News

IndianExpress: PUNE’S march towards a bigger and better city got enhanced after it became the first in the State to get funds for the third project under the Centre’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM).

The first tranchet of Rs 99 crore for the Rs 635 crore slum rehabilitation project was approved by the Centre on Monday. A fortnight ago, the civic body had got Rs 65 crore for the bus rapid transit system’s pilot project and earlier Rs 99 crore was given for its sewage treatment project.

Municipal Commissioner Nitin Kareer said the rehabilitation project would be implemented at Hadapsar. ‘‘Around 6,000 flats would be constructed as ground floor plus four storeys at three places. The beneficiaries would get a carpet area of 270 sq feet, two rooms, a kitchen and a balcony. The construction of the buildings would be completed in the next two years.’’

IndianExpress: Dissatisfaction of Puneites over bad roads in the city surfaced at Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) Shaniwarwada Mahotsav when performers could not stop themselves from taking a dig at the PMC and MP Suresh Kalmadi. Volunteers of the Patit Pavan Sanghatana staged a protest at the inaugural function of the festival.

First, it was senior Gondhal artist Keshavrao Bagade who publicly announced that his performance was in the name of chaos created by the corporators in the civic body. ‘‘And I am saying this even though Kalmadi is sitting right in front of me,’’ he said taking a potshot at the MP

IndianExpress: CONSIDER this. The docket submitted by the Civic Garden Department to the Tree Authority Committee in September 2005 specified that Yewarada Investment Private Limited wanted 200 trees felled in Survey Number 190-192 for construction purposes. However, the committee gave the garden department permission to cut 367 trees but on ground, the actual number of trees felled by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) was 457.

To prevent the occurance of such incidents, the PMC has decided to upload proposals tabled before the Tree Authority to cut trees in the city on its official website — www.egovpmc.com

IndianExpress: WITH 7.1 percent of India’s population comprising of aged women and with the total aged population likely to reach 32 per cent by 2026, the country needs to formulate and implement policies for the welfare and well-being of senior citizens.

This was concluded at the colloquium ‘Status and role of women in aged society’, organised at SM Joshi Hall by the International Longevity Centre (ILC) on Tuesday.

According to a report prepared by ILC, India, it states that due to ageing, breakdown of joint families, financial insecurities of women, coupled with escalating costs of medical treatment, has made senior citizens, especially women, susceptible to insecurities and an uncertain life

IndianExpress: ‘‘I had come for the recruitment process with hopes of getting selected. But I was whisked away without giving any chance to prove myself,’’ claims Ravindra Vasant Kale (24) from Ahmednagar.

Kale was one of the several candidates who were allegedly beaten up by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Talegaon where they had gathered for the recruitment on Monday.

Kale who hails from Ghotvi village owns a barber shop and earns Rs 25 to 50 daily. Fed up with the financial crunch, Kale made up his mind to appear for the recruitment after an advertisement was published fifteen days ago in a regional newspaper.

TechTree: Laptops around-the-world seem set for a make-over, thanks to Intel Corp’s announcement that systems based on its Centrino Duo mobile technology with Core 2 Duo mobile processors are now shipping.

Intel Core 2 Duo processors (formerly codenamed “Merom”) boast two processing cores or “computing brains” capable of handling multiple tasks in lesser time, and using lesser power. The processors promise greatly improved performance for videos, gaming, and multimedia activities, especially whilst multi-tasking. Systems based on Core 2 Duo processors are touted as cooler, sleeker, and more efficient.

News.com: AOL on Tuesday unveiled a revamped music product with a Web-based store and subscription service offering audio and video streaming, programmed radio and downloads that can be transferred to compatible digital media players.

The online division of Time Warner said AOL Music Now, part of its AOL Music service, is open to any online visitor and features more than 2.5 million songs and videos.

AOL had, until recently, been a service available only to its Internet access subscribers. But this month its parent announced a change in strategy to open up AOL to more users with features such as free e-mail and a variety of Web services and content.

BetaNews: Microsoft on Monday took the wraps off its new Windows Marketplace, which features the “digital locker” it began beta testing in June. The site offers consumers a selection of software, paid and free, for Windows XP, in addition to hardware upgrades and electronics.

The digital locker was designed to give customers a single page for controlling their personal information and purchase history, allowing them to instantly see what software licenses they own. Microsoft is offering programs from the libraries of Digital River, eSellerate, Handango and Kagi, but will not support independent ISVs. Software developers must sign up with one of those partners to sell their products.