100th RTI Katta: Stories of Successful citizen empowerment - Moneylife

100th RTI Katta: Stories of Successful citizen empowerment - Moneylife

100th RTI Katta: Stories of successful citizen empowerment

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VINITA DESHMUKH | 18/11/2015 04:04 PM |   

The 100th week of RTI Katta celebrated last week in Pune has empowered citizens to courageously and precisely file RTI applications

 

Two youngsters, studying in a Pune college (names withheld on request), had won scholarship of Rs25,000 each for their brilliant academic performance. But they did not get the same despite following it up with the college authorities. They wondered whether RTI could help them. Vijay Kumbhar, a prominent activist from Pune guided them on how to file the RTI application to find out the status of their scholarship. The college authorities pretty piqued with this audacity of these two students using RTI but unable to take them to task for it, followed the middle path. It did not accept the RTI application but immediately gave the scholarship money much to the delight of the students. However, they were told not to spread the word, otherwise the college would be inundated with such RTI applications!

 

Their success was the fallout of a novel initiative. Every Sunday, at the picturesque Chittaranjan Vatika, a popular public garden in the upper class neighbourhood of Model Colony in Pune, a motley crowd of about 30 to 35 people, of varied ages, gather at 9 am. The meeting is called RTI Katta (meet-up), pioneered by Kumbhar, to spur citizens to empower themselves to file RTI, on issues that they feel strongly about or are directly affected. The Katta is not about spoon-feeding RTI users, but guiding them to seek information, of their own accord.

 

K Mali was angry when a petrol pump was constructed in a vacant land of his housing society, illegally encroaching on the society land. He had filed several RTI applications but had failed to procure any information. He began to attend the RTI Katta and showed copies of his applications. He was told that he had applied in the wrong format. He was guided on how to precisely file RTI, which he did to the Pune Municipal Corporation as well as the Collector’s office. Lo and behold, he has managed to get 950 pages of information. He is now armed with enough ammunition to fight the battle in the court.

 

Jaisingh Jadhav is a small time builder who greatly feared to take on the municipal corporation officers, whenever he wanted information related to several of his projects. However, says Kumbhar, he has now completely shed off his inhibitions and has begun regular use of RTI. Based on the relevant documents he has also filed complaints with the PMC, and in one such case the corporation body has also slammed a legal notice on the offender.

 

Shailesh Gaikwad is a long time vendor, operating from outside one of the public gardens in Pune but permission was whisked away by the PMC. He invoked RTI at PMC, to procure documents to prove that he is a license holder and that the civic body had illegally snatched off his livelihood. The PMC, based on his fight through RTI, revoked his license. That was a great victory for him but it was short lived as the local political leader convinced him that he would offer him a better place for his business, and so he is still waiting. However, he is grateful that he now knows the RTI way to fight for his causes.

 

Mr Marathe has been fighting against an illegal restaurant that has sprouted in the garage below his building. No amount of letters to the PMC helped until he was advised at the RTI kata that he needs to get proof that it is illegal, through documents which he can procure under RTI. He successfully did so and this propelled the PMC to slam a notice against the restaurant owner but he is yet to vacate. The matter is presently pending in the court.

 

There are many such examples. States Kumbhar, "although RTI is here for 10 long years, citizens are yet not aware and informed about this powerful Act. It shows that the government has failed in public awareness, one of the mandatory clauses in the RTI Act. Besides, it is mandatory for Public Information Officers (PIOs) to assist the RTI applicant in case he has not filed his RTI in the proper format However, most of the PIOs resort to rejection of the application. At the RTI Katta, we encourage them to do file inspection under Section 4 of the RTI Act so that they can get information in a faster way. We are also putting pressure on public authorities like the PMC, to abide by the Suo Motu disclosure under Section 4 of the RTI Act as well as upload all RTI applications and replies on its website, so that people would be able to see how applications are filed.’’

 

Indeed, the RTI Katta, an informal platform to learn the use of RTI has helped in individual empowerment and confidence at that level, to use the tool to fight causes that directly affect the individual. Quite admirable and worth applying all across the country.

 

100th RTI Katta: Stories of Successful citizen empowerment - Moneylife

100th RTI Katta: Stories of Successful citizen empowerment - Moneylife

100th RTI Katta: Stories of successful citizen empowerment

• • 0 Comments, Be the first to comment
• + COMMENT

VINITA DESHMUKH | 18/11/2015 04:04 PM |   

The 100th week of RTI Katta celebrated last week in Pune has empowered citizens to courageously and precisely file RTI applications

 

Two youngsters, studying in a Pune college (names withheld on request), had won scholarship of Rs25,000 each for their brilliant academic performance. But they did not get the same despite following it up with the college authorities. They wondered whether RTI could help them. Vijay Kumbhar, a prominent activist from Pune guided them on how to file the RTI application to find out the status of their scholarship. The college authorities pretty piqued with this audacity of these two students using RTI but unable to take them to task for it, followed the middle path. It did not accept the RTI application but immediately gave the scholarship money much to the delight of the students. However, they were told not to spread the word, otherwise the college would be inundated with such RTI applications!

 

Their success was the fallout of a novel initiative. Every Sunday, at the picturesque Chittaranjan Vatika, a popular public garden in the upper class neighbourhood of Model Colony in Pune, a motley crowd of about 30 to 35 people, of varied ages, gather at 9 am. The meeting is called RTI Katta (meet-up), pioneered by Kumbhar, to spur citizens to empower themselves to file RTI, on issues that they feel strongly about or are directly affected. The Katta is not about spoon-feeding RTI users, but guiding them to seek information, of their own accord.

 

K Mali was angry when a petrol pump was constructed in a vacant land of his housing society, illegally encroaching on the society land. He had filed several RTI applications but had failed to procure any information. He began to attend the RTI Katta and showed copies of his applications. He was told that he had applied in the wrong format. He was guided on how to precisely file RTI, which he did to the Pune Municipal Corporation as well as the Collector’s office. Lo and behold, he has managed to get 950 pages of information. He is now armed with enough ammunition to fight the battle in the court.

 

Jaisingh Jadhav is a small time builder who greatly feared to take on the municipal corporation officers, whenever he wanted information related to several of his projects. However, says Kumbhar, he has now completely shed off his inhibitions and has begun regular use of RTI. Based on the relevant documents he has also filed complaints with the PMC, and in one such case the corporation body has also slammed a legal notice on the offender.

 

Shailesh Gaikwad is a long time vendor, operating from outside one of the public gardens in Pune but permission was whisked away by the PMC. He invoked RTI at PMC, to procure documents to prove that he is a license holder and that the civic body had illegally snatched off his livelihood. The PMC, based on his fight through RTI, revoked his license. That was a great victory for him but it was short lived as the local political leader convinced him that he would offer him a better place for his business, and so he is still waiting. However, he is grateful that he now knows the RTI way to fight for his causes.

 

Mr Marathe has been fighting against an illegal restaurant that has sprouted in the garage below his building. No amount of letters to the PMC helped until he was advised at the RTI kata that he needs to get proof that it is illegal, through documents which he can procure under RTI. He successfully did so and this propelled the PMC to slam a notice against the restaurant owner but he is yet to vacate. The matter is presently pending in the court.

 

There are many such examples. States Kumbhar, "although RTI is here for 10 long years, citizens are yet not aware and informed about this powerful Act. It shows that the government has failed in public awareness, one of the mandatory clauses in the RTI Act. Besides, it is mandatory for Public Information Officers (PIOs) to assist the RTI applicant in case he has not filed his RTI in the proper format However, most of the PIOs resort to rejection of the application. At the RTI Katta, we encourage them to do file inspection under Section 4 of the RTI Act so that they can get information in a faster way. We are also putting pressure on public authorities like the PMC, to abide by the Suo Motu disclosure under Section 4 of the RTI Act as well as upload all RTI applications and replies on its website, so that people would be able to see how applications are filed.’’

 

Indeed, the RTI Katta, an informal platform to learn the use of RTI has helped in individual empowerment and confidence at that level, to use the tool to fight causes that directly affect the individual. Quite admirable and worth applying all across the country.

 

UBER CAB CUSTOMER THREATENED BY AUTO RICKSHAWS WITH STONE IN HAND AT DANDEKAR PUL, PUNE, THIS MORNING

This morning, young Dr.Deepika Salwankar, based in Ahmedabad but on a visit to Pune tweeted that ``@Uber_Pune I was hurled outside your cabs because the auto drivers bullied you uber... Can you take some action against this anarchy?'' She also tweeted that,``@VinitaDeshmukh @Uber_Pune I am on crutches due to a recent surgery, the auto wallas not only bullied with stones but refused their services.''

This young dentist and also Strategic Communication and Marketing Student at MICA, Ahmedabad, got down from the bus at Dandekar Pul and 20 minutes before she alighted out of it, called for a Uber taxi, as she recently had a knee surgery and would not be comfortable in an auto rickshaw. She was standing by the roadside, on her crutches, with her luggage. When the taxi came and she began to get into it, suddenly the two rickshawallas who had parked their ricks nearby, threatened her by showing a stone and ordering her not to get into the cab. She protested that she is in pain and is unable to go in a rickshaw. To that one of them said, he does not care how she goes but she cannot get into the cab. She requested the cab driver to put his foot down but he said, she rather go out, as they might damage his car and he went away. These autorickshawallas, like the proverbial dog in the manger attitude, refused to ply her. She had to walk a short distance to get another rickshaw. Says Deepika, ``as it is, public transport system in Pune is so bad and on top of that if you are threatened for taking a taxi, what does one do?'' Uber, despite tweets, has not even responded. Will it get cowed down by such threats? Should it not take up the matter with the police? What should one do in such a situation? Deepika is shortly going back to Ahmedabad and since she did not take down the rickshaw no. she sees no point in filing a police complaint. Always, it is the consumer who is at the receiving end. What do you think?

Thenewsminute story. Really heart wrenching

The story of a bodyguard who died alone, saying it was Salman behind the wheel

IndiaWednesday, May 6, 2015 - 11:57

      

 

Actor Salman Khan’s conviction is perhaps a posthumous vindication for Ravindra Patil, the former’s bodyguard who consistently maintained until his death that it was Khan behind the wheel that night.

The Mumbai sessions court on Wednesday convicted the actor of killing one person and injuring four others in the 2002 hit-and-run case.

Patil was a Mumbai police constable who had been assigned as Khan’s bodyguard and was sitting beside the actor when he ran over five sleeping pedestrians, one of whom succumbed to his injuries.

The landmark judgement is not just a victory for the victims, but also in a way for Patil, who many feel had been let down by the judiciary and the state.

Patil, a 1998 batch constable, had been assigned as a bodyguard to the actor after he complained of threats from the underworld.

It was Patil who lodged an FIR against Khan, and in his statement to the earlier court which heard the case, said he had warned the actor to drive slowly since he was in an inebriated condition. However, Khan did not heed the warning, Patil had said.

Patil was reportedly under enormous pressure to change his statement against the actor and even went missing during the course of the trial. He had reportedly gone into hiding in order to avoid Khan's lawyers and also alleged harassment from within the police force.

Ironically, Patil was arrested in 2006 for failing to appear as a witness and in November that year he was sacked from the force.

Less than a year later, in August 2007, Patil was found on the streets near Sewri and admitted to hospital where he died in October. He had been suffering from tuberculosis for two years, and his family had abandoned him.

Picture courtesy- BhadasMedia

Mid-Day reported that Patil had told a friend two days before his death that he was saddened by the treatment he had been subjected to. “I stood by my statement till the end, but my department did not stand by me. I want my job back, I want to survive. I want to meet the police commissioner once.”

It was two days before the 29-year-old bodyguard’s young friend Sushant Sawant, who had admitted Patil to the hospital. His signature was needed to release the body from the hospital.

Mid-Day quoted Sawant as saying: “Patil was a good friend. He had taken me to meet Salman.”

Read- Bollywood hearts bleeding for Salman Khan, can we save the drama for movies?

Read- The eight charges for which Salman Khan has been found guilty

I got a defective cooler; fought a consumer war on Twitter and won too

I got a defective cooler; fought a consumer war on Twitter and won too

"Consumer is King/Queen" they say and I experienced it last month, when I bought Ecoline’s insulated tiffin box from www.amazon.in.
When it turned out defective, my money was promptly returned within a
few days, and the box taken back, without questions asked.


However,
when, on April 18, I bought a Bajaj Cooler from Vijay Sales, Tilak
Road, Pune and tried to operate it, the next day, it didn’t work
effectively. When I asked my tech-savvy husband to check, he said that
the cooler’s pump might not be functioning.


I visited the Vijay Sales Shop the next day, on 22^nd which
happened to be Akshay Tritiya. The sales person said that I should come
the next day as he would not get sanction to consider my case. Earlier
we had tried the contact number on the bill and surprise, surprise it was not the right number.


I tweeted on 21^st April
addressing the tweet to @vijaysales and was assured that the matter
would be looked into. On April 23 morning, the Pune manager called up
and said that I had delayed my complaint as four days had passed. After
an altercation, I met Shashikant, the manager, in the evening and said I
would like a cash refund. He refused saying that only exchange was an
option. Though I said that I wasn’t interested in any exchange; he was
adamant. So, I accepted the credit note which he was ready to give -
told him I am accepting out of duress and would continue to fight for my
refund. He said okay.


When I told him he was losing a client in the face of tough online shop competition – he didn’t seem to care less.


I
remembered that my friend Kishore Sidhwani who is on Twitter had told
me last week that he could manage to get his money from HDFC Bank thanks
to a tweet.


I
returned the cooler, took the credit note and reached home. From 9pm, I
began my Twitter tirade, tweeting to Vijay sales at my disappointed
visit; asking them under which Section of which Act is it written that a
consumer cannot get cash refund for a defective product; asked my
fellow Twitter-ers to guide me on how to slam a legal notice and so on.
After a good one hour, Vijay Sales finally responded; asked for my cell
no. through Direct Message. At 10.30 pm Mr Sunny of Vijay Sales called
me, apologized for all the inconvenience and assured me of refund in the
next 24 hours.


I felt a sense of triumph to have campaigned as a consumer and succeeded through the social media.


Following
are the tweets which helped me get my rights as a consumer. You too
should do the same – never take injustice lying down.

@VijaySales
Umeshji v disappointed that Vijay Sales Pune did not return cash for
defective Bajaj cooler. I was compelled to take credit note

On 21st April






- See more at:
http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/i-got-defective-cooler-fought-consumer-war-twitter-and-won-too#sthash.vGYU5Dek.dpuf

Read my story on how I fought on Twitter to get back refund for a Bajaj Cooler I bought and turned out defective.

"Consumer is King/Queen" they say and I experienced it last month, when I bought Ecoline’s insulated tiffin box from www.amazon.in.
When it turned out defective, my money was promptly returned within a
few days, and the box taken back, without questions asked.


However,
when, on April 18, I bought a Bajaj Cooler from Vijay Sales, Tilak
Road, Pune and tried to operate it, the next day, it didn’t work
effectively. When I asked my tech-savvy husband to check, he said that
the cooler’s pump might not be functioning.


I visited the Vijay Sales Shop the next day, on 22^nd which
happened to be Akshay Tritiya. The sales person said that I should come
the next day as he would not get sanction to consider my case. Earlier
we had tried the contact number on the bill and surprise, surprise it was not the right number.


I tweeted on 21^st April
addressing the tweet to @vijaysales and was assured that the matter
would be looked into. On April 23 morning, the Pune manager called up
and said that I had delayed my complaint as four days had passed. After
an altercation, I met Shashikant, the manager, in the evening and said I
would like a cash refund. He refused saying that only exchange was an
option. Though I said that I wasn’t interested in any exchange; he was
adamant. So, I accepted the credit note which he was ready to give -
told him I am accepting out of duress and would continue to fight for my
refund. He said okay.


When I told him he was losing a client in the face of tough online shop competition – he didn’t seem to care less.


I
remembered that my friend Kishore Sidhwani who is on Twitter had told
me last week that he could manage to get his money from HDFC Bank thanks
to a tweet.


I
returned the cooler, took the credit note and reached home. From 9pm, I
began my Twitter tirade, tweeting to Vijay sales at my disappointed
visit; asking them under which Section of which Act is it written that a
consumer cannot get cash refund for a defective product; asked my
fellow Twitter-ers to guide me on how to slam a legal notice and so on.
After a good one hour, Vijay Sales finally responded; asked for my cell
no. through Direct Message. At 10.30 pm Mr Sunny of Vijay Sales called
me, apologized for all the inconvenience and assured me of refund in the
next 24 hours.


I felt a sense of triumph to have campaigned as a consumer and succeeded through the social media.


Following
are the tweets which helped me get my rights as a consumer. You too
should do the same – never take injustice lying down.

@VijaySales
Umeshji v disappointed that Vijay Sales Pune did not return cash for
defective Bajaj cooler. I was compelled to take credit note

On 21st April






- See more at:
http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/i-got-defective-cooler-fought-consumer-war-twitter-and-won-too#sthash.vGYU5Dek.dpuf

How babus are well set to strangulate the Right to Services Act - Moneylife

How babus are well set to strangulate the Right to Services Act - Moneylife

My argument for banning BBC documentary on India’s Daughters

1. *    BBC’s teasers for the documentary film (which means a factual depiction; it is not a movie) showed what the savage rapist said and that is – in 80% rape cases women are responsible. Do I need to hear this from a butcher rapist who ripped off Nirbhaya’s organs, beat her with iron rods, body part by body part, stripped her and her friend completely naked of clothes and belongings and threw them from the bus with the intention of crushing them under the tyres? Does this savage’s opinion need to be shown to the public? 

*

2.    * So, what was BBC’s intention to have those humiliating teasers when Nirbhaya was a decent girl who had gone out with her friend for a movie and both were returning by a bus, like thousands in the country? So, why should I hear this scoundrel telling me that women are responsible for rapes?

**

3.   * Nirbhaya case was unprecedented in Indian history as regards peoples’ movement to fight against sexual crimes on women. It had attained a level of a united national campaign and had forced the government, within a historic short time, to amend the Act which has now become stronger. Against this background, to bring out the savage rapist in all glory and gore is ill timed. It diffuses all the trauma and tribulations that thousands of youngsters and women faced fighting police tear gas shells and lathi charge.

4.  *  Asking for a ban on the documentary is also a step to make the government introspect of giving access to foreign media to hardcore shameless criminals just because they have `white skin.’ Sushilkumar Shinde is directly responsible for this shame and he and the relevant authorities should be questioned. This is another matter but at least the home ministry was able to ask youtube to ban it. Tell me, would you like to see a BBC documentary on Ajmal Kasab blaming victims of his terror at CST station, Taj etc or would you just shun him in jail – his mind can be read by investigative officers.

5.  *  I would have appreciated if the BBC was objective and had done a documentary on savage child abuser John Franks who is languishing in a British jail right now and told the world the mind of this man. UK took a position that it will hurt the feelings of his victims and so it should not be shown. Then why India? For some cheap publicity of how they damn see all brown men as rapists? I would have appreciated if the BBC showed the Jordanian Pilot being burnt alive with gory details of how he screamed and shouted – they it do that? There are so many beheadings of ISIS – did the BBC show that? Then why only Nirbhaya case which hits the raw nerve of women in this country?

6.    * By doing this documentary, the BBC is making the world believe that rape is a crime insinuated by the way women dress and go after sunset as spelt out by the savage brutal rapist. Do I need to hear that from a scoundrel who should be cut into pieces in full public eye?

7. *   In the name of freedom of press and what not, celebrities in India talk big about why this documentary should not be stifled. Of course they live in an Oasis in India where Neena Gupta can get away by having an illegitimate child of Viv Richards and Hema Malini can get away with any illegality to marry Dharmendra. They don’t live in the world of a common Indian woman who has to constantly guard her morality. Also, these damn panelists give one opinion on one TV channel and have no qualms of saying the exact opposite in the next channel on the same issue – they go by the stance that the particular TV channel takes.  So, this is humbug.

8.    * My friends, we need to shed off this colonial hangover of living by the perception of these `whites’ who have time and again hit us below the belt to ensure they remain superior – we need to question them. We need to build up our judgment based on the backdrop of culture, history and traditions of our country?

9.    * Lastly my friends, we need to question why the BBC documentary did not take bytes of Nirbhaya’s friend who has given a heart wrenching interview to Zee News a few days after the incident. Here are two links: one is my story in moneylife; Veeresh Malik’s story in Moneylife and Nirbhaya’s friend’s interview.

http://www.moneylife.in/article/the-nirbhaya-documentary---as-always-follow-the-money/40736.html

http://www.moneylife.in/article/glad-bbcs-documentary-on-nirbhaya-convict-has-been-banned/40729.html

For full interview of Nirbhaya’s friend, see this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43uArAZH8Lo)

ends