top of page

By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Maulana’s 'gullak' initiative touches 60K students

Read & Lead Foundation President Maulana Abdul Qayyum Mirza with daughter Mariyam Mirza. Mumbai/Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: In the new age controlled by smart-gadgets and social media, an academic from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has sparked a small, head-turning and successful - ‘savings and reading’ revolution among middle-school children. Launched in 2006, by Maulana Abdul Qayyum Mirza, the humble initiative turns 20 this year and witnessed over 60,000 free savings boxes (gullaks)...

Maulana’s 'gullak' initiative touches 60K students

Read & Lead Foundation President Maulana Abdul Qayyum Mirza with daughter Mariyam Mirza. Mumbai/Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: In the new age controlled by smart-gadgets and social media, an academic from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has sparked a small, head-turning and successful - ‘savings and reading’ revolution among middle-school children. Launched in 2006, by Maulana Abdul Qayyum Mirza, the humble initiative turns 20 this year and witnessed over 60,000 free savings boxes (gullaks) distributed to Class V-VIII students in 52 government and private schools. “The aim was to inculcate a love for ‘saving and reading’ among young children. We started by presenting small plastic ‘gullaks’ (savings boxes) at the Iqra Boys & Girls High School, and later to many other schools,” Mirza said with a tinge of satisfaction. Scoffed by sceptics, it soon caught the eyes of the schools and parents who loved the idea that kept the kids off mischief, but gave them the joy of quietly slipping Re. 1 or even Rs. 5 save from their daily pocket money into the ‘gullak’. “That tiny ‘gullak’ costing barely Rs 3-Rs 5, becomes almost like their personal tiny bank which they guard fiercely and nobody dares touch it. At the right time they spend the accumulated savings to buy books of their choice – with no questions asked. Isn’t it better than wasting it on toys or sweets or amusement,” chuckled Mirza. A childhood bookworm himself, Mirza, now 50, remembers how he dipped into his school’s ‘Book Box’ to avail books of his choice and read them along with the regular syllabus. “Reading became my passion, not shared by many then or even now… Sadly, in the current era, reading and saving are dying habits. I am trying to revive them for the good of the people and country,” Maulana Mirza told The Perfect Voice. After graduation, Mirza was jobless for sometime, and decided to make his passion as a profession – he took books in a barter deal from the renowned Nagpur philanthropist, Padma Bhushan Maulana Abdul Karim Parekh, lugged them on a bicycle to hawk outside mosques and dargahs. He not only sold the entire stock worth Rs 3000 quickly, but asked astonished Parekh for more – and that set the ball rolling in a big way, ultimately emboldening him to launch the NGO, ‘Read & Lead Foundation’ (2018). “However, despite severe resources and manpower crunch, we try to cater to the maximum number of students, even outside the district,” smiled Mirza. The RLF is also supported by his daughter Mariyam Mirza’s Covid-19 pandemic scheme, ‘Mohalla Library Movement’ that catapulted to global fame, and yesterday (Oct. 20), the BBC telecast a program featuring her. The father-daughter duo urged children to shun mobiles, video-games, television or social media and make ‘books as their best friends’, which would always help in life, as they aim to gift 1-lakh students with ‘gullaks’ in the next couple of years. At varied intervals Mirza organizes small school book fairs where the excited kids troop in, their pockets bulging with their own savings, and they proudly purchase books of their choice in Marathi, English, Hindi or Urdu to satiate their intellectual hunger. Fortunately, the teachers and parents support the kids’ ‘responsible spending’, for they no longer waste hours before screens but attentively flip pages of their favourite books, as Mirza and others solicit support for the cause from UNICEF, UNESCO, and global NGOs/Foundations. RLF’s real-life savers: Readers UNICEF’s Jharkhand District Coordinator and ex-TISS alumnus Abul Hasan Ali is full of gratitude for the ‘gullak’ habit he inculcated years ago, while Naregaon Municipal High School students Lakhan Devdas (Class 6) and Sania Youssef (Class 8) say they happily saved most of their pocket or festival money to splurge on their favourite books...! Zilla Parishad Girls Primary School (Aurangpura) teacher Jyoti Pawar said the RLF has proved to be a “simple, heartwarming yet effective way” to habituate kids to both reading and savings at a tender age, while a parent Krishna Shinde said it has “changed the whole attitude of children”. “We encourage books of general interest only, including inspiring stories of youth icons like Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai (28) and environmentalist Greta Thunberg (23) which fascinates our students, and other popular children’s literature,” smiled Mirza. The Maulana’s RLF, which has opened three dozen libraries in 7 years, acknowledges that every coin dropped into the small savings boxes begins a new chapter – and turns into an investment in knowledge that keeps growing.

Kalamboli Junction upgrade gathers pace

Rs 482-crore project targets seamless airport, port access

ree

Mumbai: Work on the Rs 482-crore Kalamboli Junction Development Project, aimed at eliminating signals, easing congestion and boosting regional connectivity, is moving forward steadily, with key structural milestones already achieved. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and Maharashtra State Infrastructure Development Corporation (MSIDC) are jointly executing the project, which is expected to transform one of Navi Mumbai’s busiest intersections into a high-speed, conflict-free traffic hub within 18 months.


On-site progress, engineering updates

According to an MSIDC official, 190 out of 688 piles have been completed, marking substantial advancement in foundation work. On the Pune ramp side, a 300-metre Pavement Quality Concrete (PQC) road and a 500-metre drainage system have been finished. Pile cap construction has commenced, while a casting yard for I-girder production has been set up, with the first girders expected to be cast by August 20.These developments indicate the project is well into its structural groundwork phase, a critical stage that determines the pace of superstructure assembly. Once girder casting begins, the visible transformation of the site is expected to accelerate, providing commuters with tangible signs of progress.


A two-level interchange to end traffic chaos

The upgraded junction will adopt a two-level directional/stack interchange design, ensuring signal-free movement and eliminating at-grade cross-conflicts — a major cause of delays at the current roundabout. The design aims to reduce queuing delays for all routes, an essential improvement given Kalamboli’s role as a convergence point for multiple arterial corridors.


These flyover arms will form the core of the project:

1. Shil Phata → Steel Yard

2. Pune → Shil Phata

3. Pune → Mumbai

4. Panvel → Mumbai

5. JNPA → Pune

6. Shil Phata → Pune


Additionally, two underpasses will link Panvel to Shil Phata and Panvel to the Steel Yard, further reducing traffic interference.


Strategic importance: Gateway to airport and port

Kalamboli Junction is not just a local traffic hotspot, it is a crucial node for Mumbai-Pune highway users, cargo transporters bound for Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and future passengers heading to the Navi Mumbai International Airport.Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, had emphasised the importance of the upgrade, citing the junction’s pivotal role in both passenger mobility and freight logistics. With the airport slated to be a major regional hub, seamless access from major highways is considered vital for operational efficiency.


Managing disruptions during construction

While the long-term benefits are widely acknowledged, the project’s execution has inevitably brought short-term inconveniences. The Panvel exit from Kalamboli has been closed for six months, prompting traffic diversions via Palaspe and Atal Setu. This has led to heavier volumes on alternative routes, particularly during peak hours.Three piling rigs are operating round-the-clock to stay on schedule, with MSIDC and NHAI coordinating traffic management efforts. Officials are urging commuters to plan their journeys in advance and allow extra travel time.


Economic and urban mobility benefits

Once operational, the redesigned junction is expected to:

Cut travel time between Mumbai, Pune, and JNPA significantly.

Enhance logistics efficiency for cargo movement, reducing transit delays.

Improve accessibility to the Navi Mumbai International Airport, which will be a major driver of economic activity in the region.

Reduce fuel wastage and vehicular emissions by eliminating prolonged idling at signals.


Given that Kalamboli handles thousands of vehicles daily, including a high proportion of freight carriers, the project’s economic multiplier effect is likely to extend well beyond Navi Mumbai. Improved connectivity is expected to attract industrial and commercial investments to the surrounding zones, including Taloja, Panvel and Kharghar.


Challenges ahead

Despite the steady progress, certain challenges remain. Foundation work for the remaining 498 piles must be executed on time to avoid cascading delays in superstructure erection. Land acquisition for approaches and coordination with utility providers for shifting lines will also be critical to maintaining the schedule. Additionally, weather-related disruptions during the monsoon season could test construction timelines.However, the presence of a dedicated casting yard and pre-scheduled girder production indicates that MSIDC is aiming to offset potential delays by front-loading key fabrication work.


A transformational leap in regional transport

The Kalamboli Junction upgrade represents more than just an infrastructure project — it is a strategic urban mobility intervention. By combining flyovers, underpasses and a signal-free interchange, the design addresses not only current traffic bottlenecks but also anticipates future demand from Navi Mumbai’s urban expansion and the airport’s operations.If completed on schedule, by late 2026 commuters could see one of the most significant overhauls of a traffic node in Navi Mumbai’s history. As the first girders are cast this month, the groundwork is being laid — quite literally — for a faster, safer and more efficient transport experience across one of India’s busiest logistics and travel corridors.

Comments

bottom of page