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New Indian Express
12-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Bridges and potholes: India's monsoon economy stimulus
How big a problem is it? It is competitive. Last month before monsoon, the Karnataka PWD set a target of filling 3,400 potholes a day in Bengaluru. Meanwhile, the PWD in Delhi claimed to have set a 'world record' by filling 3,433 potholes in a day. The authorities in Bengaluru and Delhi seem to have rationalised that potholes are a part of the landscape. A minister from Madhya Pradesh underlined the horrific reality by simply stating that as long as there are roads, there will be potholes. Destruction caused by flawed construction must be followed by reconstruction. Effectively, this is an extortionary phenomenon—spending taxpayer monies twice for the same work. Between 2021 and 2024, as per the government, over Rs 17,900 crore was spent just maintaining highways—that is roughly Rs 6,000 crore a year. And the amount is rising. In the current financial year, the government will spend Rs 9,599 crore on fixing roads. 'Pothole budgets' also appear in the budgets of state governments and municipal corporations. Last year, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation allocated Rs 545 crore to fix potholes; the allocation as of June this year is Rs 154 crore. In 2019, an information request revealed that the BMC had spent Rs 17,693 on each pothole. In Bengaluru, the PWD last year allocated Rs 660 crore for potholes and its municipality spent Rs7,121 crore on them between 2019 and 2022. The consequences are manifest in human and economic cost. Take death on the roads. In the decade to 2023, over 15 lakh Indians were killed in road accidents. In 2023 alone, there were 4.80 lakh road accidents across the country claiming 1.72 lakh lives—that is, 55 accidents every hour and a death every 3 minutes. Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari, recently said 'I try to hide my face' at international meets because India tops the list of road deaths in the world. Gadkari also revealed that road accidents cost India roughly 3 percent of GDP. India's taxpayers, already forking out stamp duties, income tax, road toll and GST, are forced to bear the risks. There is virtually no city in India that is free of flooding in monsoon. As this column has highlighted, this is primarily because there is a drought of action on urban planning. This week, for instance, Gurugram—once dubbed 'Millennium City'—along with Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru were flooded for hours. Floods kept Nagpur's buses off the roads for long. The pace of haphazard urbanisation in Pune has resulted in the city municipality listing 73 new flood-prone areas. Public policy failures, as I wrote in my book The Gated Republic, have emerged as an alternative business model—be it water, health, education, security or power. The failures of the State impose costs on households—living in cities without pavements, marooned on flooded roads, bearing medical costs of accidents and illnesses, besides refurbishing flooded homes and basement parking spaces. The costs paid by the hapless taxpayer for mitigating these troubles verily morphs into the political economy's annual monsoon stimulus. Read all columns by Shankkar Aiyar Author of The Gated Republic, Aadhaar: A Biometric History of India's 12 Digit Revolution, and Accidental India (
Hans India
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
CM Fadnavis terms Uddhav Thackeray's speech 'rudali'
Pandharpur: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday took a dig at Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray, saying that he delivered a "rudali" (professional mourner) like speech at the joint rally. CM Fadnavis said Uddhav Thackeray's entire speech lacked mention of Marathi and focused on how his government was toppled, power and elections. "This was not a victory rally for Marathi, it was a Rudali. We have seen this Rudali at that place. Basically, Uddhav Thackeray is jealous that he could not do any work worth showing during the 25-year rule in BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation," CM Fadnavis said. CM Fadnavis further said, "Everyone has seen the way we have changed the face of Mumbai under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During his (Uddhav Thackeray) time, the Marathi people of Mumbai were exiled. They are jealous that we gave houses to the Marathi people of BDD Chawl, Abhyudaya Nagar, and Patra Chawl in the same place. Whether it is the Marathi people of Mumbai or non-Marathi, everyone is with us. We are Marathi, and we are proud to be Marathi. We are Hindutva supporters. We are proud to be Hindus." He thanked Maharashtra Navnirman Sena founder Raj Thackeray for giving him the credit of reuniting the estranged Thackeray brothers (Uddhav and Raj), after 20 years. "I must be getting the blessings of the revered Balasaheb Thackeray somewhere," the Chief Minister said. The Chief Minister was speaking to reporters at Pandharpur, where he will perform a traditional Pooja of the Vitthal and Rakhumai on the auspicious Ashadhi Ekadashi, which falls on Sunday. Earlier, at the joint rally to celebrate the Maharashtra government withdrawing the two resolutions on the introduction of Hindi along with Marathi and English from grade one, Raj Thackeray said, "Maharashtra is bigger than any dispute and any fight. What Balasaheb Thackeray could not do, what many could not do... to bring us both together... Devendra Fadnavis was able to do." On the other hand, Uddhav Thackeray slammed the BJP for accusing him of leaving Hindutva, saying that he has not sacrificed Hindutva nor the resolve to fight for Marathi pride. "Hindutva is not the monopoly of any language. We, who speak authentic Marathi, are more patriotic Hindus than you," Uddhav Thackeray taunted.
NDTV
04-07-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Congress Not To Join Uddhav-Raj Thackeray Rally Against Hindi Imposition
Mumbai: The Congress has distanced itself from the joint 'victory rally' by estranged brothers Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray on Saturday to celebrate the state government's move to withdraw its two government resolution on the introduction of Hindi along with Marathi and English for Classes 1 to 5. A large section of the Maharashtra Congress strongly opposed the party's participation in tomorrow's rally saying that although party is opposed to the imposition of Hindi it does not want to disturb the non-Marathi vote bank especially ahead of the upcoming BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation elections. The party has decided a conscious decision not to attend the Uddhav-Raj Thackeray show tomorrow. "We have always maintained that we do not support the BJP government on its mission to impose Hindi. We had made our stand clear much before any other party. We stand with Marathi but respect every other language. I received the invitation for the Saturday program on Friday. I had my travel plans fixed which I cannot change," said Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal. Sapkal has outrightly rejected the Narendra Jadhav committee formed by Maharashtra government to give its report on the three-language formula in primary education. "We oppose the policy itself. There is no question of supporting this committee. It should be scrapped right away," he said. The Congress insiders said that the party does not want to get dragged behind Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on the issue of dispute between Marathi and non Marathi speakers. "A large chunk of Congress leadership and workers in Mumbai come from north Indian as well as non-Marathi speaking population. Why should we disturb our voters?" questioned a Congress leader from Mumbai. The other state Congress leaders too are wary about going with Thackerays at present. "At present, it seems that the local body elections are going to be a solo show for all. We should focus on strengthening our organisation instead of following others," said a senior party MLA and leader from Vidarbha.
Hans India
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Coming together of Thackeray brothers against Hindi imposition showed strength of Marathi people: Raut
Shiv Sena MP, Sanjay Raut, on Monday said that the Maharashtra government's move to withdraw its decision to introduce Hindi as a third language along with Marathi and English for Classes 1 to 5 was the fist step towards the victory achieved by the Thackeray brothers (Uddhav and Raj) after coming together. 'After that, many more such victories are to be achieved. Efforts will be made to keep the unity in the upcoming elections to the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation and other local bodies. Our intention is to gain power in Maharashtra including Mumbai,' added Raut at a Press conference. He announced that the morcha planned on July 5 has been called off due to the government's move to cancel it's two resolutions on the introduction of Hindi, but efforts were on to hold a victory rally on that day. 'The coming together of Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray against the imposition of Hindi showed the strength of Marathi people and it was important for the interest of Maharashtra. "As the two brothers came together, there would have been an earthquake of Marathi strength in Maharashtra. Therefore, the government withdrew the decision,' stated Raut. Referring to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' dig that he wished that both Uddhav and Raj Thackeray would stay together in future too, Raut said, 'The unity of Marathi people does not depend on his wishes. If Devendra Fadnavis and Praful Patel can come together, if Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde can come together, if Devendra Fadnavis and Hasan Mushrif can come together, then why are you upset over two brothers coming together?' Raut termed as 'wise' the decision taken by CM Fadnavis to cancel two government resolutions to introduce Hindi as a third language along with Marathi and English. 'The CM recognised the public sentiments of the Marathi people in Maharashtra and tried to play with them. He tried to put pressure and create confusion. He brought forward different solutions. But, finally, the people took to the streets yesterday. "There was a symbolic burning of two government resolutions yesterday in the presence of Uddhav Thackeray. When the joint morcha of Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray was announced, the government took a big hit because lakhs of Marathi people were going to come from every corner of Maharashtra for it. Therefore, Devendra Fadnavis' government had to withdraw its decision,' he said. Commenting on the chief minister's announcement to set up a committee headed by former Planning Commission member Dr Narendra Jadhav to prepare a report on the trilingual formula, Raut announced that Shiv Sena (UBT) will not accept the three language formula in the state. 'So, what are you doing by forming committees? Why are you playing with sentiments of Marathi people? Under no circumstances will Maharashtra accept the National Education Policy 2020 and the three-language policy. Uddhav Thackeray also said this yesterday and Raj Thackeray has also declared his stand in this regard. The two Thackeray brothers have announced their firm stand and have said that the Fadnavis government should not play unnecessary games,' he said. Raut stated that CM Fadnavis was misguiding the people that the decision on making Hindi compulsory from grade one was taken when Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister, based on the report submitted by high a level committee headed by Raghunath Mashelkar. 'BJP is a factory that spreads rumours. Fadnavis is lying according to the BJP's national policy. Why aren't you presenting the Mashelkar report?' he asked.
Hans India
22-05-2025
- Health
- Hans India
Two Covid-linked deaths in Maha
Mumbai: Maharashtra has reported two Covid-related deaths since January this year, the state health department has said, adding that the two were patients with comorbidities. The department, late Tuesday night, stated that both deaths were reported from Mumbai and involved patients with comorbidities (simultaneous presence of two or more medical conditions in a person). One of the deceased had nephrotic syndrome with hypocalcemia seizure, while the other was a cancer patient. According to the health department, a total of 6,066 swab samples have been examined for coronavirus since January, of which 106 tested positive for the infectious disease. Of these, 101 were from Mumbai and the remaining from Pune, Thane, and Kolhapur. Currently, 52 patients are undergoing treatment for mild symptoms, while 16 are being treated at hospitals. 'A spike in Covid-19 cases is not only being seen in Maharashtra, but also in other states and even other countries,' said the health department release. 'Covid is a disease caused by a virus. Currently, the ILI (Influenza-like Illness) and SARI (Severe Acute Respiratory Infection) survey is going on in Maharashtra for Covid. In that survey, such patients are tested for Covid. These Covid patients are being treated regularly after testing positive, Covid cases are currently rare in the state. Mild symptoms are being found in Covid patients. Covid testing and treatment facilities are available through the health department. Therefore, the public is urged not to panic,' said the release. Earlier, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday said, 'Covid-19 is now considered an endemic and an ongoing health problem. As the virus has become established at the community level, cases are now sporadic and very rare.
