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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Raj Thackeray tormented over ‘missing kids’ in state

Mumbai : Expressing grave concerns over the steep rise in cases of ‘missing children’ in the state, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray has accused the state government of treating the matter casually and failing to respond to it urgently.   In an open missive on 'X' to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Raj Thackeray quoted data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) pointing at almost an alarming 30 pc increase in the number of children ‘missing’ in the state...

Raj Thackeray tormented over ‘missing kids’ in state

Mumbai : Expressing grave concerns over the steep rise in cases of ‘missing children’ in the state, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray has accused the state government of treating the matter casually and failing to respond to it urgently.   In an open missive on 'X' to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Raj Thackeray quoted data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) pointing at almost an alarming 30 pc increase in the number of children ‘missing’ in the state between 2021-2024.   When asked for his reactions, Fadnavis told media-persons in Nagpur that he had not read the letter, but the issue raised is important and he would reply to it. Fadnavis stated that the NCRB has also provided the reasons why the kids go ‘missing’, how they return and the period, ranging from 3 days to 18 months.   Dwelling on the sufficiency of the NCRB figures, he contended that they reflect only complaints formally registered by the police and thousands of cases may never be reported.   On the ‘rescue, return and reunion’ of such missing children, he pointed to the sheer psychological trauma they may have suffered and sought to know how such child-lifter networks continued to thrive openly and blatantly.   The MNS chief targeted what he claimed was the “state’s lack of proactive measures to identify and dismantle child-begging rackets” as many juveniles can be seen begging at railway stations, bus stands, traffic signals, often accompanied by adults with doubtful authenticity.   “If some woman claims to be the child’s relative or guardian, should the government not order a thorough probe? Is it inappropriate to consider even a DNA test in suspicious cases,” Raj Thackeray demanded.   Slamming the government and the Opposition, he lamented how both sides failed to prioritise such urgent social issues in the legislature where discussions centre around partisan sparring.   The letter also mentions attempts by the Centre to coordinate with states on the ‘missing or trafficked children’, regretting how political upmanships and symbolic debates prevent meaningful action on the ground.   The NCRB said that Maharashtra has consistently ranked among states with the highest number of ‘missing children’, particularly in urban centres like Mumbai, Thane, and Pune.   Simultaneously, experts, child rights NGOs and activists have warned about trafficking networks that exploit poverty, migration and weak law enforcement and low convictions, despite official rescue missions or rehab efforts.   In his appeal, Raj Thackeray called upon Fadnavis to take concrete, visible measures rather than discussions and conventions. “Maharashtra expects decisive steps from you, not speeches. Jai Maharashtra,” he signed off.     In October 2023,Sharad Pawar red-flagged ‘missing girls-women’ This is the second major social cause by a political leader, two years after Nationalist Congress Party (SP) President Sharad Pawar had red-flagged nearly 20,000 ‘missing women and girls’ from the state between Jan-May 2023.   In the present instance, Raj Thackeray said that “behind the statistics lies a far more disturbing reality involving organised, inter-state gangs that kidnap children, physically abuse them and force them into begging rings”.   “Little kids are assaulted, made to beg and shifted across states. Groups of children disappear suddenly, and the government appears unable, or unwilling, to grasp the seriousness of what is happening,” said Thackeray in a strong tone.

Minimum temperatures on rise

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Mumbai: While the current heat wave has led to a sudden rise in maximum temperature at most of the hill stations across Maharashtra, weather scientists studying changes in surface air-temperatures have shown that though very slow, the minimum temperatures at the hill stations too are on rise and have cited urbanization as the major reason for the increase.


The maximum and minimum temperatures at the hill stations have increased at least by 0.4˚C and 0.22˚C per decade respectively during the period 1971-2010, a research by Indian weather scientists, published in American Journal of Climate Change, has shown. The scientists have compared temperature data at several places across India between 1901 and 2013 and realized that a significant increase in mean temperatures at hill stations is clearly visible. The analysis also reveals that the maximum temperature increase more rapidly than the minimum over the hill stations. Interestingly, the annual maximum temperature show a gradual increase up to 1970 and rapid increase during the period 1971-2010, while minimum temperature is trendless up to 1970 and after it shows an increasing trend up to 2010. This clearly indicates the effect of rapid urbanization on local temperatures, the scientists have said.


Dilip Kothawale and Nayana Deshpande from Pune based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and Rupa Kolli who is part of the World Climate Applications & CLIPS Division of World Meteorological Organization based in Geneva, Switzerland have made these observations. They went through the temperature data of past 110 to 113 years (1901-2013). The data was of various kinds - like the monthly mean (average of maximum and minimum), maximum and minimum surface air temperature. The scientists collected data from 36 places across India, which they had divided into four categories viz. major cities with more than 20 lakh population, medium cities with population between 4 and 20 lakh, small cities with population below 4 lakh and the hill stations that are at an altitude more than 1000 metres.


Since hardly any of the hill stations in Maharashtra is at an altitude of more than 1000 metres, they do not figure in the study. However, the observations made are pertinent since similar trends, which have been used in the past century, are still being followed in development of hill stations in the state.


The scientists examined trends in seasonal and annual mean, maximum and minimum temperatures at major, medium, small cities and hill stations for the three different periods, viz. entire period (1901-2013), past period (1901- 1970) and recent period (1871-2013). They realized that during the past period, less than 50% stations from each group showed a significant increasing trend in annual mean temperature, whereas in the recent period, more than 80% stations from all groups except small city group showed a significant increasing trend.


Another study by V Vizaya Bhaska of IMD Pune, published in 2014 has studied the hydro climatic characteristics of 18 hill stations between 1961 and 2010, too shows that there has been a drastic decrease in rainfall at hill stations between 1981 and 1990. It also observed that only one of the 18 hill stations studied had conserved its climate during the study period.

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