The Times of India              15.11.2010

Mayor sets Dec 31 deadline for Kanha Upvan

LUCKNOW: Desperate to get his dream project, Kanha Upvan, in a workable stage, mayor Dinesh Sharma got four stray cattle put at the Upvan on Sunday. It was only in August this year that the first citizen had got the project dedicated to the public.

Sharma, however, was not amused at the progress of the project as it was yet to have a `sarovar' for the birds as well as a hospital for the animals. What further left the mayor fuming was the apathy of municipal officials shown towards his visit. He could not find even a single chair for his staff as well as a host of press reporters who accompanied him. So, it was chief engineer of Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) who finally faced the music as the mayor pulled him up for gross mismanagement.

Incidentally, Sharma is to complete his four-year term as Lucknow mayor, later this month, and Kanha Upvan, which happens to be the most prestigious project initiated by him to address the problem of stray animals in the city, is still a non-starter.

The mayor thus set a deadline of December 31 for the municipal officials to see to it that the project finally gets completed. He said that the problem of stray animals would be resolved once construction of Kanha Upvan gets completed.

Sharma informed that LMC was in the process of procuring two hydraulic powered vehicles for catching stray bulls and the dogs. For the record, the municipality does not have any arrangements for the stray bulls. As for the dogs, they have just one fully trained person to nab the canine. Of course, that is not enough for the city which has an estimated population of over 40,000 stray dogs, who often attack commuters. In the recent past only, there have been two incidents where stray dogs attacked students in the school premises, resulting in an exhaustive drive by LMC. The drive, ironically, lost momentum after some time.

The opening of Kanha Upvan -- albeit officially -- is set to put to test LMC will in addressing the problem of stray animals in the city. A senior municipal official said that a private agency would be roped in for running and maintaining the facility. A Triveni Nagar based animal welfare organisation has been shortlisted.

Kanha Upvan was conceptualised in 2006 itself, soon after Sharma got elected as Lucknow mayor. Initially, proposed to sprawl over an area of 150 acre, the facility as of now has been established over an area of around 50 acre only. Besides, having arrangement for the stray cattle, the Upvan would have space for the dogs, bulls/ox and even pigs. A small bird sanctuary around a lake is also proposed.

Indian Express  11.11.2010

Taking strong objection against the use of Dadoji Konddev stadium in Thane for cultural events, Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) Commissioner R A Rajeev has decided not to allow the stadium for any other activities other than sports.

The decision has been taken after officials and sportsmen had complained that little time was given for sports activities in the stadium. According to them, it becomes problematic for the TMC officials to deny permission as almost all cultural programmes have the support of some political party.

“As per the order, the stadium won’t be given for any commercial activity,” said Sandeep Malvi, officer-in-charge of the stadium. The stadium, according to TMC, will be upgraded to international level and more facilities will be made available there.

“Whenever the stadium is closed for cultural activities, the players go as far as Priyadarshini Park in Napean sea or Kandivili. The stadium doesn’t have synthetic tracks. During the cultural activities, the tracks are dug to erect tents because of which many players suffer injuries,” said Ajit Kulkarni who coaches athletes at the stadium. The stadium has facilities for badminton, cricket, table tennis and squash.