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TOI : Regular early morning power cuts have left Puneites in the lurch. With 6 am to 7.30 am and 1 to 2.30 pm being typical slots for power cuts in the city, residents of housing societies are worried about a daily routine gone haywire and rising maintenance charges.

“All the household chores in the morning, especially cooking and bathing, take a sudden halt due to lack of water,” says Ujwala Pawar, a resident of Pinak Garden co-operative housing society in Kothrud.

With power cuts between 6 am and 7 am and 1 pm and 2 pm, her household doesn’t get enough water in the beginning of the day. “The water doesn’t get pumped properly to the storage tanks due to the power cuts. As a result, we have to often finish off the cleaning and laundry at night, after coming back from work,” rues Ujwala, a beautician by profession.

Residents of the 48 flats in this housing society have been paying extra maintenance of Rs 700 for the past couple of months for the generator back-up facility and the water tanker that visits them daily.

But early morning house-hold duties are taking a major beating. “Most often, my daughter has to go to school without a bath and I have to struggle in candlelight early in the morning. And, I’ve gotten used to doing the laundry only at night,” says Anjali Pawar, a resident of Pushkar society in Model Colony, which experiences power cuts during similar time slots every day.

The residents of Silver Leaf society in Model Colony suffer daily power shortage from 6.15 am to 7.15 and from 1pm to 2 pm. The only option to keep the eight-storey building functional is the diesel-powered generator back-up for the elevators. “Most of the residents of the society have invertors. This is the best option as of now,” says Dhanajay…More

TOI : PUNE: Observing that there is an urgent need for the appointment of an independent officer for monitoring industrial safety in Pimpri-Chinchwad, district guardian minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday said that he would discussing the issue at the state cabinet meeting soon.

Pawar, who visited the Sai Enterprises at Bhosari where ten women workers lost their lives in a major fire last Wednesday, said that there are only two officers for the entire Pune industrial area.
The Sai unit at Bhosari was cramped and had no proper ventilation, he said, adding that the workers were not paid salaries as per the Minimum Wages Act.

Pawar, who also met the relatives of the victims and consoled them, said that he was abroad when the tragedy took place and hence, could not visit the accident site immediately.

He said that normally the state government does not give monetary compensation to the victims of accidents in private industries, but it gave monetary compensation to the kin of the dead and injured workers of the industrial mishap at Bhosari as the workers belong to very poor families.

Pawar was accompanied by MLA Vilas Lande, MLC Laxman Jagtap, Pimpri-Chinchwad mayor Aparna Doke and municipal commissioner Ashish Sharma. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: The civil aviation ministry’s gliding centre at Hadapsar is tipped to be the nerve centre for operating the proposed regular helicopter service between Pune and Mumbai.

Right now, the ministry is testing the feasibility of the service that aims to offer an affordable alternative to high-cost airlines operating on short routes.

Top officials including Arun Mishra, joint secretary to the ministry, and R.P. Sahi, director of airworthiness at the Director General of Cïvil Aviation (DGCA) office, are to visit the gliding centre on September 4 for a preliminary survey, which includes finalising the option of building a heliport at the centre.

Confirming the visit, gliding centre in-charge Shailesh Charbhe told TOI on Tuesday that the two officials would be accompanied by the representatives of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd (PHHL), the public-sector undertaking, which is to operate the proposed chopper service.

Manish Rokade, PHHL manager (marketing), said that the company top brass intends to have a look at the location for finalising details.

The gliding centre, which trains youngsters for glider pilot licenses, is the country’s only operational facility of its kind under the DGCA spread over 230 acres of land. A major chunk of this land has remained vacant for years.

The centre has a couple of hangars, one of which houses the six mid-size non-motorised two-seater trainer aircraft, used for daily flying exercises. A one-km-long unpaved airstrip and a small administrative block make up for the remaining facility.

Earlier last month, Sahi and a team of officials from PHHL and AAI had visited the city for a domestic air traffic survey.

Sources said, barring the odd movement, there are restrictions for helicopters to operate on a service basis from the Lohegaon civil enclave, which is part of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Lohegaon…More

TOI : PUNE: A thick security blanket has been thrown around the city by the Pune police to ensure against any untoward incident during the 10-day Ganesh festival that begins on Wednesday.

More than 7,000 police personnel would maintain vigil across the city, said Rajendra Sonawane, joint commissioner of police (law and order).

The large police contingent would be supervised by nine deputy commissioners of police, 19 assistant commissioners and 93 police inspectors, he said.

Additionally, two companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) and one company each of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Rapid Action Force (RAF) besides 500 home guards have been pressed into service.

Sonawane said that, the police have identified 66 points as sensitive place and these areas would be under close round-the-clock scrutiny.

As many as 40 lady police were also deployed in the eve-teasing squad. Sonawane said, the police have come across instances of several Ganesh pandals encroaching upon more than the required road space.

Even arches on the roads are bigger compared to last year, he said. “We requested the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to take action against such violations, as it is necessary from the security point of view. However, nothing concrete has happened,” he said.

Loud speakers continuing to operate after the 10 pm deadline would be confiscated, although it will be allowed on the 5th, 7th and 10th day of the festival.

He said that the orders have been issued to all the police stations to check the criminals on record in the city. Meanwhile, the vehicular traffic between Gadgil statues to Gotiram Bhaiyya Chowk, in Mandai on Shivaji road, will be closed to facilitate the devotees to purchase the Ganesh idols.

The parking arrangements are made for the devotees near Kamgar Putla, on Veer Santaji Ghorpade road near…More

TOI : PUNE: Vehicular traffic in several areas in the city was thrown completely out of gear because of waterlogging following the heavy rains on Tuesday evening.

In just three hours — from 5.30 pm to 8.30 pm — the city recorded a whopping 54.7 mm of rainfall. This was the equivalent of half the total rainfall the city received in August.

Overall, 61.7 mm rain was recorded in the 12 hours from 8.30 am to 8.30 pm on Tuesday.

The downpour exposed the woeful drainage system along the city roads. Choked drains resulted in waterlogging up to knee-deep level in several localities. The resultant chaos saw motorists struggling through waterlogged roads and connecting bylanes. Traffic jams followed.

In many areas, bumper-to-bumper traffic brought misery to the peak-hour office crowd that was finding its way home. It took an hour-and-a-half to two hours for people to cover distances that normally take a little over 30 minutes.

Among the worst-hit areas were Pune Camp, Baner road, Raja Bahadur Mills road, Bund Garden road, Karve road, Kothrud, the peth areas, Laxmi road and Bajirao road besides parts of Pune-Ahmednagar road and Yerawada. The ongoing road works in areas such as Baner compounded the problems.

The Sassoon general hospital was one of the affected establishments as rain water gushed into several lobbies on the ground floor. Hospital services were badly affected, particularly those in the outpatient department.
A hired mini-bus of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) veered off the waterlogged road and got stuck in the stormwater drain at the turn near the State Bank of India’s treasury branch. No one was injured but the bus blocked traffic for quite some time.

A portion of the compound wall of the Parsi Agyari near J.J. Gardens in Pune Camp caved in during the rains. As a result, water gushed out…More

TOI : PUNE- The rising badminton star of the country and an Olympic quarterfinalist , Saina Nehwal, has been conferred with this year’s Pune Festival award. The festival, which enters into its 20th year, will kick-off on September 5, Suresh Kalmadi, chairman, Pune Festival, said on Monday.

Apart from Nehwal, Olympian wrestler Harishchandra Birajdar and noted actor Nilu Phule will also be presented with the Pune Festival award during the inauguration ceremony in the presence of Ashok Chavan, state minister for industry and culture. The inaugural ceremony, to be held at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch, promises to be a spectacular evening with danseuse Yogini Gandhi and singer Devaki Pandit performing ‘Ganesh Parampara,’ a unique presentation on journey of the Ganesh festival from the time of Shivaji to the present day.

This would be followed by another dance event, Colours of India, choreographed by Nikita Moghe,and performed by Sharvari Jemenis, Sonali Kulkarni, Aditi Bhagwat, Pushkar Jog, Subodh Bhave, Manasi Pilankar among others. While Bollywood star Malaika Arrora Khan is expected to lend the glamour quotient, the evening will also see a performance by a troupe called ‘Jai Hind.’ “The programmes will be a unique confluence of dance and music. I am thankful to the citizens of Pune for their appreciation and participation in the festival to make it a success.”

Dancer and former Bollywood actress Hema Malini, a regular feature at the Pune Festival,will perform a ballet,Rukmini Parinay, this year. In the past, Malini has performed 14 different ballet as well as the Ganesh Vandana at the Pune Festival. Taalchitra, another fusion of dance and music will be presented by musicians and dancers,including Rahul Chaurasia (flute), Ranjit Barot (percussion ), Shaunaq Abhisheki (vocal), Pandit Vijay Ghate (tabla), Srodhar Parthasarthi (mridangam) and Atul Raninga (key board). TNN

Event by event
GANESH KALA KRIDA RANGMANCH
September 5:
Inaugural function: 4.30 pm.
…More

TOI : PUNE- German state North Rhine-Westphalia , a preferred location to invest in German and the European market, on Friday , opened a representative office in the city as part of its efforts to intensify trade relations between India and Germany.

The office, to be headed by Golak C. Misra, will establish direct contacts with companies, associations, institutions and chambers of trade and industry in the Pune economic region.

Karl-Uwe Butof, director general of the North Rhine-Westphalia’s Ministry for Economic Affairs, inaugurated the office.
Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE- Four passengers, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed and 16 injured when an ST bus collided with a container on the Pune-Bangalore highway, near Varve village, in Bhor taluka on Sunday night.

The Rajgad police said on Monday that it was raining heavily on the highway stretch at the time of the accident. “The bus driver may have failed to see the narrow turn because of the heavy rain. The bus crossed the road divider and rammed the container.”

Three of the four deceased were identified as Yuvraj Yadav (40), a resident of Bharati Vidyapeeth, Gaurav Arun Chavan (12) of Wadgaon Budruk and 45-year-old Laxman Shidkar (address not known). All the three, along with an unidentified person, were brought to the Sassoon hospital here, but they succumbed to their injuries, the police said.

The injured were admitted to different hospitals in Pune, the Rajgad police said. Meanwhile, a 10-yearold girl and a 55-year-old woman were killed on the Chandannagar bypass here in the wee hours of Monday. Shanka Sanju Bhosale and her aunt Lalipai Ashok Shinde, residents of Chandannagar bypass, were hit by a dumper and a rickshaw when they were crossing the road, the Yerwada police said.
Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: Thunderstorms during the monsoon, which was a rare phenomenon in Maharashtra until recently, is now becoming a frequent feature of the rainy season in the state. In keeping with this trend, the city witnessed thunderstorms accompanied by heavy showers on Sunday. Last year, too, thunderstorms had lashed parts of the state during the monsoon season.

“Maharashtra has been witnessing thunderstorms frequently in the monsoon season in the last couple of years. This is not a very common feature. Normally, this kind of activity is witnessed only in northern India during the monsoon season,” said A.B. Mujumdar, deputy director general, Meteorology.

Mujumdar pointed out that the city recorded a whopping 48.2 mm of rainfall in around eight hours on Sunday due to thundershowers. “Though factors like the presence of an off-shore trough and cyclonic circulation played a role, local conditions too were a major cause of this rainfall,” he said. He added that this year, the city has witnessed subdued rainfall activity since the second week of August.

“Such thunderstorms occur due to local conditions. The presence of hot weather is a major reason for this, and it leads to the formation of connective clouds in the monsoon season.
Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE- The rising badminton star of the country and an Olympic quarterfinalist , Saina Nehwal, has been conferred with this year’s Pune Festival award. The festival, which enters into its 20th year, will kick-off on September 5, Suresh Kalmadi, chairman, Pune Festival, said on Monday.

Apart from Nehwal, Olympian wrestler Harishchandra Birajdar and noted actor Nilu Phule will also be presented with the Pune Festival award during the inauguration ceremony in the presence of Ashok Chavan, state minister for industry and culture. The inaugural ceremony, to be held at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch, promises to be a spectacular evening with danseuse Yogini Gandhi and singer Devaki Pandit performing ‘Ganesh Parampara,’ a unique presentation on journey of the Ganesh festival from the time of Shivaji to the present day.

This would be followed by another dance event, Colours of India, choreographed by Nikita Moghe,and performed by Sharvari Jemenis, Sonali Kulkarni, Aditi Bhagwat, Pushkar Jog, Subodh Bhave, Manasi Pilankar among others. While Bollywood star Malaika Arrora Khan is expected to lend the glamour quotient, the evening will also see a performance by a troupe called ‘Jai Hind.’ “The programmes will be a unique confluence of dance and music. I am thankful to the citizens of Pune for their appreciation and participation in the festival to make it a success.”

Dancer and former Bollywood actress Hema Malini, a regular feature at the Pune Festival,will perform a ballet,Rukmini Parinay, this year. In the past, Malini has performed 14 different ballet as well as the Ganesh Vandana at the Pune Festival. Taalchitra, another fusion of dance and music will be presented by musicians and dancers,including Rahul Chaurasia (flute), Ranjit Barot (percussion ), Shaunaq Abhisheki (vocal), Pandit Vijay Ghate (tabla), Srodhar Parthasarthi (mridangam) and Atul Raninga (key board). TNN

Event by event
GANESH KALA KRIDA RANGMANCH
September 5:
Inaugural function: 4.30 pm.
…More