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TOI : PUNE: A group of warkaris has asked the state government to ban books that have allegedly defamed Lord Vitthal and Sant Dnyaneshwar said Vivekanand Vaskar, the head of Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Dindi.

Vaskar said that a meeting was held on Monday to discuss the issue at length. The discussions were held on various options of agitation. Options that were discussed include not entering Pandharpur or not allowing the chief minister to perform the Vitthal puja. We will wait for a few days to see what action the government takes. A final decision on the agitation will be taken on Saturday, he added.

Chief trustee of the Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Sanshtan Sudhir Pimple said that waris and gods are subjects of people s devotion. Actions that hurt their sentiments should be avoided. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: A group of warkaris has asked the state government to ban books that have allegedly defamed Lord Vitthal and Sant Dnyaneshwar said Vivekanand Vaskar, the head of Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Dindi.

Vaskar said that a meeting was held on Monday to discuss the issue at length. The discussions were held on various options of agitation. Options that were discussed include not entering Pandharpur or not allowing the chief minister to perform the Vitthal puja. We will wait for a few days to see what action the government takes. A final decision on the agitation will be taken on Saturday, he added.

Chief trustee of the Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Sanshtan Sudhir Pimple said that waris and gods are subjects of people s devotion. Actions that hurt their sentiments should be avoided. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: A group of warkaris has asked the state government to ban books that have allegedly defamed Lord Vitthal and Sant Dnyaneshwar said Vivekanand Vaskar, the head of Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Dindi.

Vaskar said that a meeting was held on Monday to discuss the issue at length. The discussions were held on various options of agitation. Options that were discussed include not entering Pandharpur or not allowing the chief minister to perform the Vitthal puja. We will wait for a few days to see what action the government takes. A final decision on the agitation will be taken on Saturday, he added.

Chief trustee of the Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Sanshtan Sudhir Pimple said that waris and gods are subjects of people s devotion. Actions that hurt their sentiments should be avoided. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: State energy minister Sunil Tatkare on Tuesday sought additional gas for the 1,220 MW extension of the gas-based Uran power project and timely supply of coal for thermal power plants in the state from the union government.

He made the demand at a meeting of all state energy ministers and union territories in New Delhi. Union energy minister Sushilkumar Shinde headed the meeting.

A statement issued by the Maharashtra State Electricity distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) said that the minister also appraised Shinde about growth of the existing power plants in the state. Tatkare said that the gas-based Uran power project is being extended to enhance power generation by 1,220 MW. He also highlighted the coal shortage experienced by thermal power plants here and urged Shinde to ensure timely supply of coal.

Tatkare also stated that Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) should be asked to supply requisite machinery and turbines for extensions of Parali, Paras, Khaparkheda, Bhusawal and Chandrapur power projects on time. If executed timely, this will help increase the state’s power generation by another 3,600 MW, Tatkare said.

He also told Shinde that the Maharashtra state power generation company was willing to enter into a joint venture with Atomic Energy Commission to increase electricity generation.

In the past six months, the state has succeeded in reducing load-shedding by three hours in rural areas and by one-and-a-half hours in urban areas, Tatkare informed the gathering. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: The number of throat swab samples being tested for the presence of the H1N1 virus at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) has increased seven-fold in the last few days.

The number, which was earlier restricted to 2 or 3 samples a day in May, has now jumped to around 20 samples a day, Mandeep Chadha, deputy director of NIV told TOI on Tuesday. The NIV has spent over 1 crore testing the samples arriving mainly from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, so far. The estimated cost per test is Rs 25,000.

“In the past few days, we have been getting around 20 samples every day,” said Chadha. These samples are mainly coming from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, she added.

“We have a field station at Bangalore and a surveillance project in Chennai. This makes it easier for the samples from these places to be collected and forwarded to us for testing,” said Chadha. Over 400 samples have been tested so far. The cost of the tests include expenses on reagents, other testing materials, transport etc.

“We put in our request for required funds to the Indian Council Of Medical Research (ICMR) and they grant us the funds required to carry out the tests,” said Chadha. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: In a bid to keep a check on the quality of secondary schools affiliated to the state board and to standardise them, the state government will soon start accreditation of the institutions.

State education minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil has already appointed the Quality Council of India (QCI) and Educare — a non-governmental organisation — for the job.

Speaking to TOI, Vikhe Patil said, “All state board schools will have to get themselves accredited. An advisory board will be formed at the state level, and a meeting will be held on June 25 in Mumbai to decide the terms of reference. An accreditation body, which will include senior officials from the education department and academicians, will be appointed soon to look after the process.”

Besides quality, the accreditation committee will monitor how effectively the schools were using the government grant, he added.

The accreditation will happen on the lines of the accreditation of colleges and universities done by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) appointed by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Meanwhile, a three-day orientation session for educational institutions to familiarise them with the concept concluded here on June 20. Representatives of institutions from Pune, Ahmednagar and Solapur attended the session.

According to Vipin Sahni, director, National Accreditation Board for Education and Training, QCI, “There are some key factors on which the schools will be judged. These include governance, curriculum, health and safety, infrastructure and the recommended improvement process. While accrediting the schools, we will not only ensure compliance, but see how effectively they are handling the complaints and at what rate improvements are being made.” Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: State finance minister Dilip Valse-Patil on Tuesday announced that the state government has sanctioned a Rs 13,500 crore plan for improvement of electricity generation, transmission and distribution in the state. Pune district is to get Rs 943 crore.

He made this announcement while performing the bhoomipuja’ of the Rs 2.14 crore Kandli sub-station of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) in Junnar taluka of Pune district.

Addressing the gathering, Valse-Patil said that from the funds allocated for development of power infrastructure in Pune district, Khed will get Rs 46 crore, Junnar Rs 37.43 crore and Ambegaon Rs 22 crore. “A 400 KV extra high voltage sub-station is being put up at Talegaon from the funds allocated by the Union government. There is no alternative supply line from Mumbai to cater to Pune city and Pimpri-Chinchwad and the Talegaon sub-station will address this problem,” the minister said.

Valse-Patil also stated that in view of the rapid industrial growth of Chakan area, a 220 KV sub-station was being constructed which would help meet Pune district’s increasing demand for power.

The minister said that for the Kandli sub-station the funds came from the rural electrification corporation, New Delhi. The sub-station will help correct voltage problems and benefit 720 agri pump sets, 1,179 residential consumers, 25 commercial establishments, 52 industries, three extra high voltage consumers, 12 street lights and five public water supply schemes, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Uttam Zalte, executive director of MSEDCL Pune region, said that the Rs 37 crore provision for Junnar will be utilised to improve the power infrastructure. “A Rs 2.52 crore sub-station will be constructed at Yedgaon and two sub-stations costing Rs 2.14 crore each in Kandli village and Kandli industrial estate. Funds will also be used for laying new supply lines, new transformers and augmenting the capacity of existing transformers,” Zalte stated.

MSEDCL Pune zone…More

TOI : PUNE: The number of class XI seats at junior colleges in the city and Pimpri-Chinchwad has gone up by 7,345 from 50,215 last year to 57,650 this year. As a result, for the third year in succession, chances are that a large number of seats will remain vacant at the end of this year’s class XI centralised admission process (CAP), which is to begin from June 26.

Last year, the CAP committee had received 49,255 admission pleas, which was 960 short of the total admission capacity then. The vacancies were particularly high in the arts stream.

Speaking to TOI, deputy director (education) Gangadhar Mhamane said, “The increase in seats this year is mainly on account of the new junior colleges, which were sanctioned late, after the std XI admissions for 2008-09 were completed last year.”

He added, “Apart from these late additions, nearly six junior colleges, which were embroiled in a legal tussle over their sanction in 2006, have since been cleared and will be part of the CAP this year, thus taking the admission capacity further up.”

Mhamane, who also heads the multi-member class XI CAP commitee, ruled out the possibility of any new junior college or additional section (one section comprises of 80 seats) getting sanctioned this year. “Already, we have more than sufficient seats. If the situation calls for, we will take a call on recommending additional sections but, the chances are slim,” he said.

Stream-wise, Mhamane said, the biggest gainer is the commerce courses (English and Marathi mediums combine) where 3,540 seats have added to the last year’s 20,640 seats, taking to total strength to 24,180 seats.

Similarly, 2,465 seats have added to the last year’s 19,895 seats in the science stream, taking the total strength to 22,360 seats this year, including 3,827 seats in the vocational branch.

The arts stream (English and Marathi mediums combine), which reported…More

TOI : PUNE: The Pune rural police on Monday arrested a gang of eight suspects for their alleged’ involvement in stealing generator sets and other valuables from the locked bungalows and farm houses in Uksan village in Wadagaon-Maval area. The police have recovered goods worth Rs 3 lakh from their possession.

The police have identified the suspects as Nana Dyandev Shinde (20), Somnath Nivrutti Shinde (19), Gorakh Maruti Ingavle (20), Kiran Babaji Adhav (19) all from Uksan, Dinesh Bharat Lalgude (19), Pappu Laxman Chandgude (21), Vikas Baban Shendge (20) and Devidas Datta Kalekar (20), all from Maval.

Acting on a tip-off, the police team led by sub-inspector Shashikant Chavan, laid a trap and arrested the suspects from Uksan. A complaint in this regard was lodged by Pushkarnath Jagannath Jogi (29) of Nirvana flying club, Uksan, with the Maval police station.

Chavan said, “All the thefts were committed at the vacant bungalows in the village. Most owners of these bungalows live in Mumbai and visit their houses only on week-ends. After identifying a vacant bungalow, the suspects would enter the house by breaking the locks and flee with the valuables.

Chavan said the suspects had stolen a generator set worth Rs 1.30 lakh from the guest house of the flying club on June 7. Later, they stole a refrigerator, dining table set and other valuables totalling to Rs 15,500 from the bungalow of Suresh Narayan Mishra and a generator set worth Rs 80,000 from the bungalow of Vikram Oberoi. They also stole two motor pumps worth Rs 4,000 from another bungalow and cements sheets worth Rs 13,500 from the bungalow of Tushar Suresh Kadam. They also stole inverter batteries and seven gas cylinders from the Golden Grade company.

Chavan added that the suspects sold the stolen goods to their relatives in Maval. “We have recovered goods worth Rs 3 lakh from their possession.”

The suspects were…More

TOI : PUNE: Sleuths of the economic offences wing (EOW) on Monday arrested a software engineer for her alleged involvement in stealing the source code and duping a software company to the tune of 46.5 crore.

The suspect has been identified as Asma Sandip Thorve (37), a resident of Uday society, Sahakarnagar.

The EOW had earlier arrested software engineer Sameer Ashok Inamdar (36) of Kondhwa in this case. Inamdar was working with Brainvisa when he started a new company. He stole the source code of Brainvisa and duped the company to the tune of Rs 46.5 crore. A complaint in this regard had been lodged with the EOW by the owner of Brainvisa Technologies, Nitin Hemchandra Agarwal, on November 29, 2008.

Assistant commissioner of police (EOW) Pushapa Deshmukh said that during the investigation Thorve’s name also came up. She was working in Brainvisa as the senior manager business development from May 2004 to December 2005. Later, she became the vice president of the company, a post that she held till December 2, 2008. “Investigations have revealed that Thorve was Inamdar’s partner in his new company. She used to provide data from Brainvisa to Inamdar,” Deshmukh said.

“We arrested Thorve on Monday. We are trying to find out which individuals and firms did she provide the stolen data to,” the ACP said.

Thorve was produced in the magistrate court on Monday and remanded to police custody till June 26. Print Emai…More