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General Administration

Nashik Municipal Corporation plans to fill posts on eve of panel's visit

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The Times of India          21.08.2013

Nashik Municipal Corporation plans to fill posts on eve of panel's visit

NASHIK: A day before the visit by the legislature's committee on womens' rights, the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has decided to fill vacant posts.

The NMC has 175 posts vacant for women, from class I-IV. These posts are to be filled during the forthcoming recruitment process. This was decided in a meeting of the officials a day prior to the visit of the Maharashtra Legislative Council's Women's Rights and Welfare Committee.

In a meeting on Tuesday, amid preparations for the visit of the women's committee, officials decided to fill up the vacancies of women during the recruitment of candidates in the NMC administration in a couple of months.

"We have to fill up 175 vacancies of women in the NMC. There have not been any recruitments in the NMC for nearly a decade. Last year, as per the government's orders, we began with the recruitment process and will be recruiting candidates in a couple of months," an NMC official told TOI.

On the vacancy of women employees, he said, "Many have retired and since there was no recruitment, the retired women employees have not been replaced either. The posts are vacant in all the classes. In the next phase of recruitment, we will fill up the vacancies," said the official.

A 30 per cent reservation for women in government offices had been declared in a resolution in 1994. "A few years back, there was a demand for 50 per cent reservation, but that has not been implemented so far," said the official.

50 percent women to be recruited temporarily for Simhastha

For the forthcoming Simhastha Kumbh Mela, 150 people are to be recruited on a temporary basis by the NMC, out of whom 50 per cent will be women. An NMC official said that the civic body will be recruiting 75 women for the Kumbh, but the issue has to be discussed at meetings.

 

Malls directed to display plastic carry bag prices

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The New Indian Express           21.08.2013 

Malls directed to display plastic carry bag prices

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has directed all the major malls and chain stores in Greater Hyderabad limits to display the prices of plastic carry bags they charge customers and also the discounts given on purchases if customers carry their own cloth or jute bags.

The list is to be displayed at the cash counters by September 15.

Municipal commissioner MT Krishna Babu, along with additional commissioner (H&S) L Vandan Kumar, held a meeting with major wholesale and retail dealers, shopping malls with regard to ban on usage of plastic carry bags and to encourage usage of cloth and jute bags as per the notification of the Union ministry of environment and forest.

The commissioner said customers, carrying their own cloth or jute bags to shops and purchase goods worth `500, should be given a discount of Rs 3 on the total purchase bill and a discount of `5  is proposed if the purchase value exceeds Rs 1,000. 

He said the main objective of the exercise is to discourage the use of plastic carry bags and not to harass shop owners.

Because customers were now being charged for the bags, the usage of plastic carry bags had come down by 40 percent in the last two years and shoppers started carrying their own cloth or jute bags, he claimed.

Representative of GVK One, Spencer’s Hyper Market, Mor Supermarket, Reliance Fresh Limited, Shopper’s Stoppe, City Mall, Big Bazaar, Food World, Ratnadeep Super Market, Rainbow Industries, Chintamani Plastic Industries, Balaji Grand Bazar, Durga Plastics, Popular Plastics and other reputed business managements and office-bearers of trade body FAPCCI, senior officials of the health wing of the municipal corporation participated in the meeting.

 

BBMP to raze collapsed building

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Deccan Herald              21.08.2013

BBMP to raze collapsed building

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will raze the building which collapsed at Someshwaranagar on Monday, with assistance from a Hyderabad firm.

Rescue operations by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services were completed by Tuesday evening.

As narrow lanes leading to the accident site are likely to impede the movement of heavy machines, the Palike has decided to rope in the Hyderabad firm. It has expertise in demolishing such structures without affecting neighbouring buildings. The firm will send a team with machines and tools in 12 hours, Palike sources said.

The firm is capable of razing structures up to a height of 60 feet. “It works in a slow but diligent manner. To flatten  the Someshwaranagar building, it may take at least three to four weeks,” a BBMP official said.

Meanwhile, two more bodies have been recovered.

People living in the vicinity have alleged that the building collapse has already caused irreparable damage to their houses. They apprehended that rescue operations would do further damage.

Shivkumar, who lives next to the apartment complex, said he had a close shave on Monday. He was going to take a bath when his wife Lakshmi observed large cracks in the wall of his first-floor apartment. Shivkumar ran out of the house immediately with his family. “We are yet to return. The BBMP is responsible and it has to compensate for the damage to our buildings,” he said.

Fears that the rescue operations could further damage the adjacent buildings came true on Tuesday, as the wall of a house next to the apartment complex collapsed, injuring the owner.

Rescue workers had dumped seven truckloads of mud next to the apartment complex to facilitate functioning of an excavator. Krishnappa said he had repeatedly objected to the piling of mud next to his house.

He feared that it might weaken the walls. His fears came true when rescue workers observed cracks in a wall against which the mud was piled up.

They immediately instructed the residents to evacuate the house.

Krishnappa told Deccan Herald that as he was moving out materials from the room, the wall collapsed on him. He sustained a head injury. He was admitted to hospital and discharged later in the day.

He said BBMP officials were responsible for the accident as they failed to check illegal construction even after repeated alerts by the neighbours. He said the BBMP officials should give it in writing that the neighbours will be compensated for any damage. 

Protests and chaos delayed the rescue operations by at least three hours on Tuesday.

 


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