News

indianexpress: For the past few years, Pune has been trying hard to take on the mantle of the emerging IT hub of the country, shouting from the rooftop each time an IT company bared its plans to open shop here. But ask the people of the city and they’ll readily agree that the IT destination tag has come at a cost, whether it be the rising real estate cost or the pressure that’s been put on traffic by the few thousand pick up vehicles that rush through the city day and night to keep these companies working.

There are about 5,000 cars hired by IT and BPO companies, each of them plying at least a couple of times in a day across the length and breadth of the city. Similarly, about 4,000 private buses ply on roads; many companies have started their own service to help their employees commute, given the pathetic state of the city’s public transport system.
 
“In the last few years our business has gone up sharply. About 5,000 private cars mostly Sumos, Indicas and Taveras are hired by IT companies,” says Sachin Patwardhan of Assess Cars. Patwardhan has a sizeable number of cars — all of them ply in the service of IT and ITES companies. While the travel companies have never had it so good and are planning their next month’s purchase to add substantially to their existing fleet, civic activists see red over the issue.

“We should stop showering concessions and laying red carpets as the IT companies come here only because they get the required manpower. It’s high time that politicians and PMC asked the IT companies to come forward and contribute to the city’s development,” says civic activist Vivek Velankar, adding that the companies will never do so voluntarily.

Another civic activist, Vijay Kumbhar, agrees with Velankar. “They are part and parcel of the city and they should not keep complaining about crumbling infrastructure but take proactive action. Their vehicles have added to the traffic congestion. Not only vehicles hired by IT companies, but personal vehicles of well doing IT employees are multiplying,” says Kumbhar.

indianexpress: After locking horns with Ganesh mandals over digging of roads for erecting pandals ahead of the annual Ganesh festival from September 15, the Pune Municipal Corporation has asked mandals to restrict the size of pandals and has warned that pandals erected flouting stipulated norms will be removed with police assistance.

The PMC in a public appeal to mandals has warned: “Pandals erected without prior permission of the PMC and those flouting stipulated size norms will be removed with police assistance and concerned mandal and its officials will be liable for strict action.”
 
According to the norms set by the PMC, on a 25 feet road, the maximum width of the pandal should be 10 feet, leaving 15 feet for traffic movement, while on a 50 feet road, it should be 15 feet, leaving 35 feet for traffic. On a 70 feet road, the maximum pandal width should be 20 feet, leaving 50 feet for traffic.

“There is no need to put up huge pandals which block roads and cause inconvenience to people. Except the place where idol is kept, there is no need of pandal at all,” Deputy Municipal Commissioner Dnyandev Thube told Pune Newsline on Sunday. He said the PMC was determined to take action against mandals flouting stipulated norms. “How can one justify the massive pandals damaging roads and causing severe traffic jams?” asks Thube.

Political parties have come forward to support the administration. “There is no question of disagreeing with the administration on the issue of size of pandals. Considering the increasing number of vehicles, time has come to think and act seriously on reducing size of pandals erected for festivals,” said BJP corporator Vikas Mathkari. “Pandals on roads add to problems of commuters who already suffer due to small roads and heavy traffic,” he added.

indianexpress:  Infants who are critically ill and cannot be breastfed are started on parenteral nutrition that is planned meticulously from Day one of life itself. The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of KEM Hospital, which pioneered total parenteral nutrition (TPN) in the country, is the only one that has a separate and specialised nutrition facility. On Tuesday, as part of the TPN service, KEM Hospital will inaugurate a specialised room dedicated to TPN.

KEM’s NICU director Dr Umesh Vaidya and his colleagues, who have set up a specialised protocol for administration of TPN in neonates, said the room houses a computer system to calculate TPN, laminar air flow for preparation of TPN, infusion pumps and other facilities for sterile and safe administration of TPN to neonates. The doctors at NICU are trained intensely to use TPN.

Gautam Rege and his colleagues from Josh Consultancy Pvt Ltd, along with technical assistance from Dr Umesh Vaidya, have made a special software to calculate TPN for neonates. This software works as an aid to help neonatologists to calculate the nutrient requirement for neonates. It has been validated by three dieticians — Neha Sanwalka, Khushboo Parmar and Rubina Mandlik.

The software will also serve as an aid to calculate nutrient requirement. The neonatologists will be able to use the software for quick and accurate calculations. TPN is a very specialised mode of nutrition, and this software will aid in avoiding errors while calculating requirements. In earlier years of neonatal intensive care, efforts were focussed on the problems that immediately threatened the survival of infants, and the issue of nutrition was not addressed until survival was assured.

indianexpress: A Motley bunch of young men in turbans and topis — some standing, some literally lounging — stare out of a framed photograph outside the principal’s office at the College of Agriculture. This was the first batch at the first annual social gathering in 1909, after the college started on January 1, 1908.

As the college celebrates its centenary year, it is planning to invite its former students for a year-end gala.

“We are in the process of sending out invitations to our former students from 1972 to 2007 on their permanent addresses recorded in our books. Let’s see how many of them respond. Some of our ex-students have been in touch,” said R N Sabale, principal and associate dean of the college.

About 11,000 graduates and 1,500 postgraduates have passed through this college over 100 years. They came from across the world including those from Burma, Sri Lanka, Ethopia, Iran, Nepal, Ghana, East Africa, Malaya, Fiji, Zanzibar and Japan. The college itself has absorbed a lot of students: Sabale is an example. He was a student in 1966, then went on to become a lecturer, associate professor, head of department and is now the principal. Except for a brief stint in the US, he has been with the college for over 40 years.

Set up to cater to Central India, the Pune college was founded around the same time as the others in Coimbatore, Lailpur (now in Pakistan), Nagpur and Kanpur. From an intake strength of 30-50, the college can now admit 190 students. The college has also grown from a single department in agriculture to 11. Soon, it will have two new departments: in biotechnology and bio-control.

indianexpress: It has been revealed that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), facing an arduous task of acquiring land for the execution of various projects, is in possession of 425 apartments that are meant for rehabilitation of project-affected people.

“PMC — under the housing scheme for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) — got hold of 1,149 apartments from private builders from 2000 to 2007, but still possesses 425 apartments,” social activist Vivek Velankar said on the basis of information furnished by the civic body under Right to Information Act. “It is beyond the common public’s understanding as to how the allotment of apartments to project-affected people is still pending, when several projects are under progress in the city,” he said.

Demanding an inquiry into the matter, Velankar said the PMC should also use this property as a transit camp for the project-affected people or as a rehabilitation process to speed up the land acquisition work and in turn the development projects. According to information received by him, there are 242 apartments in Aundh, 44 in Dhankawadi and Parvati, 22 in Kothrud and Erandwane, one in Mundhwa and 116 in Karvenagar that are in PMC possession.

indianexpress:  “A Master in architecture would mean someone who has immersed himself in all aspects of the discipline with an equal, sometimes possessed zeal and has handled different issues and projects boldly and deftly. Architecture envelopes within its fold disciplines such as city planning, urban design, product design, environmental design, and furniture design — which all deal with physical planning and built form. One cannot be a master, who does not involve in education, history, context, technology, craft, and actual work with the ease of an artist, conviction of a philosopher, skills of a craftsman and determination of a visionary. Doshi does this with astonishing youthfulness that will put many a young architect to shame.”

This is an excerpt from an essay titled Two Western Gurus But Feet Firm in Indian Soil: Architect B V Doshi’s full circle that Pune-based Narendra Dengle had written in tribute to Padmashree and fellow architect Balkrishna V Doshi, who was in the city to be felicitated on his 81st birthday at the Dr Bhanuben Nanavati College of Architecture on Saturday.
 
Born and brought up in Pune, Doshi reminisced about his memories of the city, which he said needed to create adequate decentralised settlements in such a way that they eased tension on the infrastructure instead of adding to it. Speaking to Newsline at an exhibition of his works in the India Arts Gallery at Patrakar Nagar, Doshi said if settlements already had amenities like schools, banks, bazaars it would minimise movement of the people and they could utilise the time saved for personal growth. Doshi added that the city needed to create structures that suited the local environment. “Glass facades are meant for countries where sunlight is welcomed anytime of the year, not for a tropical India,” he said. “The vision in planning, which is needed in building a decentralised city, is lacking.”

indianexpress:  Continuing with its crackdown on the sale of pirated audio and video compact discs (CDs), the economic offences wing and cyber crime cell of the city police on Saturday raided four shops located in Ganj Peth and seized 1,040 digital video discs, 1,515 video compact discs and 5 MP 3 players collectively estimated at Rs 1.92 lakh from their possession.

A team of crime crime officials led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Sunil Phulari raided the shops identified as Fancy Music Centre, Padma Watch Electronics, Abhijit Music Centre and Jai Ganesh Music Centre and arrested four persons on charges of selling pirated VCDs and CDs.
 
The arrested have been identified as Hanumanta Jadhav (19), a resident of Palkhi Vithoba Chowk, Bhavani Peth and originally a resident of Regadganda in Hyderabad, Rajendra Mallayya Katkam (42), a resident of Gurudutt apartments, Narhe Road, Wadgaon Dhayari, Sanjay Popatrao Gujar (28), a resident of Ganesh Nagar, Anantvihar Society, Wadgaon Dhayari and Atmaram Jayuram Agawne (58), a resident of 368 Ganj Peth.

The four have been booked under Sections 51,52 (A), 63,64,68 (A) of the Indian Copyright Act at Khadak Police Station.

DCP Sunil Phulari said, “Once we get a complaint and concrete intelligence, then we go for such drives and seize the pirated material. Such places are found under the name of parlours and libraries. These people operate with impunity and cause losses to the State exchequer. We have made it a point to carry out such drives regularly which will keep a check on such white collar crimes.”

bbc:  A lightweight solar-powered plane has smashed the official world record for the longest-duration unmanned flight.
UK defence firm Qinetiq, which built the Zephyr unmanned aerial vehicle, said it flew for 54 hours during tests.

The researchers believe it is the first time a solar-powered craft has flown under its own power through two nights.

The previous unmanned endurance record was set in 2001 by a jet-powered US Air Force Global Hawk surveillance aircraft which flew for more than 30 hours.

 The record attempt was announced very late

The Zephyr’s 54-hour endurance flight will not enter the record books because representatives from the world air sports federation – the FAI – were not notified about the secretive test.

However, they were informed about a second, 33-hour flight which could still become an official record.

Zephyr’s development team say that whatever the result, it believes it has built a record breaker.

bbc: 3D face scans are set to speed up the diagnosis of rare genetic conditions in children, UK scientists say.

More than 700 genetic syndromes affect facial traits, but some are difficult to spot because few cases exist.

Now new software that compares an individual’s face with a bank of 3D images of people with known conditions is aiding diagnosis.

The technology, presented at the BA Festival of Science in York, had a 90% success rate, the scientists said.

Peter Hammond, a computer scientist at the UCL Institute for Child Health in London who carried out the research, explained: “There are many conditions where the face can have unusual features arising from alterations in the genes.”

While individuals with Down’s syndrome can be easily recognised, there are more than 700 known genetic conditions that can alter how a person looks.

For example, people who have Williams syndrome, which occurs in between one in 10,000-20,000 births, have a short, upturned nose, a full mouth and a small jaw.

The 3D face of Smith-Magenis (l) shows the flatter nose and lifted lip

Individuals with Smith-Magenis syndrome, which occurs in one in 25,000 births, have a nose with a very flat bridge and a lifted lip. While those with Fragile X syndrome, which has an incidence of about one in 4,000, have long, narrow faces and large or protruding ears.

For some genetic conditions, facial differences can be very subtle and cases can be rare, making initial diagnosis extremely difficult.

To help, Professor Hammond has collected 3D images of children with known problem and has created software that combines the images to create an “average face” of a child with different genetic conditions.

In the same way, he has also built up the average face of a child with no known genetic disorder for comparison.

Each composite image is made up of between 30 to 150 images.