Women from the mahila mandal federation in Chembur-Trombay slums prepare to contest future elections instead of relying on politicians .

While the apathy of current politicians has driven the youth to enroll as voters in large numbers in order to make a difference this election, ordinary women are preparing to contest future elections themselves instead of relying on politicians. Some 200 women from the Chembur-Trombay slums are aiming to become leaders in their community and city who can make a difference.

Women like Aneesa Ansari and Biju Bhosle are using their literacy to make a difference in the slum communities of Chembur-Trombay.After a taste of success in the elections held for the executive committee of the 8,000-member strong Mahila Mandal Federation that operates in the slums, these women are preparing to contest the civic elections to be held in 2011. One of them is Mumtaz Sheikh (25) from Vasi Naka.

She was never allowed to step out of her house, was beaten by her husband and led a painfully suppressed life at her in-laws house. Today she is a smart outgoing woman who has divorced the man who harassed her, remarried and settled in the same area.

Excerpt from CG+, reported by Divya Fernandez on 2nd May 2009: Read Full Article 

Could you ever imagine that a $200 (Rs 10000 per 100ml) perfume would be inspired by the fragrances of Chembur. Believe it or Not! It Has!

“Chembur” by Byredo is a oriental spicy fragrance for women and men. Chembur is a new fragrance and it was introduced in 2008. The fragrance features bergamot, lemon, ginger, temple incense, nutmeg, french labdanum, amber and vanilla and musk.This is an elegant unisex spicy scent that starts with bergamot and ginger and it proceeds in a honeyed resinous wonderfully textured drydown.

Byredo (By Redolence) is a Swedish Company founded by Ben Gorham who is maternal ties with Chembur. With a Swedish father, an Indian mother and a childhood shared between Canada and Sweden, Ben Gorham’s olfactory adventure with Chembur started, when he used to visit Chembur with his mother , who was born and brought up at “Joseph Haven ” built in 1935 on 11th road. Ben visited Chembur many times as a child and returned after almost 15 years to find the area developed. Lingering still, however, was the evocative incense from a Hindu temple that inspired him to capture it in a bottle.

Ben Gorhan has a degree in Fine Arts, and a career as a professional basketball player , started ByRedo (By Redolence) in 2006, and started testing the scented waters first with high quality candles, room sprays, soaps and body products.

Read more on this in CG+ by Divya Fernandez Chembur in a bottle

The staff of M-ward both East and West have a special reason to celebrate. The nine member theatre group all employees from this ward office located on Road No 1, bagged the first prize during the annual drama competition held by the civic corporation for all its employees across all the 24 wards in the city.

The competition was held on April 21, at Vile Parle.In the words of Sameer Walavalkar, who played the role of Rajninath in the drama, “We staged the play called Gidhade meaning Vulture.

This play was originally penned by Vijay Tendulkar. We have earlier performed this play during other competitions but it is for the first time we are winning the first prize. We used to practice after the office hours at the basement of M (E) office for almost two months.”

Excerpt from CG+, reported by Sujatha Subraman on 3nd May 2009: Read Full Article :Magic of Theatre

Residents of Chembur are fed up of traffic jams in the area due to various upcoming projects. Traffic literally moves at a snail’s pace during rush hours. The problem has become more serious after the monorail work began in the area.

Says Devesh Nath, resident of 10th road, “Earlier during the rush hours I used to take the R C Marg to reach the Eastern Expressway but now I avoid using the road even in the afternoon. Due to the monorail work and the haphazard parking near the Sahakari Bhandar on the road it takes nearly half an hour during peak hours even to reach Amar Mahal junction.”

Earlier Suman Nagar junction and Sion – Trombay road were the only bottlenecks in the area but now none of the roads are free of traffic jams. The reason behind this problem is that there are nearly six-seven projects going on simultaneously in the area which includes the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road and construction of monorail and flyover at Suman Nagar.

Excerpt from CG+, reported by Vibha Singh on 3rd May 2009: Read Full Article: Residents demand measures for smooth flow of traffic

In a survey conducted by the civic body for identifying chronic flooding spots on the roads in the area, the officials found out that out of Govandi and Mankhurd have the maximum number of bad patches (40). For residents of the area, bad roads are a part of their lives.

“The government and municipal authorities don’t pay attention to our problems even though we have all been complaining to the M-East ward office,” said Mahesh Ghanawat of Trader’s Association, an association of local shopkeepers.

Sheila Balakrishnan, a local resident, said, “When the rains set in, bad roads, accumulated waste and floods make living here a nightmare. The rain water mixes with industrial waste and we have to wade through the hazardous filth every day.” It is a bumpy ride on the other side of the tracks, too.
 

Excerpt from CG+, reported by Vibha Singh on 2nd May 2009: Read Full Article

Members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Chembur branch converged at Acres Club on April 25, to welcome Dr Rajni K Gwalani who took over as the president. Dr Gwalani who had been attached to the civic hospitals for more than three decades presently she runs a charity clinic at P L Lokhande Marg.

Officially, she was installed as president of IMA Chembur branch on April 25. Briefing us on some of her future plans Dr Rajni explained, “We will continue with our four-fold objectives and community oriented projects, particularly those meant to reach out to the economically weaker sections.

The four fold objectives of IMA
1. CME (Continous Medical Education)
2. Community service projects
3. Adopting an orphanage at Tilaknagar
4. Awareness camps.

Excerpt from CG+, reported by Sujatha Subraman on 3rd May 2009: Read Full Article

As reported in TOI on 5th May 2009 by Clara Lewis & Malathy Iyer

The ruling Shiv Sena in the BMC on Monday called for a ban on slaughter of pigs at the Deonar abattoir till the swine flu scare passes off. Sena corporator and leader of the BMC House, Sunil Prabhu, in a meeting with civic officials, demanded a ban on pig slaughter at the abattoir as well as a complete end to illegal slaughter of pigs in the city. “The BMC must also survey stray pigs in the city,” he said.

But additional municipal commissioner M V Sangle, who held talks with corporators, said there was no plan to ban the slaughter at the abattoir. “We will call a meeting of doctors from the veterinary college to ascertain how to deal with pigs. We shall carry out an inspection of all pigs being brought to the abattoir if they suggest that. So far, no case of flu has been reported among the local pigs,” he said.

Deonar abattoir general manager A D Jadhav said around 150 to 200 pigs were slaughtered daily at the abattoir. “These are country pigs which come from Jalgaon and other parts of Maharashtra as well as Gujarat and are locally consumed. We export only mutton and beef and that, too, only to the Gulf countries,” he said.