News

TOI : PUNE: The district and sessions court on Monday stayed the magistrate court order which had directed an Indian Airlines pilot Sanjay Achalkar of Pune to pay a compensation of Rs 20,000 to his wife Seema under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.

Seema, who works in a private firm as a customer executive, had moved the magistrate court for seeking various reliefs under the Domestic Violence Act from Achalkar and her mother-in-law Shoba Achalkar of Bhosalenagar.

According to Seema, she was entitled for compensation as her husband was not maintaining her and charged him and her mother in-law for dispossessing her from their matrimonial home in 2007.

Judicial magistrate first class S S Budruck had directed Achalkar to pay a compensation of Rs 20,000 to his wife on November 23, 2007.

The magistrate had further restrained Achalkar from dispossessing his wife. Aggrieved by the magistrate court order, Achalkar preferred an appeal before the district and sessions court. The appeal came up for hearing before fast track court judge Sanjay Patil.

Achalkar’s lawyer Alankar Karlekar told the court that the allegations of domestic violence levelled by Seema was vague as her application filed before the magistrate had not specified the place from where she was dispossessed, whether it was Pune or Mumbai.

Karlekar submitted that Seema, who was drawing a salary of Rs 12,000, had suppressed this fact at the magistrate court and hence, she was not entitled to seek any compensation from his client.

Karlekar argued that Seema had not made any allegations of physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse and emotional abuse in her application and hence, the provisions of the domestic violence were not attracted.
More

TOI : PUNE: If things go according to the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) plans, buildings housing Information Technology (IT) offices will necessarily have to make arrangements to accommodate five cars, 12 two-wheelers and five cycles per 200 sq mt area.

This was proposed in the draft parking policy approved by the city improvement committee (CIC) on Tuesday.

While IT buildings were earlier included in the general category of ‘offices’, they have now been considered as a separate category known as ‘IT buildings’, to be put under a different set of norms. Major changes have also been proposed for multiplexes and shopping malls.

Currently, malls are supposed to accommodate only two cars, six scooters and two cycles per 100 sq mt carpet area, this will have to be doubled now.

In case of theatre multiplexes, cinema-houses and concert halls, the requirement, which was three cars and 10 two-wheelers per 40 seats earlier, is now six cars and 20 two-wheelers per 40 seats.

Marriage and community halls will also have to increase their parking space from three cars, 12 scooters and four cycles per 100 sq mt to five cars, 20 scooters and eight cycles. Colleges will have to increase it by 50 per cent, while government offices and malls will have to double theirs.

Coaching classes, tuition and hobby classes have also been included in this policy and will have to accommodate five two-wheelers and 10 cycles.

Among the major changes suggested, are parking spaces for four and five star hotels in congested and non-congested areas. The existing norm is that for every five rooms there should be space for three cars, which has now been increased to five cars.

For residential complexes where each tenement has a carpet area of 150 square metre and above, will have to increase the space…More

TOI : PUNE: Fergusson College, one of the premier arts and science institutions in the country, is set to go fully autonomous in a year’s time as it moved into the 125th year of its existence on Wednesday.

The college, which has consistently figured among India’s top 10 arts and science institutions, is better known for its legacy of producing illustrious leaders across the social spectrum including revolutionaries like Veer Sawarkar and former prime ministers PV Narasimha Rao and VP Singh, among others.

Named after Sir James Fergusson, the then governor of Bombay province, the college was established in 1885 by the Deccan Education Society (DES), which was formed by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Vishnushastri Chiplunkar and Mahadev Namjoshi – all stalwarts of the independence movement.

The socio-economic changes set off by post-1991 economic reforms in the country and the globalisation process has forced the DES to adapt a fresh outlook towards consolidating the college’s lead status. The idea is also to look beyond the ‘A’ rating granted five years ago by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (Naac).

“Autonomy forms a vital part of this outlook. It will give us the much-needed freedom to design and introduce new courses that are in tune with the prevailing expectations of students as well as the industry,” said Principal Shridhar M Chitale.

Chitale, who unveiled a development blueprint for the college for the year ahead, spoke to TOI on the sidelines of the 124th foundation day celebrations on Wednesday.
More

TOI : PUNE: The New Year party turned out to be a nightmare for six couples as they were attacked by a group of youngsters at a club on the western outskirts along Baner road, connecting Pune to the expressway.

About six youths, reportedly under the influence of liquor, severely injured three men and two women by hitting them with liquor bottles and whipping them with belts.

According to sources, the party was going on smoothly at the family section of the club near the swimming pool. The trouble began after the youths arrived at the pool around 1.30 am. They started capturing images of the women on their mobile phones.

This resulted in a heated exchange of words between the couples and the culprits. Following a lull, when the couples started dancing, the youths started pushing them around. In the ensuing melee, the miscreants hurled liquor bottles at the victims. Soon belts came off their wastes, and left welts on the couples’ backs.

Three men and two women received injuries on their heads, foreheads and hands. One of the women was severely injured and was admitted to a private hospital in Aundh. She was discharged on Wednesday.

Asked why they have not lodged a police complaint, the couple said “We do not want to get into further complications. We had a discussion on the issue and all were of the view that a police case need not be filed. Hence, we do not want our names and photographs to appear in the papers.”

Senior police inspector Sheshrao Suryavanshi of the Chatushrungi police station, under whose jurisdiction the club falls, told TOI that he has not received any complaint from the injured. “I am ready to investigate the matter if the victims approach the police for help,” he added.

When contacted by TOI…More

TOI : PUNE: There is a ray of hope for Puneites who fear a four-hour daily load-shedding during the summer. A new model to keep the city free from power cuts is on the anvil due to the initiative of the Maharashtra chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The CII is exploring an idea of securing 350 million units (MU) of power annually through a power trading company to help bridge the growing gap between Pune’s demand and supply.

“A formal proposal will be submitted to the Maharashtra electricity regulatory commission (Merc) in three weeks after discussions with the Maharashtra state electricity distribution company ltd (MSEDCL) and CII members,” said Pradeep Bhargava, vice-chairman of CII’s Maharashtra council. If approved, the new model could become functional after March.

“Till then the old Pune model can continue, provided Merc permits it,” he said. Bhargava was addressing a news conference on Wednesday about the CII’s perspective on the power scenario in Pune, in the presence of Rahul Kirloskar, chairman, Maharashtra council, CII.

Pune has been kept free from load-shedding since June 2006 thanks to the Pune model, where about 30 industries were generating and consuming power from their captive power plants (CPPs) to meet the 90 MW shortfall in the city. Consumers using more than 300 units per month were paying a reliability charge of 42 paise per unit to help meet the additional cost of running the CPPs.

However, with Pune’s demand for power growing at 14 per cent per year, this arrangement could not bridge the increasing shortfall, which has now reached about 150 MW. The MSEDCL was securing power from the state grid to keep the model running, but the Merc directed the company to suggest another solution for the continuation of the Pune model, without discriminating against other parts of the state which are…More

TOI : PUNE: In a fallout of the New Year party brawl at the Pancard Club here, the police on Thursday arrested three managers of the club on the charges of causing public nuisance, not ensuring adequate security and flouting the norms of the Bombay Police Act.

They were produced before judicial magistrate first class A.K. Mandavgade, who ordered their magisterial custody, following which they were released on bail. The managers were identified as Pratap Barde, Manish Chaubal and Manish Gathi.

At least five people, including two women, were injured after they were allegedly assaulted by a group of youngsters following a quarrel over taking snaps of the women on their mobile phones. The miscreants broke a beer bottle on the head of one of the male victims and assaulted others (in all six couples) with belts.

Even as the victims hesitated from lodging a complaint, the police on Thursday morning took a suo motu action by arresting the three club managers. They were also charged with allowing non-members of the club to the New Year bash and flouting the midnight deadline for loudspeakers.

However, three of the couples mustered courage on Thursday evening and lodged formal complaints with the Chatushrungi police, stating that they were assaulted by unidentified youths. No arrests were made till late tonight.

Simultaneously, the Chatushrungi police have forwarded a proposal to the joint commissioner of police, Rajendra Sonawane, recommending suspension of the club’s licence. Sonawane said he would wait for the investigations to get over before holding the due process for the prescribed action.

Senior inspector Sheshrao Suryavanshi, in charge of the Chatushrungi police, said that the victims Vikas Bharadwaj, Krishan Lala and Rahul Biswas, who were accompanied by their wives, registered their complaints. They stated that four unknown youths assaulted and manhandled them while they were dancing.

…More

TOI : PUNE: Goa chief minister Digamber Kamat recently announced the scrapping of 12 proposed SEZs following intense agitation by political parties and NGOs. But state chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in Pune on Thursday that the state will go ahead with the proposed SEZs.

Deshmukh was speaking with reporters at the Apang Kalyankari Sanstha at Wanowrie. “The process of approving SEZs is done by the Board of Approval (BoA) after discussions with the state government. It is surprising that the Goa government has taken this decision,” he said.

Having secured approval for 119 SEZs, the state will go ahead with all the projects, Deshmukh said.

Speaking at the inauguration function earlier, Deshmukh said the Centre’s old age pension scheme, which was targeted at those below the poverty line (BPL), was being reworked. There were major discrepancies and the government was working out a proposal for the same, he said.

The CM appealed to religious trusts to support institutions like Apang KalyankarI Sanstha. He also urged the members of the Shirdi Devasthan, who were present at the function, that trusts like Shirdi and Siddhivinayak should come forward to help institutions.
More

TOI : PUNE: With an aim to rediscover the saga of the Maratha empire and understand the significance of the historical forts in the Sahyadri and the Kokan belts, the army has organised a 15-day cycle expedition of the regions.

The squad will visit 20 forts in Pune, Raigad and Satara districts. Nearly 1,200 km will be covered during the expedition.

The expedition was flagged off on Thursday by Maj Gen. O.P. Soni, General Commanding Officer, 41 Artillery Division (Agnibaaz). The squad consists of an officer, two commissioned officers and 17 jawans from the Agnibaaz division.

The expedition will study the importance of the location of the forts and the tactics followed by Maratha warriors. This will also help the squad study the rich culture of Maharashtra. Most of the forts have a major contribution in the history of Shivaji’s famous wars against his giant enemies.

The places to be visited include Sinhagad, Shivneri, Lenyadri, Purandar, Torna, Rajgad, Vajragad, Rohida, Sonori, Pandavgad, Kenjalgad, Kamalgad, Murud-Janjira, Raigad, Pratapgad, Vichitragad, Lohagad, Tikona and Visapur.

“The expedition will infuse an adventurous spirit among the army personnel,” Maj Gen Soni said. “The expedition will help to strengthen the dialogue between servicemen, ex-servicemen and citizens. The squad will spread awareness about recruitment procedures for armed forces and benefits of the ex-servicemen contributory health scheme.”

Brig H.M. Chande, Commander, 98, Artillery Brigade, and Colonel P. Venugopal, Commanding Officer, 216, Medium Regiment, were present during the flagging off ceremony.
More

TOI : PUNE: The city cops teamed up with Andhra Pradesh police to raid brothels in Budhwar Peth on Thursday afternoon after complaints of Andhra girls being forced into prostitution in the city. During the six hour drive, the police rounded up around 96 agents and prostitutes.

Senior police inspector V T Pawar said that around 25 Andhra police officials headed by an additional superintendent of police had visited the city earlier to ascertain facts regarding trafficking of Andhra girls in Pune after a question was raised in their state assembly where it was pointed out that tribal girls were being forced into prostitution.

Till 9 pm, around 18 brothel managers were detained. Around 10 victims from Andhra Pradesh were also identified. The accused will be presented in the court at night and then will be taken to Andhra Pradesh.

Assistant commissioner of police Vinod Satav, police inspector Vijaysingh Gaikwad, police inspector of social security cell (SSC) Rajendra Bhamre and police sub-inspector Vimal Bidve participated in the drive from Pune police. Around 5-6 Andhra Pradesh non-government organisations also took part in the drive.
More

TOI : PUNE: About 15 city-based professionals have initiated a move to form a political party named the Professionals Party of India (PPI), which intends to contest the next Lok Sabha general elections.

While the process of registration as political party with the Election Commission is on, the core group of the party is putting in effort to reach out to like-minded professionals in the country.

“The educated middle class professional Indians are on the fringe of the political system — faceless, powerless and vastly outnumbered. To become part of the political process and govern, this class should jump into the fray,” said RV Krishnan, one of the member of the core group and managing director of city-based Business Development Bureau (India) Private Limited.

The core group has six IT professionals, charted accountants, engineers and small businessman. The party’s manifesto is already in place. “A democratic paradigm shift, driven by professional Indians is urgent. The time has come for the 200 million or so professional Indians to roll up their sleeves and dirty their hands.

It’s time to set up a political party, win elections and form a government. This is perhaps the only way the unrelenting morass of ineptitude, incompetence and corruption, our country is sinking into can be arrested,” declares the manifesto. The party has separate manifestos for social, cultural, economic, educational, agricultural and industrial sectors.

“We will put in efforts to make politics better. Out main target group is professionals who are unwilling to get involved the politics,” said Laalit Mehta Krishnakumar Iyer, a core group member and strategic IT consultant.

They claimed that the idea was welcomed by professionals across the nation and registration of the party membership has been started on www.professionalspartyofindia.com.

Before launching the party core group members conducted various surveys in the last five years to…More