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indianexpress: * At a class for school dropouts in Bibvewadi’s Khadki Vasti, students sing a nursery rhyme. Repeating the words after their teacher, the children jump, wave their hands and stamp their feet as they sing along with gusto. Only 11-year-old Anju Chavan remains seated in a corner, careful not to sing too loudly. For on her lap sleeps her one-year-old brother Ajay, who is in her care while her parents go to work.
* When most children her age go to school every morning, Parvin Shaikh (7) stays at home. After completing her morning tasks of sweeping the floor and washing the dishes, she baby-sits the four-year-old Nasrin, from ensuring his morning feed to putting him to sleep in the afternoon.

Stories like that of Anju’s and Pravin’s are not hard to come by in Pune’s slum areas. With both parents away from home in the daytime, many children are forced to shoulder the adult responsibility of watching over their younger siblings. And while many do take their siblings along with them to school and even for examinations, this is not often permitted, thus increasing the dropout rate. These children then have to rely on non-formal education or bridge schools.

The scenario is soon likely to change. The Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) education department is drawing up plans under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) to re-integrate children like Anju and Pravin into the regular school system by setting up crèches for little children in regular schools. While an action plan is being formulated, the project is likely to be finalised after receiving sanction from the SSA executive committee around November.

As per the scheme, day care centres will be set up at regular PMC schools, so that students can bring their siblings along, and pursue their studies without the distraction of watching the younger ones. “While funds from the SSA have been allocated for the purpose, the scheme is yet to be finalised, and after it is sanctioned in November, the project will be carried out on an experimental basis in January,” said Ashok Rajguru, head of the PMC education board.

indianexpress: Months after the palkhis of Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram complete their journey to Pandharpur in the month of Aashad every year, thousands of Warkaris set out yet again after Dassera, chanting bhajans as they carry the padukas of Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram all the way to Pandharpur. Only this time, the pilgrims have a different mission: to clean the rivers as they traverse by boat to the sacred spot.

This is the Jal Dindi — a unique water pilgrimage initiated in the year 2002 by the Vishwasanskriti Educational Initiatives (VEI) and Jala Dindi Pratishthan to spread the message of environmental protection through the medium of religion. Five years after thousands of warkaris first waded in to clean the rivers for the first time, the Jal Dindi has now been captured in a documentary film to take the message to wider audiences.

Screened at the Balgandharva Rangmandir on Sunday, the film, produced by VEI and directed by Abhijit Tilak, depicts the story of the Jal Dindi, from how it all started to its development as a people’s movement over the years. “Not necessarily everyone comes out to watch the Jal Dindi, and not many know about it. This film will help make people aware about it, not only in Pune, but in cities across Maharashtra and even outside,” said VEI associate director Bhai Bandkar.

Bandkar said that the movement had been started as an initiative to bring the focus on the issue of river pollution by mobilising masses towards action. “Increasing river pollution has become an issue of grave concern, with residents in rural areas bearing the brunt of the effluents flowing in from urban rivers,” he said

indianexpress: Even as dengue claimed four lives in two months in Pimpri-Chinchwad, it is malaria which is sending shivers down the spines of citizens and the civic administration. From January to September 30, 146 persons have been affected by dengue. In the same nine-month period, as many as 448 persons have suffered from malaria with two deaths reported so far.

The malaria figures so far, when compared to last year’s, are startling. Throughout last year, a little over 250 malaria cases and three deaths were recorded. Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation medical officer Dr Nagkumar Kunachgi emphasises that dengue cases are not as serious as those of malaria. “Why are you after dengue cases? Check malaria cases… they are soaring,” he says.

PCMC medical director Dr Rajshekhar Iyer concedes that malaria cases, compared to last year’s, have jumped significantly. “The medical team has been directed to carry out intensive anti-larval measures in all the four divisional areas.”

The primary reason behind rising malaria cases, says Dr Iyer, is the increasing urbanisation of Pimpri-Chinchwad. “Construction work is going on at a brisk pace across Pimpri-Chinchwad. These construction sites — where the builders do not adhere to proper sanitation norms for its labour force — are the real breeding grounds,” he says, adding that Pimple-Saudagar, Rahatni, Wakad, Chinchwad, Talawade, Auto Cluster area in Chinchwad are witnessing brisk construction activity.

Citing an instance, Dr Iyer says two months ago 130 persons were affected by malaria in Pimple-Saudagar-Rahatni area. “When we surveyed the area, we detected the breeding grounds at construction sites. Cesspools and labourers defecating in the open were a common sight at these places. We immediately issued show cause notices to 20 builders, asking them to take suitable measures to ensure proper hygienic and sanitary conditions,” says Dr Iyer.

indianexpress: Two software professionals, astride a motorcycle, were killed when their two-wheeler ran into an electricity pole near Hotel Pichola in Aundh, early this morning. The Chatuhshrungi police identified the deceased as Vamsi Krushna Basavraj (24) and Swapnil Narayan Nair (25), both residents of Old Sangvi.

According to the police, the youths were speeding towards Aundh when Vamsi who was riding the motorcycle lost control over the two-wheeler and hit an electric pole on the divider. Pillion rider Swapnil died on the spot after suffering a serious head injury. Vamsi who sustained serious head and leg injuries was rushed to Sassoon General Hospital where his condition worsened and eventually he died around 10 am today, police said.

Police sub-inspector Uday Singh Patil, the investigating officer in the case, said the deceased were employees of Hinjewadi-based Convergys Software Company. They were returning from a late night party and were heading towards Aundh when the accident occurred.

indianexpress:  Four years ago, Aemsha Vasave lived in Dhanel in Nandurbar district and studied at a “jeevan shala.” These Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) initiated “schools of life” provide tribal children in far-flung regions, including the areas affected by the Sardar Sarovar dam, with primary education.

After fourth standard, Vasave took the tests for the Maharashtra Government’s scheme for the youth, Krida Prabodhini, and got through. Now, Aemsha Vasave, all of 16, lean and shy, is slated to participate in the Commonwealth Youth Games to be held in Pune next year along with two other “jeevan shala” alumini — brothers Bhim Singh Vasave and Gulab Singh Vasave. Since 2002, when the first jeevan shala product made it through the Krida Prabodhini scheme, 13 students have been selected under this scheme from here, including the six that study in Balewadi now.

“Before that we did not know about these schemes that were on offer,” said Vijay Walave, who was among the first in the community to excel in sports as a marathon runner. In these regions where survival is the first concern, sports has made inroads and Walave has been credited by the NBA activists for creating this new crop of “sporty” children.

“When I started out I did not even know how to work out. I picked up things by imitating others. But I had a passion for fitness and sports. It was only in college in Malegaon when I took to running marathons that a teacher spotted some talent in me and sent me to Pune for a camp in 2002 where I finally picked up fitness and workout techniques,” said Walave.

indianexpress: The State Department of Prisons has revealed that 13 of its staff members at Yerawada Central Prison had violated service rules by abandoning their duty points to shake hands with actor Sanjay Dutt. The department, however, continues to withhold information on the progress of the investigation in the matter, citing confidentiality.

The authorities have released the names and designations of the jail staff who shook hands with Dutt after his release from the Yerawada Central Prison. However, the department has withheld information on the notices issued to the staff stating that the matter was confidential in nature. The information was released following a Pune Newsline report (September 17) on how the prison department was ducking an RTI query on Dutt.

The jail authorities in their reply stated that its staff had violated rule 8 of Maharashtra Public Services (Discipline and Appeal ) Act, 1979, left their duty points and shook hands with the outgoing prisoner. Constable Milind Laxman has been suspended for leaving the duty point, shaking hands and embracing Dutt and a department enquiry has been instituted against him. Similarly, disciplinary action has been initiated against 12 staffers, including an official, for violating the jail rules while in the official uniform, the reply said.

On August 29, a request was filed under RTI with the public information officer (PIO) of State Department of Prisons, seeking information on Dutt’s period of stay in Yerawada jail. Instead of the PIO replying to the applicant, the APIO identified as V V Sagade, in his reply on September 11, asked this reporter to file a separate RTI query with PIO Yerawada jail saying that the information on every prisoner was unavailable with the department and hence the information sought could not be provided.

indianexpress:  Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) has selected a variety of locations in the city including residences, slums, industries, heavy traffic sites to find out major sources of pollution in a year- long study that is scheduled to get over in January next year. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) has picked five cities including Pune with a view to taking future corrective action in the regard. ARAI been asked to study the ambient air quality in Pune.

“We are measuring the dust load in three seasons — summer, post monsoon and winter — from this year. Our team is well into the second season now. Our field work is expected to get over by January 2008,” said Arun B Komawar, deputy director of ARAI, who is in charge of the project.

Seven locations in the city — the grounds of College of Engineering Pune (COEP), Saj (next to Bharat Forge) in Mundwa, University of Pune, Shantiban society in Kothrud, Sahkarnagar, Hadapsar and the Central Water and Power Research Station CWPRS are under ARAI surveillance after instructions from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) received in November 2006.

“CWPRS is our background site. The air here is ideal,” said Komawar. Advanced samplers have been placed at the locations to measure the Particulate Matter (PM), excess exposure to which can affect lungs.