Obituary

This is to bring to your kind attention that one of the most prominent face and active member of YFE Mumbai, Vinit Shah, met an unfortunate accident in Panvel on 19/12/07 and succumbed to the injuries. Youth For Equality prays for the family of deceased. May God gives the family of Vinit, courage and strength in this difficult time.
May his soul rests in peace.














This is the one of the post of Vinit, which appeared in New Mumbai Times recently.
Stop hoardings!
Posted On Thursday, November 29, 2007

Panvel-based NGO has dragged BMC, NMMC and state government into high court on the issue of hoardings

Irked by ugly looking hoardings, a Panvel resident filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the state, municipal corporations of Navi Mumbai, Thane and Mumbai in the high court.

The case was called for hearing recently, in which chief justice Swaeanter Kumar has asked the government to frame a policy to curb this hoarding menace. Vinit Shah, the third year student of Bio-technology from DY Patil College, who went to court against hoardings, said, "Final verdict in the case (registration no is PIL/111/2007) is still awaited. I am, however, happy with the way the case has unfolded so far."

When asked why he lodged a PIL, Shah said, "Navi Mumbai is a new city and the hoardings are making it look ugly. Hoardings of politicians' birthdays, festive messages, etc are very irritating. These hoardings spoil the city's beauty and the messages are also irrelevant for most of the residents."

Shah, who runs Manavta Parmodharma Youth Organisation adds, "We used PIL as per the advise of our advocate HS Venegavkar. The hoarding menace needs to be discouraged, but in a legal way. Sources allege that most of the politicians never pay a fee for hoardings, which is terrible."

Hoardings put up during the festive season can be annoying at times, but does the city really crave to get rid of these hoardings? New Bombay Plus finds out..."During festivals and otherwise also, there are so many hoardings put up weirdly. They take almost two feet space from the road, which is already quite narrow.

Especially in the night, when vehicles enter Vashi, near Vashi Plaza, the banners are vaguely placed," said Nitin Patil, a Vashi resident. Some people have objections against brightly coloured hoardings. According to Amit Gupta, a Nerul resident, "After Vashi toll naka, there are many hoardings that are too bright and irritating while driving."

However, for societies that shelter these hoardings, it's a boon. In Vashi Shivaji Chowk, near Vashi depot, the buildings that host hoardings make big money.

According to Amardeep Singh from Ronak Advertising agency, "Generally, for 40/20 ft size hoarding, we pay about Rs 40,000 to 80,000 per annum, though rates vary, depending on the location. Usually, we book buildings for about 5-7 years, but from the past few months, NMMC has stopped issuing permission for the hoardings. There are societies that still approach us, as they also make good money out of hoardings."

When asked, secretary Dr SH Thorat from Arti society in sector 2, Vashi said, "In Mumbai, there are so many societies that are making crores of rupees through hoardings. We only make a few lakhs from it."
However, there are societies, which have given applications for hoardings.

Says Mahendra Kumar, a resident from Basera Society in sector 17, "If hoardings can save the money for society maintenance, then I have no problem in supporting it. Most of us would be happy to save money as society maintenance is increasing almost every year."

According to J Patnigire, deputy municipal commissioner (encroachment), "NMMC has already stopped issuing permission for hoardings. However, during festivals, temporary permissions are issued." About the case, Patnigire said, "The matter is in court and it would not be right to comment on it."

Navi Mumbai is a new city and the hoardings are making it look ugly. Hoardings of politicians' birthdays, festive messages, etc are very irritating. These hoardings spoil the city's beauty and the messages are also irrelevant for most of the residents.

Vinit Shah, ManavtaParmodharma Youth