April 2, 2007 at 7:45 am
· City
indianexpress: The mid-day meal scheme in the primary schools run by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has run into a controversy over who will cook and supply the khichdi that is served to nearly 43,000 students studying in classes I to IV.
Four months ago, the civic body’s education board decided to hand over the preparation and distribution of the food from mid-April to the Pimpri-Chinchwad branch of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The move has upset several women’s self-help groups that prepare the meal. They say it is “an attempt to take away their livelihood.”
Nearly 600 women are involved in making and supplying the meal to over 100 civic schools in Pimpri-Chinchwad.
The khichdi is served to students in the school premises as per the State government’s directive to provide them a nutritious meal. The Rs 1.75 crore for the scheme is what the PCMC gets from the State government.
Education board chairman Ulhas Shetty said even though he is under “tremendous pressure” from a section of politicians and corporators to cancel the agreement with ISKCON and let the self-help groups do the job, the PCMC general body has decided not to renew the khichdi contract to self-help groups.
“So far, the self-help groups have been providing khichdi to the students. Almost all of them are run by corporators…the groups are fronts used by politicians to gobble up PCMC money. Many corporators have set up self-help groups to get such deals from the PCMC.”
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April 2, 2007 at 7:44 am
· City
indianexpress: Even as the Commissioner of Police Jayant Umranikar has launched a fleet of medico-legal vans, a joint meeting of all the concerned stake holders will be held on Monday at the Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning to implement the training of police personnel as the ‘first responders’ during medical emergencies.
Dr Rajeev Yeravdekar, Director of the Symbiosis Institute of Health Services (SIHS) said the various training programmes on first aid have been conducted for the police. Hence the meeting will discuss and implement the training of police personnel as the ‘first responders’ in medical emergencies.
According to the World Bank, 30 per cent of deaths occur due to accidents in India and these could be saved if better Emergency Medical Services (EMS) existed. “At Pune, we have had good success in establishing these EMS services and we feel that our project at Pune can be easily duplicated in different parts of our country,” Yeravdekar said.
The setting up of EMS essentially means co-operation between different hospitals and participating agencies. It entails networking of major multi-speciality hospitals with a back-up of emergency rooms, well-equipped ambulances, good communication systems, a three-digit common access number and a dedicated academic training programme for doctors and nurses to function as an EMS team.
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April 2, 2007 at 7:43 am
· City · Health
indianexpress: The Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) president Brigadier RJ Sharma has warned owners of hotels, bakeries, restaurants and eateries in the Cantonment area of closing down their business establishments if they fail to comply with the sanitation and hygiene maintenance rules as prescribed by the board.
Brig Sharma’s words to the eateries were very strong: “Co-operate with us or you will be in trouble.”
On Saturday evening, Brig Sharma, along with a team of cantonment officials conducted a series of surprise checks on a number of eateries and hotels located on MG Road and East Street.
After checking them out, he expressed his disappointment over the failure by the owners to adhere to the hygiene and sanitation norms as prescribed by the board.
Brig Sharma has now directed PCB CEO SK Sardana to initiate strict disciplinary action against the violators and asked him to submit a comprehensive report immediately detailing the prevailing sanitation and hygiene conditions of all the eateries including hotels, restaurants and bakeries. “I want a report to be submitted by Sunday evening,” said Brig Sharma.
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April 2, 2007 at 7:41 am
· City
indianexpress: It’s been only two months since Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) kicked off a campaign to woo back its passengers and it is already getting toasted as a runaway success. The Pravasi Wadhwa campaign, that requires MSRTC to undertake a more personal approach towards its customers, has seen at least 1.80 lakh more passengers travel by its vehicles between January and February 2007, compared to the comparable period last fiscal, generating an additional Rs 40 crore in revenue.
MSRTC’s spokesperson Neera Asthana-Phate said the number of passengers for the period between January and February 2006 — of 3.5 crore — rose to 3.68 crore this year. “While the MSRTC generated Rs 459 crore at the end of February 2006, it made Rs 499 crore by the end of February 2007,” Asthana said.
The campaign was initiated after the corporation faced a steep slump in the number of passengers two years ago. The daily load factor had decreased from 1 crore to 58 lakh passengers, while the 1996-97 earnings of Rs 272 crore dropped to Rs 211 crore in 2005.
Desperate to arrest the slide, the management initiated the Pravasi Wadhawa campaign on a trial basis. This included finding ways to attract more passengers between January and March. The 247 depots across the state were instructed to have a more personal and hands-on approach towards passengers.
“They (the depots) were given targets in terms of revenue generation and were informed of awards and other incentives,” said Asthana. “The best depot in each region is to be awarded a cash prize of Rs 50,000, while the second and third best depots will win Rs 25,000 and Rs 15,000 respectively.”
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April 2, 2007 at 7:38 am
· City
indianexpress: Pune is all set to become the first city to have a high-speed wireless internet network with the launch of pilot projects on Monday at the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) headquarters, Sambhaji Park and Fergusson College Road.
The ambitious project, named Unwiring Pune, when completed, will enable people to access the internet through their laptops or personal digital assistants from anywhere without a cable.
Municipal commissioner Nitin Kareer, who had announced the project during the 2006 budget, said the cableless net access will cost Rs 250 per month during the initial trial runs. Though the Centre’s spectrum policy is still awaited, it will not have any impact on the PMC’s plans, he said.
The project will be kickstarted formally at Sambhaji Park on Jungli Maharaj Road at a function to be attended by mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale, R Sivakumar, managing director- sales and marketing, Intel, South Asia and S Kailasanathan, managing director, Microsense.
The infrastructure for the wireless communication network covering the entire 280 sq km of the PMC area will be established by Intel along with Chennai-based Microsense. While Intel will provide design and planning support, Microsense will carry out network deployment. It will take a couple of years to cover the entire city.
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April 2, 2007 at 7:37 am
· City · Environment
indianexpress: On Sunday, the SM Joshi Bridge witnessed the gathering of a group of citizens from doctors, cost accountants and industrialists to teachers and students. And what bound the motley group was the passion to put a bar on the alarming levels of pollution in the city. In a unique concept to tackle the issue, around 60 people from across the city came together to celebrate Sunday as Green Day by voluntarily abstaining from using their private vehicles. The intiative will henceforth see the first Sunday of each month being devoted to the activity of curbing carbon levels in the city.
The celebrations saw the organisation of a cycle rally that commenced at the Garware College and covered several parts of the city before culminating at the SP College. Said Dilip Sarda, president, Pune Cycle Pratisthan, who was a part of the rally, “Right from students to senior citizens, people from all age groups and walks of life participated in the rally. The idea is to create awareness about the rising levels of pollution in the city. We have made an appeal to avoid the use of motorbikes and instead either use public transport or cycles or walk down at least once every month.”
While the celebrations were inaugurated by senior citizens from the old age home Nivara, what caught the eye of the onlookers was a double bicycle created by 20-year-old Shrikrishna Takle. Said Takle, “When I was thirteen years old, I saw a double seat cycle in a movie and that inspired me to make one of a similar kind. I finally succeeded in making it in six months and I am happy it is proving to be of use.”
Participants have already made plans to involve their kith and kin in the project. Said Sanjeev Gawade, a fitness expert, “Many of us were riding on the city streets for the first time. We will spread awareness about this initiative by inviting family and friends to join us. And it’s not just about riding cycles, but we are also encouraging people to use public transport. The basic idea is to discourage the use of private vehicles.”
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