topics meant only for speeches but never for actual implementation.

Pune City Municipal Corporation Elections 2007 – Deccan Gymkhana

Harshad Oak

Pune Municipal Corporation elections last happened 5 years back, i.e in 2002. I have hardly any memory of that election, because I didn’t quite care back then.

Things have changed a lot in 5 years. I not only intend to vote but I also plan to first study the candidates contesting the election in 2007. I have repeatedly written about how Pune city is crumbling, primarily because of incompetent administration. So I guess now’s the chance for Pune citizens to have an impact on the future of Pune.

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Using Right To Information Act To Get Better FootPaths for Pune

Harshad Oak

Anybody who has been to Pune would know that the Pune Municipal Corporation is not a very competent body. The city is going down rapidly and hardly anything is being done to stop the slide.

I have been reading up on the Right to Information for quite some time and now intend to use it to get some answers on an important issue, Footpaths. I have written about this before “Pune Corporation – The Art of Converting Public Parking Spaces Into Private Property” and “Footpaths are for pedestrians and not illegal chaat stalls”

All over the city, builders are converting footpaths into parking places or approach roads for their buildings. I intend to get the following info under the Right To Information Act

  1. Details of new footpaths created in the last 2 years
  2. Details of repairs done to existing footpaths in the last 2 years
  3. Want to know if it is legal for footpaths to be paved by the builder instead of the PMC
  4. Has any action been taken against any building / builder for paving a public footpath without PMC permission?
  5. What action has been taken against PMC staff for failure in stopping encroachment and misuse of footpaths?
  6. Are footpaths designed so as to prevent any vehicle parking or their use as approach roads to buildings / parking areas?
  7. Which roads will get new footpaths in 2007?
  8. Is PMC bound to develop and maintain footpaths for all new roads in the city?

I might rephrase things a bit. But this is more or less the info I would be ask for.

I went through Right To Information Info at –

  1. Consumer Forum Procedure for request of Information
  2. Parivartan – How To Apply
  3. PMC Egovpmc – RTI Officers
  4. Model application Format for obtaining information under “RTI Act, 2005”
  5. Right To Information Act
  6. Right To Information FAQ
  7. Right To Information Campaign Workbook

While most of my queries have been answered. I still could not find a satisfying answer to –

  • How much to pay as RTI fees and what’s the easiest way to pay them?
  • None of the docs state clearly what is the amount I need to pay. They state that I will have to pay Rs 25 + photocopying/ postage on actuals. If this amount is going to change from case to case, it means I have to personally go to the PMC office and ask the bureaucrat what amount I need to pay. I would then have to pay it by standing in queues and filling more forms.
  • This I think is a big flaw as it eliminates the option of me getting things done by post and without having to suffer the irritations that inevitably follow a visit to a govt. office.
  • There’s no provision for electronic money transfer. It might seems elitist to talk of electronic transfers in a poor country, but the act should provide for it.

Ideally I should be able to make an online payment for a flat fee of say Rs 100. Then fill up a form on a central RTI site. The site should be well aware of the Public Information officer (PIO) to contact. The PIO should get anemail and I should get a confirmation.

Looking at the government’s e-awareness record, e-Right to Information is unlikely to happen in the near future, so I guess I should start planning my visit to the PMC office.

Any suggestions on how I could simplify the process or make better use of my application, are most welcome.

Should I keep rowing or should I abandon ship and swim for that glittering island?

Harshad Oak

A few days back, a friend told me about his plans to head for a foreign country because he has had enough of India. He isn’t one of the ‘crazy about US’ kinds who think that all things American are cool or who only talks about English music and Hollywood. He is as connected to India as most of us. Yet he is convinced that he has to move out of India.

That discussion has got me thinking about the topic of young Indians migrating from India. This article is my attempt to put down the various factors that are at work in this matter.

I will discuss the history of Indian migrations and then look at why people migrate and why they don’t. If you are expecting a yes or no answer about migrating, I unfortunately can’t provide that.

Although I am taking an Indian perspective, I think most points would be relevant to all developing nations.

Also please note that I am trying to take an objective view on the subject and not a patriotic or emotional one.

Read more →

The “Java Is Open” Contest – Win Great Books & Conference Pass

Harshad Oak

Java Is Now Open Source. To mark the occasion, IndicThreads.com is running a contest on Java technology, where you just answer four questions and can win –

1) A copy of “Beginning EJB 3 Application Development: From Novice to Professional” by Raghu R. Kodali, Jonathan R. Wetherbee and Peter Zadrozny

2) A copy of “Java Persistence with Hibernate” by Christian Bauer and Gavin King

3) A full conference pass to the IndicThreads.com Conference On Java Technology

5 second prizes – Get a 25% discount on the regular conference registration pass!

Authors of the above books, namely Gavin King and Raghu Kodali will be speaking at the IndicThreads.com conference. Apart from Raghu and Gavin, there are a number of other book authors whom you could meet at the event.

Check out the speaker list at http://conference.indicthreads.com .

JavaPersistence
BeginningEJB3
ConferenceOnJavaTechnology
Java Persistence With Hibernate (Manning)
Beginning EJB3 (Apress)
Full Conference Pass

Enter The Contest

India’s first independent conference on Java technology – Pune – 1st & 2nd December 2006

Harshad Oak

Ever wondered why apart from a handful of open-source events, no learning-oriented technology conferences happen in India?

We are mostly stuck with conferences that are promotional events or marketing shows with free 5-star lunch, goodies and t-shirts in return for spending hours listening to why company X’s product Y is the best and how company X’s products are changing the world.

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Pune Corporation – The Art of Converting Public Parking Spaces Into Private Property

Harshad Oak

As per construction rules in cities, all buildings need a certain parking capacity to be approved by the corporation. Although even these standards seem inadequate to handle the traffic mess in Pune, builders have found a way to make it appear as if they are conforming to the law without doing anything of that sort. They just convert the parking potential of the public road into a private parking facility.

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Is resignation to circumstances inherent to Indian culture?

Harshad Oak

One of the most striking things about Indian culture is that we rarely resist. For hundreds of years we have been ruled by the Mughals and the British, but apart from the independence struggle early in the last century and in 1857, there’s not much record of resistance from the masses. A few rulers did resist foreign rule but those weren’t people’s movements.

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