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TOI : PUNE: Just ten days after the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) announced a hefty Rs 1,000 fine on anyone found spitting on the roads, the much-touted drive has run out of steam. Implementing the drive is posing a problem with the one-year tenure of the civic body’s nuisance detection squads (NDS) having ended on October 2 and the election code of conduct preventing an extension.

When municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade issued the orders to fine those spitting in public in order to keep the H1N1 virus at bay, he probably did not take into account that the detection squads were completing their tenure. Zagade had also called for a sustained campaign against littering, throwing household garbage on the roads, defecating on roads, dumping rubble in the river and putting up unauthorised posters, among other things.

The drive was to be implemented by a team of sanitation inspectors, supervisors and the NDS of each ward office. The squad members are ex-servicemen hired by the PMC on a contract basis from the district ex-servicemen board. The 14 ward offices in the city have 180 squad members between them.

PMC ward officers admit that they are finding it difficult to collect the fines without the NDS. “Though we have sanitation inspectors, supervisors and other health department personnel for the drive, they are also saddled with other responsibilities like ensuring that the roads are swept and garbage is collected,” a ward officer said.

Another ward officer said the NDS members reported for work on Monday but he couldn’t send them on the field as their tenure had expired. He said he wouldn’t be able to pay them even if they worked.

Dhole Patil road ward officer Shriram Salvekar said he has written to the head office requesting that the tenure of the squad be extended.

Can’t pay the fine? Then clean the area

The Pune Municipal Corporation…More

TOI : PUNE: Despite their hectic schedule, the gruelling October heat and erratic eating time, candidates for the upcoming assembly elections look fit as a fiddle. What keeps them going on during those endless padyatras’, etc? While all of them attribute their high level of activity to the pre-poll adrenaline rush, a few give credit to their healthy lifestyle and exercise schedule also.

These politicians keep a tab on what they eat and drink in between wooing the voters. Take for instance PMC opposition leader Vikas Mathkari, who carries two bottles of butter milk when he goes out for campaigning. A fitness freak, who bicycles 15 km everyday, Mathkari says that eating light at short intervals is the key to his 20-hour work schedule.

“The 7-10 km padyatra’ is not difficult for me. Actually, I have to slow down to keep pace with my colleagues,” says Mathkari.

Mathkari leaves home after breakfast at 9 am with two bottles of butter milk, fruits and two-three cups of tea. A glass-full of milk with haldi before bedtime and he is ready to retire for the day. Mathkari admits that he is definitely stressed out, but it is an inner drive that helps him reach out to people.

For MLA Ramesh Bagwe, it his 15 years of yoga practice that keeps him going during election campaigns. Bagwe starts his day with a heavy breakfast and carries dry fruits with him.

And then there is MLA Vinayak Nimhan, who sweats it out in a gymnasium for two hours a day. “The stress of campaigning does not affect me much because of my regular exercise regime. But I cannot continue with my workouts during electioneering. I leave home at 6 am and come back for a heavy lunch and take a nap for an hour to keep going,” he says.

“I don’t have lunch outside. I do not want to…More

TOI : PUNE: All eyes are focused on what appears to be a keen contest among a few political heavyweights in the Chinchwad assembly constituency.

For more than one reasons, the Chinchwad constituency has been in the news even before the final battlelines were drawn. The four-cornered contest is among NCP rebel and sitting MLC Laxman Jagtap, another NCP rebel and corporator Vilas Nandgude, Congress’s official candidate Bhausaheb Bhoir and Shreerang Barne of the Shiv Sena. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had nominated Sunil Walhekar but his nomination form was found invalid.

Barne, who was the city unit president of the Congress, switched over to Shiv Sena very recently. Bhoir, who is the city unit chief of the Congress, got nominated only on the last day of filing the nomination. He has to fight not only the combined strength of Shiv Sena- BJP alliance but also the two NCP rebels.The NCP was keen on contesting the Chinchwad seat, one of the three constituencies created after delimitation from the now non-existing Haveli constituency. However, as Pimpri and Bhosari went to the NCP in the seat-sharing agreement, Chinchwad was allotted to the Congress in the final stages.

Chinchwad has also been in the news over the controversy on Pimpri-Chinchwad mayor Aparna Doke of the NCP campaigning for NCP rebel Laxman Jagtap. This has soured the relations between the two allies.

Claiming that he is the only party-loyalist’ candidate in the fray, Bhoir said, “Pradhikaran is the major area in the constituency. The problem here is regularisation of unauthorised constructions. In Kalewadi and other areas, the issue of gunthewari’ constructions (houses constructed on small plots) is important. Similarly, the focus is also on the proposed water pipeline project from Pavana dam to Nigdi. Decision regarding the pipeline will be taken after considering the interests of the farmers.”

Barne has defected to the Shiv Sena just a month before the assembly…More

TOI : PUNE: A group of ten students and two teachers from the Sharad Pawar International School, Pune, went to Scotland in August for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe one of the largest art festivals in the world held annually.

This was the first time a Pune school had performed at the Fringe. The play they performed was Mother Courage & her children’, written by famous German playwright Bertolt Brecht. The play tells about the religious wars of the 17th century in Germany and the havoc they caused to Mother Courage, an itinerant trader, and her family. It is essentially a cry for peace.

The play was one of the 4,000 events held simultaneously at the Fringe – and attracted very good audiences. During the festival the whole city is in festive mood. Halls, alleyways, restaurants, streets and even buses become theatres.

The cry for peace is universal but it was important to take the message Indian style, so a few Indian elements were added. Characters in from the original play were changed from German to Indian, the Om’ sign was painted on the wheels of Mother Courage’s cart and of course, there was the quintessential bhangra dancing. One critic described the show as “Brecht goes to Bollywood” and gave it three stars.

The students also performed for their peers in a Scottish school in Glasgow. This was an important cultural exchange and an opportunity for the young people from opposite sides of the world to get together to talk about art, culture and peace. They attended many other performances at the festival and improved their skills by watching other people perform.

Meeting the President

Aarti Patil, principal of Vidyanchal School, Pune, recently met President Pratibha Patil. Patil, accompanied by Sampada Arge, a fitness instructor, met President Pratibha Patil at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi last month.

“I was awed by the President’s views on empowerment…More

TOI : AURANGABAD: Venkati Jadhav (19) of Kudala village in Nanded district was recently sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his step-brother Tukaram (13) in 2008 over some land, which he wanted his father to transfer in his name.

According to government pleader Alka Kurdalikar, Venkati’s father Balaji Jadhav owned 1.75 acres of land that Venkati, being the eldest child, had claimed for himself.

Balaji, a petty farmer who also owned a few cattle, first married Sushila. Later, due to some differences with her husband, Sushila went to live with her parents, leaving her children Venkati and Savita with her husband. Following this, Balaji married another woman, also named Sushila, who too bore him a son, Tukaram, and a daughter, Rekha.

“As he grew up Venkati started demanding that Balaji transfer the land in his name. His father told him to wait for his share in the property till his sisters and Venkati himself got married. But Venkati didn’t like this,” Kurdalikar said.

On March 20, 2008, Tukaram, studying in std VIII in an ashram’ school, came home for Holi vacation. In the morning of March 25, Venkati and Tukaram went out to graze the cattle. When they did not return till the afternoon, Balaji launched a search and found the cattle in the outskirts of the village and his sons missing.

Late in the evening, Balaji and other relatives found the body of Tukaram under some bush. Two days later, the Umri police traced Venkati to Daund, where he had taken up a waiter’s job in a restaurant.

“The police recovered the axe used for murder and blood-stained cloths from his possession that matched with the blood samples of his brother,” Kurdalikar said.

“While pronouncing the judgement on September 25, additional sessions judge P B Savant said that the circumstantial evidence is sufficient to hold the accused guilty of the offence punishable under…More

TOI : SATARA: Twenty-six-year-old Shridhar Gulab Sutar of Chikhali Masur village in Karad taluka died of suspected H1N1 flu at the Krantisinh Nana Patil government hospital in Satara on Sunday evening. Also, four more suspected H1N1 patients have been admitted to the hospital.

Speaking to TOI, Padmakar Kadam, head of the quarantine ward at the hospital, said, “Sutar worked with a company in Talegaon near Pune and had come to the village to celebrate the festival of Dussehra. He developed cold, fever and cough about five days ago and was admitted to a private hospital in Masur. When his condition did not improve, he was sent for an X-ray in Karad where doctors noticed that his symptoms were similar to H1N1 flu and sent him to the government hospital”.

Kadam said Sutar was in a serious condition when he was brought to the hospital. “His nasal and throat swab samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, but he died on Sunday before his test reports could come in,” Kadam said. Sutar leaves behind his mother, wife and a 10-day-old baby.

District civil surgeon Suresh Jagdale said four suspected H1N1 patients were admitted to the government hospital. “These include a 19-year-old man from Karanje in Satara, a 30-year-old from Kirwal village in Karad, a 36-year-old woman from Kole-Macchindra village of Walva taluka and a four-and-a-half-year-old girl from Koregaon taluka. Their swab samples have been sent to the NIV,” he said.

Meanwhile, two H1N1-positive patients from Phaltan have been sent to Pune for treatment. A 35-year-old teacher and a 48-year-old fruit seller have tested positive for H1N1. The fruit seller had visited Pune 10 days ago and fell ill after his return. He was sent to the Sassoon hospital where his swab reports came positive. All the eight family members of the fruit seller were being given Tamiflu tablets and were under observation. Topics: Pune karad…More

TOI : PUNE: The Pashan Shalas, the schools for children of stone quarry workers established by the NGO Santulan, completed 10 years on Monday. However, the children’s demands, including measures to tackle malnutrition, free access to primary health care centres near stone quarries and scholarships for migrant children, remain unfulfilled a decade later.

According to Santulan’s annual report for 2009, 2,621 children from six districts were admitted into the primary and secondary sections of the Pashan Shalas this year. On October 5 each year, Santulan conducts a Santulan Pashan Shala Hakka Parishad’ to review the year gone by. This year’s Parishad was held at the Ambedkar Bhavan in the city on Monday.

B M Rege, founder of Santulan and the driving force behind the Pashan Shalas set up across the state, said, “According to the Mines and Minerals Act, 1952, children below 18 years of age cannot work at stone quarries. However, the fact is, minors are employed at such sites, and are deprived of education, health and child rights.”

Santulan has been fighting for the rights of these children since the Pashan Shalas were conceived 10 years ago. The children have been releasing a memorandum of their demands ever since, but the demands have remained unattended so far, Santulan said.

This year, too, a memorandum of the demands of the children, which includes treatment on par with students in state-aided primary schools was handed over to the state government recently.

“Coming from the lowest economic strata, they have demanded school uniforms, books and learning aids. Vocational training centres and admission for children of stone-quarry mishap victims in state orphanages are some of the other demands,” Rege informed.

Ten years ago, 84 students were admitted to three Pashan Shalas in Pune, which has now grown to a network of 82 schools with 15,708 children. Schools now exist in Pune, Ahmednagar, Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli and Nashik…More

TOI : PUNE: A dispute between two third year B.Tech students of the Maharashtra Academy of Naval Education and Training (MANET) at Rajbaugh in Loni Kalbhor turned bloody as one of them assaulted the other with a knife. The incident occurred on October 3.

The Loni Kalbhor police on Monday arrested Mohit Patel for allegedly assaulting Avanindra Singh, who received head injuries and is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Pune.

Senior police inspector Ravindra Rasal said the motive behind the attack was not known as the students who had seen the incident say they have no clue. Doctors treating Singh have not permitted the police to record his statement as his condition is critical.

A police team picked up Patel from his residence at Nirmal Home hostel near MANET. However, Patel has not spilled the beans so far. The quarrel took place at Singh’s hostel at 3.45 pm on Saturday.

According to havaldar S B Hole, “Singh’s classmate, Pranit Anil, who lives in the same hostel, had tried to intervene in the dispute but Patel did not stop. He, in fact, tried to strangulate Singh. Later he pulled out a knife and attacked Singh on his head and fled. Pranit Anil admitted Singh to a private hospital and registered a complaint against Patel with the Loni Kalbhor police station on Sunday.”

Patel has been charged under section 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapon) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Indian Penal Code.

MANET hostel warden Sanjay Kumavat said, the institute’s vice-principal V G Paranjpe is conducting an inquiry into the incident. Paranjpe was not available for comments despite repeated attempts. Topics: student Pune More Stories from this section Post-monsoon rains 41% above normal Five held in Raviwar Peth murder case 3 more succumb to H1N1; toll 75 Sena wants Uddhav as chief minister Hazare …More

TOI : PUNE: An informal survey with select students from city colleges have revealed that most youngsters are quite willing to travel by public transport buses if the service, routes and frequency is improved.

Aditya Rajput, a second year B.Com student from BMCC, who lives in Aundh, prefers travelling to college on his bike because the “bus routes are far away from where I live, and my college too is inside the lanes. So, instead of walking towards the bus stops, I save time travelling on my bike.” As for the auto-rickshaws, he thinks they are expensive’.

Arti Anand from Wadia College shares a similar opinion. “I hate buses, and auto fares are too high. Moreover, the autorickshaw drivers are rude. The bike is always better for travelling to various places.”

But not everyone can afford private transport, points out Abhijit Lendghar from the same college.

Gaurav Zawar from Modern College travels by the PMPML buses as he finds them “very convenient”. “However, they are overcrowded,” he says, pointing to the people who stand on the steps of the bus. He also speaks about the lack of hygiene in the buses. “The public tends to spit from the windows,” he complains. In addition, he says the administration needs to increase the frequency of the buses.

Garima Biswas from the Nowrosjee Wadia College too travels by bus as she is scared of driving. She is happy that she gets a direct bus from Vishrantwadi to her college. However, she has certain issues with the buses. “Some men occupy seats that are reserved for women and are very rude. They refuse to get up even when asked to. Moreover, the conductors too are not so cooperative.”

Praneeth Mendu, another student from the same college finds the buses “way cheaper”. “The buses are not really as uncomfortable as the people describe it to be they are under-rated. But…More

TOI : PUNE: “Private hospitals in India have no mitigation planning to combat the H1N1 influenza. There is an urgent need to focus on crisis mitigation planning at all levels of health sector to combat the H1N1 influenza,” said UK-based microbiologist Peter Patel, an expert in infectious diseases, disaster management and disaster medicine.

Historically, pandemic viruses have evolved between seasons and the current strain may become more severe and transmissible in the coming months, said Patel.

Patel was in the city to speak on pandemic H1N1 influenza mitigation planning and challenges at a conference organised at Ruby Hall Clinic on Monday. “There is complacency setting into the Indian private healthcare providers and pandemic flu planners. While most countries around the world and WHO are on continued high alert to detect emergence of a new virulent strain, some countries and healthcare providers have limited their activity to manage H1N1 only,” said Patel, who is currently working in the UK NHS in Primary Care (General Practice) and is the director of Service Development for Practice Based Commissioning.

India faces a huge need gap in terms of availability of number of hospital beds per 1000 population. With a world average of 3.96 hospital beds per 1000 population India stands just a little over 0.7 hospital beds per 1000 population, added Patel.

“Moreover, India will face a further shortage of trained doctors, nurses and paramedics that will be needed to manage a virulent version of flu pandemic,” said Patel. If a new variant of potentially lethal pandemic flu emerges, the current government capacity is unlikely to cope with medical, nursing manpower, access to out patients, hospital beds and social care, said Patel.

Elaborating on the mitigation planning, Patel said that the disaster mitigation planning’ should ideally include training the private and voluntary healthcare sector in managing a pandemic; capacity mapping is an urgent exercise needed currently, establishing easily accessible regional…More