Mumbai’s Autorickshaw Drivers To Attend Behaviour Camp

Behaviour Camp. The Mumbai Autorickshawmen’s Union will conduct behavioural training sessions for its 25,000 auto drivers. During the sessions, which will be held after the monsoon, the union will appeal to its members not to refuse fares and to behave more cordially with commuters. There are more than one lakh autorickshaws in the city. [Hindustan Times]

Affordable Housing. The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) plans to generate 8,000 to 10,000 more affordable houses in the city with the remaining five acres of land in its possession. MHADA has 57 transit colonies spread across Ghatkopar, Malad, Goregaon, Sewri, Sion and Antop Hill, which are occupied by over 18,000 residents. The colonies were constructed to accommodate those whose buildings were pulled down because they were dilapidated or had collapsed. [Hindustan Times]

Poor Attendance. In the 2011-2012 academic year, over two lakh children in Maharashtra did not attend school. According to school management committees, which are mandatory under the Right to Education Act, the number of absentees increased four-fold over the last decade. Most were kids of farm labourers. [The Times of India]

Pharma Fraud. Over the past four years leading pharmaceutical companies including GlaxoSmithkline, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson have paid $13 billion in fines in the US to settle charges of misleading marketing such as promising what drugs don’t do, bribing doctors to get their drugs prescribed, and downplaying known risks of certain drugs. The patients ranged from children to dementia-afflicted senior citizens. [The Times of India]