News

TOI : PUNE: A former training officer with the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune, Lt Gen Naresh Kumar Parmar recently took over as the Director General Medical Services (army).

A graduate of the MGM Medical College, Indore, Parmar was commissioned into the Army Medical Corps on 11 July, 1970. He did his diploma in hospital administration from the Pune University in 1980 and his Masters in hospital administration from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, in 1989.

He has held important posts like training officer at Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune; Commanding Officer of Field Hospital at Hunder (Siachen); professor and head of the department of hospital administration, AFMC, Pune; Deputy Director general medical services (personnel) in Directorate General of Medical Services (army); Commandant, Command Hospital (Eastern Command); Major General (medical), Eastern Command and Additional Director General Armed Forces Medical Services, New Delhi.

An alumnus of the National Defence College, the General Officer was awarded the Vir Chakra for an act of gallantry during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. He was also awarded the Vishist Seva medal in 2004 and Ati Vishist Seva medal in 2008. …More

TOI : PUNE: After the water supply department, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) now wants to hire more consultants, this time for thegarden department.

The civic administration has placed a proposal for the appointment of five architects for the garden department. The proposal states that a group of architects are already working with the PMC. It may be noted that the civic body plans to develop 35 gardens.

“We will need three landscape architects - they are Lotus environment, Bhanuben Nanavati college of architect and Anjali Joshi. The architects will prepare the master plan for gardens and be paid for the same,” states the proposal.

Architects will get Rs 5,000 for the master plan of 1 hectare garden, Rs 10,000 for 1-2 hectare, Rs 20,000 for 2-5 hectare and Rs 25,000 for those above 5 hectare. For other surveys, they will be given Rs 1,000 per acre. Fees for maps and supervision charges will be 15 per cent of total expenses.

The proposal also recommends appointment of Nachiket Patwardhan and Kirit Vora as architects for various construction projects. The proposed consultants’ fees for these two architects is 2.50 per cent of the tender. …More

TOI : PUNE: Seven members of a Hyderabad-based family were killed when the jeep they were travelling in collided with a truck on the Mumbai-Hyderabad highway near Palasdev village under Indapur police station on Friday morning. Other nine members of the family escaped with injuries.

The Indapur police identified the deceased as Mohammad Haji Rahmatullah (25), wife Asma Fatiya (22), Mohammad Majni (4), Mohammad Mariba (1), Rashda Begum (60), Nujra Khan (40) and Subaiya Shamkhan (9).

Mohammad Anwar Rahmatullah (38), who was injured in the mishap, is admitted to the government hospital. Others who have sustained minor injuries are Farhana Begum (35), Farida Khan (30), Mohammad Shaikh (30), Rukaiyya Shaikh (3), Uda Shaikh (5) and Ibrahim Khan (5 months). Another member of the family, Gulnar Khan (22), who has received serious injuries, has been sent to a Hyderabad hospital after a CT scan. Another injured member is not identified yet.

According to the police, the family was returning to Hyderabad after a vacation tour to Mumbai.”Near Palasdev village, an oncoming truck while overtaking another vehicle rammed into the jeep.”
Truck driver Dadamiya Shaikh (30) from Hyderabad is detained by the police. …More

TOI : PUNE: The Shikshan Shulka Samiti (panel that fixes fee structure) may have finalised the fees for most engineering colleges in the state, but issues concerning applicability of the new tuition fees are expected to dominate the admission season this year.

The situation is being attributed to the fee panel’s ruling on May 2, according to which the final fees for 2007-08 applies to the entire course duration, i.e. all four years, unlike last year, when the fee was applicable to only one year.

Managements of private unaided engineering colleges are already pointing to the ambiguity over the fee that is to be charged to students who were admitted last year.

The Association of Managements of Private Unaided Engineering Colleges (AMPUEC) in Maharashtra has taken this up, as also few other issues, with the Shikshan Shulka Samiti with the plea to clear the air.

According to AMPUEC vice-president R.P. Joshi, out of the total 170-plus engineering colleges in the state, nearly 150 are private unaided institutes. Pune accounts for over 20 per cent of these and is home to established names like MIT, VIT, SIT, PICT and PVG College of Engineering.

Joshi, also head of the PVG College, told TOI on Friday that the association had urged the fee panel to make a specific ruling on how the final fee is to be implemented.

“We have asked the panel to explain the methodology adopted for finalising the fees on the basis of the audited financial statements submitted by the individual colleges, along with
the fee revision proposals.”

Joshi said,”We (institutes) are still in the dark as to what is the basis of reaching a particular amount of fee for a given institution.”

Finally, the association has urged the Samiti to ensure that the colleges get to know the final fee well in advance…More

TOI : PUNE: Beware of communicating in English in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) henceforth. In a circular issued on May 30, the additional municipal commissioner warned officials and PMC employees of action if they use English as a medium of communication.

The circular was in response to the state government’s re-affirmation of its order that Marathi should be used in all official communication.

The circular states, “Despite issuing orders for the use of Marathi language for communication we have noticed that some officials and employees are using English for issuing statements, advertisements, tenders and suggestions. Even the written communication with citizens is being done in English. This is against the government order.”

The circular has warned that action would be taken against those staff who use English for communication. However, as per the government orders, relaxation has been given to exceptional cases.

The circular has made the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which has rejuvenated its agitation for the use of Marathi, happy.

Ravindra Dhangekar, MNS corporator and leader of the party in the PMC, has welcomed the step. “Despite repeated requests the PMC officials were not using Marathi for their communication. Now, the babus should understand the seriousness of the matter.”

Some of the Shiv Sena and MNS corporators demanded that even the civic organisations issuing statements on issues related to the PMC should use Marathi for communication.

“There are civic groups which are regularly involved in PMC’s activities, like preparing the development plan. These groups and the PMC staff conduct seminars, meetings and workshops in English, leaving the common people and corporators completely in the dark,” one of the corporators said, adding that use of Marathis would help people participate in the development process of the city. …More