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TOI : Don’t resign to despair that cancer cannot be cured. There’s more to life than the disease. This is what oncologist Anuradha Sowani’s initiative, Sadaphuli, has been propagating, in an effort to provide a healthy existence despite living with the condition.

Sowani started the project a year ago, to provide cancer-related support, counselling, information and most importantly, rehabilitation, free of cost. “The aim is not just to provide medical support to cancer patients, but to help them and their families go beyond drugs, to seek inspiration and live a full life,” she says.

The patients meet once in a month. In the age group from 20 to 90, most of them are undergoing treatment. Sowani encourages their family members to be a part of the Sadaphuli sessions as well.

Each session focuses on a cancer-related topic. Informative talks by dieticians on healthy recipes, sports medicine experts on special exercises, arts and crafts therapy, music and singing lessons are offered to help patients get a grip over their lives and battle the ailment positively.

“Initially, the patients have the why me?’ question bothering them. But over a period of time, they learn to handle the situation better. At Sadaphuli, we encourage them to come forward and share their experiences with the rest,” says Sowani.

She cites examples of cured cases. For instance, a patient a young boy who was inflicted with leukaemia 14 years ago is now a mechanical engineer and leads a healthy life. Her other patients, two 80-plus cancer-ridden senior citizens often highlight the importance of change in attitude for the better, perseverance, a meticulously planned daily routine, discipline, and positive well-being as the ways to deal with the disease.

A Sadaphuli session held last June had 20 former cancer patients coming forwards and narrating their success stories. “They succeeded only because of solid family support and discipline,” says Sowani.

A former…More

TOI : PUNE: Citizens observed the 52nd mahaprinirvan divas’ of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the father of Indian Constitution, on Saturday in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad township.

Pune mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale garlanded the statue of Ambedkar near the district collectorate. Bapusaheb Bhosale, the founder and national president of Dalit Panther of India (DPI), also garlanded the statue. Mehboob Shaikh, the DPI Pune city unit’s vice-president and Nilesh Ovhal, the DPI city unit’s general secretary were present during the occasion.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organised a programme to pay tributes to Ambedkar at the party office at 11 am. Girish Bapat, the BJP city unit’s president, garlanded the statue of Ambedkar at the party office and near the district collectorate.

The Matang Samaj Samiti, Pune city and Republican Yuva Morcha had also organised various programmes. Dr. Pandit Vidyasagar, the University of Pune’s acting vice-chancellor, garlanded the statue of Ambedkar at the university campus. Former justice B G Kolse-Patil and office bearers of Yuva Bharati, Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, Phule-Ambedkar Vichar Prasarak Manch, Bauddha Sahayak Sangh, Akhil Bharatiya Safai Mazdoor Congress, Pune University Karmachari Sangh, Samajik Ekta Parishad, Panther Sanghatna, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Shikshak Sanghatna, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar chair and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Studies Centre were present during the occasion.

Thousands of people from Pimpri-Chinchwad township also paid floral tributes at the Ambedkar statue in Pimpri on Saturday. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: Members of the NCP and the BJP say that the Pune Municipal Corporation is pandering to the city’s non-motorised transport cell and is messing with the city’s traffic problems.

Speaking to reporters, senior BJP corporator Vikas Mathkari and NCP’s Nilesh Nikam said, “Some city NGOs bully the civic administration as regards the city’s traffic and transport. The activists, who claim to be experts of traffic and transport, are misguiding the civic administration.”

Mathkari and Nikam said that the non-motorised transport cell, which comprises civic activists, recently recommended removal of crash barriers on roads from V S Khandekar chowk to Maharshi Dadhichi chowk. “The crash barriers were put up recently during the Commonwealth Youth Games after local people demanded it. Considering the heavy traffic on the road and the number of school students using the footpath, the barriers were put up and cost Rs 20 lakh. Then, civic activists in the transport cell recommended removal of the barriers and the civic administration acted immediately and removed the crash barriers three days ago,” said Mathkari.

Nikam added that the road had witnessed accidents where vehicles climbed onto the footpath and injured pedestrians. “We denounce the civic administration’s decision to remove crash barriers on the recommendation of the transport cell which has no constitutional base. Without consulting local elected representatives, the administration is listening to the civic activists and putting the lives of citizens at risk.”

When contacted, civic activist Jugal Rathi, a member of the non-motorised transport cell said, “We are not constitutional body, but we want to help the civic administration in traffic and transport matters. We had observed that the crash barriers were actually creating inconvenience to pedestrians and were encroaching upon footpaths which are already small.” He added that the cell only puts forward its observations, the civic administration has a final say on any matter. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: The anti-extortion cell of the Pune crime branch, Pune has arrested two suspects for allegedly forging documents in order to sell land at survey no 25/3 in Mohammedwadi in 2002.

The police have identified the suspects as Popat Baban Bhangire (30) and Kanifnath Gulab Ghule (38), both from Mohammedwadi.

According to the police, Bhangire and Ghule had registered a sale deed in respect of survey no 25/3 in Mohammedwadi at the sub-registrar’s office at haveli no 2.

At the time or registering the deed, the suspects had prepared a fake 7/12 extract, showing that there was land available at the survey even though there was not.

The suspects forged the signature of land owners Prabhakar Manahubhkav and Bhalchandra Barne and sold the property to Shashi and Aditya Balhara of Kondhwa, said the police.

After the fraud came to light, farmer Ramdas Dnyanoba Kamte of Phursungi registered a case of cheating and forgery against the suspects under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The Pune Cantonment court has remanded the suspects to police custody till December 8. Assistant police inspector Chandrakant Thakur of the anti-extortion cell is investigating the case. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: Two suspects, arrested for allegedly looting a courier of gold ornaments worth over Rs 9.95 lakh, were remanded to police custody on Saturday.

Sham Kisan Kamble (29) and Tukaram Kerba Kamble (29), both from Ramtekdi, had been arrested earlier by a police team led by inspector Ram Pathare of the crime branch. The police recovered booty worth over Rs 2,47,500 from them.

The crime branch handed over the suspects to the Hadapsar police after sustained interrogation revealed that they had robbed a courier person in Hadapsar-Gadital on November 11.

According to the police, the victim, Champalal Jain (45), purchases gold on a commission basis from jewellers in Mumbai and sells them to jewellers at Latur, Udgir and Karnataka.

On the day of the robbery, Jain was waiting at Gadital for a private tourist bus in order to get to Udgir, when some men in an Indica offered him a lift till Latur.

After a while, the car stopped. The suspects threatened Jain and stole his gold ornaments, cash and a mobile phone, together worth Rs 9,95,510.

On Saturday, the men were produced before judicial magistrate first class A M Patankar at the Pune Cantonment court at 2.30 pm.

Assistant public prosecutor Rajani Naik told the court that custodial interrogation of the suspects was required in order to trace their associates and recover the rest of the booty.

Naik sought time to recover the white Indica, allegedly used in the crime, and in order to confront the suspects with another suspect, Vijay Kamble, who had been arrested earlier and is in police custody till December 10. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: While cyber criminals world-over are driven by similar knowledge of technology, the key difference lies in the “motivation behind the crime”, says Chris Goggans, a celebrated American hacker and computer security expert.

Pointing out that internet security issues are as a rising concern all over the world, Goggans said that the Russian mafia account for the “most organized” cyber crimes. “The most serious cyber crimes are from Russia and China. While most of the cyber crimes from Russia are financial in nature (stealing credit card number, bank account details), crimes emanating from China are related to theft of intellectual property, government information and military data,” Goggans said.

“The cyber criminals in South America, Brazil, Korea, Europe are not involved in very sinister crimes. They are mainly into hacking for proving themselves,” he added.

Goggans has the unique distinction of having broken into the system of America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) within six hours to uncover potential security threats for the US government. “Often, making leeways in the norms set by the parent company for small comforts creates major hurdles in the security system,” Goggans said.

Claiming that he hasn’t “seen much cyber crimes” from India, Goggans said that it may be because of the low proportion of cyber crimes, or simply that it may have skipped his eye.

Explaining the nature of cyber crimes in the US, he said that it is motivated mostly by revenge and malicious intent. “Holding network administrators hostage by stealing passwords, crashing database by a sacked worker, sending hate email… those are the crime Americans indulge in. While it is certainly annoying to clean up after such a crime, it is not threatening,” he said.

Goggans put forth a simple two-point agenda to ensure cyber security of the average person connecting to the world wide web. “Keep your software and computer updated every day. As soon…More

TOI : PUNE: As the new government in the state gets its act together in Mumbai, three city Congress MLAs are busy lobbying for a ministerial berth in chief minister Ashok Chavan’s cabinet.

Congress MLAs Balasaheb Shivarkar, Chandrakant Chhajed and Ramesh Bagwe feel that they have a fair chance get on board the new cabinet.

Talking to TOI on Saturday, Shivarkar, who represents Pune cantonment assembly constituency, said, “I would only say that I am in Mumbai and I am putting in my efforts to get a place in the new cabinet.”

Parvati MLA Ramesh Bagwe is playing the community card to convince the party high command. “I am the only Matang community MLA in the Congress party. I am sure that if the community gets representation in the state cabinet, the 75-lakh strong Matang community members in the state will support the party in the forthcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections”.

However, Chandrakant Chhajed, MLA from the Bopodi assembly constituency, is playing safe. “I am not lobbying for the ministerial berth, but I feel that Pune should be represented in the cabinet. The high command should at least consider one of the three party MLAs from Pune.”

For the last two years, every time there were talks of a cabinet expansion, city MLAs waited for a ministerial berth, though usually in vain. With a new government coming in, MLAs are yet again vying for a cabinet berth.

“Pune is a growing city. It needs proper representation to push forward pending matters like the PMRDA. Also, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has a strong grip over the Pune district politics, due to its clout in the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations. Also, it is in control of the zilla parishad and the co-operative sector. The Congress party needs to strengthen its MLAs by giving them cabinet berths, so that they are able to lock…More

TOI : PUNE: Private practitioners in Pimpri and Chinchwad have been asked to inform the nearest civic hospital should they come across cases of dengue in the township. The new directive, it is hoped, will enable the health department to take the necessary measures to contain the disease.

Speaking to TOI on Saturday, R R Iyer, medical director of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), said this was decided at a meeting held at Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH) in Pimpri recently.

The meeting was held to bolster links between private doctors and doctors at the eight municipal hospitals in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Forty private doctors and 30 doctors of civic hospitals participated.

“Private doctors should inform the nearest civic hospital of dengue patients receiving treatment in their area. We have two employees at the civic hospitals whose job it is to spray insecticide in and around the homes of dengue patients,” said Iyer.

“Doctors can phone the nearest hospital and the PCMC will be able to take quick, preventive measures. The doctor only needs to inform the civic hospital of the name of the patient and his address.”

The civic hospitals in Pimpri-Chinchwad are the YCMH, Jijamata hospital in Pimpri, Talera hospital in Chinchwad and hospitals at Akurdi, Sangvi, Bhosari, Moshi and Yamunanagar. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: A 25-year-old businessman allegedly committed suicide on Saturday afternoon by shooting himself in his house at Bhosalenagar.

The deceased has been identified as Vikas Giridharimal Chandanani (25) a resident of B-602 Kasturkunj, Bhosalenagar. Chandanani shot himself with his licensed revolver. Before this, he allegedly fired a bullet into the duct outside his bathroom, the police said.

According to senior inspector Sheshrao Suryavanshi of the Chatushrungi police station, “Chandanani’s mother Vinita and three-year-old daughter were at home at the time of the incident. Chandanani’s father had gone out and his wife was in Jaipur, on a visit to her parents’ house.

Sub-inspector S A S Sayyad is investigating the case. “Chandanani woke up at 12 pm on Saturday,” he said. “He refused to have breakfast and went to the bathroom around 12.30 pm. After half an hour, when he didn’t come out, his mother started knocking on the door, but there was no response from inside. She immediately called her husband, who returned home and forcibly opened the door. Chandanani was lying in a pool of blood,” said Sayyad.

“We immediately went there with ballistic and forensic experts,” he added. “We discovered that, before he shot himself at the head, Chandanani had fired a bullet into the bathroom duct. We recovered two empty cartridges from the spot. We did not find a suicide note.”

Former district government pleader Ashok Mulchandani who is related to Chandanani told TOI, “I was shocked after hearing the news. On Friday night I met Vikas at a private party. He seemed all right. His father had recently undergone angioplasty. After the incident, he has been admitted to the cardiac care unit of a private hospital.”

According to Mulchandani, Chandanani owned two wine shop in Kothrud and Chinchwad. He also dealt in real estate and the construction business. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: Taking a cue from the recent R R Patil episode, the Congress’ city unit has organised a two-day workshop, which started on Friday, for its leaders to improve their speaking skills. Deputy chief minister R R Patil was forced to resign as his small thing…’ comment on the Mumbai terror attack drew a lot of flak.

Abhay Chhajed, the city Congress chief, said, “Due to the media’s influence, politicians like R R Patil lost his position. The media has a wide reach and influence over the society. Henceforth, a politician will have to think twice before making a statement.”

“Now, working for the society is not sufficient, the party-workers need to develop communication skills through which the party’s performance can be effectively communicated to the people. At the same time, they should be aware of the current affairs and should address these issues during rallies,” said Chhajed.

Rajani Patil, the vice chairman of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee said, “Your one statement can ruin your career. When you are talking to media or addressing the public, you should be careful about the content and whether you are communicating it to them properly.”

Chhajed also pointed out that many Congressmen do not have any knowledge of the party’s history and legacy. Mahatma Gandhi had shown us the way during the party’s early days and the Congress is still toeing the same line. “The party workers have to be aware of the history. We need to tell people about the legacy we are carrying on our shoulders,” he added. Print Emai…More