Category Archives: Business & Economy

Meet Tabassum Bano – the first female e-rickshaw driver of Allahabad

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Travel

Tortured by her in-laws for dowry, Tabassum was thrown out of the house with her six months old son, she decided to not give up.

Tabassum Bano riding the e-riskshaw - Mohammad Anas
Tabassum Bano riding the e-riskshaw – Mohammad Anas

Tabassum Bano decided to fight and not surrender despite facing so many hardships some years back. She had been tortured physically and mentally by her in-laws for dowry, she was thrown out of the house with her six months old son, but Bano didn’t give up. She braved all the difficulties and challenges of her life. Confident and self dependent, Bano has set an example of courage as the first female e-rickshaw driver of Allahabad.

“I came to Allahabad in the year 2005. My family lives in a small village Narsimhagarh in Pratapgarh. One year after marriage, my in-laws started torturing me for more dowry. My son was just six months old at that time. One day they even took my clothes off and threw me out of the house. Tired of their torture, I had even thought of committing suicide, but my child gave me the reason to live and fight,” Bano broke into tears as she narrated her life story to iamin.

“Finally, I decided to get divorce from my husband and made up my mind to come to Allahabad and start a new life. With just two rupees in hand and my son in my arms, I began my journey from Pratapgarh by foot and reached Allahabad after walking 50 kilometres. Once when I wa at new Yamuna bridge, out of hunger, my son started crying uncontrollably and I became restless and helpless in this unknown city. An old man saw us and brought us to Sister Sheeba Jones. My life changed since that day,” said Bano who lives in a rented room at Teliyarganj colony in Allahabad with her son.

Bano gives the credit to Sister Sheeba for changing her life. “Sister Sheeba first taught me how to ride a scooty and then four-wheelers.” Besides riding the e-rickshaw, Bano also works as a maid in houses to bear her expenses of her family members.

Yes, apart from her own son, Bano is taking care of six other members of the family. “After my brother-in-law’s death, I took care of my sister and her three children. My brother died in the year 2011 and his daughter is also my responsibility. There is no male member in our family. I take care of my old mother too,” said Bano.

Besides work, Bano who was an illiterate before coming to Allahabad started studying and cleared class X examination. Her son Abdullah studies in a reputed English school in the city. “I want a better life for my son so, I work hard to send him in a good English medium school.”

Sharing her experience as a female e-rickshaw driver, Bano asserted, “I want to change people’s attitude towards women. There are different types of people in our society. Some people stare at me awkwardly while some praise and encourage me. I want to show that women are strong and can face challenges.”

Bano also uses her scooty to carry people. She sometimes drops school children to their homes free of cost in her e-rickshaw. Tabassum is surely an inspiration for women in the country.

source: http://www.iamin.in / I am in DNA of Allahabad / Home> Allahabad> Trending News / by Mohammad Anas, Edited by : Longjam Dineshwori/ Tuesday – October 21st, 2014

IT City foundation laid, CM enlists achievements

About Uttar Pradesh, Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Lucknow :

Making a strong pitch for UP’s “visionary governance”, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said on Wednesday his Samajwadi Party government had envisioned a hi-tech city for Lucknow well before “others” launched the idea of “Smart Cities.” Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposal to build 100 Smart Cities, Akhilesh said “people are talking about Smart Cities today but I don’t see the difference between them and the hi-tech cities Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) proposed years ago.”

At the ground-breaking ceremony of the ambitious IT City, for which the state has partnered with HCL Technologies, the CM said UP government has taken several path-breaking decisions to strengthen UP’s infrastructure, from building four-lane highways to distributing free laptops and bringing metro rail project to Lucknow. “SP government is doing things according to the need of the day. At the same time it has not forgotten its tradition. Apart from getting Amul to set up its plant in Lucknow, we are also making cycle tracks,” Akhilesh added.

Inaugurating three key infrastructure projects for Lucknow—two of them in the IT sector—Akhilesh inaugurated UP’s second Indian Institute of Information Technology, and UP’s first IT City project. “Besides creating job opportunities for UP’s youth, these projects will increase importance of Lucknow and UP in the country,” Akhilesh said.

On Wednesday, the CM also laid the foundation stone of Medanta Awadh, the 1000-bed super specialty cardiology hospital by Gurgaon’s Medanta group in Lucknow. Speaking at the ceremony, Medanta chairman Dr Naresh Trehan said “I am a product of King George’s Medical College and had the dream to pay back Lucknow for what I learnt here. The aim of this hospital is to be able to deliver state-of-the-art health facilities to patients at affordable rates. We hope the government ensures we get this project off the ground as soon as possible.”

The IT City project, rechristened by the state government as CG City, will come up in Lucknow on a total of 830 acres of land. About 530 acres of this land pocket will be developed for residential purposed by the Lucknow Development Authority. As part of the state’s affordable housing policy, the government also plans to build low cost housing facilities on 10-acre plots to be given to beneficiaries with monthly income of Rs 8,000 per month.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / October 16th, 2014

Chestnuts rule market as costliest dry fruit

Agriculture, Business & Economy

Varanasi:

Gone are the days when cashew nuts and almond were known as kings in dry fruit markets.

Now in the pricelists of the dry fruits shops, chestnuts are mentioned as costliest not due to festival season or recent floods in Jammu and Kashmir but courtesy people, who follow the advice of Yoga gurus, Ayurvedacharyas and medical practitioners.

A dealer of dry fruits at Gola Dinanath Mandi said: “We are in this trade for generations but in past two-three years, a surprising trend has emerged as chestnuts, which were consumed mainly in winters, are now being sold round the year. Arthritis patients consume chestnuts on the advice of Yoga gurus and medical practitioners. It has resulted in shooting up of per kg price of chestnuts from Rs 1300 in the wholesale market to Rs 1,600 to Rs 2,200.

But, this change in consumption of chestnuts has diverted those buyers, who gift dry fruits during festivals like Diwali. Apricot had become its substitute to maintain the look of the gift packs, another wholesaler mentioned. It had reduced the price of gift packs by 50%. The markets of Gola Dinanath caters to demand of markets falling in a radius of 400 kms. General secretary of Kashi Kirana Vyapar Mandal Anil Keshari said that there are 126 wholesalers.

According to these traders, on an average per day trade of dry fruits remains above Rs 25 lakhs in volume. “The boom in this trade begins from sixth or seventh day of Shardiya Navratra and continues till Diwali. In comparison to normal days, the trading of dry fruits rises to five times per day in this period,” a trader said. The market revealed that major fluctuation in the prices of dry fruits like coconut, makhana, cashew and pistachio had been noticed four months back but now it is stagnant and there is no indication for further rise.

Traders consider that the rise in trend noticed in the price of almond has started changing now. The monsoon season when moisture damages many dry fruits is over now and the arrival of fresh dry fruits will also start in the market, which can bring the prices down in coming days. Indian raisin is losing attention because better quality Afghan raisin is available at cheaper cost despite import duty.

source:http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Varanasi / by Rajeev Dikshit, TNN / September 29th, 2014

Razzak elected chairman of UP Bar Council

Business & Economy, Leaders

Lucknow-based lawyer Abdul Razzak Khan was declared elected as chairman of the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.

Razzak won unopposed as all the other contestants- Hari Shankar Singh, Anil Pratap Singh and Shree Nath Tripathi withdrew their nominations in his favour. All the 25 members of the Bar Council, who had to elect the chairman, were present at the headquarters of the Bar Council of UP at Thrornhill Road on Sunday.

Later, Khan promised to make all possible efforts to get welfare schemes for lawyers implemented. Outlinign his priorities, he said that first of all, he would persuade the state government to implement the insurance scheme worth Rs 5 lakh for the welfare of lawyers. Secondly, he assured to request the state government to implement the scheme of stipend to new lawyers.

He even warned the state government that if these two long standing demands were not fulfilled expeditiously, then he would lead the members on a dharna in front of chief minister’s residence on October 31, to pressurize the state government to provide all the necessary assistance to get these two welfare schemes for lawyers implemented.

He further promised to taken more steps for the welfare of lawyers after getting the aforesaid two demands implemented.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / TNN / October 12th, 2014

Sangam City a part and parcel of 160 yrs of postal service

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All

The postal department will complete 160 years of glorious service on Wednesday. However, many of us are unaware that the Sangam City has been a vital spot in this journey and has many firsts to its credit. From the launch of first horse cart postal service to air-mail and railway-mail service, the city has always been the first choice.

The credit of launching horse cart service in 1841 goes to prominent trader of chowk area Lala Thantimal. Owing to diversified business, he felt the need for a speedy mail service and hence the first horse cart service came into existence. His mail service also used to carry letters of public but for a price.

The launch of service led to Lala Thantimal’s business growing by leaps and bound. Later, he finally settled in Kanpur. “A decade later, he started postal company ‘Inland Transit Company’. Initially, the company carried mails and parcels between Kanpur and Calcutta (now Kolkata). The services were later expanded to Meerut, Delhi, Agra, Lucknow and Varanasi,” said director, postal services, Krishna Kumar Yadav. Thantimal’s great grandson Vinod Tandon now lives in Kanpur but is engaged in separate business. Incidentally, Yadav has conducted an extensive research on the topic.

In another first, the Britishers in 1864 launched railway-sorting section between Allahabad and Kanpur. “The section was later converted into rail mail service which now occupies over 70% of postal delivery services in the country,” said the director.

The world of postal services was, however, revolutionized by world’s first airmail service. It too was started from Allahabad to satellite town of Naini in 1911 and carried letters of freedom fighter Motilal Nehru written to his son Jawaharlal Nehru.

“The first air mail took off from the Parade Ground in February 18, 1911. It carried 6,500 letters and after 13 minutes it landed near the Central Jail in Naini,” said Kumar, adding Allahabad was the most suitable place for starting the postal service as it was situated between Kolkata and New Delhi and between Mumbai and New Delhi.

It may be mentioned here that a clergyman of the Holy Trinity Church, currently situated on Sarojini Naidu Marg, requested Englishman Walter Windham to participate in an exhibition on Parade Ground with his aircraft. There, Windham performed an aerial show to raise funds for the construction of a hostel. As a part of their contribution, a lot of people had also posted letters with postage stamps which were delivered to Naini.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / Vinod Khanna, TNN / September 30th, 2014

Abducted award-winning farmer rescued, kidnappers arrested

Agriculture, Business & Economy

Lucknow:

An award winning farmer, who was kidnapped few days back, was rescued and his abductors arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) after an encounter in Farrukhabad district on Wednesday.

Narad Singh Kashyap, awarded by President for potato production in 2005, had been kidnapped by four persons on September 14 from Jahanganj area in Farrukhabad. His abductors Rajesh Yadav, Akhilesh, Manoj and Sudesh Yadav had demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore from his family for his release.

Kashyap was rescued and his abductors were nabbed after an encounter in Karaon village in Kampil area early today morning, IG, STF, Sujeet Pandey told reporters here.

Rajesh, who had 15 criminal cases pending against him, was carrying a reward of Rs 50,000, he said.

The STF team recovered a rifle, country-made pistol and a number of cartridges and fake voter identity card of Rajesh from them.

PTI
source: http://www.zeenews.india.com / Z News / Lucknow, Wednesday -September 24th, 2014

Manipur Tower opens in Ghaziabad

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Imphal :

An exclusive residence for Manipur is called Manipur Tower (With 19 floors and 152 modern flats in it) in Aditya World City NH-24, Ghaziabad has opened today, according to a release issued by Nivedita Maharabam.

Extending gratitude to the team of Investors Clinic who exclusively marketed the allotment of the flats to Manipuris, social worker Amrik Singh Pahwa said that the Manipuri students and Manipuri families in Delhi and NCR find it very hard to sustain their living apart from struggling to achieve their dreams in the city.

Investors Clinic and its marketing team have done a splendid job in terms of helping the clients with their housing bank loans, issuance of allotment letters as well as signing of allotment agreements at Imphal itself.

They have made history by taking up the initiative as they are the first real estate marketers who took time to visit Manipur for the interest of the Manipuri people.

If they had not taken the initiative, the clients would have had to visit the marketers office which is located in Delhi.

A big team from Delhi who came to issue allotment agreements and required property documentation have gone back to Delhi today.

Their initiative has saved precious time and hard earned money of the clients from Manipur, he added.

He said, “People from Manipur living together under one roof in the city as a society for their safety and security has been my dream and it has now come true.

The crime rates in the city and NCR regions are increasing day after day.

“It was a very crucial initiative taken up by the team to make the dream come true,” he added.

Pahwa has started working on opening a massive girls’ hostel in Delhi exclusively for Manipuri girl students as they are living in rented rooms with high rental amounts without any assurance of safety, added the statement.

source: http://www.e-pao.net / E-Pao / source: The Sangai Express / Imphal – September 26th, 2014

Sports goods no match for Chinese imports

Business & Economy

Of the 2,300-odd sports goods manufacturers in the country, 800 are based in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. Most of them are struggling in the face of rising imports from China

Meerut used to have nearly 400 micro enterprises manufacturing badminton racquets and shuttles. Most have shut shop. Manufacturers of sports goods and fitness equipment in this industrial hub in western Uttar Pradesh are simply unable to compete with Chinese imports.

Of the 2,300-odd sports goods manufacturers in the country, 800 are based in Meerut. And most of them are struggling in the face of rising imports from China.

“Even after heavy customs duty, the cost differential between what we manufacture and what is imported from China is huge. In some cases, the imported items are more than 100 per cent cheaper than what we produce here. In this scenario, many of our manufacturers do not stand a chance,” says Rakesh Mahajan, general secretary of the Meerut-based Sports Goods Manufacturers’ Federation.

The situation in India’s other sports goods manufacturing hub, Jalandhar, is no different, he says. Indian manufacturers are estimated to export sports goods worth Rs 800 crore a year. But other than cricket gear, they are losing their advantage. In cricket, too, local manufacturers have seen a slump in business in the last two years.

Chinese manufacturers receive uninterrupted power supply, work with the latest technology and enjoy economies of scale. “We suffer from frequent power cuts, patchy infrastructure and rising labour costs,” says Mahajan. “Sectors like toys, electronic items, and mobile phones are flooded with Chinese goods. The situation is no different in other areas where medium and small enterprises operate,” says Rajkumar Narula, another Meerut-based businessman.

Bicycle manufacturers of Ludhiana in Punjab, too, are facing a tough competition from Chinese manufacturers. Companies have resorted to large-scale imports of Chinese bicycle parts, especially for premium cycles. Small Indian units making parts and supplying to big manufacturers are therefore facing the heat.

One leading bicycle manufacturer is set to launch its premium range in October based on parts that are all imported from China. A senior executive with another leading bicycle manufacturer says even ‘Made in India’ cycles have “critical imported components.”

“Importing bicycles from China works out to be much cheaper. But if we continue to lose ground to China in categories where we used to have an advantage, what will happen to our manufacturing units? And more important, what will happen to lakhs of people working in those units?” says an executive with a Ludhiana-based cooperative bank.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Economy & Policy> News / by Mayank Mishra / New Delhi – September 27th, 2014

Tunday Kebabs in Rs 50 crore law suit over trade infringement

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel

The world famous ‘Tunday Kebab’ of Lucknow has been caught in Rs 50 crore lawsuit over trade infringement.

Mohammad Muslim, who runs the ‘Lucknow Wale Tunday Kebabi’ chain of restaurants in Lucknow and beyond and is maternal grandson of the legendary one armed chef, late Haji Murad Ali ‘Tunday’, has sued the food chain’s current owner Mohammad Usman for trade infringement staking claim over the popular brand.

The Civil Judge (Senior Division) Ashok Kumar has asked Usman who runs restaurants in the name of ‘Tunday Kababi’ to come with his reply into the matter. The next hearing is on September 27.

Muslim has alleged that Usman has created the controversy over the inheritance of the chain of restaurants famous for melt-in-the-mouth Kebabs and other non-vegetarian delicacies. He said being the relative of the late Haji Murad Ali Tunday, he had every right to be part of the business.

TundayLUCKNOW22sept2014

“I am the real kin of Haji Murad Ali. We are running Lucknow Wale Tundey in Lucknow and outside for quite some time now,” Muslim said.

Contradicting Muslim’s claim, Usman said that the former was not directly related to Lucknow Wale Tunday. He said he came from Saudi Arabia and fraudulently used the brand name of Tunday Kebabs in Lucknow with his partner.

“He has no blood relation with use. I will fight it in court,” he added.

What started with a small shop in the old Lucknow city, Tunday is now a huge business empire with outlets in several parts of the city and outside.

source: http://www.news18.com / News18 / Home> English> News> Uttar Pradesh / by Gulam Jeelani / Monday – September 22nd, 2014

Haj pilgrims opt for Bareilly’s surma

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Bareilly :

Scores of Haj pilgrims across the world traveling to Mecca prefer to apply ‘Bareilly-wala surma’ (kohl manufactured in Bareilly) rather than the kohl prepared in other Asian and Arab countries.

A city-based manufacturer claimed that the demand for Bareilly’s surma increases by over 30% during Haj time as compared to other seasons.

The USP of Bareilly’s surma is that it is finely grinded and instantly provides cool comfort to the eyes, he says.

“While preparing surma, other manufacturers based in India and other countries use a grinder and other modern appliances for crushing the semi and precious stones. However, we still stick to our traditional method of using baton stone (sil batta) which helps us finely crush the metal or stone,” said M Haseen Hashmi (67), the manufacturer of Bareilly’s surma.

He claimed that it was his ancestors who made surma popular in the country after setting up their firm in 1794. Since then, generation after generation of Hashmi’s family has been producing surma. At present, hundreds of people in Bareilly work under him.

Even the baton stone used in the preparation of surma is unique. “The stone is black and it is available in Jaipur. The black stone crushes the metal into fine pieces but metal is unable to grind the black stone,” said Hashmi, as he recalled that it was the same black stone with which Shahjahan wanted to build a black Taj Mahal.

He added, “The main ingredient of Bareilly’s surma is the stone of Kohetoor mountain which is located in Egypt. From there, it is exported to India and we purchase it from traders.”

Shabbu Miyan, who is the manager of Khanquah-e-Niyaziya and younger brother of Sajjadanasheen, said, “It is mentioned in the holy Quran that applying surma extracted from the Kohetoor mountain is pious and good for eye-sight. Even Prophet Mohammed used to apply surma made from Kohetoor stone before going for prayers and sleeping.”

Though surma prepared in Bareilly is available in more than 80 varieties, a majority of Haj pilgrims from all over the world opt for surma gulab. “It is a general surma and can be applied by anyone,” said Hashmi. Apart from this, pilgrims prefer to apply ‘surma mamira 777’ and ‘sadi kajal’. ‘Surma mamira 777’ actually causes irritation in the eyes, but cleans all impurities, he claimed.

Sadi Kajal is for women and enhances the beauty of their eyes. The other popular variants help in curing diseases related to eye-sight like red spot in sclera (white area of eyes), eyes pain and also help in improving eye-sight, Hashmi claimed.

The manufacturer provides Bareilly’s surma to agents in Mumbai and Delhi who later export it to Arab countries. As pilgrims offer prayers at Mecca on Eid-ul-Adha or Bakri-Eid, the demand for the city-based surma soars by 30% three months before the festival.

Masqood Hasan, a timber businessman who will be leaving for Haj soon, said, “Applying surma is following Prophet Mohammed. As people across the country are attracted to Bareilly’s surma, I always get surma packed to gift it to my relatives and friends whom we meet during Haj.” Another Haj pilgrim, Shahida Mahmood (42) said, “Bareilly’s surma not only provides comfort but also protects the eyes from all diseases.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bareilly / by Priyangi Agarwal, TNN / September 08th, 2014