mrityunjaybose

Warriors of the Earth MRITYUNJAY BOSE They are the ‘Warriors of the Earth’ – the coal miners. Coal being the prime mover of the industry - these unsung heroes plays a major role in the economy risking their lives deep inside the Earth 24x7x365. When we compare mining vis-à-vis Maharashtra, the Chandrapur district in Vidarbha region is known as the ‘City of Black Gold’ – the sobriquet aptly suggests of collieries. With only layman’s idea about mining, I visited deep inside the Earth at Chandrapur to know more about mining. “The Vidarbha Valley belt has rich coal reserves,” says A R S Reddy, Manager of Hindustan Lalpeth Colliery No 1, an entity of Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL) as he comes out from a mine along with S Ansari, chief of WCL’s Internal Safety Organisation after inspecting the mine for several hours. Mines and safety go side by side – and India is today the third largest producer of coal in the world. When it comes to basic of mining, there are two types of mine – the “open ca...

The Guide of Tadoba He may not have the looks of Dev Anand, but he is like Raju, the protagonist of R K Narayan’s ‘The Guide’, the tour guide who turns a spiritual guide. For Vasant Sonule, who is a guide at the Tadoba-Andhari National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary at Chandrapur, he not only tells tales of tiger but also couples it with nature, philosophy and spiritualism. The most sought after guide, he is in high demand among Indian and foreign tourists – and as a matter of fact, he mesmerises his customers from the volume of information that he has on every subject under the Sun. “You cannot be an angry young man inside a jungle,” says Vasant as he starts the tour of Tadoba, one of the places in India where tigers can be seen roaming in the jungles. “Chances of spotting a tigers are not that easy in the jungles, much of it depends on luck. You may not be able to see it, but he is seeing you all through, this much I can say with assertiveness,” says Vasant as he sits on the adjacent se...

Jan 5, 2008 Nashik prisoner studies Gandhi, confess crime NASHIK/MUMBAI: Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography still continues to inspire many. For Laxman Gole, an undertrial lodged in the Nashik Central Prison, Gandhiji's 'My Experiments With Truth' and other books on the Father of the Nation, changed his life. Thanks to the efforts of the Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal and Gandhi Book Centre, located at Grant Road here, the undertrial is reformed. It is pertinent to mention here that the Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal organizes 'Gandhi Peace Exam' in different jails to evoke a sence of regret among the prisoners and change their hearts. Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal's T R K Somaiya said that Gole submitted an application of "confession" to his crime to the Magistrate of Vikhroli Court after reading the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi and decided to follow the Gandhian path of truth an non-violence. "The Judge has considered his application and reduce his imprisonment,...

Jan 5, 2008 Nashik witnessing major property boom: report MUMBAI: The pilgrim-town of Nashik is witnessing major property development thanks to its proximity to commercial capital Mumbai and culture city Pune. This gels well with the fact that the Maharashtra Government has plans to develop Mumbai-Pune-Nashik as a triangle. The current property boom is not only limited to Mumbai and Pune – but Nashik, the 'Wine Capital of India', which is emerging as what is known as "growth centres". According to estimates by global property consultants and researcher, Knight Frank Research, Nashik is going to witness residential and office space supply of about 2.1 million sq ft and 1.9 million sq ft, respectively, by 2009. It will also see an infusion of 2.1 million sq ft of quality retail space during the same period. "Nashik with its good human resource pool and low real estate cost is picturing in the radar of IT/ITES companies looking a diversifying in smaller towns and ci...