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By:

Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Queens Ascendant

Indian cricket has lived with an odd imbalance for decades. It has always been the men’s team that has commanded the money, the headlines and the expectations while women cricketers were expected merely to improve. Now, with their phenomenal Test win over England at Lord’s, it is the women who have reminded India what Test cricket looks like when played with ambition, discipline and nerve. The Indian women overwhelmed the English side by inflicting a crushing 270-run victory, dismissing...

Queens Ascendant

Indian cricket has lived with an odd imbalance for decades. It has always been the men’s team that has commanded the money, the headlines and the expectations while women cricketers were expected merely to improve. Now, with their phenomenal Test win over England at Lord’s, it is the women who have reminded India what Test cricket looks like when played with ambition, discipline and nerve. The Indian women overwhelmed the English side by inflicting a crushing 270-run victory, dismissing England for just 186 in their second innings and securing India’s first-ever women’s Test triumph. It was a victory rich in symbolism and richer still in substance. Yastika Bhatia produced an innings for the ages, scoring a majestic 113 to become the first woman ever to register a Test century at Lord’s. Her innings, composed with uncommon patience and authority, earned a deserved place on the Lord’s Honours Board. Debutant Kranti Gaud announced herself with a five-wicket haul that also secured immortality on the same board, while Richa Ghosh’s enterprising half-century accelerated India’s declaration and placed the match irretrievably beyond England's reach. But numbers alone tell only part of the story. Setting England an improbable target of 457, the Indian side attacked with conviction as the pace bowlers ripped through England’s top order, while the spinners maintained relentless pressure. Even England’s brief resistance through Amy Jones and Mady Villiers merely delayed the inevitable. The contrast with the Indian men’s team could scarcely be sharper. In recent months, the men’s side has looked increasingly uncertain in the format that once defined Indian cricket’s rise. Consecutive Test defeats against New Zealand and South Africa in 2024 and 2025 respectively exposed the rot at the edifice of Indian men’s cricket. The latest humiliation, a T20 defeat to Ireland, only reinforced the uncomfortable impression that Indian men’s cricket is suffering from the complacency that often accompanies abundance. Lucrative franchise contracts and cricket’s vast commercial ecosystem have insulated players from the consequences of failure. Unlike their male counterparts, India’s women have built their success with a fraction of the financial rewards, public attention and playing opportunities. Test matches remain rare and sponsorships remain comparatively modest. Yet scarcity has bred something that abundance sometimes cannot: hunger. Harmanpreet Kaur’s side arrived at Lord’s without the burden of celebrity but with an abundance of purpose. Their historic victory was built not on flashes of brilliance alone but on qualities that have always defined great Test sides, namely discipline and collective purpose. Genuine respect in cricket still depends upon performances in the longest format. The Indian women’s team has claimed not merely a famous win but a place in cricket’s enduring narrative. At Lord’s, India’s women reminded the world how champions are made. The men would be wise to take notes.

BJP alleges billing irregularities

Ambernath: Serious allegations of financial irregularities have surfaced in Ambernath's solid waste management system, with BJP corporators accusing Samiksha Waste Management Infra Pvt. Ltd. of artificially inflating garbage collection weights to generate excess payments. The corporators have demanded an independent investigation into the alleged irregularities and sought the immediate blacklisting of the company. They have also alleged that the entire operation has continued with the knowledge of municipal officials.


According to the BJP corporators, a field inspection of garbage transportation and weighing procedures revealed that garbage vehicles were allegedly loaded with drain sludge, mud and heavy soil, in addition to waste, before being weighed at a private weighbridge. They claimed this practice artificially increased the recorded weight of each vehicle, resulting in inflated monthly bills.


The corporators stated that the waste collection contract has remained with Samiksha Waste Management Infra Pvt. Ltd. since 2017, with extensions granted over the years, including a fresh contract in 2023. Despite the company handling the work for nearly eight years, they alleged that nearly 210 garbage bins continue to remain across the city, raising questions over the effectiveness of the waste management system.


A major concern raised by the corporators relates to the absence of a municipality-owned weighbridge. They claimed that the tender conditions require the municipal council to have its own weighing facility and that 15 lakh was sanctioned during the 2026 General Body meeting for installing the weighbridge. However, despite the approval, the municipal weighbridge has not been made operational. As a result, garbage is allegedly weighed on a private weighbridge, where approximately half a tonne of additional weight per vehicle is allegedly recorded, leading to inflated billing.


Garbage Quantity

The corporators further questioned the official claim that 170 metric tonnes of garbage are collected daily in Ambernath. They pointed out that neighbouring Badlapur, which has a larger population and geographical area, reportedly generates only around 100 metric tonnes of waste daily. They argued that the significantly higher figure reported for Ambernath, despite the continued presence of garbage heaps and around 210 garbage bins across the city, raises serious doubts over the accuracy of the reported data.


They also alleged violations of tender conditions by claiming that vehicles other than those approved under the contract were being used for waste transportation. In addition, they accused the company of failing to provide contractual sanitation workers with timely salaries, gumboots, hand gloves, raincoats and other essential safety equipment.


Questions were also raised regarding the fitness certificates and insurance documents of certain garbage transportation vehicles, with corporators alleging that the concerned authorities failed to take appropriate action.

In another serious allegation, BJP corporators claimed that the alleged irregularities were continuing under the protection of Ambarnath Municipal Council Health Department Head Mahesh Tayde. They alleged that municipal officials were aware of the financial irregularities, violations in the weighing process and breaches of tender conditions but deliberately ignored them. They demanded strict administrative and legal action against those found responsible.


Increased Weight

‘The Perfect Voice’ visited the private weighbridge where garbage vehicles are weighed. According to the report, an employee identified as Shivam Singh allegedly stated, "Officials from the Ambarnath Municipal Council ask us to show increased weight. Accordingly, we increase the weight and issue the receipt."


The ground report also highlighted allegations that sanitation workers were not being provided with mandatory safety kits and were not receiving salaries on time. Concerns were also raised regarding the absence of valid fitness certificates for some garbage transport vehicles.


While speaking to, ‘The Perfect Voice’, BJP Group leader Abhijeet Karanjule-Patil alleged that large-scale financial irregularities were taking place through the waste collection contract executed by Samiksha Waste Management Infra Pvt. Ltd. He demanded the immediate blacklisting of the company and an independent investigation into the alleged irregularities.


He alleged that although a municipal weighbridge is mandatory under the tender conditions, it has not been made operational, forcing garbage to be weighed at a private weighbridge where vehicle weights are allegedly inflated by loading drain sludge, mud and soil. He also questioned the official claim of collecting 170 metric tonnes of waste daily, stating that despite these figures, nearly 210 garbage bins and garbage heaps continue to exist across the city. Karanjule-Patil further alleged collusion between municipal officials and the contractor, while also raising concerns over delayed wages, lack of safety equipment for sanitation workers, and compliance issues relating to garbage transport vehicles.

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