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TOI : PUNE: Sessions judge Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi on Wednesday deferred the order on the anticipatory bail applications filed by Congress vice president and PMC corporator Deepak Mankar in the alleged land grabbing case till Thursday.

The order was deferred so that the prosecution could complete its argument and respond to the issues raised by the defence lawyers.

Other suspects in the case are Sudhir Karnataki, Datta Sagre, Sadhana Vartak, Sudhir Dharmadhikari, Balwant Natu, Avinash Natu, Shrinivas Natu and Suhas Natu.

Defence lawyers S K Jain, Vijay Nahar, Harshad Nimbalkar and Sudhir Shah argued that the custodial interrogation of their clients was not essential as the complainant, Yashwant Natu, had filed a case against the suspects with the Khadaki police station after an inordinate delay of 15 months.

The lawyers submitted that the complainant had not explained the delay in reporting the matter to the police. The lawyers contended that there was a civil dispute going on between the Natu family and that nothing was to be recovered from their clients.

The defence lawyers added that the complainant had accepted Rs 1.25 crore from Karnataki and had sold the property at Shukruwar Peth to Mankar, but he had remained quiet for 15 months. The complainant withdrew the civil case sometime in March, but he never informed the court that the suspects had threatened him.

Later, the complainant had registered a case against the suspects for staking claim on his property. Mankar is the likely candidate for the assembly elections from the newly-formed Kothrud assembly constituency. The case against the suspects was registered because of an agitation launched by the Shiv Sena, the defence lawyers said, and prayed to release their clients on anticipatory bail.

Opposing the bail pleas, additional public prosecutor Neelima Vartak argued that the custodial interrogation of the suspects was required for determining their role in the case.

Vartak said Mankar had…More

TOI : AURANGABAD/PUNE: A three-month-old girl died after being administered the Diphtheria Peruses Tetanus (DPT) and Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccines at Kinkheda village in Mantha taluka of Jalna district, about 80 km from here, on Tuesday. Seven other children, who were given the vaccines, took ill and were admitted to hospitals in Jalna and Aurangabad.

Health authorities here have stopped the use of both the vaccines of the particular batch. “The use of these vaccines has been suspended in the entire state as a precautionary measure. A four-member team of experts was constituted on Wednesday to look into the incident. We are investigating whether the vaccines played any role in the death of the child,” said L N Dolas, deputy director of health services.

“The same vaccine batches were used in other villages but we received no such complaint,” he said.
“A post-mortem on baby Aarti Ashok Kharat was performed at the government medical college and hospital (GMCH) on Wednesday and we are waiting for the report to ascertain the cause of death,” Dolas said.

Meanwhile, the authorities have terminated the services of the auxiliary midwife, S S Kappe, and suspended the multipurpose worker, Y B Shaikh. When contacted, state immunisation officer Suresh Dhotre said that prime facie it appeared to be a case of medical negligence but a thorough investigation will make the picture clear.
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TOI : PUNE: Highlighting the issue of exorbitant parking fees being collected from citizens at commercial complexes, malls, multiplexes and private offices, various citizens groups have said that such collection of parking fees at public places is against the existing rules and that the Pune Municipal Corporation should prepare a new set of rules in this regard.

The citizens groups – Surajya Sangharsha Samiti, Creative Foundation, and Alert – have submitted a memorandum to municipal commissioner Mahesh Zhagade pointing out that the FSI for parking is not included in the total built-up area of the building, and hence collection of parking fees is against the rules. The groups have said that if the municipal corporation feels it necessary to grant permission to the commercial establishments to collect parking fees, the PMC should prepare the necessary rules.

The memorandum signed by former mayor Vandana Chavan of Alert, Vijay Kumbhar of the Surajya Sangharsh Samiti, and Sandeep Khardekar of Creative Foundation, also urges the PMC to make changes in the development control rules to prevent builders from selling the parking space in buildings. As the FSI for parking area is not considered in the total built-up area by the corporation, builders should not be allowed to sell the parking space, they said. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: In a bid to consolidate efforts to eliminate filariasis or elephantiasis a parasitic and infectious tropical disease that is caused by thread-like filarial nematode worms the central government, under the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), is all set to implement the co-administration of two drugs throughout the country from September this year.

Earlier, the Mass Drug Administration (MDA) programme envisaged the administration of just one drug in endemic areas only. Now, the two drug therapy will be implemented throughout the country.

The state health services has been given 2 million tablets of albendazole and DEC in the first phase. State entomologist A S Bhosale told TOI, “There are 17 endemic districts in the state. Earlier, only DEC tablet was administered under MDA. Now, a combination of albendazole and DEC will be given, not only in endemic districts, but throughout the state. This will further facilitate the effective elimination of lymphatic filariasis,” said Bhosale.

S B Nadoni, senior regional director, regional office for health and family welfare, Government of India said, “The primary goal is to eliminate microfilariae from the blood of infected individuals so that transmission of the infection by the mosquito can be interrupted. The combination drug therapy will further strengthen the efforts to eliminate the disease.”

“Both albendazole and DEC are effective in killing the adult-stage filarial parasites. It is clear that this anti-parasite treatment can result in the management of patients’ elephantiasis,” said Nadoni.

According to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report, a billion people in more than 80 countries are at risk of being infected by this disease. Over 120 million have already been affected and over 40 million of them are seriously incapacitated and disfigured by the disease. And one-third of the infected people live in India.

In tropical and subtropical areas where lymphatic filariasis is well-entrenched, the prevalence of infection is continuing to increase….More

TOI : PUNE: Indians, it seems, are the most optimistic about the vital components of their country’s economy as compared to their counterparts in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

A study by credit card issuer and financial powerhouse MasterCard, called The MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence’, underlines rising optimism levels in India, China and Vietnam in sharp contrast to a decline in other countries in the surveyed regions.

The survey measures consumers’ perceptions about five factors employment, economy, regular income, stock markets and quality of life in the six months ahead. The index is calculated with zero as the most pessimistic, 100 as most optimistic and 50 as neutral.

In Asia-Pacific, there’s a sharp divide between markets with consumers sinking into deeper pessimism and countries where consumer optimism has stood tall in spite of the general deterioration of economic conditions globally and at home.

India, in particular, stands out with consumer confidence actually increasing as compared to what it was six months back. Consumers in China and Indonesia are also confident about their future, though have a lower level of optimism.

The average consumer confidence score of markets in the Asia Pacific region, which is 38.7, has dipped from the six-months-old figure of 47.4 and the year-old figure 56.0. Only three of the 14 Asia-Pacific countries surveyed China, India and Vietnam are cheerful about the second half of 2009.

India (68.0) has the highest score in the Asia Pacific markets with Indian consumers optimistic about a regular income (70) and quality of life (74.5). The sharp rise in the overall consumer confidence index score was driven by high scores on three indicators: employment (up to 60 from 50.4 six months ago); economy (67.2, up from 50.4) and the quality of life (65.5, up from 51.0). However, the outlook on the other two indicators has declined from six months ago: regular income (70.0 against…More

TOI : PUNE: The department of social forestry will distribute over 20 lakh seeds of trees like neem, karanj, bamboo etc. among warkaris at Dive Ghat on June 19. The drive is meant to encourage warkaris to plant these seeds at their farms or other suitable places.

Addressing a news conference here on Wednesday, joint director of social forestry department Meyipokyim, said that seeds of neem, karanj, tamarind and bamboo will be packed in 10,000 eco-friendly packets and given to warkaris by 150 students of the green corps, that has been set up in schools by the social forestry department.

Another similar drive will be undertaken when the Palkhi enters Satara and Solapur districts during the annual pilgrimage from Dehu-Alandi to Pandharpur, he said, adding, “The warkaris will be asked to plant some of these seeds on the forest land near Wadki nullah. Green corps members will show the warkaris how the seeds should be planted.”

Another tree plantation drive will be undertaken at Katoba high school near Dive Ghat where a street play will also be staged. The department has also organised street plays on the environment all the way from Hadapsar to Wadki nullah. The participating schools include Sadhna Vidyalay (Hadapsar), Lonkar Vidyalay (Mundhwa), Bhekaraimata Vidyalay (Hadapsar), Samta Vidyalay (Urali-Devachi), New English School (Phursungi) and Nutan Madhyamik Vidyalay (Wadki).

“We run 150 eco-clubs in the city and 9,000 in the state,” said Meyipokyim, adding, “Around 4 lakh students are a part of our awareness programme.” The department will continue its efforts of seed distribution and afforestation till the Palkhi reaches Pandharpur. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), that is facing a shortage of investigators for conducting surveys, is planning to recruit them on a contract basis.

According to Servesh Kumar, the NSSO’s deputy director general, there is a shortage of around 600 investigators. The necessary permission for appointing the investigators on a contract basis has been sought from the government.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a three-day training programme for zonal officers at Kendriya Sadan in Akurdi on Wednesday, Kumar said that the Collection of Statistics Act is also on the cards in which there are certain provisions for imposing penalties if any individual or organisation refuses to give proper information.

He said that the NSSO has embarked on a major public awareness programme on surveys which are being conducted. He said that these survey cannot be carried out without the citizens’ active co-operation.

Kumar said that the 66th round of the NSSO will begin from July and end in June 2010. The focus this year will be on socio-economic survey and employment. The survey will be conducted by the existing investigators in about three lakh households across the country. The 65th round of the NSSO which began in July last year focused on domestic tourism and housing. The survey will end on June 30 after which the data will be analysed and the reports will be sent to the concerned ministries.

The NSSO has an elaborate and well-defined system to conduct the surveys and that there is no scope for any ambiguity or bias, Kumar said. The surveys are completed in a time-bound manner without a delay of even one day, he added.

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TOI : PUNE: Owing to significant rise in the number of cyber crimes, the country needs approximately 1.80 lakh security professionals to deal with the menace, said Harold D’Costa, director of Intelligent Quotient Security System (IQSS) on Wednesday while giving a live demonstration on how emails, websites or even phone numbers could be easily hacked. He stressed that everyone should have basic knowledge of cyber crime.

“The IQSS, in association with Abhinav Group of Institute and Mod Tech Engineering College, will launch short-term courses related to cyber crime and its prevention,” D’Costa said.

“You can become a victim of cyber crime anywhere, in a shopping mall, bank or even sitting at home. It is growing at a breathtaking pace. But our police force is still opening up to the idea and are not yet sufficiently equipped or trained to tackle the problem,” he said adding in the same breath, “However, the Pune cell is one of the best in the country.”

He also discussed kinds of cyber crime like cyber laundering, cyber tresspassing, cyber theft and cyber vandalism and demonstrated some of the basic ways of detecting them.

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TOI : PUNE: Four suspected cases of H1N1 flu, comprising a mother and her two children, who arrived from Singapore and a professional engineer who came down after a short stay in London, have been quarantined at the Naidu Hospital, officials of the state health services said on Wednesday.

“All the four are residents of the city. Their throat swab reports have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV),” said Kalyan Deshpande, acting assistant director of health services, Pune region.

The family, comprising a mother who is 30 years old and her two children, was quarantined late Tuesday evening. They showed typical symptoms of the flu like sore throat, fever, chills and bodyache. Of the children, one is girl child aged 12 and other a six years old boy. “They were referred to the Naidu hospital from a private practitioner whom they contacted after developing symptoms,” said Deshpande.

“The mother is a housewife and her husband is settled in Singapore for the last two years. The man who is engineer by profession was on a short stay in London. He was also referred to the Naidu Hospital by a private medical consultant on Wednesday and was quarantined immediately,” said Deshpande.

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TOI : PUNE: A woman doctor fell off from the fourth floor of a city-based hospital on Tuesday afternoon. The condition of the doctor identified as Kejadiwal (30) of Alephata in Junnar taluka, is reported to be critical, said the Vishrambaugh police.

According to the police, Kejadiwal had earlier attempted suicide by consuming several aspirin tablets at her residence in Alephata on June 14. She was shifted to this private hospital for treatment.

The police said Kejadiwal was being treated on the fourth floor of the hospital. On Tuesday afternoon she regained consciousness and some time later was found badly injured on the first floor wall of the hospital.

Sub-inspector A N Narute that the victim is undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit of the hospital. “We don’t know how she fell down. We are investigating the case,” Narute said.

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