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TOI : PUNE: As the monsoon draws closer, a flood control cell has been formed at the Pune Municipal Corporation headquarters and all the 14 ward officers have been given instructions about managing emergency situations.

A zonal officer has also been appointed for the period from June 1 to October 31 for flood management as well as relocating and rehabilitating residents residing near the Mula and Mutha rivers and nullahs.

An action plan has been prepared by the PMC and the fire brigade department, and all zonal offices and department heads have been instructed to be prepared for the onset of monsoon.

Citizens may call the flood control cell at the PMC headquarters on 25501263 or 25501262, the PMC 24-hour emergency cell on 25501130, Katraj lake flood control cell on 24370154, water supply department on 25501384 and road department on 25501018.

A circular has also been issued by the road department to look into the complaints of citizens during the monsoon season.

Instructions have been issued to telephone operators to submit a daily report to senior officials about the daily complaints by taking down all the details of all complains. This cell has been formed to keep track of the storm-water drains that have been cleaned, measures taken to ensure that there is no water-logging on roads and repair of potholes. Related complaints can be made on 25501083. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: As the monsoon draws closer, a flood control cell has been formed at the Pune Municipal Corporation headquarters and all the 14 ward officers have been given instructions about managing emergency situations.

A zonal officer has also been appointed for the period from June 1 to October 31 for flood management as well as relocating and rehabilitating residents residing near the Mula and Mutha rivers and nullahs.

An action plan has been prepared by the PMC and the fire brigade department, and all zonal offices and department heads have been instructed to be prepared for the onset of monsoon.

Citizens may call the flood control cell at the PMC headquarters on 25501263 or 25501262, the PMC 24-hour emergency cell on 25501130, Katraj lake flood control cell on 24370154, water supply department on 25501384 and road department on 25501018.

A circular has also been issued by the road department to look into the complaints of citizens during the monsoon season.

Instructions have been issued to telephone operators to submit a daily report to senior officials about the daily complaints by taking down all the details of all complains. This cell has been formed to keep track of the storm-water drains that have been cleaned, measures taken to ensure that there is no water-logging on roads and repair of potholes. Related complaints can be made on 25501083. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: The Cantonment police on Sunday arrested two persons for allegedly manhandling an employee of the Cantonment hospital for not providing them prompt treatment.

The police have identified the suspects as Neelam Makwana (25) and Sudhir Chavan (19), both residents of M G road. The complaint in this regard has been lodged by the hospital’s receptionist Sunil Salunkhe (25) of Hingne.

According to the police, both Makwana and Chavan were bitten by a rat at their residences on Sunday night. They rushed to the causality ward of the Cantonment hospital to seek treatment. However, the doctors in the hospital were treating a woman. “The hospital staff asked the duo to wait for a while and started the procedure for their treatment,” sub-inspector Jyoti Rajeshirke said.

Rajeshirke said the duo insisted on being treated immediately. They got furious and slapped Salunkhe and also abused the doctors in the hospital. They also tore pages of the register kept on the counter, Rajeshirke said.

The duo was arrested and booked under section 353 of the Indian Penal Code for deterring a government servant from discharge of his duties, the police said. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: The Cantonment police on Sunday arrested two persons for allegedly manhandling an employee of the Cantonment hospital for not providing them prompt treatment.

The police have identified the suspects as Neelam Makwana (25) and Sudhir Chavan (19), both residents of M G road. The complaint in this regard has been lodged by the hospital’s receptionist Sunil Salunkhe (25) of Hingne.

According to the police, both Makwana and Chavan were bitten by a rat at their residences on Sunday night. They rushed to the causality ward of the Cantonment hospital to seek treatment. However, the doctors in the hospital were treating a woman. “The hospital staff asked the duo to wait for a while and started the procedure for their treatment,” sub-inspector Jyoti Rajeshirke said.

Rajeshirke said the duo insisted on being treated immediately. They got furious and slapped Salunkhe and also abused the doctors in the hospital. They also tore pages of the register kept on the counter, Rajeshirke said.

The duo was arrested and booked under section 353 of the Indian Penal Code for deterring a government servant from discharge of his duties, the police said. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: The state may witness a substantial increase in the number of arts, science, commerce and law degree colleges in the impending 2009-10 academic year.

Proposals for as many as 2,064 new colleges from different state universities have been forwarded for approval by a high-powered committee of the state department of higher education in Mumbai, Rambhau Kirdak, state director of higher education, told TOI here on Monday. This includes proposals for 162 new colleges in areas under the University of Pune (UoP).

The months of June and July are usually seen as the time when the department of higher education clears proposals for new colleges, depending upon the demand for courses in areas under different state universities as well as the local requirement.

The clearance process gains momentum particularly after the declaration of the state education board’s higher secondary certificate (HSC, Std XII) results, which are due on June 4 this year.

While it is highly unlikely that all the 2,064 proposals would get cleared this year, the education department officials expect a substantial number of new colleges to add to the existing 2,144 arts, science, commerce and law colleges in the state this year. Consequently, this will lead to an enhanced intake of students at the undergraduate level studies.

According to Kirdak, a sizeable number of the proposed new colleges have opted to offer bachelors degree courses in computer application (BCA), business administration (BBA) and business management (BBM-IB), among others. These courses are offered under the commerce stream.

Of the existing 2,144 colleges, 1,126 are aided institutions and 1,018 are in the non-aided sector, he said.

The Rashtra Sant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University has moved the highest number of proposals for new colleges (630), followed by Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University (530) and Nanded University (257), he said. Another 192 proposals originated from the Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University at Aurangabad and…More

TOI : PUNE: In about nine months from now, the University of Pune would become the first fully-computerised or “smart” university in Asia.

Speaking to TOI on Monday, UoP vice-chancellor Narendra Jadhav said he plans to make the varsity and all affiliated institutes fully-computerised by February 10 next year, the UoP’s 62nd foundation day.

“We are working out the cost to be incurred on the exercise. It will improve performance by 300 to 400 per cent. We have already made the university campus fully-computerised in the first phase,” he said.

Earlier, Jadhav said the university is involved in negotiations with several manufacturers for its ambitious project to provide a laptop to each student and teacher at not more than Rs 10,000. He was speaking at a seminar on technology trends in higher education at the Audyogik Shikshan Mandal (ASM) campus in Pimpri on Monday.

“The laptops will be internationally branded. If we offer them at a lower price, then everyone can have one. Teachers should also be able to handle laptops,” Jadhav stated.

Besides, all teaching and non-teaching staff working on the campus can avail of a loan to buy a laptop. The principal will be paid from the salaries of the employees while the interest will be borne by the university. He added that the university is taking many measures to increase the skills of the students and teachers.

Jadhav stated that the curriculum of all 480 courses is also being revised. So far, the curriculum of 220 courses has been updated. The outdated character of the syllabi is evident when students, after completing their education, join a company and have to be trained for six to eight months before they finally start working, he said.

Jadhav said the UoP is implementing the triple connectivity programme, by which all affiliated 536 colleges and 330 institutes will be connected. This will revolutionise communication between…More

TOI : PUNE: The state may witness a substantial increase in the number of arts, science, commerce and law degree colleges in the impending 2009-10 academic year.

Proposals for as many as 2,064 new colleges from different state universities have been forwarded for approval by a high-powered committee of the state department of higher education in Mumbai, Rambhau Kirdak, state director of higher education, told TOI here on Monday. This includes proposals for 162 new colleges in areas under the University of Pune (UoP).

The months of June and July are usually seen as the time when the department of higher education clears proposals for new colleges, depending upon the demand for courses in areas under different state universities as well as the local requirement.

The clearance process gains momentum particularly after the declaration of the state education board’s higher secondary certificate (HSC, Std XII) results, which are due on June 4 this year.

While it is highly unlikely that all the 2,064 proposals would get cleared this year, the education department officials expect a substantial number of new colleges to add to the existing 2,144 arts, science, commerce and law colleges in the state this year. Consequently, this will lead to an enhanced intake of students at the undergraduate level studies.

According to Kirdak, a sizeable number of the proposed new colleges have opted to offer bachelors degree courses in computer application (BCA), business administration (BBA) and business management (BBM-IB), among others. These courses are offered under the commerce stream.

Of the existing 2,144 colleges, 1,126 are aided institutions and 1,018 are in the non-aided sector, he said.

The Rashtra Sant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University has moved the highest number of proposals for new colleges (630), followed by Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University (530) and Nanded University (257), he said. Another 192 proposals originated from the Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University at Aurangabad and…More

TOI : PUNE: In about nine months from now, the University of Pune would become the first fully-computerised or “smart” university in Asia.

Speaking to TOI on Monday, UoP vice-chancellor Narendra Jadhav said he plans to make the varsity and all affiliated institutes fully-computerised by February 10 next year, the UoP’s 62nd foundation day.

“We are working out the cost to be incurred on the exercise. It will improve performance by 300 to 400 per cent. We have already made the university campus fully-computerised in the first phase,” he said.

Earlier, Jadhav said the university is involved in negotiations with several manufacturers for its ambitious project to provide a laptop to each student and teacher at not more than Rs 10,000. He was speaking at a seminar on technology trends in higher education at the Audyogik Shikshan Mandal (ASM) campus in Pimpri on Monday.

“The laptops will be internationally branded. If we offer them at a lower price, then everyone can have one. Teachers should also be able to handle laptops,” Jadhav stated.

Besides, all teaching and non-teaching staff working on the campus can avail of a loan to buy a laptop. The principal will be paid from the salaries of the employees while the interest will be borne by the university. He added that the university is taking many measures to increase the skills of the students and teachers.

Jadhav stated that the curriculum of all 480 courses is also being revised. So far, the curriculum of 220 courses has been updated. The outdated character of the syllabi is evident when students, after completing their education, join a company and have to be trained for six to eight months before they finally start working, he said.

Jadhav said the UoP is implementing the triple connectivity programme, by which all affiliated 536 colleges and 330 institutes will be connected. This will revolutionise communication between…More

TOI : PUNE: While the authorities try to figure out the best possible way of buying buses to add to the existing fleet of Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) vehicles, city-based civic activist group Pedestrians First (PF) has said that the PMPML should retain its earlier decision of buying 650 non-AC buses, of which 80 per cent should be semi-low floor vehicles.

The activists have been pressing that the public transport system in the city be improved. The group has also said that buses should not be purchased under public-private partnership (PPP), since there is no such precedent, of a PPP operation in the public transport system, in the country.

In a letter sent to PMPML’s chairman and managing director Nitin Khade, PF convenor Prashant Inamdar said in case of a PPP, the operation and maintenance of buses would become the sole responsibility of the private operator. Thus, the PMPML would only get royalty and not have any control on the operations. It is possible that the private operator would run his vehicles with the sole objective of maximising profits. This, said Inamdar, would be at the cost of commuters’ convenience and public safety, and against public interest.

Also, Inamdar said the proposal to buy AC buses is not backed by any detailed study to prove there is such a prevailing demand among commuters. He said operations of existing AC buses on the Bus Rapid Transport route was not very encouraging. Earlier, when these buses had fares similar to normal buses, the resultant overloading around 70 passengers per bus as against the seating capacity of 38 affected the life of the bus. With the present fare being two-and-half times the normal fare, the occupancy has fallen, but the revenue continued to be more or less the same due to the higher fares. It was the public which was losing out in this case.

The activists group…More

TOI : PUNE: The Shiv Sena MP from Maval, Gajanan Babar, has demanded that the Pavana dam-affected farmers, as well as those whose land is to be acquired for laying the water pipeline from the dam to Nigdi, should be first rehabilitated or compensated adequately.

Babar made the demands at a meeting convened by district guardian minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday to discuss the issues raised by the farmers regarding the Rs 400-crore water pipeline project. The fate of the project has been hanging in balance for 13 months due to the opposition from the dam-affected farmers and others whose land is to be acquired for laying the 35-km pipeline.

Pawar has held several rounds of meetings with the farmers to get their support to the pipeline project. The project would bring water from the Pavana dam directly to Pimpri-Chinchwad. The foundation stone for the project of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation was laid on May 1, last year.

During Sunday’s meeting, Pawar said that the compensation packages for farmers had been worked out but some issues still remained. Another meeting would be held in Mumbai to discuss the issues of the dam-affected farmers, PCMC standing committee chairman Dnyaneshwar Bhalerao said.

TOI had reported last month that the fate of the pipeline project would largely depend on the stand taken by the newly-elected MP from Maval. After his election as MP, when asked about his stance on the project, Babar said that he was against the proposal of lifting water directly from the dam. He said the PCMC can continue to draw water released in the Pavana river from the dam. Print Emai…More