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TOI : PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will undertake a drive to crack down on illegal tap connection holders in Wadgaonsheri, Chandannagar and Kharadi in a week’s time.

The decision was taken during an emergency meeting of local corporators, Mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale, municipal commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi and water department officials on Wednesday, following complaints of irregular water supply.

Speaking to media, Bhosale said, “If people have more than one connection, it will be disconnected. We are giving people a week to get their connections regulated by paying a sum of Rs 1,900, if they have just one connection. If they don’t, then the connection will be disconnected irrespective of whether they have one connection or two.” She added that plumbers who help in getting illegal connections would also be punished.

“A similar drive will be undertaken to find out whether drinking water supplied to the area is being used at construction sites. Legal action will be taken against the violators,” Bhosale said. Discussions were also held on how to provide long-term solutions to the common problems faced by citizens of the area.
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TOI : PUNE: Three alleged members of the Ravi Pujari gang, who opened fire at a police team on the NIBM-Mohammedwadi road on Tuesday, were remanded to police custody till April 2.

The trio had allegedly planned to eliminate a Mumbai-based builder, who had failed to pay extortion money. However, their plan was reportedly foiled by the police. Inspector Ram Pathare of the crime branch, Pune, produced the suspects Asif Yusuf Khan, Kiran Salvi and Ravindra Helkar before the court of judicial magistrate (first class) G.B. Gurao on Wednesday, which sent them to police custody till April 2.

Assistant public prosecutor Kiran Bendhbar told the court that the suspects, before firing on the police team, had attacked one person. Besides, the trio told the investigators that two pistols were given to them by one Sajid Bangali of Lonavla. The police also recovered a letter from Salvi, which contained Pujari’s name and telephone numbers. The suspects did not engage the services of a lawyer.
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TOI : PUNE: The Mumbai-based builder, who was the alleged target of an elimination attempt on Tuesday and is on gangster Ravi Pujari’s hit-list, was allegedly being asked to pay Rs 10 crore by Pujari, according to the city police.

The builder was apparently receiving extortion calls from Pujari, who reportedly operates from Malaysia.

Three persons were arrested by the Pune police on Tuesday afternoon after they allegedly opened fire on a police team. Two imported pistols were recovered from them.

According to additional commissioner of police (crime) Rajender Singh, the builder has been given police security by the Mumbai police after some people opened fire at his Kandivali office in December 2007. “His security guard was injured in the firing. A complaint is registered in Mumbai regarding the firing,’’ an official said.

The builder, Singh said, had recently taken up construction activity in Pune and was tracked down by Pujari loyalists in the city. “We can give him police security, provided he asks for it,’’ Singh said.

The builder has a building project at Mohammadwadi and is to initiate another at Hinjewadi soon.

Refuting claims that Pune has become a hot-bed for dreaded criminals, Singh said the police had not received a single complaint from a city builder or hotelier regarding extortion calls. “Even in the case of Runwal, the extortion demand was an internal row between the accused and his employee,” he said.
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TOI : PUNE: Generally, politicians would not miss an opportunity to enter any movement and, if possible, hijack it to gain political mileage. But not this one for sure. Politicians are scurrying for cover with gay activists seeking their support to the movement against ‘outdated’ Section 377 of the IPC, framed in 1860, which defines homosexuality as a crime.

In Pune, gay activists are mustering support at individual and mass level to scrap section 377. “Basically, there is need for a political will to scrap the outdated section. We need political support, but they are not responding to our appeal,” says software professional Bindumadhav Khire, who is a homosexual and runs Sampathik, an organisation for men’s sexual health.

Khire says gays are fighting legal battles against section 377. “What we need is the support of politicians and common people. We want to approach people and inform that gays are not someone out of the world. We are the same people as you are” says Khire.

Gays across the nation are joining hands to intensify the agitation against section 377, which says that whoever has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with a term that may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to a fine.

Pune is witnessing an increasing population of same-sex couples, says Khire, adding, “At a time when a large number of countries have legalised gay and lesbian rights, why homosexuality is a crime in India?”
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TOI : PUNE: In a major move that could save the city from imminent load-shedding, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to play a proactive role of a franchisee through which the Maharashtra state electricity distribution company ltd (MSEDCL) can source additional power to support the Pune model of zero load-shedding.

The Maharashtra electricity regulatory commission (MERC) on March 14 directed the MSEDCL to stop giving grid support to the model. The MERC had suggested that MSEDCL can appoint a franchisee through which it can source additional power to support the model.

The Merc had suggested appointment of distributed generation based distribution franchisee (DGBDF) to secure additional power to keep the Pune model running. As per the electricity act the DGBDF was supposed to set up generation plant and supply power. However, as it was a time-consuming job, the Merc suggested that MSEDCL appoint a temporary franchisee to act as agent for securing power from other sources.

The MSEDCL will have to enter into a triparty agreement with the franchisee and the source that will supply power exclusively for Pune.

“PMC has decided to shoulder the responsibility and play role of franchisee to avoid load-shedding in the city,” municipal commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi told TOI on Wednesday. “The administration will place the formal docket before the standing committee.”
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