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TOI : PUNE: The city police on Wednesday took 154 persons, involved in unlawful activities, from various parts of the city into preventive custody in view of the ongoing Ganeshotsav.

Additional commissioner of police (crime) Rajender Singh said 84 hotels and 112 lodges in the city were checked on Wednesday. Such exercises will be carried out throughout the festivity, Singh said.

He added that orders have been given to all police stations to conduct nakabandis within their jurisdiction during the festival period. On Wednesday, nakabandi was conducted at 35 points in the city.

On the same day, the crime branch carried out 11 raids in various parts of the city and seized over 300 litres of spurious liquor and arrested 11 persons, Rajender Singh said. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: An man, who was arrested on Sunday for raping a 14-year-old, had one more complaint registered against him on Wednesday apparently for raping a minor again.

Vyankappa Hanumant Dhotre (63), a resident of Ajantha Nagar in Nigdi, was arrested on Sunday for outraging the modesty of a minor a year ago.

Dhotre had proposed to marry the girl, but when her father refused, he raped the girl, the police said. Besides, Dhotre’s two sons had also been accused of assaulting the victim’s father when he tried to approach the police.

The other girl, who happens to be the first victim’s friend and lives in the same area, lodged a complaint of rape against Dhotre on Wednesday. Assistant inspector Anagha Deshpande of Nigdi police station is investigating the case. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) land allotment policy is once again mired in controversy.

A day after the civic standing committee passed a resolution to amend the lease period clause in the policy from 30 to 99 years, civic activist Vijay Kumbhar, who was instrumental in getting the policy made, has raised objections to the amendment.

After years of debate, the PMC had finally framed the policy which was approved by the state government barely eight months ago.

According to the original policy, the PMC could lease out its properties and redevelopment projects for a period of 30 years.

However, since the PMC was facing hurdles in leasing out its ‘Build Operate Transfer’ projects as per the 30 year lease clause, it was decided by the standing committee to amend the clause. The PMC will now once again have to seek the state government’s approval to finalise the amendment. Kumbhar has asked municipal commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi to declare the resolution void as it was an illegal one.

“The policy in the first place was framed as per HC directions. Making such an amendment is contradictory to the directions HC had given. It is absolutely wrong on the part of the PMC to do that,” Kumbhar said. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: The youth baton relay symbolising the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) entered the state on Wednesday when it reached Talasiri (Thane) on the outskirts of Mumbai. Having been flagged off from the Delhi University campus on August 1 and traversing the length and breath of the country for 34 days, the baton will now travel to the Konkan region.

The baton aims to spread the message of sports culture and also create awareness among the masses on the green initiative of the CYG as well as the Save Tiger mission.

The CYG, which will see participation from 71 nations , is scheduled to begin at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports City in Balewadi on October 12.

The baton relay comprises 90 runners backed by 27 vehicles. It will be escorted by 40 athletes from the state.

As part of the ‘Green Games’ initiative, the baton is collecting water from various rivers along the route of the relay. The water thus collected, along with water from 71 participating nations, will be used to create the ‘Fountain of Youth’ at the CYG opening ceremony.

When the baton reaches Pune, it would have crossed nine states, 199 cities, towns and villages and covered a distance of over 8,000 kilometers with over 7,500 volunteers helping the its progress. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: The youth baton relay symbolising the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) entered the state on Wednesday when it reached Talasiri (Thane) on the outskirts of Mumbai. Having been flagged off from the Delhi University campus on August 1 and traversing the length and breath of the country for 34 days, the baton will now travel to the Konkan region.

The baton aims to spread the message of sports culture and also create awareness among the masses on the green initiative of the CYG as well as the Save Tiger mission.

The CYG, which will see participation from 71 nations , is scheduled to begin at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports City in Balewadi on October 12.

The baton relay comprises 90 runners backed by 27 vehicles. It will be escorted by 40 athletes from the state.

As part of the ‘Green Games’ initiative, the baton is collecting water from various rivers along the route of the relay. The water thus collected, along with water from 71 participating nations, will be used to create the ‘Fountain of Youth’ at the CYG opening ceremony.

When the baton reaches Pune, it would have crossed nine states, 199 cities, towns and villages and covered a distance of over 8,000 kilometers with over 7,500 volunteers helping the its progress. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: As oil companies fail to increase the number of LPG filling station in the city, autorickshaw drivers, most of whom had taken loans for getting the kit, are repenting over their decision.

Kshirsagar, who is a member of the regional transport authority committee, says, “Autorickshaw drivers have started believing that auto LPG is not a good option. Many of them had taken loans for fitting the kits. Suffering losses due to the shortage of LPG, they are unable to repay their loans in time. Drivers are now looking at CNG. Unless the availability of LPG improves, not many autorickshaw drivers will go for LPG kits.”

Says driver Ajay Newase from Dhankawadi, “I ferry school children. As there are long queues at filling stations, I have to wait for long hours. Many a times, I reach late to pick-up the students.” Driver US Nalawade, from Sinhagad road says, “The profit margin of autorickshaw drivers is reducing. We have to travel long distances to fill LPG. It also leads to loss of time.” Narayan Bhadekar, rickshaw driver from Aundh, adds, “There is always a shortage of LPG in the city. The demand has increased but the filling stations have not increased over the last five to six years.” Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: In an instance of obsession leading to crime, a priest from Shukrawar Peth stole jewellery worth Rs 3.18 lakh before he lost everything in lottery and landed behind the bars.

The Vishrambaug police have identified the suspect as Umesh Ashok Ranade (30). The incident came to light when one of the trustees of the Vinayakshastri Patwardhan private temple at Shukrawar Peth, Somnath Sitaram Tendulkar (49) opened the temple’s box of ornaments for the Ganesh festival on Tuesday. A complaint in this regard was filed with the Vishrambaug police station.

Sub-inspector Shankar Mule of the Vishrambaug police said Umesh Ranade, who hails from Ratnagiri, was a priest and used to perform puja and teach Vedas to students in the locality. His brother, Rajesh, was also in the same profession. The duo used to live near the Patwardhan private temple.

Mule added that in June Tendulkar had given the gold and silver ornaments belonging to the temple to Rajesh for safekeeping, which Rajesh kept in a cupboard. After a while, Rajesh went to Banaras and Umesh continued to live alone in the house.

Mule said Umesh was addicted to buying lottery tickets. To finance the same, he stole the ornaments from the cupboard and sold them. Mule said Umesh apparently sold the ornaments worth Rs 3.18 lakh in three months and lost all the money in lottery.

On Tuesday, when Tendulkar went to collect the ornaments, he found the box empty. After the police interrogated Umesh under suspicion, he confessed to selling the jewellery.

He was arrested and produced in the JMFC court on Thursday where he was remanded to police custody till September 5, Mule said. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: If one is to believe the state government’s recent decision , tribal children across the state will have proper schools – concrete rooms with blackboards, tables, benches and trained teachers – in about a year’s time.

The state’s recent decision of converting 50 ‘vastishalas’ in the district into primary schools promises a whole array of ‘modern’ facilities and dedicated teaching to these children. The government recently announced that it would convert 1,600 vastishalas into primary schools across the state.

“At present, the district has over 310 ‘vastishalas’ with a collective strength of more than 6,000 students. The administration has set a target of converting over 130 ‘vastishalas’ in the state into primary schools by end of this year. Out of these 130 ‘vastishalas’, work on 80 of them has already started,” said a district administration official.

The official added that improving the basic infrastructure at schools is the prime motive behind the conversion process. With this, the schools will have two well-constructed rooms, a playground and drinking water facility. Basic infrastructure like blackboard and benches will be made available.

A fund of Rs. 6.5 lakh has been set aside for the construction of these rooms,” an official added.

“The conversion will ensure that there are appointed teachers at the schools and ensure that the children get proper study materials,” an official said.

He added that ‘vastishalas’ from the district that have been functional for the last two years and have more than 20 children will be considered for the conversion.

The administration at present is in the process of allocating land for these schools. The infrastructure and appointment of teachers will help the administration in increasing the enrolment. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: The civil aviation ministry plans to develop the proposed heliport at the Poona Gliding Centre, Hadapsar, within a year’s time, confirmed RP Sahi, the joint director general of Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday.

“We started the preliminary investigation and survey of the site today. The process of approvals, appointment of consultants etc. will start soon,” he said. Sahi, along with the joint secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation Arun Mishra and Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. chairman-cum-managing director RK Tyagi, were in the city to survey the sprawling 230-acre gliding centre, which falls under the DGCA.
A large portion of the gliding centre has remained vacant for years now. The plan is to utilise this vacant land for the heliport and related activities. “We are also setting up a maintenance facility for helicopter operators besides a helicopter training academy,” said Sahi.

Referring to the passengers scheduled service, Sahi said that the idea was to start passenger transport on a regular basis between Pune and Juhu in Mumbai. The gliding centre is a very good site for operating such a service, he said, adding that the site had not been utilised optimally. “It (site) has a good potential for facilities like a heliport,” he said.

“For Pune, the heliport would be a great asset considering that almost a dozen helicopters already operate from its vicinity,” Sahi said. Apart from scheduled passenger service, the heliport would be of use for services such as medical and evacuation emergencies, tourism et.al., said Sahi.

“The civil aviation ministry has declared 2008 as the year of helicopters. We want a few world class heliports to come up at strategically suitable locations and Pune forms a part of this approach,” Sahi added.

Western countries have been using choppers for a range of services such as emergency trauma care, rescue, emergency evacuation…More

TOI : PUNE: It was a choice between faith and fear. And when thousands of women gathered for the Sanskrit prayer recital, Atharvashirsha, organised by the Shrimant Dagdusheth Halvai Sarvajanik Ganpati Mandal on Thursday, faith was clearly the winner.

It was doubtful whether this event, which has been part of the Ganesh festival in the city for the last 20 years, would be held this year at all. Tatyasaheb Godse, president of the mandal, had a few days ago decided to cancel the event this year citing security concerns in the backdrop of the recent bomb blasts in various cities in the country.

But when over 15,000 women gathered outside the Dagdusheth Ganpati Mandal suppressing all fears of terrorism, it was a moment when the people’s faith and devotion in Ganesh prevailed. And thus, the tradition of reciting the Atharvashirsha on the second day of Ganesh Chaturthi (first day of the Ganesh festival ) by women completed it’s 21st year.

Sumati Deshpande, who has been participating in the recitation of the Atharvashirsha for a decade now said, “The fact that women are present here in thousands tells the whole story. There is nothing that can get over our faith in God and we will continue with this tradition” .

Amidst tight security, the ceremony which began at about 7 in the morning was followed by the maha aarti. It was a colourful sight to see the women in traditional saaris seated from the mandal right through the City Post chowk.

“This gathering cannot be described in words. We have been doing this for 20 years now, but today’s gathering is special . It is the sheer faith and devotion of all the women present here that has made it possible to continue with the tradition without a break. When I decided not to hold the event this year, the state government…More