News

TOI : NASIK: A 19-year-old youth was injured when a leopard attacked him in Rounzane-shivar in Malegaon taluka of the district, police said on Tuesday.

The victim, a resident of Gigaon went to a field to graze his animal when the wild cat appeared suddenly and attacked him.

He was later taken to a hospital in Malegaon for treatment…More

TOI : PUNE: Guardian minister Ajit Pawar has directed the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) to add 500 buses to its fleet within the next four months.

Pawar discussed PMPML issues with municipal authorities on Monday. PMPML managing director Subrao Patil was present for the meeting along with BJP leaders Anil Shirole and Vikas Mathkari.

Pawar has told officials of the transport body to add 500 buses to its fleet by May 15. He said the PMPML should purchase as many buses as possible and also hire them, if needed, to cater to the demand.

It was decided at the meeting that the PMPML will try to bring 1,600 buses on roads in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad as soon as possible. Instead of calling for new tenders, it was decided to invite the existing contractors and tell them to run more buses on the basis of the tenders approved earlier. The route auctioning option also came up for discussion during the meeting.

BJP leader Anil Shirole said, “Many assurances were given during elections to improve the bus network, but even after ten months in power, the ruling alliance had not done anything on the front.”

Shirole said the PMPML can hire buses as past record had shown the PMPML earning Rs 93 lakh from the 149 buses taken on contract. “By hiring buses, the PMPML can avoid capital investment and spending on employees,” he said.

Mathkari pointed out that the PMPML should run mini buses in the congested areas of the city. “There is a need to initiate immediate steps to curb the flow of private vehicles on roads. This can be achieved only if we strengthen the public transport system,” Mathkari said.

It was decided in the meeting that the PMPML managing director will update all party leaders in the PMC regarding…More

TOI : PUNE: The Centre has agreed to set up six new laboratories in various states for diagnosis and surveillance of the avian influenza.

It may be noted that during the bird flu control work at Navapur and Jalgaon, about 10 lakh birds were culled and 15 lakh eggs and 8,000 metric tonnes of feed were destroyed. “Compensation of around Rs 2.7 crore was distributed on the spot to poultry farmers for culling the affected birds. A compensation of Rs 4.8 crore was given in lieu of the destroyed feed,” Anees Ahmad, Maharashtra minister for animal husbandry, dairy development and fisheries, said.

Meanwhile, the all-India livestock and cattle show will be organised at Yavatmal by the Maharashtra Livestock Development Board in February to observe and gain the technical inputs for farmers in the Vidarbha region, Ahmad said.

Speaking on the occasion, Ashish Sharma, commissioner of department of animal husbandry, said that the Centre has entrusted the Pune centre with the task of carrying out sero-surveillance for Goa, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Diu and Daman and Uttar Pradesh. “Till the end of 2007, a total of 10,152 serum samples have been screened by the Centre,” he said…More

TOI : PUNE: A 23-year-old woman, accused of posting an obscene profile of her friend on a social networking site, became the first to benefit from the plea bargain agreement, which enables an accused to get away with a lesser charge for a crime.

The concept of plea bargaining was introduced by making an amendment in the Criminal Procedure Code in 2005.

The court of judicial magistrate first class Kalpana Patil released the woman on a good behaviour bond of two years under section 4 of the Probation of Offenders Act on the grounds that she was a first-time offender. However, she was asked to pay a compensation of Rs 2.75 lakh to the complainant.

Plea bargaining involves making an agreement with the complainant in which the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge and the prosecution in turn drops the more serious charges. By continuing with the trial and not pleading guilty, the woman could have been sentenced for up to three years in jail.

The woman reportedly posted the profile as she was angry with her friend being close to the man she loved. The victim lodged a complaint with the cyber crime cell under section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, stating that an obscene profile along with her photo and mobile number had been posted on Orkut.

Defence lawyer S K Jain and Pankaj Naigaonkar told TOI that they had suggested that their client go in for plea bargaining under section 265 of the Code of Criminal Procedure as she wanted to leave the country. Naigaonkar said they had held a series of meetings with assistant public prosecutor Anil Ausekar. The complainant had willingly agreed to dispose of the matter at a suitable compensation.

Both parties have entered into a compromise before the court. The court then directed the probation…More

TOI : PUNE: Municipal commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi on Monday announced that the civic administration will soon formulate a set of rules making it mandatory for information technology (IT) companies to segregate and dispose of the e-waste by adopting the procedure laid down by the civic body. The civic chief also announced to earmark two plots of lands for disposal of e-waste.

The step has been initiated in view of the fact that there has been an alarming rise in the quantum of e-waste generated in Pune. About 40 per cent of the waste dumped at the Urali Devachi landfill site consists of e-waste.

Pardeshi was speaking at a seminar on ‘E-waste and environment’ organised by city-based NGO Saarthi.

“The plans are at a nascent stage. Pune’s growth in the IT sector is also emerging as an important cause of e-waste generation. Until now no planned steps were taken, but we are looking at framing rules to tackle the problem. E-waste will be collected and recycled or disposed of separately,” Pardeshi said. He said recycling of different parts of e-waste on a commercial basis could be done through public-private partnership…More

TOI : PUNE: In a bid to improve the power supply situation in the district, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) plans to invest Rs 944 crore in infrastructure development in the district.

In a statement, the power company has said that Rs 74 crore will be invested in Shirur and Ambegaon talukas for setting up eight sub stations and augmenting the capacity of six sub stations.

The statement said that it was for the first time in 40 years that such an ambitious programme was being undertaken in the state. The plan takes into account the growth and development of the district in the next 10 years.

To reduce load-shedding and ensure power supply to residential areas in villages when power supply to agricultural pumps was stopped, a feeder separation project has been undertaken.

In Shirur taluka, Rs 22.22 crore will be spent on setting up eight new sub stations, separation of 17 feeders and installation of 170 transformers, which will give relief to as many as 108 villages…More