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indianexpress: SOUNDING a warning on drunken driving, Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil said the State Home department has decided to put in place a strict regime for traffic enforcement in Pune in the wake of rising number of accidents and accidental deaths in Maharashtra.

Addressing a gathering of police personnel during the 5th Maharashtra Police Duty Meet 2007 at State Reserve Police Force Group I headquarters here on Tuesday, Patil said the Home department has decided to increase the existing penalties for drunken driving related offences and was determined to increase it “manifold” to curb rash driving.

Citing the example of police crackdown on drunken driving after 11 pm in Mumbai, Patil said the traffic department had recovered a whopping Rs 1.10 crore as fine from drunken driving related offences. “Despite the action against the offenders, there are no signs of the drunken driving cases coming down. However, the action has certainly brought down the number of accidents in Mumbai. What I don’t understand is that people continue to drive under the influence of alcohol,” he said.

Patil said over 400 cases of drunken driving were registered daily in Mumbai. “Around 6,000 people have been booked for drunken driving related offences and a huge fine of Rs 1.10 crore has been recovered. We have now prepared a proposal where the fine amount will be increased manifold and would definitely act as a deterrent to drivers,” Patil said.

Referring to Pune city, Patil said that a crackdown on similar lines in Mumbai will be launched in Pune soon. He however did not specify when the implementation of the Mumbai pattern would begin. The proposal to increase the fine amount will be tabled in the assembly session sometime in December. We hope the step would drastically curtail the increasing number of road accidents in future.”

indianexpress: Maharashtra’s popular Gokulashtami festival and the practice of Dahi Handi is all set to go high-tech. Come September 2008, the ‘Govindas’ forming the human pyramid to break the Dahi Handi in cities like Pune and Mumbai will be joined by robots in 20 countries across the Asia Pacific as they scramble for pots filled with butter cubes.

As part of the Robocon Asia Pacific 2008, a robotics competition organised internationally by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasters Union (ABU) and hosted in Pune by the Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT) and Doordarshan (DD) will have manual and automatic robots designed by engineering students from various countries performing set tasks modelled on the lines of the Dahi Handi practice.
 
Robocon, which began in 2002 to foster good relations between the Asia Pacific nations, is usually based on a specific theme unique to the culture and traditions of the host country. With MIT’s official selection as a host in August this year, it announced its theme of Dahi Handi.

“We wanted the competition to be based on an Indian mythological event that could also be converted into a game. After contemplating a number of ideas, we finally settled on Dahi Handi,” said Sunil Karad, executive director of MIT and chief convenor of Robocon 2008. The decision was taken by a contest committee comprising professors from IITs from Mumbai, Kanpur, Delhi, among others.

The robotic version will be a symbolic Dahi Handi, wherein automatic and remote-controlled robots from two opposing teams will be required to retrieve butter cubes placed in bowls suspended at varying heights. “There will be a manual zone for the remote-controlled robots and an automatic zone for the automatic robots. In the automatic zone, the robots will have the task of climbing on each other to reach for the butter,” said Karad. The winning team that retrieves all the butter cubes will be declared ‘Govinda.’

indianexpess: LIKE the women from Jhambut village in Shirur taluka, women groups from Akurdi and Sahakarnagar have appealed to the district collector to close down the country liquor shops in their respective areas.

On Tuesday, both the appeals were accepted by resident deputy collector C Joshi. Women groups from Swapnashila Society of Sahakarnagar and Vivekanagar from Akurdi have given written complaints about the liquor shops being operated in the area. “After Jhambhut, more and more women groups are taking cue and are registering their protest,’’said Joshi. The collector’s office would now be forwarding the same to the State Excise Department, he added.
 
When contacted, Superintendent of State Excise Department (Pune district) Vijay Chinchalkar said that once he gets the letter from the collector’s office, he would start with the necessary inquiry. “Our report will also check on the genuiness of the appeal and the percentage of women who are against the liquor shop. Depending on the percentage we will decide whether we have to conduct elections, just as it was done in Jhambut,’’ said Chinchalkar.

On August 19, women from Jhambut village scored a major victory after they managed to get a liquor shop operating in their village since May shut down. A special voting procedure sealed the fate of the permit room selling beer and Indian Made Foreign Liquor. The women had relied on the Rules of June 30, 2003, Gazette of the excise department, wherein if 25 per cent of womenfolk in the village voted against the sale of liquor, it becomes mandatory for the excise department to close the shop immediately.

indianexpress: FOUR sandalwood trees and 12 peacocks were on Monday night smuggled out of Katraj Snake Park by a gang of burglars who cut through the chain-link fence around the peacock enclosure. Police officials investigating the case said the breach could be due to the breaking down of a part of the compound wall to facilitate road-widening for the Bus Rapid Transit System.

The 200-acre snake park has four security guards who patrol the inner roads on foot. But director Neelimkumar Khaire said it was difficult for these guards to keep the whole area covered at a time. “This has made the security lax in the area,” said PI U N Sonawane of Bharati Vidyapeeth Police Chowky, where the complaint has been registered. Khaire said the breaking of the wall had led to easy access to the park.
 
“Passers-by on the highway can easily look inside the park and break in,” he said, adding security had now been stepped up with armed guards and vehicles stationed at the park. “Duty hours of the security guards have also been re-adjusted to ensure constant patrolling, and routine check-ups will be strengthened.”

indianexpress: FOR city-based gynecologist Dr Vivek Joshi, it was a moment of pride when the highly acclaimed British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology selected his report as the Editor’s Choice for ‘practically and simplistically’ dealing with a serious obstetric problem like post partum haemorrhage (or bleeding post delivery).

Post-partum haemorrhage (PPH) is a serious obstetric problem and is one of the major causes of maternal deaths in India. Five per cent of normal deliveries may lead to post-partum haemorrhage with a lot of blood loss.
 
PPH is also a major cause of worldwide maternal mortality ranging from 13 per cent in developed countries to 34 countries in developing countries. It is reportedly responsible for over 1,25 000 maternal deaths each year and is associated with morbidity in 20 million women per year.

Joshi along with his co-researchers Dr S R Otiv, Dr R Majumdar, Dr Yogesh Nikam and Dr Manisha Shrivastava studied the role of internal iliac artery ligation (ILAL) for arresting postpartum haemorrhage in 110 women at KEM hospital.

“This is one technique which most obstetricians fear and do not want to take up as it involves tying of the blood vessels in the pelvis,” says Joshi. This intervention is important as it can avoid removal of uterus and also more prevent maternal deaths.

indianexpress: THE activism of Pune Municipal Workers’ Union (PMWU) has found admirers amongst Sangli Mahapalika Chattrushreni Kamgaar Sanghatna, 15 of whose members visited the city on Monday to understand, experience and adopt Pune’s model at home. “After watching Kachra Kondi, a documentary on waste workers produced by PMWU, we decided to visit Pune to compare the workers’ situation here,” Shaleen Sheikh, a social worker engaged in a battle for these labourers’ rights with the Sangli Corporation.

The Class 4 workers of Sangli Municipal Corporation’s health, garbage and garden maintenance departments visited the city’s ward office for tips on co-operation, unity and awareness of labour laws during meetings with Pune Municipal Corporation and PMWU members. “The workers here are united and aware of their rights. The bureaucracy in Sangli subjects workers to physical and psychological trauma,” said Sheikh. “Stringent working hours, having to work on national holidays without overtime, lack of tools to aid working, delayed wages, constant humiliation by supervisors and inspectors are just some of the problems that Sangli’s workers have to face.”
 
A session to exchange ideas and experiences was organised by PMWU working president Prakash Jadhav and general secretary Mukta Manohar. Jadhav informed the workers about the initiatives PMWU’s efforts have yielded. “Since 1995, Pune’s workers have been covered under the BPMC Act and can accrue the benefits of dearness allowance. The workers’ union here has over the years gained tremendous bargaining power and can question officers of the highest post, if he or she is found to be at fault. We have a separate women’s cell for addressing complaints,” said Jadhav urging Sangli’s workers to unite.

techtree: Intex Technologies has reportedly unveiled its latest notebook range comprising 4 models: the Challenger 012 DW, Performer 032 DW, Achiever 026 DW, and Achiever 026 CW.

The Challenger 012 DW is a Wi fi enabled notebook, designed specially for working professionals.

It features: Intel’s Core Duo processor 1.86 GHZ, DVD dual drive, 667 FSB & 2 MB L2 cache, 1 GB DDR-2 memory, 100 GB hard drive, inbuilt Web camera, and embedded 4-in-1 card reader.

The notebook has 2x built-in-speakers, 1x Mini IEEE 1394a port, and 1 xS- Video jack for TV output (HDTV support by transfer cable). Other features include: 12.1-inch wide LCD screen, 1x External CRT monitor output, Bluetooth for fast data transfer, and longer battery life.

Equipped with One Express Card/54(34) Slot and a Kensington lock, the notebook weighs 1.9 kg and costs Rs 39,900.

The Performer 032 DW is targeted at frequent travelers and features: Intel’s Centrino Core Duo processor, Wi-Fi with Intel wireless LAN, 14.1-inch wide screen, 100 GB hard disk, DVD Dual Drive, and card reader.

techtree: Logitech’s MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse, a versatile laser mouse that works on the desk and in the air is now available in the country.

The MX Air Mouse can be used like a TV remote control wherein the user can sit back and air navigate the PC to enjoy media content effortlessly.

The new mouse combines three important technologies — Freespace motion control, gesture command, and wireless — so people can point, select, and play media files with just a flick of the wrist.

Freespace motion control technology provides accurate, responsive navigation without any of the limitations imposed by previous in-air pointing devices. Users can hold the mouse in any orientation, point in any direction, and enjoy effortless, intuitive cursor control, according to Logitech.

Additionally, sophisticated algorithms are capable of distinguishing between intentional and unintentional hand movements, thus canceling slight involuntary tremors experienced when holding a device in the air.

Gesture-based commands allow users to change the volume by means of gestures. Users can press and hold the volume button, and simply gesture to the left to decrease volume, or to the right to increase volume.

techtree: At the IFA show in Berlin, SanDisk has reportedly updated its Ultra II line with a 4GB SDHC card and an 8GB Memory Stick Pro Duo card.

SanDisk claims both cards offer fast read and write speeds of 10MB per sec. The 4GB Ultra II SDHC Plus card offers SD and USB functionality in one card, doing away with the need to carry cables or card readers to transfer photos, and videos from cameras or camcorders.

The 4GB SDHC Plus card also features SanDisk’s Hinge Lock technology enabling it to be inserted into a USB port on any computer.

Meanwhile, the 8GB Memory Stick PRO Duo card has been designed for recording high-definition videos and high-resolution still images on cameras and camcorders.

Both cards will be available worldwide beginning October. The 4GB SDHC Plus will be priced at around $80, and the 8GB Memory Stick Pro Duo will come for about $160.

techtree: Parents in the US will soon have a service in place allowing them to limit mobile phone usage of their kids.

US-based telecom giant, AT&T, is all set to launch a service which will enable parents set a limit on incoming and outgoing calls, text messages, and talk time, as also set restrictions for ring tones and other downloads through a Web site.

AT&T’s Smart Limits will work on any AT&T wireless phone bought within the past two years. It will be offered as an add-on for $4.99 per month per line without signing up for any contract.

For the sake of convenience, parents can make settings on the net, which will allow their kids to make or receive calls from parents as well as make emergency calls to 911 even when they are out of specified limits and minutes.

Further, the service will enable parents put a limit on their kids’ Internet usage. They can put a restriction on certain Web sites that they do not wish for their kids to access from their mobile phones.

However, the parental controls feature will not work with advanced phones like Apple’s iPhone that have an integrated independent browser as well as Wi-Fi connectivity.

Reportedly, this is not the first instance of limiting kids’ mobile usage. In June last year, Walt Disney launched Disney Mobile which offers a similar service.