News

IndianExpress: FOR millions of information seekers across the world, Google has been the first preference as a search engine. But when it came to searching data on corporate intranets and knowledge management systems, the search engine came to a screeching halt. For, Googlebot — the robot software that continually crawls the web to refresh and expand Google’s index of online documents — could not recognise different types of files stored in them.

Helping them to overcome this problem and sharpen the search engine’s ability is Pune-based Persistent Systems. In fact, Persistent is the only Indian company to be short-listed for the Google Enterprise Professional (GEP) programme where software development companies help the search engine extend its power.

‘‘We were in touch with Google since early 2005, and later that year, Persistent was short-listed for the GEP,’’ Persistent product manager (Connectors) Gautam Malkarnekar said.

IndianExpress:  THE Haveli police has stopped the entry of both two-wheelers and four- wheelers —on August 14 and August 15 at the Sinhagad fort. This only leaves the revellers with the option of trekking the 16 kilometres road that leads to the fort, during the two days.

Police inspector Sanjay Pawar from Haveli police said that taking note of last year’s traffic density, they have stopped entry of vehicles on the Sinhagad fort on the two days. ‘‘Around 70-80 number of vehicles can be parked in the fort premises, which fills up the parking place in the are,’’ he said.

Pawar said that visitors will have to park their vehicles near the foothills of the fort, which has a parking capacity of around 1,000 vehicles. He said, ‘‘Normally, of the sizeable number of visitors visiting the fort, a large proportion of them do not come down immediately. As a result, the parking area at the fort remains blocked.’’

IndianExpress: FOUR school friends come across a broken stone in the middle of a street and go hunting for the missing piece. Their search leads them to Pune’s historic sites and they discover the city’s past. A perfect storyline that will put across the message of heritage conservation in young minds.

Banking on just this is the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Pune Chapter which is producing a 10-episode Marathi radio musical drama on heritage conservation for schoolchildren. “We wanted them to understand the importance of Pune’s heritage and what better way to educate them than a radio drama?,” says convenor Arti Kirloskar.

 The idea was picked up from The Lady Hamilton Trust in the UK that produced such a radio programme for children by INTACH, Delhi and later by its Pune Chapter.
 

IndianExpress: FROM frisking people to checking vehicles before they are parked, city’s malls and multiplexes are taking precautionary measures to ensure there is no untoward incident. Following the terror threat and with the entire country on alert, these malls and multiplexes are taking no chances and people are not complaining.

The general feeling among the customers is that as long as it helps the security process, it is fine. ‘‘It is not that I like getting frisked and opening my personal belongings and purses before the security personnel in malls, but I think it is a necessary step to prevent any untoward incident,’’ says Lovelyn Kaur, as she steps out of Piramyd Mega Store in Camp area.

IndianExpress: A special passenger train will be run between Pune and Lonavala to cater to the increased passenger traffic on account the holidays on Independence day and Janmashtmi. Public Relations Officer, Central Railways Pune division, Y K Singh said that the services of trains have been started to meet the additional passenger traffic on account of the two day holidays on August 14 and 15. The trains will be running from August 13 to 15. The train for Lonavala will depart at 8:20 am from pune and will reach Lonavala at 10:05 am. The same train will start from Lonavala at 1:15 pm and will arrive at Pune at 3:15 pm
 
 

IndianExpress:  RAINFALL activity over Pune will remain unchanged with intermittent spells, while it is likely to increase in Marathwada, Madhya Maharashtra and Konkan and Goa on Monday. Moreover, as per the Met Department, isolated extremely heavy spell of rain is likely over Vidarbha. The city received 2.9 mm of rain on Saturday.

The increase in rainfall activity has been attributed to the well marked low pressure area over Chhattisgarh and neighborhood. This low pressure area resulted from the weakening of the depression over Bay of Bengal.

The department has forecast widespread rainfall with one or two heavy spells over Vidarbha and Konkan and Goa.

IndianExpress: The Crime Branch of the Pune Rural Police seized 20 tonnes of Black Jaggery and Navsagar Products estimated to be worth Rs 5 lakhs in a raid on Mittal Farmhouse in Wagholi on Saturday and has arrested Naresh Sajjan kumar Agarwal ( Mittal ) (32 ) and Kumar Narayan Agarwal (Mittal) (55),owner of the firm Mittal Associates that had bagged the licensed production of Navsagar.According to API Bhausaheb Andhalkar,the duo was engaged in the manufacturing of illegal liquor under the name of licensed production.

IndianExpress: The Bhosari Police has arrested Ravindra Shivaji Daudkar (19) and seven of his accomplices for brutally assaulting Jitendra Ramchandra Salunkhe (19) of Bhosari on Aug 11. Jitendra, in a complaint lodged with the Bhosari police said that Ravindra forcibly demanded Rs 51 as contribution towards Ganesh Festival and when the former refused, he was beaten with iron rods and stumps and locked in a room after being threatened that he would be thrown in the river.
 

IndianExpress:  Dr Parag Sancheti (40), son of city orthopaedist Dr K S Sancheti and his wife Archana Parag Sancheti (38) narrowly escaped an accident when their newly purchased Innova car dashed against an unidentified vehicle from the rear end on the Mumbai-Pune Express highway near Gaunje Phata at about 3 am on Sunday.

While, Parag has sustained minor injuries, his wife suffered a fracture in one of her arms. She is admitted to Sancheti hospital. However, their driver — Nana Dnyanoba Shejwal (32) from Wadki in Haveli Taluka — was not fortune enough to survive the accident.