On Sunday, violence erupted in Mumbai (not again…). Taxi-drivers, paan-wallas and ‘outsiders’ (read UPites and Biharis) were the target of assault by frenzied MNS supporters. In an is-it-related-or-not incident, Amitabh Bachchan’s house was attacked the next day, spurred by resentment towards his move to set up a girls’ school in Uttar Pradesh rather than Maharashtra.

I was at home on Horror Monday (Can we call it that? – We’d probably have to name at least one day each month for the sundry episodes of communal clashes that errupt so frequently in this so-called cosmopolitan metropolis). The news channels had a field day running and re-running the clips of a taxi-driver being dragged out of his car and beaten to pulp and soundbytes with the public expressing their outrage at this breach of peace.
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IN 1993, President Clinton named October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the third Friday in October as National Mammography Day in the U.S. The rest of the world was quick to adopt this new American tradition. India too is no exception to this. The incidence of breast cancer is increasing rapidly in India and it has overtaken cancer of the cervix, statistics reveal. Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting females. The rise is being documented mainly in the metros, but it can be safely said that many cases in rural areas go unnoticed. It is reported that one in 22 women in India is likely to suffer from breast cancer during her lifetime. Sadly Indian women not only from suburban cities but even from big metropolitans like mumbai tend to neglect themselves in between various roles they have to play on a day to day basis.

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First it was Orange…..

Then it was Pink …

And now it is Red.
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Okay, I know he hasn’t been arrested as yet but it’s just matter of sometime now.

Sessions Court in Jodhpur which upheld the five-year jail term for actor Salman Khan in the Chinkara poaching case, turning down the actor’s appeal against his sentencing last year. The actor failed to appear for the hearing, saying he missed the flight to Jodhpur from Hyderabad where he is currently shooting.

Salman will now be arrested unless he surrenders before the court himself. [IBN Live]

It’s astonishing isn’t it, the way our thinking works? When Sanjay Dutt was handed with 6 years prison sentence, I felt a little bad but overall was happy with the outcome. As they say, “Justice had prevailed”, though I know there are many who would argue with me on this.

But the thing that bothered me the most since Sanjay Dutt’s punishment was what would become of my favorite Salman Khan. To make things clear, no I am not delusional – I am well aware of the fact that many across the nation are more sympathetic towards Sanjay but not Salman. To the actor’s disadvantage, his past (besides the crimes committed) has a lot to do with it as well – troubled relationships, scandals, (rumored) underworld connection, dadagiri and the likes.

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Okay, now before you get the wrong impression – it’s not that I have some personal vendetta against actor Sanjay Dutt and so what if I get teased (a lot) as his long-distance twin. What truly bothers me here is the lengthy time-line taken by our judiciary system, to come to a decision. But then again this isn’t just a one off trail; the same “delay” continues to be smacked upon tons and tons of cases nation-wide.

Hopefully July 31^st would put an end to the ever-going Sanjay Dutt Trail – either the man’s probation plea gets rejected or he is allowed to walk off with freedom for good.

Judge Kode had earlier declared that Dutt was not a terrorist but had found him guilty under the Arms Act for illegal possession of an AK-47 and other weapons. If the actor’s probation plea for suspension of sentence (on grounds of good conduct) is tossed out, then he could be sent behind bars for a maximum term of five years.

And if one takes into account Judge Kode tough stance, he has sentenced as many as 11 convicts to death; the above scenario seems to be the most likely outcome. Plus sitting behind Yakub Menon in the TADA court while he was handed with “death sentence” must have surely done some damage to Dutt’s moral.

Personally speaking, I think Sanjay Dutt’s probation plea should be rejected. Since he has been convicted under the Arms Act, he needs to be suitably punished for it. As they say – You do the Crime, You do the Time. Obviously the sentencing should take into account his 18 months already served in prison, I guess a slightly lenient term of a year sounds more appropriate.

On the other hand, if Dutt is set free, this decision may not go down well with the certain sections of the society and many others prosecuted under the 1993 blasts case.

Now whether his blue striped shirt and denim pants would help clean out the voodoo off him (and Bollywood), well only time will tell – me just praying for an end, once and for all.

While the weather condition did not get as worse as it had back on July 25^th 2005, Mumbai city did however come to a stand-still. And just like the last time, Juhu ended up being one of the most affected areas in the city.

Took these snaps late early Saturday evening while on my way to the airport in Santacruz to drop off my brother. And believe me, what you see here is the just the tip of the iceberg. Wonder what’s July going to be like!

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The Item Girl that the whole country loves to hate, donned a civic persona today.

There was an unusual visitor at the BMC headquarters to meet Commissioner Jairaj Phatak on Friday. Item girl Rakhi Sawant had a civic item on her agenda this time.

“Despite repeated complaints from Oshiwara residents in Serenity Complex, the place where I live, Phatak had time to only visit Oshiwara for a club inauguration 4 days back. After today’s meeting, we have some hope. There are open drains outside my gate. Two children were injured after they fell into the gutter,” said Sawant. [link]

Its nice to see that she is putting her brains and star power to work for a good cause. Now all you Rakhi Sawant bashers, be quiet till tomorrow. Then start again.

It is a well known fact that the air we breathe in “aamchi mumbai” is far from the fresh air that we need.

And now a study by the TIFR confirms this. But wait, the major culprit is not cars. Its garbage. Yes the garbage that you and me and everyone else generates in bucketloads.

A survey conducted by Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) has put light on a hazardous fact — half of Mumbai has become a gas chamber.

This means the air is not hygienic anymore. Garbage is the main culprit for this, not traffic.

According to the study, residents between Byculla and Mahim on the western side and Byculla to Ghatkopar and Chembur on the eastern suburbs are the major victims.

TIFR also says that burning garbage at the 100-hectare dumping ground north of Chembur-Vashi road has affected Mumbai’s eastern suburbs.[link]

And here is a small example of the quantum of garbage that the sea throws back at us

Very soon we will need gas masks to live in the city.

In a first for our country, the civic budget of a city will be available online and nearly in real-time.

For the discerning tax-payer who wants to know what the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has done with his hard-earned money, the civic body has taken one giant step forward in transparency. In a first of its kind in the country, the richest civic body will make its annual budget available at the click of a mouse.[link]

For a country that is the IT backoffice to the whole world, we are still lagging in online governmental services. However things have improved by leaps and bounds in the last few years and I was really pleased to file for my PAN card online and have it delivered to my home in a three week period.

Check out the city’s official website for more information about Mumbai.

Bombay has a large population of Nigerian and other West African students who come to study at city colleges. However in the past few months Nigerians have come onto the radar for all the wrong reasons. At the begining of the year a Nigerian duo was caught while trying to pull off the Nigerian 419 scam.

And yesterday another quartet was apprehended during a drug bust. However

A group of four Nigerian nationals today assaulted and injured two constables who tried to nab them for allegedly carrying narcotics, a senior police official said.

During a raid carried out in Vakola in the early hours, a police party attempted to arrest the group of Nigerians who were allegedly carrying cocaine, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Anti-Narcotics Cell) Dilip Srirao told PTI. [link]

I guess a few bad apples spoil the basket. Nigerian students in the city should get together and make sure their names are not sullied and they don’t get stereotyped into something not too popular.