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TOI : PUNE: The regional transport office (RTO) here has asked all school authorities and bus operators to comply with the stipulated safety norms for school transport vehicles. The RTO stated that strict action will be initiated, if stated norms are not fulfilled.

The RTO has stated that permits will not be renewed, and also cancelled if the buses are found not complying the norms. The norms have been conveyed to all school bus operators in the city during a meeting held at the RTO office in September, an official from the RTO said.

As per the norms, the bus should have an emergency door at the rear end with a dimension of at least 1,200 mm in height and 540 mm in width. The door should have handles on both sides inside and outside. The door should be placed at the centre of the rear end and should open on the right hand side. There should not be any seating arrangement near the emergency door.

As part of the safety measures, school buses should also have a fire extinguisher. The vehicles should have proper window grills so that the students cannot put their hands out of the window. The buses should be equipped with first-aid box.

Every bus must have an attendant to take care of the students. The attendants must carry a logbook with the names of the students along with the contact numbers of their parents or guardians. The vehicles should have words school bus’ painted in yellow on all sides. The buses should also have retroreflective panels.

The RTO issued the rules against the backdrop of the incident of a school bus catching fire in Panvel recently. There are more than 500 school buses in the PMC and PCMC limits.
Topics: RTO school buses emergency doors More Stories from this section Month-old baby survives complicated heart operation Recovery of dues: PF…More

TOI : PUNE: The key performance indicators (KPIs) devised by the director of technical education (DTE) for grading engineering colleges will be a crucial determining factor in the fixation of fees by the Shikshan Shulka Samiti (fee fixation panel).

Panel’s office secretary P E Gaikwad said, “We are seriously contemplating giving incentives like apt raise in fees for the performing institutions. A positive decision will be taken soon and colleges meeting the KPIs will benefit to a great extent.”

Gaikwad said that from this year (2009-10), the fee panel has introduced an incentive of 3 to 5 per cent hike in tuition fees for professional colleges which offer courses accredited by the National Board Accreditation (NBA).

For instance, colleges having 50 per cent of their courses accredited by the NBA can effect a three per cent hike while those having 100 per cent of their courses accredited, qualify for a 5 per cent hike in tuition fees.

Addressing a meeting on engineering education at the Vishwakarma Institute of Technology (VIT), the state directorate of technical education’s (DTE) quality assurance cell chief Sangeeta Joshi unveiled the KPI programme, which has been finalised and proposed for clearance by the state government.

Higher and technical education secretary J S Saharia confirmed that a formal government resolution relating to the KPIs and its implementation would be issued soon.

According to Joshi, “The KPIs are the mechanism for monitoring performance of engineering institutions and a vital tool for identifying the best instituitons, which can be used for mentoring other institutes, networking and resource sharing. All these objectives are aimed at improving quality of engineering education.”

The programme is to be implemented through an independent online web-based portal and will cover three major areas viz. 1) human resources (HR) and infrastructure development, which are proposed to be linked with the fee fixation; 2) academic and professional output and 3) governance…More

TOI : PUNE: The Groundwater Survey and Development Agency (GSDA) in its latest survey (post-monsoon) identified 91 talukas in the state as scarcity-hit. The survey also revealed that 120 talukas have shown depletion in groundwater level by at least two meters than the average level. Not a single taluka from Konkan and Pune divisions figure in the list of scarcity-hit talukas.

According to GSDA officials, groundwater level has gone down significantly as compared to last few years, resulting in increase in number of scarcity-hit talukas.

The survey says that as many as 13 talukas would face scarcity of drinking water between October and December this year. Over 30 talukas will face scarcity during January to March while 48 talukas will face water scarcity between April and June next year.

A depletion of ground water level up to two metres and 30 per cent deficit in the expected average rainfall are taken as parameters for declaring talukas as scarcity-hit.

The survey was conducted by measuring 3,920 observation wells across 353 talukas in the state. It further says that the talukas in Marathwada and Vidarbha are the worst hit. Over 27 talukas in Aurangabad, 28 in Amravati and 25 in Nagpur region are among the scarcity-hit talukas.

Speaking to TOI, GSDA additional director Suresh Khandale said, “The state has received less rainfall this year which has had an adverse impact on the groundwater level. Water drawn during winter and summer will further agravate the problem.”

Khandale said that more than 118 talukas have reported a decrease of up to one metre while in 70 talukas the water level has gone down to two metres. There are 36 talukas where the level has gone down to three metres and in 14 talukas the level has depleted more than 3 metres.

Khandale said the GSDA has recommenced measures to tackle the situation to all district administrations and chief…More

TOI : PUNE: In order to check octroi evasion, municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade on Saturday told the octroi department to conduct surprise checks at traders’ godowns.

The orders have been issued as per powers given to the PMC under section 387 (1) of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations (BPMC) Act, 1949. Three godowns in Bibvewadi area were raided by the department on Saturday and goods were being checked till day-break.

Deputy commissioner Rajan Muthe said that squads have been formed to continue with such surprise checks. “According to rules, we can checks documents only till evening, so we will continue with the work tomorrow and see if there has been any evasion,” Muthe said.

Muthe said that one more step taken by the department now is to fix fixed points’ outside at least 14 godowns where 20 people will be posted for 24 hours.

“Sometimes, large amount of goods are brought into the city by evading octroi and stored at certain godowns. If we keep these fixed points outside designated godowns and cross-check once the goods arrive, there will be a considerable check on evasion,” Muthe said.

Meanwhile, the octroi hike proposal tabled by the civic administration has received opposition from the various quarters. Leader of Congress, Ulhas alias Aba Bagul said that his party will not support octroi hike.

“Why are citizens’ being burdened for inefficiency shown by the administration in executing development works. They should check the unscrupulous Octroi evasion and look for increasing revenue by other ways. Citizens are already frustrated with the sky-rocketing prices. We will oppose this proposal,” Bagul said.

Corporator Ujwal Keskar also voiced his opposition to the hike stating that citizens are being punished for the mistakes that administration made while spending money on projects. “They must look for other means for raising revenue,” Keskar said. Topics: municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade octroi evasion More Stories from this…More

TOI : PUNE: The long-halted work of the new Holkar bridge will resume shortly as the defence officials and the civic administration have come to a mutual understanding about the completion of the bridge and a connecting flyover over BEG road.

Work on the new bridge, along the existing Holkar bridge, have been held up since March 26, 2009 as the civic body had failed to honour its commitments made to the defence establishment that it would build a flyover connecting its two campuses across the BEG road. It is on this condition that the defence establishment had given land to the PMC for the Holkar Bridge projects.

However, the civic body fell short of funds after it began work on the flyover. It then tabled a proposal before the General Body (GB) to divert funds for these projects. As the proposal was pending before the GB and the administration had to discontinue work.

TOI had reported about the held up projects on October 28, 2009 – the day when the GB meeting was to take a decision. The elected members had then slammed the civic administration for not planning the projects properly and held it responsible for the delay.

However, soon after the GB was over, the elected members and civic officials swung into action and held meetings with defence officials appealing them to let the work continue.

A civic official, in-charge of the project, confirmed that work has started on the projects after a detailed discussion was held with the defence officials.

BJP corporator Vikas Mathkari, who had taken the administration to task for delaying the project, participated in the discussion held with the defence officials. “The new Holkar bridge project is very important for the city and any further delay would have escalated the project costs and created chaos. The defence authorities have allowed us to start the bridge work until the…More

TOI : PUNE: The hospitality industry has expressed serious concerns about the new norms laid down by the tourism ministry for obtaining or continuing star ratings, citing practicality and financial constraint as reasons that would compel the industry to fulfill the norms.

The industry has primarily expressed reservations against some of the criteria on which hotels will be star rated, such as designated parking facilities, sewage treatment plants, x-ray checking machines and high percentage of skilled staffs. The ministry has issued a deadline of September 1, 2010 to implement the new norms.

“It will not be practical for the existing hotels to have dedicated parking facilities and to build sewage treatment plant due to space constraints. Also, adhering to the guidelines within the given time frame of one year is nearly impossible,” said Suresh Talera, President of the Hotels and Restaurants Association for Western India while speaking to the media on Saturday.

Talera said the tourism ministry has also mandated installation of x-ray checking machines in all A and B Grade hotels. “While hoteliers are not against security measures, small hotels will find it difficult to incorporate the changes at such a short notice. Moreover these machines need to be imported and require trained manpower to operate them. The cost of installing these x-ray machines is anywhere between Rs 50 and 60 lakh, which is not viable for one-star or two-star hotels,” Talera argued, adding that the existing practice of metal detectors for physical checking of guests and manual checking of luggages would suffice.

Hoteliers are also unsure if they can meet the requirement for skilled manpower, as dictated by the ministry. The norm says, 20 per cent of staff in one and two-star category hotels should be skilled and the ratio is 30 per cent for three and four-star and 60 per cent for five-star and above. “The percentage is too high and uncalled-for as it…More

TOI : PUNE: The Cantonment police on Saturday arrested two youths and recovered two laptops and a scooty from their possessions. The suspects have been identified as Anthony Ashok Sangle (22) and Vivek Vitthal Shinde (21), both residents of Dapodi.

The police had taken Shinde’s custody from the Yerawada central jail in a theft case in Pune Cantonment area.

Shinde’s interrogation led to the recovery of the laptops from his residence at Dapodi. The instruments were stolen from a private firm at Anand Park on D P road on October 22.

Shinde’s associate Sangle was arrested for abetting him in the crime.

Hawaldar Pandurang Jagtap is investigating further.
Topics: two held stealing laptops More Stories from this section Month-old baby survives complicated heart operation Recovery of dues: PF office has first right on sugar mills’ assets China-made pistol seized from two youths ATM guard under scanner after theft complaint Six hou…More

TOI : PUNE: The Sahakarnagar police on Thursday afternoon arrested a painter and detained a minor for their alleged involvement in the murder of autorickshaw driver Ganesh Mali (29) of Dange chowk in Theur on Saturday. The minor is also said to be a painter.

The police have identified the suspect as Achyut Raghunath Sawant (24) of Dhankawdi.

Senior police inspector Bajirao Bhosale of the Sahakarnagar police station said Sawant have killed Mali, as the latter used to tease his sister regularly, even after her marriage. Bhosale said that some five years ago, Mali used to live in the same neighbourhood as Sawant’s and used to tease Sawant’s sister. Later, Mali, along with his wife, shifted to Theur. But he continued to tease her whenever he visited the locality.

Investigations have revealed that Mali used to stop Sawant’s sister whenever she walked out of house and tease her. She, however, did not file any complaints against Mali with the police.

According to Bhosale, Sawant allegedly decided to get rid of Mali as his repeated plea not to harass his sister had fallen on deaf ears. For this, he sought the help of the minor.

Bhosale said on Saturday, Sawant picked up a fight with Mali over the same issue and in a fit of anger, attacked him with a sword near his house on the road at 1.30 am. The minor was detained as he had caught Mali’s hands to prevent him from resisting the fatal blows, Bhosale added.

The victim’s sister Savita Nale (35) has registered a murder complaint against the the two under section 302, read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code, with the Sahakarnagar police station. Topics: Pune Painter, minor held for murder More Stories from this section Month-old baby survives complicated heart operation Recovery of dues: PF office has first right on sugar mills’ assets China-made pistol seized from two…More

TOI : PUNE: In a rare public show of disapproval, J S Saharia, state higher and technical education (H&TE) secretary said here on Saturday that state universities cannot shy away from the task of controlling private engineering colleges.

Saharia made the comments at a function on the subject, Transforming engineering colleges in Maharashtra into world-class institutions’.

“Universities can’t take a position that controlling engineering education be left to the directorate of technical education alone. Particularly in matters like getting the colleges to opt for accreditation and autonomy; revision of curriculum; and ensuring a supply of qualified teachers,” Saharia said.

The secretary did some tough talking as he drove home the point that higher education in the state, particularly engineering education, was “in a mess”. “We cannot achieve miracles just by spending. All of us know the issues very well and there is no point in indulging in the blame game. Rather, we need to find a joint strategy for improving the quality of higher education,” he said.

In the last two decades, engineering education in the state has seen a boom. Maharashtra, at present, has 264 colleges with a total sanctioned intake of 85,216 students. “Yet, there are issues like access, inclusion and affordability, which need to be tackled upfront,” he said.

Saharia said the “state of mess” was evident from factors like low employability of engineering graduates (at 25% of the total pass-outs each year as stated by a Nasscom report); poor distribution ratio of engineering to diploma institutions (1:1 as against the desired 1:3); a lowly 13% gross enrolment ratio (GER) in higher education, which is even less for vocational education at 2%; poor industry linkages; an outdated and irrelevant syllabus; poor student-faculty exchange; and few attempts at international tie-ups.

GER refers to the number of students from the 17 to 22 age group accessing higher education. A GER of 13% basically means…More

TOI : PUNE: The captive flight trials of Astra India’s first indigenously-developed beyond visual range air-to-air missile were successfully carried out on Sukhoi-30MKI combat aircraft at the Air Force Station here last week. The trials, which are still under way at the Lohegaon air base, are the first since the missile development programme began in 2004. The live firing of the missile from the aircraft is expected to happen next year.

Parameters such as aeromechanical and structural compatibility between the missile and the aircraft, vibration, strain and high-speed manoeuvring are being tested during the trials. Around 15 sorties have been planned. The aircraft carries the missile on its wing.

The Hyderabad-based Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) is spearheading the missile development programme. Various other defence labs, air force units, the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) also have roles to play in the programme.

Speaking to TOI, S Gollakota, project director of Astra Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile, DRDL, said, “The tests were carried out successfully last week. Around half the planned sorties have already been completed. We expect the first live firing to take place in mid-2010 after all captive test flights are over and all of Astra’s systems are certified airworthy.”

In this the first phase of the captive flight trials, the entire flight envelope of the Sukhoi-30MKI is expected to be covered. This includes the fighter attaining the altitude ceiling of 18 kms. The missile, when fired at this altitude, can strike a target up to 100 kms away.

In the second phase of the trials, which will be held in the first quarter of 2010, the avionics compatibility between the Astra and the Sukhoi-30MKI will be tested.

Gollakota said ground launches of the missile have also been successfully conducted in 2003, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Topics: Pune More Stories from this section Month-old baby…More