News

punetimes:  Azaadi Express, the mobile train exhibition, will reach Maharashtra on December 8. The Azaadi express, celebrating the 150th anniversary of 1857 national uprising, 60th year of India’s independence and the birth centenary of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, will be halting in Pune for around four days.

In Maharashtra, the train will cover Nagpur, Jalgaon, Pune and Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST). It is scheduled to reach Pune on December 14.

“The train will halt in Pune for four days, it being the cultural capital of the state,” said Nana Meshram, field exhibition officer from the ministry of information and broadcasting.

The Azaadi Express, in the colours of the tricolour, is a mobile exhibition on the freedom struggle. “The exhibits include original photographs and paintings. There are two sections: the freedom struggle from 1857 to 1947 and the socio-economic development during 1947-2007,” Meshram said.

The ministry representative has requested space for the train at Khadki railway station. But the railway officials raised objections quoting passenger inconvenience. “Khadki station does not have a footbridge and there is not enough parking space.

People will have to cross the railway tracks to visit the train, which is against rules,” said an official.
The railway officials suggested platform no 6 at Pune railway station for the Azaad Express. “Pune is centrally located and, people can park their vehicles on station premises.’

The train was flagged off by Union HRD minister Arjun Singh from the Safdarjang station on September 28, 2007. The train will stop at 70 destinations across the country and will reach Delhi on May 15, 2008.

punetimes: In a new twist to the central government health scheme (CGHS) crisis, the authorities have issued a list of seven hospitals in the city which have been empanelled to provide treatment to beneficiaries, including pensioners.

This assumes significance as the Pune hospital association (PHA) on Wednesday decided once again to withdraw credit facility to pensioners covered under CGHS with immediate effect.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the PHA, which reviewed the new rates announced by the CGHS authorities with effect from November 1.

A memorandum issued by R. Ravi, the deputy secretary of the Union ministry of health and family welfare, said that Colony Nursing Home (Navi Peth), Deendayal Memorial Hospital (FC Road), Sant Dnyaneshwar Hospital (Bhosari), NM Wadia Institute of Cardiology, Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital (Thergaon), Bhide Hospital (Navi Peth), Kotbagi Hospital (DP Road, Aundh) and Sushrut Medical Care and Research Society’s Hardikar Hospital (Ganeshkhind Road) have been empanelled for treatment and surgical procedures to CGHS beneficiaries.

“It has been decided that CGHS pensioner beneficiaries taking treatment in the empanelled hospitals will be entitled for treatment on credit and serving employees will be entitled for reimbursement after payment, as per the package rates,” Ravi said.

Chief executive officer of Ruby Hall Clinic, and a member of the PHA, however, expressed shock at the CGHS announcing the list of seven hospitals.

“At least four of these hospitals are members of the association, and had unanimously agreed to stop credit facility to pensioners,” he said. The association has checked out with the hospitals, only to find out that the latter have no clue as to how the CGHS authorities can put their names, he added.

punetimes:  Unidentified miscreants tore down two huge banners put up opposite the Charbawdi police chowky in the Pune cantonment on the night of November 7 and 8, sparking mild tension in the area. A case has been lodged with the police against the culprits even as local activists have called for peace.

The banners conveying Diwali greetings to the public were put up by activist Meher Irani with permission from the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB).

Addressing the media on Friday, Irani said a first information report was lodged with the Charbawdi police chowky the very next morning. “We tried to keep the incident out of public attention since people get inflammed even over trivial issues,” he added.

Irani said that he and several other social and political activists have been putting up congratulatory messages by means of posters and banners since the past many years. “This is the first time such an incident has occurred. Although the incident was reprehensible in nature, senior citizens and others in our locality have been trying to calm the public,” he added.

The PCB authorities claimed to be monitoring the situation. “We have contacted the police and they have promised all help in dealing with any eventuality,” said cantonment executive officer SK Sardana.

punetimes: After raising the hammer on hawkers with major drives, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is now making its moves to keep its promises of rehabilitating them.

The civic standing committee on Wednesday approved the draft hawkers rehabilitation policy, 2007, which has details of how and where the hawkers will be rehabilitated and what will be the priority.

Interestingly, Pune is the first city in the country which is receiving a funding for hawkers’ rehabilitation under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

According to the policy, prepared by the civic administration, three committees for effective implementation of the policy will be formed. An 11-member advisory committee to be headed by the mayor, Town vending committee to be chaired by the municipal commissioner and rehabilitation committee to be chaired by a deputy commissioner in-charge of encroachment department. There will also be 14 ward-level vending committees and ward hawkers’ committees to be chaired by ward officers, which will have hawkers’ representatives as members.

The main aim of these committees will be to identify spaces for constructing markets, decide on the conditions while allotting shops and fixing a monthly rent. Besides, the civic administration will conduct a survey to fix the number of hawkers (authorised and unauthorised) in the city for registering them.

punetimes:  About 25 vehicle batteries were stolen from the Pune municipal corporation’s (PMC) Gultekdi vehicle depot sometime between June and September this year.

Inspector of the depot Hrishikesh Chavan (26), a resident of Hadapsar has lodged a complaint in this regard with the Swargate police station claiming that the batteries worth Rs 55,000 were stolen from the depot.

The incident took place sometime in the last three months. The vehicle depot has been fenced properly and four guards in two shifts remains on the duty for 24 hours.

Sub inspector SB Deshmukh of Swargate police station said that the depot is spread in 5 acres of land and is surrounded slums. Apart from vehicle batteries, thieves have also stolen aluminium frames of the vehicles. Various PMC vehicles are repaired and maintained in the depot.