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TOI : PUNE: The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) on Thursday succeeded in restoring power supply in almost 98 per cent areas of Pune, Pimpri, Chinchwad, Bhosari and Pune rural, where supply was affected due to heavy rains on Wednesday.

A statement issued by S P Nagtilak, chief engineer of Pune zone, said that the MSEDCL staff started repair work on Wednesday night itself after the rain stopped and worked non-stop till Thursday afternoon. “Since Thursdays are designated for regular maintenance work, we had planned a shut down. But we put the regular maintenance work on hold till next Thursday to avoid inconvenience to people who were suffering from power cuts since Wednesday.”

Nagtilak said that majority of the repair work, including repair of feeder pillars, underground cables, transformers, reinstallation of poles and stringing supply lines were completed by early morning.

Two high-voltage poles at the water supply scheme of Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation had collapsed after a big tree fell on them. “The MSEDCL staff started repair at 6 pm on Wednesday, removed the damaged poles and put up new ones to restore power supply in two hours. As a result the water supply was not affected. An alternative supply line that had snapped due to rains was also replaced,” the statement said.

As many as eight trees had fallen on various supply lines in Bhosari, which were removed and supply lines were repaired. Out of the 239 main supply lines, 68 had developed faults because of the rain, affecting power supply to 50 transformers and over 20,000 consumers. In Pimpri, 25 trees had fallen on 12 supply lines which were removed to restore power supply.

The repair work was supervised by Nagtilak, executive director Uttam Zalte, superintending engineers D R Padalkar, Babasaheb Jadhav, Kanchan Ajnalkar and S N Irwadkar.

Meanwhile, all the billing centres of MSEDCL will remain open on November 14…More

TOI : PUNE: Charity begins at home. So does waste generation. So, how about trying to tackle the issues of waste management at its source. It’s time for everyone of us in the city to do our bit for solid waste management, says Pushpam Pune’, a project on solid waste management being taken up in the city.

The project, which will involve various communities and institutions in the city, such as temples, hospitals, schools and colleges, housing societies and so on, in an attempt to stop or minimise generating waste at the source itself, has been successfully implemented in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Panipat.

In the city, this people’s participation initiative has been taken by city-based NGO Green Energy Foundation, and Exnora, a Chennai-based NGO.

Sharmila Oswal, president, Green Energy Foundation, told TOI that the project is based on energy saving. The entire community will be involved in this project. There will be a formation of network of each segments in order to educate them, share expertise and thus help each other.

Oswal said there is a need to bridge the gap between municipality and the public. The project will be based on social capitalisation. “We will assist people to help themselves,” she said.

There will be training given by the foundation at the individual level and also for people who would like to take it up as a commercial venture. The target group includes women and children.

The foundation will go to schools and colleges and involve students in the project work. They will have to undergo internship. The students will receive certificates and green star awards for their project work.

At the housing society level, one will be trained on how to reduce generation of waste, segregate it at source, make pits and composting and grow organic vegetables. “In fact, it would help in saving energy. We want housewives to…More

TOI : PUNE: As traffic travails in the city continue as always, measures for creating traffic awareness never lose its significance. In one such initiative, a short story collection titled Traffic Travails’, which was published in English last year for creating traffic awareness among children would soon be available in Marathi.

The book was distributed by the traffic police in schools free of cost last year. It also continues to be distributed at events and exhibitions like the one on cars, bikes and cycle expo, inaugurated at Golibar Maidan on Wednesday by commissioner of police Satya Pal Singh.

Each of the seven stories in the book concludes with a moral all emphasising the importance of observing traffic rules. The stories, accompanied by pictorial representations of characters that children like to see, assert simple things such as not using the mobile phone while driving, wearing the helmet, making use of zebra crossings, putting on seat belts while driving, and that one should always be alert and careful while driving.

In his foreword to the book, the then commissioner of police Jayant Umranikar, states that the book is dedicated to children who can change the errant behaviours of the elders, and discipline their own behaviours in the future. “Commuting is a necessity and not a necessary evil, if traffic rules are followed diligently. Ordinary human tendency is to expect others, but not oneself to maintain road discipline,” he says.

Joint commissioner of police Rajendra Sonawane says the problem of traffic is not restricted to roads, rather it has entered into our homes by way of affecting our physical and mental health. It is, therefore, everyone’s problem. “It is largely observed that traffic rules are seen just in the context of traffic lights and even those are not followed,” he states.

Says Prashant Bholagir of Sakshi Prakashan who published the book: “We got a very encouraging feedback from students…More

TOI : PUNE: The post-monsoon rain and the impact of Cyclone Phyan are expected to have damaged crops on 72,000 hectares in Maharashtra, state agriculture minister Balasaheb Thorat said.

According to preliminary estimates based on inputs received from village-level agriculture officers, foodgrain crops on over 44,000 hectares, vegetable produce on 28,000 hectares and fruit plantation on 28,000 hectares have been adversely affected, the minister said.

Thorat, along with minister of state (MoS) for horticulture Vijaykumar Gavit, addressed a news conference here on Thursday.

Besides the Konkan and western Maharashtra, Nashik district felt the impact of Cyclone Phyan, which dissipated by Wednesday evening.

“As per reports, no rabi crop in the state will be hit by the post-monsoon rain. Late kharif crops, such as grape, pomegranate, mango and cashew, will certainly see a fall in production. The Konkan, where harvesting of rice is on, could report some losses as the paddy was in the fields. The rain will, however, benefit tur, sweet sorghum (jowar), gram and wheat,” Thorat stated.

Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has ordered the ministers to submit a report based on a primary study of the agricultural sector. The report will be discussed in the cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday. The cabinet may allocate relief funds for farmers, Thorat stated.

As per the standing instructions given by Chavan, farmers reporting over 50% losses will be compensated. Farmers having rain-fed, irrigated and multi-crop farm lands will be entitled to compensation of Rs 2,000, Rs 4,000 and Rs 6,000 per hectare respectively, he said.

“According to current estimates, grape crops on 16,000 hectares and pomegranate crops on 4,000 hectares are said to have been destroyed in the state. Sangli and Nashik districts are expected to report the greatest losses to grape and pomegranate growers. So far, the districts have together reported damage to 6,385 hectares and 14,148 hectares under grape and pomegranate cultivation respectively. The…More

TOI : PUNE: Milind Wable, 49, head of the forensic department at B J Medical College (BJMC), passed away after a massive heart attack at Sassoon hospital at 5.30 pm on Thursday.

A post-graduate in forensic medicine, Wable is survived by wife, son and parents.

“Wable had been serving the forensic department as head for the last five years. He was a very well known name in the field of forensic medicine. We are deeply grieved by his demise,” said dean Arun Jamkar.

Wable suffered the heart attack while working in his office. He was rushed to the cardiac department but all efforts to save him failed.

Topics: BJMC Milind Wable More Stories from this section Dam level reaches 81.2% Astro clubs gear up to watch meteor showers Unaided schools’ meeting on November 14 Rain wreaks havoc in M’baleshwar Op…More

TOI : PUNE: The Nigdi police on Wednesday arrested a female supervisor of a private company for allegedly stealing gold ornaments worth Rs 48,000 from a house at Nigdi Pradhikaran. The police have identified the suspect as Reshma Baban Pawar (19), a resident of Nigdi Pradhikaran, originally from Beed. A complaint in this regard has been lodged by Usha Jagannath Urkudkar (50) of Nigdi Pradhiakan.

Investigations have revealed that the Pawar entered Urkudkar’s home in the pretext of drinking water and fled with the valuables.

Sub-inspector Sangita Gosavi of the Nigdi police told TOI, “On Tuesday morning, Pawar gained entry into Urkudkar’s house by telling her that she works with an IT company and needs some water. When Urkudkar went inside to fetch the water, Pawar allegedly stole gold ornaments worth Rs 48,000 and fled.”

Later, according to Gosavi, Pawar used the same modus operandi and entered in another house in Pradhikaran. Here, the residents got suspicious, caught her and informed the police. “We reached the spot and took Pawar into our custody. When we brought her to the police station, Urkudkar was already there to lodge the complaint. When she saw Pawar she immediately recognised her,” Gosavi said.

During sustained interrogation, Pawar revealed that she was working as a supervisor in a private company at Talegaon. She hailed from Beed and used to stay in Pradhikarn as a paying guest. “So far, we have managed to detect one case of theft from her. We have not yet recovered gold ornaments from her. We are investigating,” Gosavi said.

Pawar was produced in the court and remanded to police custody till November 14.

Topics: Jewellery Reshma Baban Pawar More Stories from this section Dam level reaches 81.2% Astro clubs gear up to watch meteor showers Unaided schools’ meeting on November 14 Rain wreaks havoc in M’baleshwar Op…More

TOI : PUNE: It was a providential escape for over a thousand passengers on the Mysore-Ajmer (6210) express which derailed near Jejuri, 60 km from here, on Wednesday evening.

Despite the train travelling at a speed of 80 kmph, the coaches had not overturned after derailment. The train had 21 coaches, of which the last 10, except the guard’s coach, were derailed. Among the derailed coaches, five had just tilted. As many as 13 passengers were injured in the mishap, four of them seriously.

An official said that, “Luckily the number of injured people were less and no casualty was reported.” As the incident took place a few meters away from Jejuri station, the passengers could get immediate help.

More than 150 metres of railway track was severely damaged due to the derailment. At some places the track had come off its position. The derailed bogies were also damaged, with wheels of some coaches getting detached.

According to an official, the accident relief and medical trains were rushed to the spot from Pune and Miraj on Wednesday night itself. Two cranes were pressed into service around 11 pm.

A railway official told TOI: “The restoration work is underway on a war footing for the last 16 hours. The derailed bogies were shifted. The damaged track is being replaced.”

Senior railway officers, including central railway general manager B B Modgil and divisional manager Prabhat Sahai, rushed to the accident spot on Wednesday night. Topics: express More Stories from this section Dam level reaches 81.2% Astro clubs gear up to watch meteor showers Unaided schools’ meeting on November 14 Rain wreaks havoc in M’baleshwar Op…More

TOI : PUNE: Pune has become the first district in the state to have an environmental atlas, which was prepared by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). It now joins the list of over 150 districts across the country for which environment atlases have been prepared.

The atlas explains, among other things, the reasons for air, water and noise pollution in the district, particularly in the urban settlements. The objective is to facilitate better planning and steps to protect the environment, MPCB officials say. Most of the information is based on statistics collected by various official sources till 2004.

The major urban settlements in the district, including the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal areas, eleven municipal councils and the Pune, Khadki and Dehu Road cantonment boards, are the main contributors of domestic sewage pollution.

Discharge of sewage in the Mula-Mutha river from settlements in and around Pune has resulted in localised degradation of river water quality. River water quality downstream from these settlements has also been affected.

Similarly, the existence of large and medium-scale air polluting industries and traffic volume within the cities, along the highways and on unsurfaced roads are significant sources of air pollution, the atlas points out.

According to MPCB officials, the atlas primarily helps emphasize the importance of preserving sensitive sites and also highlight the areas that need to be protected from further pollution and environmental degradation. The officals stressed on the need for introducing environmentally-compatible development. This has been necessitated by growing environmental concerns, rapid urbanisation and the risks posed by haphazard industrial expansion. All this, in turn, has led to the introduction of spatial environmental planning and the zoning atlas programme.

The environmental atlas has 26 maps and 63 tables. The maps depict features such as land use, climate, natural hazards, gradation, biodiversity, type of soil, air quality, ground and surface water, domestic sewage, solid waste, location of mines, existing…More

TOI : SATARA: The Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, which runs the Annasaheb Kalyani Vidyalaya, on Thursday suspended teacher Prakash Bagul for beating up std VII student Akash Nimbalkar for allegedly making changes in the marks of the terminal exam.

Akash, who was beaten up by Bagul with a rubber pipe, has 46 injury marks on his body and is under treatment at Krantisinh Nana Patil government hospital. Bagul has been absconding since Tuesday. Police teams have been sent to Dhule and Aurangabad to find Bagul.

Meanwhile, Akash’s uncle Pravin Jagtap on Thursday submitted a memorandum to resident deputy collector Ramesh Chavan seeking immediate action against Bagul. “If the police fail to nab Bagul in the next 24 hours, I will start an indefinite hunger strike in front of the collectorate,” he said and urged the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha not to protect Bagul.

Jagtap claimed that Akash did not make any changes in the marks but had drawn Bagul’s attention to four other students who had made such changes.

Topics: teacher Rayat Shikshan Sanstha More Stories from this section Dam level reaches 81.2% Astro clubs gear up to watch meteor showers Unaided schools’ meeting on November 14 Rain wreaks havoc in M’baleshwar Op…More

TOI : PUNE: Practitioners of India’s traditional systems of medicine, Ayurveda and Unani, from across the country, will gather at the Balgandharva Rangmandir here at 12.30 pm on November 14 for a two-day surgery update on Ayurveda and Unani 2009.’

The state of these two Indian systems of medicine vis-?-vis practice as well as education and efforts to promote the same globally, will form the focus of discussions at this upcoming event organised by the Pune regional centre of the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences.

State forest minister Patangrao Kadam will be the chief guest while minister for power and irrigation Ajit Pawar and minister for medical education and drugs Vijaykumar Gavit will be the special guests.

Secretary to medical education department Milind Mhaiskar and Ayurveda Council of India’s president Raghunandan Sharma will be guest of honour while MUHS vice-chancellor Mrudula Phadke will preside over the session.
Topics: Ayurveda Balgandharva Rangmandir More Stories from this section Dam level reaches 81.2% Astro clubs gear up to watch meteor showers Unaided schools’ meeting on November 14 Rain wreaks havoc in M’baleshwar Op…More