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TOI : PUNE: A winner or the Param Vir Chakra, the country’s highest gallantry award, or his dependent receives a sum of Rs 1,500 per month as monthly allowance from the government.

In the case of the Ashok Chakra, the highest peace-time gallantry award, the allowance is Rs 1,400 per month, while for the pre-independence Victoria Cross the monthly allowance is Rs 80.

Veterans of the Indian armed forces rue the measly sum doled out to brave soldiers who braved odds and, many times, made the ultimate sacrifice for the glory and defence of the motherland.

Even the existing monthly allowances are the result of periodic revision made from time to time. Veterans believe such ‘hand-outs’ will do nothing to improve the situation at a time when the Army alone faces a backlog of around 12,000 commissioned officers.

Among the pre-independence awards the monthly allowance is Rs 80 for the Victoria Cross, Rs 350 for the Distinguished Service Order/the Indian Order of Merit/the Distinguished Service Medal, Rs 200 for officer category awardees of the Distinguished Service Cross/the Military Cross/the Distinguished Flying Cross, and Rs 70, Rs 90 and Rs 70 for the Distinguished Service Medal/the Military Medal/the Distinguished Flying Medal if the recipient is from the other ranks.

In the post-independence category of bravery awards the allowance is Rs 1,500 for the Param Vir Chakra, Rs 1,400 for the Ashok Chakra, Rs 1,200 for the Maha Vir Chakra, Rs 1,050 for the Kirti Chakra, Rs 850 for the Vir Chakra, Rs 750 for the Shaurya Chakra and Rs 250 for the Sena Medal/Nau Sena Medal/Vayu Sena Medal. “I would term it as nothing but a joke. None of the brave men fought for money but the government, nonetheless, has failed to give them proper recognition,” said Major General V.K. Madhok (retd), former general officer commanding (GOC) of…More

TOI : PUNE: The no-vehicle day at the PMC received a good response from the staff on Tuesday. About 700 of them, including those from ward offices in the city, either cycled to offices or used the public transport.

Civic chief Pravinsinh Pardeshi and standing committee chairman Shyam Deshpande had last week made the announcement, urging the staff and elected members to keep off their motor vehicles once a week on Tuesdays.

Although very few elected members paid heed to the call, the civic staff - junior as well as senior - decided to support the green cause.

The senior officials who responded to the call included deputy commissioners Suraj Mandhare, Shrikrishna Chaudhary and Vilas Kanade, ward officer Anil Jagtap, junior engineer Nitish Deshpande, advocate Manisha Idhate, deputy engineer Shriniwas Kandul, PMC public relations officer Sanjay More and PMPML PRO Deepak Pardeshi, who came to office on bicycles. Deputy commissioner K.C. Karkar and Lakshman Damse came to the PMC on public transport.

Nearly 600 other staff members at various ward offices across the city came to the PMC on bicycles.

Shyam Deshpande, who himself rode a bicycle to the PMC, said the elected members would slowly but surely start coming to work on bicycles.

“Today was the first day. Hence, not many corporators responded positively. But I am confident that within a month or two, the message will spread and everybody will follow,” he said. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: Farmers whose land has been acquired for the Bharat Forge multi-product special economic zone (SEZ) may no longer squander their wealth on luxurious and unnecessary items.

After disbursing the compensation package to the farmers, the Pune district collector and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) officials have taken it upon themselves to guide them on investment.

The SEZ is coming up in Khed and Shirur talukas of Pune district. The government had notified 7,192 hectares encompassing 17 villages for the same. The SEZ is promoted as a 74:26 joint venture between Bharat Forge and MIDC through a special purpose vehicle.

In Kendur, Kanersar, Nimgaon and Dhavadi villages, about 2,000 hectares of land has been acquired for SEZ. “In the first phase, we have distributed Rs 140 crore. Another Rs 70 crore will be distributed soon in these villages. This model is running smoothly in these villages and would be useful for others to follow,” district collector Prabhakar Deshmukh told TOI on Tuesday.

However, there is opposition from farmers in villages like Phu-tanwadi and they have been excluded from the first phase of the SEZ.

Deshmukh said that considering the past experience, where many farmers blew up the money buying luxury cars, bikes and other unnecessary items, the district administration and the MIDC are guiding them on safe and productive investment.

“When farmers get compensation for land, many banks and people with vested interests are after them. Many of the farmers get misguided and waste money. The MIDC has employed financial consultants and the district administration is in constant touch with farmers guiding them about the investments,” he said.

Deshmukh said the administration wanted to ensure that farmers utilise the compensation amount judiciously so that they don’t face financial problems in future. “We are keeping good options of investments before them so…More

TOI : PUNE: It was a case of history repeating itself for Shriram Gunjal of Chinchwad when his younger daughter, Sonali (22), committed suicide by jumping in front of a train at the Chinchwad railway station here on March 3. It was the same spot where, five years back, Sonali’s elder sister had ended her life in a similar manner for the same reason — dowry harassment. And, it was the same husband, Sachin Chinchwade, who allegedly drove both sisters to take the extreme step.

Sonali’s father, Shriram Gunjal (59) of Chinchwad, filed a complaint saying that his elder daughter, Kranti, was married to Chinchwade in May 2000. She was allegedly harassed by Chinchwade, his father, Subhash, mother Kantabai and brother Sangram. Fed up with this, Kranti threw herself before a train at Chinchwad railway station on May 7, 2003.

Chinchwade’s family then pressed for the marriage of Sonali with him, stating that Kranti’s daughter, Samruddhi, was only a year old and needed a mother. Gunjal accepted the proposal.

However, the same old story was played out again with Sonali allegedly being harassed to bring Rs 30,000 for the purchase of a two-wheeler. She was also reportedly tortured to make her convince her father to transfer his flat at Gunjalwada in Chinchwade’s name. Unable to bear the torture, Sonali ended her life by jumping in front of a train on March 3.

The Chinchwad police said Gunjal filed the complaint on Monday. Police sub-inspector A.S. Sayyed is investigating the case. No arrests have been made so far, the police said. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: Slowly but steadily, the mercury keeps rising. On Tuesday, the city’s temperature touched a maximum of 38 deg C, an increase of two degrees in less than a week.

Since last Friday, when the city recorded 36 deg C, temperatures began their upward climb. On Saturday, the maximum temperature was 36.9 degrees, on Sunday it was 37 degrees and on Monday it reached 37.7 degrees C.

Tuesday’s maximum temperature is three degrees higher than normal for this period. The highest ever temperature recorded by the city in March is 42.8 deg C, on March 28, 1892.

The reason for the rise in temperature is the reduction in cloudy conditions, sources at the meteorological department said.

“There is a trough present near Kerala, Karnataka and parts of Maharashtra including Vidarbha and Marathwada. This has influenced the weather,” the sources said.

Day and night temperatures were above normal in most parts of the state including Marathwada, central Maharashtra, Vidarbha and Konkan. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More