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TOI : PUNE: Four shops, including a 90-year-old establishment, were gutted in a major fire on Moledina street in Khadki bazar early on Sunday morning. There were no casualties.

Cheap Jack General Stores, started during the British rule, was famous for selling military and police uniforms, badges, caps, nameplates and medals. The other shops gutted were Ganesh Laundry, Ganesh Cycle Mart and Ahura Garage.

The fire started around 1 am and fire personnel battled for three hours. Six fire tenders and four water tankers were pressed into service. While the exact cause of the fire has not been ascertained, fire brigade officials claim it was the result of a short circuit.

“A resident of the area, Ankush Kasavkar, saw smoke coming out of one of the shops and immediately called the owner and informed the fire brigade,” fire brigade officer Gajanan Patrudkar said.

“We reached the spot, but access was not easy due to the narrow lanes in the area. It took three hours to douse the fire completely. By that time, the shops were totally destroyed,” Patrudkar added. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: Star gazers in the city can look forward to an educative year ahead since astronomy associations are all set to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) in 2009.

The IYA is a global effort initiated by the International Astronomical Union and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The city’s astronomy associations have lined up a whole range of programmes, including telescope-making workshops, lectures and films on astronomy, for the whole year.

Akashmitra, an amateur astronomy association, will organise a lecture, Galileo: Adhunik Vidnyanacha Janak’, on January 1 to mark the beginning of IYA. During the event, scientist Jayant Naralikar and Manik Kotwal, author of the book Doordarshi’, will make presentations on the works and life of Galileo.

Rajeev Misra, IYA’s single point contact in India and a professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), told TOI, “About 400 years ago, Galileo used a telescope and changed the way we look at the universe. To mark this major event, we will celebrate 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy.”

The IUCAA will be co-ordinating IYA activities in India. Arvind Paranjpe, scientific officer, public outreach programme, IUCAA, said, “We will be keeping a tab on what is happening in other parts of the world and at the same time, co-ordinate the activities in the country. We will be conducting telescope-making workshops and public lectures.”

In Pune, the IYA project will be officially launched on January 10 and delegates from the Indian Space Research Organization, Vigyan Prasar, Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, National Council for Science Museum and other major organisations will take part in the event. For the first time, an astronomy float will be carried through Rajpath during the Republic Day Parade.

Vandana Singhal, Akashmitra’s vice-president, said, “We will conduct workshops to popularize astronomy at schools and colleges, primarily those run by the municipal corporations….More

TOI : PUNE: Celebrated in mid-January, the day of makar sankrant,’ magh bihu is the traditional festival of Assam. But, for the Assamese student community in the city, the festival comes early. My Home India, an NGO working for the welfare of the students from North East India, and Friends of Assam, will celebrate the festival in the city on December 29.

My Home India works towards creating awareness about the North East among the rest of India and offers assistance to students from the North East in pursuing education in other cities. It also works towards building a relationship between these students and the people of that particular city.

“Most students go back to Assam for the actual celebrations. We wanted to celebrate the occasion on a previous date, and this is the first time we will celebrate magh bihu in the city,” says Brahmadev Atkari, co-ordinator of My Home India for Mumbai and Pune. There are more than 2,000 students from Assam in Pune, he adds.

Also called bhogali bihu (the bihu of feasting), this is one of the three different bihu festivals celebrated in Assam. “Rongali bihu, the most popular of the three, is a spring festival and heralds the beginning of the Assamese New Year. It is celebrated in mid-April. The third festival is Kati bihu, celebrated in the month of October,” says Manish Bhuyan, a software engineer and member of both organisations.

Held over two days, celebrations start on the evening of the first day, called uruka,’ when the entire community gets together around a bonfire, called the meji,’ organise a community feast in the fields and stay awake the whole night singing bihu songs, playing the dhol and making merry. “The next morning, the actual day, we seek the blessings of the elders and light the bonfire. We throw pithas’ (rice cakes) and betel nuts in the fire, offer prayers, and…More

TOI : A 22-year-old labourer, who fell from a tractor succumbed to his injuries in hospital on Friday. The deceased was identified as Amol Mohan Gaikwad (22) of Hinjewadi. The Hinjewadi police have arrested the driver of the tractor, Navnath Kadam (22) of Man village in Mulshi. According to the Hinjewadi police, Kadam and Gaikwad were on their way to work at Hinjewadi on Thursday when the mishap occurred. Kadam was driving the tractor and Gaikwad was on his left. Gaikwad fell between the tractor and its trolley and received severe injuries. He was rushed to a hospital in Nigdi, where he succumbed during treatment, the police said.

In another incident, a 30-year-old labourer, Vinod Shankar Kamble of Talajai Vasahat, died after he fell from the fifth floor of a building in Sahakarnagar. The incident took place at noon on Sunday. The Sahakarnagar police have arrested labour contractors Lahu Misal (45) and Balu Vidhate (40), both from Sahakarnagar. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: For Anuj (name changed), pub hopping was a sport’ and shopping for party sprees was his favourite activity’. He met most of his friends in pubs, including his girlfriend.

“But for the last two months, I have been organising parties at home a few friends, music on the computer, and everyone gets a bottle of booze,” Anuj said.

The economic meltdown has forced Anuj and others like him to think twice before guzzling down spirits. Now, more and more people are shifting drinking venues from restaurants and pubs to their homes. “People can no longer afford to spend extravagantly in restaurants. They prefer drinking at their homes. Business in restaurants and bars has reduced by 8 to 10 per cent in the last month and a half,” explained Vijay Kutty, wholesaler of liquor and president of Pune district wine traders’ association.

Those who partied the most are also the hardest hit by the recession. “Bulk of our regular customers were IT & ITES professionals. The cost-cutting in the sector, with the added terror fear, has reduced business by 70 per cent in the last two months,” said Amit Joshi, senior operations manager, Mirchi Cola and Leather Lounge, popular watering holes in the city.

State excise superintendent Vijay Chinchalkar told TOI that while the alcohol sale continues to be higher than last year, it has been dipping for the last two months. “We expect the trend to continue,” Chinchalkar said. Attributing the reduction in “throat sale” (the amount of alcohol consumed in the district) to the economic meltdown, Chinchalkar said that while the situation in Pune city is “not very bad”, the condition in smaller towns and rural areas is “horrible”.

Adding salt to the wounds of restauranteurs is the smoking ban. The non-smokers, too, are opting to party at home, where their smoking’ counterparts are more at ease. “I don’t smoke, but my…More

TOI : PUNE: The traffic police will launch a drive to crack down on drunk driving on December 30 and 31.

When contacted by TOI, inspector Vijaykumar Palsule (planning) of the traffic branch said, “We began a drive against drunk driving on December 25 and arrested 20 such offenders on that day. Our efforts will be stepped up on December 30 and 31.”

Barricades would be put up on all major roads in the city. “The officials of the regional transport office will join us in the efforts,” Palsule added.

The traffic police on Friday procured two more breathe-analysers from Mumbai, taking up the number of such devices in their possession to seven.

The police now plan to issue notices on the spot to drivers found driving under the influence of alcohol. “They will be asked to give an explanation within seven days. If they fail to do so, stringent action will be taken against them,” Palsule said.

On Thursday, constable Macchindra Dhapte, who is attached to the police headquarters in Shivajinagar, was hit by a car driven by an allegedly drunk driver on Karve road. The Deccan Gymkhana police arrested the driver, businessman Nitin Pamnani, and his girlfriend, who was also purportedly in an inebriated condition. The police also recovered three bottles of liquor from Pamnani’s car.

According to sub-inspector U K Yadav of the Deccan Gymkhana police station, “Pamnani rammed into three motorcycles, including Dhapte’s. Dhapte sustained severe injuries in the mishap.” Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: As the city continues to grapple with traffic and mobility problems, 2009 may just be the year of some serious action towards addressing the woes of commuters.

Some of the possible developments in the coming year include strengthening of the public transport set-up, completion of the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) project, finding answers to taking the metro rail project forward and implementation of the recommendations made in this year’s Comprehensive Mobility Plan. The following months could also see the setting up of a Rs 2,600 crore urban transportation fund’ to boost the Pune Municipal Corporation’s efforts to put in place a better public transport system.

Also expected next year are further deliberations and a concrete action plan on the suggestions made by municipal commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi on raising funds for transport projects by various other means besides taxation. Pardeshi had also said that the objectives of the National Urban Transport Policy can be achieved in Pune only by emphasising on public transport and non-motorized transport. The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML), which completed one year of its existence this October, is also set to come up with a detailed plan on how the transport company can be improved. Says PMPML’s joint managing director Ajiz Karche, “We are currently working on a detailed plan to take the PMPML ahead. We will take into consideration various aspects such as the present fleet, how it can be improved, the improvement of depots, and so on. More importantly, we will make the plan public to ensure complete transparency.”

Karche says that the PMPML got a boost this year with nearly 200 new buses being procured. However, the transport company is still short by nearly 600 buses to cater to the needs of commuters. The year gone by saw a high-level discussion on ways to take the proposed metro rail project forward. Next year would see further discussions…More

TOI : PUNE: Sanjay Manohar Sonawane (42), a police constable of the Deccan Gymkhana police station, was caught red-handed on Saturday night by anti-corruption bureau (ACB) officials. He was accepting Rs 10,000 from a woman in return for not filing a case against her.

The woman had filed a complaint with the ACB on Saturday afternoon. Accordingly, around 9 pm, assistant commissioner of police Subhash Anirudha and police inspectors B R Patil and Arun Vaikar laid a trap at a hotel near the Deccan Gymkhana police station and nabbed Sonawane, while he was accepting the money.

According to the police, on December 24, Sonawane, deputed in the detection branch of the Deccan Gymkhana police station, accused the complainant of running a sex racket in the city. He threatened to take action against her and allegedly demanded Rs 3 lakh for not doing so.

“When the complainant told him it was not possible for her to pay such a huge amount, the deal was fixed at Rs 40,000. The complainant managed to collect Rs 30,000 and gave it to him. Sonawane kept her mobile phone and told her that he would return it only after receiving the rest of the money,” Anirudha said.

Sonawane then told the woman to bring the money to the hotel, where he was arrested. He was produced in court on Sunday and later released on bail, the police said. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: Every woman knows the worth of her kamvali bai’. Even as an increasing number of them spend long hours at work, the paucity of reliable help is felt by one and all. In the absence of any regulatory authority, domestic help across the city is randomly–and arguably–steeply priced. Everything boils down to your need quotient, ability to negotiate, and luck, of course.

Jiti Nahvi, a resident of the posh Koregaon Park area, pays her maid Rs 1,400 to sweep and swab and clean utensils for a family of two adults living in an 1100 sq feet, two bhk apartment. “Yes, it is steep, considering there are only two adult members–apart from my two-year-old son,” she says. “I think the maids here charge Rs 400 per job, and the prices vary depending upon the area of your house and the number of people living in it,” Jiti adds. Besides, she pays another maid Rs 1,200 just to dust, iron, wash a few clothes and chop vegetables. “I do the cooking myself. And each maid gets a meal here,” she informs.

Similarly, Pallavi Akkalkotkar pays her live-in maid Rs 2,500 over and above her meals, clothing, toiletries, outings and medical expenses. While another bai’ is paid Rs 1,500 to sweep, mop and clean utensils.

Both homemakers agree the prices are high, but don’t have much of a choice, considering they live in Koregaon Park, an upmarket locality. “In fact, I have heard of foreigners paying as much as Rs 10,000 to full-day maids with some English speaking skills to look after their homes and children,” says Pallavi.

Meanwhile in Lullanagar, Shanu Sabunani pays Rs 1,600 for sweeping the house, washing clothes, cutting vegetables and dusting. “I’m just a single person, living in a small flat, and my work doesn’t amount to more than an hour a day. Besides, I cook myself. Despite this, I’m charged such…More

TOI : PUNE: There is no end in sight to the woes of residents of the Chakrapani vasahat ward in Bhosari, who have been receiving worm-infested water supply for over five days. The residents plan to take out a morcha to the C Zone office of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) on Tuesday to demand clean drinking water.

The Chakrapani vasahat ward is located in Bhosari in the PCMC limits. The residents of some localities in this ward Phuge chawl, Landge chawl, Pacharne chawl, Karale chawl and the area near the old post office have been receiving drinking water contaminated drinking water containing worms for the last few days. The people have repeatedly complained to local corporator Sulochana Badhe, who belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), about the problem.

Speaking to TOI, Badhe confirmed that the residents of her ward are receiving contaminated water supply. “The people are agitated and are demanding clean drinking water,” she said.

Baban Badhe, vice-president of the Pimpri-Chinchwad unit of the BJP, said, “The water supply department officials have asked the locals to get new water connections from the new pipeline. For this, they will have to pay Rs 295 as fees to the PCMC. The total cost of taking a new connection is around Rs 1,000, which is unaffordable to many. Those already having water connections will also have to pay the amount. The PCMC should instead give free new water connections to people with existing water connections.”

Commenting on the issue, a civic water department official said, “The area receives water supply from pipelines laid over 20 years ago. The PCMC laid new pipelines in the ward six months back at a cost of around Rs 35 lakh. The people must take water connections from the new pipeline to avoid getting contaminated water,”

Reacting to Badhe’s demand for free new water connections, the official said, “The PCMC cannot…More