18 February,2015 08:10 AM IST | | Contributed by: Ranjeet Jadhav, Ankoor Anvekar, Ayan Roy, Sundari Iyer, Vidya Heble
The city — sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
'Clean' chit for Metro
The Mumbai Metro has certainly eased travel conditions for many people, not to mention lessened - just a little - the crush at Dadar, as many have taken to crossing between East and West via the metro instead of changing lines at the overcrowded junction.
Regular commuters are also all praise for the maintenance of the metro, as far as cleanliness goes. Well, with cameras and security checks all over the place, wanton littering, as seen in other public infrastructure facilities, is bound to be checked.
The Mumbai Metro in fact is so taken with its own efficiency in maintaining this cleanliness that it has commissioned a survey, in which unsurprisingly people found the metro to be the cleanest facility. And a self-congratulatory press release with the survey results has reached us.
Of course, considering that the metro was rated against other facilities such as local trains and buses (as well as public parks and malls), we are not surprised that it has come out on top!
Name of the Game
While travelling on the highway the other day, we heard the driver remark, "Aage China Gate hai." We wondered what structure he was referring to but turned out it is the new nickname for senior police officers, because of the oldies who star in the movie of that name!
What a beastly act
Who would harm a cow? Even though the bovines are known for standing in the middle of the road oblivious to traffic, no one grudges them their space. But in a land where cows equal wealth, they can also be a target, perhaps of revenge, as we saw on Sunday evening.
People from the Kutub Bandhan village near sector 35 in Kharghar were shocked to find five cows from their village lying dead on the nearby roads. The cows would have come home in a short while, instead of which the villagers heard that they had been seen fallen down.
The cows' owner, Vasant Gharat, who is naturally shocked at the death of the animals, who had been with the family for many years, said poisoning is suspected, as the cows were otherwise healthy and used to give between 3 and 4 litres of milk each, daily. But he has no idea who would do such a thing, or why.
A police complaint has been made, and an FIR registered against unidentified persons. The viscera of the slain animals has been sent to the Kalina forensic lab, according to an official from the Kharghar police station.
We hope this murder mystery is solved soon. Our heart goes out to the cows who, according to witnesses, fell, cried in pain and then became silent. Who would do this to gentle, innocent animals?
Terribly tall tales
Whomare the builders building for? Lakhs of Mumbaikars are crying themselves hoarse over the lack of affordable housing in the city, but their voices don't seem to be reaching the builders. The construction giants are busy making luxury houses for the invisible one per cent.
More and more buildings, but is there room for the average Joe? Pic/Satyajit Desai
And now there comes news that super luxurious apartments in a building in London, being billed as the world's tallest residential skyscraper, have gone on sale at a starting price of 1.4 million pounds.
The developers are hoping to cash in on NRIs who are looking for posh second homes. Well, while no one grudges the rich their luxuries, it would be nice if the real movers and shakers of the city get a gharonda as well.
