Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007
Monsoon, water shortage and water contamination
Every year it happens. Monsoon comes but water shortage remains as it is. Only addition is threat of water contamination. Delhi Jal Board officials talk about this problem in a manner that you will feel that they are harassed by all this and not responsible for this. Many sewage pipes run parallel to water supply pipes. Most of them are leaking as they are old and rusty. DJB offoicial says that in monsoon mixing of sewage water with drinking water is not an uncommon phenomenon. They are doing their best to solve the problem, and they are doing it for last many years.
Where is Delhi CM one wonders. You can see her on Delhi Govt ads regularly published in newspapers by misusing public money.
Delhi citizens have created a record of being harassed by maximum number of organizations - distcoms, DJB, property tax, heath department, police, auto drivers, blueline buses, thieves, robbers, killers.
Added on 08.09.2007
Monsoon is over. water shortage remains and remains water borne diseases. Govt ads funded by public money continue having photo of Delhi CM.
Where is Delhi CM one wonders. You can see her on Delhi Govt ads regularly published in newspapers by misusing public money.
Delhi citizens have created a record of being harassed by maximum number of organizations - distcoms, DJB, property tax, heath department, police, auto drivers, blueline buses, thieves, robbers, killers.
Added on 08.09.2007
Monsoon is over. water shortage remains and remains water borne diseases. Govt ads funded by public money continue having photo of Delhi CM.
Sexual harassment at work place
The work place is Delhi University. The victim of sexual harassment is a lady OSD at Gandhi Bhawan. The harasser is its Director Vidyut Chakravarty. More than a month after the inquiry report which is known to have found Vidyut Chakravarty guilty, there has been no action on the part of the university. The person responsible for no action is none other than Vice Chancellor of Delhi University.
Despite stringent rules in place to contain and counter sexual harassment at the work place Delhi University has consistently been in the throes of one controversy or the other. Women teachers and non-teaching staff say that the issue is not regulations, but their non-implementation. It points at DU VC again.
Delhi University has its own Hall of Shame of sexual harassment cases.
Added on 30.08.2007 - Believe it or not
Delhi university Vive-chancellor Deepak Pental has rewarded Bidyut Chakravarty for sexual harassment by nominating him for a prestigious national fellowship. Pental is sleeping over the report which found Vidyut guilty. What message it conveys. Harass women sexually and VC will be happy with you.
Despite stringent rules in place to contain and counter sexual harassment at the work place Delhi University has consistently been in the throes of one controversy or the other. Women teachers and non-teaching staff say that the issue is not regulations, but their non-implementation. It points at DU VC again.
Delhi University has its own Hall of Shame of sexual harassment cases.
Added on 30.08.2007 - Believe it or not
Delhi university Vive-chancellor Deepak Pental has rewarded Bidyut Chakravarty for sexual harassment by nominating him for a prestigious national fellowship. Pental is sleeping over the report which found Vidyut guilty. What message it conveys. Harass women sexually and VC will be happy with you.
Dettol ad - it needs verification
Dettol is advertising on TV that their product is certified by Indian Medical Association (IMA) . But if you visit IMA website, you will not find any details of any third-party product certification scheme. As per information available with me, there is only BIS who operates third-party product certification scheme, under which they allow manufacturers to put ISI mark on their products. BIS officers regularly visit factories of their licensees, check records (kept as per BIS Scheme of Testing & Inspection), test samples in the factory and draw samples for testing in an independent laboratory. in addition to this, BIS officers also purchase samples from the market and get them tested in an independent laboratory.
I don't think that IMA has such infrastructure and expertise to run a third-party product certification scheme. This ad inserted by Dettol certainly need verification.
I don't think that IMA has such infrastructure and expertise to run a third-party product certification scheme. This ad inserted by Dettol certainly need verification.
Delhi citizens are at mercy of auto drivers
Delhi Govt has recently increased auto fares. It was done without consulting the people. Fares were raised just like that. The hike is very steep, but who bothers about the people who are suffering under steep price rise of essential commodities, power and water problems and unsafe Delhi roads. Delhi CM and her transport Minister never travel by autos.
Fares were raised but auto drivers were not even informally advised to improve their behaviour, to not refuse passengers, not to charge more and drive autos in a disciplined manner. Citizens are paying more but still are being harassed by auto drivers. Today I wanted to hire an auto from Vikas Puri to Paschim Puri in west Delhi. Five autos were there but all of them refused. 'Nahin jana hai' they said and continued with their chatting.
Every morning I go to school bus stop with my grand daughter. Nearby there is an unauthorized auto stand. They park their autos in a most irregular manner without bothering about the inconvenience they are causing to people. I see them refusing passengers. Passenger are forced to walk down the road in search of a passing auto, who might agree to take them.
Who is responsible for taming these monsters? Delhi CM and her Transport Minister are busy in getting their photos printed on Ads given by public money.
Fares were raised but auto drivers were not even informally advised to improve their behaviour, to not refuse passengers, not to charge more and drive autos in a disciplined manner. Citizens are paying more but still are being harassed by auto drivers. Today I wanted to hire an auto from Vikas Puri to Paschim Puri in west Delhi. Five autos were there but all of them refused. 'Nahin jana hai' they said and continued with their chatting.
Every morning I go to school bus stop with my grand daughter. Nearby there is an unauthorized auto stand. They park their autos in a most irregular manner without bothering about the inconvenience they are causing to people. I see them refusing passengers. Passenger are forced to walk down the road in search of a passing auto, who might agree to take them.
Who is responsible for taming these monsters? Delhi CM and her Transport Minister are busy in getting their photos printed on Ads given by public money.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Credit cards - convenience or harassment
Credit cards were started to make financial transactions convenient. One can not carry hard cash all the time. It is risky also. But over the period, credit cards have become a source of harassment.
Me and my son are member of RCI, the time sharing company. It got into an arrangement with Standard Chartered Bank and offered us a credit card. The bank issued us two credit cards, one for me and one for my son. My son travels a lot and he used the card very frequently. Slowly we discovered that it would be advisable for us to check the bills sent by the bank very thoroughly, as there might be wrong entries causing us financial loss.
We discovered that bank was charging interest from us for late payment, whereas we had made payments well before the payment date. Now, every time the bill comes, we will have to make two to three calls to the bank to tell them that we had made payment well before the date and how can they charge the late interest. They will check it, say sorry and interest will be reversed. This had become a routine.
Now the credit card was more of a harassment than any convenience to us. In November 2006, we asked the bank to cancel the card. They will give all sort of assurances but the process of adding late payment interest will continue. We will receive phone calls at inconvenient hours from different people. Some of them will call us defaulters in payment. The damn card had become a nightmare for us.
Now after many months, they had blocked the card. But the harassment continues. The phone calls keep coming telling us to make outstanding payment. The callers are not interested in listening to our side that we have made all payments and nothing is outstanding. When we ask them to send us their details of outstanding, they say that as per bank rules they can not send the details in writing. Such illogical stand by a multi-national bank is difficult to understand.
Sometimes I feel that our Indian system is best. No credit cards, no purchasing on credits, no tension, no harassment.
Me and my son are member of RCI, the time sharing company. It got into an arrangement with Standard Chartered Bank and offered us a credit card. The bank issued us two credit cards, one for me and one for my son. My son travels a lot and he used the card very frequently. Slowly we discovered that it would be advisable for us to check the bills sent by the bank very thoroughly, as there might be wrong entries causing us financial loss.
We discovered that bank was charging interest from us for late payment, whereas we had made payments well before the payment date. Now, every time the bill comes, we will have to make two to three calls to the bank to tell them that we had made payment well before the date and how can they charge the late interest. They will check it, say sorry and interest will be reversed. This had become a routine.
Now the credit card was more of a harassment than any convenience to us. In November 2006, we asked the bank to cancel the card. They will give all sort of assurances but the process of adding late payment interest will continue. We will receive phone calls at inconvenient hours from different people. Some of them will call us defaulters in payment. The damn card had become a nightmare for us.
Now after many months, they had blocked the card. But the harassment continues. The phone calls keep coming telling us to make outstanding payment. The callers are not interested in listening to our side that we have made all payments and nothing is outstanding. When we ask them to send us their details of outstanding, they say that as per bank rules they can not send the details in writing. Such illogical stand by a multi-national bank is difficult to understand.
Sometimes I feel that our Indian system is best. No credit cards, no purchasing on credits, no tension, no harassment.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
People suffer, as Delhi Govt is ineffective and inefficient
Capital is limping, commuters are suffering and waiting for hours, autos are picking up pockets, innocent citizens are being killed by killer buses, but Delhi Govt is saying "bear with us". A bus passes Delhi Govt Test, goes out and kills another innocent citizen, but Delhi CM says "bear wit us".
PM Manmohan Singh is not able to sleep as an Indian Muslim is charged for terror acts in distant countries UK/Australia, but his sleep is not disturbed by murders of innocent citizens on Delhi roads under his nose.
Is this a new problem? No, an age old problem. Everybody knows about it but Delhi Govt. had been unaware. Or was it aware but did not consider it a problem? The fact is that Delhi Govt has failed in its duty to provide a comfortable, punctual, reliable bus service to Delhi citizens and protect their lives from the buses licensed by it to run on Delhi roads. Delhi CM and her transport minister are responsible for deaths of many Delhi citizens caused by these buses. Along with the drivers and owners of killer buses, they should also be charged for allowing them to murder innocent citizens.
Life of Indian citizens is not that cheap as it is being considered by the Govt. A mother goes under lot of pain to give birth to a child, then parents take lot of pains to raise them, and one day a killer bus comes and kills them. AND DELHI CM SAYS BEAR WITH US.
Added on 28.07.07
Govt checks the buses and allow them to run on the road. Yesterday a bus, checked and cleared, killed a cyclist. Machine was checked but not the man. Has Delhi Govt fixed a target of people to be killed by these killer buses?
Added on 05.08.2007
In an interview Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi, India, says – ‘If I fail to resolve problems of citizens, there’s no point in my being in Chief Minister’s chair’.
If words have any meaning for her, she should have vacated the chair long back.
I am a citizen of Delhi, living here for last 32 years. I am proud of the city, but my pride has been hurt by Delhi Govt. When people say that Delhi is the crime capital of India, it hurts me. I can not defend my city. It is a fact that Delhi citizens are not safe on roads, not even in their homes. Delhi police, meant to protect citizens and their property, harass them, torture them in police lock-ups, and even kill them. Citizens do not get water and power to meet their needs. Babus sitting in Govt offices do not work without taking money under the table. Buses kill citizens as a routine.
Perhaps Sheila Dikshit, while saying above, had politicians in mind, as only politicians seem to the citizens of Delhi. Rest are unwanted intruders. You will not believe it but she said so recently.
PM Manmohan Singh is not able to sleep as an Indian Muslim is charged for terror acts in distant countries UK/Australia, but his sleep is not disturbed by murders of innocent citizens on Delhi roads under his nose.
Is this a new problem? No, an age old problem. Everybody knows about it but Delhi Govt. had been unaware. Or was it aware but did not consider it a problem? The fact is that Delhi Govt has failed in its duty to provide a comfortable, punctual, reliable bus service to Delhi citizens and protect their lives from the buses licensed by it to run on Delhi roads. Delhi CM and her transport minister are responsible for deaths of many Delhi citizens caused by these buses. Along with the drivers and owners of killer buses, they should also be charged for allowing them to murder innocent citizens.
Life of Indian citizens is not that cheap as it is being considered by the Govt. A mother goes under lot of pain to give birth to a child, then parents take lot of pains to raise them, and one day a killer bus comes and kills them. AND DELHI CM SAYS BEAR WITH US.
Added on 28.07.07
Govt checks the buses and allow them to run on the road. Yesterday a bus, checked and cleared, killed a cyclist. Machine was checked but not the man. Has Delhi Govt fixed a target of people to be killed by these killer buses?
Added on 05.08.2007
In an interview Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi, India, says – ‘If I fail to resolve problems of citizens, there’s no point in my being in Chief Minister’s chair’.
If words have any meaning for her, she should have vacated the chair long back.
I am a citizen of Delhi, living here for last 32 years. I am proud of the city, but my pride has been hurt by Delhi Govt. When people say that Delhi is the crime capital of India, it hurts me. I can not defend my city. It is a fact that Delhi citizens are not safe on roads, not even in their homes. Delhi police, meant to protect citizens and their property, harass them, torture them in police lock-ups, and even kill them. Citizens do not get water and power to meet their needs. Babus sitting in Govt offices do not work without taking money under the table. Buses kill citizens as a routine.
Perhaps Sheila Dikshit, while saying above, had politicians in mind, as only politicians seem to the citizens of Delhi. Rest are unwanted intruders. You will not believe it but she said so recently.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Harassment by Passport Office
Regional Passport Office at Delhi does not lag behind in harassing its customers. It talks of Tatkal schemes but for routine processing of passports it has no bench marks.
It has a most useless website. The page 'Status of your application' probably does not exist. Any time you click on it, it shows error 'Not Found'. For last one month I am not able to access it. When I decided to send feedback and clicked on 'Contact Us' the source opened and not the page. Webmaster seems to have forgotten to close the tag. WHAT IS THE USE OF HAVING SUCH A WEBSITE?
My son applied for renewal of his passport. The application was submitted at Pitam Pura District office on 08.06.2007. It was yet another unpleasant experience. Although all originals were verified, photo copies were taken, but after some days we were visited by a policeman. He said he had come for verification. Again all originals were shown to him, photo copies were given, forms were signed. But renewed passport has still not arrived.
When we visit their website the relevant pages do not open. A clear case of harassment, wasting time and resources of citizens.
Visit the link if you wish to have real experience:
REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICE
Edited on 24.07.2007
After I could not get any positive response on the website I sent an e-mail (address provided on website) to rpodelhi@mea.gov.in, but it bounced with remarks - "The addresses had permanent fatal errors (reason: 550 5.1.1 <rpodelhi@mea.gov.in>... User unknown).
So, this is the website of India's External Affairs Ministry and its e-mail address. And they were considering the minister for making him President of India - rewarding for harassing the people.
Added on 05.08.2007
Site is still down. E-mail are still not being accepted. Message shown is - ----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors ----- <rpodelhi@mea.gov.in> (reason: 550 5.1.1 <rpodelhi@mea.gov.in>... User unknown).
Today I have sent an e-mail to Chief Passport Officer. LET US SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
It has a most useless website. The page 'Status of your application' probably does not exist. Any time you click on it, it shows error 'Not Found'. For last one month I am not able to access it. When I decided to send feedback and clicked on 'Contact Us' the source opened and not the page. Webmaster seems to have forgotten to close the tag. WHAT IS THE USE OF HAVING SUCH A WEBSITE?
My son applied for renewal of his passport. The application was submitted at Pitam Pura District office on 08.06.2007. It was yet another unpleasant experience. Although all originals were verified, photo copies were taken, but after some days we were visited by a policeman. He said he had come for verification. Again all originals were shown to him, photo copies were given, forms were signed. But renewed passport has still not arrived.
When we visit their website the relevant pages do not open. A clear case of harassment, wasting time and resources of citizens.
Visit the link if you wish to have real experience:
REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICE
Edited on 24.07.2007
After I could not get any positive response on the website I sent an e-mail (address provided on website) to rpodelhi@mea.gov.in, but it bounced with remarks - "The addresses had permanent fatal errors (reason: 550 5.1.1 <rpodelhi@mea.gov.in>... User unknown).
So, this is the website of India's External Affairs Ministry and its e-mail address. And they were considering the minister for making him President of India - rewarding for harassing the people.
Added on 05.08.2007
Site is still down. E-mail are still not being accepted. Message shown is - ----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors ----- <rpodelhi@mea.gov.in> (reason: 550 5.1.1 <rpodelhi@mea.gov.in>... User unknown).
Today I have sent an e-mail to Chief Passport Officer. LET US SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare - An Uninterative Website
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has a Website - http://mohfw.nic.in/ph/tdghs.htm, but it is not interactive. I wanted information whether the ministry has issued a circular to diagnostic centers to obtain third party accreditation from NABL. I also wanted to know how the ministry is implementing RTI Act and who are the Public Information Officers. These informations are not directly found on the website. When I searched the site, I came across a link Circulars and RTI Act. But on clicking a message came that these links are forbidden (invalid URL). How can information on RTI Act be forbidden?
Then I decided to send feedback on this. I clicked on the link and a form appeared on the screen. I filled it and clicked on Submit button. A funny message appeared - "Sorry!! Pl. fill up the form first then submit. I checked again and again but could not find any blank in the feedback form but on submitting this message continued to appear.
What is the use of such a website? It is not interactive. Majority of Govt. websites designed by NIC are like this.
Ministry is also law bound to display information on RTI Act but it is forbidden.
Funny will you say? I think it is harassment.
Then I decided to send feedback on this. I clicked on the link and a form appeared on the screen. I filled it and clicked on Submit button. A funny message appeared - "Sorry!! Pl. fill up the form first then submit. I checked again and again but could not find any blank in the feedback form but on submitting this message continued to appear.
What is the use of such a website? It is not interactive. Majority of Govt. websites designed by NIC are like this.
Ministry is also law bound to display information on RTI Act but it is forbidden.
Funny will you say? I think it is harassment.
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