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TOI : PUNE: Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) plans to complete the process of implementing hawker zones within the municipal limits before the end of October, said commissioner Ashish Sharma.

It may be noted that two years ago, former commissioner Dilip Band had implemented a drive to remove stalls and create no hawker zones along many major roads within the municipal limits. This had led to hawkers demanding that the PCMC allocate certain areas to them. They had said that these zones should be demarcated in such a way so as to ensure hawkers do not obstruct vehicular traffic. For the past two years, even corporators have kept up the demand of such zones.

Sharma held a meeting with four zonal officers regarding the matter on Tuesday. He said that earlier the civic body had concentrated on creating hawker zones, but now the emphasis had changed to creation of no hawker zones.

Sharma said, “Roads which are more than 24 metre will be declared as no hawker zones and the four zonal offices have been directed to send a proposal regarding this. We have also directed the officers to make changes in the earlier proposals that had been submitted.”

He said the civic administration would put up boards with special symbols to indicate a no hawker zone. “We want to complete the entire process of formation of the hawker zones before October 30.”

Moreover, Sharma said, the civic body has invited applications from people who wanted to be authorised hawkers (who are not stationary) or vendors (who do business at a fixed place) inhabiting the hawker zones. These applications along with necessary documentary proof need to be submitted before September 20. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: The University Grants Commission has given a go ahead to the University of Pune (UoP) to conduct the state eligibility test (SET) twice a year from next year.

The commission’s move would benefit many candidates seeking teaching jobs, considering that SET is the minimum qualifying benchmark for post-graduate (PG) students to land a permanent lecturer’s job at any state university or its affiliated colleges.

The UoP, which is the state government’s official agency for conducting SET in Maharashtra and Goa, has more than 140 vacant posts of professors, readers and lecturers due to be filled since a decade, but owing to a state government’s ban on recruitment. The ban was lifted late last year.

Similarly, a large number of teaching posts at the affiliated colleges and institutions remain vacant for want of SET-qualified candidates.

Member secretary (SET) and UoP registrar Manikrao Jadhav confirmed the UGC clearance while speaking to TOI on Wednesday. “We got the go ahead a week ago,” he said. “The next SET has been scheduled for January 18, 2009, and would be followed by another one in September 2009,” he added.

According to UoP’s SET convenor N.N. Godbole, Maharashtra is the only state where the UGC has made an exception allowing two SET exams in a year owing to UoP’s good record.

The norms include adherence to UGC prescribed syllabus, involvement of 30 per cent examiners from outside Maharashtra, sustaining the prescribed difficulty levels, passing percentage, among other things, he said.

Of the 21,000 students who appeared in the February 2008 SET, only 2.4 per cent candidates passed. The average passing percentage in the 21 SETs held before the February 2008 test was 3.5. The best ever showing was in 1998 when the passing percentage was recorded at 7.3, followed by 5.6 per cent in the inaugural year. Post-1998, the success…More

TOI : PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) standing committee on Wednesday rejected a proposal to allot Rs 19.5 crore for publicity campaigns and cultural programmes for the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG).

The civic administration had proposed that Rs 14.5 crore be allotted for CYG publicity campaigns. This included Rs 50 lakh meant for flex boards and hoardings, Rs 25 lakh for printing stickers, posters and logos and Rs 25 lakh for mobile vans and other activities, including cultural programmes.

The second proposal had sought approval for allotting Rs 5 crore for the baton rally and other cultural programmes.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena rejected the proposal together. Their contention was that the PMC could not afford to spend this kind of money on publicity and cultural programmes. In turn, the Congress party and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena members in the committee alleged that the NCP was politicising sports.

“The PMC has put in a lot of efforts and money to complete the infrastructure projects for CYG. Instead of spending Rs 19 crore for publicity, we will divert the money for development works,” said standing committee chairman Sham Deshpande. Leader of the house and NCP leader Anil Bhosale also said there was no need to lavishly spend money on CYG publicity. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: Consumers in Pune, Thane and Navi Mumbai will have to cough up additional Rs 2 crore per day for the convenience of zero load-shedding beginning October if the MSEDCL is not made to follow its own estimates announced in April this year, about additional power required for these cities to prevent power cuts.

The three cities have already borne an additional burden of Rs 4 crore per day during the monsoon because additional power had to be procured, though the MSEDCL had claimed in April that additional power would not be required during the rainy season to prevent load-shedding.

This warning has been sounded in a petition filed by city-based Prayas energy group and Sajag Nagrik Manch before the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Merc) urging the regulator to direct MSEDCL to restrict quantum of additional power to 3.9 million units (MU) per day and not resort to load-shedding in these areas.

In April this year, when the reworked zero load-shedding model for Pune was taken up for hearing by the Merc, the MSEDCL had said that 325 MW power (3.9 MU per day) would be required additionally if the three cities are to be kept free from load-shedding.

Pune is paying a reliability charge of 49 paise per unit (except domestic consumers who use up to 300 units/ month) followed by Thane 43 paise and Navi Mumbai-Vashi 35 paise per unit to enable purchase of additional power to avoid daily power cuts lasting up to 5.45 hrs to seven hours. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE/SATARA: An infant died and four of a family were injured at Nathachiwadi in Yewat taluka, near Daund, when a wall of their house collapsed due to an earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale at 3.17 am Wednesday. The baby was trapped under the debris of the wall, the child’s grandfather, Bapurao Valkunde, said.

The quake, measuring 4.8 on Richter scale, resulted in damage to over 430 houses in Patan taluka of Satara district. However, the Koyna dam in Satara district is completely safe, irrigation department officials said. The epicentre of the earthquake was at Kadoli village, 13.6 km to the south-east of Koyna dam, P.B. Jadhav, research assistant of the earthquake study centre in Koynanagar said.

The tremors lasted for about 20 seconds, jolting several areas in western Maharashtra. Around eight persons in four villages received minor injuries, officials said.

In Pune, many residents of areas like Sinhagad road, Kothrud, Law college road, Wakadewadi, Peth areas and Pune Camp felt the tremors.

The quake was felt most in Patan, Mahabaleshwar, Satara, Karad, Javali, Shirala and Malkapur, and people rushed out of their houses in panic.

The tremors brought back the memories of the December 11, 1967 earthquake in the Koyna dam region and also the quake which took place on September 30, 1993 at Killari in Marathwada, which took place immediately after the Ganapati immersion day.

Satara district collector Vikas Deshmukh toured the villages in Patan taluka to assess the damage. According to the tehsildar of Patan taluka, Satish Dhumal, 437 houses in 77 villages were damaged. The eight injured were provided treatment at the government hospital and were discharged.

Speaking to TOI, U.V. Siddamal, executive engineer of the Koyna dam management department, said the dam is completely safe. “The dam can sustain an earthquake up to 8 on the Richter scale,” he…More

TOI : PUNE: Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) plans to complete the process of implementing hawker zones within the municipal limits before the end of October, said commissioner Ashish Sharma.

It may be noted that two years ago, former commissioner Dilip Band had implemented a drive to remove stalls and create no hawker zones along many major roads within the municipal limits. This had led to hawkers demanding that the PCMC allocate certain areas to them. They had said that these zones should be demarcated in such a way so as to ensure hawkers do not obstruct vehicular traffic. For the past two years, even corporators have kept up the demand of such zones.

Sharma held a meeting with four zonal officers regarding the matter on Tuesday. He said that earlier the civic body had concentrated on creating hawker zones, but now the emphasis had changed to creation of no hawker zones.

Sharma said, “Roads which are more than 24 metre will be declared as no hawker zones and the four zonal offices have been directed to send a proposal regarding this. We have also directed the officers to make changes in the earlier proposals that had been submitted.”

He said the civic administration would put up boards with special symbols to indicate a no hawker zone. “We want to complete the entire process of formation of the hawker zones before October 30.”

Moreover, Sharma said, the civic body has invited applications from people who wanted to be authorised hawkers (who are not stationary) or vendors (who do business at a fixed place) inhabiting the hawker zones. These applications along with necessary documentary proof need to be submitted before September 20. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: The University Grants Commission has given a go ahead to the University of Pune (UoP) to conduct the state eligibility test (SET) twice a year from next year.

The commission’s move would benefit many candidates seeking teaching jobs, considering that SET is the minimum qualifying benchmark for post-graduate (PG) students to land a permanent lecturer’s job at any state university or its affiliated colleges.

The UoP, which is the state government’s official agency for conducting SET in Maharashtra and Goa, has more than 140 vacant posts of professors, readers and lecturers due to be filled since a decade, but owing to a state government’s ban on recruitment. The ban was lifted late last year.

Similarly, a large number of teaching posts at the affiliated colleges and institutions remain vacant for want of SET-qualified candidates.

Member secretary (SET) and UoP registrar Manikrao Jadhav confirmed the UGC clearance while speaking to TOI on Wednesday. “We got the go ahead a week ago,” he said. “The next SET has been scheduled for January 18, 2009, and would be followed by another one in September 2009,” he added.

According to UoP’s SET convenor N.N. Godbole, Maharashtra is the only state where the UGC has made an exception allowing two SET exams in a year owing to UoP’s good record.

The norms include adherence to UGC prescribed syllabus, involvement of 30 per cent examiners from outside Maharashtra, sustaining the prescribed difficulty levels, passing percentage, among other things, he said.

Of the 21,000 students who appeared in the February 2008 SET, only 2.4 per cent candidates passed. The average passing percentage in the 21 SETs held before the February 2008 test was 3.5. The best ever showing was in 1998 when the passing percentage was recorded at 7.3, followed by 5.6 per cent in the inaugural year. Post-1998, the success…More

TOI : PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) standing committee on Wednesday rejected a proposal to allot Rs 19.5 crore for publicity campaigns and cultural programmes for the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG).

The civic administration had proposed that Rs 14.5 crore be allotted for CYG publicity campaigns. This included Rs 50 lakh meant for flex boards and hoardings, Rs 25 lakh for printing stickers, posters and logos and Rs 25 lakh for mobile vans and other activities, including cultural programmes.

The second proposal had sought approval for allotting Rs 5 crore for the baton rally and other cultural programmes.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena rejected the proposal together. Their contention was that the PMC could not afford to spend this kind of money on publicity and cultural programmes. In turn, the Congress party and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena members in the committee alleged that the NCP was politicising sports.

“The PMC has put in a lot of efforts and money to complete the infrastructure projects for CYG. Instead of spending Rs 19 crore for publicity, we will divert the money for development works,” said standing committee chairman Sham Deshpande. Leader of the house and NCP leader Anil Bhosale also said there was no need to lavishly spend money on CYG publicity. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: Consumers in Pune, Thane and Navi Mumbai will have to cough up additional Rs 2 crore per day for the convenience of zero load-shedding beginning October if the MSEDCL is not made to follow its own estimates announced in April this year, about additional power required for these cities to prevent power cuts.

The three cities have already borne an additional burden of Rs 4 crore per day during the monsoon because additional power had to be procured, though the MSEDCL had claimed in April that additional power would not be required during the rainy season to prevent load-shedding.

This warning has been sounded in a petition filed by city-based Prayas energy group and Sajag Nagrik Manch before the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Merc) urging the regulator to direct MSEDCL to restrict quantum of additional power to 3.9 million units (MU) per day and not resort to load-shedding in these areas.

In April this year, when the reworked zero load-shedding model for Pune was taken up for hearing by the Merc, the MSEDCL had said that 325 MW power (3.9 MU per day) would be required additionally if the three cities are to be kept free from load-shedding.

Pune is paying a reliability charge of 49 paise per unit (except domestic consumers who use up to 300 units/ month) followed by Thane 43 paise and Navi Mumbai-Vashi 35 paise per unit to enable purchase of additional power to avoid daily power cuts lasting up to 5.45 hrs to seven hours. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE/SATARA: An infant died and four of a family were injured at Nathachiwadi in Yewat taluka, near Daund, when a wall of their house collapsed due to an earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale at 3.17 am Wednesday. The baby was trapped under the debris of the wall, the child’s grandfather, Bapurao Valkunde, said.

The quake, measuring 4.8 on Richter scale, resulted in damage to over 430 houses in Patan taluka of Satara district. However, the Koyna dam in Satara district is completely safe, irrigation department officials said. The epicentre of the earthquake was at Kadoli village, 13.6 km to the south-east of Koyna dam, P.B. Jadhav, research assistant of the earthquake study centre in Koynanagar said.

The tremors lasted for about 20 seconds, jolting several areas in western Maharashtra. Around eight persons in four villages received minor injuries, officials said.

In Pune, many residents of areas like Sinhagad road, Kothrud, Law college road, Wakadewadi, Peth areas and Pune Camp felt the tremors.

The quake was felt most in Patan, Mahabaleshwar, Satara, Karad, Javali, Shirala and Malkapur, and people rushed out of their houses in panic.

The tremors brought back the memories of the December 11, 1967 earthquake in the Koyna dam region and also the quake which took place on September 30, 1993 at Killari in Marathwada, which took place immediately after the Ganapati immersion day.

Satara district collector Vikas Deshmukh toured the villages in Patan taluka to assess the damage. According to the tehsildar of Patan taluka, Satish Dhumal, 437 houses in 77 villages were damaged. The eight injured were provided treatment at the government hospital and were discharged.

Speaking to TOI, U.V. Siddamal, executive engineer of the Koyna dam management department, said the dam is completely safe. “The dam can sustain an earthquake up to 8 on the Richter scale,” he…More