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indianexpress:  Even as the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) hails the proposed Balbharati-Paud Phata road as the answer to Law College Road’s traffic woes, a study conducted at the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) here has indicated that the road would result in only a marginal decongestion of traffic, as it would cater to just over 27 per cent of the total commuter volume.

The proposed road, which would cut across the Law College Hill, is to link the two areas of Kothrud and Senapati Bapat Road from the ARAI Chowk in Paud Phata up to Balbharati. This is aimed at reducing the traffic congestion on Law College road, which is becoming a hazard for residents and commuters.

In a study conducted in the October-December 2006 period at GIPE by the final year MA Economics students as part of their transport economics research work, traffic volume counts and origin-destination surveys were carried out on arterial, sub-arterial, and distributor roads in the Deccan Gymkhana area. These include the Law College, Bhandarkar, Prabhat, SNDT Canal, BMCC, and Fergusson College roads. “The main aim was to identify the causes of traffic congestion in these areas and suggest long term sustainable interventions,” said GIPE student Aparna Shroff.

Traffic was counted each day for 17 hours over a period of two weeks from 7 am to 10 pm at intervals of 10 minutes. Two team members each were posted at the BMCC road intersection near NCC ground and SNDT Canal Road intersection. Traffic coming in from Senapati Bapat Road was counted at the NCC ground intersection, and traffic from Karve Road was counted at the SNDT Canal Road near the signal. All categories of vehicles were included in the study.

indianexpress:  As Pandharpur, with a population of around 75,000, plays host to 10 lakh Warkaris during the Ashadi yatra to see Lord Vithoba every July, it also has to put up with devotees resorting to open defecation owing to a lack of toilet facilities here and enroute to the town.

Vanrai, a Pune-based NGO, estimates that around 5,200 tonnes of garbage is generated here by the Warkaris in the span of seven days during the Ashadi Ekadeshi, which leaves behind a putrid stench for the next 10 to 15 days.
 
Vanrai president Mohan Dharia at a press conference in Pune said that the NGO was helping Pandharpur battle the stench for the second year in a row. After the success of its pilot project last year — using eco-friendly technology — the NGO said it would cover more areas in Pandharpur and Baramati this year. Vikalp Technologies had developed a bacterial solution last year and approached Vanrai to promote its use.

“The mineral-based bacterial solution eats the excreta to speed up the decomposition process converting it into manure and eliminating the stench,” said Vanrai secretary Sriram Gomkar, adding that this solution was tested at the Amarnath and the Vaishnodevi yatras. “Last year, we targeted Chandrabhaga River banks, areas around the temples and along roadsides. With the Baramati and Pandharpur municipal councils pleased with our work, we have been invited to cover more areas this year,” said Gomkar.

He also said there would be representatives from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) to monitor the project this year and determine whether the same techniques could be used at various halts enroute to Pandharpur and across the state for other festivals.

indianexpress:  Notch up one for the prospects of Indian product design. Pune-based firm Ticket Design has won the silver at the 20th International Appliance Design Awards 2007 USA, for Advanced Telematics — a vehicle tracking device it designed for Tata Motors.

The device is an advanced vehicle tracking system launched by Tata Motors in their Novus Heavy duty trucks. Co-founders of Ticket Design and industrial design specialists Balkrishna Mahajan and Nishma Pandit are pleased. Elaborates Mahajan: “Though this technology has been around for some time abroad, it had to be adapted to suit the Indian ethos and needs of the local truck drivers.” When they first came out with the product, it met with resistance from the truck drivers, who were far from happy with the prospect of their bosses snooping on them and their activities. “With transport businesses expanding by the day, both consigners and fleet owners feel the need to keep a track of their consignments and vehicles on the road. But the end users — the truck drivers — were hostile to what they perceived as an intrusion.”
 
So, they repositioned the device as a travel mate, instead of calling it a tracking device. “We explained to the drivers that the device could actually end up being a friend by enabling them to establish immediate contact with their bosses in case of an emergency. That in case of a run-down they would be able to contact the nearest Tata service centres. We added value to the product by adding a music circuit,” says Mahajan. The product transcends barriers of language and literacy with the use of icons and symbols. “This will enable even an illiterate to press the appropriate button,” he says.

An independent panel of three industrial design experts performed judging of the entries. Evaluation of the entries was based on four criteria: Appearance, human factors, innovation and technical merit. “A jury member remarked that our design weds high-end technology with an easy-to-use interface. There is no other product in the market that communicates that well with the user as well as the fleet owner,” says Pandit.

indianexpress: Excitement is palpable at the Rewachand Bhojwani Academy as students eagerly log onto open2.net and read out aloud messages posted on their school from all over the United Kingdom. Ketan Bhavan from Birmingham says that schools in UK could pick up a lot from the Indian education system, even as someone called ‘un4getablefriend’ rues that education in India only focuses on academic pursuits. In between all this is Madhavi Kapoor, the school’s principal, replying to all the postings, acknowledging compliments, clarifying criticisms. The frenetic online activity is all thanks to the BBC having commenced with the airing of its Indian School programme in the UK six weeks ago.

Five directors had come down to India for a year — from May 2006 to June 2007 — to put together a 10-episode programme on Indian Schools. The programme produced at a cost of about 80,000 pounds was pegged as the most important project on India commissioned by the BBC.

While Pune pipped Hyderabad and Bangalore, thanks to its reputation as the Oxford of the East, Rewachand Bhojwani Academy and Shamrao Kalmadi High School were chosen from among 40 schools in the city for the one-year ‘in camera’ study. For 12 months the directors followed the students and teachers through the highs and lows of their academic lives to come up with 10 episodes that highlight all aspects of Indian schools from the admissions to caste and class to Hinglish and the importance of IT.

indianexpress:  With the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) already collecting octroi on petrol and diesel under the value added tax (VAT) head, pushing up fuel prices by around 50 paise compared to other cities, Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar’s proposal to impose a surcharge by way of octroi on petrol and diesel to generate funds for infrastructure projects has drawn the ire of civic groups and NCP’s ruling partner BJP.

“It is an unwanted move as Puneites are already paying excess charges for their fuel,” said BJP corporator Ujwal Keskar. The general body of the civic body had, in August 2005, ratified the standing committee’s decision to reject a proposal to charge octroi on the basis of prices inclusive of VAT. However, the then Municipal Commissioner Nitin Kareer had clarified that the price of petrol and diesel could not be reduced till the State government ratified the PMC decision.

“With the VAT matter unsolved Puneties continue to pay additional charges on fuel. The state government should divert this additional amount to cover construction costs of the Maharashtra State Roads Development Corporation (MSRDC) projects instead of levying new cess,” said civic activist Vivek Velankar.

Opposition leader in the PMC Vikas Mathkari said that his party is of the view that no additional burden should be put on common man. “The BJP-Shiv Sena government in the state had proposed to complete the MSRDC works free of cost. We never wanted the common man to shoulder any additional burden and hence we had even opposed toll collection for the MSRDC projects,” said Mathkari.

indianexpress: A Live crude bomb, sent in a parcel and addressed to the city’s postmaster, was defused by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) on Friday evening. The police though ruled out the possibility of a terrorist link.

Faraskhana police said the bomb was sent from Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh by a couple angry over family opposition to their marriage. The box had a note attached to it, saying: ‘Handle with care, as it is a bomb.’

Panic gripped the post office after news of a live bomb spread amongst the employees at around 2.40 pm on Friday. Sniffer dogs along with the BDDS were pressed into action to defuse the bomb. The procedure continued till late in the evening, with senior police officials including Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 1) C H Wakde being rushed to the spot to assess the situation.