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TOI : PUNE: Five youths were sentenced to life imprisonment in a double murder case that had rocked the Janata Vasahat in 2002. The convicts are Ganesh alias Amit Surve, Rahul Burte, Santosh Sigwan, Vilas Bhuvad and Rakesh Burte all from the Janata Vasahat.

According to additional public prosecutor Vikas Shah, there was an old enmity between the convicts and the victims, Navnath Wadkar and Prashant Pachrude. Wadkar and Pachurde were assaulted with sharp weapons near Omkareshwar temple on May 2, 2002. The assailants also assaulted Nilesh Wadkar for intervening in their dispute. Wadkar and Pachrude died at a private hospital while undergoing medical treatment. However, Nilesh Wadkar survived the attack.

On a complaint lodged by the victims’ family member Santosh Wadkar, the Swargate police arrested seven people, including Nitin Surve and Nilesh Shinde. Two minor boys were also taken into custody.

However, the trial was conducted against only five suspects because the prosecution could not produce Nitin and Nilesh before additional sessions judge Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi as they had gone missing.

Prosecutor Shah had examined 17 witnesses and had relied on the evidence of eye witnesses Ganesh Tahar, Sachin Walekar and Nilesh Wadekar.
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TOI : PUNE: The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Merc) is expected to announce the new power tariff by the end of May, according to Merc chairman Pramod Deo.

Speaking to reporters after completing a public hearing on the tariff proposal submitted by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) at the Council Hall on Friday, Deo said that the divisional hearing process would end on April 17. After that, the MSEDCL has asked for four more days to submit answers to issues raised by Prayas energy group about truing of accounts.

“It appears that we will have all the required data by the end of April, after which we will need three to four weeks to arrive at the new tariff rates. By the end of May we should be in a position to declare the tariff order,” Deo explained.

When asked about the general sentiments expressed during public hearings at other places, Deo said that overall people have rejected the MSEDCL tariff proposal and are demanding a revision of load-shedding protocol. There is opposition to the almost 40 per cent tariff hike proposed for industries, but the concessions on offer for public water supply schemes have been welcomed.

Deo said that people have also urged the regulator to change the definition of below poverty line (BPL) consumers to widen its net and give attention to electrification of tribal belts in the state.

When asked whether he would be able to complete the tariff fixation process in view of his appointment as chairman of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Cerc) in Delhi, Deo said that legally he was supposed to give three months’ notice before giving up charge at Merc. “However, I cannot say till when I will remain in charge here as it all depends on what stand the ministry of power and the state…More

TOI : PUNE: The agitation called by rickshaw operators affiliated to the Maharashtra Rickshaw Sena (MRS) took a violent turn on Friday when members of another rickshaw organisation, the Rickshaw Panchayat, allegedly attacked them and damaged their vehicles.

“Nearly 100 rickshaws were damaged by members of Baba Adhav’s Rickshaw Panchayat. Some of them even thrashed our members when we refused to join a rally organised by them,” MRS founder president Nana Kshirsagar said.

While the MRS had called for rickshaws to stay off the roads to protest against the introduction of electronic meters and to press for a tariff hike, the Rickshaw Panchayat had organised a rally at the district collectorate to press for a social security law.

Reacting to Kshirsagar’s allegations, Adhav said they had little truth in them.

Assistant commissioner of police Suresh Pote said there were some skirmishes between members of the two unions at some places. However, no complaint had been registered, he added.

The rickshaw strike had a good impact in the city. The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) came to the rescue of citizens by plying extra buses on major routes. Extra buses were put into service on routes leading to and from Shivajinagar, Pune railway station and Swargate.

PMPML public relations officer D.A. Pardeshi said drivers and conductors had been instructed to pick up commuters from places other than bus stops on request. “We also allowed passengers to carry luggage in the buses,” he added.
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TOI : PUNE: The Solapur zoo authorities certainly have their work cut out for them. Their task? To find a mate for a female king cobra they have in captivity. The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has ordered the administration of the Solapur-based Mahatma Gandhi zoo to find a suitable king cobra, within the next six months.

The 12-ft long and seven-year-old female black cobra was rescued last year from the Mauni Baba Math at Devane village near Solapur. The forest department then brought it to the Mahatma Gandhi Zoo.

“A suitable environment had to be prepared for the reptile, as summer temperatures in Solapur rise up to 43 or 44 degrees Celsius and the snake is used to wet, humid forests, said Vijaykumar Gatade, animal keeper at the zoo. “When we saw the cobra for the first time, nobody thought it would survive. Surprisingly though, its fangs had not been removed. Within a year, the cobra had recovered completely and now we hope that in finding a partner we will be able to breed it in captivity. It’s our black beauty.”

The cobra is proving a real draw. During Nag Panchami last year, the zoo was opened to the public for three days.

With tickets selling at Rs 5, the zoo managed to collect over Rs 1 lakh, with most people flocking to see the cobra.

Garden superintendent of Solapur municipal corporation, Dnyanraj Mhetras says, “Last year, we registered the cobra at the CZA, based in Delhi. Now it has directed us to find a mate for the female cobra. Letters have been sent to the Rajiv Gandhi Snake park, the Bahinabai Chaudhari zoo, and other zoos in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. The Rajiv Gandhi has a pair of cobra, and the Bahinabai Chaudhari zoo has a male cobra. It could be brought to Solapur or the…More

TOI : PUNE: You’d soon know whether the mercury dips lower in Pimpri-Chinchwad than in Pune or whether the twin township is set to receive a heavier rain-lashing.

About 80 years after weather prediction and gauging of other parameters like rainfall and temperature began at the Indian Meteorological Department in Pune, the first automatic weather station (AWS) for Pimpri-Chinchwad is expected to be installed soon.

An AWS is a portable weather station where the services of an observer are not required. Most AWSes are equipped with telemeter apparatus for transmitting weather information. An AWS can collect data on rainfall, temperature, wind speed, wind direction and relative humidity and even transmit these via satellite to the ground stations.

Speaking to TOI, RD Vasistha, deputy director-general meteorology (surface instruments) at the IMD, said,”We have checked some places for installing the weather station. The cost for setting up the station is around Rs 10 lakh. The AWS can also collect data on the pollution levels in this industrial hub.”

The AWS is expected to give a clearer picture of the rainfall pattern in Pune district. “Greater the number of observations, the better the weather forecasting,” director (weather central) Medha Kolhe pointed out.

Besides the AWS at the IMD, Pune has two more such stations at Pashan and Lohegaon. An AWS can provide information about the weather in a radius of 30 km.
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