A New Start – What’s In Buzz

How many times have you felt Monday blues? Or Tuesday blues? Or, maybe, Wednesday blues? Well, work can get real boring sometimes and the environment at work can make you hell tired at times. So what do you do in such a case? Curse your boss or dream of being a millionaire, not having to work one day? Well, here’s something that you can now look forward to!

I am launching my new blog – What’s In Buzz that will bring some perky and cool stuff to enjoy every time you feel bored. From entertainment, gossips, news, Bollywood, health and beauty tips and all kinds of viral stuff, this will be a blog for everyone, right from teenagers to housewives and working professionals.

The name ‘What’s In Buzz’ itself suggests that the site will have everything that is in buzz and is talked about in town. Gear up to read some interesting and fun stuff and share it with your friends and colleagues.

As from my readers of Take A Stand, I want some good wishes, suggestions and tips as to what I shall include in my blog and what not. If you really like the website, don’t forget to like, comment and share the posts.

Thank you all! 

Pankaja Munde And The Selfie Controversy

The grave problem of drought in Maharashtra has been becoming much of a topic for controversies these days. While there was news of lush hotels wasting a lot of water to maintain their lawns and keep them green, there immediately followed a news that claimed a massive wastage of water for maintaining politicians’ helipads. And, while the government has been making attempts to send water to the drought-hit areas by sending water trains, here comes another controversy!

Pankaja Munde, the Minister of Rural Development, Women and Childcare in Maharashtra, has now been accused of clicking and posting selfies in the drought-hit areas of Marathwada. The BJP politician posted a series of selfies to her Twitter account which sparked the controversy and invited criticism from not only the opposition and the ally but also from people all over the country.

Again, just like any other controversy, this issue has divided people into two categories- the supporters and the non-supporters. As explained by Ms. Munde in her disclaimer tweet, the selfies were taken to make people aware of the anti-drought measures being undertaken in the Marathwada region and to acclaim the great job done by the minister’s department in the region. And, while there are people who support the reasoning and the minister’s act of clicking selfies in the region, there are the others who feel the act is a mockery.

According to me, no, there is nothing wrong with clicking pictures of a place where your department is doing good work for the people and anti-drought measures are being implemented at full pace. However, I do not agree with clicking selfies for the same. I mean, why does the minister have to be in the picture to show that work is being done in the affected areas? Is it a proof that she actually visited the place to keep a tab on the work going on there? Or is it a mere selfie craze that has been rising manifold among people over the last few years?

In my opinion, one must understand for themselves where to click a selfie and where not! People nowadays have been going crazy over selfies and it has become a rage among youngsters, adults, common people and even ministers. However, the rising selfie craze can be dangerous for anyone and everyone, also including the Pankaja Munde selfie controversy. People nowadays want to click selfies everywhere and do not think once about doing the same. And, while this craze has been taking many lives since the last few days, it has surely put Ms. Munde into problems now.

If the only motive of Ms. Munde was to make people aware of the good work happening in the Marathwada region, she could have simply clicked pictures where the workers were working and anti-drought measures were being implemented. There was no need for her to be present in the pictures to prove her visit to the region. This, although her intention might not be what it is now thought to be, has put her into the controversy that she wanted to show off. She is also being accused of making fun of the drought in a way.

The rising selfie craze among people needs to stop now. If the situation continues, we will have more people losing their lives to performing dangerous stunts for selfies. And, although it sounds a bit weird and funny, there will also be a time when governments would collapse because a minister clicked and posted a wrong selfie on social media!

Kolkata Flyover Collapse: “An Act Of God”?

While the whole of India had one thing to cheer for yesterday since morning- the India vs West Indies Semi Final match, Kolkata experienced a massive disaster! A flyover in the making since 2009 collapsed during lunch hours in the heart of Kolkata on a busy street. The mishap killed more than twenty people and injured several others who were trapped inside the debris for hours and were finally rescued by the disaster management force and the Indian army.

Naturally the mishap is a grave concern not only for Kolkata or West Bengal but to the entire nation. A flyover, that has remained incomplete since 2009, comes crashing down on people at the heart of the city, trapping cars and killing people, and all we can do is wait and watch the sad clippings in the news. No wonder, the disaster management force and the Army, as usual, did a commendable job working overnight to rescue the trapped people while the entire nation enjoyed a terrifying semi-final cricket match on the TV.

But, the real question that lays here is, who is to blame for the loss of so many lives and property? All the people who lost their lives to the mishap or were severely injured by it and are fighting for their lives in hospitals were innocent people like you and me, who were out on the roads probably to buy stuff, get to work or simply enjoying a short walk after lunch. Unfortunately, they were struck by ill fate and had to lose their lives! And who is responsible for this loss? Well, no one takes the accountability, of course!

When asked about the mishap, the builders of the flyover quoted the accident as an ‘act of God’. Oh, I couldn’t be more surprised over that explanation! It is like, I make a cup of coffee, accidentally put salt instead of sugar, and then blame God for it! If the builders or the company who supplied material for the flyover’s construction doesn’t take accountability for the accident, who should? It could not be termed as a natural disaster, of course, for it was not an earthquake, a flood or cyclone. It was an accident, a mishap that has obviously occurred due to discrepancies in its work and a hole somewhere in the system.

When Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee was asked about the mishap, she very cleverly and easily blamed the previous Left government for giving permission to construct the flyover that was reportedly being built in a residential area. So, dear Ms. Banerjee, if that was the case, why couldn’t any action be taken against it once your government came into existence in the state? The flyover has been reportedly lying unfinished since 2009 and Mamta Banerjee’s government came into power in 2011. Why was no attention given to the incomplete flyover then that stood unfinished in a crowded area in the heart of the city? Why were everyone’s eyes closed on it through all these years?

No one wants to take responsibility for the serious mishap and people are attempting a blame game. Of course, that’s not something uncommon in India! We have always seen politicians playing that dirty blame game, keeping at stack the life of common people like you and me. This one is just another instance! Nor do the builders want to take accountability for the accident because it was an ‘act of God’. And what happens to the families of people who lost their loved ones in the mishap? Who will compensate the people who lost their cars or any other valued possession in the tragedy?

All questions remain unanswered as always. The only thing we can do is pray for the safety and recovery of the ones injured, sympathize with the families of the ones who lost their lives and dwell in cities with the constant fear of losing our lives to an ‘accident’ or an ‘act of God’!