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indianexpress: The Bharatiya Janata Party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and the Congress on Saturday did a somersault by stating in no uncertain terms that the construction work of the proposed four flyovers in the city should not be handed over to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). This was in sharp contrast to their stand a day before when all the parties had unanimously approved the same proposal.

The standing committee of the Pune Municipal Corporation had on Friday given approval to Municipal Commissioner Praveensinh Pardeshi’s proposal seeking permission to hand over the advanced amount to MSRDC for the proposed four flyovers and two railway overbridges. The standing committee had approved the proposal and also entrusted financial powers to the commissioner. The four proposed flyovers are slated to come up at Swargate, Nal Stop chowk, Sancheti Hospital chowk and the Nagar Road bypass. The two railway bridges are proposed in Ghorpadi and Mundhwa.

However, today when these parties “learnt” that the civic administration intended to hand over the proposed projects to MSRDC, they rushed to PMC headquarters and conveyed their opposition to the move. They argued that when the proposal was put before them on Friday, it did not have any mention of MSRDC. The BJP, MNS and the Congress alleged that the proposal was approved by the NCP in a haste, without anybody giving any chance to fully understand the issue.

The BJP, Congress and the MNS had also last month opposed the proposal to give Rs 10 crore in place of toll to MSRDC for the three flyovers which were constructed in the city. They had even opposed alloting the work to MSRDC, saying that their performance had not been up to the mark.

indianexpress:  A Feasibility study of the six-laning of the 145-km Pune-Satara stretch has begun. The work for the same will begin in 15 months and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has appointed Consultancy Engineering Services (CES) for the feasibility study.

The six laning of this stretch was proposed last year with traffic on the stretch increasing along with five others stretches in the state. Pune project director Prashant Kodaskar NHAI said that the project will be given for Designed Build Finance Operations (DBFO) and the outlay for the same has not yet been estimated and it will done after drawing tenders for the same.

While technical manager NHAI SD Chitnis, said that six lanes would increase the width of the road by atleast 10 metres. The present width is 25 metres and the six-laning would make it to 35 metres.

Plans are afoot to have service roads as well develop the junctions and also will have concrete structures.

“Sub-ways and overbridges will be part of the six laning and the feasibility study will help us on the same,” he said. The construction activity will start only in 2009 after reviewing the feasibility study.

indianexpress: Mahindra & Mahindra’s Farm Equipment Sector (FES) launched their bio-diesel tractor at the Kisan Mela in the city on Saturday. The the bio-diesel ‘B5 tractor’ was created through indigenous R&D at Mahindra Tractors.
 
At the unveiling, senior vice president Sanjeev Goyle said the development of the bio-diesel tractor came about from the need conserve fuel and have a clean environment. “M&M is completely committed to fuel conservation and evolution of alternate forms of environment-friendly products now and in the future,” Goyle said.

Use of bio-diesel fuel in conventional diesel engines results in substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particulate matter compared to regular diesel oil. It has better lubrication capabilities, zero aromatics and minimal sulphur. It is safer to handle and use as it has much higher flash point than diesel oil. Biodegradability and non-toxic nature of the material is another great advantage with respect to its use in farming applications and does not dry out hands or burn eyes like diesel exhaust fumes do.

Bio-diesel technology is a result of research in India’s alternate fuel and engine development domains. M&M had initiated its bio-diesel programme for tractors some time ago and the five per cent bio-diesel option is a result of this evolution.

The bio-diesel range of tractors will be rolled out in a phased manner across various geographical locations.

indianexpress: The Joint District Registrar Arun Adhari has asked Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Dilip Band to pay Rs 80,719 as fine for not paying the stamp duty on his flat located in Shivajinagar area and also for not registering property documents. Sunita Band, wife of the commissioner, has also been asked to pay a fine of Rs 18,284 for evading the stamp duty and not getting the property documents registered.

In his order issued on Friday, Adhari has asked the couple to deposit the original stamp duty amount on their respective flats. In addition to the fine amount, Dilip Band has been told pay Rs 54,590 as stamp duty on his flat purchased in 2001 while Sunita Band has to been directed to pay Rs 31,625 as stamp duty. They will have to pay the amount within seven days or they will have to pay a penalty. “Yes, letters have been sent to both the commissioner and his wife asking them to pay the fine and the stamp duty,” Adhari told this paper on Saturday.

The orders came after an investigation done by the Joint District Registrar on a complaint filed by the Common People’s Front. In a letter to the Joint District Registrar’s office, the Front had alleged that the commissioner and his wife had violated laid down rules and regulations while renting out their flats in the Chankya Housing Society in Model Colony area of Shivajinagar.

indianexpress: Two motorcyclists pulled a teenager out of a moving autorickshaw near Empress Garden and snatched her bag containing her passport, visa, identity card and cash Rs 10,000, around 8.30 pm of Thursday.

Hana Phillip Misorikhi (18) of Tatya Tope housing society in Wanowrie received minor injuries during the incident. According to the police, Hana is a native of Scotland and has been living in India for last one year. She is a teacher at Deepa Griha Cultural Centre in Wanowrie.

The Wanowrie police have booked the two unknown motorcyclists in this case. The police said that Hana was going home in an autorickshaw with her friend when the accused followed them on their bike. The pillion rider snatched Hana’s bag. When Hana resisted, the accused applied more force, due to which she fell off the autorickshaw. The duo escaped with her bag

indianexpress: Two motorcyclists were knocked dead by two Pune Municipal Transport (PMT) buses in separate mishaps.
In the first incident, a PMT bus dashed a motorcycle near Modern College signal chowk on J M Road around 8.30 pm on Thursday. The rider Nitin Mahadeo Salunke escaped with minor injuries, however the pillion Sunil Shanker Kasabe (30) of Narvir Tanajiwadi in Shivajinagar died. Both the PMT bus and the motorcycle were moving in the same direction. The Deccan Gymkhana police have booked the PMT driver Raosaheb Sitaram Shingare (27) of Thergaon The deceased was a painter and a married man.

In another mishap, a PMT bus knocked dead a motorcyclist identified as Ganesh Renukadas Paralikar (28) of Saket building in Kasba Peth. The accident took place near Shivkripa snacks centre on Shivaji Road around 9.15 am of Friday.

The Khadak police have arrested the PMT driver Omkar Maruti Pawale (38) of Osade village in Haveli taluka in the case.