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TOI : PUNE: A one-and-half-year-old boy and his four-year-old sister died due to severe burns when a plastic drum filled with hot water burst in their home at Wade Bolai village on the Pune-Ahmednagar highway early on Thursday.

Lonikand police identified the deceased as Karan Gawade and his sister Manisha. Their mother, Hema (28), escaped with minor injuries.

Speaking to TOI, investigating officer HC Bhalerao of the Lonikand police station said the incident took place around 4.15 am when the mother and the chldren were asleep.

“The victims’ father, Vinayak, who was sleeping on the far side of the room, had inserted an immersion rod into the plastic drum before sleeping to heat the water. It was to be used by the family for bathing in the early hours of Thursday,” Bhalerao said.

“Vinayak, however, forgot to switch off the immersion rod, and the water consequently overheated and the drum burst. The boiling hot water scalded the chidlren. Hema, who had woken up by then, sustained injuries on her hands and legs while trying to move the children to safety,” he added.

“Karan was admitted to a private hospital in the city and Manisha to the burns wards of the Sassoon general hospital. Manisha sucummbed to her injuries at 10 am on Friday, while her brother breathed his last at 6 pm,” he added. The police have registered a case of accidental death.

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TOI : PUNE: The rising number of H1N1 flu cases among schoolchildren has goaded the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) into sending teams to conduct medical check-ups in schools across the city from Monday.

Municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade said there was a possibility of schoolchildren having contracted the virus after mingling with the crowds during the recent Ganesh festival.

“The Ganesh festival concluded recently and it takes around 7 to 8 days for the symptoms to develop, which is why a survey needs to be done,” said Zagade. The PMC teams would check for flu-like symptoms among schoolchildren.

Zagade maintained that the PMC has been keeping a watch on the flu situation since the first day of the outbreak. “While our teams will now conduct check-ups at schools, we had earlier instructed the heads of all schools to take stock of the situation every morning. They were told that any student showing flu-like symptoms should be told to stay at home. Children who have been detected with H1N1 flu in the last few days are not attending classes. We have been keeping track of the reports from these schools,” he said.

Zagade said a similar survey was being conducted in the city’s slums.

Citing details of the first phase of the survey, additional commissioner M S Devnikar said 1,40,515 house were checked by about 920 teams of health and multi-purpose workers on September 6 and 7. “All 574 slums in the city were surveyed by our teams. Around 6,000 residents were detected with flu-like symptoms and were referred to screening centres. The follow-up survey will be conducted on September 14 and 15,” he said, adding that the PMC will be ready with a swine flu disaster plan by September 15.

Devnikar said NGOs and other organisations have been tapped for information on how they could help the government machinery in tackling the flu situation. “We have…More

TOI : The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to PMC corporator Deepak Mankar in an alleged dacoity case. The order was passed by a division bench of justice Markandey Katju and justice Asok Kumar Ganguly.

The suspended vice-president of the city unit of the Congress party, Mankar had moved the SC as the Bombay High Court had rejected his bail application on August 28.

The SC order said: “The petitioner shall be enlarged on bail in connection with crime no. 150/2009 of the Khadak police station, Pune, to the satisfaction of the trial court”.

The SC has issued a notice to the Pune police, directing them to file their written statement on Mankar’s bail application on the next date of hearing.

With the SC order, Mankar will now be released from the Yerawada central jail as he had already obtained bail in all other cases.

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TOI : PUNE: A fortnight after the 44-day strike by teachers from aided senior colleges ended, the state government and the University of Pune (UoP) finally woke up to the need for a co-ordinated effort towards recovering the lost academic days. The number of such days has been worked out to 36, excluding Sundays and UoP-listed holidays during the strike period.

On Thursday, the university convened a meeting of principals of all colleges to discuss the issue. Following a four-hour debate on the recovery modalities, it was resolved that each college would submit a plan of its own by September 17, to UoP vice-chancellor (V-C) stating how it proposes to make up the lost days. The V-C will approve each plan .

The push for such a co-ordinated effort came from the Federation of College Principals, which had aired its concern on September 6 over the lack of specific directives either from the UoP or the state department for higher education, regarding the recovery.

Federation chief Nandkumar Nikam told TOI on Friday, “The directives were crucial in more than one ways. The teachers’ salaries for the strike-period has been withheld by the government. Clearance of the same is subject to certification by the V-C and the higher education director, declaring that the teachers have worked extra hours to recover the lost days. This was easier said than done.”

For, the non-teaching staffers have to be taken into confidence as they were not part of the strike but, their presence would be required for the extra hours of work, Mikam said. “The science practicals cannot be conducted without lab assistants or technicians. The convenience of students and parents too has to be taken in account.”

On September 7, the federation representatives called on state director (higher education) Rambhau Kirdak and apprised him about their concern. The visit exposed the tardiness on the part of the government machinery…More

TOI : PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), while continuing with its anti-encroachment drives, has now also set its eyes on unauthorised traders, in addition to demolishing illegal constructions.

The Bhavani Peth ward office took action against unauthorised traders who set up wares for sale on footpaths on the Nehru road upto the Seven Loves chowk.

According to a statement issued by the civic body, two truckloads of material, including tables, chairs, old furniture and tyres were seized by the officials.

Action was also taken against pucca encroachments on the road by demolishing 5,000 sq.ft area of illegal sheds, walls, front margins and railings.

The building control department undertook a drive at Dhankawdi where a total of 8,100 sq.ft area was razed with the help of 10 police personnel.

Officials stated that notices were sent to all owners under section 478 (1) of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949.

Shops that were illegally operating in the basement section of buildings on Sinhagad road also bore the brunt of the PMC building permissions department’s action on Friday.

Four shops and another construction in a parking lot of 2,700 sq.ft area that were operating without proper licence were pulled down by PMC’s squads.

A senior civic official said drives against large number of small businesses operating in basement areas will be next on the agenda for the PMC.

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TOI : PUNE: As many as 126 patients have been tested positive for H1H1 influenza in the district in the last 17 days. Of these, 58 are from the age group between 0 to 15 years, said Ashok Mehta, joint director of state health services, here on Friday. He said situation in the district is alarming, considering the number of deaths so far.

Mehta said that as many as 13 educational institutes, including primary schools, secondary schools and colleges have reported positive cases after re-opening.

After being shut for weeks, educational institutes in the city re-opened on August 24.

Mehta said: The situation is alarming. People should visit screening centres in the occurrence of any flu-like symptoms.

He added: “Of the total positive patients reported in the last 17 days, 43 are female while 83 are male patients. Patients between the age group of 6 to 15 are 39, which is highest in number. As many as 6 patients are reported with the age below 1 year. As many as 72 patients are from the age group of 6 to 30 years, majority of which are students.”

Meanwhile, one more school in the city reported a positive H1N1 case on Thursday. U H Gavande, deputy director of the state health services said a student of class X from Gholap high school in Sangvi has tested positive for the H1N1 flu. Other students at the school are now being screened. A girl from the same class of the boy who tested positive for H1N1 has shown symptoms of coughing and flu.”

Gavande said as many as 5 students from the Don Bosco school and junior college in Lanavla tested positive for H1N1 flu on Friday. “All the students are from class V to VII. The swabs of eleven students from the school were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV). The positive students have been…More

TOI : PUNE: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator Vikas Mathkari resigned from the post of leader of the party in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Friday.

Speaking to presspersons here, Mathkari said he has resigned because his two-and-a-half-year tenure as the leader of BJP comes to an end on September 15.

“I was appointed by party seniors and corporators as the leader in PMC on March 15, 2007, and the term comes to an end now. I have personally handed over my resignation to Girish Bapatji, BJP president, Pune city.” Mathkari said.

Mathkari, an aspirant for contesting assembly elections from one of the Pune constituencies, meanwhile, criticised Vinayak Nimhan, former Shiv Sena MLA from Shivajinagar, who officially joined the Congress party on Wednesday.

“Nimhan openly said while changing his party that although he was physically with Shiv Sena for the last four years, he was already with the Congress party in mind, which is a shameful statement because he deceived his voters who had shown faith in him,” Mathkari said. More Stories from this section PMC carries demolition drives Govt, UoP slow off the block to recover lost academic days SC grants bail to Mankar PMC to screen students for flu from Monday Drum filled w…More

TOI : PUNE: The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) will soon take a decision on a proposal to construct a vegetable market exclusively for female vendors in Nigdi Gaothan ward.

Estimated to cost Rs 99.50 lakh, the vegetable market could be the first one of its kind to be constructed in the PCMC limits.

A proposal for the construction of the market building had first been mooted by the PCMC’s women and child welfare committee a few months back. The building is set to be constructed on an open plot near scheme 10 of ward number 48 in Nigdi Gaothan.

An official in the engineering department of Zone A, PCMC, said that the triangular plot, admeasuring 3,182 sq ft, has been handed over to the corporation by the Pimpri-Chinchwad New Township Development Authority (PCNTDA). Parking space will be provided on the plot’s backside, while five shops will be constructed facing the road. Two multipurpose halls will be constructed on the first and second floors of the building.

Speaking to TOI, Sahebrao Gaikwad, assistant commissioner and in-charge of women and child welfare department, PCMC, said, “The proposal for vegetable market has come from corporators. The municipal commissioner will take the decision to implemented the proposal after it is approved by the civic general body.”

Subhash Machare, assistant commissioner and chief of land records department, PCMC, said, “The PCMC has constructed many vegetable markets in the municipal limits. We keep some galas (shops) reserved for the backward classes, economically-weaker sections or women. The engineering department constructs vegetable markets and hands it over to our department. We then invite applications and allot the shops on rental basis. We do not know of any plan to construct the vegetable market in Nigdi.”

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TOI : PUNE: The city unit of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has recovered three pistols and two live cartridges from one Johansingh Morsingh Sastiya (43) of Madhya Pradesh. Sastiya was picked up from near Patil estate slums at Wakdewadi on the Pune-Mumbai highway on Thursday.

ATS deputy superintendent of police Vinod Satav on Friday said, “Sastiya had come to the city to sell country-made weapons to prospective customers, but he was taken into custody immediately after receiving a tip-off from a reliable informant”. The weapons recovered from Sastiya look sophisticated and have good finish. He does not have any criminal record and has not given any specific information as to why the weapons were brought into the city,” Satav said.

According to Satav, “Sastiya was planning to sell the weapons for Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000. The ATS is interrogating the suspect as he is yet to give details about himself.” Asked whether Sastiya could have concealed some more weapons in Pune, Satav said, “The ATS expects to recover some more weapons from him”.

ATS Pune unit in charge and senior police inspector Peter Lobo said, “Sastiya was new to the city and we are collecting details about his background. We are also trying to find out whether he had any links with criminals or others in the city.”

Meanwhile on Friday, judicial magistrate first class G G Itkalkar sent Sastiya to police custody till September 15. Assistant public prosecutor A V Ausekar told the court that custodial interrogation of Sastiya was required to find out the source from where he had procured the silver-coloured weapons, having KF7.65 mark, and the cartridges.

Ausekar submitted that the ATS be given time to find out whether Sastiya had sold any weapons earlier to criminals or any organised crime syndicate operating in the district. The prosecutor sought sufficient time for the ATS to conduct investigations at Dhule, from where…More

TOI : PUNE: A motorcyclist and a cyclist were injured when a dumper overturned on them while taking a turn outside the MSEDCL office at Rasta Peth on Friday at 1.15 am.

The injured have been identified as Santosh Ausare (23) of New Nana Peth and Ajinkya Bhujbal (23) of Model Colony.

Assistant inspector Mahendra Gaikwad of the Samarth police station said, “The victims were heading towards Kadar chowk in New Nana Peth. Outside the MSEDCL office, a speeding dumper which was carrying debris overturned on them.”

“A police team led by sub-inspector B M Bhosale and the firebrigade led by chief fire officer Prashant Ranpise jointly pressed a crane and a JCB machine into service and rescued the injured and admitted them to private hospitals,” Gaikwad said.

“Ausare escaped with minor injuries, while Bhujbal fractured his left leg. The motorcycle and the bicycle were severely damaged. The police have impounded the dumper, but its driver fled from the scene,” Gaikwad added.

The central fire brigade station duty officer Shivaji Memane said, “The leg and hand of the victims were stuck under the dumper. It took 30 minutes to rescue the victims and clear the debris on the road.”

The police booked the driver of the dumper (registration no. MH24/F9824) under sections 338, 279 and 227 of the Indian Penal Code and 132 and 179 of the Motor Vehicle Act for reckless driving on a complaint registered by Ausare.

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