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TOI : PUNE: Commonwealth Youth Games’ opening ceremony and President Pratibha Patil’s visit: can Pune handle the two events back-to-back? This was the big question which was discussed at a meeting convened especially to discuss this issue on Wednesday in presence of district guardian minister Ajit Pawar.

Nearly 10,000 representatives from five states – Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala – besides Maharashtra, are expected to attend the Nirmal Gram award distribution ceremony at Nehru Stadium, while the same number of delegates will be present at CYG opening ceremony on the next day. The sheer number of delegates would put the city’s infrastructure to test, especially bus transport services and accommodation facilities.

However, the top officials from Zilla Parishad (ZP) and district administration seen determined to make the award distribution a success, this could be sensed from the fact that Pawar himself reviewed the event’s progress in great detail at the meeting.

Confirming the impact of the President’s presence at the event and the gravity of the situation, Pawar said, “We are preparing for the big event and we are very positive that it will be successful.”

He added that the civic administration should brace itself for the task of handling the two mega events on consecutive days and take all necessary measures.

ZP CEO Shyam Vardhane maintained that the award distribution ceremony would not impact the CYG preparations since Nirmal Gram awards are being handled by the ZP. He said that accommodation arrangements for delegates coming for this event will be made in sub-urban areas and college hostels, considering that the city will be packed with CYG delegates.

“At present, we are in a position to accommodate over 10,000 people. We are also using 80 city buses. Over 1,000 staff members will be deployed,” Vardhane said.
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TOI : PUNE: Come September 22 and a team of eight Armymen from the Southern Command will set out for an expedition to inspire the country’s youth to join the Indian Armed Forces and serve their nation.

Setting a fine example, four officers and four soldiers, will cover a distance of 4,500 km on their motorbikes, educating people about the benefits offered in the sixth pay commission.

The expedition named Golden Katar Motorcycle Expedition will commence from Pune on September 22 and will traverse the eastern and the western Ghats, touch the southern-most tip of the country and finish here. The expedition will go via Panaji, Kannur, Kanyakumari, Rameshwaram, Punducherry, Chennai, Ongole, Visakhapatnam, Vijaywada, Hyderabad, Nanded, Aurangabad and back to Pune.

Talking to TOI, Captain Sagar Pushpa, the expedition’s team leader said that majority of the youngster today choose courses in management and information technology despite the fact that the Army now offers good salaries and there are a lot of added benefits. “Also, working with the armed forces gives you a great sense of satisfaction that you are serving your nation.”

He pointed out that the sixth pay commission has changed things for better as far as monetary gains are concerned. “During the tour we will emphasis on this aspect,” he said, adding that they are looking forward to tapping, both the rural and the urban talent.

“Hence, we will not only stop in cities and towns, but also villages. We will educate the youth about the various channels to join the armed forces, like the National Defence Academy, Combined Defence Services, College of Military Engineering, Armed Forces Medical College and Officers Training Academy,” Pushpa said. Youth will be sensitised about the Short Service Commission and other special initiatives by the armed forces.

“The participants of the rally have been chosen in such a manner that communicating with…More

TOI : PUNE: In a bid to put the brakes on youths bitten by the speeding bug, the traffic branch of the city police have hit upon a novel idea – get them pulled up by the colleges where they study or the companies where they work.

The traffic branch has issued letters to 68 colleges asking them to initiate action against students caught for violating traffic norms over a period of about one month. Similar letters have been sent to 40 information technology (IT) firms in the city.

According to a statement issued by deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Manoj Patil, the police have booked and fined 500 students from the colleges and 250 employees from the IT firms in regular drives, which started on August 13.

The violations include speeding, jumping traffic signals and rash driving. “We have given lists of students and employees caught for not respecting traffic rules to the colleges and companies,” Patil said.

Moreover, he has requested the colleges to check the licences of students before allowing them to park their vehicles on the premises.

The list of educational institutions, with maximum errant drivers, includes reputed colleges and management schools, while the list of companies has leading IT firms and BPOs.

In the letter, Patil has said that the number of vehicles has been increasing on the city roads in the wake of rapid urbanisation due to the IT boom. “We all are witnessing the disrespect shown to traffic regulations by educated people,” the letter says.

“We have been conducting drives to regulate traffic and inculcate a sense of discipline in citizens. However, we are finding it difficult to bring a change in the motorists’ mentality. There is a need to create awareness at all levels,” the letter adds.

The student community in the city needs to understand the…More

TOI : PUNE: Preliminary reports of an enquiry conducted by the Pune police into the allegations of a Hyderabad-based minor girl have not yet validated her allegations that that she was raped by 14 city policemen when she was first brought to Pune in February 2005.

Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Anil Kumbhare said an enquiry has been initiated into the charges. “However, preliminary reports like the statement given by her – when she was rescued in January 2006 – to the social security cell inspector in-charge as well as at the remand home in Pune, where she had been sheltered, did not mention any such incident,” he said.

Kumbhare added that the girl also did not report any such incident in her statement to the Hyderabad police nor during her medical check-up in Andhra Pradesh when she was sent back after the rescue. “She does not mention being raped by Pune policemen in her complaint to the Andhra Pradesh Women’s Commission nor to the National Women’s Commission.”

Moreover, he said, the girl’s aide Khalid Nishu does not appear on the list of the bar association in Hyderabad. “He is wanted in cases of cheating, rape and atrocities filed at Hyderabad and Bangalore. Also, the Hyderabad police declared him as absconding in May 2008.”
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TOI : PUNE: The underpass at Wakad on the Dehu road-Katraj bypass will be opened for vehicular traffic on Thursday.

Speaking to TOI here on Wednesday, Ashish Sharma, Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal commissioner, said the vehicular traffic will join the road at the Wakad police chowky junction, which is one of the busiest junctions on the westerly bypass.

The project was approved by the PCMC General Body (GB) in January and the contract was given to the B.G. Shirke company, with C.S. Consultants overseeing the 24 metre wide underpass.

The PCMC engineering department officials said the six-lane underpass is 5.5 metre high and the National Highway 4 was raised by 2.5 metre to build it. Moreover, a 1,500-metre long retaining wall has been built around the raised portion of the road surface.

The National Highway Authority of India has borne 60 per cent of the project cost, while the rest was funded by the PCMC.

Meanwhile, the grade separator at Akurdi has been opened on a trial basis for the vehicular traffic moving on the Mumbai-Pune side.

This grade separator at the Khandoba Mal chowk at Akurdi is expected to prevent traffic snarls here. Vehicles coming from Nigdi will be able to proceed to Chinchwad without stopping at the Khandoba Mal chowk, while vehicles coming from Chinchwad will be able to proceed to Nigdi on the old Pune-Mumbai highway without stopping at the chowk.

The total width of the highway is 61 metre. The grade separator has two lanes of nine metre each for vehicular traffic on both sides of road divider. There are 13-metre wide service roads on both sides of the grade separator, a 2.5-metre wide cycle track and 1.5 metre wide pathway on both sides of the highway. The construction of this grade separator had begun in August 2006.

The vehicular traffic has been…More