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TOI : PUNE: Official figures from the Union ministry of health reveal that the H1N1 flu mortality rate in India is much higher than that in the rest of the world. The fatality rate in India is 3.07%, while that for the rest of the world is about 1.30%.

While, in India, the number of people who have tested positive is 10,233 and the toll is 315, a WHO report on September 20 revealed that there have been over 3,00,000 confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu and over 3,917 deaths in 191 countries and territories.

Health officials and medical experts said that the high mortality rate could be attributed to late detection and hospitalisation of affected people and delay in treatment.

V K Monga, chairman of the Delhi Municipal Corporation’s health committee, said that improper screening of tourists from affected countries, inadequate surveillance system, shortage of testing kits and masks have led to the outbreak in India.

According to him, there is a need to strengthen the public health system, redefine and redesign the curricula for medical students to reduce communicable diseases and epidemics, and co-ordinate with professional organisations like the Indian Council of Medical Research, Medical Council of India, Indian Medical Association and the Association of Physicians of India.

V Ravi, head of the department of neuro virology at NIMHANS, Bangalore, who is heading the committee looking into the cause of H1N1 deaths in Karnataka, said that the reason behind the higher mortality rate in the country is people reporting late to healthcare centres.

“Affected people report to the hospitals after five-six days. By then the flu is already at an advanced stage. Tamiflu does not work if the virus reaches the lungs and pneumonia has set in. It works only if given within 72 hours of infection,” Ravi said. The developed countries have better healthcare facilities, he added.

U H Gavandae, deputy…More

TOI : PUNE: Coming down heavily on Vinayak Nimhan, Shiv Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe on Wednesday said the former Sena MLA was a part of the land mafia and was involved in a land-grabbing case in the Shivajinagar constituency.

Gorhe was in the city to inaugurate the campaign office of Vikas Mathkari, the BJP-Sena candidate from the Shivajinagar constituency who is pitted against Congress nominee Nimhan.

The Sena MLC lashed out against Nimhan’s move to cross over to the Congress. “Nimhan has failed as a legislator in the last five years. He has not carried out any development work in the last five years. Nimhan has also been involved in land-grabbing in the city, with a case against him already going on in a court.”

She added that the Shivajinagar electorate has been voting for the BJP-Sena combine for the last five consecutive elections and the trend will be extended during the forthcoming polls. “The BJP-Sena nominee Mathkari will win by an enormous margin. The voters are fed up of the Congress-NCP front and are looking for an alternative, and Nimhan cannot hope to put up a strong challenge to Mathkari,” she said.

“The Congress-NCP government has failed in carrying out development projects in the city, which include work to be undertaken by the PMRDA, implementation of the housing development policy and setting up of a developmental plan for the city,” Gorhe added.

Gorhe said the saffron combine was opposed to the criminalisation of politics. “The state is reeling under the Congress’ dadagiri’ (bullying). Several police cases have been registered against the party’s leaders and the law and order situation in the state is in shambles. As a result, the common man is dissatisfied with the Democratic Front dispensation,” she declared.

Gorhe further claimed that the BJP-Sena will put up a good showing in the district, including in the seats in Pune city. The combine…More

TOI : PUNE: The Haveli village panchayat in Pune district is among the nine places across the state where Gram Nyayalayas (rural courts) will go functional from October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The scheme forms part of the Union ministry for law and justice’s measures to reduce pendancy of cases at subordinate courts and provide inexpensive justice to people in rural areas at their doorsteps. Gram Nyayalayas will work as mobile courts in the rural areas.

On Tuesday, the Union government announced that provisions of the Gram Nyayalaya Act 2008, which was published in the Gazette of India on January 9, will come into force from October 2. The government has plans to establish 5,000 rural courts in next three years across the country.

M N Gilani, principal secretary to state department for law and judiciary, told TOI on Wednesday, “We are starting with nine Gram Nyayalayas in the state, including Sewagram in Wardha district from October 2. Eventually, we will have the mobile rural courts in each panchayat of the state.”

He added: “We are working on the budget as well as infrastructure, mobile vehicle and equipment details for expansion of the rural court scheme in the days ahead.”

According to Bombay high court’s registrar of inspections V K Jadhav, “The notification declaring commencement of Gram Nyayalaya Act from October 2, gave us little time to go through the process of appointing presiding officers. For the time, we have conferred the Gram Nyayalaya powers to the taluka courts holding jurisdiction for the nine select panchayats,” he said.

Jadhav added: “Independent notifications for Gram Nyayalayas at Sewagram (Wardha), Haveli (Pune), Sakhri (Dhule), Mahad (Raigad), Korpana (Chandrapur), Parner (Ahmednagar), Jawahar (Thane), Ratnagiri and Nanded were issued on September 29 and the same have been conveyed to the concerned district courts.”

Experts like University of Pune’s law faculty dean Sureshchandra Bhosale said, “The…More

TOI : PUNE: High Energy Material Research Laboratory (HEMRL) — country’s premier defence research and development organisation (DRDO) institute, witnessed an explosion on Wednsday.

“The explosion occurred while propellant mixing process was going on. Roof of the building, where the mixing process was going on blown up due to the explosion,” said R K Pande, joint director, HEMRL.

Pande claimed that structures of laboratory buildings have been designed in such a way that the walls are strong while, roofs are relatively loose to suit the working conditions. So the roof blown off.

According Pande, the explosion took place at around 3.45 pm. The place where explosion took place was around 1.5 kilometers from the laboratory director office. A total of 1050 emplyoees are working in this campus.

“As a safety measure nobody was allowed to enter near by blast site. Even people were prevented from leaving the campus area for some time,” he said replying on question if the employees were banned to go out of the campus after the blast.

When asked about the causalities Pande maintained that “no casualties or injuries were reported in the incident,” but while eye-witnesses claimed that they found ambulance entering into the HEMRL premises.

According to Pande, a committee has been set up under the supervision of HEMRL director to probe the reasons behind explosion.

As per the press release issued by the lab, the mixing process is remotely controlled and located in a standalone building outside the traverse. All safety norms were followed and nobody was in the mixer room. Standing Safety Board of HEMRL is inquiring into the incident.

HEMRL is the main DRDO laboratory and one of the few labs in India that is involved in basic and applied research in all areas of high energy materials. When established in 1908 the lab was located at Nainital and known as was the Chemical…More

TOI : PUNE: The claims of High Energy Material Research Laboratory (HEMRL) officials that nobody was injured, have become doubtful. A total of eight people were injured in the blast, the doctors at the hospital where these injured people were treated said. HEMRL has reiterated their stand that nobody has been injured.

“The injured people came to our hospital in the afternoon. They were treated and discharged,” Parag Tant. the doctor at Hardikar Hospital, who was instrumental in treating the injured people told TOI, adding, “These people have been asked to come back after four days for one more check up.”

According to the doctor total of eight people were treated in the hosptial. They were suffering from injuries like Contused Lacerated Wounds (CLW), Punctured Wound, Contusion Left Lower Third Leg, and Abrasion over forehead.

As per information of the doctors, the injured people include Madhav Kamble, Mahadev Parage, Balasaheb Shekarkar, Madav Uramode, Vilas Gaikwad, Satish Talpe and Balu Padel.

“He was under a shock. His condition is well. I can’t say anything more,” a close friend of one of the injured person who accompanied the injured told TOI.

The Medical Director hosptial Madan Hardikar confirmed that the injured people had came from HEMRL , “Yes, these people are from HEMRL. We have a letter from the lab,” he said.

Replying to the questions related to the injuries of these people Joint Director R K Pande stated that nobody has been injured.

“Officially nobody has been injured,” he said.

When asked about the people who were sent to the private hosptial following the blast from HEMRL, Pande stated. “I am not aware about those people.”

Even an official media communication all safety norms were followed and nobody was in the mixer room. The building is heavily protected with soil filled traverse and a designed in a such a way that roof is…More

TOI : PUNE: With a slew of long weekends in September and more to come in October, tour operators across the city have reported a definite spurt in the number of bookings.

The rise in bookings, the operators say, can also be taken as an indication of the tourism industry’s recovery after suffering a few bad months, a result of the economic slowdown earlier this year followed by the outbreak of the H1N1 flu.

“There is a definite increase in the number of bookings, especially since both Eid and Dussehra fell on a Monday, which meant that people could go on a short holiday to places around Pune. Some of the places that have been in demand include hill stations, like Mahabaleshwar and Matheran,” says Swati Mulye, the manager of a leading tour operator.

She adds that the next weekend would again be a long one since Gandhi Jayanti falls on a Friday, which again means that people would be looking forward to utilising their three-day holiday for a short trip, and that they have been receiving enquiries for the approaching weekend. “While the demand is not overwhelming it is definitely significant and bodes well for the next few months,” she adds.

Tour operator Nikhil Thakurdas seconds Mulye’s opinion. “The long weekends have definitely helped things a bit, but overall the market is feeling optimistic. People are making a beeline for places like Goa and Lavasa during the weekends, these are a few of the closest places. Also the air connectivity between Pune and Goa has improved with the introduction of new flights and that has further encouraged bookings for Goa,” he says.

Web designer Puja Nayak, who is heading to Goa for a short holiday, says that the long weekends are a boon. “I have been planning a reunion with my college friends for quite some time now and this weekend came at the right…More

TOI : PUNE: City-based International Longevity Centre – India (ILC-I) is pushing for the implementation of the Maharashtra State Policy For Older Persons (MPOP). The policy has been drafted by the ILC-I, Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development and Administration (Yashada) and various federations in the state working for the senior citizens as well as experts in the field.

“The draft policy has been submitted to the state government recently. However, the decision is pending on account of ongoing code of conduct for the forthcoming assembly elections,” S D Gokhale, president, ILC-I told TOI on Wednesday.

The draft policy urges that all government schemes and programmes should be designed keeping in consideration the need of the senior citizen. “According to the national policy for the elderly, it is mandatory for each state to have its own policy in the context of the situation of the respective state,” Gokhale said.

The mission of the MPOP is to help empower the elderly by providing them with opportunities to lead productive, proactive, secure and healthy lives, participating to their fullest capacity in the lives of their families and communities.

Gokhale added: “The draft policy clearly mentions what needs to be achieved in the next 10 years, what ought to be done in the next five years and what should be the strategy in order to achieve these long-term and short-term goals.”

The policy seeks to ensure human and constitutional rights of the elderly in regards to financial security, health care and nutrition, shelter, education, welfare, and protection of life and property.

Gururaj Mutalik, who was also involved in drafting the policy, said, “There are more women senior citizens compared to men and the plight of the widows in the country is not too good. Unlike other countries, India does not have a security net for the elderly. When India celebrates the centennial of freedom, the country will have three…More

TOI : PUNE: The New-Delhi-based National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has sent a legal notice to NDTV Imagine, directing the channel to immediately stop airing its newly-launched show Pati, Patni aur Woh’ and send a report of compliance within seven days, or face action.

Simultaneously, the NCPCR has also written to minister for information and broadcasting Ambika Soni seeking her intervention in the matter.

The NCPCR sent the notice after city-based child rights activist Anuradha Sahasrabudhe sent a complaint pointing out that the reality show, which has five celebrity couples handling babies completely unrelated to them, was a violation of child rights.

Sahasrabudhe is also the founder-director of Pune Childline, a member of the Juvenile Justice Board, Pune, and a member of the Monitoring Committee for TV Channels, Pune.

In a letter to NCPCR chairperson Shanta Sinha on September 9, Sahasrabudhe said: “NDTV Imagine is currently advertising a reality show that has celebrity couples competing to take care of babies unrelated to them. The show is called Pati, Patni or Woh’. The promo shows that the children are completely uncomfortable with these couples and are howling in protest.”

The letter adds: “Exhibiting babies thus, and using them to promote shows or as objects’, in our opinion amounts to exploitation. It also violates section 23/26 of the Juvenile Justice Act. The show amounts to exposure and use of children for monetary gains as well as exploitation. This, therefore, is to request you to take action against the producers of the show, the TV channel and the parents of children who have permitted use of their wards for the programme. A strong action is requested so that no one is tempted in future to launch similar shows.”

Speaking to TOI on behalf of Sandhya Bajaj, a member of NCPCR, to whom the matter was referred, an official said they had received the complaint.

…More

TOI : PUNE: District guardian minister Ajit Pawar justified the decision to give party ticket to Mangala Kadam from Bhosari constituency stating that the candidature was given to a women and a new face.

He was speaking at the meeting held in Bhosari to campaign for Kadam on Tuesday.

“The party decided to nominate a woman from this newly-created assembly constituency as the party workers had been demanding to give the nomination to new faces,” Pawar said.

Criticising rebel leader MLA Vilas Lande, Pawar said that he trailed behind his opponent in all the six assembly constituencies of the Shirur constituency in the recent Lok Sabha election.

Yogesh Behl, former ruling party leader and sitting NCP corporator also criticised Lande for rebelling against the party and added that there was resentment against Lande.

State unit vice-president Vasant Wani, Pimpri-Chinchwad unit president Azam Pansare, PCMC standing committee chairman Dnyaneshwar Bhalerao and other NCP leaders were also present during the meeting. Topics: Pune Ajit Pawar More Stories from this section H1N1 mortality rate higher in India Armed man terrorises schoolkids, attacks 4 Chargesheet filed against Mankar, 16 others Three killed in mishap Action…More

TOI : PUNE: In view of the frequent accidents involving PMPML buses, the traffic department on Wednesday began interactive sessions with the transport body’s drivers to offer them tips on safe driving habits.

During the event, the drivers promised the traffic authorities that they will follow all instructions and ensure safe driving. The traffic authorities acknowledged the problems raised by the bus drivers and said that necessary measures will be taken to mitigate their grievances.

Addressing the drivers at the inaugural session of the three-day event, deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Manoj Patil said: “Driving should be such that even when others commit mistakes, one should be able to control his vehicle and avert accidents.”

Saying that the number of road accidents has to come down, Patil stressed that it was imperative to strictly follow traffic rules and discipline. The PMPML drivers should preferably use the left lane of roads and avoid overtaking other buses. Action would be taken against drivers who stop on zebra crossings, he added.

The drivers, on their part, pointed out that poor driving by other motorists causes problems. However, it is they who get blamed in case of mishaps.

Haphazard riding by two-wheeler riders was a major concern. “They do not follow lane discipline, overtake vehicles from either side and suddenly swerve in front of buses,” the bus drivers said.

The passengers also came in for some flak for getting off moving buses and travelling on foot-board. The buses are often overcrowded, the drivers contended.

The drivers complained that the buses cannot be stopped near stops with rickshaws, other vehicles and waiting passengers taking up the space. There are many blind spots and vehicles suddenly enter the main roads from connecting lanes, especially on the BRT lanes at Swargate and on Hadapsar road.

Appreciating the initiative of the traffic police, PMPML’s labour and public relations officer Deepak Pardeshi…More