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TOI : What started as a way of studying the Holocaust in a US school culminated into the children cultivating respect and tolerance for the victims of the genocide.

In order to understand the intensity of the tragedy and the size of the population cleansed’ in Europe over 60 years ago, the kids at the school in Tennessee collected over 16 million paper clips sent to them from all over the US and Europe. A learning experience that began in 1998 and ended in 2001.

During that period, American documentary filmmaker Joe Fab researched on the school’s unique activity and captured it on camera. Out came a thought-provoking film, Paper Clips’, that was released in 2004 and went on to earn numerous prestigious awards.

“These children were studying in a village that houses a Christian population. For the first time, they learnt about Jews, Germany and the Holocaust. The film is not just about the injustice that occurred decades ago, but also about these children learning to respect the pain of the victims and acquiring a better world-view through knowledge and tolerance through the paper clips,” says Fab, who interacted with students at Lalit Kala Kendra, University of Pune, after the film’s screening on Tuesday morning.

Today, the Tennessee school has a memorial dedicated to the Holocaust victims and the students work as guides to visitors.

Incidentally, Paper Clips’ was screened at the international film festival of Kerala 2008. Fab considers the film to be the high point of his filmmaking career. The project changed him as an individual. “I have travelled to South Africa, Mexico, Kuwait and now India, to show the film and interacted with students at schools, film institutes and colleges. The idea is to help them become young activists and encourage them to commit to do something constructive, starting now,” says Fab.

During his two-week stay in India, Fab conducted workshops…More

TOI : PUNE: Glue it on or clip it on, it’s as easy as wearing an earring. However, it’s far from being an ornament.

Maxillofacial surgery seeks to correct a wide spectrum of diseases, injuries and defects in the head, neck, face and jaw. It also deals with providing an artificial substitute for facial parts that may be missing from birth or following an accident and can be of immense help to its beneficiaries, helping them regain confidence.

The city-based Dr Rangoonwala dental college recently conducted a camp for maxillofacial rehabilitation where 50 patients were treated free of cost, and 20 doctors trained were by a team from UK.

“Various parts of the body from the pallet to the entire eye, eyeball, ear, nose, fingers etc, all can be restored using an artificial substitute. The artificial organs (prosthetics) look exactly like the real ones, but do not perform the functions of the organ,” said Mukund Kothavade, principal of the Rangoonwala Dental College.

The testimony of Anil Ghodekar, a student of animation who was born without an ear, leaves little doubt that the prosthesis really helps in boosting the confidence of those affected. “I was born without an ear and lived without one until now. But the prosthesis has helped me gain a lot of confidence. Earlier, everyone I met would ask me questions about my ear. Now I can stand in front of anyone and be myself without gaining unwanted attention,” Anil said.

The prosthesis looks and feels exactly like real flesh. Made of soft silicone, it is fitted using medical glue or implants. It can be taken off for maintenance and fitted back on using glue or a clip. Organic colours are used to match the skin tone of the real organ. “An organ is not uniformly coloured, so we mix various shades. We can even replicate the veins in the retina of the eye…More

TOI : PUNE: Vishwanath Dattatraya Nadkarni (34), branch manager of the ICICI Bank on Ghole road, on Tuesday registered a case against an unknown person for stealing Rs 10 lakh from the bank.

Inspector Sampatrao Patil (crime) of the Shivajinagar police station said that Nadkarni’s complaint states that Rs 59 lakh had been distributed the previous day to two cash counters and Rs 10 lakh had gone missing between 1.15 pm and 1.30 pm.

According to Patil, the peon who counted the cash had handed it over to the cashiers at counters number one and two for the day’s transactions. When the bank’s van came to collect the cash, however, Rs 10 lakh was found missing.

Patil said investigations have revealed that the close circuit cameras installed at the bank were switched off at the time of the incident. The police have called the bank officials to record their statements, he added. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: Joint commissioner of police Rajendra Sonawane (law and order) on Wednesday said that the Pune police have taken a number of measures to regulate vehicular traffic on the New Year’s eve.

According to Sonawane, the police will be erecting iron barricades at strategic locations to control speed limit and rash and negligent driving as the police anticipate that the public will throng the city roads in large numbers to celebrate arrival of the new year.

The police will also launch a drive against drunk driving and take strict action against those found driving under the influence of liquor.

All the police stations were asked to check hotels, lodges and crowded places as a preventive measure to avert any untoward incident, Sonawane added.

The joint commissioner said that the parties organised at hotels, restaurants, clubs and other places will be treated as public functions and warned the organisers that they will not be allowed to continue the party beyond midnight.

Police commissioner Satyapal Singh has delegated powers to the zonal deputy commissioners to grant permission to hotels, restaurants and clubs to hold parties on December 25 and 31.

The state government has not issued any instructions for relaxing the time limit, Sonawane said and added that the police have also launched a drive against foreigners. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: During the general body (GB) meeting of the PMC, Shiv Sena corporator Sachin Bhagat barged into the GB hall and tried to immolate himself as water is being supplied at odd hours and inadequately in areas like Wadgaon Sheri.

Even as discussions on other issues were on in the GB, Bhagat, who was wearing clothes with slogan give us water’ written all over, suddenly stormed into the hall and stood in the well of the house and raised the water issue. While he was trying to light a matchstick, security guards and other corporators stopped him.

“The residents in my area have been facing water problems for many years. Injustice is being done to them. When water is supplied, it is at unearthly hours. We have to stay awake till 2 or 3 pm. We are left with no option but to come in front of PMC and immolate ourselves,” Bhagat said.

He threatened that if water is not supplied at 8 am from Thursday, citizens will agitate in front of the PMC.
While mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale severely objected to the means adopted by Bhagat to raise the issue, municipal commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi assured him that water supply to the area will be streamlined.

“Work on the Holkar water plant and distribution network is complete. We had infact begun supplying water, but since the pipelines were being used for the first time, turbid water was being supplied. I promise that adequate water will be supplied on time henceforth,” Pardeshi said. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: Six child labourers and beggars were found at Urali Devachi garbage depot and traffic junctions along Jangli Maharaj road on Wednesday, during the ongoing drive against child labour undertaken by the district administration, labour commissioner office, police, women and child welfare office and non-governmental organisations like Childline.

During the first two days of the drive, over 130 enterprises in the city were inspected, mainly food and beverage outlets.

Speaking to TOI on Wednesday, Ravindra Pardeshi, assistant labour commissioner said that three child labourers were found at Urali Devachi garbage depot and three were found at traffic junctions. “They were sent to the child welfare committee where further procedures will be completed,” he said.

A task force was specially formed by district collector Chandrakant Dalvi to conduct regular raids at various places in the city from Monday as part of a monthly drive against child labour.

In the last two days, the task force raided more than 130 enterprises, mainly food and beverage outlets. “On Monday, the raids were conducted in the area near MIT college in Kothrud, Paud road and Vimannagar, in which a child from Bihar was rescued from a fast food joint. He will be sent back home after completing formalities such as medical tests, a detailed report and filing a case against the employer,” said Sambhaji More, assistant labour commissioner.

On Tuesday, raids were conducted at eateries and garages on the road stretch from BMCC to Chatushrungi and at Koregaon Park area but no child labourers were found, he added.

More was unable to explain why no child labourer had been found despite various tip-offs given by social activists. Anuradha Sahasrabuddhe, director of Childline, a 24-hour helpline for children in distress said, “It is impossible that no children were found working at any of these food joints. Every day we see these children serving people. Areas such as eateries…More

TOI : PUNE: Tempers ran high during the Pune Municipal Corporation’s general body meeting on Wednesday when civic officers failed to give satisfactory replies to questions raised by elected members regarding the status of land ownership in Parvati.

Chaos prevailed for over an hour in the House after Congress corporator Sunil Nande raised a question whether a piece of land on Taljai hill in Parvati belonged to the Pune Municipal Corporation and whether the stall owners operating there were legal. The elected members became furious when it took more than half-an-hour for the officers to respond to the query.

Leader of the House Anil Bhosale said, “The question was tabled for discussion two months ago, but had to postponed as the officers had then asked for more time. Even at that time they were not ready with the answers.” The officers’ lackadaisical attitude will not be tolerated any more, he added.

Although the officials tried to explain to the leaders that the matter was related to different departments and would take time to reply, the corporators were in no mood to listen and urged the mayor to take note of the matter.

Mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale said, “I agree that such instances have been happening repeatedly in the past few months. The issue needs to be looked into as the officers were behaving irresponsibly.” Action will have to be taken against the officers as they were taking the elected members for granted,” she added.

Nande was not satisfied when the officers finally replied to his query, stating that they were lying and shying away from speaking up.

Finally, it was municipal commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi who told the House that the boundary of the land in question was disputed and that he would ensure that measurements of the land were taken. “If it is found that the stalls are illegal, we will evict them. I will table…More

TOI : Christmas bears witness to God’s love for each and every human being and teaches us about his/her dignity. Violence means utter disregard for the sacredness of the dignity and life of the other person. Who are we to look down upon, reject or attack someone whom God loves.

Christmas brings home to us not only God’s love, but also his forgiveness. Jesus came to die ultimately for the forgiveness of our sins. Christmas season is a special time for forgiveness and reconciliation. New clothes should be an expression that we have clothed ourselves with kindness, compassion and goodness.

The spirit of Christmas lies in giving rather than in receiving. Our joy is much greater and lasts very long when we bring joy into the lives of others, especially the lives of the poor, the lonely and the marginalised.

Christmas expresses our belief that God takes on a human face. The feast thus challenges us to find God in very human being, irrespective of caste, creed and colour. It is an occasion for us to take concrete steps to promote communal harmony.

I wish all our fellow-citizens a joyful and a peace-filled Christmas.

Rt Rev Valerian D’Souza
Bishop of Poona Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: Squares, cubes, cylinders, circular pots and other geometrical shapes are usually seen only on blackboards during a mathematics class. Now, these shapes can be made with a piece of paper and their volume can be found too.

The latest technique to bring back the zing among schoolchildren for mathematics is Origami, the ancient Japanese art of folding paper to make decorations in the form of butterflies, birds and other animals. As Ravindra Keskar, a Mumbai-based Origami expert, was conducting a workshop at the Muktangan Exploratory Science Centre, geometric shapes came alive through paper.

Around 50 students and teachers participated in the event. “I never thought maths was so simple,” Diksha Ranpise, a student of Kendriya Vidyalaya (Rangehills) who participated in the workshop, said.

The participants folded the papers a number of times, following Keskar instructions, to produce attractive square, rectangular and even pot shapes, that too without using glue or a pair of scissors.

Diksha said, “I never thought I would sit in a math class for so long. It just made difficult things look simpler and even added dimensions to the shapes that we only saw on blackboards.”

Keskar told TOI that this is the ideal strategy to develop the mathematical skills of children. “The kids fear the subject unnecessary. They become worried when they see Xs’ and Ys’ on the blackboard. Maths is not about Xs’ and Ys’, but it is about sensing it. So touch is important. Thus Origami makes the dreaded subject an exciting game,” Keskar said.

Rutuja Chikate, a teacher from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, said, “When we make these paper models, we are actually handling squares and rectangles. It is so simple thereafter to find the relationship between the volume of, say, a square and its area. Teaching all this on the blackboard and actually handling these shapes is an altogether different ball game. Definitely, the kids…More

TOI : PUNE: With the financial year nearing its end, it’s time for elected members to divert funds for development works.

The general body meeting of the Pune Municipal Corporation on Wednesday approved nearly 25 proposals of fund diversion. The funds, which were earmarked for works mentioned in the budget, were diverted to incomplete projects.

“Many projects are mentioned in the budget on the behest of elected representatives and funds are divided for the works. However, at the year-end, when elected representatives realise that it is not possible to complete the works due to insufficient funds, they demand diversion of the funds from one work to another,” said an official.

The massive diversion of funds confirms the municipal commissioner’s stand that there was need to focus on certain projects than launching several projects at a time. The GB also approved the civic administration’s proposal to divert Rs 20.935 crore for completion of roads, water works and sewage treatment plants.

According to the proposal, the road department needs Rs 26.40 crore, water supply department, Rs 13 crore and the sewage treatment plant works need Rs 97.40 crore for speedy completion. The civic administration had sought the GB’s permission for internal provision of Rs 20.935 crore.

The civic administration stated that major works, including Mundhwa road, North Main road NDA-Bavdhan road, Sinhagad road and Paud road, need to be completed soon. Besides, work on Holkar and Pune Cantonment water works was pending due to shortage of funds. Work on the Vitthalwadi STP and Naidu STP has also not been completed. Of the 700 MLD sewage water generated in the city, only 305 MLD is treated, which is posing a threat to rivers. Print Emai…More