Alok says: A secular , progressive newspaper should not key / give chabi to any particular religious group. The 28 licenecs / NOC/ permission is for all and businessman suffer even more as the bribe and harrassment is much more.
Bella Jaisinghani is giving fire to fuel by her writings like this. And govt may give special sanctions to a particular religious groups reading this . Then others will feel sidelined and find favouritism. Then they will cry foul. And then some laws will be relaxed for other groups. And democracy turns in to anarchy.A leading newspapare like Times should not give such cheap comments. If they have to write they can say in Maharashtra one has to run to obtain 28 nods for a cultural show be it even a religious one. Instead of siding and enraging a particular community they can say simplifications are required and required fast for cultural events.
See below how Times have flared up communal angle to a harrassment by bureacrats. I think newspapers should make their own code of conduct so they dont make govt play in the hands of fanatics. .......Alok
In aamchi Mumbai, a Ganpati mandal show needs 28 nods
Mumbai: In an ironical twist to the quintessentially Marathi religious festival of Ganeshotsav, prominent Marathi-led Ganpati mandals are backing out of hosting cultural shows during the ten-day festivities. Organizers find they have to travel the length and breadth of the city and queue up for up to 28 different permissions from local and state authorities, throwing up a logistical nightmare they would rather avoid.
The voluntary task of hosting a Marathi drama festival this year turned out to be so tough for the organizers of the Andhericha Raja Ganpati that they abandoned their plan. "We realised we would have to procure more than 20 permits from the department of culture, police, traffic police, fire department, censor board, electricity board and the collector's office,'' says spokesperson Uday Salian. "It would take at least a month and a half to do so, by which time the drama festival would bear no relevance to Ganeshotsav.''
'Spare us the run-around'
Given the sensitive times we live in, most organizers shy away from expressing their frustration openly. Off the record though, they scoff at political statements demanding that citizens preserve and promote Marathi culture. The authorities, they say, are dampening the enthusiasm of those who volunteer to do so.
"Ganeshotsav, more than any other, is a festival of, for and by the Maharashtrian community,'' says a mandal spokesperson from Khetwadi. "But far from facilitating Marathi musical shows or plays,the government seems to put spokes in the wheel, forcing us to bribe our way past every window.''
Every time a public festival nears, event organizer Raju Savla suffers pangs of dread as he contemplates the multi-window "encounters'' ahead. "Whether Ganeshotsav or Navratri, one requires a minimum of 17 permissions, two more if the event is ticketed, and seven more if one is inviting foreign artistes. Sample this. If I make a simple car parking request for an outdoor event, my appeal would first go to the local traffic police, then the ACP, DCP and CP (traffic), before returning to the local branch.And this is just one of the 28-odd heads of permission I mentioned.''
In the event of his wanting to organize a sponsored drama, the collector would want to see his agreement with the sponsor and the CP (traffic) would call for "theatre branch'' permission. Separate NOCs would be demanded from the playwright, perhaps even the original director. Not only does one lose precious time, this also paves the way for corruption.
The oldest Ganesh mandal in the country, the Keshavji Naik Chawl Ganpati that was instituted by Lokmanya Tilak, has cultivated a reputation for putting up Marathi cultural shows during the festival. "We fill out every single form required, whether for loudspeakers, pandal, processions, music during processions, electrical meter and the like. But a positive change would be welcome. All we ask is the government do a background check on organisers, who are mostly reputed Maharashtrians, and avoid making us run around so much,'' says mandal president Vinod Satpute. He says
each community should be treated with an equal hand for procuring permissions.
Among those who have dared to surmount the odds this year is Shirish Parkar of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, who has planned a seven-day extravaganza in Vile Parle complete with a one-act play, classical music concerts and a beauty pageant. Parkar cautiously admits he has had to visit six or seven different departments, adding no short-cut methods will do. "It would be ideal to have single-window clearance, of course,'' he agrees.
Savla points to Andhra Pradesh and Bangalore which have one-window clearance systems for cultural performances. "In Gujarat you visit one window each at the civic body, collector and police,'' he says.
The voluntary task of hosting a Marathi drama festival this year turned out to be so tough for the organizers of the Andhericha Raja Ganpati that they abandoned their plan. "We realised we would have to procure more than 20 permits from the department of culture, police, traffic police, fire department, censor board, electricity board and the collector's office,'' says spokesperson Uday Salian. "It would take at least a month and a half to do so, by which time the drama festival would bear no relevance to Ganeshotsav.''
'Spare us the run-around'
Given the sensitive times we live in, most organizers shy away from expressing their frustration openly. Off the record though, they scoff at political statements demanding that citizens preserve and promote Marathi culture. The authorities, they say, are dampening the enthusiasm of those who volunteer to do so.
"Ganeshotsav, more than any other, is a festival of, for and by the Maharashtrian community,'' says a mandal spokesperson from Khetwadi. "But far from facilitating Marathi musical shows or plays,the government seems to put spokes in the wheel, forcing us to bribe our way past every window.''
Every time a public festival nears, event organizer Raju Savla suffers pangs of dread as he contemplates the multi-window "encounters'' ahead. "Whether Ganeshotsav or Navratri, one requires a minimum of 17 permissions, two more if the event is ticketed, and seven more if one is inviting foreign artistes. Sample this. If I make a simple car parking request for an outdoor event, my appeal would first go to the local traffic police, then the ACP, DCP and CP (traffic), before returning to the local branch.And this is just one of the 28-odd heads of permission I mentioned.''
In the event of his wanting to organize a sponsored drama, the collector would want to see his agreement with the sponsor and the CP (traffic) would call for "theatre branch'' permission. Separate NOCs would be demanded from the playwright, perhaps even the original director. Not only does one lose precious time, this also paves the way for corruption.
The oldest Ganesh mandal in the country, the Keshavji Naik Chawl Ganpati that was instituted by Lokmanya Tilak, has cultivated a reputation for putting up Marathi cultural shows during the festival. "We fill out every single form required, whether for loudspeakers, pandal, processions, music during processions, electrical meter and the like. But a positive change would be welcome. All we ask is the government do a background check on organisers, who are mostly reputed Maharashtrians, and avoid making us run around so much,'' says mandal president Vinod Satpute. He says
each community should be treated with an equal hand for procuring permissions.
Among those who have dared to surmount the odds this year is Shirish Parkar of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, who has planned a seven-day extravaganza in Vile Parle complete with a one-act play, classical music concerts and a beauty pageant. Parkar cautiously admits he has had to visit six or seven different departments, adding no short-cut methods will do. "It would be ideal to have single-window clearance, of course,'' he agrees.
Savla points to Andhra Pradesh and Bangalore which have one-window clearance systems for cultural performances. "In Gujarat you visit one window each at the civic body, collector and police,'' he says.
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1. looking to buy motorized tread mill
2. Want maid to look after Sr. citizens
3. looking for place for charitable dental clinic 250 sq ft approx.
4.looking for 5000 sq ft space on nominal lease for holiday care ( 10 to 15 days) center for immobile Sr. citizens ( so care-giving family members can become free to attend to more pressing issues .
5. looking for reliable waterproofing applicator . Pl. recommend.
6. Want 2nd hand M S Grill gate for old building.
1. looking to buy motorized tread mill
2. Want maid to look after Sr. citizens
3. looking for place for charitable dental clinic 250 sq ft approx.
4.looking for 5000 sq ft space on nominal lease for holiday care ( 10 to 15 days) center for immobile Sr. citizens ( so care-giving family members can become free to attend to more pressing issues .
5. looking for reliable waterproofing applicator . Pl. recommend.
6. Want 2nd hand M S Grill gate for old building.
Garage Sale:
want to sell sewing machine
manual tread mill
mini water cooler
Maruti Omni 2006
PIII desk top
want to sell sewing machine
manual tread mill
mini water cooler
Maruti Omni 2006
PIII desk top
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