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TOI : PUNE: The health department of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) will send a closure notice to the stone-crushing unit at Shahunagar in Chinchwad if it finds that the unit is affecting the health of the residents.

The 10,350 sq m land at Shahunagar, was reserved for a bus depot and was vacant for several years. Later, the municipal corporation gave the land on rent to a builder to operate the stone-crushing unit. Located a few metres away from the road, the area is surrounded by shops and houses.

Speaking to TOI on Friday, Nagkumar Kunchagi, chief medical officer (CMO) and chief of PCMC’s environment cell said he has directed health officials to check air samples, noise levels, and also talk to the residents. “If the unit is found to be creating health hazards as a result of noise and air pollution, a closure notice will be sent.”

Speaking to TOI, Chaudhary Nemaram, owner of a sweet shop located across the road, complained that dust from the unit covered food items in his shop, which affected his business. “To remove the dust, we have to clean the shop all the time. The sound emitting from the unit is also very disturbing,” he added.

Ghisulal Chaudhary, a grocery shop owner had the same complaint, “Dust particles get mixed with foodgrain stored in the shop. Again, there’s constant noise. Ideally, a unit like this should be come up away from residential areas.”

The issue was raised in the civic general body meeting last month. NCP corporator Mahesh Chandgude had said he would table a separate proposal demanding closure of the unit. Speaking to TOI, Chandgude said, “Children in the locality cannot play in the open because of the dust. The unit is a nuisance to the residents here.”
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TOI : PUNE: Some 30 workers of B.V. Biologicals — part of Pune-based V.H. Group — staged an agitation on Friday at the company’s facilities within phase II of the Rajiv Gandhi Biotech Park, Hinjewadi. They alleged that the company was going to close down its animal vaccine production, (foot-and-mouth disease or FMD) which would deprive them of their jobs.

The workers claimed that the decision to close down the plant was taken more than a month ago. “Two months ago, a senior official from human resources department put a notice on the company board, stating that due to construction work, the production had been suspended for some days. The notice said the workers would get their salary for these days and would be given further communication in 15 days,” said Pankaj Mulay, a worker at the facility.

Sambuddha Ghosh, general manager (technical and production), confirmed the workers’ claim that the top management had decided to stop production of the FMD vaccine, but said he was unaware of the reasons behind the decision.

Mulay said the company has been displaying notices from time to time, keeping the workers away from the plant. Ultimately it got out that the company had decided not to produce the vaccine. Thereafter, the workers decided to protest, Mulay said, timing the protests with the visit of Rishendra Varma, head of the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareily (UP). Varma spoke to the workers on the issue and said the company had written to the government asking for cancellation of the license. “My job here is to verify that the company destroys its virus used for vaccine production, which is mandatory as per the law,” he said.

The company spokesman clarified that while it is true that the company has decided not to go ahead with the production of the vaccine, it is planning to make other vaccines at the…More

TOI : PUNE: An alert woman foiled a robbery bid at the residence of her neighbour in Pimpri and helped nab two of the intruders, on Friday.

Four armed men had barged into the house of one Iqbal Chaudhary and threatened the family members with dire consequences if they did not hand over the jewellery.

However, the family raised an alarm, following which the intruders tried to escape. The woman, whose identity the police refused to reveal, rushed to the Chaudhary residence and overpowered two robbers who were later handed over to the police.

Pimpri police have identified the suspects as Umesh Gavasane (26) of Kate Pimpale and Bandal alias Kamleshkumar Jagdishprasad Yadav (26) of Pimpri. The police are on the lookout for their other accomplices.
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TOI : PUNE: Sugar factories in the state cleared Rs 500 crore worth dues of sugarcane farmers within a fortnight of show cause notices being issued to them by the sugar commissionerate here.

“A total of 94 factories owed Rs 650 crore to farmers as statutory minimum price (SMP) from May 30, 2008, for the sugarcane season of ‘07-’08. After notices were issued to these factories asking them to clear these dues by June 30, as many as 39 factories adhered to the order. However, we still have 55 factories that owe Rs 147 crore as SMP dues,” sugar commissioner Rajagopal Devara said.

The sugar commissionerate has granted a 10-day grace period, during which these mills are expected to pay up. Some of the mills have defaulted on account of technical reasons, involving banks which failed to release the sanctioned funds. Of these, 44 mills were co-operative ones while the remaining are privately owned.

“Fifteen mills are from the Marathwada region — mainly from Nanded and Aurangabad — the rest are from Ahmednagar, which includes Nashik. Of the 12 private mills, seven are from Marathwada and five from the Pune region, which includes Solapur, Pune and Satara,” Devara said.

He admitted that there would be around 10 to 12 mills which would not be in a position to pay the dues despite the grace period. This included mills run by families of political heavyweights like the Hutatma Jaywantrao Patil co-operative factory of Nanded, a factory run by the family of Union minister of state for rural development Suryakanta Patil. This mill owed Rs. 7.42 crore as SMP for the 07-08 season, while the Terna factory had outstandings of Rs 9 crore.

Devara said that no further extension would be given for clearance of dues. Also, while proceeding with filing of police complaints in local police stations, these mills would not be…More

TOI : PUNE: If Shivnath Singh from Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district knows about and wants to own a liquid crystal display (LCD) television set, why won’t he also want to own a cell phone with a camera, FM radio and internet connectivity? While it is difficult to predict when the LCD television will make real headway into India’s rural hinterlands, smartphones are poised to make an entry in this vast market with a very affordable price tag.

According to a recent study by technology advisory firm Gartner Research, India’s cellular telephony market is estimated to explode to 73.7 crore connections by 2012 and the revenue is projected to exceed $ 37 billion (Rs 16,000 crore) making India the world’s second largest wireless market after China. Interestingly, a major chunk of the growth is projected to be coming from India’s rapidly proliferating vast rural segment on the back of lower handset costs and low tariff rates, the report says.

Riding on this optimism are technology majors such as NXP Semiconductors who have developed a chipset that will enable our country cousins to enjoy all the features of a smart phone without paying thorough the nose for it.
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