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By:

Shoumojit Banerjee

27 August 2024 at 9:57:52 am

Classroom of Courage

In drought-scarred Maharashtra, a couple’s experiment in democratic schooling is turning child beggars into model citizens In the parched stretches of Maharashtra, from Solapur to the drought-hit villages of Marathwada, a modest social experiment has quietly unfolded for nearly two decades. It is neither a grand government scheme nor a corporate-backed charity. Since 2007, the Ajit Foundation, founded by Mahesh and Vinaya Nimbalkar, has worked with children living at the sharpest edges of...

Classroom of Courage

In drought-scarred Maharashtra, a couple’s experiment in democratic schooling is turning child beggars into model citizens In the parched stretches of Maharashtra, from Solapur to the drought-hit villages of Marathwada, a modest social experiment has quietly unfolded for nearly two decades. It is neither a grand government scheme nor a corporate-backed charity. Since 2007, the Ajit Foundation, founded by Mahesh and Vinaya Nimbalkar, has worked with children living at the sharpest edges of society in Maharashtra. The foundation has become a home for out-of-school children, those who have never enrolled, the children of migrant labourers and single parents, and those who scavenge at garbage dumps or drift between odd jobs. To call their foundation an “NGO” is to miss the point. Vinaya Nimbalkar describes it as a “democratic laboratory”, where education is not merely instruction but an initiation into citizenship. The couple were once government schoolteachers with the Solapur Zilla Parishad, leading stable lives. Yet what they witnessed unsettled them: children who had never held a pencil, begging at traffic signals or sorting refuse for a living. Prompted by this reality, the Nimbalkars resigned their jobs to work full-time for the education of such children. Leap of Faith They began modestly, teaching children in migrant settlements in Solapur and using their own salaries to pay small honorariums to activists. Funds soon ran dry, and volunteers drifted away. Forced out of their home because of their commitment to the cause, they started a one-room school where Vinaya, Mahesh, their infant son Srijan and forty children aged six to fourteen lived together as an unlikely family. The experiment later moved to Barshi in the Solapur district with support from Anandvan. Rural hardship, financial uncertainty and the pandemic repeatedly tested their resolve. At one stage, they assumed educational guardianship of nearly 200 children from families that survived by collecting scrap on the village outskirts. Eventually, the foundation relocated to Talegaon Dabhade near Pune, where it now runs a residential hostel. Twenty-five children currently live and study there. The numbers may seem modest, but the ambition is not. Democracy in Practice What distinguishes the Ajit Foundation is not only who it serves but also how it operates. Within its walls, democracy is practised through a Children’s Gram Panchayat and a miniature Municipal Council elected by the children themselves. Young candidates canvass, hold meetings and present their budgets. Children maintain accounts and share decisions about chores, activities and certain disciplinary matters. In a country where democratic culture is often reduced to voting, the foundation’s approach is quietly radical. It treats children from marginalised backgrounds as citizens in formation. The right to choose — whether to focus on sport, cooking, mathematics or cultural activities — is respected. “We try never to take away what is their own,” says Vinaya Nimbalkar. Rather than forcing every child into a uniform academic mould, individual abilities are encouraged. A boy skilled in daily calculations may not be pushed into hours of bookish study; a girl who excels in cooking may lead the kitchen team. For children who have known only precarity, standing for election, managing a budget or speaking at a meeting can be transformative. On International Women’s Day, the foundation seeks visibility not just for praise but for partnership. If you are inspired by their mission, consider supporting or collaborating—your involvement can help extend opportunities to more children in need.

Should BEST Ply Long-Distance Bus Routes?

Mumbai doesn’t need more projects—it needs a unified, high-capacity public transport system.

Mumbai continues to expand its transport network, yet daily travel remains slow, unsafe and costly. The problem is no longer the number of projects but the lack of a unified, high-capacity public transport system.


To assess the financial viability of a transportation project, one must calculate the Internal Rate of Return (IRR). This is followed by estimating the annual commuter-kilometre totals, projecting the revenue generated from them, and determining the associated cash outflows.


In transport projects, real safety, comfort, speed and affordability are crucial. In Greater Mumbai, many current projects are merely trying to keep pace with the rapid growth in two- and four-wheelers by adding supporting infrastructure.


Vehicular growth becomes inevitable when public transport is unsafe, uncomfortable and slow. Peak-hour traffic crawls at 8–10 kmph, yet cars still offer safety and comfort, while two-wheelers provide some speed, though with a higher risk.


Transport planners and the ruling dispensation argue that buses in Mumbai should only feed the suburban rail, metro and monorail, not run longer routes, fearing they will divert passengers from an already underused metro. In reality, the suburban rail remains severely overcrowded. Commuters simply calculate costs and choose what they can afford. Instead of addressing gaps in affordable public transport, policymakers are penalising those who keep the city running, further increasing the financial burden on daily travellers.


Alongside the 20 km of elevated monorail, a 507 km metro–monorail network is planned for the MMR, including about 40 km underground. Currently, only around 100 km are operational, with plans to expand to 337 km by 2031.


Introduce premium BRT services along the 507 km network—or more if needed—with the capacity to draw about 65 per cent of private-vehicle users. Apply congestion charges on select roads to shift travel to public transport. PBRT services would run every 20 seconds.


The Metro and Monorail network will not be fully completed until 2041. Even then, it must operate at full capacity — 507 km, with eight-coach trains every three minutes on most lines and six-coach trains on Lines 1 and 11. Until this happens, a major gap will remain between available capacity and what is needed to ease the overloaded suburban rail system. Even after completion, the shortfall is expected to be about 20 per cent.


To bridge this shortfall, high-capacity BRT services should operate within the premium BRT corridors at 20-second intervals. It is also essential to deter private-vehicle use during peak hours.


To support this shift, introduce BRT-compliant, app-based microbus premium aggregator taxi services, with enough vehicles to ensure boarding within one minute of booking.


In suburban Mumbai and beyond, share-autos provide vital last-mile connectivity. But their dominance means metered rickshaws are often unavailable, creating hardship for those who don’t use fixed share-auto routes or prefer not to travel in crowded IPT services. With no alternatives, share-auto users also pay more per trip. Bus services are infrequent and quickly overcrowded.


To improve last-mile connectivity, introduce microbus stage-carrier services along existing share-auto routes and feeder minibus corridors. Peak-time frequencies should match demand, with intervals as short as 10 seconds, ensuring smoother commuter movement.


In the proposed scheme, commuters would no longer require door-to-door bus services, as buses or microbuses would arrive within a minute at any stop. Long, through-running routes would become redundant, with PBRT and HC-BRT services, supported by microbus stage carriers, meeting most travel needs.


To improve Metro ridership, it must be integrated with HC-BRT, Suburban Rail (First, Second and AC classes) and the Monorail, and treated as a unified service rather than separate financial entities. Fares should be sustainably low for both commuters and operators, encouraging wider use of convenient modes. The Railways’ plan to make all services air-conditioned will also help distribute passenger loads more evenly.


The only modes priced significantly above the integrated fare structure would be the PBRT and peak-period congestion charges for private vehicles on selected roads, reflecting their premium nature.


Another necessary feature is single ticketing. A commuter would enter their start and end points in the app, which would display the two quickest routes and the two lowest-cost options. The commuter then selects a route, pays online and follows the instructions.


PBRT, HC-BRT and microbus stage-carrier services in Greater Mumbai would be operated by BEST. Trunk routes linking the eight municipal corporations and nine city councils in the MMR could also be managed by BEST or a new SPV. In these cities, and across the 48 census towns and 1,427 villages, microbus stage-carrier services would act as feeders to all MRTS modes — Monorail, Metro, Suburban Rail, PBRT and HC-BRT — under the respective municipal transport authorities.


Within this framework, private operators can run the Premium Aggregator Taxi Service, deploying up to four lakh vehicles that meet specified BRT-compliant design standards.


In all this, it must be remembered that pedestrian facilities must be given top priority.

(The writer is B.Tech, M.Tech. Structural Engineering from IIT Bombay. Views personal.)

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