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TOI : PUNE: Even though the elected members tried to push through a proposal to completely waive octroi on petrol and diesel to gain political mileage, municipal commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi has stated that the PMC cannot afford it.

Around three weeks ago, the standing committee had taken a decision to waive octroi on the petroleum products in view of sky-rocketing prices. The PMC had earlier waived octroi from 4 per cent to 2 per cent. However, the elected members had decided to bring it down to zero.

In an official opinion to the proposal, Pardeshi has stated that the decision would badly affect civic revenues.

“We are already losing out on Rs 250 crore revenue as we have slashed octroi on essential commodities, including petrol and diesel.”

Pardeshi stated that stricter enforcement and improving of the functioning of the octroi department will improve revenues. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: The dams in Pune district including those in the Bhima basin have not registered much of a rise in their water storage levels. At present, dams in the Bhima basin have just 11% of useable water, while the four dams which supply water to Pune and the surrounding areas have just 20 % of useable water.

According to officials from the irrigation department, this is the first time in five years that such a situation has arisen. Officials added that 4 dams have 0% (nil) useable water while three dams have below 10% water. Khadakwasla dam, which supplies water to Pune city, has merely 11% of useable water at the present time.

“Although a month of the monsoon is over, not a single dam has registered over 50% live stock of water. No incidents of water discharge have been registered so far at any of the dams in the Bhima and Krishna basins,” said H.Y. Kolawale, executive engineer, MKVDC. “Last year, the dams in the Bhima basin had 65% stock of live water after a month of the monsoon.”

Dams in the Mutha basin have merely 6.22 TMC live water stock. Of the dams supplying water to Pune and the adjacent areas, Temghar dam has the highest amount of useable water with 21%, followed by Panshet (25%), Varasgoan (21%) and Khadakwasla (11%). Last year, the dams were full with nearly 60% of the total live stock of water.

He added that the rain water in the catchment areas of the dams have been at very low levels. The dams have witnessed merely 5 to 10 millimetres of rainfall every day for the past week. Temghar dam, so far, has received 800 mm rainfall, followed by Varasgoan (598 mm), Panshet (572 mm) and Khadakwasla (124 mm).

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TOI : PUNE: Three railway employees were killed and two others injured when two diesel engines collided on the UP-track between Ghorpadi and Hadapsar stations on Monday early morning.

The incident happened when an engine from Ghorpadi yard crashed into another engine coming from Loni. The crash was so powerful that one engine went over the other and pushed it 50 metres backward.

It is for the first time that an accident of such a magnitude has taken place in Pune division, where only a couple of derailments were earlier reported.

The deceased employees were identified as motorman Ramesh B. Ijatgat, assistant loco driver R.K. Gupta and railway guard G.K. Satpute, who were in the engine that came from Loni. Loco driver Tajuddin Momin and assistant loco driver Amit Prem Singh, who were in the other engine, received serious injuries and have been admitted to the railway hospital. All employees are from the Solapur division of the Central Railways.

An accident relief train, along with a crane and another engine, separated the entangled engines around 10.30 am, and the bodies of the victims were removed by the fire brigade.

Divisional railway manager D.K. Jain, who visited the spot, said they were trying to find out the cause of the incident. “The accident took place at 4.52 am. The central railway headquarters has ordered an inquiry to find out the exact details of the accident.”

Central Railways’ Pune division spokesperson Y.K. Singh said they will check whether it was a human error or a mechanical failure. “Sometimes, an engine stationed at the yard rolls out on the track. We cannot ignore this possibility while looking into the accident.” He said the divisional safety officer will investigate the accident at division level, while the commissioner of railway safety will examine the facts at the headquarters level.

The probe will…More

TOI : PUNE: In a tragic incident, HSC (std XII) student Dhanashri Sham Dhadve allegedly committed suicide on Sunday — her 18th birthday — by hanging herself with a rope from the ceiling of her home in Bibvewadi.

According to the police, Dhanashri locked the room from inside and hanged herself after her grandmother went to the neighbour’s house on Sunday afternoon.

Her grandmother returned and found the door locked. When Dhanashri did not respond to repeated knocks on the door, her grandmother, with the help of neighbours, broke open the door and found her hanging. Dhanashri was immediately rushed to a hospital where she was declared dead on arrival.

Speaking to TOI, Dhanashri’s father Sham Dhadve, a resident of Janata Vasahat in Parvati, said that Dhanashri was studying in std XII at the Ambedkar college in Nana Peth. She has been staying with her grandmother in Nilesh Complex in Bibvewadi since her childhood. Her grandmother works at the Gultekdi marketyard.

“Dhanashri was good in her studies but she was short tempered,” Dhadve said adding “It was her 18th birthday on Sunday and she was very happy since morning. We don’t know why she ended her life”.

According to the police, Dhanashri’s father is working as watchman and her mother is a housewife. She has an elder sister and two younger brothers. No suicide note was found. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: In a tragic incident, a 13-year-old boy died on the spot and his mother was severely injured when a speeding truck dashed against their scooter near Dange chowk in Chinchwad on Monday morning.

The deceased was identified as Achyut Lahu Jamdade, a resident of Bhutkar Vasti in Wakad. His mother Durga (36) has been admitted in Birla Memorial Hospital. The Hinjewadi police have arrested truck driver Parmeshwar Bhagwan Sulgar (30), of Latur, for negligent driving.

According to the police, Achyut and Durga were heading towards Talegaon when the mishap took place. The truck, which was going in the same direction, hit their scooter from behind.

Both Achyut and Durga were thrown up in the air before falling down on the road. Achyut died on the spot as the truck ran over him.

His mother fractured her hands and a leg in the incident.

Both of them were rushed to a nearby private hospital by passers-by. Durga was later shifted to the Birla hospital. Sub-inspector A.S. Wanjari of the Hinjewadi police station said that Achyut was a VII standard student in Dyanprabhodhini school in Nigdi. Achyut’s father is a ‘kirtankar’ and had gone to Pandharpur with the Palkhi.

In another incident, motorcyclist Mirwail Samson Dalbhajan (20), of Vidyanagar, Lohegaon, died on the spot when his motorcycle rammed into a footpath near Bundgarden bridge, around 2.15 am on Monday.

Earlier, two college students Kirti Sharma and Mohammed Fazal died on the spot when their motorcycle rammed into the pole near Sohrab Hall in the wee hours of Sunday.

According to the Bund Garden police, Dalbhajan was on his way home when the mishap took place. The motorcycle hit the footpath after he lost control over it.

Dalbhajan was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival. Sub-inspector N.H. Jadhav is…More