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TOI : PUNE: At a time when the H1N1 flu panic continues to grip the city, the subject of emergency medical services (EMS) has acquired more relevance than ever. To deliberate on the issues in the field of EMS, the Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences (SIHS) has organised a national seminar on the subject on September 20. A panel discussion on Mission EMS: The road ahead’ by well-known medical professionals, will also be a part of this one-day programme, Rajiv Yeravdekar, director, SIHS, said.

The seminar will be held at Symbiosis Vishwabhavan on S B road. Gen N C Vij, vice-chairman, National Management Disaster Authority (NDMA), Delhi, will inaugurate the event. The panel discussion will include Prasad Rajhans, consultant in EMS, Subroto Das, chief executive officer of the Life Line Foundation, G V Ramana Rao, executive partner of the Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) and Vivek Chhabra, senior specialist with the NDMA.

“The panel will discuss about how to improve the integrated approach between the police, the fire brigade and ambulance services, along with trained manpower in EMS like doctors, nurses and paramedics.

As a prelude to the seminar, the SIHS will also conduct two workshops: A basic workshop in association with the Chinese University, Hong Kong, and another to raise awareness about the common man’s role in case of a disaster involving mass casualties.

“The idea is also to constantly press for the legislation related to EMS and training of EMS specialists by formulating a standardised curriculum. Since 2004, we have been constantly sending proposals in this regard to the government for implementation of these demands,” Yeravdekar said.

There is also a need to press for the EMS helpline, 108, to be operational in Maharashtra, said Yeravdekar. “The helpline, 108, is already operational in states like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Assam, Punjab and Uttaranchal. We are asking for this helpline to…More

TOI : The Pune rural police have arrested a woman, who claims to be a social worker, along with her son for allegedly duping 20 to 25 youths to the tune of Rs 35 lakh on pretext of giving them jobs in a shipping company in Mumbai. The police have identified the suspect as Pratibha Shankar Pawar and her son Abhishek, both residents of Sonwadi, Daund.

One held for impersonating policeman: The Faraskhana police have arrested one Suresh G Zol (35) of Mangalwar Peth for impersonating policeman and robbing 65-year-old Devram Krishnaji Waghole of Chikhali of Rs 3,500. The incident took place on Friday evening at Ravivar Peth. The suspect allegedly thrashed Waghole and looted him. He was later arrested by sub-inspector U K Yadav and his team.

More Stories from this section EMS helpline 108 should be made operational in state Discovering life beyond scars Union ministry frames service benchmark for public transport for JNNURM citie…More

TOI : Despite being a qualified engineer, the 23-year-old refused to go out and look for a job. Convinced that the patches on her skin would be an obstacle in the way of her gaining employment, the vitiligo sufferer withdrew into her shell…

Until her mother brought about a meeting with Maya Tulpule, founder-president of the Vitiligo Support GroupShweta Association. “All it took was some counselling, and she was set. Since it would make her feel better, we showed her how she could use make-up to conceal the patches. She got a job, went on to marry a highly qualified professional, and is well-settled in life,” smiles Tulpule with satisfaction.

Founded in 2001, the Shweta Association reaches out to over a 1,000 people in Pune, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Thane with the objective of bringing together people suffering from vitiligo together to discuss their problems, share experiences, learn scientific facts about the disorder, and above all, build a positive self-esteem.

“As of today, vitiligo is the most psychologically devastating disorder, with the highest level of social stigmatisation,” says Maya, who developed vitiligo as a nine-year-old after a bout of chicken pox and measles. “It may not be a disease per se, but the trauma it causes to the sufferer is immense.”

In her case, most of the patches went after treatment, especially on the visible parts of her person, but a few remained on her feet. “That is the most stressful condition of all. One starts wearing all-concealing clothes in order to avoid discovery,” she reminsces.

However, her family was a blessing erudite and evolved, they were completely supportive of the young girl. “I made up my mind to contribute to society by taking up medicine. Soon, I specialised in surgery as it requires the utmost precision,” she says.

Though her condition was stable for several years, the patches began to increase eventually, until complete depigmentation…More

TOI : PUNE: Even as the need for improving poor public transport in the city has been stressed by various civic groups and numerous study reports earlier, the Union urban development ministry has now stepped in to frame service level benchmarks for public transport and pedestrian facilities and has asked all JNNURM mission cities to improve their levels of service.

The main focus areas for assessment of service levels include quality and financial sustainability of public transport, pedestrians safety and infrastructure facilities, non-motorised transport, usage of Intelligent Transport System facilities, travel speed along major corridors, road safety, availability of parking facilities and pollution levels in the city.

As per directions of the urban development ministry, the performance measurements will have to be carried out by the urban local bodies and the transport undertaking that is the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML).

The performance levels will have to be disseminated widely and in fact, would be a part of mandatory disclosure of information. The levels of service have been specified from 1 to 4, where 1′ is the highest level of service while four is the lowest.

The municipal corporation and the PMPML will have to release performance report cards, mentioning the current baseline and actual accomplishments of performance during subsequent periods of time. The performance report cards also need to mention the brief plan of action for achieving the targeted performance level. In a detailed note, the ministry has framed the benchmarks for each service, the indicators, and the method to determine the benchmarks.

The service level benchmark for public transport would indicate the city-wide level of services provided during peak hours, that is, 8 am to 12 noon and 4 pm to 8 pm. The indicators for determining the service levels for public transport includes the presence of organised public transport, extent of availability, service coverage or density…More

TOI : PUNE: The Cantonment police on Thursday detained a 16-year-old boy for chain snatching in the Golibar maidan area.

A resident of Solapur Bazaar, the boy had snatched two gold chains, totaling to Rs 56,000, on two different occasions, from an old woman, Franci Solanki, when she was on her to a Jain temple near Golibar maidan. The first incident took place in July and then again in August.

Senior police inspector Balkrishna Shinde of the Cantonment police station, in a statement issued on Saturday, said that initially, the police could not get any information about the boy as the woman, who’s very old, could not recollect anything.

However, after the second incident, it was revealed that the suspect was operating in Golibar maidan area and Solanki, during questioning, gave some description of the suspect, adding that he had fled towards the Solapur bazaar.

A police team led by sub inspector Rajendra Vibhandik, assistant sub inspector Prakash Palande and others, laid a trap at Golibar maidan and trapped the suspect.

During interrogation, the boy admitted to robbing Solanki twice and handed over the stolen gold chains to the police, Shinde stated.

More Stories from this section EMS helpline 108 should be made operational in state Mother, son booked for cheating Discovering life beyond scars Union ministry frames service benchmark for …More

TOI : PUNE: With Fergusson College road now a one-way zone, commuters breaking the no entry’ rule has become quite commonplace. As most people are still used to the convenience of the two-way system, both, the pedestrians and motorists, are at an increased risk of colliding head-on with a vehicle being driven in the opposite direction.

Autorickshaw driver, Rajesh Garat, at the autorickshaw stand outside Fergusson College, told TOI how a speeding biker, who was going in the opposite direction on the one-way, rammed his colleague’s rickshaw on Friday. “Most commuters are unaware that FC road is now a one-way zone. They enter the road from Shirole road opposite Fergusson College and turn towards Deccan. That’s how this biker hit the auto,” said Garat.

Traffic cop Satvasheela Adsul and her colleague have been posted at the signal outside Fergusson College for a month now. The duo stop a lot of defaulting commuters riding/driving in the opposite direction. “For most, FC road is the destination, so we tell them to either lug their vehicles in the opposite direction or take a detour via Apte Road,” Adsul said, adding, “We were told not to fine commuters entering the no-entry zone till September 2, so that people could become aware of the new system.”

Adsul looks at the new one-way rule as a boon. “I think this will help us in the long-run when the traffic increases,” she said.

For Neha Anwane, who works out of FC road near Dnyaneshwar Paduka Chowk, crossing the road these days is proving to be a big challenge. “It has become very difficult to cross the road properly. Because of the increased and speeding traffic I have no choice but to walk close to a signal and cross the road,” she says.

Sneha Shinde, a student of Fergusson College has a similar complaint. “Some of her friends who ride motorcycles have been facing…More

TOI : PUNE: At a time when it was feared that monsoon may play truant, 18 districts in the state have managed to get the normal quota of rainfall till September 9. The number of districts getting deficient rainfall has thus gone down to 14 as against 21 two weeks back.

Pune is still a deficient district with only 568.9 mm rainfall till September 09 as against the expected 852.4 mm rainfall, which is 33 per cent less. By August 26, the district should have received 786 mm of rainfall but it got only 513.4 mm 35% less than normal.

According to data given by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for the period June 1 to August 26, almost all the regions in the state had a large number of rainfall-deficient districts. The number was more in regions like Konkan (including Goa), Marathwada and Vidarbha. But till middle of second week of September, most of them have received good rainfall.

Till August 26, four districts out of five in Konkan region were rainfall-deficient and five out of seven districts in Marathwada region had received less than normal rain. Eight of the 11 districts in Vidarbha had got deficient rainfall.

After showers for next two weeks, the number in Konkan has gone down to two while that in Marathwada has reduced to three. In Vidarbha though not a very major change has been witnessed as only one district elevated from deficient rains to normal rains bracket.

Central Maharashtra has the maximum number of districts with normal rainfall–seven out of 10 districts with Nashikreceiving excess rainfall till August 26. Even till September 09, it is the only district that has got excess rainfall. By August 26 it should have got 378.9 mm rainfall, but received 512 mm, about 35 per cent more than normal. And by September 09 it should have recorded 437.3 mm rainfall, but actually got…More

TOI : PUNE: The Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) is set to establish a state-of-the-art nano technology research centre’ at its Girinagar-Khadakwasala campus. The Rs 40-crore project has been planned to promote the use of nano technology in manufacturing defence equipment and weapons to make them more powerful and lighter.

“Various new materials are being introduced for making defence instruments. Research on nano particles of these materials would be helpful in making the instruments lighter and more powerful,” G C Pant, dean, academics, of DIAT, told TOI. However, it will not be a strictly defence-oriented research centre. The DIAT proposes to allow access to researchers from some select universities to carry out research for non-defence purposes too.

The actual work on the project, which envisages construction of the building and procurement of equipment, is expected to start by March 2010.

“The project proposal has received a green signal from the DIAT. But some more procedures are to be completed,” said R B Sharma, project co-ordinator and the head of the department of applied physics, DIAT. “We expect the procurement work to start by March 2010.”

The research centre would be equipped with sophisticated electron microscope, dual-beam and focused beam equipment and instruments for carbon synthesis.

More Stories from this section EMS helpline 108 should be made operational in state Mother, son booked for cheating Discovering life beyond scars Union ministry frames service benchmark for public transport for JNNURM citie…More

TOI : SANGLI: The Sangli district administration is taking no chance in its effort to ensure peace in the riot-hit towns of Sangli and Miraj and has decided to continue imposing curfew during the night hours in both the towns for the next few days. Sangli district collector Shyam Wardhane told TOI, “Curfew will remain in force during the night hours, from 9 pm to 6 am, at Sangli and Miraj.”

Wardhane added: “We will take a call on total lifting of curfew only after we are sure that there is no likelihood of fresh violence. The month of Ramzan Id is on and we can’t take any chances.”

Similarly, night curfew will remain in force at Ichalkaranji, which falls in neighbouring Kolhapur district. “We have decided to stick to curfew from 8 pm to 6 am, for some time,” said Ajit Relekar, resident deputy collector, Kolhapur.

Meanwhile, the Sangli police have launched a probe into the events that led to the violence which first broke out at Miraj on September 2 following a dispute between two communities over a welcome arch put up on the Ganesh immersion procession route spreading to other parts of the district as well as Ichalkaranji.

At the centre of this probe is the video CDs of the violence at Miraj. The CDs found there way on the internet as well as mobile photo clippings, said Sangli suprintendent of police Krishna Prakash. “We are investigating who were the brains behind these activities,” he said.

More Stories from this section EMS helpline 108 should be made operational in state Mother, son booked for cheating Discovering life beyond scars Union ministry frames service benchmark for public transport for JNNURM citie…More

TOI : PUNE: Some parts of the city witnessed heavy showers on Sunday afternoon and evening. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), 0.2 mm rainfall was recorded at Shivajinagar, while 23 mm was recorded at Lohegaon. The showers are likely continue for a couple of days, the IMD added.

The city has been witnessing drizzles for the last two days. Sunday was cloudy from morning. After drizzles in the morning, many areas, including Kothrud, Satara road, Yerawada, Nagar road and Katraj, recorded heavy showers. The spell of showers lasted for around an hour from 4.30 pm to 5.30 pm.

“The city is expected to witness rain or thundershowers during the next 48 hours,” the IMD officials said.

Apart from Pune, other parts of the state, including Satara (3 mm) and Mahabaleshwar (59 mm), also recorded rainfall.

As per the IMD’s daily weather report, the axis of the monsoon trough at sea level runs close to the foothills of the Himalayas. The systems, which are helpful for rainfall in Maharashtra and nearby states, include a cyclonic circulation which lies over western Uttar Pradesh and neighbourhood, as well as a cyclonic circulation over Telangana and neighbourhood.

The south-west Monsoon has been subdued over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, West Bengal, Sikkim, Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Vidarbha and Andhra Pradesh.

More Stories from this section EMS helpline 108 should be made operational in state Mother, son booked for cheating Discovering life beyond scars Union ministry frames service benchmark for public transport for JNNURM citie…More