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indianexpress: A Year after the Pune Municipal Transport (PMT) launched a project to reduce fuel expenses and go green by taking to bio-diesel, the newly constituted Pune Metropolitan Transport Corporation Ltd (PMTCL), set up after merging the PMT and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Transport, has virtually called off the project due to the rise in bio-fuel prices.

“It is no more viable for us to use bio-fuel for buses as their prices have risen steeply compared to that of diesel,” said Subrao Patil, managing director, PMTCL. The project was to blend bio-diesel with diesel in ratio of 80:20 to be used in 100 buses. The trial runs had proved that the mileage of buses and pollution levels reduced by taking the green route.

“We had invited companies for supply of bio-diesel after the earlier contract with Garware Chemicals and Shirke Biochemicals expired, but could not accept any of the proposals due to high prices offered by them,” chief engineer Sunil Burse said.

The public transport company gets diesel at a price of Rs 35 per litre while the bio-diesel price quoted by all the seven companies participating in the bidding process was around Rs 43 per litre, he said, adding, “Thus, it was not possible for us to continue use of bio-diesel.”

Burse said one private company has come forward to supply bio-diesel at Rs 34 per litre to PMTCL but the product is being tested before use in buses.

indianexpress: Jyotikumari Choudhary, a 22-year-old employee of Wipro BPO based in IT hub Hinjewadi, was allegedly raped and murdered by a BPO car driver and his friend on Thursday night. The pick-up car driver Purushottam Borate (26) and his friend Pradeep Yashwant Kokade (20) were arrested by the police from their residence in Sai Nagar area of Dehu Road. They have been charged with rape and murder of Jyotikumari who is a resident of Panchvati in Pashan.

The incident came to light this morning after a team of Chatuhshringi police, along with the victim’s family, identified the body of Jyotikumari. The rural police had recovered the body on Friday morning from Gahunge village near Talegaon Dabhade, about 35 kms from Pune. However, they could not establish identity.

“It’s the most heinous murder. We have traced the body from Gahunge village that falls under the Wadgaon-Maval police station. The case has been transferred to rural police from city as the crime took place in the jurisdiction of the rural police,” Additional SP (Pune Rural) Pravin Patil told Sunday Express.

According to the police, the victim’s brother-in-law had lodged a “missing person’s complaint” with Chatuhshringi police around 4 pm on Friday after the family received a call from the victim’s Delhi-based sister that a Bangalore-based friend was desperately trying to get in touch with Jyotikumari after her call was abruptly disconnected.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone III) Chandrashekhar Daithankar said: “The duo raped and then strangulated her with a scarf. They smashed her head with stones and fled. The body had deep strangulation marks and injuries on neck, hand and legs. Moreover, the circumstantial evidence and clothes recovered from the scene of crime point toward sexual assault before the gruesome murder, but medical reports confirming it were awaited.”

punetimes: The civil aviation ministry is keen to enter into a collaboration with Wing Commander (retd) Anil Gadgil and wife Kavita, founders of the Jeet Aerospace Foundation (JAF), to undertake joint flight simulation training projects across the country. The Gadgils are the parents of MiG crash victim Flight Lieutenant Abhijit Gadgil.

Praful Patel, civil aviation minister, expressed as much during the formal launch of the mobile flight simulator for training at the JAF in Gorhe Budruk, Sinhagad road. The minister inaugurated the Rs 60 lakh simulator and took the “first flight” in the cockpit in the company of Anil Gadgil.

Patel suggested putting the issue before the director-general of civil aviation to formulate a joint project between the ministry and the Gadgils. “The mobile flight simulator is an ideal instrument to arouse a sense of curiosity among the younger generation across the towns and villages of India,” he said.

The minister also promised to talk with all the airlines operating in India to bring them under the fold. “They can also be of help to the Gadgils for annual grants and funding to finish the remaining phases at JAF,” Patel said.
Citing the aviation industry’s demand for around 1,500 trained and qualified pilots, Patel said simulator training centres like JAF are the need of the hour as a first step to shaping the careers of any budding aviation hero.

punetimes:  Fire crackers may well be a costly affair this year, with prices seeing an average rise of 25-30 per cent. The sellers are attributing this to the increase in production costs and labour shortage in Sivakasi, the hub of fire cracker manufacturing down South.

According to Surendra Kumar Agarwal of Agarwal and Company, one of the largest supplier of firecrackers to retailers in Pune, raw material like aluminium powder and gelatin, used for making and packaging firecrackers, have seen a steep rise in 2007. The price of aluminium powder went up to Rs 240 about six months ago from Rs 90 per kilo last year. Similarly, gilatin prices too have gone up. Last year, a roll of gelatin which cost Rs 1,900 is priced at Rs 3,700 this year. “The increased production cost has therefore led to a price rise in firecrackers,” he said.

Another reason, informs B.J. Patil of Deepak firecracker Mart, is the labour problem in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu. Many labourers working there left to work in spinning mills in Madurai, he says. Incidentally, Sivakasi produces 90 per cent of India’s firecrackers. The factories had to either take in labour at a higher price, or were forced to produce lesser stocks despite the huge festive demand, he said.

While every year there is usually a price rise of 5-7 per cent, this year, prices of even commonly used firecrackers have surged. A pack of ‘lavangi’, which cost Rs 20-25 last year is available at Rs 35-40. The price of cracker strings, with 5,000 crackers, has jumped to Rs 850 from Rs 500. Cracker rolls, a favourite with kids, has seen a rise of Rs 15, and is priced at Rs 35. The rate of rockets has risen to Rs 150 as against Rs 125 last year.

However, it’s not just the prices, but the supply and availability that has also been affected. Yogeshwar Raval of Yogeshwar crackers, said no fire cracker seller has been able to get a cent per cent supply this year.

punetimes:  Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar will inaugurate the Rs 2.38-crore pomegranate and grape export facilitation centre set up by the Maharashtra state agricultural marketing board (MSAMB) at Jalonchi in Baramati on November 7.

A statement released here by MSAMB said that to mark the inauguration of the centre, two containers of pomegranates grown by M/S Desai fruits and vegetables Pvt Ltd will be sent to Europe on the same day.

The centre, which started functioning since July this year, has so far facilitated export of 88 tons of pomegranates to European markets.

Though India is the largest producer of pomegranates, its export share was virtually non-existent, MSAMB said. The total land under pomegranate cultivation in the country was 1 lakh hectares out of which 80,000 hectares was in Maharashtra alone. “Crop on 58,000 hectares was already yielding fruit,” the board stated. The fruit is cultivated mainly on dryland farms and in areas like Solapur, Nashik, Pune, Ahmednagar, Sangli, Latur and Osmanabad. “In fact, these districts have been clubbed together to form the pomegranate export zone by the union government with the MSAMB appointed as nodal agency,” the statement said.

punetimes:  Union minister for civil aviation Praful Patel said on Saturday that the proposed international airport at Chakan-Rajgurunagar is well on its way and the process for acquisition of land would start by next year, while the first flights at the airport would land by 2010-11.

Refusing to give any details about the amount involved or the size of the land to be acquired, Patel said technical clearance had been given to the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) for acquisition of land at Chandos and Shiroli villages.

punetimes: The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) has expressed deep shock and dismay at the incident involving murder of a young BPO employee Jyoti Kumari Choudhary.

In a press release issued by them, it stated that the murder reflects the need for greater safety and security and emphasised that every possible measure should be taken to eliminate such crime. “Such incidents setback efforts that are being made to bring about gender equality in the country’s workforce.”

According to Nasscom, the information technology (IT) industry, as a major employer of women, is proud of its role in providing employment and opportunity to a growing female workforce. It stated the industry has taken steps for the safety of its employees in the sector where a large number of staff are women and nature of the work dictates the employees, both men and women, to work at night.

The statement added that being aware of their responsibility, companies have continuously reviewed their security practices and Nasscom has already initiated a process of putting together ‘best practices’ in the human resources (HR) area for adoption by all its members.

“It will be sad if people who have to be out in the night live in fear for their safety. We will continue working to see how a secure environment can be improved,” it said.