VOL. 14 • ISSUE 202 RNI No. MAHEN/2007/21778 POSTAL …Draft of Voter lists to be published on High testing labora 16th February The draft of the voter lists for the by-elections

The Dynamic Daily Newspaper of Navi Mumbai

Thursday, 4 February 2021

VOL. 14 • ISSUE 202 RNI No. MAHEN/2007/21778 POSTAL REGN. No. NMB/154/2020-22/VASHI MDG POST OFFICE

Pages 8 • Price 2www.newsband.in

By Ashok Dhamija

The Union Education Minister, Ramesh

Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ re-leased the much-awaited date sheets for Central Board of Secondary Ed-ucation (CBSE) Class X and Class XII Board Examinations on Tues-day, 2nd February, 2021, three months ahead of its schedule to ensure students get ample time to plan their studies. To be held in offline mode, i.e. pen and paper mode, both the board exams will be held from 4th May to 10th June, 2021 and the results are ex-

pected to be declared by 15th July, 2021 so as to felicitate admissions and commencement of new academic session.

The practical/ internal assessment/project for both classes X and XII

Date sheets of CBSE Class X and XII Boards Exams released

Kharghar Central Park to reopen from 10th February 2021

The City and Indus-trial Development Cor-poration (CIDCO) has decided to reopen the Central Park in Kharghar from 10th February, 2021. The park has been closed since 11 months against the backdrop of COVID 19 pandemic. This decision will be a relief for senior citizens along with others who used to visit the Park for leisure and exercises. CIDCO has appealed citizens visiting the Park to follow all the Covid 19 protocols laid down by the government.

Vasant Mela organized at Urban Haat

To welcome the ar-rival of spring season, CIDCO Urban Haat is organizing Vasant Mela from 04th February 2021 to 15th February 2021 between 11 am to 9 pm. Artisans, crafts-men and SHGs from various states will be participating in the Mela.

Draft of Voter lists to be published on 16th February

The draft of the voter lists for the by-elections in 16 Municipal Corpora-tions i.e., Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar and Kolhapur Municipal Corporation will be published on 16th February, 2021. The objections and sug-gestions for the same can be filed till Febru-ary 23, 2021, informed State Election Commis-sioner U. P. S. Madan...

(More on page 6)

225 birds culled after 6 test positive for bird flu

CONTINUED ON PAGE... 2



By Ryhea George

Around 225 birds were culled after

six dead birds from Ma-hape and Ghansoli areas tested positive for bird flu or Avian Influenza. In the last week of Janu-ary, a total of 6 samples of poultry- four from Mahape and two from Ghansoli- were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune for testing. Reports of all those sent from Mahape and Ghansoli have been found to be

positive for bird flu. “We were informed

about the dead birds from the residents of the area and the specimens were sent to the Nation-al Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune after which we sent those to the High testing labora-tory, Bhopal as well. The birds that were sent from Ghansoli and Mahape were found to be positive for bird flu

on Saturday. In total 6 birds tested positive for bird flu. Till now, we have not detected any new cases and as per the reports, no human has been infected by the bird flu. The citizens are requested not to panic or worry about the con-sumption of chicken or egg as our Indian deli-cacies are cooked well,” said Vaibhav Zunzhare, NMMC veterinarian officer.

“After receiving the test report on Saturday,

we issued a notifica-tion to screen the birds within the radius of one km of the farms in Mahape and Ghan-soli, from where the samples tested positive. People who handled the poultry will also be screened and the area has been sanitised,” said Navi Mumbai Municipal Commis-

Theory exams scheduled between 4th May and 10th June, 2021

By Ryhea George

Three students from Navi Mumbai-Ra-

seeka Gokhale, Swapnil Arun Kumar Gupta, and Piyush Mittal, have per-formed remarkably well in the Institute of Char-tered Accountants of India (ICAI) final exam 2020, the results of which were announced on 1st February, 2021.

With the score of scored 561/800, Rasee-ka Gokhale, a resident of Nerul bagged the All India Rank of 11. She. She had also secured second rank in the Navi Mumbai region in IPCC exam of May 2017. After complet-ing her schooling from

Fr. Agnel Multipurpose School, Vashi, Raseeka did B.Com from R. A. Podar College of Com-

merce and Economics. A studious child right from childhood, she won scholarship in 4th and 8th standard and also the Ganit Pradnya Silver Medal when she was in 5th standard. She

secured 95.4% in Xth Boards examination. "I have got the oppor-tunity to be the host of

the Bombay Chartered Accountants Society event. I have completed 3 levels of HSK Man-darin course and will pursue it further,” said

Three city students ace CA examination

Bag All India Rank of 11, 20 and 49

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ re-leased the CBSE Class X and Class XII Board Examinations date sheets (File Photo).

2 Thursday, 4 February 2021

Printed and owned by Kailash Shankarlalji Gindodia Published by Shiv Kailash Gindodia Editor: Varda Sharma Printed at Siddhakala Print Media & Publications Pvt. Ltd. Plot No. W-230, T.T.C. Ind. Area, MIDC, Khairane, Navi Mumbai – 400 710 and published at 1313/1314, 13th Floor, Real Tech Park, Plot No. 39/2,

Sec. 30A, Vashi, Navi Mumbai 400 703. • RNI No. MAHENG2007/21778 • Postal Regn. No. NMB/154/2020-22/Vashi MDG Post Office • ABC Certificte No. 133/2106 Phone : 2087 0513 / 2781 5380 e-mail : [email protected] website : www.newsband.in

ATTENTION READERS: While every effort is made to check the genuineness of party/parties inserting ads in this paper, we cannot be held responsible for the truthful-ness of its contents. The publishers, Editor and/or the staff cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage due to transactions that they may enter into guided by the ads.

By Chandrashekhar Hendve

The officers and staff of the of-fice of the Joint Director Ac-

counts and Treasury at Konkan Bhavan celebrated Accounting

and Treasury Day on 1st February, 2021. Rajesh Bhoir, Joint Director in charge, Rajni Kelkar, Assistant Director in charge, Ravindra Da-tar, Accounts Officer (Pay Verifi-

cation), Krishnakant Thakur, Ac-counts Officer (Store Verification), Ravindra Shedge, Accounts Of-ficer (Computer) and officers and staff were present on the occasion.

Accounting and Treasury Day celebrated at Konkan Bhavan

CONTINUED FROM PAGE...1

CBSE CLASS X AND XII BOARDS EXAMS DATE...

will, however, be held from 1st March onwards at the affiliated schools which will announce its schedule separately on their own.

Taking into consid-eration the delayed start of the academic ses-sion 2020-21 and the challenges faced dur-ing online classes in the faceoff schools being closed throughout due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the CBSE board exams will be conducted with 30 per cent less syllabus

this time around. Also, for the first time the Class XII examination would be conducted in two shifts- morning and afternoon (for subjects that are not offered by students of schools situ-ated abroad only) shifts in order to reduce the number of days for their conduct, while the Class X examination would be conducted in the morn-ing shift only.

For more informa-tion about these CBSE Board exams and up-dates visit the official portal of CBSE – www.cbse.nic.in


THREE CITy STUDENTS ACE CA EXAMINATION..

Raseeka, who wishes to complete her CIMA degree and work in the startup space for a while. “When the result was out, I could not be-lieve it,” she says.

Swapnil Arun Ku-mar Gupta, a resident of Vashi bagged the All India Rank 20 with 544/800 score. She completed her school-ing from Sacred Heart High School, Vashi, Ju-nior College from South Indian Education Soci-ety (SIES), Nerul and her Graduation from

Karmaveer Bhaurao Pa-til College.

“I believe this is the most respected course in the Commerce Stream which requires immense dedication, persever-ance and not to forget, positivity. If you want to pursue this course, you will have to learn to control your mind and make it concen-trate towards your goal. Proper guidance from great professors, sup-port from family and all the practical knowledge which I have received during my articleship in E. A. Patil & Associates LLP has aided me to

head towards my ambi-tion and secure a good rank,” says Swapnil.

Speaking about her dreams she added, "My dream and future goal is to open my own practice and I would love to gain more experience in this field and become an aid to the society and give it back to my country."

Piyush Mittal, also aced the examination with All India Rank of 49. He completed his schooling from St. Mary’s ICSE School, Kopar Khairane and college from H.R. Col-lege of Commerce and Economics.

While talking about his future plans, Piyush said, "My aim is to make a successful career in Finance with a keen interest in Investment Banking, Valuations and Securities Market."

While giving sug-gestions to the future aspirants, Swapnil said, "The only mantra to success is hard work, practice and positiv-ity. Do practice solving mock & past papers is-sued by the Institute. It will definitely help in understanding one’s’ strengths and the areas or subjects where one needs to improve."

sioner (NMMC) Abhijit Bangar.

NMMC has asked the citizens to be vigilant and exercise precaution. Zunzhare added, "On the order of the Collector of Thane, Rajesh Navrekar around 225 birds were culled following all the Covid 19 protocols. The Col-lector has also asked the poultry owners not

to bring more poultry within the radius of 1km of the affected poultry farm, till the area is declared free of bird flu. If the citizens come across any dead bird, they should not touch it and should inform the concerned officials immediately. Chicken and eggs can be eaten, if cooked nicely, before consump-tion. Using hand gloves is recommended while handling raw chicken."


FIRST POSITIVE BIRD FLU CASES REPORTED...

Urban Development Minister assures to solve problems of Digha residents

By: Chandrashekhar Hendve

The issue of unauthor-ized building in Digha

has not been resolved for the last few years. How-ever, now the Chief Min-ister of the state, Uddhav Thackeray has decided to solve the problem, said Urban Development Min-ister, Eknath Shinde.

He was speaking during the in-auguration function of civic works in Ward No. 3, 4 and 9 of Digha area and inaugurated Shiv Sena's public relations office. He interact-ed with the residents of the node. MP Rajan Vichare, former Leader of Opposition Vijay Chowgule and other dignitaries were present. Former corporator Adv. Aparna Gawate and former standing com-

mittee chairperson Navin Gwate presented various issues of Digha residents to the Guardian Minister. Gawate demanded 100-bed hos-pital for the residents, resolving water issue, housing issue and re-development of slums under SRA scheme in the forthcoming period.

The slums in Navi Mumbai will be transformed in the com-ing period through Maha Vikas Aghadi. Shinde said new houses would be provided under the SRA

scheme in slum areas.A cluster scheme is being im-

plemented to maintain unauthor-ized buildings in Thane city. On the same lines, Shinde said that he would discuss with the Chief Min-ister how the cluster scheme can be implemented by changing the law to protect unauthorized build-ings in Digha area.

During the programme meri-torious students of Digha were felicitated.

3Thursday, 4 February 2021

Doctors of Uran Medical Welfare Association given Covid vaccine

By Dinesh Pawar

All the doctors of Uran Medical Welfare

Association were given Covid vaccine on Monday 1st February. 80 doctors were vaccinated under this government initiative.

There is a lot of con-fusion in the minds of the people about Covid vacci-nation, hence, the doctors of Uran have appealed that the vac-cine is safe and has no side effects and everyone should get themselves vac-cinated.

On this occasion, Dr. Suresh Patil, Dr. Mangesh Dake, Medical Superin-

tendent of Indira Gandhi Rural Hos-pital, Dr. Manoj Bhadre, President of Uran Medical Welfare Association, Dr. Kiran More, Secretary Dr. Satya Thackeray, Dr. Ghanshyam Patil, Dr. Sanjeev Mhatre and other members were present.

By Crime Reporter

With an aim to prevent crime

and maintain law and order various commit-tees have been set up by the police to help them coordinate between the department and the general public. One of these is ‘Police Friend’, through which various crimes are prevented, said Police Commis-sioner Bipin Kumar Singh. He further said that efforts are being made to bridge the gap between the police and the citizens through this gathering of police friends.

On Monday, Circle-1 of Navi Mumbai Police Commissionerate orga-nized a Police Friend’s Meet at CIDCO's auditorium in Vashi. Commissioner of Police Bipinkumar Singh, Joint Commissioner Dr. Jay Jadhav, Additional Commissioner Dr. BG Shekhar Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police of Circle-1 Suresh Mengde, Deputy Com-missioner Purushottam Karad, Shivraj Patil and other senior officers were present on the oc-casion.

Police Commission-er Bipin Kumar Singh presented certificates to 20 police friends who rushed to the aid of the police in vari-ous incidents such as accidents and attempted suicide. Amongst them, two police friends were selected from each of the 10 police stations in Circle-1. The Commis-sioner of Police appre-ciated the work done by the police friends throughout the year as well as the social com-mitment of the police during the Corona period. A large number of police friends partici-pated in the Meet.

Police- Friend Meet held


Shivai Mahila Mandal and Sanpada Social

Organization organized a job fair for the youth of Sanpada division at Chemist Bhavan Sector-8, Sanpada. As many as 271 aspiring youths had registered online for this job fair. After two rounds of in-terviews, 63 applicants were selected. The last round of interviews will be held by the respec-tive companies that have shortlisted them.

On this occasion, Shiv Sena district chief, Vitthal More, NCP Navi Mumbai district president Ashok Gawde were present. Organiz-

ers Milind Suryarao, Shubhangi Suryarao, Shirish Patil, Rekha Patil, Babaji Indore, Sadhana Indore were present.

Job fair held in Sanpada

By Chandrashekhar Hendve “Understand the

importance of cleanli-ness,” said the members of Raje Prastishthan kamgar Sena in a letter written to the Commis-sioner of the Panvel City Mu n i c i p a l Corporation ( P C M C ) . They have d e m a n d e d the civic body to clean public toilets twice a day. “During the tenure of the then municipal com-missioner Dr. Sudhakar Shinde cleanliness was

given the highest priori-ty by PCMC”, said Joint Secretary of Raje Prat-ishthan Kamgar Sena, Keval Mahadik.

He further said, “A contractor has been awarded the contract to clean the public toilets

twice in PCMC limits. But in reality, public toilets are cleaned only once. The toilets in all the other municipal lim-

its are cleaned twice a day. This is caus-ing dissatis-faction among the citizens. Cleaning pub-lic toilets once in a day is not enough. The Commission-er of PCMC should take this matter seriously and

order the authorities to clean all the public toilets in PCMC’s area twice a day.”

Raje Pratishthan Kamgar Sena urges PCMC to clean public toilets twice a day


A beautiful smile is a balance between

the white component -teeth and the pink component - gums. Ac-cording to the literature, healthy gums are coral pink in colour. But, the colour of the gums may vary depending on the skin complexion and other habits. In the In-dian subcontinent, pale pink is the most com-mon color found in the gums.

The colour of the gums is governed by factors such as skin pig-ments, the skin type, underlying blood ves-sels and keratin content. Generally, dark skinned individuals, have high melanin content under-neath the skin which is also responsible for the

colour of oral mucosa and gums.Types of gum pigmen-

tation1) Based on extent, it

may be seen as dif-fused patches or lace-like strands continu-ous or discontinuous or may be a single continuous patch.

2) Based on colour, it may be mild brown-ish to dark brown, blackish or even dark purplish.

Causes of gum pig-mentation-

Gum pigmentation (dark gums) result from multiple factors. Most commonly, the cause is physiologic which oc-curs naturally based on the race and complexion of the individual. The other causes are can be due to underlying pa-thology or illness, which include-1) Endocrine causes-

hormone related

imbalance like Ad-dison's disease, Al-bright's disease etc.

2) Heavy metals- can result in darkening of gum for eg. con-sumption of lead contaminated water which can leave a black/blue line on the gums margin.

3) Kaposi's sarcoma- associated with HIV/

AIDS.4) Drug induced- cer-

tain anti-malarial drugs, anti-depres-sants and anti-viral medication on long-term consumption

can cause pigmenta-tion.

5) Smoking- results in pigmentation or mel-anosis in the upper front region of the gums. This occurs due to the constric-tion of the micro-vasculature as well as changes in the epithelium.Other causes could

be Hemochromatosis (due to excessive iron deposition), vascular le-sions, discoloration from adjacent silver fillings and habits like tobacco and betel-nut chewing.

Can it be treated?Dark gum colour

which is a result of natu-ral melanin pigmentation without any presence of underlying pathol-ogy can be corrected by a procedure called gum depigmentation or gum bleaching. This is a very minor surgical procedure in which the upper epithelial layers (skin layer) of the gums are stripped off using a blade, electrocautery in-strument, diamond point burs or LASER under local anaesthesia. As the underlying melanin containing melanocytes get eliminated, the gum upon healing will have a pink colour. A surgi-cal dressing is usually placed at the site. This procedure usually takes 30-60 mins depending on the area to be done. If done using LASER, there is minimal to no pain as well as bleed-

ing with quick recovery. All these procedures are done at the dental clinic itself. There are chances of recurrence of pigmen-tation after 1.5-2 years especially in smokers. Gum depigmentation transforms brownish pink gums into beautiful coral pink gums.

Gum pigmentation although is not a major complication, it can af-fect the smile and facial appearance especially for those who have a wide smile with more gum display. It may also make an individual con-scious of his/her smile lowering their self-con-fidence. A gum bleach-ing/depigmentation can help create a positive change in the smile and personality of an indi-vidual.

Dr. Aditi Mahajani is Periodontist and Oral

ImplantologistImage source: Internet

Tooth Be Told: Dark gums: Can I make them pink?

By: Dr. Aditi Mahajani

RCSC Navi Mumbai confers Vocational Excellence Awards to Covid Warriors

(L to R) Dr Tushar Muni, RCSC President Purushottam Kumar, Divya Ben Kotak, Esha Shiekh, Sunil Waghela, Dr S Ravi Ku-mar, ACP Vinayak Vast, Chief Guest Rotary District Governor 2022-23 Kailash Jethani, Senior Police Inspector Sanjeev Dhumal, Ashesh Jain, Rtn Dibyendu Sahu, Rtn Sai Ganesh, Dr Vilas Choudhury.

By Ashok Dhamija

Rotary Club of Sat-ellite City (RCSC)

Navi Mumbai honoured six Covid Warriors from various walks of life, for showing great com-mitment in line of their duty and beyond, while ensuring uninterrupted availability of essential services to the citizens of the city, even at the risk of their own health dur-ing the pandemic, during the Vocational Award ceremony organised early this week. The awardees included mem-bers from Police, NGOs and Health services.

In his opening speech RSCS Navi Mumbai Presi-dent Purushottam Kumar spoke about the history of Ro-tary and shared that one of the its most important objectives is to provide humanitarian service and to advance good-will and peace while fostering high ethical standards in busi-ness and profession. Director Vocational Services Diby-endu Sahu spoke about the

importance of these awards and which are bestowed in the month of January that is also celebrated as Vocational Service month by the Rotar-ians. He also highlighted the rationale behind selecting the Covid Warriors for these awards this time around.

The audience on the occa-sion were moved by the heart rending real life story of Sunil Waghela who cremated nearly 700 dead bodies in the last 10 months of lockdown, more than double the usual num-bers at a NMMC morgue and had to face the wrath of locals who would not allow dead bodies of Covid patients to be

cremated in their vicinity.Similar was the story of

Ms Esha Sheikh, a NMMC Health worker who was re-fused entry into her society when her neighbours came to know that she is working in Covid ward and had to spend many days in hospital, not able to meet her family.

Divyaben Kotak of Aho Maa Charitable Trust and Dr S Ravi Kumar of Freedom For You Foundation were also honoured for their stupendous work by providing food, wa-ter, shelter and even cash to poor and needy during lock-down. In addition to working with various corporates and

helping them channelise its CSR funds to support civic body and its Health Depart-ments in its fight against the dreaded virus.

ACP Vinayak Vast, Vashi Division and Sr. Police In-spector Sanjeev Dhumal asso-ciated with Vashi Police Sta-tion too were honoured by the Satellite City Rotarians for their selfless work during the pandemic by not only main-taining law and order but also helping the needy and poor by organising / coordination with various NGOs, Philan-thropists with community kitchens daily in addition to implementing strict lockdown

for many months during the crisis.

On the occasion, Dr. Prashant Jawade, Medi-cal Superintendent of NMMC Hospital, Vashi said that he was witness to the hard work of lower staff of NMMC during the pandemic and hence it is a great privilege for him to recommend their names for awards from the reput-ed Rotary International.In his speech, Rotary In-

ternational District 3142’s Governor Nominee and chief Guest Rtn Kailash Jethani praised efforts of all awardees and many more like them due to whom the death toll in the country was much lesser than other countries. He further added that the toll could have been much higher but for the efforts of such Covid Warriors which also included Doctors, Para-medic staff, Sanitation workers etc. and that we are safe and alive along with our families in the face of the dreaded virus to witness the New Year.


By Ryhea George

A new transformer is going to be installed

in Taloja Village’s Bhat-la Mohalla area. A deci-sion in this regard was taken during a meeting held with Maharash-tra Guardian Minister, Aditi Tatkare. Ajimath Sawant, the NCP Vice President of Panvel City District, Pramod Bagal Youth President Pan-vel District, Shaibaz Patel NCP Youth Work-ing President of Panvel District Youth,Baliram Netke Kharghar City President,Ranjit Nar-ute, NCP Youth General Secretary Panvel Dis-trict were also present during the meeting.

The decision to in-stall an additional 620 Kb transformer was

taken after NCP youth working president Shai-baz Patel brought the issue of overloading of 300 kw on the current transformer at Taloja Village.

While speaking to Newsband, NCP youth working president, Shai-baz Patel said, ''There have been multiple complaints of overload-ing and short circuits to the Panvel MSEB department in the last year, but there has been no response from them regarding the issue. At last, we decided to meet the Guardian Minister for the same. As the whole area comprising of 1,500 people is de-pendent on one single transformer, there have been excessive load on

it which has led to short circuits and wiring is-sues in the area. With the help and support of the Guardian Minister, Aditi Tatkare, the vil-lagers would be provid-ed with sufficient facili-ties.”

One of the Villagers, Shaibaz Mulla, said, “Every other day we need to fix the overload-ing issue which has be-come the major problem in the village area. Fre-quently the wires break off and get burned due to overloading on the transformer. There have been mild explosions as well. Many times, the wiring wears off which could be risky as well. With the new transform-er being placed all our issues would be solved.”

New transformer to be installed in Taloja village area


The office bearers of the Youth Con-

gress have started ward wise contact campaigns keeping in mind the up-coming Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation Elections.

While visiting vari-ous wards in Navi Mum-

bai, the Youth Congress office bearers are inter-acting with the citizens and understanding their grievances, said Youth Congress President Sub-in Thomas.

Youth Congress President Subin Thom-as, Vice President Adv. Mranal Mandhane,

General Secretaries Siraj Syed and Sudar-shan Sawant, Secretary Swapnil Mhatre, Joint Secretary Sudhakar Bhakat, Munna Khan, Sandeep Chavan and Youth Congress work-ers were present in large numbers during the campaign.

Navi Mumbai Youth Congress begins ward contact campaign

Presenting the first pa-perless Budget Pro-

posals in the Parliament on Monday, February 1, 2021, the Honour-able Finance Min-ister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman gave a booster shot to the Indian economy by announcing plenty of stimulus measures that will benefit various sec-tors such as Agri-culture, Banking, Health, Infrastu-rure, Manufacturing, Railways, Realty, Road Transport Rural Devel-opment and others.

The Budget Pro-posals rest on six pil-lars namely Health & Wellbeing, Physical, Financial Capital & In-frastructure, Inclusive Development & Aspira-tional India, Reinvigo-rating Human Capital, Innovation & R & D and Minimum Government & Maximum Gover-nance. On the whole it is a positive budget that will give opportunities for many industries to grow and prosper. Vari-ous Business Leaders & Captains of industry hailed the Budget as positive & progressive and BSE Sensex Vaulted by 2314 points on the same day.

Other TakeawaysOther beneficial as-

pects include 15 Health Emergency Centers to come up Rs.3500 cr for COVID Vaccines, WHO Station to be set up, Vi-rology Institute on the anvil, FDI in insurance increased to 74% from %, No IT filing for peo-ple above 75 years who get pension and earn in-terest from deposits, Tax reliefs & no double taxa-

tion for NRIs, New in-centives & Tax holidays for start -ups extended by one more year, Rs. 1.75 Lakh cr target for Disin-vestment, Disinvestment of 2 PSBs, Additional 11, 500 kms highways,

13000 kms roads un-der construction, Na-tional Railway Plan by 2030, Aid to farmers Rs. 75050 cr, Paddy MSP more than double in cur-rent year ,1.5 cr farm-ers benefitted from in-creased MSP, 16.5 lakh cr for agriculture credit, 40,000 cr for rural infra, boost to fishing harbours ,5 new hubs identified,

15,000 schools to be qualitatively strengthened, New Central univer-sity to be set up in Leh, Robust infra for tribal regions, revamping schol-arship scheme for SC/ST, Rs 1,500 cr to promote e-pay-ments, census to go digital, Rs. 3768

cr for digital census and Technology to identify tax evaders.

So, this Budget stud-ded with many positive aspects could perhaps be the best Budget in the pandemic afflicted time.

A Reform and growth oriented Union Budget 2021-22

By Lakshman Sundar

Hon. Finance Minister Smt.Nirmala Sithara-man Presenting The Union Budget 2021-22 In Parliament On February 1st

HighlightsSector That Benefits Outlays in RupeesAgriculture & Farmers’ Welfare 1.31Lakh CrBanks 20,000 Cr For Bank Recapitalisation:Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution 2.57 Lakh CrHealth & Wellbeing 2.2 Lakh CrHousing & Urban Affairs 54,581CrDefence 4.78 Lakh CrManufacturing 1. 97 Lakh CrEducation 93, 224 CrRailways 1.10 Lakh CrRoad Transport & Highways 1.18 Lakh CrRural Development 1.34 Lakh CrResearch &Development 50,000 CrMSMEs 15,700 cr

Hope Mirror Foundation has won the Panache Image Award 2021 on 30th January. The award ceremony was

organized by Vishal Kapoor (founder and director) of Panache Image

Award. The awards were given by Rajesh Bharuka (CEO and Owner) of Bharukha Construction and Ismail

Darbar, a veteran music composer in Bollywood industry.

Hope Mirror Foundation wins Panache Image Award 2021


EditorialISSUE: 202 4 FEBRUARy, 2021

The concept of water breaks in schools was first introduced in

Kerala and later other south Indian states followed suit including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Goa.

Keeping hydrated is crucial for health and well-being. Around 60 percent of the body is made up of water. However, many of us, espe-cially children do not consume water or simply forget to keep themselves hydrated from time to time.

Moreover, studies have revealed that drinking water can help stu-dents in staying focused, creative, and energized. The brain works on a complex electrolyte formula and de-pends on suitable hydration to func-tion properly. There is a tendency, especially amongst the youngsters, to quench thirst by consuming aer-ated drinks. While soft drinks may temporarily relieve thirst, they actu-ally work as a diuretic, making the body lose water faster than it can be utilized. To process the sugar content of sodas, the body pulls out water from extracellular fluids, thus leaving the body less hydrated than before the soft drink.

While there is no universally agreed quantity of water that must be consumed daily, as it is depen-dent on various factors like body weight, age, climate and daily activ-

ities, it is commonly recommended to drink eight glasses of water of eight ounces per day. We generally get about 20 percent of our fluid needs from the food we eat and var-ious other beverages. However, the requirement for the other 80 percent of our fluids needs to get fulfilled each day from drinking pure water. We lose fluids on a continuous basis from sweating, breathing and uri-nating. When the body loses more water than is being replaced, dehy-dration occurs and brain functions get affected. However, as per the doctors, when the brain is operating with plenty of water, students are able to have greater clarity, creativ-ity, focus and quicker thought pro-cess. Drinking adequate water also prevents urinary track infection and constipation.

Pure water is the best solution for hydration. It is important to in-culcate the habit of drinking water right from childhood. Water is the pre-eminent beverage that can keep the mind and body energized and operate at their best. Water drinking breaks should be introduced by all the states in the schools to ensure that children remain hydrated at all times. Schools should also spread awareness on the importance of drinking water to the students so that it becomes a habit.

Keeping hydrated By Ashok Dhamija

Central Railway in coordination with Eastern Railway have de-

cided to run fully reserved Tri-week-ly Special train between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), Mumbai and Bhagalpur until further notice to clear the extra rush of passengers as per de-tails given below:

Train no. 02335 Special will leave Bhagalpur on every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday at 09.00 hrs with effect from Tuesday 2nd February, 2021 and arrive LTT, Mumbai at 17.50 hrs next day. Train no. 02336 Special will leave LTT, Mumbai on every Thursday, Sun-day and Tuesday at 08.05 hrs with ef-fect from Thursday 4th February, 2021 and arrive Bhagalpur at 17.55 hrs next day.

The above Tri-weekly Special train consists of Two AC-2 Tier, Three AC-3 Tier, 11 Second Sleeper Class and Four Second Class Seating coaches.

Reservation for these fully reserved Special Train no. 02336 on normal fare will open from Wednesday 03rd February, 2021 at all Computerised Reservation Centres and on the web-

site http://www.irctc.co.in.Halts en-route includes hane (for

Train no. 02335 only), Kalyan, Na-shik Road, Manmad Jn., Bhusaval Jn., Burhanpur, Khandwa, Harda, Itarsi, Pipariya, Jabalpur, Katni, Satna, Prayagraj Chheoki, Mirzapur, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Jn., Dildarnagar, Buxar, Dumraon, Ara, Danapur, Patna Jn., Patna Saheb, Fatuha, Khusropur, Bakhtiyarpur Jn., Barh, Mokameh Jn., Luckeesarai Jn., Kiul Jn., Kajra, Ab-haipur, Jamalpur Jn., Bariarpur and Sultanganj stations.

Passengers with confirmed tickets are advised to adhere to all norms, SOPs related to COVID19 during the boarding, travel and at destination.

Tri-weekly special trains to run on Mumbai – Bhagalpur route

Bookings open on Wednesday

For representational purpose only

CR complete 96 years of EMU servicesBy Ashok Dhamija

Central Railway (CR) Electric Multiple

Unit (EMU) services popularly known as Mumbai local services or local trains that serves millions of passengers across Mumbai Metro-politan Region (MMR) completed 96 years of successful services on Wednesday, 3rd Febru-ary, 2021.

It was way back on 3rd February, 1925 Sir Leslie Wilson, the then Governor of Mumbai flagged of the first EMU service from Victoria Terminus Bombay (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Ma-haraj Terminus Mum-bai) to Coorla Harbour (now Kurla) on Harbour line. The maiden run of 16 km by the first elec-tric train comprising of four rakes on 1.5 kV DC traction was undertaken by motorman Jahangir Framji Daruwala, who was a senior driver with the Great Indian Pen-

insula Railway (now Central Railway) at an impressive speed of 50 miles per hour.

Since then the CR services has expanded it to nine rakes and subsequently to 12 /15 rakes to tackle the bur-geoning number of pas-sengers. The life line of

MMR currently runs on Main Line (upto Karjat /Kasara), Harbour Line (up to Panvel / Gore-gaon), Trans-Harbour Line (Thane- Vashi /Panvel), Fourth Corridor (CBD Belapur / Nerul – Kharkopar (currently), Vasai Road–Roha Line,

Neral–Matheran and Panvel– Karjat Line. Suspended temporarily for few months last year due to Covid pandemic by Indian Railways for the first time in its il-lustrious 96 year old since then has been ply-ing essential workers, including government

employees, health work-ers, police personnel's among others from 15th June,2020 and more recently to the general public from 1st Febru-ary, 2021 the latter al-lowed only during spec-ified hours of the day to avoid overcrowding.

Thousands turned up to witness the historic moment way back in 1925


The draft of the voter lists for the by-elections in 16 Municipal Cor-

porations i.e., Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar and Kolhapur Municipal Corporation will be published on 16th February, 2021. The objections and sug-gestions for the same can be filed till Febru-ary 23, 2021, informed State Election Commis-sioner U. P. S. Madan.

Mr. Madan said that the lists of Assembly constituencies pre-pared by the Election Commission of India, which came into existence on January 15, 2021, would be valid for this election. These will be released in draft form on 16th February, 2021. Objections

and suggestions, if any, can be filed till February 23, 2021. Thereafter, ward wise final voter lists will be published on March 3, 2021. After the

list of polling stations is published on March 8, 2021, the voter list as per polling station will be published on March 12, 2021.

While preparing the ward wise voter lists, the names and address-es of the voters are re-tained in the ward wise voter lists just like the list of assembly con-stituencies. The State

Election Commission does not take any action in the form of adding new names, deleting names or correcting names or addresses in these lists, said Mr. Madan.

Draft of Voter lists to be published on 16th February



Annapurna Pariwar celebrated its 28th

Annual Rally on 30th January, 2021 on Zoom in which almost 5,000 women participated.

Annapurna Pariwar is a group of 6 Devel-opmental Organizations working in Pune and Mumbai with an aim of empowering poor wom-en and their families in terms of finance, educa-tion, health and child de-velopment.

In the function, Dr. Medha Purao-Samant, Founder Chairperson of Annapurna mentioned that this year has been different and Annapurna had to take many new steps in response to the pandemic – one of them being holding the AGM on Zoom with all its members to avoid crowding. Dr.Samant said that Annapurna has been overwhelmed with the members’ response to her call for holding the meeting virtually as de-spite having no or negli-gible technical expertise with smartphones, the members have partici-pated in huge numbers. Some have specially bor-rowed smartphones of

friends and neighbours for the purpose.

Annapurna is al-ready making cashless disbursements to its members of loans rang-ing from Rs.25,000 to Rs.1.25 lakhs which are given without collat-eral. The long-term old age Adharpurna scheme now boasts of 27,500 members and the plan is to cover all the 65,000 members.

Annapurna Pariwar

undertook many steps to mitigate the challenges on account of the corona pandemic:• Free food packets

were distributed to 4,000 poor families during lockdown to last them for 15 days;

• Rs.1,000 financial assistance was given by direct credit to the bank accounts of 2,500 members;

• Moratorium of 6 months from March to August 2020 was given to all members without charging any additional interest from them;

• Fresh loans were given to good regular members to restart their businesses after lockdown;

• All Group meetings were held virtually for loan disbursements and claim settlements

and amounts trans-ferred by NEFT to their bank accounts;

• All staff were given anti-flu vaccines ahead of lockdown to prevent minor sick-nesses;

• Staff was allowed to work from home dur-ing the lockdown.On this occasion

Chief Guest, Yogendra Yadav who is a social activist leading the farm-

ers’ protests, spoke about ‘Farming and Farm-ers’ demands’. He also praised Annapurna Pari-war’s work and said that our society needs more of such community-based organizations to ensure that democratic values are not eroded.

This year the first beneficiary under the Adharpurna Scheme, Ms.Surekha Parab was felicitated as she will now start getting her

monthly pension from Annapurna. A book on ‘Corona Pandemic & the World after Corona’ was published on the occa-sion.

All the women entre-preneurs felicitated dur-ing the programme had great ambitions to grow their business even fur-ther. Mrs. Laxmi Vish-wakarma who runs her own tailoring shop and has been Annapurna’s

member for last 12 years said, “I would like to thank Annapurna Pari-war for their help and I would like to request major big banks in India to give loans to women entrepreneurs who are looking to grow their business. Women entre-preneurs have immense potential which the banks need to tap into.” Laxmi is also an active Adharpurna member.

Mrs. Vaishali Bhal-erao who runs her own Chinese food stall said, “Annapurna Pariwar and my family have helped me a lot to grow my business. Thanks to the loan Annapurna gave, I can educate my 2 chil-dren I intend to grow my business even further.” Both Laxmi and Vaishali are proud of being An-napurna’s members.

The Annual Report of Annapurna was pub-

lished by Annapurna’s Board members. The financial report was pre-sented by Sr.Manager Ms.Ujwala Waghole. The concluding remarks were put forth by Shri Suresh Dhopeshwarkar and Ms.Anjali Patil gave the vote of thanks. Both are senior Trustees of Annapurna. Ms. Siddhi Kulkarni compered this event.

A small film was presented by Annapurna showing the services rendered to support the poor members during the corona pandemic. The event which began with a prayer and songs sung by Annapurna staff ended with an oath taken by all members to stay united and fight against injustice towards wom-en and protecting the constitution. The rally ended with the National Anthem sung in unison.

Annapurna Pariwar celebrates 28th AGM on ZoomClose to 5,000 women participated virtually in the Annual Rally

MAjOR DECiSiONS ANNOuNCED iN THE MEETiNg iNCluDED :

• Declaration of dividend of 8% to members despite a difficult year;

• Increasing insurance benefits for Asset Loss-es due to natural calamities;

• Drive to persuade members to enroll into the Adharpurna Scheme to reap benefits of financial security in old age.

By Dinesh Pawar

A health orientation camp for women

was recently organized at Savarkhar in Uran ta-luka. Dr. Ankush Rathod gave valuable guidance

to women about health during the camp.

On this occasion, Shiv Shambho and Shiv-gauri Mahila Bachat Group, Savarkhar wom-en members, Darshana

Gharat, Jagruti Gharat, Rinku Gharat, Kavita Gharat, Jayshree Gharat, Priya Gharat, CRP Nir-mala Gharat and women from Savarkhar village were present.

Guidance camp on women's health heldBy Chandrashekhar Hendve

Many personalities in the state, who

have done remarkable work in various fields along with national interest were honoured with state level awards on behalf of Chava Pratishthan at Lo-hana Bhavan Hall, Koparkhairane. The event was organized by Amit Gadankush.

Mardani Akhada, Karate Patu, Sivakala Kheladi, Kovidam Yodha, Udhojak, Samaj Ratna, Tutari Wadak, Karate Instructor and

Ideal Students were hon-oured with state level awards.

Dr. Raj Khatib, As-

sistant Commissioner, Mumbai Commission-erate, Girish Jadhav, Armed Artist, Sambhaji Mane, Cine Artist, Ram-das Pavale, Former Cor-

porator, Sopan Sakonde, Assistant Inspector of Police, Saurabh Shinde, Arun Pisal, Sihan Atul

Bora, Aparna Patil, Principal, DVS English School, Founder Presi-dent of the Foundation, Amit Gadankush were present.

Citizens felicitated with state level awards


By Ryhea George

A woman in her prime reproductive years may feel confident about her family building timeline. But

not every woman has a straightforward path to pregnancy, especially those who are opting to freeze their eggs. Egg freezing is also known as mature oocyte cryopreservation, which is a method used to save women's abil-ity to get pregnant in future. Many women around the city have opted for this. However, there are many who are still in need of answers to their various questions regarding the process of egg freezing. Dr. Shruti Thar, a consulting Gynaecologist and a Laparoscopic Sur-geon explains in detail about the pro-cess of egg freezing, benefits and age criteria for the same. Excerpts:

Q: Can you please explain what is meant by freezing of eggs?

A: Egg freezing is a process wherein healthy oocytes (eggs) from wom-

en's ovaries are retrieved and frozen and stored to be used at a later stage in life. In every menstrual cycle, under the influence of various hormones like FSH n LH, women's ovaries grow follicles or oocytes and when they grow and reach a size of more than 18mm, they rupture. This is a normal menstrual cycle. In oo-cyte freezing process, these mature fol-licles or oocytes are retrieved and frozen to be used at a later age.

Q: Is the concept becoming popu-lar amongst working women?

If so, why?

A: With increasing focus on career and financial stability, there is an

increasing trend of delayed marriages and delay in starting a family. These frozen oocytes come in handy when the couple are finally ready to start their family in mid to late 30s and early 40s.With the help of their gynaecologist, they can utilize these younger age oo-cytes to get pregnant.

Q: Can a woman with comorbid-ity, PCOD and infertility issues

also freeze their eggs?

A: Yes, especially women with PCOD are ideal candidates for freezing

eggs because the good quality eggs in them are few and rare. They can freeze them in their mid to late 20s to use them in future when they are finally thinking of starting their family.

Q: Is there any particular age by when one can freeze eggs ?

A: No, but according to ASRM (American Society of Repro-

ductive Medicine), the recom-mended ideal age for egg freezing is mid to late 20s, however upto 35 years of age, the freezing of eggs is allowed. The earlier the better because young-er oocytes are better in quality and give a bet-ter yield.

Q: What are the risks involved

in the procedure?

A: To retrieve eggs, we put you on hormonal medications so that

we can retrieve good quality eggs. There are no major risks in the process. However, few risks during medication and retrieval are there and that too depends on individual basis. So, after doing all baseline examinations, your gynaecologist will explain to you in de-tail about all the precautions.

Q: What are the benefits of egg freezing?

A: There is an increased risk of ba-bies affected with certain chro-

mosomal abnormalities like Down's Syndrome with increasing maternal (oocyte) age. There is a 10 fold in-creased risk of affected babies with maternal age of more than 35 years of age. Also, with increasing age there is difficulty in getting pregnant, so with frozen oocytes, it becomes relatively

easier at a later age to bear a child.

Q: What is the approximate cost for the procedure?

How long does it take for the process to get completed?

A: There are two costs involved. One is the

whole process of re-viewing and freezing eggs and the other is the annual stor-age and retaining of frozen eggs. The first part may take anywhere

between Rs 50,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh and retainment will cost approx. Rs 15- 30 thousand.

Q: Does this procedure cause any hormonal imbalance?

A: Once the woman has decided to freeze eggs, the process of re-

trieving the oocytes starts. The women need to take hormonal medication and injection to achieve the required number and size of the eggs. More the number of eggs that can be retrieved, better chances of getting a positive re-sult in future.

Q: Within what span of time can one use the frozen eggs?

A: We can freeze and store eggs from 6 months to infinity with no

adverse effects. The longest frozen egg that has been used for a live pregnancy has been 14 years. However, there is no data indicative of any adverse ef-fects of freezing eggs for longer dura-tion and using them.

Q: It is said that this procedure has an effect on the growth of

the child. How far is this correct?

A:No, there are no harmful effects physically or cognitive or devel-

opmental delays in babies born with frozen eggs. Multiple studies conduct-ed have failed to show any correlation. In this modern era, freezing eggs have been a boon to many couples who wish to start their family at later stages in life and have their own genetic off-spring.

In this modern era, freezing eggs are a boon to many couples who wish to start their family at later stages in life: Dr. Shruti Thar

All you need to know about freezing of eggs: Process, benefits and age criteria

By Ryhea George

On 2nd February, 2021 the authori-ties including the Leader of the

House, Panvel City Municipal Corpo-ration (PCMC), Paresh Thakur staged a sit-in agitation demanding action against the irresponsible officers of the civic body who have failed in their duty. He strongly demanded the commis-sioner to suspend them. “If the admin-istration fails to take any action against the irresponsible officials, the BJP lead-ers will start agitation,” he said.

The sit-in agitation was held in front of the Commissioner's office under the guidance of Leader of the House Paresh Thakur. Deputy Mayor Jagdish Gaik-wad, Standing Committee Chairman Santosh Shetty, Corporator Nitin Patil, Anil Bhagat, Ward Committee Chair-

man Sameer Thakur, Anita Patil, Su-shila Gharat, Hemalatha Mhatre, Cor-porator Ruchita Londhe participated in

the agitation.“As the officials of PCMC are be-

having irresponsibly and arbitrarily, the

tone of resentment against these offi-cers is increasing. Officers do not give proper answers to the questions asked by the corporators in the general body meeting. They come late, delay the inspection of development works that is being undertaken at Kalamboli and other areas. Whether it is cleanliness or inspection or meeting, there is an easy-going attitude by some of the officials, which cannot be tolerated”, said Paresh Thakur.

“The Corporation of Panvel is do-ing well, but some officials of the cor-poration are behaving irresponsibly and tarnishing the name of the corporation. It is important that stern action is taken against such officials. If the administra-tion fails to take action we will stage a protest”, warned Paresh Thakur.

Paresh Thakur stages sit-in agitationLeader of the House, PCMC had demanded suspension of irresponsible officials

Documents

VOL. 14 • ISSUE 202 RNI No. MAHEN/2007/21778 POSTAL …Draft of Voter lists to be published on High testing labora 16th February The draft of the voter lists for the by-elections