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TOI : PUNE: State legislative assembly speaker Dilip Walse-Patil on Monday strongly criticised the manner in which elections are being fought and managed in the country. He said that money and muscle power have dominated election campaigns so much so that there is little chance for a common man to enter politics, even if he has the capability.

Walse-Patil was speaking at a book-release function held in the city on Monday for the Marathi novel Samikaran’, written by Avinash Thorat and published by Sanskrit Publication. He shared the dais with minister for parliamentary affairs Harshvardhan Patil. Both leaders expressed their strong views on state politics.

Political leaders should have patience, said Patil. Control over his or her emotions is one of the prime factors in politics. Walse-Patil said that political leaders should examine their behavior during their day-to-day work.

“Huge amounts of money are involved in each election right from the local body election till the Lok Sabha election,” said Walse-Patil. “Lakhs of rupees are spent on local body elections while for a general election the budget runs to crores of rupees. Moreover, muscle power, caste and the communal factor are elements that dominate the political scenario. A thought also needs to be given to the steps a contestant will take in search of votes,” he added.

“Justice for the common citizen and solutions to his problems are high on my priority list as an assembly speaker,” Walse-Patil said.

Wanjale, you should have controlled your emotions’

MNS MLA Ramesh Wanjale, who was suspended for four years from the assembly for causing a ruckus on the first day, was present at the function. At the beginning of his speech, minister for parliamentary affairs Harshvardhan Patil said, “Wanjale, you could have controlled your emotions during the oath-taking ceremony.” Wanjale replied, “My reaction was a limited reaction as you were present there.”

Later, Patil said that a…More

TOI : PUNE: Vascon Engineers Limited has issued a press statement stating that it has not evaded octroi duty, as claimed by the Pune Municipal Corporation.

Executive director of Vascon, S P Nair has said that all the company’s orders to suppliers are ex-site delivery and inclusive of octroi as they are importers of articles into Pune responsible for payment of octroi.

“However, the octroi department of the PMC incorrectly held us responsible for producing octroi receipt of all materials received at our site. The exhaustive details of collecting octroi receipts from the suppliers were being pursued and was submitted. In the meantime, a stop work notice was issued without a show cause notice and we had obtained a stay from the court directing PMC to maintain the status quo,” Nair said.

“Because of pressure we paid up the arbitrary demand raised by the octroi department in the interest of maintaining delivery schedules promised to our clients,” the statement added.

It further states that the company’s intention is never to evade any taxes and follow strict corporate governance.

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TOI : PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) tax collection and assessment department has undertaken a drive to seal properties on which property tax dues have not been cleared despite issuing notices.

On Monday, four properties in Hadapsar and Kondhwa, on which property tax arrears totalling Rs 40 lakh were to be paid, were sealed.

The department’s head Vilas Kanade said the drive will continue. “We appeal to citizens to pay property tax to avoid such action,” Kanade said.

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TOI : PUNE: The Pune police have asked the civil defence department to sound its sirens at 8.55 pm and at 9 pm on November 26 as part of the first anniversary observations of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

However, the city civil defence department has a problem at hand: a majority of the sirens at its disposal are not in working condition.

This was stated by the department’s deputy controller, Anil Aware, in a letter to deputy commissioner of police (special branch) Ravindra Sengaonkar, on Monday.

Sengaonkar had written to the civil department on November 20, requesting them to sound the sirens. The letter was sent after the issue of not sounding sirens on important occasions was raised by the public in one of the police meetings.

Aware expressed his inability to consider the police request as most of the sirens are non-functional and have not been repaired for a long time. Aware’s letter points out that a proposal to install new sirens and repair old ones was awaiting clearance at the office of the civil defence director general in New Delhi.

Aware was not available for comments in spire of repeated attempts to contact him at his office in Yerawada.

The use of sirens started in India after the Chinese aggression of 1962. They are used in emergency situations like the outbreak of a war or over flowing of a dam and natural calamities like an earthquake or flashfloods.

Meanwhile, joint commissioner of police (law and order) Rajendra Sonawane on Monday said that the city police have appealed to the public to observe silence for some time and pay homage to the policemen killed in the terrorist strike.

Sonawane also requested citizens to assemble in large numbers at 28 police stations and 105 chowkies in the city and at Shaniwarwada and offer floral tributes to the martyrs.

WHY SIRENS

…More

TOI : SATARA: Satara’s Arun Jadhav, a police naik with the Mumbai crime branch, cannot sleep at night even today as memories of the 26/11 terror attacks haunt him. Jadhav still has one of the bullets fired by terrorists on that fateful night, lodged near his right shoulder.

Jadhav is the lone survivor from the Qualis car that carried police officials Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar who were slain by terrorists Mohammed Ajaml Kasab and Abu Ismail in a lane near St Xavier’s college, that night.

Speaking to TOI on Monday, Jadhav said that his only regret was that he could not eliminate both the terrorists. “My right arm was severely injured by three bullets and I could not move it. I wanted to kill the terrorists right there but could not and I will always regret it,” he said.

“I get disturbed when I remember the night of 26/11, I can not sleep at night. I will never forget that day as long as I live,” Jadhav said adding that he was trying to come out of the trauma and also helping his wife and three children come to terms with it. “Even today, if I don’t reach home from office on time, they get worried and call me on my phone. But I am mentally very strong and have told them that I will continue to be in my job. I am ready to put my life at stake to do my job and face any challenge,” he added.

Jadhav is hoping to visit his native village Vaduj, 60 km from Satara, in December on a holiday and also to attend the rathyatra of Sevagiri maharaj. “It will help us to relax and spend time with my parents and sister,” he said.

Jadhav is slated to go under the surgeon’s knife in six months’ time to remove the bullet that is still…More

TOI : PUNE: Pune-based builder Nikhil Rane (41) was shot in the back by an unidentified man on the staircase of Anant Chambers on J M Road, where his office is situated, around 12.15 pm on Monday.

Rane, proprietor of Rane Constructions and son of prominent lawyer R G Rane, was admitted to the Sancheti hospital, where his condition was stated to be ‘critical’.

Sancheti hospital chairman Dr Parag Sancheti said the bullet got lodged in Rane’s neck through his back. “The bullet was removed following a four-hour surgery. We have stabilised the spine with a plate. He has been put on the ventillator and his condition is critical. He will be under observation for 48 hours.”

Deputy commissioner of police (zone-I) Dnyaneshwar Phadtare told TOI that the bullet entered Rane’s spinal cord and not vital organs. “The assailant may have used a country made revolver, but we are awaiting medical reports and we need to examine the bullet before arriving at any conclusion,” he said, adding that the police would record Rane’s statement later. Twitter Facebook Share Print Email Save Comment Text Size: | More Stories from this section Governor seeks debate on bifurcation of varsities Childline looks to PMC in hunt for office space Childline Pune to go in call centre mode Train cancelled without prior notice Sule discusses W…More

TOI : PUNE: Parikramaa,’ a two-day dance and music festival, will be held in the city to present much more than the obvious and common in classical dance and music.

The event, to be held on November 28 and 29, has been organised by Kalavardhini Charitable Trust, the dance institute of Bharat Natyam danseuse Sucheta Bhide-Chapekar.

“Kathak and Bharat Natyam are very common in Pune. With this programme, we are trying to present other classical dance and music forms also. This is the second edition of Parikramaa’. The first one held last year received an overwhelming response,” said Arundhati Patwardhan, Chapekar’s daughter-disciple and the chief organiser of Parikramaa’.

The event will be inaugurated at Yashwanrao Chavan auditorium at 5.30 pm by mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale and Bharat Natyam danseuse Leela Samson, with a Bharat Natyam performance by Chapekar’s senior disciples Alka Lajmi and Neelima Kadhe. This will be followed by Dhanashri Apte’s sequence on Nritya Ganga,’ a unique choreography conceptualised by Chapekar that comprises a synthesis of Bharat Natyam and Hindustani classical music.

In the same evening, there will be Karnataka tal vadya kacheri’ by Shridhar Parthasarthi and group. It is a musical ensemble that is present only in Carnatic music a kind of a musical programme very common in south India. Theatre personalities Rajashree and Vaibhav Arekar, who have worked extensively with the late playwright Chetan Datar, will present Dwanda,’ a dance-drama based on the life and times of Amba, Ambika and Ambalika.

Samvaad,’ a symposium on contemporary issues related to Indian classical dance, will be held on November 29 at Abasaheb Garware hall from 9.30 am onwards. Stalwarts like Leela Samson, Anuradha Jonnalagadda (Kuchipudi danseuse), Kalamandalam Balasubramanian (principal of Kerala Kalamandalam) and Arekar will talk on various aspects of dance at the symposium that will convened by Chapekar.

In Nritya Ganga’, Chapekar has weaved in Bharat Natyam into Marathi musical compositions. “I worked on…More

TOI : PUNE: Now that the authorities have embarked upon the task of removing the dividers on Jangli Maharaj and Fergusson College roads, the PMC and the traffic police have made plans to have enough space for all types of road users.

A dedicated bus lane on the extreme left of the road, a walking promenade and a cycle track at the other end and motor-vehicle lanes in the centre is what the road will have in a couple of months.

Speaking to TOI, Madhav Latkar, development engineer (roads) said that the plans have been prepared for end-to-end development of JM and FC roads to make it easier and safer for motorists and pedestrians and accessible for public transport users.

The civic officials are in the process of seeking final and formal approval for the plan from the standing committee, work on which will begin soon after the dividers on both the roads are removed.

The roads were made one-ways in August on an experimental basis and it was decided to go ahead with the system in October. The work of removing the dividers has begun and this will ensure that the carriage way of the roads becomes wider.

“All that remains is the micro finalisation of the plan and then we will start work. We are still working out the final details regarding road side parking. Road side parking is likely to be allowed only on one side of the road since there is already one PMC parking lot on FC road and a multi-storied parking facility on JM road,” Latkar said.

A safe walking promenade and a cycle track is what the PMC has planned to develop on the other end of the road.

“We want to develop the walking area with utmost care so that it is safe and walking becomes a good experience for citizens. It will be one of…More

TOI : PUNE: The by-election for ward no 86 of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) will be held on December 20. Voting will be conducted from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm, while the counting will be done on December 21.

The by-election has been necessitated as Congress corporator Shrirang Barne resigned from his post of corporator and joined the Shiv Sena before the assembly elections. He contested the assembly elections as a Shiv Sena candidate but lost to NCP rebel candidate Laxman Jagtap from the Chinchwad constituency.

The nomination forms for the by-elections will be distributed from November 24 to December 1 from 11 am to 3 pm. The nominations can be filed during the same period. The scrutiny of nomination forms and announcement of names of eligible candidates will be done on December 2.

While the last date for withdrawal of nomination is December 7, symbols will be allotted to the candidates on December 8. The final list of candidates and the list of polling centres will be announced on December 8.

Vishwas Bhosekar, zonal officer and assistant commissioner, PCMC, has been appointed the returning officer by Dilip Band, divisional commissioner. Bhosekar will have his office at the Zone D office, Rahatni. Anil Khamkar, deputy chief, accounts inspector will be the assistant returning officer.

There are 9,605 voters in the ward, including 4,403 women.

S D Shinde, deputy engineer, engineering department, Zone D, has been appointed as area officer, while S N Ahire, junior engineer, Zone D, has been appointed as deputy area officer. Shirish Poreddy, deputy engineer, has been appointed to impart training to civic employees for the conduct of the by-election. The training will be imparted on December 12 and 13. The office of the returning officer started functioning from Monday. The voting is likely to be held in Kantilal Khinvsara primary school, Hindi school and the D.Ed college building in Thergaon….More

TOI : PUNE: A total of 47 students from the Pune Division bagged the National Talent Search (NTS) examination declared by the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The state topped the examination with more than a quarter of the 1,000 students selected from across the country for the scholarship.

The scholarships are awarded on the basis of the quota allotted to each state and Union territory. For Maharashtra, the quota is 496 scholarships. These scholarships remain in effect till the concerned student finishes his or her higher studies upto the PhD level.

This year, the exam was held on May 10 in Mumbai and Pune. Students who cleared the written exam were called for an interview between July 30 and August 12 in the city. Out of these, 285 students from the state received the scholarship which consists of 189 boys and 96 girls.

Pune division, which includes Pune, Ahmednagar and Solapur districts bagged 29, 11 and seven scholarships respectively.

Close to 1.20 lakh students, including those from the economically backward classes (EBC), annually appear in the exam, which is the flagship scheme NCERT, for identifying and nurturing academic talent through monthly scholarships from secondary to higher education level.

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