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TOI : PUNE: The standing committee of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) on Tuesday approved a proposal to install close-circuit television cameras in all municipal offices, civic hospitals and octroi posts.
Addressing a news conference here on Tuesday, committee chairman Dnyaneshwar Bhalerao said that the idea came from a proposal tabled by the civic administration to synchronise traffic signals at important chowks at an expenditure of Rs 45.85 lakh.

During the meeting, officials said that the cameras to be installed at the traffic signals will also get images of unruly motorists. The committee members then expressed the need to install this system at all municipal properties to improve security.

The members suggested that the cameras should be installed at all the civic hospitals water purification plants and water tanks. There is no limit on spending on this proposal as the committee has approved the actual expenditure that will be incurred on the project.

Another proposal tabled on Tuesday was regarding concession to ex-servicemen in property tax. Bhalerao said that the administration had proposed 50 per cent concession in the general taxes to ex-servicemen having houses on an area less than 1,500 sq.ft. But they will have to pay the full education tax, drainage tax and utility taxes.

Saying that ex-servicemen have been granted 100 per cent concession in property tax in Thane, member Prashant Shitole asked this benefit is denied to residents of Pimpri-Chinchwad.

“The committee amended the proposal and approved 100 per cent concession in general tax to ex-servicemen living in houses with an area of 1,500 sq.ft. The proposal will be sent to the general body,” Bhalerao said.

This concession will not be given for commercial properties. The ex-servicemen or their wives have to submit the proof of living certificate every year besides discharge certificate, pension payment order and copy of the identity card to the PCMC to get the benefit. The…More

TOI : PUNE: Over 50 per cent children working at a quarry in Moshi were found to have reduced lung function with all the symptoms of asthma. The two-and-half-year-long study has been carried out on 70 children working at the quarry by the paediatric unit of the Pune-based D Y Patil Medical College.

“We have been studying 70 children in the age group of three to 15 years who are working at the stone quarry in Moshi for the last two and half years. Over 50 per cent of them are found to have reduced lung functions with symptoms of asthma like breathlessness, cough, tightness in chest, wheezing etc.,” said paediatrician Sharad Agarkhedkar, head of the department of paediatrics at D Y Patil Medical College.

The study using the peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) monitored the lung function of these children at regular intervals keeping a record of their measures at each examination, said Agharkhedkar, who is spearheading the study.

The peak expiratory flow rate measures how fast a person can breathe out (exhale) air. It is one of many tests that measures how well the lungs are functioning. Peak flow readings are higher when patients are well, and lower when the airways are constricted. “From changes in recorded values, we have determined lung functionality and gauged the severity of asthma symptoms among these children. Over 50 per cent of these children recorded lower readings and were found to have all symptoms of asthma,” said Agharkhedkar.

“Children exposed to the dust for over five years were the most affected. Many of them were exposed to the dust right from birth,” said Agharkhedkar.

The stone quarry at Moshi is spread over an area of 10 acres. As many as 350 families reside in the area, said Agharkhedkar. The findings of the study was presented in the form of a research paper at the International Paediatric Association’s conference…More

TOI : PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to reconcretise sections of the old Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki cantonment limits at 12 places after identifying faults in the concretisation process done earlier.

Speaking to TOI on Monday, Vinay Deshpande, officer in charge, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) cell in the PMC said, “The highway was opened to traffic soon after the concretisation work was completed. As a result, cracks developed at many patches on the road surface. We have removed 16 panels of concrete and reconcretised them all along the highway till now. There are another 12 panels that have to be removed and reconcretised. This work will be completed in a month but the highway will remain open to traffic when the repair is conducted.”

He said that the repair work is being funded by the contractor who did the original work. The PMC is not paying for it, so there will be no wastage of public money.

The 2.25 km stretch from the Chetak housing society in Bopodi to the Central Hatcheries chowk lies within Khadki cantonment limits. Three years ago the highway had only two lanes and a large number of potholes. There were repeated demands from the public to widen and asphalt the highway. The state public works department (PWD) was unable to repair and maintain the two-lane highway and this responsibility was transferred to the KCB. It too could not bear the huge burden of repair and maintenance and finally the PMC took the responsibility of widening and concretising the highway.

The PMC had undertaken the work in Khadki cantonment under the JNNURM scheme. The highway has been widened to 23 meters under this project and was opened to traffic after concretisation at the end of May this year.

The highway now has four concretised lanes from Central Hatcheries chowk to the gate of the Khadki railway…More

TOI : PUNE: The first model school, out of the 103 planned by the state government across Maharashtra, will soon come up in Nashik. A government resolution (GR) towards this was issued by the state government on November 12.

The GR announced the formation of a 12-member state and district coordination committee, headed by the state education secretary, that would implement the establishment of the first school in Nashik.

“We are still working out the details of this project and right now, a committee has been formed,” joint secretary (school education) A.M. Bhattalwar, told TOI on Tuesday.

The model schools will be established in talukas that are considered backward in education. According to the GR, 17 schools will be established in Nashik as part of the first phase. The implementation process will follow central government guidelines.

Besides the secretary of the state education department who will head the committee, the panel will include a representative each of the Navodaya Vidyalaya committee and the Kendriya Vidyalaya Committee of the state government, the director of the Maharashtra State Council for Education, Research and Training, a representative from the Directorate of Primary Education and the director of Maharashtra State Council of Examinations, among others. Besides, two education experts will also be members. The state director of education (secondary and higher secondary) has been appointed a member secretary.

The GR also provides for the setting up of a district-level committee to be headed by the district collector with nine members and a member secretary, to co-ordinate the project.

The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education will recommend names of two education experts to the state as well as district committees. Twitter Facebook Share Print Email Save Comment Text Size: | More Stories from this section Headley visited Osho Ashram in Pune Chargesheet against Purohit in arms case City boasts of script bank with over 2,200 plays…More

TOI : PUNE: After it was revealed that Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Coleman Headley had visited the Osho International Commune at Koregaon Park in Pune twice on July 24, 2008 and March 16, 2009, the special branch of Pune police has intensified its drive against foreigners who are overstaying in violation of the visa rules.

“The police always keep a check on foreigners, but in view of the recent incident we have intensified the drive against foreigners residing in Pune,” said assistant commissioner of police Kalidas Suryawanshi on Tuesday.

According to Suryawanshi, “The police have issued instructions to landlords to intimate the foreigners registration office (FRO) within 24 hours if they have rented their premises to any foreigner. They will need to submit form ‘C’ containing details like name and address of foreigners, nationality, photograph, passport, visa number and other details.”

The police will take action against the landlords if there is a delay on their part in submitting form ‘C’ to the FRO as per rule 14 (6) of Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992 and Foreigners order (report to police), 1971 and section 14 of Foreigners Act, Suryawanshi said.

Pune is home to over 20,000 foreigners, who have come here on student, medical, business, employment or other visas. The police have deported 230 foreigners from countries like Iran, Africa, Yemen, Sudan, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan since September 11, 2008.

“The drive against foreigners was intensified because a lot of them were staying in violation of the visa rules and indulging in unlawful activities,” Suryawanshi stated. The ACP explained that his officers verify foreigners’ activities on a regular basis and collect information about them. “We have formed four zone-wise units that keep a tab on their activities. We visit their residence and keep a track of their movements within the city,” he added. Twitter Facebook Share Print Email Save Comment Text Size: | More Stories from…More

TOI : PUNE: An alert woman, with the help of some local youths, has helped catch a suspect red-handed while he was about to flee after committing a burglary at a flat. The incident took place at Karvenagar on Monday afternoon.

The Warje Malwadi police have identified the suspect as Mansoor Ahmed Khan (41) of Virar, Mumbai. Investigations revealed that Khan has previous crime record in Mumbai. A complaint in this regard has been lodged by Raghunath Sutar, a resident of Shriman society at Karvenagar.

Speaking to TOI, sub-inspector Sandip Bhosale of Warje Malwadi police station said that on Monday at around 12.30 pm, Khan entered the flat of Sutar by breaking open the lock. The woman, Sutar’s neighbour, found him leaving the flat and got suspicious as she knew the Sutar family had gone out for work. She tried to stop him, but Khan pushed her and tried to escape. The woman immediately raised an alarm, Bhosale said.

The youths — Parag Kulkarni, Sandip Khutale and Sachin Karne — saw him running away and also heard the woman screaming for help. After a small chase, they managed to nab the accused. “The youths handed over Khan to us. We have recovered a chain and a necklace from his possession,” Bhosale said.

During interrogation Khan admitted his involvement in the crime. He told police that he had come to a religious place near Pune. He entered in the house after seeing the door open, and committed the crime.

“Investigations have revealed that Sutar’s house was locked and Khan broke into the house. Khan was arrested thrice earlier by the Mumbai police for similar offences,” Bhosale said.

Khan was produced before the magistrate court on Tuesday and remanded to the police custody till November 19.
“We suspect the involvement of more people in the crime. We will take him to Mumbai for further investigation,” Bhosale…More

TOI : PUNE: In a bid to speed up the end-to-end selection process for civil servants in the state, the department of higher and technical education has asked all universities and affiliated colleges to ensure that they delegate an adequate number of teaching experts for confidential work of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC).

The reluctance on the part of the college managements to release teaching experts on time for MPSC work, is one of the contributory factors to the delays in declaration of the service commission results. To overcome the issue, the MPSC had requested the state government to formalise the system of a steady supply of teaching experts from the colleges, for its competitive exam work by way of issuing a government resolution (GR).

Deputy secretary to the higher and technical education department R G Jadhav issued the GR on November 3 seeking cooperation on the part of the state varsities as well as the colleges. “We don’t have any mechanism to get the directive implemented on a mandatory basis, but we can consider apt punitive action in the case of complaints against colleges resorting to undue excuses for not releasing teaching experts,” Jadhav told TOI on Tuesday.

The MPSC is a constitutional body created for the recruitment of class I, II and III officers and employees in various departments of the state government. Its mandate includes advertising for jobs, conducting competitive examinations for the same, declaring results and conducting personal interviews of successful candidates to shortlist and recommend jobs for them to the state government.

According to MPSC secretary A M Tripathi, the commission works with a limited staff and has to rely heavily on the subject-specific teaching experts from universities and colleges, for confidential works like multiple paper-setting and assessment of answer sheets for the competitive exams.

He said, “The experts are required to stay on the MPSC campus for stipulated periods…More

TOI : PUNE: With the posts of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad mayors coming under the general category, there is a keen race on among NCP aspirants for the coveted offices. The name of senior corporator Anil Bhosale is already being circulated for the Pune mayorship.

There seems to be an air of optimism among the open category corporators in both the civic bodies as the next mayors could be elected from among them.

Open category corporators are those who have been elected from civic wards not reserved for either the scheduled caste or other backward classes. However, this does not prevent reserved category corporators from contesting the mayoral elections.

Among the leading contenders for the Pune mayorship are leader of the house Anil Bhosale and corporators Subhash Jagtap, Mohansingh Rajpal, Dilip Barate and Shrikant Patil. Outgoing mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale has also expressed interest in a possible second term.

The possibilities of Anil Bhosale bagging the post however are high because he was not given the ticket to contest the recently held assembly elections. Bhosale was a aspirant from the Shivajinagar ward, but could not contest as the constituency went to the Congress party. As a consolation, Bhosale is likely to be awarded the mayor’s post.

Pune city has seen only one male mayor since 1996-97. Since then, the post was reserved for women — either from the open category or backward or scheduled caste categories — except once.

The mayoral chair in Pune was occupied by women mayors like Kamal Vyavhare, Vandana Chavan, Vatsala Andekar, Dipti Chaudhari, Rajni Tribhuvan and Rajlaxmi Bhosale. The only male mayor during the period was Datta Gaikwad (1999-2002).
In PCMC, the NCP, with a clear majority among the 105-member general body, will elected the next mayor from among its corporators. Also, the new mayor is most likely to be selected among men corporators, as the post has been held by…More

TOI : PUNE: The Pune police on Tuesday ordered an inquiry to find out whether suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Coleman Headley (49) had visited other places in the city too after it emerged that he had paid two visits to the Osho International Meditation Resort at Koregaon Park here — on July 24, 2008 and March 16, 2009.

Joint commissioner of police (law and order) Rajendra Sonawane told TOI that the Osho resort has given the police details of Headley’s two visits. Deputy commissioner of police Ravindra Sengaonkar of the special branch will conduct an inquiry to collect details of Headley’s visits and also identify the people he may have met or those who may have accompanied him here.

Headley did not inform the foreigners’ registration office (FRO) of the Pune police of his arrival on either of his two visits, Sonawane said. “Any foreigner who comes to the city for even one day has to intimate the FRO and give details of his/her departure. The police can taken action for violation of the Foreigners Act in case of non-compliance,” he pointed out.

It is learnt that Headley visited India on a business visa on both his visits. “The visa enables a foreigner to travel to any part of India, but he has to register himself with the FRO at the place where he is conducting business,” said assistant commissioner of police Kalidas Suryawanshi. The police are trying to find out whether Headley had registered with any FRO in the other Indian cities he visited.

Meanwhile, Ma Amrit Sadhana, spokesperson at the Osho International Meditation Resort, confirmed that Headley had registered at the resort on two occasions. “We anticipate that everyone who registers with us comes for meditation. We have multiple meditation courses that range from one hour to longer durations. We don’t have any other information about Headley. We learnt that he had visited the resort…More

TOI : BHOR: Three years on, a large number of farmers here are reaping the benefits of the development programmes launched by the Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV). For instance, almost fifty per cent of the total requirement of rice seeds in the taluka is now being met locally under the seed production programme. Two other programmes being implemented here include dairy development and poly-house development. The MPKV has been implementing various programmes for the benefit of farmers for over 59 years now.

Under the seed production programme, selected farmers from various villages and small hamlets of Bhor taluka are provided with the MPKV recommended breeder seeds to produce foundation seeds. The foundation seeds can be sold to other farmers in the vicinity.

Says Parashuram Patil, a farmer based in Kasurdi, a small village, “I have touched 111 quintal rice production per hectare. I have tried and provided inputs to the agriculture university several times about the required changes in rice crop, which is the main crop of Bhor taluka.” Patil, incidentally, has won the Krishi Nishtha award of the state government for higher and qualitative production of crops.

Another farmer, Vilas Borge from Sangvi-Yevali village, along with seven other farmers from the same village, have been given 12.6 acre land for seed development programme. The farmers have been growing the Indrayani variety of seeds, which is then processed at the Manjari processing unit run by the MPKV. The processed seeds are then provided to other farmers. While the seed producing farmers are getting better returns, farmers in the vicinity are also benefited as they get the pure seed produced within the same area, said Borge.

Dwarka Salwe from Khanapur village, who has set up her own poly-house of flower production after acquiring training at MPKV said, “I have invested Rs 32 lakh for the poly-house project, which is now earning me some Rs 5,000 every day….More