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TOI : KOPARGAON: In the wake of apprehensions about security at religious places, a five-member committee headed by Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) has been appointed by the Maharashtra government to look into the security aspect of the famous Sai Baba temple near here.

Apart from senior police officials, security analyst V K Kaul has also been appointed in the committee, which is expected to come out with its recommendations in two months’ time, senior Home Department officials said here.

The Shirdi Sai Baba Trust has already taken measures like increasing security staff, installing CCTV cameras and mobile jammers at the temple complex.

Earlier, specific advisories were issued by the country’s intelligence agencies following blasts at religious sites in north India…More

TOI : PUNE: The ‘Bharat Sanchar Seva Padak 2007’ award, the highest honour in its category instituted by the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), was conferred on Raghavendra Nerikar, SDE (IT) of BSNL, Pune at New Delhi recently.

The award was presented by Union minister for communications and IT A. Raja, and minister of states for communications Shakeel Ahmed. The award includes a letter of recognition, a medal and cash award of Rs 1 lakh.

Nerikar was nominated for the award for his outstanding contribution and the pivotal role he has played in the development of the HR and pay package, which is a web-based application, and is capable of handling information of 3.25 lakh employees of the BSNL with great accuracy…More

TOI : PUNE: Chief Justice of India (CJI) K.G. Balakrishnan has stressed the need for effective management and best practices in the success of various systems including social, political and judicial systems.

Balakrishnan was addressing the ‘Bharat Asmita National Awards 2008’ function organised by the MIT School of Government on Sunday. Management guru Bakul Dholakia, journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh and Orissa MP Baijayant Panda were the recipients of the awards this year.

The awards were instituted by the MIT Group of Institutions to recognise the distinguished and enduring contribution of well-known Indians to the process of nation-building and acknowledge their outstanding services.

Former chief election commissioner T.N. Seshan, heads the eight-member awards committee, which also includes former CSIR chief R.A. Mashelkar and computer expert Vijay Bhatkar, among others.

Balakrishnan focussed his speech on the ‘’inextricably intertwined’ roles of the elected representatives, the media and the academicians in taking the nation further on the path of progress.

The CJI said, “Development of successful management practices that can deal with specific issues and challenges were urgently needed before the country can focus on broader issues faced at an increasingly competitive global level.”

Balakrishnan said the country’s inherent diversity was another factor that called for development of best practices to solve complex national issues. He cited novel methods to solve specific problems; communication skills; conflict management; negotiation skills and self-development methods as some examples of the best practices.

All this was critical to developing individual citizens as committed, inspired and dedicated nation-builders, he said.

Earlier, responding to the award and felicitations, Dholakia said that education and skills would drive India’s journey to excellence at the global level. He called for focus on the youth and recognising their potential as key drivers of the country’s progress.

Sardesai suggested the…More

TOI : PUNE: Acting tough against traffic violators across the district, the Pune rural police recovered a fine of Rs 1.53 crore in the year gone by.

According to a press release issued by Pune rural police, they have registered a major hike in cases of accidents on national and state highways passing through the district.

As part of the excercise, the police had organised special drives to catch offenders violating traffic norms. The maximum fine was collected from illegal passenger vehicles. About 5,361 cases were registered against illegal ferrying and a fine of Rs 54,17,300 was collected throughout the year in the district.

About 331 cases of truck over loading were recorded during this period and a fine of Rs 1,15,6525 was recovered from the owners. All the trucks were carrying sand.

A fine of Rs 1,22,900 was recovered from 1,247 people for not wearing helmet under section 129/177 of the motor vehicle act.

It was also inferred that a majority of accidents occurred because the motorists were not wearing helmets.

In other cases related to traffic violation, a fine of Rs 86.40 lakh was collected by the rural police.

The police informed that the drive against traffic violators will continue.

Cases were also registered against rash driving, lane cutting, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without licence and illegal ferrying…More

TOI : Many domestic helps use two-wheelers to manage time and family better (TOI Photo) PUNE: Santoshi Anil Jagtap uses a moped to drop and pick up her children to and from school. She also rides her moped to work daily. This is nothing unusual in a city full of two-wheelers. What makes her different from the army of daily commuters in the city is the fact that Santoshi works as a maid-servant. Unlike other women in her profession who take a bus or walk to work, she prefers to use a moped.

Coming from a very conservative and poor background, where women are usually relegated to the backstage, Santoshi’s is a story of breaking social stereotypes. “Buying a moped was not something mind-boggling for me or my family,” she reveals. “It came out of need. When the people in one of the houses where I worked decided to shift to another city, they wanted to sell their moped. I decided to purchase it.”

Santoshi’s husband and the other families for which she was working supported her. Today, she is managing her time well and earning around Rs 3,000 per month.

“I took one month’s advance salary from my employers to purchase the vehicle for Rs 5,000. Now I can spare enough time for my family,” she said…More

TOI : PUNE: In a grisly incident, the head of a 20-year-old youth was ripped off from his torso due to a severe electric shock when he came in contact with a power supply cable passing atop a tamarind tree at Hingane Khurd along the Sinhagad road on Sunday afternoon.

The police said the power cable sliced through Vishal Sitaram Shinde’s neck and the head fell on the ground while the rest of the body remained stuck to the wire in a charred condition. Vishal’s friends who were accompanying him, alerted people in the vicinity and soon the police were summoned at the site.

Vishal had climbed the tree to pluck tamarinds at the request of some children, his father Sitaram told TOI at the Sassoon general hospital’s mortuary. Sitaram is a plumber and solar mechanic by profession while Vishal was working for a leading private sector bank as a marketing executive. The Shindes reside at the National Park, Anand Nagar off the Sinhagad road…More