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indianexpress: The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company’s (MSEDCL) state of readiness for the monsoon failed the test on Wednesday when there was widespread power failure lasting several hours across the city after the pre-monsoon thunder showers lashed the city in the afternoon.

MSEDCL officials put the blame of the breakdown in power supply lines on the heavy rain. “The thunder shower affected the 132 kv line coming from Theur and 22 kv line in Rasta Peth. Power went off in some parts after trees keeled over bringing down the supply lines,” they maintained.
 
Jagtap chowk in Wanavdi was without electricity power for nearly five hours after an uprooted tree pulled down the power lines. Restoration work was on till late Wednesday evening. “Keshavnagar, Rasta Peth and Kasba Peth had no electricity after the rain,” said Shrihari Choudhari, superintendent engineer of Rasta Peth circle.

“There were some breakdowns which were restored immediately,” said Ashok Gujar, superintendent engineer of Ganeshkhind circle.

In Kothrud, residents said power played truant for at least half an hour.

“Some parts faced power cuts between 20-25 minutes,” said Sunil Pawade executive engineer of Kothrud division.

Bund Garden and Hadapsar areas were the worst hit with localities going without electricity for one to three hours. “Main lines were switched off during the rain and breakdowns were attended to immediately,” said M G Shinde executive engineer of the Bund Garden division.

Complaints of power cut poured from other parts of the city and fringe areas as well.

Power failure also disturbed water supply in the Peth areas, central and western parts of the city. The PMC water department has said normal supply will be restored by Thursday morning.

indianexpress:  To curb the increasing number of accidents on the district’s highways, the Pune Regional Transport Office, State Highway Police and Pune Rural police have joined hands. And at a May 17 meeting, the authorities decided to form seven squads to keep a check on all national and state highways passing through the district. These squads will consist of employees from the three establishments.

Each squad will make an account of cases pertaining to violations of traffic norms — lane-cutting, over-loading of trucks, carrying excess passengers in buses, ferrying luggage on carriages, riding ‘triple-seat’ on two-wheelers, overcrowding six-seaters and ape autos — and so on.

They will also check nameplates of different styles on vehicles that may create confusion and do not comply with the norms. Noting licence and permit suspensions and other cases under the provisions of Motor Vehicles Act is also on the cards.

It was also decided at the meeting that the signboards be put at accident-prone locations to caution drivers. The police will also put up traffic signboards in small towns.

indianexpress:  Members of Yuvak Andolan and Lahuji Shakti Sena on Wednesday barged into deputy municipal commissioner Dnyandev Thube’s office at the Pune Municipal Corporation building and smashed computers, shattered the glass table top and threw chairs around to protest against the civic body’s move to bring down a temple at Wakdewadi on the Pune-Mumbai highway to facilitate road widening.

Supporters of both organisations also stoned vehicles near the municipal headquarters, damaging a PMT bus and a few two-wheelers.
 
Thube said nearly 25 people entered his office with stones in a bag and after an altercation with him, smashed up two computers, a fax machine, tables and chairs. “The structure was an encroachment on the road. We have been holding talks with the concerned people since 2000. We gave them alternatives to shift the structure, but they refused,” said Thube.

Municipal commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi said the spot was accident-prone. “Another structure is being constructed nearby and we have told them to shift the deity to the new structure which did not happen. Hence the administration decided to clear the way,” he said.

Local activist Vijay Salve said the civic anti-encroachment department began to take action without any intimation. “The new structure is being constructed on a nalla. How can we shift the deity here? We want new land,” said Salve.

The general body meeting on Wednesday adjourned after corporators across party lines denounced the administration’s move to bring down the structure for road widening.

Mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale has ordered the municipal administration to construct a new structure on the alternative land nearby. Party leaders said the sentiments of the public should be respected before any such action. Some members also demanded that the PMC frame a policy for shifting religious structures.

indianexpress: Annie (name changed) from Kerala clearly had a goal when she joined Jehangir Hospital as a nurse in the general ward section. With the requisite experience in Kerala and Pune, Annie would be a strong contender for the post of a nurse at a US-based hospital.

While Indian nursing talent is in demand abroad, where nurses are treated on a par with doctors, back home hospitals are facing a crunch and adopting various means to retain them.
 
Jehangir Hospital medical superintendent Dr Prasad Muglikar admits that the rate of attrition is high. As many as 10 to 12 nurses leave every month for jobs abroad. Dr Muglikar points out that western countries consider nurses on a par with doctors. “Some of the nurses who earned Rs 5,000 here have started with $ 3000.”

There are 410 nurses for the 300-bed Jehangir Hospital which, Dr Muglikar says, is insufficient. “We are multi-specialty hospitals running sophisticated gadgets and the hands-on training the nurses get proves advantageous abroad,” says Muglikar.

According to Suman Tilekar, member of the Maharashtra Nursing Council, at least 5,000 nurses have left the country in the past couple of years for assignments abroad.

Ruby Hall Clinic chief administrator Bhomi Bhote says that they have their own school to train nurses and provide incentives to help them stay back. “We have 750 nurses for a 550-bed hospital and offer facilities including accommodation,” he says. According to Ruby Hall ICU in-charge and intensivist Dr Prachee Sathe, “I sign documents for at least two nurses every month to certify that they have the relevant experience.”

indianexpress: In an industry-academia initiative aimed at increasing employability of fresh graduates in the industry, the education committee of Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), headed by Ram Takawale, will be launching finishing courses for graduates as well as mid-career professionals in engineering and management.

In a statement released here, MCCIA Additional Director General Commodore Subodh Purohit said that an MCCIA survey had indicated the necessity of having such finishing courses, which are specifically suited to the needs of the industry.

“As a step to promote Finishing Institute, the chamber has decided to launch an important need-based course for freshers to upgrade their skills and attitudes to match the requirement of industries in the background of global competition,” the statement said.

The course will include soft skills training, basic skills needed for automobile and general engineering, biotechnology, which are vital to industries in and around the city.

The course will be formulated in collaboration with various experts.

While the process of course content development and identifying the industries and institutes has begun, the MCCIA has signed an agreement with the institution F1 Systems for courses in engineering.

There will be part-time courses of 60 hours in duration, covering areas like Solid Works Design, Pro-Engineer design, and so on.

On completion of the course, students will get a certificate from MCCIA and F1 Systems. Fresh graduates as well as mid-career professionals are eligible for the course
 

indianexpress: Sujata Mukherji, a senior citizen from Ashwini Society in Wakdewadi, has been worried for the past two months because of a five feet-long coconut palm leaf stalk precariously balancing on an electric cable right outside her house.

Despite numerous complaints, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) authorities at Wakdewadi have done precious little. “I stay here all alone. This wire is hanging dangerously close and may snap any time. It has been two months since I complained,” said a worried Mukherji.

Her son, Partho Mukherji, who is presently visiting her, said: “ I have made numerous trips to the MSEDCL office since I arrived but they refuse to take action.” The mother and son have now approached the district consumers redressal forum. When contacted, MSEDCL officials said the electrical cable posed no danger to anybody. Senior Engineer M V Patole said: “The cable in question is an insulated one. As regards the coconut palm leaf stalk, we will immediately look into the matter.”

techtree: According to reports, Intel and STMicroelectronics have entered into a definitive agreement to create a new independent semiconductor company.

The new company’s strategic focus will be on supplying flash memory solutions for a variety of consumer and industrial devices, including cell phones, MP3 players, digital cameras, PCs, and other high-tech equipment.

Reportedly, the new company will combine key research and development, manufacturing, and sales and marketing assets of Intel and STMicro into a streamlined worldwide structure with the scale to produce cost-effective and innovative non-volatile memory solutions.

Carlo Bozotti, President and Chief Executive Officer, STMicro, said that the new company would be positioned to service customers with all of the elements necessary to deliver current and next-generation non-volatile memory technologies, while allowing STMicro to redefine its participation in flash memory.

Adding to it, Paul Otellini, President and Chief Executive Officer, Intel, said that the new memory company would have the people, scale, and technology leadership to meet the needs of customers requiring leading-edge products in this highly competitive marketplace.

Under terms of the deal, STMicro will sell its Nand and Nor flash memory assets to Intel, while Intel will sell its Nor flash memory assets and resources to the former.

In exchange, Intel will receive a 45.1 percent equity ownership stake and a $432 million cash payment at close, whereas STMicro will receive a 48.6 percent equity ownership stake and a $468 million cash payment at close. Besides, the private equity firm, Francisco Partners, will invest $150 million in the venture for preferred stock representing a 6.3 percent stake

techtree: A world first, state-owned MTNL has launched a Convergent Voice SMS solution for users of its fixed line and mobile services.

Initially available in New Delhi, MTNL soon plans to extend the service to Mumbai.

For the first time, MTNL’s fixed line as well as mobile subscribers will be able to send personalized Voice SMS messages across its fixed line and mobile networks in New Delhi. In essence, the move marks convergence between fixed line and mobile networks/subscribers.

The convergent solution is based on patented ‘Voice SMS’ technology from Kirusa, a US-based mobile value added services provider. Reportedly, Kirusa has integrated its technology into MTNL’s fixed line and mobile networks.

MTNL’s Convergent Voice SMS service will allow the operator’s fixed line and mobile subscribers send Voice messages devoid of the phone ring aka RingFree Messaging, so that recipients can pick up messages at will.

To send a Voice SMS, subscribers need to dial 1* followed by the recipient’s phone number, and speak a short message in the language of their choice.

In case of mobile recipients, they will get an SMS message. By dialling 1*0*, they can retrieve new Voice SMS messages, whereas by dialling 1*1*, they can retrieve old messages.

In case of fixed line recipients, they will receive a call, and the message will be spoken to them.

techtree: Tripp Lite, manufacturers of power protection equipments, have announced the launch of their APS PowerVerter DC-to-AC Inverter/Battery in India.

The company says that this alternative power supply (APS) is a practical solution for all backup applications requiring 750 watts (1250 Volt Ampere/VA) to 3,600 watts (6000 VA) of power.

Vipin Sharma, Vice-President of Sales, EEMEA and India, Tripp Lite, said, “With five models to choose from, users can enjoy clean, safe, reliable AC output power for a wide range of stationary and mobile applications.”

The APS PowerVerter, which is claimed to be the smallest in the market measuring 18.4 cm x 21.6 cm x 35.6 cm (HWD), has a minimum battery configuration with maximum power of 3,600 watts that can be used to run AC with 3 batteries. Besides, it provides overload protection as well as protects equipment from continuous overload condition.

The new APS is available in five models including 750W (Watts), 1250W, 2012W, 2424W, and 3636W. The 750 Watts model is 1,250 VA, thus offering maximum power in the range.

According to the company, the new APS offers automatic line-to-battery transfer and an advanced 3-stage charging system to serve as an extended-run UPS system, a standalone power source, or an automotive inverter. It also provides AC power to equipment while utility power is available and simultaneously charges an array of user-supplied batteries.

And in the absence of utility power during power failures, on the road, or at remote job sites, it provides connected equipment with AC power inverted from battery reserves.

Further, the potential runtime of the new APS is virtually limitless, depending on the number and size of user-supplied batteries. In addition, an optional remote control module allows users to store the Inverter/Charger and batteries in a remote location, such as a basement or storage area, while maintaining complete operational control.

techtree: After all the gaga about various new features introduced by different cell phone makers, here is something even more interesting and important.

Nokia has reportedly developed software that transforms the cell phone into a signal receiver and warns the users of an imminent lightning strike.

The company has proposed a warning system that will be capable of sensing the radio waves produced by bolts of lightning.

Reportedly, a lightning bolt is an electric current that emits radio waves, with each bolt producing frequencies between 10 Hertz and 5 Gigahertz. However, the distribution of these signals depends on the distance between the user and the lightning.

According to the scientists at Nokia, the various connectivity options in the cell phone such as Bluetooth, FM, tri-band GSM, Wi-Fi and RFID, can be tuned to pick up these signals. Once detected, the software then interprets them, calculates the distance to the lightning, and warns the user if the strikes are getting closer.

With this innovation, looks like cell phones of the future will no more remain only a communication and entertainment device, but will play the role of an indispensable safety device for people when they are out-of-doors.