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TOI : PUNE: Dowry considerations may not always be necessary to render a marital tie asunder, it would seem. A trivial demand — that ‘aamras’ (mango pulp) be served in the marriage-hall — was sufficient for a wedding to be called off in Pune recently.

The demand for the ‘aamras’ came from the groom’s side during the wedding ceremony at the Shivshankar hall in Mukundnagar here on April 17. The daughter of the city-based Bhise family was to be married to the son of the Botaljis from Talegaon-Dabhade.

Just before the ceremony could begin, the Botaljis demanded that their relatives be served ‘aamras’. The Bhises expressed their inability to do so, saying that the menu for the occasion had been decided by both sides a long time back and that ‘aamras’ was not to be on the fare. They said it was too late to arrange for the ‘aamras’ now.

However, the Botaljis refused to budge, leading to a dispute between the two sides. The Botaljis walked out of the marriage-hall even as the Bhises made repeated pleas against the cancellation of the wedding.

One of the relatives from the Botaljis lodged a complaint with the Khadak police after the incident. The Bhises too made an oral complaint to the cops.

The police said both the Botaljis and Bhises are well-to-do families. While the girl’s father is a manager with a leading bank, the boy is working at the Film and Television Institute of India here. “The groom’s family should not have broken the marriage over such a petty issue,” a senior police official said. Sub-inspector Rajendra Vibhandik said the police have recorded the statements of some people at the function to verify the truth.

Additional commissioner of police (south region) Vivek Phansalkar told TOI that the police would examine whether any action could be…More

TOI : PUNE: The crime branch, Pune, on Saturday arrested nine people including five members of the dreaded Baba Bodke gang, for possessing firearms and weapons, in separate actions. The total seized booty is worth Rs 9.30 lakh.

Bodke’s gang was planning a dacoity at Yerawada and was stopped near the Hazrat Sadalbaba dargah, following a tip-off at about 8.15 pm on Saturday. The gang members were identified as Hemant Kachre (30), Naynesh Watare (21), Datta Kamble (25), Pratik Barshe (32) and Srinivas Shelar (33).

The police have recovered a car, two pistols, a country-made revolver, six cartridges, mobile phones and chilli powder packets, totalling over Rs 3.14 lakh. Investigations revealed that the suspects had planned a dacoity on a jewellery shop at Chandanagar. A case under section 399 (making preparations for a dacoity) of the IPC was registered at the Yerawada police station.

Meanwhile, the crime branch also arrested four people near Bhandare hotel on Sinhagad road for possessing weapons. They recovered a country-made revolver, a cartridge, mobile phones and a car totalling Rs 6.16 lakh. The arrested include Hassan Shaikh (25), Rajesh Nivgune (29), Prasad Karekar (22) and Satish Shahane (19). A case under sections of the Arms Act was registered against the quartet with the Dattawadi police station. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: Driven by an ever-increasing number of passengers, especially on the inter-city routes, the Central Railways (CR), Pune division, recorded almost 10 per cent increase in its passenger revenues for 2007-08. The earning is up at Rs 297 crore from Rs 275 crore last year, as per figures released on March 31.

Passenger revenue includes earnings from sale of tickets, besides reservation money. The gain of Rs 22 crore over last year could go up further following a final compilation of the figures, railway officials said.

The revenues from goods transport services too registered an impressive growth (Rs 213.40 crore). Pune’s booming economy, especially the manufacturing and automotive industry, besides agriculture, is the prime driver of transportation of goods.

The city remains a major transit point for goods originating from various destinations in western Maharashtra right up to Kolhapur.

The railway officials claimed that efforts made to provide more and better passenger amenities such as unreserved ticket system (UTS) machines, platform ticket vending machines, passenger-operated enquiry terminals etc., contributed to the increased earning. The expansion of industries and allied businesses have also resulted in increase in goods earnings of the division.

The division also recorded a seven per cent increase in the number of passengers travelling long distance as well as in the inter-city i.e. Pune-Mumbai and Solapur and suburban local trains. Daily passenger volumes have gone up to 1.25 lakh with 70 per cent of these accounted to the inter-city and local trains.

The Central Railway has selected Pune division for ‘best improved performance division award’ for the year 2007-08 considering the enhanced performance by the division on various fronts. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: The Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) organising committee kick-started its programme on electronic waste (e-waste) management, called the ‘Green Games’, an initiative taken in association with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).

The first e-waste awareness workshop was conducted for Jetkings, a hardware and networking company. The organisers will conduct such workshops in 40 colleges and 10 leading IT companies in the coming days. Ajay Ojha, who’s heading the air quality management cell of the PMC said, “Under the Green Games initiative, we have received an excellent platform to create awareness about e-waste among the youth and IT companies. This workshop will definitely help in educating the citizens about the ill-effects of electronic scrap. I am sure once this project takes off, the model will be replicated in other cities.”

E-waste is fast emerging as a serious environment issue in cities with the IT sector booming. About 3,600 tonnes of e-waste is waiting to be disposed off, with a major chunk coming from the IT sector. This scrap mainly consists of computers, old printers, keyboards, cellular phones, consumer electronics. This scrap contains hazardous constituents which are dangerous to environment, hence there is crying need to dispose of it or find a fitting solution to the ever-growing menace. This waste can be managed by waste reduction, volume reduction, sustainable product design, recovery, reuse and recycling, but according to experts, people in general are not aware of it.

Shanker Kalmani, project coordinator, CYG said, “We are targeting 40 colleges and top 10 IT companies in Pune.” Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: The construction work of the Rs 400-crore Science Park in Pimpri-Chinchwad is expected to begin in the next two months. Over the next three years, the 40-acre park will be developed through public-private partnership by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) at Chinchwad.

Speaking to TOI, Rajendra Jagdale, director general and chief executive officer, Science and Technology Park, said this park will replace the current largest science park in the country — located in Kolkata, which is spread over 25 acres.

The Science Park will be an entertainment park with a focus on science and education. In fact, Jagdale said, country’s first institute for science communications will come up here. He said that here science professionals will be able to conduct research, a facility open to the common man too. Moreover, the Regional Science Centre will also be set up on the premises, he added.

The park will also boast the tallest building in Pimpri-Chinchwad township. A cafeteria, spread over an area of 1.5 lakh sq ft, and a velodrome will be set up near the Science Park on 4 acres of land. The velodrome will later be given to a private association to manage.

Talking about some of the unique features of the park, Jagdale said, “A unique palm park will be developed, spread over two or three acres of land. It will house 100 types of palm trees, 67 species from India and the others from abroad.”

Also, the world’s largest planetarium — which will be a planetarium-cum-digital theatre — with a seating capacity of 460 people, will be built.

Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal commissioner Dilip Band said the Centre has approved a grant of Rs 3.5 crore for the park, and PCMC’s investment in the project will be limited to Rs 10 crore. Band added that private investors will invest the remaining…More