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Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Top-ranked cities to mentor low performers in cleanliness rankings: Khattar
Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday announced a new initiative where cities securing the top three positions in the national cleanliness rankings will mentor those at the bottom. The aim is to collectively raise sanitation standards and advance Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a developed India by 2047. Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar during an event in Karnal on Saturday. (HT Photo) Khattar made the announcement during the Safai Mitra Samman ceremony at Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College in Karnal. The event celebrated Karnal municipal corporation's receipt of the President's Award under Swachh Survekshan 2024-25. He explained that henceforth, the top and bottom-ranked cities will be paired. 'Cleanliness rankings will be assessed jointly for both. A top city can retain its position only if its paired city also shows improvement,' he said. Congratulating Karnal's sanitation workers, officials, and public representatives, Khattar announced a ₹5,000 reward for each of the 1,380 sanitation staff. He also felicitated several key workers and municipal staff for their contributions. Khattar emphasised the need to instill cleanliness values early, citing Japan's model where schoolchildren begin their day with cleaning. He added that cleanliness competitions will now also be held in villages across Karnal district. Haryana assembly speaker Harvinder Kalyan, Karnal MLA Jagmohan Anand, and other dignitaries were present. Later, Khattar visited Panipat to inspect the under-construction BJP district office and interacted with families outside a CET exam centre. In a widely shared video, he cautioned them against falling prey to exam fraud, saying, 'Only your merit will get you a job.' Wrong to say crime has increased, instead it has reduced: Khattar Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said that it is being spread that the crime in Haryana has increased, but according to the comparative figures from the Congress government, it has instead reduced. 'I've also seen the figures which suggest that if compared with 10 years of Congress rule in the state, the crime in every region has reduced by 10-20%. Though, population has also risen in the 10 years (of BJP rule) and if population is taken into consideration, there is more of a decline,' he told the reporters in Karnal. He was responding to a question by a journalist. Khattar, who is also Karnal MP, said that in case of any occurrence of crime, the success of any government or the police is based on how quickly it is traced and those involved are arrested. Infact, Khattar said, in most of the criminal cases, the reasons are personal. 'You see what happened recently in Jind (murder of a doctor). There was a collision between two cars that led to an argument and later turned into a murder. So we can't say that miscreant elements persist but most of the cases are personal,' he said. When asked about a recent statement by former MLA Gopal Kanda on their support to INLD leader Abhay Chautala during the assembly elections, Khattar dismissed the claims. 'We vacated Sirsa's seat for Kanda, where he could not win. Other than this, we did not have any role to play,' he said. The minister also refused to respond on the appointment of Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Barala's son Vikas Barala as AAG, and said that the state government or AG have a say in this.
Time of India
19-07-2025
- General
- Time of India
Clean sweep: Mira-Bhayandar bags first rank in '3-10 lakh population' category in Swachh Survekshan 2024-25; beats 4,589 cities
THANE: Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has been awarded the first rank at the national level in the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25, outshining 4,589 cities across India. They were judged the best in the '3-10 lakh population' category. The corporation received the prestigious President's Award at a grand ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, where the President presented the honour. This recognition places Mira-Bhayandar at the forefront of cleanliness and sustainable urban management in the country. The city has also been declared a 5-Star Garbage-Free City and received the Water Plus Certification, showcasing its commitment to advanced waste management and environmental responsibility. The MBMC claimed that all this was possible due to the dedicated efforts of civic staff and citizens and also due to the implementation of innovative initiatives like QR-code-based waste tracking, composting using windrow technology, and daily sewage treatment of over 110 MLD. These efforts have not only enhanced sanitation but also strengthened public participation in cleanliness drives, said the MBMC press note. This national honour reflects the collective effort of the administration, sanitation workers, and residents, who have made cleanliness not just a duty, but a shared mission.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Ford dealer just won coveted company prize for 17th straight year. How he did it
Ford dealer Jim Seavitt has advice for car buyers looking to get a good deal: 'Buy from a dealership you trust," he said. A car buyer determines trust, he said, based on "how you feel when you come in the dealership. How you feel with the salesperson and how you feel you were treated overall." Seavitt, 77, knows a thing or two about building trust with customers. He has owned Village Ford in Dearborn since 1982 and he is one of the distinguished Ford dealers to win the automaker's prestigious Triple Crown Award — which recognizes achievements in new car sales, parts and service and excellence in customer service — for an impressive 17 consecutive years. The accomplishment was elite enough that Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley personally showed up to present it to Seavitt on July 8, the day Ford ended its employee pricing for all campaign to shift to the Zero-Zero-Zero summer sale. This sale features zero down payment, 0% interest for 48 months, and zero payments for the first 90 days on most Ford and Lincoln vehicles. "It means a lot to win it, and it means a lot more to me because I'm right here in the shadow of World Headquarters," Seavitt said. "It means a lot to my employees. It's the pride that we take in it." Village Ford occupies the dealership that Henry Ford originally built in 1947. It was called Stuart Wilson Ford until Seavitt bought it in 1982 and renamed it Village Ford. It is barely 4 miles from the Glass House, Ford's world headquarters. It got its namesake by its proximity to Greenfield Village, Seavitt said. Perhaps the fact that Village Ford operates so close to Ford's headquarters, it drives Seavitt to keep his Triple Crown victories unbroken. "Some years are harder than others," Seavitt said of his operations. "It can depend on Ford recalls, or it could be economic problems across the United States. We've been through all that in 17 years. But we've managed to win it all those times." In Michigan, Village Ford is the only Ford dealer to have won the Triple Crown Award 17 times in a row, Ford spokesman Said Deep confirmed. Deep said there are four other dealerships in Michigan that won the Triple Crown Award for their 2024 achievements. They are: Varsity Ford in Ann Arbor, Taylor Ford in Taylor, Pat Milliken Ford in Redford and Bill Brown Ford in Livonia. The Ford Triple Crown Award, which started in 2001, is the top honor a Ford dealership can earn, Deep said. Only a small percentage of Ford dealerships nationwide earn it each year. For the 2024 award, only 41 Ford dealers of Ford Motor Co.'s 2,900 nationwide dealerships will receive the Triple Crown Award, Deep said. It acknowleges exceptional performance in sales, service and customer satisfaction. To achieve it, a dealership must win three Ford awards in the same year: the President's Award, Top Volume and Premier Club. The President's Award recognizes excellence in customer satisfaction in sales and service. Top Volume recognizes the Top 100 Dealers for retail vehicle sales. Premier Club honors those dealerships with top performance in either the service protection or parts departments, Deep said. Farley presented Seavitt with the President's Award, one of the three awards that goes into the Triple Crown, calling it 'an incredible achievement.' 'Thank you for taking care of the customers and our employees the way you do," Farley said to Seavitt and the crowd of over 100, mostly Village Ford employees. "It really does take a village to run a dealership like this. It takes lots of team members to do the right thing for the customers.' Later, in an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Farley said, 'We have 10,000 dealerships around the world, so the dealers who win the Triple Crown are very, very elite.' More: Ford CEO listens to dealers and credits them for performance improvements Farley said Ford's relationship with its dealers is the most important part of its business model because a dealership is customer-facing. Ford has to trust the dealers to hire the right people, to motivate them the right way, to have the right pay plans and incentives in place and to do what's right for the car-buying public. "In many ways the dealership team really helped us sort through this very difficult period of quality because when there's a recall or there's a defect in the product, they come here to the dealership," Farley said referring to the large number of recalls Ford has had in recent years. "The care in which they handle that, especially with all the new technology in our vehicles like the new Lincoln Nautilus — which won SUV of the year largely because of its interior experience — all those questions come to the dealership." Seavitt said his success started with his belief in himself and his staff. He had been the sales manager and general manager for nine years in the late 1970s at Hines Park Lincoln in Plymouth. It was at the Lincoln store when Seavitt, in 1976, hired one of the first female salespersons for Lincoln in metro Detroit. Her name was Rhonda Sabatini. "I told her you're going to get sexism and they will ask you questions they don't ask a man and you have to be ready for it," Seavitt said. "She quickly became the No. 1 sales person.' So, in 1982, when Seavitt had an opportunity to buy Stuart Wilson Ford with Ford Motor as his partner, he decided to risk all of his money, which was $150,000 at that time, to buy the store on Michigan Avenue with the famous rotunda showroom. "I mortgaged my house and the first money to go, if I didn't succeed, would have been my money," Seavitt said. "But I knew I had the sales background. This store was near the area where I grew up and I had a background in finance and insurance. I knew that would be enough to make it. And, this dealership is in Dearborn, so I thought if you're going to buy a Ford dealership, this is the place to do it." By mid-1984, Seavitt had made enough money to buy out Ford's stake in the store. Before Ford had created the Triple Crown award, Village Ford was winning individual recognitions such as the Top 100 dealership sales, the Premier Club and the President's Awards. Seavitt typically sells about 2,500 new vehicles a year and about 900 used cars. He said his store has been recognized in the top sales volume for the last 35 years, even as his sales have fluctuated a little due to various market conditions such as the Great Recession in 2008, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the semiconductor chip shortage in 2022. What's helped is the fact that, 'We're not a normal dealership," Seavitt said. His customer base is 80% Ford employees and 15% suppliers or friends and family of employees. That means 95% of his clientele get some form of employee or friends and family discount. "So it's a very different market here than other parts of the country," Seavitt said. "It's one price. You come in and get your price. So we're talking more about how you're going to get serviced than anything else." That comes together by putting the right team in place to consistently deliver results. Village Ford employs 188 people, 155 of whom are full-time employees. Many are long-timers. For example, in 1988, he hired Shirley Peters, who had previously worked at American Airlines and Pendleton clothing store with no automotive experience. She stayed with him for more than two decades. "She was fabulous with people and she worked for me for 25 years," Seavitt said. He said when hiring he looks mostly for "good people and sociability." Experience is helpful, but not necessary, noting one of his top sales people today once managed one of the Detroit casinos. Seavitt also makes sure all his employees are involved in the processes that go into winning the President's Award, Seavitt said. That's because for that award, every aspect of a sale or service experience has to be top notch from the sale of the car being easy, the delivery of the car being perfect, then the customer coming in for service and being greeted properly, the technician repairs the vehicle correctly, the cashier has to have a smile and the porter who brings the car to the customer better have it clean, Seavitt said. "There are so many areas that touch the car that affect the survey that you have to have everyone involved," Seavitt said. To keep his staff motivated, Seavitt employs a variety of tactics. In some cases he incentivizes with money or with pride such as naming different achievers: "Service Adviser of the month" or "Salesperson of the month." 'We also have employee involvement meetings that we do four times a year," Seavitt said. "We hire someone to come in and we do exercises with them and we get employee input. It was started by Elena Ford (Ford's chief dealer engagement officer and cousin to Ford Chair Bill Ford). But a few years ago, Ford stopped it. I continued with it.' More: Car buyers set a record with more than $1,000-a-month car payments in Q2 The person Seavitt hires for the employee involvement meetings conducts team-building exercises for the staff to emphasize the importance of teamwork and capturing the Triple Crown award, he said. "What brings the customer back? Being happy with the dealership," Seavitt said. "The biggest question Ford focuses on, that we are scored on, is: Would you recommend Village Ford?" He said in sales, 96% of those surveyed said yes. In service, 80% said yes. Whether you buy a car from Seavitt or not, here is the advice he has for car buyers: 'First of all, I recommend leasing," Seavitt said. "In this market, we lease 80%, so you're always driving a new car. I recommend buying tire and wheel protection if you lease because in Michigan, if your tire and wheel gets damage, you get a free new tire and wheel." If a person buys the car, he recommends purchasing an extended warranty to be covered for up to 10 years and said to make sure it's a manufacturer's warranty, not one from an outside company. As for the typical advice experts give to come to a dealership with your credit score and financing secured, Seavitt said at his dealership, it's a soft apprach. More: The story behind how Ford's push to be America's carmaker helped it top Toyota "Because of the employee pricing and X-plan and employee financing, they get a better deal when they finance with us. It's much better than other parts of the nation," Seavitt said. "It's all mapped out with pricing and financing already set. It's a more comfortable transaction.' For those customers who are not Ford employees or friends and family, Village Ford is essentially a one-price dealership, even for used cars. If any negotiation happens, it's usually by getting more for a trade-in, he said. But, Seavitt added, "because most of our customers are Ford Motor Co. people, they know what these awards are and so that speaks to them." Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@ Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Village Ford wins Triple Crown award for 17th straight year Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Straits Times
04-07-2025
- General
- Straits Times
15 receive social service honours, including founding member of S'pore's first inclusive pre-school
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Awwa chief executive J.R. Karthikeyan received the President's Award for Social Service Professionals at the inaugural Social Service Professional Awards on July 2. SINGAPORE - When Awwa chief executive J.R. Karthikeyan first thought about starting Singapore's first inclusive pre-school, he was sceptical about whether it would last as he thought it would be mistaken for an early intervention care programme. 'I wasn't sure we had the right playbook to set it up right,' he said. But he added: 'Because there are no existing rules to play by, you have more control over setting standards that are aspirational and possibly meaningful.' He went ahead to set up Kindle Garden Preschool in 2016, and nine years on, more than 650 children have attended the pre-school, located at the Enabling Village in Lengkok Bahru. Mr Karthik received the President's Award for Social Service Professionals at the inaugural Social Service Professional Awards on July 2. This is the highest accolade conferred to social service professionals with more than 15 years of experience, who have made significant contributions to the sector. 'The award is incredibly valuable to me because it affirms my contributions, and it's spurred me to do even better by my staff and the clients we support,' said Mr Karthik. In his 17 years with Awwa, he has also opened a therapy hub, set up a 300-bed adult disability home, and started an initiative that engages seniors with dementia to take on volunteer work. The Social Service Professional Awards recognise the contributions of social service professionals in Singapore, including those in the fields of social work, youth work and counselling, among others. Held in conjunction with the Social Service Summit organised by the National Council of Social Service, it recognised 13 individuals and two teams at the ceremony held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. The Ministry of Social and Family Development has designated 2025 as the Year of Celebrating Social Service Professionals to honour their contributions. Singapore currently has more than 20,000 social service professionals. President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was the guest of honour, presented the President's Award to three individuals: Mr Karthik; Ms Priscilla Lim, medical social work lead at the Singapore National Eye Centre; and Ms Chan Lay Lin, principal medical social worker at the Institute of Mental Health. Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli presented the Excellence, Merit and Team Awards. One of those who received the Excellence Award was Ms Charlene Heng, deputy director of SOS Academy at Samaritans of Singapore (SOS). She recalled how she was inspired to start the charity's Be-A-Samaritan programme, which equips participants with the skills to respond to suicide distress, when she walked past a neighbour who was crying several years back. She realised many people could encounter a suicidal person but not approach them, as they do not know what to do or say, and are afraid to trigger the person. 'Sometimes a person just needs human companionship at that critical point,' she said, adding that neighbours, friends and colleagues could be trained to help those around them who are in distress. The Be-A-Samaritan programme has trained close to 6,000 participants since it was set up in 2022. Ms Charlene Heng, deputy director of SOS Academy at Samaritans of Singapore, was one of those who received the Excellence Award. PHOTO: SAMARITANS OF SINGAPORE Ms Heng also developed SOS into a SkillsFuture-recognised training provider. The academy has trained over 2,000 social service, mental health and community healthcare professionals. She said fund raising for new initiatives was a constant challenge in her 20 years in the social service sector, requiring 'painstaking' advocacy work. During the Covid-19 pandemic, her team started a 24-hour text-based helpline, CareText, after finding that young people preferred texting as a form of communication. There was no funding, and many risks around confidentiality and the worry that clients would screenshot and post their messages online, she said. But the team decided to start it anyway due to the urgent need during the 2020 circuit breaker, as people were confined to their homes and needed someone to text when they felt distressed. The service has since grown to respond to about 20,000 CareText messages every year. Ms Heng said that some companies wish to donate to the Samaritans, but are afraid to be associated with the suicide prevention cause. She hopes to break the stigma against suicide prevention, and work with more communities to tailor training to different contexts such as workplaces. 'If everyone is equipped with the skill set, I truly believe that is an answer to suicide prevention,' she said. Correction note: The headline of this story has been edited for clarity.
Straits Times
02-07-2025
- General
- Straits Times
15 receive social service honours, including founder of Singapore's first inclusive pre-school
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Awwa chief executive J.R. Karthikeyan received the President's Award for Social Service Professionals at the inaugural Social Service Professional Awards on July 2. SINGAPORE - When Awwa chief executive J.R. Karthikeyan first thought about starting Singapore's first inclusive pre-school, he was sceptical about whether it would last, as he thought it would be mistaken for an early intervention care programme. 'I wasn't sure we had the right playbook to set it up right,' he said. But he added: 'Because there are no existing rules to play by, you have more control over setting standards that are aspirational and possibly meaningful.' He went ahead to set up Kindle Garden Preschool in 2016, and nine years on, over 650 children have attended the pre-school, located at the Enabling Village in Lengkok Bahru. Mr Karthik received the President's Award for Social Service Professionals at the inaugural Social Service Professional Awards on July 2. This is the highest accolade conferred to social service professionals with more than 15 years of experience, who have made significant contributions to the sector. 'The award is incredibly valuable to me, because it affirms my contributions, and it's spurred me to do even better by my staff and the clients we support,' said Mr Karthik. In his 17 years with Awwa, he has also opened a therapy hub, set up a 300-bed adult disability home and started an initiative which engages seniors with dementia to take on volunteer work. The Social Service Professional Awards recognise the contributions of social service professionals in Singapore, including those in the fields of social work, youth work and counselling, among others. Held in conjunction with the Social Service Summit organised by the National Council of Social Service, it recognised 13 individuals and two teams at the ceremony held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. The Ministry of Social and Family Development has designated 2025 as the Year of Celebrating Social Service Professionals to honour their contributions. Singapore currently has more than 20,000 social service professionals. Guest of honour President Tharman Shanmugaratnam presented the President's Award to three individuals: Mr Karthik; Ms Priscilla Lim, medical social work lead at the Singapore National Eye Centre; and Ms Chan Lay Lin, principal medical social worker at the Institute of Mental Health. Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli presented the Excellence, Merit and Team Awards. One of those who received the Excellence Award was Ms Charlene Heng, deputy director of SOS Academy at Samaritans of Singapore (SOS). She recalled how she was inspired to start the charity's Be-A-Samaritan programme, which equips participants with skills to respond to suicide distress, when she walked past a neighbour who was crying several years back. She realised many people could encounter a suicidal person but not approach them, as they do not know what to do or say, and are afraid to trigger the person. 'Sometimes a person just needs human companionship at that critical point,' she said, adding that neighbours, friends and colleagues could be trained to help those around them who are in distress. The Be-A-Samaritan programme has trained close to 6,000 participants since it was set up in 2022. Ms Charlene Heng, deputy director of SOS Academy at Samaritans of Singapore, was one of those who received the Excellence Award. PHOTO: SAMARITANS OF SINGAPORE Ms Heng also developed SOS into a SkillsFuture-recognised Training Provider. The academy has trained over 2,000 social services, mental health and community healthcare professionals. Ms Heng said fund raising for new initiatives was a constant challenge in her 20 years in the social service sector, requiring 'painstaking' advocacy work. During the Covid-19 pandemic, her team started a 24-hour text-based helpline, CareText, after finding that young people preferred texting as a form of communication. There was no funding, and many risks around confidentiality and the worry that clients would screenshot and post their messages online, she said. But the team decided to start it anyway due to the urgent need during the 2020 circuit breaker, as people were confined to their homes and needed someone to text when they felt distressed. The service has since grown to respond to about 20,000 CareText messages every year. Ms Heng said some companies wish to donate to the Samaritans but are afraid to be associated with the suicide prevention cause. She hopes to break the stigma against suicide prevention, and work with more communities to tailor training to different contexts such as workplaces. 'If everyone is equipped with the skill set, I truly believe that is an answer to suicide prevention,' she said.
