THE massive fire at Bhandewadi garbage dump-yard was actually waiting to happen for long. In the past, too, the mountains of urban garbage had caught fire on some occasions. But this time, the fire is truly massive and may prove a major challenge for the administration to handle wisely. True, the administration has pressed into operation its fire dousing mechanisms, all right. Yet, the current fire at the Bhandewadi dump-yard appears to be of proportions never seen before, never handled before. The ..

THE young newspaper Reporter would move on his bicycle all over the city no matter the sun or the moon or the rain or the season, his camera slung across his shoulder. He took pictures, wrote down notes in his small pad, ate idli-vada for a mere one rupee at any place, and drink water from any public tap without the fear of infection. Thankfully, in those days, political, social and administrative leaders of Nagpur boasted that 98% of the city’s water supply was “protected”. Those were the wonderful ..

THERE is no doubt that the city of Nagpur has a great history of its own -- replete with a great story that runs through centuries, through decades, years -- crafted and scripted by people of eminence and substance in diverse fields. The city has had great political leaders, social reformers and thinkers, educational torch-bearers, scientists, scholars of indology, leading lights of armed forces. The city boasts two of the world’s greatest moments and movements -- the foundation of the Rashtriya Swayamseva..

THAT the people in the city of lakes are happy with the general improvement in the quality of roads in the past some time, must be noted. But when that sense of happiness spills out in the form of rash driving of motor cars and two-wheelers and also in the form of dangerous stunts that jeopardise lives of the drivers or riders or others on the road, then it is time to apply a stern brake on such activities. That is what Bhopal cops have done in the past couple of days -- by taking strict action against ..

NAGPURIANS have evolved their own garbage-disposal system over the years. This system is working wonderfully well. Those who use this system are happy. Those who don’t also are happy because that system does not interfere with their lives. So successful is this system of garbage-disposal that even the civic authorities are happy to allow it to persist...

ON VALENTINE’s Day,that is February 14, the city of Nagpur will wear a different look -- with hordes of young people gathering in public places including restaurants etc and celebrate ‘love’ -- as usual, every year. Tomorrow, that is February 14, all the love people express through various means and modes will spill out on to the streets. True, there will still be people who would not want join that bandwagon of demonstration of so-called love, and would be called morons, to say the least. Of course, ..

FORTUNATELY, the city of Nagpur still has some localities where commerce has not started dominating the residential landscape. Certain coolness, certain calmness, certain homeliness prevails in the roads and lanes and by-lanes in those areas. There, people move around with a sense of assurance that permeates in a residential neighbourhood where every family is known to every other family...

THE 1.5 kilometer stretch of road from the South Ambazari Road at the northern end to the Ring Road at its southern end offers a great mix of cultures -- old and new. A leisurely walk along that stretch at any time during the day or evening reveals something very interesting -- presenting a paradox that is both, entertaining and confusing. But to the sorted out minds, the road offers something to think about in depth -- and benefit from ! Three-fourths of the long road passes through what is known ..

EVEN as the authorities are engaged as per strict protocol in the work to remove chemical waste from the Union Carbide factory and even as different concerns come up about the disposal, the minds of common Bhopalites dart back to those harrowing hours so many years ago when the city lost hundreds of people in one single night and kept losing many more as days passed due to inhalation of the leaked poisonous gas. Even the lapse of time of four dace has not erased the harrowing memories of one of ..

The expression “blackened lips and reddened eyes” referring to addicted young persons -- men and women -- in the last edition of ‘Footloose in Bhopal’ became a subject of discussion in many groups through-out the week. Many responded to the subject positively, and joined the loosefooter to express a serious concern about the decline of the standard of young conduct (in whatever percentage). This evidence of the social concern of large numbers of people about young people falling prey to addiction ..

The expression “blackened lips and reddened eyes” referring to addicted young persons -- men and women -- in the last edition of ‘Footloose in Nagpur’ became a subject of discussion in many groups through-out the week. Many responded to the subject positively, and joined the loosefooter to express a serious concern about the decline of the standard of young conduct (in whatever percentage). This evidence of the social concern of large numbers of people about young people falling prey to addiction ..

AS USUAL, the cafe in a posh area was crowded around 4 in the afternoon. Individuals, groups, couples sat at tables, engaged in following their respective culinary pursuits -- and also in discussions, some in quiet whispers and some in loud assertions. There was laughter in the air and a general sense of merriment prevailed in the large room with several tables. Waiters and bearers moved around effortlessly serving the customers, many of whom appeared to be regulars in the place. Two groups -- sitting ..

THE advice is full of wisdom -- by Nagpur’s Commissioner of Police Dr Ravinder Singal to the City Traffic Police Force -- ‘Be polite and full of kindness while managing traffic.’ This leadership action by Dr Singal -- aided by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP-Traffic) Mr Archit Chandak -- will certainly go a long way to mould the Traffic cops into a force with finer culture. The fact that the Commissioner of Police himself sat with the newly-appointed personnel in Traffic Police for the training ..

THE human chain formed by children of a school (Shri Ram School -- Hindi and English Medium) and Gayatri Parivar to highlight the dangers of addiction of banned substances made one feel happy that young people appear to realise the risks and dangers of wrong habits. From the point of view of scale, the event may be described by some as small (because possibly of numbers). Yet, the fact that school children could be motivated to form a human chain and show solidarity with the cause of fight against ..

NO MATTER the new (?) increasing numbers of cement roads in Nagpur and their paved sidewalks, the first impression one gets while moving around town is that the city-roads suffer from bad maintenance -- countless pot-holes, countless water puddles, countless street corners needing urgent repair, countless boulders and cement blocks at critical turns on roads ... ! There are countless spots on different city-roads where people keep tripping and hurting themselves and their two-wheelers or even four-wheelers..

EVERY Bhopalite will agree with Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Mr. Vishwas Kailash Sarang that the Upper Lake -- Bada Talab -- is a Nature’s gift to the city. Its size is certainly a matter of pride for every Bhopalite. But more importantly, the Bada Talab has become an integral part of the city’s personality. In other words, Bada Talab is the city’s signature -- by which the city is known and talked about everywhere in the country. So important Bada Talab is to the city’s psyche that nobody can ..

ARE we -- the Nagpurians -- the people of a fine culture, or more precisely, a fine civic culture ? This question haunts not just the loosefooter but also everybody with a good sense of public conduct -- in Nagpur. And there are countless dimensions to this haunting question -- of the sense of personal responsibility towards others in the society, of the sense of dignity of one’s own and of others, of the importance of smoothness and polish in collective conduct ...! In almost every social conversation ..

THE trigger is obvious -- Independence Day -- to indulge in a free-wheeling thinking on the meaning of Independence for common people. So, the ‘I-Day musings’, so to say. Of course, the word ‘Independence’ -- or ‘Freedom’ -- has multiple nuances, as highlighted by poets and writers of all shades of different ideologies. But, among the most important of these nuances is one of a sense of well-being under self-rule. And an important dimension of well-being is good basic standards of living. This ..