Vol. 67 No. 204 | MONDAY | MAY 27, 2024 | 25 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in MEMBER: AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATION JANUARY TO DECEMBER 2023 EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Nashik, Konkan, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper Best year yet for Indian filmmakers with three wins at the awards 77TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL EDIT NEARLY ALL OVER BAR THE SHOUTING INDIA’S Q4 FY24 GDP LIKELY TO HAVE GROWN AT 6.1-6.7% According to experts, expected growth in FY24 is estimated to be in range of 7.6-7.8%. URBAN DEATH TRAPS M onisha Narke shows Mumbaikars how to responsibly manage waste, reduce the load on landfills and cut down greenhouse gas emissions. To read how she does that, turn to Mumbai page THE FP BULLETIN BJP ALLY SAYS THEY’LL SCRAP SC COLLEGIUM F ormer Union minister Upendra Kushwaha on Sunday expressed hope that upon return to power, the BJPled NDA will make a fresh attempt at scrapping the “undemocratic” collegium system of appointment of judges in the higher judiciary. Addressing an election rally in Karakat Lok Sabha constituency from where he is contesting, Kushwaha made the statement in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “The collegium system has many flaws. It is undemocratic. It has shut the doors of judgeship in the higher judiciary on Dalits, OBCs and even the poor among the upper castes,” claimed Kushwaha, who heads the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM). If we look at the composition of the bench in the Supreme Court and the high courts, it is dominated by members of a few hundred families,” he added. Kushwaha, who was the minister of state for HRD in the first Narendra Modi government, recalled the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill which was brought in 2014. “For some reason, it was struck down by the Supreme Court,” he lamented. “It was the NDA that dared to bite the bullet on the thorny issue of collegium system. And it is the NDA which will continue to make efforts in this direction,” he said. Notably, Kushwaha has been a votary of reservations in higher judiciary and, despite switching allies a number of times, has not diluted his stand on the contentious issue. The OBC leader also bristled at “rumours spread by detractors” that he had opposed the 10 per cent quota for Economically Weaker Sections introduced by the Modi government. “I had supported the bill. If anybody can show any evidence that I had opposed it, I will retire from politics,” he said, apparently wary of an uppercaste backlash in the elections. NITISH SLIP OF TONGUE AGAIN N itish Kumar’s slip of tongue is a stuff of folklore. On Sunday, he put his foot in the mouth again by remarking that he wishes Prime Minister Narendra Modi will become a Chief Minister again. “Humaari ichha hai ki hum deshbhar me 400 se bhi zyaada seat jeeta, aur adarniya Narendra Modi ji fir mukhya mantri bane. Desh ka vikas ho, Bihar ka vikas ho, sab kuch ho  (We wish to win over 400 seats across India and respected Narendra Modi should become chief minister again. Then India will develop, Bihar will develop, everything will happen),” Kumar said.   Bihar Chief Minister made The the remarks during an election rally in Patna. However, the 73-year-old’s slip of tongue was caught by the other leaders on the stage. Correcting himself, Kumar said that he meant Narendra Modi becomes the Prime Minister again and keeps moving ahead. The gaffe comes just days after Kumar asked for votes for the late Ram Vilas Paswan, the veteran leader from Bihar who died in 2020. 7 newborns die in fire at east Delhi hospital 0 Sunrise : 06:01 am Sunset : 07:11 pm ■ HOSPITAL HAD EXPIRED LICENCE ■ NO DOCTOR QUALIFIED TO TREAT NEWBORN ■ NO EMERGENCY EXITS ■ NO FIRE EXTINGUISHERS ■ DOCTOR ON DUTY A GRADUATE IN AYURVEDIC MEDICINE AND SURGERY ■ OXYGEN CYLINDERS WERE FILLED ILLEGALLY ON PREMISES FPJ NEWS SERVICE / NEW DELHI At least seven newborn babies died in a fire at a private hospital in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar area on Saturday night (11.30 pm). There were 12 babies in the unit; of these, five were rescued and are undergoing treatment at another hospital for minor burns. The fire has turned the media spotlight on the hamhanded manner in which the private hospital was being run – with an expired license, no one qualified to treat the newborn, no emergency exits, no fire extinguishers. The doctor on duty was a BAMS graduate – that is, Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery graduate, hardly equipped for neo-natal incentive care. According to NDTV the li, 0 34 c. 29 c. cense issued to the hospital by the Directorate General of Health Services or DGHS had already expired on March 31, nearly two months before the accident. Moreover, the police said even though the license allowed for five beds at the facility twelve newborns were , in the hospital when the fire broke out. These are just some of the lapses that have surfaced after an initial scrutiny . Even as the fire fanned out, loud bangs were heard, when oxygen cylinders kept on the hospital premises exploded, damaging two adjacent buildings. Result: Sixteen fire ten- ders had to be pressed into service to douse the blaze. A local resident, Mukesh Bansal, drew attention to another glaring lapse – it seems that oxygen cylinders were being illegally filled on the premises. “We had complained about it to the local councillor as well. But nothing was done. It was all happening under the nose of the police,” Bansal alleged. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Surendra Chaudhary was cited by a TV channel as saying that the hospital had more than the authorised number of oxygen cylinders. A fire official disclosed that two boutiques, a portion of IndusInd Bank operating from an adjacent building and a shop on the ground floor were also damaged. CONTD. ON NATION SUNRISERS ECLIPSED BY KKR JOE WILLIAMS, HARIDEV PUSHPARAJ / MUMBAI Sunrisers Hyderabad produced their worst when it counted the most as they etched their name in the record books for all the wrong reasons. SRH was bundled out for a paltry 113 in 18.3 overs — the lowest ever score in IPL Final history — against Kolkata Knight Riders at the M.A. Chi- dambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday They eventual. ly went on to lose the final by eight wickets in 10.3 overs as KKR posted 114/2 to lift the IPL cup for the third time. This statistical nadir eclipsed the previous mark set by Chennai Super Kings in 2013, when they managed a paltry 125 for nine against Mumbai Indians. In the history of IPL finals, Mumbai Indians’ modest tally of 129 for eight against Rising Pune Supergiant was previously the lowest first innings score. The abject performance by SRH on Sunday remains an enduring testament to the challenges of batting under intense pressure in the summit clash of the tournament. As the contest unfolded, each of the five bowlers for Kolkata Knight Riders contributed significantly , CONTD. ON NATION HC DUBS IT MAN-MADE DISASTER Cyclone landfall begins FPJ NEWS SERVICE AHMEDABAD The Gujarat HC, in a special hearing on Sunday took suo , motu  cognisance of the fire incident at a gaming zone in Rajkot which claimed 27 lives. A bench of Justices Biren Vaishnav and Devan M Desai observed that, prima facie, it was a man-made disaster. According to the FIR, the accused had used metal sheets to erect a structure which was 50metre wide and 60 metres in length; also, it had the height of a two-to-three storey building. The arcade did not have proper fire fighting equipment RAJKOT GAME ARCADE and the owners had not obtained a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the local fire department. Incidentally highly inflam, mable materials such as petrol and fibre glass sheets were stacked at the gaming zone, the court noted. Considering that the arcade had one entry and exit point, it was a virtual death trap. Such gaming zones and recreational facilities have come up without the necessary approvals from competent authorities, the bench observed. CONTD. ON NATION Roller-coaster ride on Qatar Airways FPJ NEWS SERVICE DOHA, DUBLIN T welve people including six crew members - were injured after a Qatar Airways plane was hit by turbulence while flying over Turkey during its flight from Doha to Dublin, five days after a passenger was killed and dozens injured on a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore. As the flight -- Flight QR017, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner --  landed at Dublin, emergency crews rushed to the runway to give medical attention to the injured. Adam Dalton, a game developer who was on the flight, described it as ‘like a rollercoaster drop’.  He added that it felt like it lasted three to five seconds and food and drink were everywhere, reports in FPJ NEWS SERVICE / KOLKATA western media said.  Irish broadcaster RTE, citing passengers arriving at Dublin Airport, said the incident lasted less than 20 seconds and occurred during food and drinks service. A spokesperson for Qatar Airways said: ‘’The matter is now subject to an internal investigation. The safety and security of our passengers and crew are our top priority .’  Qatar Airways ran into a rough pocket in February last year as well, when one of its  Beoing Dreamliners came within seconds of hitting the water ater taking off from Hamad International Airport, the carrier’s hub in Doha. Turbulence-related airline accidents are the most common type, according to a 2021 study by the US National Transportation Safety Board. A severe cyclonic storm, which goes by the Arabic name Remal (sand), has intensified and its landfall process has begun over the coastal areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal. It will hit the coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh on Sunday midnight (as the FPJ goes to bed). Extremely heavy rain has been predicted in the coastal districts of West Bengal, north Odisha and parts of northeast from May 26-28. The landfall process commenced between Sagar Island and Khepupara in the neighbouring country the Met office said. , With a wind speed of 110-120 km per hour, gusting to 135 kmph, Remal is nothing short of a storm, minus the sand. The storm has led to the evacuation of more than 1 lakh people from vulnerable ar- eas to cyclone shelters, schools, and colleges. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took time off his hectic campaign tour to chair a meeting on Sunday to review the response and preparedness for the cyclone. The IMD has warned of localised flooding and major damage to power and communication lines, crops, and orchards in the South and North 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal. CONTD. ON NATION RTO will no longer host driving tests Pvt training schools in Mumbai express concern over space constraints, corruption AISHWARYA IYER / MUMBAI From June 1, 2024, applicants will no longer have to take driving tests at the Regional Transport Office (RTO); instead, these tests will now be conducted at accredited private driving schools. The ministry of road transport and highways has issued these new rules to ‘simplify’ the licensing process.   Further, in the new set-up, applicants will have to under- go training – 29 hours (four weeks) for learners intending to drive light motor vehicles like cars and two-wheelers while learners aiming to drive heavy motor vehicles like trucks, buses and so on, must undergo 38 hours (six weeks) of training. These lessons or training will come in two parts – theory and practical training. In the theory part, the applicant will learn about traffic norms and during practical training, they will get behindthe-wheel practice before their examination. Importantly the Rs 500 penalty paid , by a motorist caught driving without a licence has now been increased to Rs 2,000 or more for the same offence. In case a minor is caught driving, the parents or guardians will face a hefty fine of Rs 25,000, along with legal action and cancellation of the vehicle’s registration.   for driving schools that As want to be accredited by the government, the norms stipulate they must occupy at least one acre of land – for training drivers of two-wheelers, and a minimum of two acres for training drivers of fourwheelers. Applicants shall receive a certificate on completion of training and passing the test, with which they can apply for a driving licence without undergoing further testing at the RTO. CONTD. ON NATION ALL FOR ACCURACY: TRANSPORT CHIEF T alking to the Free Press Journal, Transport Commissioner IAS Vivek Bhimanwar said, “There is no rule saying everything will change overnight, starting from June 1, it’s just a rumour. The idea behind the new license rule has been doing the rounds for several years, and the reason is to bring more accuracy to the system.” He continued, CONTD. ON NATION Hamas rains rockets Chandelier crash ruined wedding reception: 5-star hotel must pay Rs 1 lakh to bride on Israeli capital FPJ NEWS SERVICE DEIR AL-BALAH (GAZA STRIP) Air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv for the first time in months on Sunday as Hamas fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. This is the first long-range rocket attack from Gaza since January. Israeli military said that “a number” of the projectiles were intercepted. Meanwhile, Hamas also claim to have captured an Israeli soldier during fighting in northern Gaza. A video released showed a wounded man being dragged through a tunnel. The Israeli military denied any of its soldiers had been captured and Hamas did not provide any other evidence to substantiate its claim. CONTD. ON NATION PRANALI LOTLIKAR / MUMBAI The District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, suburban Mumbai, has asked a five-star hotel in Sahar, J W Marriott, to own up to its negligence in the incident of a falling chandelier at a wedding party and directed it to pay Rs one lakh as compensation to the complainant. The commission, while passing its orders held, “Customers choose the Marriott brand because of its high PORSCHE TRAGEDY AFTERMATH On the day of wedding, one of the chandeliers fell and the reception had to be called off. level of service, product excellence, proper management; therefore, though the incident that has occurred is unfortunate, however, the same is not at all expected from J W Marriott. We therefore observe the five-star hotel guilty for its deficiency in service.” A resident of Dadar, Kimberly Dias, had booked a ballroom at the hotel for her wedding reception in January 2022. She had to pay  Rs 7,25,847  as ballroom rent or the event. On the day of her wedding, January 2, 2022, an unfortunate incident occurred in the ballroom - one of the chandeliers fell and injured Kimberly’s brother. CONTD. ON NATION TAILPIECE Reclaiming Pune roads with ‘Bike Bus Movement’ BMC day care hub for elders On My Mind ÷ Abhay Vaidya H ow can Pune move forward — and take the nation along with her — in the aftermath of the recent Porsche tragedy which snuffed out two young and promising lives in an instant. Horrific road accidents have become the norm and it comes as no surprise as India has the highest incidence of road fatalities in the world — 1.50 lakh in 2022, according to the World Health Organisation. While stricter laws and greater road safety needs to be enforced by the central and state governments, community initiatives such as the ‘Bike Bus Movement’ in Europe and America can help citizens reclaim city roads. During a public discussion on road safety and cycling in Pune organised by crusaders Ranjit Gadgil (Parisar) and Sanskriti Menon some months back, a suggestion was made on group cycling by children and adults in different localities to promote safe cycling in the city . It was suggested that such cycle rallies, conducted regu- larly should involve local , community leaders, school authorities, parents, children, politicians and the police. Incidentally this is exactly , what is happening in many towns and cities of Europe and America where local communities are driving the ‘Bike Bus Movement’. Under this initiative, school children led by parents and teachers cycle to school on designated days and designated routes; children along the route also hop on. This is being done to promote road safety and cycling as a healthy activity . The Bike Bus Movement originated in the city of Vic in Spain in 2020 when two school teachers from El Petit Miguel School accompanied nine children to school by bicycle. Overcoming initial hurdles, ‘BusBici’ gained strength with the number of cyclists rising to nearly 1,000 in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. The growing community of cyclists demanded and got safe cycling infrastructure for the city . From Europe, the movement has spread to parts of the United States and the UK. CONTD. ON NATION RUCHA KANOLKAR / MUMBAI There is good news for senior citizens of the city The BMC . will set up a day care centre for them in Goregaon East, under a pilot project. The ‘Virangula Kendra’, which is expected to be up and running in the next two months, is being established within a civicrun working women’s hostel in Goregaon that began operations earlier this year. The BMC also plans to set up a children’s day care centre within the same hostel building. The ‘Virangula Kendra’, which can accommodate 30 to 40 individuals, will have a fulltime caretaker appointed by the BMC and will offer senior citizens a space for recreational activities such as games, reading, and watching TV . Initially the BMC plans to , open one centre in Goregaon. The initiative will be expanded across the city with the , goal of having at least one centre per ward. “Ultimately , we aim to have centres in all wards, but this will depend on the success of the initial centre in the first six months and the availability of suitable space across the city the offi,” cial added. CONTD. ON NATION