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TOI : PUNE: After Saturday’s ghastly mishap on JM road that claimed a boy’s life and subsequent protest by local residents, deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Manoj Patil has announced to make the stretch of road from Balgandharva (Rani Laxmibai chowk) to S G Barve Chowk a two-way.

DCP Patil rushed to the spot immediately after the accident. When Patil went to the traffic office at Modern chowkey, the local residents under the leadership of local corporator Balasaheb Bodke gheraoed him and demanded withdrawal of the one-way traffic plan on the road with immediate effect.

PMC corporator Bodke demanded that the police cancel the one-way plan on the stretch between Balgandharva and S G Barve chowk. “Schoolchildren cannot cross the road. They have to walk all the way to FC road to catch the bus to reach home. The speed of vehicles has also increased tremendously because of the one-way. Especially the PMPML buses were seen driving at a high speed,” Bodke said.

Residents seconded Bodke’s demand. One of the residents, Pramila Kakde said that on Friday two women on a two-wheeler met with an accident on the same spot. “The police have implemented the plan, but we hardly see traffic police during school timings,” Kakde said.

Addressing the angry mob, DCP Patil termed Saturday’s incident as tragic. “It was caused due to rash and negligent driving by PMPML drivers. Unfortunately, the accident took place on JM road. The one-way traffic plan is new. The public must co-operate for the success of the plan. The plan is at a trial stage and we are trying our best to ensure safety of commuters and pedestrians,” Patil said.

However, the public was in no mood to listen and demanded cancellation of the plan with immediate effect. PMC corporator Anil Bhosale too reached the police chowkey. He said, “The police should take action against reckless PMPML drivers. The police…More

TOI : PUNE: City MP Suresh Kalmadi has been appointed member of the Maharashtra Pradesh Election Committee which has been formed for the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra. The appointment was made by the All India Congress Committee.

The committee has been formed under the chairmanship of Manikrao Thakare, president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.

State CM Ashok Chavan, Mumbai Pradesh Congress president Kripashankar Sinh and cabinet ministers of the Congress party from Maharashtra are members of the election committee.

More Stories from this section One more dies of swine flu in Pune, city toll rises to 34 Decision on plan panel aid to MUHS sparks row Spitting can help spread H1N1 virus H1N1 depicted in rangoli too Discontent in…More

TOI : PUNE: One person was killed and nine others were injured when an SUV they were travelling in dashed against another car, while trying to overtake the vehicle near Vallabhnagar state transport bus stand on the Pune-Mumbai highway on Saturday evening.

The accident threw the vehicular traffic out of gear for about 30 minutes.

The impact of mishap was such that the SUV rammed into a compound wall, killing a person on the spot at about 7 pm. The Pimpri police have identified the deceased as Sachin Shivaji Pawar (26) of Wagholi.

The injured have been identified as Jainuddin Babumiya Maniyar (76) of Dapodi, Ajinkya Gajanan Vyvahare (27), Chetul Dilip Wagh (17), Shashank Suresh Agarwal (18), all residents of Maheshnagar in Pimpri; Vaibhav Lalbihari Sharma (19) of Mumbai, Kumar Rambihari Gupta (23) of Chandannagar, Vijay Bapurao Bhoiwad (19) of Kasarwadi, Mathew Samuel (51) of Dehu road and Manisha Shelar (20) of Yerawada.

The condition of one of the injured men, Manisha Shelar, is reported to be critical. The injured are undergoing treatment at the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital.

More Stories from this section One more dies of swine flu in Pune, city toll rises to 34 Decision on plan panel aid to MUHS sparks row Spitting can help spread H1N1 virus H1N1 depicted in rangoli too Discontent in…More

TOI : PUNE: Despite the difficult economic conditions, the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) octroi department is largely on track to meet its collection target for the six-month period ending October.

The revenue from octroi on which civic coffers rely heavily was expected to be hit badly by the economic downturn. But sustained efforts and continuous tracking of cases of octroi evasions has ensured that the collections are more or less on track.

In fact, fine collection for the period from April to August this year (Rs 4.34 crore) has nearly quadrupled compared to the same period in 2008 (Rs 1.1 crore). A total of 1,533 cases of octroi evasions have been recorded during the period this year.

The head of the octroi department, deputy commissioner Rajan Muthe, insists that the sustained action against octroi evasion has inflicted fear amongst transporters, who have now sincerely begun paying the levy.

“With businesses doing badly due to recession, octroi collection was dropping significantly. But we were aware that there was also a large number of evasions happening and we attempted to tap this source as well. Our total revenue till date is Rs 170 crore. This is slightly less compared to last year’s earnings in the same period, but we need to take into the account the fact that the octroi rates on certain goods were sharply reduced this financial year, as also the downturn,” Muthe said.

Driving home his point, Muthe pointed that out that the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s octroi revenue has fallen by 30 per cent this year, as compared to the PMC’s drop of 13%.

Besides, Muthe explained, certain steps were taken to improve the department’s efficiency, not just to raise revenue collection but also to bring in transparency and reduce corruption by civic staff at octroi booths.

“For instance, we installed CCTVs at the most important nakas’, which I can now view sitting…More

TOI : PUNE: Putting to rest all speculations about her unannounced 12-day absence from the township, Pimpri-Chinchwad mayor Aparna Doke returned on Friday after an official tour of Germany, where she had been invited for a workshop.

Responding to queries, Doke said, “The municipal commissioner and I were invited to a workshop in Germany. But as the H1N1 pandemic broke out in the city, I sought district guardian minister Ajit Pawar’s approval for the tour and left. It was decided that the municipal commissioner would stay back to monitor the situation.”

It was expected that the mayor would have been in the township when there was a spurt in the cases of H1N1 positive patients in the municipal limits, and panic-stricken people were queuing up outside preliminary screening centres.

The mayor, being the first citizen, was expected to appeal to the people to not panic and advise them to take necessary precautions to avoid getting infected with the virus.

Instead, Doke chose to attend the international workshop on permanent development and river development projects in Berlin, Germany.

She quietly left the city for Germany without even informing the civic administration or the PCMC office bearers. For the first few days, people did not even know where Doke was.

On earlier occasions, when the municipal commissioner and the standing committee chairman were asked if they knew where Doke was, both had categorically said they did not.

Doke, who has been under fire for not being in the township as it battled the H1N1 crisis, said that she communicated with the civic officials regularly, who gave her a daily account of the situation.

The union urban development department (UDD) had organised the workshop in Berlin under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission scheme from August 22 to 29. UDD director E P Nivedita and chief forest conservator Madhya Pradesh R R Okhandiar were among…More

TOI : PUNE: Two weeks after the one-way system was implemented on the J M and F C roads, the municipal corporation has finally started putting signages on the J M road, informing people about speed-breakers and pedestrians crossings.

However, few motorists stop at the pedestrians’ signal that has been erected, as the crossing has not been painted and is not visible even to pedestrians. In fact, most pedestrians do not even know that there is a dedicated crossing for them.

Citizens’ groups have been pointing out that pedestrian crossings, lane markings, and stop lines near traffic signals should have been marked clearly before the implementation of the one-way plan. At many spots, it is very risky for pedestrians to cross all the four lanes.

Prashant Inamdar, convenor of Pedestrians First said that motorists should maintain traffic discipline because the average speed of vehicles had increased due to reduced signal timings and traffic clash’ points. Lane indiscipline and overspeeding had become rampant on these two roads, Inamdar added.

Soon after the one-way system was implemented, the civic body had to make speed-breakers on J M road because of the increasing vehicular speed. Initially, even these speed-breakers were not visible because they had not been painted.

More Stories from this section One more dies of swine flu in Pune, city toll rises to 34 Decision on plan panel aid to MUHS sparks row Spitting can help spread H1N1 virus H1N1 depicted in rangoli too Discontent in…More

TOI : PUNE: After Saturday’s ghastly mishap on JM road that claimed a boy’s life and subsequent protest by local residents, deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Manoj Patil has announced to make the stretch of road from Balgandharva (Rani Laxmibai chowk) to S G Barve Chowk a two-way.

DCP Patil rushed to the spot immediately after the accident. When Patil went to the traffic office at Modern chowkey, the local residents under the leadership of local corporator Balasaheb Bodke gheraoed him and demanded withdrawal of the one-way traffic plan on the road with immediate effect.

PMC corporator Bodke demanded that the police cancel the one-way plan on the stretch between Balgandharva and S G Barve chowk. “Schoolchildren cannot cross the road. They have to walk all the way to FC road to catch the bus to reach home. The speed of vehicles has also increased tremendously because of the one-way. Especially the PMPML buses were seen driving at a high speed,” Bodke said.

Residents seconded Bodke’s demand. One of the residents, Pramila Kakde said that on Friday two women on a two-wheeler met with an accident on the same spot. “The police have implemented the plan, but we hardly see traffic police during school timings,” Kakde said.

Addressing the angry mob, DCP Patil termed Saturday’s incident as tragic. “It was caused due to rash and negligent driving by PMPML drivers. Unfortunately, the accident took place on JM road. The one-way traffic plan is new. The public must co-operate for the success of the plan. The plan is at a trial stage and we are trying our best to ensure safety of commuters and pedestrians,” Patil said.

However, the public was in no mood to listen and demanded cancellation of the plan with immediate effect. PMC corporator Anil Bhosale too reached the police chowkey. He said, “The police should take action against reckless PMPML drivers. The police…More

TOI : PUNE: City MP Suresh Kalmadi has been appointed member of the Maharashtra Pradesh Election Committee which has been formed for the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra. The appointment was made by the All India Congress Committee.

The committee has been formed under the chairmanship of Manikrao Thakare, president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.

State CM Ashok Chavan, Mumbai Pradesh Congress president Kripashankar Sinh and cabinet ministers of the Congress party from Maharashtra are members of the election committee.

More Stories from this section One more dies of swine flu in Pune, city toll rises to 34 Decision on plan panel aid to MUHS sparks row Spitting can help spread H1N1 virus H1N1 depicted in rangoli too Discontent in…More

TOI : PUNE: One person was killed and nine others were injured when an SUV they were travelling in dashed against another car, while trying to overtake the vehicle near Vallabhnagar state transport bus stand on the Pune-Mumbai highway on Saturday evening.

The accident threw the vehicular traffic out of gear for about 30 minutes.

The impact of mishap was such that the SUV rammed into a compound wall, killing a person on the spot at about 7 pm. The Pimpri police have identified the deceased as Sachin Shivaji Pawar (26) of Wagholi.

The injured have been identified as Jainuddin Babumiya Maniyar (76) of Dapodi, Ajinkya Gajanan Vyvahare (27), Chetul Dilip Wagh (17), Shashank Suresh Agarwal (18), all residents of Maheshnagar in Pimpri; Vaibhav Lalbihari Sharma (19) of Mumbai, Kumar Rambihari Gupta (23) of Chandannagar, Vijay Bapurao Bhoiwad (19) of Kasarwadi, Mathew Samuel (51) of Dehu road and Manisha Shelar (20) of Yerawada.

The condition of one of the injured men, Manisha Shelar, is reported to be critical. The injured are undergoing treatment at the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital.

More Stories from this section One more dies of swine flu in Pune, city toll rises to 34 Decision on plan panel aid to MUHS sparks row Spitting can help spread H1N1 virus H1N1 depicted in rangoli too Discontent in…More

TOI : PUNE: Despite the difficult economic conditions, the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) octroi department is largely on track to meet its collection target for the six-month period ending October.

The revenue from octroi on which civic coffers rely heavily was expected to be hit badly by the economic downturn. But sustained efforts and continuous tracking of cases of octroi evasions has ensured that the collections are more or less on track.

In fact, fine collection for the period from April to August this year (Rs 4.34 crore) has nearly quadrupled compared to the same period in 2008 (Rs 1.1 crore). A total of 1,533 cases of octroi evasions have been recorded during the period this year.

The head of the octroi department, deputy commissioner Rajan Muthe, insists that the sustained action against octroi evasion has inflicted fear amongst transporters, who have now sincerely begun paying the levy.

“With businesses doing badly due to recession, octroi collection was dropping significantly. But we were aware that there was also a large number of evasions happening and we attempted to tap this source as well. Our total revenue till date is Rs 170 crore. This is slightly less compared to last year’s earnings in the same period, but we need to take into the account the fact that the octroi rates on certain goods were sharply reduced this financial year, as also the downturn,” Muthe said.

Driving home his point, Muthe pointed that out that the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s octroi revenue has fallen by 30 per cent this year, as compared to the PMC’s drop of 13%.

Besides, Muthe explained, certain steps were taken to improve the department’s efficiency, not just to raise revenue collection but also to bring in transparency and reduce corruption by civic staff at octroi booths.

“For instance, we installed CCTVs at the most important nakas’, which I can now view sitting…More