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TOI : PUNE: An HIV-positive inmate serving a life imprisonment term for murder at the Yerawada central prison has filed an application seeking bail on the grounds that the jail lacks adequate treatment facilities. He has also attached a list of 32 HIV positive inmates who have died in the jail from 2001 to 2006 to substantiate his claim.

The application, filed by advocate Rajesh Bindra on behalf of the inmate, was heard by a high court bench comprising justice Ranjana Desai and justice Dhananjay Chandrachud on Friday.

The bench will further hear the application on September 11 and has directed superintendent and medical officer at the Yerawada prison and the medical officer of the Sassoon general hospital to be present in the court during the process.

In his application, the inmate has said he tested positive for HIV in January 2007, while undergoing treatment for piles. Copies of the test report, reports of the DC4-CDX count issued by the department of micro-biology and a letter to the Sassoon hospital from the chief medical officer, Yerawada central prison, were also attached to the application.

The bail application states that the inmate’s health was deteriorating as there were no proper medical facilities either at the prison or at the Sassoon hospital. The inmate also attached a list of 32 HIV positive prisoners who died in jail during 2001-06. This list had been submitted by another inmate to the Supreme Court along with his application in February 2007.

The inmate has pointed out in his application that he has already undergone three years of imprisonment and has not exhibited any criminal behaviour while in jail. He has also said that non-availability of proper medical facilities has questioned his fundamental right as well as natural justice and that no purpose will be served by keeping him in jail, since lack of medical facilities will…More

TOI : PUNE: A conductor of a state transport (ST) bus was found hanging in a bus at the Shivajinagar depot early on Tuesday morning.

The deceased was identified as Sharad Rangrao Patil (35), a resident of Amalner in Jalgaon district. The Shivajinagar police said an ST bus from Amalner with Patil as conductor and Manohar Patil as driver had reached the depot around 9 pm on Monday night.

According to police inspector Rahul Yevale, the reason behind Patil taking the step seems to be a tiff with his father. “Patil wanted to purchase a piece of land by selling his father’s land in Jalgaon. However, his father had refused to sell the land,” Yevale said. He added that Manohar had told the police about Sharad being uneasy with the decision.
Long-distance buses are parked at the depot in the night and travel back to their destinations the next day. Drivers and conductors of the buses are given accommodation on the premises.

Sub-inspector Geejanjali Garad said the duo was sleeping at the guest house after dinner. Around 11 pm, Sharad complained about Manohar’s snoring and went to sleep in the bus. When Manohar reached the bus around 6 am, he found Sharad hanging. He immediately alerted officials at the depot, who rushed him to a hospital. Sharad was declared dead on arrival. Garad said, Sharad hanged himself with the help of his muffler.

In another incident, Ajay Dhende (22), of Khadki, attempted suicide on Saturday at his residence. In a third incident, labourer Mangal Avale (35), of Mangalwar Peth, died on September 4 at the Sassoon hospital after she accidentally drank some poisonous substance on September 2. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: As part of its ambitious Pavana dam pipeline project, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) will soon start laying a new pipeline in Nigdi, Ravet and Kivale areas.

Municipal commissioner Ashish Sharma said the work would begin from Pimpri-Chinchwad-end without waiting for the land acquisition process to begin.

The township is entirely dependent on the Pavana dam for its drinking water needs. The irrigation department releases water from the dam into the Pavana river, which flows to the bund at Ravet. The PCMC lifts the water from the bund and purifies it before supplying it to residents. Now, the PCMC wants to lay a pipeline directly from the dam to its purification plants in Nigdi.

The pipeline will pass through several villages on its way from the dam to Nigdi. The farmers are opposing the pipeline project and have been refusing to give their land to lay the pipeline as they fear that with the pipeline coming up, no water would be released in the river, thus depriving them their share of water for agricultural and drinking purposes.

Sharma said, “The pipeline will be laid in Nigdi, Ravet and Kivale areas on the land which is in PCMC’s possession. The work of laying the pipeline will not be delayed, while at the same time, negotiations will be held with the affected farmers. The irrigation department is ready to build more bunds on the river to maintain the desired level of water in the river.”

Sharma said, “Farmers affected by the project have been demanding jobs. Discussions were held and they have been directed to recruit the project-affected farmers as per their requirements.” Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: One of the richest temple trusts in the country has also proved to be the most tech-savvy one.

Having started the facility to accept offerings through debit/credit cards four years back, the Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Trust has now extended the benefit to those who want to donate in foreign currencies.

The facility began seven days back and the response has been overwhelming. “Every year, at the end of the festival, when the offering boxes are opened, we find a lot of foreign bills. Receiving foreign currency meant that the trust had to go through a long exchange process, which was quite time consuming,” says Ashok Godse, secretary of the Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Trust.

So in order to make things easier for the devotees as well as the trust, they decided to accept foreign currency through cards. “In fact today morning an NRI paid $500 through his credit card and appreciated the facility,” said Godse.

Software professional Sakshi Gujrati was only too happy to hear of the facility. “It is convenient to pay through a card and even more so if the amount is huge,” she says. Godse agrees that a lot of people do avail of the facility.

“I was unaware of this benefit and I have always been carrying cash with me. But it is unsafe in crowds. Besides you may forgot to carry cash some times. This facility has only made things easier,” says Divya Oswal, a graphic designer.

“The Bank of India helped us start the debit-credit card facility four years back. This year we were supported by another bank which has donated some swipe machines enabling us to accept all major cards,” says Godse. The trust has got Rs 6.5 lakh in the first seven days through cards.

“Last year we had a collection of almost Rs 3.5…More

TOI : PUNE: The Pune Central Cyber Cafe Association has filed a writ petition at the Bombay High Court against the rules imposed on them by the Pune police.

Talking to mediapersons, Rahul Pokle, president of the association, said the rules regarding the NOC from the health department, parking space for customers and building completion certificates by the police are very stringent. It makes things difficult for cafe owners to obtain licences.

The police have warned action against the cafes without licences after the Ganapati festival. Reacting to this, Pokle said it is not necessary for cyber cafes to get an NOC from the health department as these are not restaurants. He added that even the provision for sufficient parking for customers is not justifiable.

“We have filed a writ petition on September 5 at the Bombay High Court against these norms,” Pokle said, “We hope to get justice by the court.” Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: In a sharp reaction to Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan’s controversial remarks on Marathi, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Tuesday asked her not to provoke Maharashtrians, saying it was Mumbai that gave identity to the Bachchans bestowing fame when they were an “unknown commodity”.

Describing Amitabh Bachchan as a great artiste whose acting talent transcended geographical and lingual barriers, Thackeray in an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamna said, “Jaya Bachchan has been making controversial statements that have vitiated the atmosphere leading to discord. This has caused mental agony to her husband also.”

Referring to Jaya’s off-the-cuff remark at a film promo party on September six that Marathis should pardon her as she hailed from UP and would speak in Hindi, Thackeray said, “Why these people are not going to the Southern states or Assam to hoist the flag of Hindi?”

The Sena chief said, “The big shots in Hindi film industry, including Shah Rukh Khan, came here and flourished.
After reaping the harvest, these people start asserting their regional and lingual affiliations and if Maharashtrians talk about their cultural identity, the Marathi Manoos is branded as parochial.”

“Those who call us parochial should remember that Maharashtra’s contribution to Indian nationalism is unmatched. Mahatma Gandhi had made Gopal Krishna Gokhale his Guru from whom he got the inspiration in country’s freedom struggle. Maharashtra produced many revolutionaries who sacrificed their lives for the country,” the editorial said.

Thackeray said, those who express their venom against Maharashtrians, should know that it was the great poet Bhushan from UP who eulogised the fight of Shivaji Maharaj during the alien rule of Moghuls that saved and protected the country’s cultural heritage.

“With folded hands, I am once again appealing to these people that do not provoke us unnecessarily. If you rub us the wrong way and try to test…More

TOI : NASHIK: A 41-year-old debt-ridden farmer allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree at Shevgedang village near Nashik, police said on Tuesday.

Janardhan Punja Raut took the extreme step on Monday in tribal dominated Igatpuri taluka after he failed to repay an agri-loan from a private firm, they said.

Punja owns three acres of land in the district, they added.
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