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TOI : PUNE: The much-anticipated revamp of the B.J. Medical College (BJMC) and its affiliate unit, the Sassoon general hospital, has started with the renovation of the pathology department lecture hall and facilities at the anatomy and physiology departments.

The work assumes significance in the wake of the state government’s plan to transform the 1,300-bed hospital (largest in western Maharashtra) into a modern health care facility.

The government has already cleared a Rs 65-crore grant for the BJMC and the Sassoon hospital. The grant is to be utilised in phases over three years, beginning 2008-09.

In addition, the two facilities were granted Rs 13 crore for procuring surgical equipment (Rs 8 crore) and for new buildings (Rs 5 crore) for the year 2007-08.

The Sassoon hospital has an occupancy rate of 90 per cent and about 1,000 patients visit its out-patient department (OPD) everyday.

The hospital draws patients not only from Pune but also from western Maharashtra districts including Ahmednagar, Solapur and Satara. The hospital is spread over a 22-acre area (excluding residential quarters) near the Pune railway station.

BJMC dean Anand Malik told TOI that post-revamp, the hospital would have better basic infrastructure for catering to the patients. Of the Rs 65-crore grant, the authorities were expecting Rs 13 crore for 2008-09 and have submitted their utilisation plan to the government, he said.

Malik said, Rs 3.5 crore of the available Rs 5 crore grant for new facilities were being spent on renovating four operation theatres attached to the departments of obstetrics and gynaecology besides the labour rooms. Rs 82 lakh were being spent on the renovation general surgery, orthopaedics and neurology
wards.

“To ensure steady and continuous power supply, we have paid Rs 1 crore to the public works department for setting up two generators of 500 kv…More

TOI : Sheena (name changed) suffered from a host of personal and professional problems and was desperate for a solution. “I had relationship issues and irritable spells,” she says.

In the course of her search, she tried hypnotherapy. After a few sessions, Sheena says she felt she had a better handle on her situation. Life seemed a bigger, broader picture.

The relationship bothering her was no more, her health improved and she found she could cope better with situations. “I think it made me look at life more positively,” she says.

Sheena, like others, is one of many turning to hypnotherapy as an alternative therapy.

Practitioners claim that many of us spend much of our time in a trance-like state anyway.

“Hypnotherapy is trying to activate your subconscious mind by switching your conscious mind off,” says Bina Bakshi, a hypnotherapist.

“Normally, the conscious mind makes decisions and resists ideas. The first thing you need to know is that hypnosis is a very natural state. People go into hypnosis regularly without even realising it. If you were to listen to positive suggestions while in these naturally occurring trance states they would have an effect on you.”

Clinical psychologist Shrimant Patil explains that psychologists use hypnosis to establish rapport with their patients and evolve a line of treatment. Says Dhansingh Chowdhury, a practising hypnotherapist, “If there is a problem, one should have sessions for the subconscious as the personality is locked in it. You have to put to sleep the conscious to reach the subconscious.”

Almost 80% of problems in life are related to psychological problems, says Patil.

Techniques involve making the person comfortable, slowing down their breathing, making them stare at a spot and concentrate on feeling relaxed.

For Neha, hypnotherapy helped her deal with claustrophobia. “I had…More

TOI : PUNE: The Pimpri-Chinchwad Muncipal Corporation’s (PCMC) ambitious ropeway project at Durgatekdi garden in Nigdi may have to be shelved following objections raised by the ordnance factory at Dehu Road, according to PCMC commissioner Dilip Band.

The PCMC has developed a garden on a hillock off the old Pune-Mumbai highway at Nigdi and named it Indira Gandhi garden. There is a temple of Durga on the hillock and so it is also known as Durgatekdi garden. PCMC planned to construct a ropeway from the lawn near the entrance of the garden to the top of the hillock.

Speaking to TOI about the ropeway project, Pravin Tupe, executive engineer, PCMC said, “PCMC was to make a one time investment of Rs 6 crore to implement the project. The project was to be handed over to a private contractor for maintenance. This contractor had to inform the PCMC about the number of years he will need to repay the investment of Rs 6 crore. He was to run and maintain the project for this period and later hand the project back to the PCMC.”

The ordnance factory has raised objections to the ropeway route on security grounds, he revealed. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: With the third chargesheet to be filed in the Unique Fincorp cheating case soon, the city police claim to have achieved the rare distinction of recovering the full amount of Rs 16.77 crore in the infamous cheating case.

The police, however, pointed out that the scope of the scam would expand if more investors lodged complaints. Deputy commissioner of police (economic offences) Sunil Phulari said they were in the process of filing the third chargesheet.

A total of 2,568 people, who invested in the Unique Fincorp Pvt Ltd, have been identified till date, and the amount invested by them recovered. The statements of 2,518 investors have been registered, Phulari said.

It may be noted that the Unique Fincorp Pvt Ltd, based at Chatushrungi, had advertised investment deals in 2007. The money was to be used to purchase cars which would be deployed in call centres. The investors were to receive Rs 7,000-8,000 per month in return. After four years, the investor could take the car back or accept money as per its market value.

When the scheme initially took off, people were given monthly instalments, which stopped later. Finally, a complaint was lodged with the Chatushrungi police station in September 2007. The company had branches in Pune, Thane, Aurangabad and Nashik.

It is generally difficult to recover the entire amount such cases because the culprits disappear. In the Unique case, about 10 suspects from Pune, Pimpri, Mumbai and Kolhapur have been arrested so far. The Rs 16.77 crore also includes eight cars that the company had purchased. Currently, the accused are in magisterial custody.

However, though the money has been recovered, it will not be as easy as that for investors to get back their amounts. Phulari said, “We have requested the court concerned for a speedy trial so that the investors…More

TOI : PUNE: Even as the Union finance minister made permanent account number (PAN) mandatory for all transactions in the financial market, there has been a steep rise of 43 per cent in the number of applicants for PAN cards in Pune region in 2007-08 as compared to 2006-07.

An increasing awareness level about financial management coupled with mandatory requirement has led to the rise in demand for PAN cards.

There are 38.7 lakh PAN card holders under the Pune regional centre of the income-tax (I-T) office. In January this year, a record number of 1.19 lakh PAN cards were dispatched by the I-T office. Interestingly, a great number of applicants are non-salaried people, especially housewives and students.

Pune had about 11,57,000 PAN card holders in 2003. The number rose to 38,71,000 by 2007-08. While revealing this data, an I-T official clarified that not all of them were income-tax assessees.

Unable to cope up with the demand for PAN cards, the authorities outsourced the PAN card allotment activities in 2003.

Currently, the Unit Trust of India Services Ltd (UTISL) and the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) are the collaborative partners providing this service. There are 12 NSDL centres and 19 UTISL centres across the city. Almost all these centres are experiencing a heavy rush these days.

“This is mostly due to the large number of applications received from housewives. The men-women ratio of applicants is roughly 60:40,” said Shamli Amrutkar, in-charge of a UTISL centre in Kothrud.

The reason for this rush is that more and more housewives and students are now hooked on to the stock market, exploring their luck through the user-friendly option of trading online.

“A lot of men trade under their spouse’s name and this led to a greater demand for PAN cards which are mandatory to…More