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www.dnaindia.com epaper.dnaindia.com 5 Mumbai, Tuesday, April 27, 2010 MUMBAI Mihika Basu A fresh controversy has erupt- ed over the new search com- mittee appointed for selecting the vice chancellor for Mum- bai University. Jayant Jain, president, Forum for Fairness in Education — an NGO — has written a letter to the gov- ernor and chancellor of uni- versities in the state, K Sankaranarayana, against the appointment of Ashok Ko- laskar as the chairman of the new search committee. Jain’s letter states that Ko- laskar does not have the req- uisite qualifications to head the committee. “As per the records we have, Kolaskar is not eligible to head the com- mittee. We have sent the let- ter to the governor’s office on Monday,” said Jain. The committee under the chairmanship of Kolaskar was constituted in March after the previous committee under professor Andre Beteille was dissolved as “various issues were raised regarding the va- lidity of its constitution”. Ac- cording to regulations, the three-member committee has to be headed by a member who is nominated by the governor and must be a retired judge of the Supreme Court, or a re- tired chief justice of a high court, or an eminent scientist of national repute, or a recipi- ent of Padma award in the field of education. However, Kolaskar said: “I don’t know what their doubts are. My qualifications are well-known and they are also available on the web. The gov- ernor has appointed me after looking at my qualifications.” V-C search panel chief’s eligibility questioned Ninad Siddhaye The city’s first metro corri- dor got a major boost on Mon- day as the Mumbai Metro- politan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) decided to temporarily relocate the 106 families residing at the Sarvodaya Hospital staff quarters in Ghatkopar. The staff quarters being too close to the metro route between Versova and Ghatkopar, the MMRDA had warned resi- dents about the possibility of an accident since the metro construction could create a lot of tremors. Even the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had declared the quar- ters unsafe for occupation in 2001. However, the residents being tenants were running from pillar to post to get re- habilitated as none of the or- ganisations were talking about rehabilitation. But with the MMRDA under lot of pressure to complete the metro on time, the authority has finally offered temporary accommodation to the resi- dents at a rehabilitation and resettlement colons in Nahur. Earlier the residents were offered temporary rehabili- tation at Gautam Nagar in Deonar, but after discus- sions, it has been now decid- ed to shift them to Nahur. They can move back into the staff quarters after the build- ing is repaired or as soon as the metro work is completed. Sarvodaya residents will move to Nahur Priya Ramakrishnan While summer vacations for most is a time for fun and frol- ic, several city students plan to spend it fruitfully, either seeking vacation jobs or vol- unteering at local NGOs. Even schools have started their own community awareness pro- grammes (CAP) that encour- age students to spend their long vacations productively. At Billabong High School, Malad, students spend their vacation helping children from the neighbouring slums get free education. The school, which launched the initiative Kshitej — a social- ly inclusive education drive, is encouraging students to spend two weeks of their va- cation to educate the slum children. “We want our students to be socially responsible and so we have initiated this pro- gramme to also to develop volunteering spirit. Students from Std IX and X teach the slum children basic subjects twice a week,” said Kusum Kanwar, head of school op- erations, Kangaroo Kids Ed- ucation Limited (KKEL). Prashant Gidwal, a student from KJ Somaiya College, Vidhyavihar, has already ap- plied to volunteer at Akankha, an NGO that helps educate underprivileged chil- dren from slum areas. “My friend and I wanted to con- tribute at least part of our time for a charitable cause. We also thought it will help us broaden our own experiences with a volunteering stint in NGOs,” Prashant said. For students like Gidwal, who are interested in volun- teering for social causes, there are plenty of opportu- nities available. “We appre- ciate students who want to volunteer and spend time with our mentally chal- lenged children,” said Hem- lata Dhoot, principal, Val- abhdas Dagara Indian Soci- ety (VDIS) for the mentally challenged. Mihika Basu A group of students from Mumbai’s HR College will keep their counterparts from across the country busy in the sum- mer vacations. The students, part of the college’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) chapter, are offering an innovative sum- mer internship programme — My Project Chirag — which in- volves lighting up electricity deprived villages. SIFE is an international or- ganisation with presence in over 45 countries and SIFE HRC is the HR College chapter of the organisation in India. “The internship involves various aspects, right from market research where stu- dents have to find villages that have no access to any kind of electricity to estimating cost of the entire project based on the number of houses. They also have to raise funds by put- ting into work their marketing skills. It’s open to students of colleges, schools, engineering institutes and business schools,” said Jyotirmoy Chat- terji, president, SIFE HRC. The internship will be for duration of two to four weeks. “We are looking at electrifying villages in Maharashtra, North India, Gujarat and Ker- ala through the programme this summer,” Chatterji added. Subsequently, while under- taking production, students will have to work with the paraplegic community (phys- ically challenged) for assem- bling solar equipments. That will be followed by quality testing of the products man- ufactured. “The final stage will be project execution, where the interns along with HR College SIFE volunteers will go and electrify the vil- lage. On successful comple- tion of the programme, stu- dents will be awarded a cer- tificate by HR College and SIFE HRC. An internship let- ter with complete details with regards to the student’s in- volvement in the project will also be given,” said Chatterji. He added that through the internship, students will be able to put in practice most management functions they learn in a classroom. They will do market research, hu- man resource management, financial planning, quality control, production planning and strategy management, among others. The college has so far re- ceived over 100 applications from across India of students who want to enroll for the in- ternship. Besides, 24 stu- dents from HR College have already joined. “We are get- ting a great response. Stu- dents from engineering and MBA institutes, regular col- leges and even schools have applied. We are in the process of putting them into groups and once that is done, they will begin the work,” Chatterji said. “Apart from the credibility of having ex- ecuted such a project which, we believe, is at par with any corporate internship, stu- dents will get certification from a recognised body, thus adding value to their resume as being part of a youth-led social initiative.” Students interested in being part of the internship can send an email to myprojectchirag@gmail.com. Linah Baliga Bottled mineral water is sell- ing like hot cakes in Amboli, Andheri (West). Reason: Around 5,000 households in the locality are being supplied yellowish faecal water by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the past eight days. It is impossible to drink the water as it tastes and smells awful. The residents are using bottled mineral water even to rinse their mouths after brushing in the morning. All housing societies near Yadav Nagar, such as Shri Kunjavihar and Shagufta buildings, each housing 60 families, are getting water that smells of faeces. “We are using bottled water to brush teeth. We do not want to end up having jaundice, or with skin infections,” Rohini Loke, a resident of Shri Kun- javihar cooperative housing society, said. She added that their locali- ty is full of miscreants who break open water pipes to sell water. “It is possible that while breaking open a water pipe, they broke a sewage pipe too, and that is leading to wa- ter contamination.” “Not all families can af- ford packaged water. So, they let the water flow for 15 min- utes. They either drop alum crystals in water, or boil it before consuming it,” Vaib- hav Shettye, another resi- dent, said. His neighbour, Pradeep Dongre, said, “We have com- plained to the local corpora- tor. Our children are the most affected. Even our throats have started hurting.” “This is happening as most of the pipelines are old. When the water pipelines had been first laid, there were no sewage lines next to them. The BMC has messed it all up by mindlessly laying sewage pipelines right beside water pipelines,” Hyginus D’Lima, a civic activist from Andheri, said. Assistant municipal com- missioner (K-ward) Ramesh Pawar said, “It is a serious sit- uation. The local corporators never brought it to my notice. I will take immediate steps to rectify the problem.” These Amboli locals use mineral water even to rinse their mouths This summer, interns will light up villages FOR A CAUSE: The student intern demonstrates how to use a portable light to a villager HR College and Students in Free Enterprise, an international organisation, are offering a unique summer internship programme for students Students use vacations to help their needy counterparts Sewage pipe burst results in 5,000 households getting faecal water supply My friend and I wanted to contribute at least part of our time to a charitable cause. We also thought it will help us broaden our own experiences with a volunteering stint in NGOs.” —Prashant Gidwal student, KJ Somaiya College WATER WOES: The spot (left) where the pipeline leak has resulted in sewage getting mixed with BMC water. (Above) Locals in the area show bottles of contaminated water that smells of faeces —BL SONI.DNA
