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TOI : PUNE: Nine teachers from schools run by the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) have been issued notices on charges like non-performance, absenteeism and dereliction of duty.

The PCB chief executive officer (CEO), S.K. Sardana, has termed the action as a step towards correcting errant practices which have severely affected the education system managed by the PCB.

The nine teachers are from the Ghorpadi branch of Swami Vivekananda high school, one of the three PCB-run high schools in Pune Camp. The action comes following appraisals of the school staff conducted under the personal supervision of the CEO.

Since last year, Sardana has taken over the charge to conduct regular inspection of schools and appraisals of teachers and other staff members. “The initiative has borne results. We are expecting a much better performance from our tenth standard students during the upcoming board examinations,” Sardana said.

The CEO is conducting meetings with all tenth standard students during the run up to the examinations and Wednesday was the first day of the meetings. “The action against the nine teachers is a wake-up call for all teaching staff. We will continue to maintain close scrutiny of their performances,” he added. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: Now, you don’t have to make rounds of the municipal office or go on-line to find out about your property tax bills. Help will be available on your mobile through an SMS.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is launching a new system in which citizens would get details of their property tax bills through an SMS service. Trials have already started and to be a part of it, one has to type ‘eaa’ give space, mention your property number and sms it to 54646. The details of the tax will be sent on your mobile within a few seconds. The PMC will later announce whether it would continue with the same code or change it when the project is finally launched.

“The on-line billing facility is already there, but we wanted to reach all sections of the society and mobile is the best medium to do so,” municipal commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi said.

The formal announcement of the project would be made in a week. The PMC is also working on a plan in which citizens can receive property bills on mobile and pay them on-line. “This is the second phase which would take some time. However, the SMS project will start immediately,” he added.

Dnyandeo Thube, deputy commissioner (tax assessment and collection), is the man behind the latest initiative. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: A pair of silver footwear from the idol of Sri Sai Baba were stolen from a temple at Somwar Peth in the wee hours of Tuesday.

According to a complaint filed at the Samarth police station by Rajabhau Dhayarkar of Somwar Peth, the footwear was owned by the Sri Sai Baba Palkhi Sohala Samiti and was kept in the Sai temple at his house.

The family had taken out a palkhi on the occasion of the eight anniversary of the temple on February 18. The programme continued till late night and then Dhayarkar went to his house keeping the door of the temple open. During his absence the footwear was stolen by some unidentified person.

Other precious materials at the temple, including photos of Sri Sai Baba, were left untouched. Dhayarkar announced a trip to Shirdi with VIP entry pass as a reward to anyone who can provide leads into the theft. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: The Lonavla police have arrested Mumbai-based father and son duo for allegedly grabbing 18 acres land of a farmer by forging his power of attorney and preparing a sale deed.

Minoo alias Laxmiprasad Mahavirprasad Singhania (54) and his son Nikunj (29) — real estate agents staying at Peddar road in Mumbai — were arrested on Tuesday following a February 5 order from the Wadgaon Maval court. The suspects were remanded to one-day police custody.

Incidentally, the accused had sold a 20-acre disputed land in Pale village, Maval, to actor Amitabh Bachchan.

The police were directed to file a case against the suspects after complainant Dattatraya Mandekar approached the court. The police said they filed a complaint on February 6.

Mandekar, when contacted, said the accused had transferred his land in Kurvande village of Lonavla on the latter’s name. “The land is on my wife’s name and I have all related documents to prove it.’

The matter surfaced four years ago, when Mandekar received a notice from the ‘talathi’ regarding sale of land. “We were shocked as to how our land was sold without our knowledge. We filed a case at the collectorate, where the accused could not produce the power of attorney. The tehsildar then asked us to approach the court,” he said.

Mandekar said another five-six people from Lonavla have approached the collectorate complaining about forgery and cheating by the accused. He alleged that the accused have been acquiring land in Maval and Mulshi by forging power of attorneys and sale deeds.

SP (Pune rural) Vishwas Nangre-Patil said the suspects were big shots in real estate. “We are investigating and checking whether farmers have been duped.” Inspector Balraj Lanjile said the accused had applied for bail. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: Students across the state will now be able to study weather and related disasters in schools and colleges following a Union government decision to implement a project of school meteorology laboratories in the state. The project is called Participation of Youth in Real-time Observation Benefit of Education (PROBE).

“Ministry of earth sciences along with Department of Science and Technology will work on this project. The project aims to make the students aware about meteorology as well as the local atmospheric conditions and weather disasters. The monitoring committee has given a go ahead to introduce this scheme in Maharashtra,” said Vasant Gowariker, chairman of the monitoring committee told TOI adding that the project is expected to commence in a year’s time.

Such labs have already been formed in Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu. Schools and colleges will be selected in such a way that varied climatic conditions could be studied. For instance, some schools will be in hilly areas while some will be in coastal belts. Indian Meteorology Department will also provide assistance.

“The lab aims at providing theoretical as well as practical knowledge related to meteorology. Getting the knowledge about the local atmospheric condition should be a good and interesting learning experience,” said senior advisor to Department of science and technology, Delhi, Malati Goyal.

So far 200 schools have benefitted from the project is north India and Tamil Nadu. The labs have instruments related to rainfall measurement, temperature measurement and other weather instruments. Besides, study of weather disasters is also an important part of this project. This study is carried out theoretically. Special books like ‘You Probe For Weather and Climate’ has been introduced in this project. One lab costs around Rs 50,000 to a school. The department will fund the project. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More