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indianexpress:  IT’S official now. The State government on Tuesday clarified that the Rs 1,662 crore funds meant for bettering civic infrastructure under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) will be in the form of grants. For the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) which had been protesting about the funds being given as loans, it’s a victory.

“Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has clarified that the funding for the implementation of projects by the Pune Municipal Corporation will be grants and not loans. The State government has also issued a General Resolution to this effect,” Mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale said.
 
As per the earlier direction, the PMC was to receive 50 per cent funding from the Union government, 20 per cent from the State government while the remaining 30 per cent contribution was to be chipped in by the PMC for implementation of JNNURM projects. Later, at a general body meeting, it came to light that the 25 per cent of the State government funding was in the form of loans.

BJP corporator Ujjwal Keskar had protested against this decision. A government resolution (GR) issued in September 2006 saying 25 per cent of the funds disbursed to the PMC for JNNURM projects will be in the form of loans invited the protest from the corporators.

After an uproar, mayor Rajlakshmi Bhosale had directed municipal commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi to convey the feelings of the House to the State government. She had also announced that the PMC would not accept any loans for implementation of JNNURM projects .

indianexpress: THE Rs 30-crore Balbharati-Paud Phata link road project is not supported by facts, said civic activist Prashant Inamdar, who has written a letter to Pune Municipal Commissioner (PMC) Pravinsinh Pardeshi demanding the project be scrapped.

In his letter, Inamdar said the PMC did not conduct traffic counts at Law College or Senapati Bapat Road to determine how many commuters would use the proposed road. Inamdar had sought this information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act last year. “However, the PMC was unable to provide this data, which clearly means it does not have this information,” the letter said, adding the only supporting data provided was a study conducted in 2003 in the Nal Stop area, which was not relevant.

Inamdar argued according to the map of the proposed road chalked out by the PMC, the starting point of the road has been identified at the Balbharati Chowk, while the termination point has not yet been finalised. “The road layout drawing showed two termination points for the road — under the flyover at Paud Phata and at the present ARAI/Paud Road junction. It is thus obvious that roadwork was started by PMC without deciding the final termination point,” Inamdar said.

At Paud Phata, the unidirectional traffic would get disturbed, while the service road alongside the Paud flyover would also get crowded. All this would create a traffic hazard for students residing in Kothrud, who have to travel towards Paud Phata junction, Inamdar said.

Taking into consideration these points, Inamdar urged Pardeshi to scrap the Balbharati road project, and instead implement other projects like the Nal Stop flyover or the tunnel connecting MIT to Patrakar Nagar.

indianexpress: THE wait is over for 48,703 students who had submitted applications for admission to standard XI across the city. The first list of admitted students has been released to all junior colleges in the city, and the admission procedure will start from Wednesday.

The list of students and the colleges allotted to them as per their preference and scores were released to all junior colleges at 2 pm on Tuesday, along with the cut-off scores. “Students can check their names on these lists at any college nearest to them,” said deputy director for education GK Mhamane, at a press conference on Tuesday. The first list of allotted colleges will also be available online at the websites www.punenet.net and www.mh12.com

The admission procedure for the first list of students will be held from July 18 to 21 from 10.30 am to 5 pm. Colleges will put up the second list on July 23 at 9 am as per the vacant seats left. Admissions for the second list will be held on July 23 and 24 from 10.30 am to 5 pm.

“Even if students do not get their first preference, they are urged to take admission as per the college allotted in the first list without waiting for the second list. If need be, after the second list is declared they can cancel their original admission and take admission into the other college on July 23 and 24,” said assistant education director VM Gaikwad.

If some seats are still vacant after July 24, colleges will put up a third list on July 25, and admissions will be held on July 25 and 26. Meanwhile, colleges have been instructed to begin classes on July 25.

indianexpress: SEVERAL cases of dengue, malaria and leptospirosis have been detected in the city. According to Dr S Patole, in-charge of the insect control department of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), there are 18 suspected cases of dengue in the city and patients are from Bibvewadi, Dhankawadi and Kasba Peth.

Sassoon General Hospital which admits patients from both the city and surrounding areas had taken in three dengue patients, ten patients suffering from leptospirosis and 18 patients suffering from malaria till July 16.

Health officials at Sassoon Hospital said they have patients from the fringe areas and from Guruwar Peth and Modikhana. One malaria patient died while the other death was caused by leptospirosis. Heavy rain which causes water logging can cause leptospirosis if a person wades through water contaminated with rat’s urine.

Even as three deaths were reported due to dengue, Patole said there was only one death of a patient suffering from dengue admitted to KEM hospital. “We are awaiting results of the samples sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV),” Patole said, adding that efforts have been launched to tackle the mosquito menace which includes setting up of three teams of 22 workers.

“There is an anti-larval team that works in the morning, followed by another team that takes up fogging and a third team that tackles diseases at homes. Container surveys are done following reports of cases of dengue from homes,” said Patole, who has urged people not to store water for more than a week.

indianexpress: WITH municipal commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi insisting on the need to provide hightech cellphones to his staff, the standing committee on Tuesday approved the civic administration’s proposal to purchase15 Black Berry Model 6300, mobile handsets of Hutchisson Essar Cellular Ltd, costing Rs 23,750 each for Class I Officers.

The Class I officers include municipal commissioner, additional municipal commissioner, assistant commissioners, zonal commissioners, city engineer, executive engineers and heads of departments. So far, these officers have been using Nokia handsets worth Rs 8,000 each. The civic administration had sought 50 pieces.

A member of the civic panel said, the standing committee was not be in favour of permitting costly cellphones fearing criticism from citizens.

The decision to allow 15 handsets was taken after the Pardeshi insisted saying it would enable the officials to speed up civic work.

The committee also approved Rs 899 per month to enable the officials to use the Internet in the new handset.

It was also decided to make a permanent provision in the budget starting this year for cellphones, including purchase of handsets, repairs and internet charges.

Civic sources said the PMC would provide mobile service to all its officials up to the rank of junior engineer to ensure speed in work. It may be recalled that the PMC Engineers Association had opposed the move to make their cellphone numbers public “as it would affect family life and smooth discharge of duties.”

indianexpress: THE traffic police has asked heavy vehicle drivers to use the highways instead of the city roads. In a press release from the traffic branch of Pune Police, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Mahesh Ghurye said heavy vehicles were using city roads increasingly. “The vehicle population of the city has been increasing steadily while the roads are still narrow. When heavy vehicles enter the city, the stress on roads increases causing jams on narrow roads,” the release mentions.

The traffic police along with the Pune Municipal Corporation will zero in on a date to fully implement the diversions. The release has appealed to drivers of heavy vehicles to start using the diversions.
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According to the suggested diversions, heavy vehicles travelling from Satara to Mumbai and vice versa should travel via the new Katraj tunnel to Wadgaon Budruk and Warje to Dehu Road via the Westerly bypass. Vehicles from Satara to Solapur and vice-versa should travel via the Easterly bypass, Undri-Pisoli, Phursungi and Hadapsar to Solapur.

Similarly, traffic from Ahmednagar to Mumbai and back should either use Purnakuti Chowk, Holkar bridge, Poultry farm junction or take the Kharadi junction, Mundhwa Road junction to Hadapsar via the Easterly bypass.

techtree: Today, LG Electronics has launched two new notebooks; the Z1 and the Desknote S900, and a 3D LCD monitor.

LG says it’s Z1 notebook is unique in that it sports an auxiliary display. The notebook also features Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB RAM, 120 GB HDD, DVD Super Multi Dual Layer (DVD-R/RW, +R/RW, RAM), Intel Pro/Wireless 3945ABG(802.11a/b/g), Dual Hexa-band Antenna, 56kbps Modem, and Bluetooth.

It is available across the country for Rs 89,990.

The other notebook, the Desknote S900, according to LG, combines the power of a desktop and a notebook.

It features a 19-inch screen, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM, 320 GB HDD, DVD Super Multi Dual Layer (DVD-R/RW, +R/RW, RAM), Intel Pro/Wireless 3945ABG (802.11a/b/g), Dual Hexa-band Antenna, Bluetooth, and a 1.3 mega pixels Web camera.

This notebook is priced at Rs 69,990.

LG’s 3D LCD monitor, the M4200D, boasts a 3D-type auto stereoscopic vision, which according to LG, helps customers experience the power of 3D images sans 3D glasses.

The M4200D comes with a 42-inch True3D Display screen, a built-in controller with IP function, and bundled software for content producing and video processing of feeds.

techtree: HCL has launched it’s personal computer with a one Terabyte hard drive capacity meant for designing professionals and consumers who dabble a lot in videos, movies, high-definition pictures, and music.

The 1TB PC has been launched as 2 models; an entry-level one, and a high-end Digital Content Creation Workstation. Both use Hitachi Global Storage Technologies’ recently-launched Deskstar 7K1000 1TB hard drive.

The high-end Workstation features Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and a special bundle of Quadro FX 1500 and Adobe Production Studio Premium.
Whereas the entry-level PC features Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB RAM, a 17-inch Flat Panel Monitor, HCL EC2 technology, and HCL Active Management Console.

Speaking at the launch, George Paul, vice president of HCL Infosystems, said, “Our launch of India’s first 1 TB PC, armed with Hitachi’s Deskstar 7K1000 hard drive delivers unparalleled storage advantage to users working on storage-intensive applications across industries, including publishing, designing, and production houses.”

The HCL 1TB PCs are available across the country, with entry-level models priced at Rs 35,000, and Digital Content Creation Workstations priced at Rs 99,000.

techtree: Microsoft Corp India today announced the launch of Windows Mobile 6, the latest version of its mobile software platform.

Among others, Windows Mobile 6 enables users view HTML mail along with all the attachments, tables, and formatting.

The new version of the software offers benefits including: direct push technology via Microsoft Exchange Server; enhanced chat; Day Glance, a new feature to help users manage their calendars; seamless integration with SharePoint and active links; support for storage card encryption and storage card wipe; and Windows Live services such as mail, messenger, search, contacts, and spaces.

According to Microsoft, Windows Mobile 6 includes several improvements over it’s predecessors such as: easy viewing and editing of Office system documents; email set-up and management with fewer clicks; synchronization with Windows Vista; smart calendar bar; Windows Live services; and contacts with context wherein call history is placed in each individual contact card making it less tiresome for people to find contacts.

Besides, as per Microsoft, Windows Mobile 6 is the smartest mobile solution for business users, thanks to a variety of security options, protected content, line-of-business applications, et al.

Announcing the launch of Windows Mobile 6, Doug Hauger, chief operating officer of Microsoft India, said, “Windows Mobile is a powerful software platform, which addresses the anytime anywhere connectivity need of today’s mobile workforce both in India and around the world. We are confident that Windows Mobile 6, with its enhanced security, communication, and productivity features, and a familiar software experience will further accelerate the platforms adoption by diverse segments of the industry.”

techtree: Transcend has reportedly announced it’s new 4GB miniSDHC Class 4 card, which is the mini size of the company’s SDHC card supporting FAT32 file formats.

Thanks to the enclosed adapter, the miniSDHC card can be used like a standard SDHC card to fulfill high capacity demands of new devices that are compatible with SD 2.0.

Transcend claims the card can hold up to around 2,000 high-resolution pictures; or 1,000 digital music files; or 8 hours of video clips.

The cards are produced using only original NAND Flash chips and components, Transcend claims. And they are fully compatible with hi-end miniSDHC host devices.

According to Transcend sources, the new cards are expected to be available in the country around next weekend, and will be priced at approximately Rs 5,000. They will come along with a lifetime warranty.