News

TOI : PUNE: Special judge P.R. Bora on Thursday sentenced Ganesh Santosh Dagade (38) of Kharadi to life imprisonment for killing his wife by setting her ablaze in 2006.

Dagade, who works as a labourer, was also fined Rs 1,000. He had set his wife Chababai (30) afire in front of their nine-year-old son on April 6, 2006. The Yerawada police arrested Dagade on April 8 after his son accused him of the crime in a statement. Chababai succumbed at a hospital on April 9.

According to additional public prosecutor D.Y. Jadhav, the couple had married in 1996. Dagade allegedly quarrelled with and beat Chababai often. After Chababai’s father sold a plot of land, Dagade wanted a part of the proceeds and abused Chababai over this. In the trial, Jadhav examined the couple’s son. The son’s statement and Chababai’s dying declaration played a significant role in proving Dagade guilty, Jadhav said. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: After his diktat on compulsory use of helmets fell flat, police commissioner Satyapal Singh has come up with yet another punitive measure, this time to reduce sound pollution.

In a statement issued to the media on Thursday, Singh has banned use of firecrackers like the sutali or ‘atom’ bombs this Diwali, which produce a sound of more than 125 decibels.

The production, sale and use of stringed crackers, ‘rockets’ and all those which produce a sound more than 125 decibels have been banned, Singh said in the statement.

“This ban is in accordance with the Supreme Court judgement dated July 18, 2005, wherein the court had banned such crackers as they cause air and noise pollution,” Singh has said.

Besides, firing crackers on bridges, highways, roads and even lanes — irrespective of whether the roads/lanes are open for traffic or not — has also been prohibited. “Those violating this order will be booked under sections of Mumbai Police Act,” Singh has warned. Also, noise making crackers should not be fired between 10 pm and 6 am.

The police have also banned parking of vehicles within 50 meters radius of the main fire cracker markets which are normally established in areas like Mhatre bridge, Hadapsar, Pimpri, Golibar maidan, Kasarwadi, Chinchwad, Khadki bazaar, Nigdi and Vishrantwadi. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: The Regional Transport Authority (RTA) on Thursday gave a green signal to the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) for passenger fare hike from September 21.

RTA member Baba Shinde confirmed that the PMPML’s proposal for a fare hike has been approved. A hike of Re. 1 has been announced for all existing stages, excluding the first stage for two kilometres for which Rs 3 will be charged. However, the fares for next stages will go up. The PMPML had proposed a hike of Re. 1 for the first stage, which has not been approved, Shinde added.

Shinde said that some of the fare structures for monthly and daily passes for common citizens as well as for senior citizens have also been revised. The monthly pass for senior citizens will cost Rs 300, a hike of Rs 50. The rate for monthly pass has been raised to Rs 750 from existing Rs 600. D.A. Pardeshi, public relations officer, PMPML, said that they were yet to decide the revised fare structure and a final decision will be made on Friday. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: Vivek Mahajan, a senior citizen living in Dhankawdi travels frequently by train. However, he does not take a ride to the reservation counter, he simply uses the e-ticketing facility.

Like Mahajan, there are large number of passengers opting for e-ticketing way for reservation of their railway journey tickets. As a result, the share of earning from e-ticketing has gone up to 25 per cent of the total reservation earnings.

“The e-ticketing facility was introduced a couple of years back by the railway ministry and is now doing well. In Pune division, this year, the earnings through e-ticketing have gone up to 25 per cent of the total reservation earnings. The share has gone up by over 15 per cent in the last 18 to 20 months.

Earlier, the earnings through e-ticketing were recorded around 10 per cent. And it is expected to go up further in the days to come,” said Y.K. Singh, public relations officer of the Pune railway division.

“The Pune division has recorded passenger reservation earnings of Rs 80 crore between April and August 2008. Out of this, nearly Rs 20 crore have been collected through e-ticketing. The earnings have gone up by Rs 6 crore compared to last year. The number of reservations have also gone by four lakh this year. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: The standing committee’s refusal to allot funds for publicity of the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) did not go down well with the volunteers of the event as they launched a signature campaign across colleges on Thursday in protest against the decision. The PMC standing committee on Wednesday had rejected a proposal to allot Rs 19.5 crore for CYG publicity campaigns and cultural programmes.

About 15 volunteers led the agitation complaining that the PMC’s decision was politically motivated. The campaign went through Marathwada Mitramandal college of commerce (MMCC), Garware college, Sir Parshurambhau college, Symbiosis International University and Tikaram Jagannath College in Khadki.

Gaurav Chavan, a CYG volunteer said, “This is a big event for the city and the PMC should keep politics out of this. The civic body will have to contribute if the city’s infrastructure has to improve. This is a great opportunity to let the world know about our city and we should not leave a single stone unturned in the process.”

The students will take to roads on Friday and will also encourage public participation. Kartik Kamble, a student of MMCC said, “As a youth I understand that this event is very important for the city and I am disappointed that the PMC has no realised it.”

Ganesh Jadhav, who also signed the banner in support of the campaign said, “I am not associated with the Games, yet I feel that if the city is hosting this event of international stature the civic administration should go in full support of it.” The All India Senior Citizens’ Confederation has also extended its support to the agitation.

The NCP, the BJP and the Shiv Sena had rejected the proposal on Wednesday. Their contention was that the PMC cannot not afford to spend people’s money on publicity and cultural programmes. In turn, the Congress and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena…More

TOI : PUNE: Special judge P.R. Bora on Thursday sentenced Ganesh Santosh Dagade (38) of Kharadi to life imprisonment for killing his wife by setting her ablaze in 2006.

Dagade, who works as a labourer, was also fined Rs 1,000. He had set his wife Chababai (30) afire in front of their nine-year-old son on April 6, 2006. The Yerawada police arrested Dagade on April 8 after his son accused him of the crime in a statement. Chababai succumbed at a hospital on April 9.

According to additional public prosecutor D.Y. Jadhav, the couple had married in 1996. Dagade allegedly quarrelled with and beat Chababai often. After Chababai’s father sold a plot of land, Dagade wanted a part of the proceeds and abused Chababai over this. In the trial, Jadhav examined the couple’s son. The son’s statement and Chababai’s dying declaration played a significant role in proving Dagade guilty, Jadhav said. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: After his diktat on compulsory use of helmets fell flat, police commissioner Satyapal Singh has come up with yet another punitive measure, this time to reduce sound pollution.

In a statement issued to the media on Thursday, Singh has banned use of firecrackers like the sutali or ‘atom’ bombs this Diwali, which produce a sound of more than 125 decibels.

The production, sale and use of stringed crackers, ‘rockets’ and all those which produce a sound more than 125 decibels have been banned, Singh said in the statement.

“This ban is in accordance with the Supreme Court judgement dated July 18, 2005, wherein the court had banned such crackers as they cause air and noise pollution,” Singh has said.

Besides, firing crackers on bridges, highways, roads and even lanes — irrespective of whether the roads/lanes are open for traffic or not — has also been prohibited. “Those violating this order will be booked under sections of Mumbai Police Act,” Singh has warned. Also, noise making crackers should not be fired between 10 pm and 6 am.

The police have also banned parking of vehicles within 50 meters radius of the main fire cracker markets which are normally established in areas like Mhatre bridge, Hadapsar, Pimpri, Golibar maidan, Kasarwadi, Chinchwad, Khadki bazaar, Nigdi and Vishrantwadi. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: The Regional Transport Authority (RTA) on Thursday gave a green signal to the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) for passenger fare hike from September 21.

RTA member Baba Shinde confirmed that the PMPML’s proposal for a fare hike has been approved. A hike of Re. 1 has been announced for all existing stages, excluding the first stage for two kilometres for which Rs 3 will be charged. However, the fares for next stages will go up. The PMPML had proposed a hike of Re. 1 for the first stage, which has not been approved, Shinde added.

Shinde said that some of the fare structures for monthly and daily passes for common citizens as well as for senior citizens have also been revised. The monthly pass for senior citizens will cost Rs 300, a hike of Rs 50. The rate for monthly pass has been raised to Rs 750 from existing Rs 600. D.A. Pardeshi, public relations officer, PMPML, said that they were yet to decide the revised fare structure and a final decision will be made on Friday. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: Vivek Mahajan, a senior citizen living in Dhankawdi travels frequently by train. However, he does not take a ride to the reservation counter, he simply uses the e-ticketing facility.

Like Mahajan, there are large number of passengers opting for e-ticketing way for reservation of their railway journey tickets. As a result, the share of earning from e-ticketing has gone up to 25 per cent of the total reservation earnings.

“The e-ticketing facility was introduced a couple of years back by the railway ministry and is now doing well. In Pune division, this year, the earnings through e-ticketing have gone up to 25 per cent of the total reservation earnings. The share has gone up by over 15 per cent in the last 18 to 20 months.

Earlier, the earnings through e-ticketing were recorded around 10 per cent. And it is expected to go up further in the days to come,” said Y.K. Singh, public relations officer of the Pune railway division.

“The Pune division has recorded passenger reservation earnings of Rs 80 crore between April and August 2008. Out of this, nearly Rs 20 crore have been collected through e-ticketing. The earnings have gone up by Rs 6 crore compared to last year. The number of reservations have also gone by four lakh this year. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: The standing committee’s refusal to allot funds for publicity of the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) did not go down well with the volunteers of the event as they launched a signature campaign across colleges on Thursday in protest against the decision. The PMC standing committee on Wednesday had rejected a proposal to allot Rs 19.5 crore for CYG publicity campaigns and cultural programmes.

About 15 volunteers led the agitation complaining that the PMC’s decision was politically motivated. The campaign went through Marathwada Mitramandal college of commerce (MMCC), Garware college, Sir Parshurambhau college, Symbiosis International University and Tikaram Jagannath College in Khadki.

Gaurav Chavan, a CYG volunteer said, “This is a big event for the city and the PMC should keep politics out of this. The civic body will have to contribute if the city’s infrastructure has to improve. This is a great opportunity to let the world know about our city and we should not leave a single stone unturned in the process.”

The students will take to roads on Friday and will also encourage public participation. Kartik Kamble, a student of MMCC said, “As a youth I understand that this event is very important for the city and I am disappointed that the PMC has no realised it.”

Ganesh Jadhav, who also signed the banner in support of the campaign said, “I am not associated with the Games, yet I feel that if the city is hosting this event of international stature the civic administration should go in full support of it.” The All India Senior Citizens’ Confederation has also extended its support to the agitation.

The NCP, the BJP and the Shiv Sena had rejected the proposal on Wednesday. Their contention was that the PMC cannot not afford to spend people’s money on publicity and cultural programmes. In turn, the Congress and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena…More