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TOI : PUNE: Alleging that the state government has failed to reign in inflation and streamline distribution of essential commodities on the ration card, noted activist Baba Adhav demanded that the government should legalise the ration card system in the state.

Stating that the steep rise in inflation has made the life of common people difficult, Adhav asked if the government is waiting for people to become victims of hunger and poverty before it initiates action.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Adhav said, “With the failure of the government, various organisations working for the deprived have decided to unite in their fight against inflation.”

A state-level conference has been organised in the city on June 28, primarily to discuss various issues like inflation and rationing system. The conference would conclude with the setting-up of an action plan consisting of various initiatives to fight inflationary pressures in the state. The action plan would also have many suggestions for the government to control the rising prices.

“The conference would see participation from over 1000 workers and activists representing various organisations. MP Arjun Sengupta, N.D.Patil, Mohan Dhariya, Mrinal Gore and Sharad Patil would participate and address the conference,” Adhav said.

He said that over 73 per cent of the country’s population lives on a daily income of less than Rs 20. “Out of the total workforce in the country near about 93 per cent are from the working category. The government should consider these figures before announcing a hike in prices,” Adhav said, adding that the government did not give a hint about the impending inflation. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: Parents held demonstrations at the Chinchwad Education Society’s Dr. D.Y. Patil English Medium School and Junior College in Ganganagar, Pradhikaran, on Thursday against the school authority’s decision making it mandatory to buy notebooks and uniforms from designated shops.

Speaking to TOI, one of the agitating parents, Pratiksha Godse, said that the monthly fee of the students has also been hiked without any prior notice to the parents. The school did not take the parents into confidence while hiking the fee from Rs 250 to Rs 350.

Abdul Shahabuddin Shikalkar, a parent said the school has made it compulsory to buy books from a single shop. The price of the notebooks at this shop is nearly double that of the market rates, he charged.

Kavita Gawde, another parent said the school has asked the parents to buy school uniforms from a Pimpri-based shop that was located far away. The shopkeeper does not allow the parents to check whether the uniforms fit properly or not before purchasing it, she alleged. Nasir Shaikh another parent said the price of the uniform was also higher at this shop.

Speaking to TOI, Prakash Khandare, president of the Chinchwad Education Society refused to comment on the allegations made by parents. “I have called the parents to come to the school on Monday to discuss the problems,” he said. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: The state criminal investigation department (CID), Pune, has started updating the profiles of gangsters operating in Maharashtra. The move will help the police keep a tab on the activities of the gangs actively involved in offences like kidnapping and ransom, murder and extortion. The profiles were last updated in 1999.

The CID’s modus operandi bureau (MOB) has been directed to collect information on all gangsters, including those operating at the international level, actively operating within the state from the police stations concerned. As part of its modernisation programme, the CID has decided to computerise the records of all the gangs and criminals. The records are now being maintained manually.

The MOB has prepared a data base programme software for storing records of the criminals so that it can be used for future reference by any investigating agency while conducting investigations in any type of crime having a similar modus operandi.

Though collecting the data from all over the state is a tedious job, the CID superintendent of police (law and research department) Dilip Bhujbal and his team are working under the guidance of special inspector general of police, Meera Borwankar, towards this.

If the records are updated from time to time, the police can get hold of the latest and timely information about a particular gangster, whenever needed.

Explaining the reason behind the upgradation of the voluminous records, Bhujbal told TOI on Thursday that gangsters frequently change their addresses and telephone numbers and this creates problems for an investigating officer when a gangster is wanted in a particular case and his whereabouts are not known to any person.

Bhujbal explained that the MOB has collected information on history-sheeters, gangs, inter-district criminals and inter-state criminals who are involved in property offences, dacoities, robberies, thefts and financial crimes. The exercise will help the CID in classifying them into…More

TOI : PUNE: Results of the secondary school certificate (SSC, Class X) March 2008 examination conducted by the Maharashtra state board for secondary and higher secondary education, will be declared at 11 am on June 26.

The board’s announcement put to rest all the speculation about a likely delay in the declaration of the SSC results this year owing to an enhanced work from the new course that took effect from 2007-08. Last year, the SSC results were declared on June 26 and the year before that (2006) it was declared on June 22.

As it happened with the higher secondary certificate (HSC, Class XII) results this year, the state’s overall showing in the SSC is anticipated to go up substantially due to changes like internal assessment of marks, a section of objective type queries etc.

The state’s passing percentage for 2007 was 70.59, which was six per cent better than the 64.59 per cent in 2006 and way better than the 57.31 per cent recorded in 2005. Pune division, which covers Pune, Ahmednagar and Solapur districts, had recorded 73.46 per cent success in 2007, which was a 7.56 per cent improvement over the 2006 results.

In March 2008, over 15.98 lakh students (new as well as old course) from 18,998 secondary schools had enrolled for the exam which was conducted simultaneously at 3,687 centres across the state.

Of these, 13.96 lakh students belonged to the new course and the remaining 2.02 lakh were from the old course. The male-female candidate ratio was 9.04 lakh boys against 6.93 lakh girls. More than 2 lakh candidates appeared from the Pune division. A notification issued by the board secretary, Vinay Dakshindas, stated that the results would also be posted on the board’s websites. Details of the website addresses would be declared through an independent notification to be issued in due course.

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TOI : PUNE: Continuing with the trend of Bollywood big shots making forays into Marathi films, superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s A.B. Corp will soon produce a Marathi film to be directed by Umesh Kulkarni of the recent Marathi blockbuster Valu fame.

This is, however, not Bachchan’s first tryst with Marathi films as he had put in a guest appearance, along with wife, Jaya, in the Marathi film Akka , produced by his make-up man, Deepak Sawant.

Umesh Kulkarni, widely known for his award winning Valu , has now the chance to work with one of the finest actors in India, even if it is in the capacity of a producer.

When contacted, Kulkarni refused to divulge details about the film. But According to sources, “A.B Corp will produce the film with Umesh Kulkarni as director. The story will have a young boy as protagonist and work will begin soon.”

The film not only marks A.B. Corp’s entry into Marathi films, but also brings to the forefront the influx of Bollywood bigwigs in the Marathi film industry. It started with Subhash Ghai entering the domain by distributing Valu . But his full-fledged entry will be with his production Sanai Choughade , due for release on June 20.

So, what does this influx mean to Marathi cinema that has already made waves in the recent past with widely-acclaimed Tingya , and of course, Valu . According to Ajay Sarpotdar, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal, the apex body of the Marathi film industry, “We have been making quality cinema throughout. But this trend has increased of late, thanks to the next generation directors with a new thought on filmmaking.” Thanks are also due to the audience that appreciates quality cinema, which has helped move things at a faster pace. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : SHIRDI: Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to Maharashtra, on Thursday visited the famous Sai Baba temple at Shirdi in Ahmednagar district.

The Congress president, who arrived at 1310 hours, went to the temple where she performed puja for 15 minutes. During her visit inside, public darshan was halted for about 90 minutes for security reasons, sources said.

The Shirdi Sai Sansthan presented her with a statute of Sai Baba and a book on his life.

This was her second visit to the temple. Earlier she visited this temple in 2002.
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