The Golden Sparrow on Saturday 26/12/2015

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PUNE, DECEMBER 26, 2015 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

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TGS LIFE

Living the runway dream

CITY

Pandhari of kho kho P3

Pune’s heritage finally to get preserved

CITY

Shingnapur loses its zero crime status P5

Bhusari blaze throws up real life hero

Ignored for time immemorial, the PMC has recently embarked on an ambitious mission to preserve and restore Pune’s heritage sites and structures See Spotlight, p08 & 09

Thackeray bahus turn developers Sharmila and Smita Thackeray undertake constructions of their own multi-storey towers

Satyam Building (above) which will be redevloped by Sharmila Thackeray (right); Smita Thackeray (below)

BY YOGESH SADHWANI @yogeshsadhwani Sharmila Th ackeray and Smita Th ackeray are developing buildings at Shivaji Park and Juhu. The two daughters-in-law of the Th ackeray household have taken a fancy to real estate. Both are constructing multistorey towers. While Sharmila is constructing a 17-storey building near Shivaji Park, Smita is building a 13-storey tower at Juhu. Both, sources reveal, have apartments for sale.

The duo has recently got on to the real estate wagon.

Sharmila’s project was approved in October this year, while Smita’s got clearance in September.

Both acquired land parcels for their projects a few years ago and applied for permissions to construct early this year.

Sharmila, wife of Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena chief Raj Th ackeray, is constructing her project on Dr M B Raut Road, near Shivaji Park. In 2012, she acquired a fourstorey building located diagonally opposite her residence Krishna Kunj for Rs 2.91 crore from the Shahs, the earlier owners. Earlier this year, her architects applied for permissions to bring down the old structure and construct a 17-storey building.

The plans include resettling four families living in the old building named Satyam, and constructing a d d i t i o n a l apartments for sale.

The going rate for a fl at in the new buildings in the area is upwards of Rs 40,000 per sq ft.

In all, the building will have 15 fl ats, which would include a duplex on 12th

and 13th floors. The plans, which are in possession of TGS reveal that a mechanical parking system going up to the 11th floor of the building will be erected to accommodate 35 parking slots. To be built on a plot admeasuring 4,293 square feet, Sharmila has been granted Floor Space Index of 3.

Sharmila’s proposal to construct the 17 storey building was cleared by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) on October 28, with the civic chief giving his fi nal nod that day. Since the project is close to the Arabian Sea, it needed to be cleared by the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA).

On November 26, MCZMA too gave its nod.

Similarly, Smita Th ackeray is constructing a plush project in upmarket Juhu, Mumbai. Way back in 2002, Smita, who was wife of Bal Th ackeray’s estranged son Jaidev, acquired a 4BHK bungalow on lease on Road number 8 of the area. Earlier this year she put up plans to demolish the old bungalow named Laxmi, and construct a 13-storey building. The proposal has been given a nod by the MCGM. The plans, which are in possession of TGS, reveal that the new building will have eight fl ats, which includes a duplex and a penthouse. The smallest fl at in the building will be of 1,315 sq ft while the penthouse will be spread over 3,800 sq ft. She has provided for 39 parking slots in the new structure.

The building will come up on the plot spread over 6,600 sq ft. Flats in the area are priced at around Rs 50,000 per sq ft. yogesh.sadhwani@goldensparrow.com

Unsung hero of Bhusari Colony fire saved the life of fellow worker by breaking into the inferno See P3

MUMBAI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 26, 2015

PUNE

‘Bring water in concurrent list for its conservation’ P 11

“We want to improve our services both in the transport and power supply division hrough technological intervention. To begin with, we will create an intelligent transport system and electronic billing or power consumers.”

—Jagdish Patil, BEST general manager

Chintan Upadhyay held for double murder Kandivali police arrested the artist in connection with the murders of his ex-wife Hema Hirani Upadhyay and her lawyer Haresh Bhambhani

BY SANTOSHEE MISHRA @TGSWeekly The Kandivali Police have arrested Chintan Upadhyay in connection with the murders of his wife Hema and her lawyer Haresh Bhambhani. Chintan was detained at Kandivali police station on Monday night. He was arrested by the investigating team at around 8 am on Tuesday and produced in the Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Kandivali, which remanded him to police custody till January 1, 2016. Four other accused including Shivkumar alias Sadhu, Pradeep, Azad and Vijay Rajbhars were also produced in court and remanded to police custody till December 28. The police are yet to nab Vidyadhar Rajbhar, an accused who is absconding.

Additional Commissioner of Police (North Region) Fateh Singh Patil said, “Chintan has been arrested in connection with the murders of Hema and Bhambhani. We have charged him with murder, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence.”

The police told the court that the investigations into the murder have become even more complicated owing to the filing for divorce by Hema and Chintan, and that it was essential to determine Chintan’s motive to eliminate Hema. Kandivali police officials claim that Chintan was helped by the absconding Vidyadhar Rajbhar in the plotting and murder of Hema and Bhambani. The Kandivali police claim to possess electronic evidence against Chintan.

“During interrogation, Chintan kept changing his statement, which is strewn with discrepancies. Meanwhile the arrested accused Sadhu told the police that Hema’s murder was masterminded by Chintan,” said a senior official of Kandivali police station.

The police claim that Chintan was in touch with Vidyadhar and met him in Rajasthan.

“They decided to lure Hema claiming that Vidyadhar had video evidence against her husband.

Vidyadhar called Hema on the phone and told her to come to Kandivali.

Hema was accompanied by her lawyer Bhambhani, who wanted to see the evidence. Vidyadhar had demanded Rs six lakh for the evidence,” the official said.

“Vidyadhar planned to eliminate her and also wanted to extort money from Hema. When she refused, he lost control and killed her,” the official said.

Hema was living at their jointly owned Juhu-Tara Road flat. Chintan had moved to Delhi a couple of years

ago and would visit the Mumbai home often. A close family friend of Bhambhani revealed that Chintan was a frequent visitor to Hema’s Juhu residence, and that he had allegedly planted a microphone in her bedroom

to monitor her activities.

Meanwhile, Dipak Kumar, Hema’s cousin claimed that Chintan had an ulterior motive behind murdering his exwife. “He harassed her through the divorce case and was jealous of her,” said Kumar.

Accused Vijay Rajbhar’s lawyer Vikas Goar said his client had no role to play in the murder except for the fact that he was present when the duo was killed. Chintan’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde told the court that his

client was in touch with the key accused Vidyadhar for work. “They met in Rajasthan for a work related issue. It was a pure professional meeting,” Advocate Maneshinde told the court, adding that Chintan

All that you need to know about the Chintan-Hema saga

BY YOGESH SADHWANI @yogeshsadhwani He was a Gujarati from Rajasthan, Banswara district, and she was a Sindhi from Vadodara. Chintan Upadhyay and Hema Hirani, both students of Fine Arts met on the Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda campus in 1992. They tied the knot on October 31, 1998 in Jaipur. Overnight they became the poster couple of the art world.

Hema was signed on by Gallery Chemould for her innovative use of photography and sculptural installations, while Chintan won accolades for his Ally McBealesque fibre-glass babies.

The couple led a starry, enviable life at Mittal Ocean View, their Juhu-Tara Road residence. But by 2010, the once inseparable couple had filed for divorce which came through on October 29, 2014, two days before their 16th marriage anniversary. Joined in the bitter legal battle, they lived in the same f lat, sleeping in separate bedrooms.

SHE IS CRUEL The divorce proceedings were initiated by Chintan in June 2010. He moved the Mumbai Family Court seeking a divorce on the grounds of cruelty. In his petition, Chintan stated that on their wedding night Hema remained ‘wholly cold and unmoved’. He claimed that on the next day his wife insisted on wearing western attire for ceremonies and demanded non-vegetarian food, knowing well that Chintan’s family was vegetarian.

Chintan stated in his divorce petition that Hema fought with him and insisted on buying a bigger f lat. He claimed that she refused to have children on the grounds that she was busy with her career. He alleged that she often got into brawls with the domestic help. He cited an instance of July 2009 when Hema allegedly ‘got into a brawl with their domestic help’ and physically abused the help.

He also claimed that she insulted him in front of his staff.

Chintan stated that Hema was wholly disinterested in looking after their matrimonial home and

TIMELINE

failed to discharge her household duties. The petition stated that during a wedding in his family, one of his cousins gifted Hema a sari, but she returned it citing that she did not wear saris. He alleged that Hema was ‘cruel and wholly insensitive in nature’, ‘suffered from severe personality disorders’, ‘exhibited severe mental and behavioural disorders bordering on schizophrenia’ and was ‘extremely suspicious in nature to the extent of being paranoid, which ref lects in her clandestine conduct’. The petition stated that it was impossible for him to cohabit with her and that they had been living separately since November 2005.

HE IS INSENSITIV E Hema denied all the allegations in court. In her reply to the divorce petition, she claimed that Chintan’s family was ashamed of her being a Sindhi. “It became abundantly clear when Chintan’s mother told me that I should not tell people that I am Sindhi,” her response stated. She also claimed that on several occasions Chintan’s family ‘humiliated and insulted’ her.

She claimed that Chintan did not spend on maintaining the household and she made all the purchases. Hema said that she even chipped in to buy the Juhu-Tara Road f lat. She denied getting into fights with the domestic help. If

pm, their phones were switched off. When they did not return till late night Hema’s servant and Bhambhani’s family got worried.

December 11: Advocate Haresh Bhambhani left his

house at Matunga in the evening. Hema also left her residence around the same time. Around 8.30 pm Advocate Bhambhani spoke to his daughter over the phone. They met at Hema’s studio in Andheri and then left for Kandivali where they were to meet Vidyadhar Rajbhar. Post 9

December 12: Advocate

Bhambhani’s daughter filed a missing complaint with Matunga police station.

He,ma’s servant too filed her missing complaint with local police.

Later in the evening cops find two bodies in a drain. They have been stuffed in cardboard boxes, wrapped in plastic.

anything, she went on to state that Chintan was ‘a chain smoker and alcoholic’. She alleged that he once threw a cup of hot tea on her face.

She also claimed that he physically abused her. Hema alleged that Chintan was ‘cruel and insensitive’ towards her.

In response to the divorce petition filed by Chintan, Hema levelled several allegations – ‘apart from being a schizophrenic and sadist, (he) was a true hypocrite with hollow ego and various phobias”, ‘abused her and her family in most vulgar and uncouth language’ ‘is an alcoholic, suffers from severe personality disorders and is in fact a schizophrenic’, and ‘perverted and person of sadistic nature’. She claimed that Chintan deceived and cheated her and lied to her about his parents being broad minded.

NEITHER OF YOU PROV ED CRUELT Y Judge S R Kafre, who was hearing the divorce petition, found that neither of the two could prove cruelty against the other. As for claims made by Chintan, the Judge rejected all his allegations including the one about Hema being cold on the first night, wanting to wear western outfit the next day during a ceremony, and demanding nonvegetarian food. “They represent modern society with their thoughts,

ideas and views and in this background making allegations regarding western outfits and food style of the respondent are absolutely illogical,” the Judge stated in his order dated October 29, 2014.

“It can be safely stated that the incidents cited by the petitioner (Chintan) in his evidence are not established by him by leading cogent and satisfactory evidence.

Some incidents are relating to mere normal wear and tear of the married life and it cannot be stated that they are grave and weighty incidents, on which the petitioner is entitled to claim the relief of divorce from the respondent (Hema),” the order stated. As for Hema’s allegations, the Judge made similar remarks, “The respondent has made wild, serious, reckless allegations against the petitioner without any proof.”

However, Judge S R Kafre held that Hema making’ defamatory and wild allegations against the spouse’ amounted to cruelty. “The respondent (Hema) has made wild, serious, reckless allegations against the petitioner (Chintan) without any proof. She has stated that the petitioner is a schizophrenic and sadist and as a true hypocrite with hollow ego and various phobias.

In this regard the respondent was cross-examined. It appears that the respondent has made allegations in her written statement but she has not taken care of proving those allegations by leading cogent, satisfactory and confidence inspiring evidence,” the order stated.

The Judge noted in his order that the couple ‘has reached a point of no return’ and that ‘bitterness between them has increased manifold’.

“Due to the battle between the parties, the marital sentiments and emotions have dried up and there is hardly any chance of their springing back to life on account of artificial reunion. Essence of marriage has gone. The marriage became shackle for them. The respondent (Hema) has made serious, wild and reckless allegations amounting to mental cruelty to the petitioner (Chintan).

In such circumstances the ruling relied by the petitioner are helpful to his stand and the petitioner is

December 13: The two bodies are identified as those of Hema and her lawyer.

First clue came from driver of a tempo who had been asked to dump the two cardboard boxes in the drain. The driver, who came forward, told the police that he was told that the boxes contained waste material. He led them to the killers.

December 14: With the help of the Special Task

BY SANTOSHEE MISHRA @TGSWeekly Police head constable Gautam Sable, 55, of Pydhonie police station, is gifted with a remarkable memory. He was able to recall an arrest he had made 22 years ago when he was posted at Nagpada police station. The culprit who was 55 years

of age then, had conned more than 20 senior citizens, by promising them jobs, and he was consequently imprisoned.

Now over two decades later, Sable again was instrumental in the arrest of Vijay Dattaray Adhikari, 77, for cheating a senior citizen.

“I remembered arresting Adhikari 22 years ago. He used to own four flats and two commercial properties in Dadar, which he lost owing to his addiction to gambling and horse racing,” said Sable.

Adhikari has quite a few aliases, including Joshi Kaka, Prabhu and Haroon. He was trying to con a

senior citizen by claiming that he owned property in the Grant Road area, and took the victim there to show him the property. Entering the predominantly Muslim inhabited area, where he seemed to know every one by their names, Adhikari then told the senior citizen to hand over all the cash, cellphone and other valuables, and threatened to kill him in the slaughter house in the locality. He claimed to have hacked two policemen to death in the slaughter house.

The senior citizen later lodged a complaint with the Pydhonie police in this regard. Constable Shirish

Sawant checked the CCTV footage from Grant Road which confirmed that it was Adhikari. Sable checked previous records, and realised that Adhikari was released from jail in 2000.

Sable and Sawant took Adhikari to Pydhonie police station, where he was identified by the complainant.

Adhikari who hails from Konkan, is single and there are several complaints in Pydhonie police station regarding conning senior citizens.

Adhikari has been sent to Arthur Road Jail in Byculla. santosheemishra@gmail.com

entitled to the decree of divorce,” Judge S R Kafre noted in the order.

The Judge asked Chintan to pay Rs 16,51,805. Hema had spent the money on paying rent of their Dahisar, Gorai and Borivali homes, purchasing refrigerator and computer, paying telephone bills, apart from repaying a personal loan and lending some money to Chintan.

Hema demanded alimony of Rs one lakh per month. The court however, rejected her claim on the grounds that she was self employed and had sufficient sources of income to maintain herself.

BAT TLE R AGED ON IN HC After the Family Court signed on the divorce decree, Hema challenged it in Bombay High Court. In January 2015, she filed an appeal against the Family Court order. When the HC was hearing the case, Chintan gave an undertaking that he would not remarry till the case was being heard. This was in January 2015 before Justice Ranjit More and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai.

Hema sought alimony of Rs one lakh per month from Chintan in HC. She told the court that though she earns some money, she ends up spending for maintenance of the f lat which in their joint name. She submitted Chintan’s income tax returns to show that he had substantial income and that he earned more than her. On the basis of her claim, division bench of Justice Dr Shalini PhansalkarJoshi and Justice VM Kanade ordered onOctober 28, this year that Chintan pay her Rs 40,000 per month. The battle in HC still rages on. The case came up for hearing last on December 18 (a week after she was murdered) and is scheduled next on January 22, 2016.

Hema filed a similar claim in Mumbai Family Court demanding maintenance under the Hindu Marriage Act. Even that case came up for hearing onNovember 4 and is scheduled to be heard on January 11, 2016.

In all her cases in Family Court and HC, Hema was represented by Advocate Haresh Bhambani, whose body was found alongside hers on December 12. yogesh.sadhwani@goldensparrow.com

Force in Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai police arrested one of the accused, Shivkumar Rajbhar alias Sadhu from Varansi

December 15: Other accomplices Pradip Rajbhar, Azad and Vijay Rajbhar were also arrested December 22: Chintan is finally arrested. All along the Mumbai police had been grilling him. The cops had maintained that though Vidyadhar was the key accused, Chintan’s role could not be ruled out.

Alert policeman identifies conman from 22 years ago Pydhonie head constable shows remarkable gift of memory to arrest conman he had arrested 22 years ago

rushed to Mumbai after hearing about his ex-wife’s disappearance.

“Despite their divorce battle the duo shared a cordial relationship,” Advocate Maneshinde said. santosheemishra@gmail.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 26, 2015

FTII, censor board issues kept I&B ministry busy P12

“The NSS volunteers would be appointed for the survey of out-of-school children in districts, talukas and villages of the state from January onwards. Our aim is to ensure that not a single child remains out-of-school in the state.”

— Purshottam Bhapkar, commissioner of education

Pandhari of kho kho Sakharwadi is home to 90 national girl kho kho players and it’s spawning more

An energetic kho kho session underway with the talented girls of the village

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @TGSWeekly Sakharwadi in Phaltan tehsil is 60 km away from Satara, and 102 km away from Pune. Agriculture is the mainstay of the residents, some of whom also earn some money by working at private sugar mills.

PUNE

Sakharwadi’s claim to fame is that it’s home to 90 national girl kho kho players and it’s spawning more. Sixteen Sakharwadi girls have represented Maharashtra in kho kho and Madhavi Bhosale, Bhagyashree Fadtare and Priyanka Yele have won the state’s premier Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Award.

Bhusari blaze throws up real life hero

Unsung hero of Bhusari Colony fire saved the life of fellow worker by breaking into the inferno

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 Amol Maruti Gaikwad, 32, is a real life hero who risked his own life to save another. His act of bravery occurred during the devastating fire at a Bhusari Colony, Kothrud last week.

Gaikwad of Barshi in Solapur district has been in Pune for two years and was employed as welder at the mattress workshop. He had gone to Chandni chowk in the lunch break when the fire broke out. He rushed back as soon as he came to know about the fire. “When I reached the spot, I saw the workshop engulfed in flames and I could also hear the cries of fellow workers who were trapped inside,” Gaikwad said. In a bid to break in, he bashed his head against the tin sheet, and sustained a cut on his head. He was able to enter and rescue one of the trapped workers. The flames however, left severe burn injuries on his face and back, and lost consciousness soon after. By then the Fire Brigade personnel had arrived, and Gaikwad was sent to Sassoon Hospital for treatment. He had sustained 45 per cent burn injuries, and the gash in his head required 12 stitches. Admitted to the Sassoon Hospital burns ward, his condition is now stable.

His wife Manisha is by his side at the hospital.

Gaikwad is the sole bread-winner of the family, and his wife, two children and parents are dependent on him.

Four migrant workers lost their lives in the blaze at Bhusari Colony, and it might as well have been five, were it not for Gaikwad’s selfless act.

Shailesh Karve, 27, is the man who has been given a new lease of life by Gaikwad, who rescued him from certain, fiery death. “I have a new lease of life thanks to Amol’s incredible bravery and his concern for a fellow worker. I would have been burnt alive along with the four who lost their lives in the fire. I have escaped with minor burn injuries, all thanks to Amol,” Karve said. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com

Things have changed since the initial opposition of the conventional Sakharwadi residents who though it improper and indecent for girls to be playing kho kho dressed in shorts.

But Sakharwadi High School sports teacher Sanjay Bodare managed to convince the parents of the girls by taking them to Mumbai and Pune to attend kho kho meets, where girls from all across India were playing kho kho dressed in shorts. With the overwhelming success of its girl kho kho stars, Sakharwadi is known as ‘Pandhari of kho kho’.

Bodare joined Sakharwadi High School as sports teacher in 1996. He had captained the Shivaji University and Savitribai Phule Pune University kho kho teams, and also represented Maharashtra in his college phase.

Bodare said, “We did not have a ground at Sakharwadi School initially.

I got the headmaster’s permission and set up a kho kho ground. Convincing the girls’ parents took a long time but I told them the benefits of a sports career and changed their mindset. I groomed the girls in the finer aspects of kho

kho and more than 90 girls from our school have played at the national level, besides the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Award winners Madhavi Bhosale and Bhagyashree Fadtare who

are now holding well-paying jobs in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation and MSEB. Priyanka Yele, 22, is the youngest Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Award winner, is now studying in

the second year of Science. Yele is the only Indian sportswoman who has won all three sports awards, viz, Janaki Prize, Rani Lakshimibai Prize and Veerbala Prize.”

The Maharashtra government acknowledged Bodare contributions by conferring him with the premier Dadoji Konddev Award, in 2006.

Bodare’s home is like a museum, with 3,500 trophies and 1,500 medals, and he has a non-stop stream of visitors, including former deputy chief minister and state kho kho federation chairman Ajit Pawar.

Priyanka Yele father Ramchandra Yele said, “The credit for Priyanka winning the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Award goes to Sanjay sir. He is also training other girls from Sakharwadi who are also achieving success.”

Bodare has turned down offers from Bhave School and Nutan Marathi Vidyalaya of Pune as he is devoted to Sakharwadi village.

He lauds the Satara district kho kho federation and Maharashtra state kho kho federation for their support.

But Bodare has not been given the five per cent raise and promotion due to Dadoji Konddev Award winners.

Sakharwadi High School headmaster of S S Changan said, “To Bodare sir goes the credit for putting Sakharwadi on the Indian sports map, with the overwhelming success of our girl kho kho players.” tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 26, 2015

PUNE

“Driving drunk reflects a callous attitude towards rules. Nobody has the right to hurt innocent road users simply because they are inebriated. There seems to be no difference between weekends and weekdays anymore.”

— Sarang Awad, Deputy commissioner of police (traffic)

Pune footballer gives the city two new Futsal pitches P10

Ring in the New Year without Bollywood music Lawsuit filed in Pune court against 11 premier hotels for copyright infringement

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma If you’re planning to ring in 2016 grooving on Bollywood music at some swanky party place in town, think again. Novex Communication has filed a lawsuit in the Pune District Court against 11 upmarket hotels in Pune for copyright infringement.

Novex Communication, a Mumbai based firm is the authorised copyright holder of the on-the-ground rights to play the songs produced or owned by Yashraj Films (YRF), UTV and Zee music, the petition filed by their lawyer Advocate Devendra Saralkar claims. According to the injunction petition, Novex, incorporated in 2002 “has been licensing sound recordings for “non-physical” use, ie, for all forms of exploitation of copyright in sound recordings except the manufacture and sale of physical copies like vinyl discs, audio cassettes and, currently, compact discs (CDs). Such non-physical exploitation of sound recordings, which the Plaintiff licenses, includes public performance in hotels and restaurants and other venues communication to the public.”

Novex had issued a letter on November 26, 2015 to hotels asking them to “refrain from use of the songs and sound recordings of the films that they have a copyright without the permission,” the petition says. However, the hotels didn’t pay heed, leading

to the lawsuit filed on December 16 against 11 hotels, including Sayaji, Westin and O. Out of the 11, two hotels resolved to solve the matter out of court. So the lawsuit currently is against nine hotels, of which Westin is the premier one.

While the court proceedings were taking their time, Novex, allegedly worried about New Year events organised by almost all the hotels playing their songs, moved the court to get an injunction order passed, stopping the hotels to play the music till the final order is delivered. The court has passed the injunction, asking the hotels to stop playing the songs owned by Novex till the next hearing, effectively barring the playing of nearly 60 per cent of Bollywood music.

The Novex lawyer says that the playing of songs owned by them without permission is a serious copyright infringement. He says, “My client Novex owns the rights to almost all the Bollywood songs played at these hotels for personal gain. These starred hotels organise parties and lease out their rooms, banquet halls and other premises for events that use the songs that are

rightfully owned by my client. They (the hotels) can hardly conduct these profitable activities (events) without use of the sound recordings.”

So, how does one get the permission? “There are different types of licences for which you must pay for the usage of the songs,” says the Novex lawyer. According to the petition, there are two types of licenses pertaining to the public performance category, namely Annual License and Events License. These two differ in rules and the fee. While annual is all-year, events is only for certain days or hours. Apart from that, the petition states that Novex’s “tariff is already in public domain and the same has built-in adjustments according to the average attendance, duration, sponsored, non-sponsored, charitable events etc.”

“My clients do not want to ban the playing of Bollywood songs. In fact, we want these songs to become more popular but that should be done rightfully and legally. Playing songs without permission or the proper license is legally wrong,” says Saralkar. In the injunction petition, however, Novex has demanded that the hotels be stopped “from

SC, ST kids admitted to English school

publicly performing or in any manner communicating the sound recordings works of Novex to the public, or allowing their premises or any premises under their control to be used for the said purposes, without licence or otherwise infringing copyright in any work owned and administered.”

Bollywood songs are played everywhere, so why targeting only these? According to the petition, it “will affect the willingness of others to obtain the licences, and thus have a snowballing effect.” Saralkar said, “Copyright infringement is just a step away from piracy. If the big guys can do it, the others will think it’s okay too.” The other reason is that big hotels are more aware of the rules. According to the petition, “Novex takes great pains to provide every opportunity to the establishments concerned regarding its annual licenses and event licences, by addressing informative notices vide email/letters to all potential users who come to its notice, who appear reluctant to obtain the licences.”

Westin Sales and Marketing Director Vivek Braganza said, “The Westin Pune Koregaon Park is a responsible member of the community and will continue to follow local laws and regulations as applicable.”

While the district sessions court has passed the injunction, the battle is far from over. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for January 4. gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

P12

Ex-servicemen arrested for assaulting traffic cop They dragged the cop for 150 feet and kept kicking him throughout

BY YOGESH WAGH @ywagh1857

Two ex-servicemen identified as Niranjan Singh (37) and Deeplochan Behera (34) have been booked for assaulting an on-duty traffic cop. On Monday Rajendra Giri, a head constable with Pune traffic police, was on duty near Swargate when the duo crashed their bike into him. In an attempt to stop them, his hand was stuck in the bike’s carrier. Instead of stopping, the duo dragged him and kept kicking him.

Giri was on duty at Volga chowk when he was hit by a Hero Honda Splendor motorcycle ridden by ex-servicemen Singh and Behera, who were going towards Mitramandal chowk from Market Yard. The cop explained that Singh was riding the bike, while Behera was the pillion.

“After they crashed into me, I got suspicious.

I wanted to check if they were drunk and even had a valid licence. I told them to stop, but they tried speeding away. This is when I grabbed the metal carrier of the bike. My hand got stuck in it, and the duo refused to stop,” Giri stated in his complaint.

The traffic cop added that while he was being dragged, Behera kept abusing him and kicking him. It was only 150 feet away that Giri managed to free his hand from the bike. In the process, his uniform was torn, his cellphone and walkie-talkie damaged and he sustained injuries on his hands and legs.

However, Singh and Behera weren’t all that lucky. A little ahead, bystanders who had witnessed the entire incident, managed to

Head constable Rajendra Giri (Above); Driving licence of accused Niranjan Singh

stop the duo. They were arrested and booked for assaulting a government servant and obstructing him from discharging his duties by Nehru Stadium police.

Police sub inspector Pradeep Palande revealed that both Singh and Behera are exservicemen. “Singh is from Uttar Pradesh and Behera is from Odisha. They are both jobless now. They were produced before Shivajinagar Court and granted bail,” said Palande. yogesh.wagh@goldensparrow.com

Police hunt for the Bereaved family made to wait for 8 hours man who threatened Vikhe-Patil Family of a man who committed suicide had to wait as none of doctors in forensic dept were available

BY GITESH SHELKE @gitesh_shelke The city police are tracing the unidentif ied person who a l leged ly threatened Opposition l e a d e r R ad ha k r ishna Vikhe-Patil in the city a few months ago.

The matter had come up Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil for discussion during the Winter Session of the State Assembly.

At a Sanatan Sanstha press conference, a Sanstha member had

allegedly made threatening remarks against Vikhe-Patil, who had voiced his ire against the BJP-led state government and Hindu right wing organisations, in wake of the murder of social activist and author Comrade Govind Pansare by unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants in Kolhapur.

Vikhe-Patil had also criticised the state machinery for failing to trace the motorcycle borne culprits who shot dead Dr Narendra Dabholkar in Pune on August 20, 2012.

City Police Commissioner K K Pathak ordered a probe into the matter on Thursday, urging the police stations to identify the Sanatan Sanstha member who had made the threats against Vikhe-Patil. gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1

The relatives of a deceased person were made to wait eight hours to get a post mortem (PM) done at Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH) in Pimpri. The reason? There was not a single doctor available in the forensics department. The family members alleged that the body was handed back to them on 5 pm despite hospital receiving it at 8 am. Hospital authorities admitted that there was a delay in the PM process.

The hospital is run by Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).

Vishal Suresh Mohite, 34, a tempo driver of Ganeshnagar in Dange Chowk, hanged himself at his home late on Monday. “Wakad police

The Post Mortem Centre at Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital, Pimpri

handed his body to YCM hospital for PM in the morning at 8:30 am.

We didn’t get the body till late in the afternoon,” said Vijay Pawar, friend of the deceased. “Medical superintendent M M Deshmukh said that there was no doctor available and another doctor

was called to conduct the PM. Finally after 8 hours, we were handed the body,” he said. The family had to wait at the hospital all day.

The Wakad police registered a case of accidental death. Police also found a suicide note. “As per the suicide note,

Vishal ended his life because he was fed up with prolonged illness. However the illness is not known and we have registered a case of accidental death.

Further investigations are continuing,” said senior police inspector N J Shaikh of Wakad police station. Vishal also worked at a hardware shop. He has a 14-year-old daughter Bhakti, and 10-year-old son Kumar, said Ravikant Pawar, a relative of Mohite.

Civic medical officer of health Anil Roy also admitted that there was a delay in PM. “The PM was delayed because a doctor in the mortuary fainted and was admitted to YCM hospital for treatment,” Said Dr Roy. “There are 3-4 doctors posted in forensics department of hospital. A night duty doctor had left hospital after completing his duty and was out of reach. Another doctor Suhas Dole had gone in Sassoon hospital for medical checkup. Finally Dole came in at 3 pm and he completed the PM process and handed over the body to relatives of Vishal,” said Dr Roy. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com

Will the Khadki Sports Complex get Ministry nod this time?

Proposal for the sports complex and commercial building sent to the Defence Ministry for the third time

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan The long pending proposal of constructing a sports complex and commercial building in Khadki Cantonment Board (KCB) limit is still waiting for sanction. The proposal, which was drafted in 2006, has been sent for sanction to the Ministry of Defence for the third time.

According to sources from the Cantonment Board, the proposal was sent for the second time on August this

year. A senior KCB official said that the proposals for a sports complex and a commercial complex have been sent again through the Defence Estates Office to the Centre.

KCB Vice President Suresh Kamble said, “We are still waiting for sanction of this complex. It has taken nine years for final approval. Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kakade had written to the Defence Minister twice for constructing the commercial and sports complexes. But the proposal is still pending with the MoD. Now we are again pushing this proposal and we are optimistic about receiving sanction for the complex.”

“The proposal is for construction of a state-of-the-art astroturf hockey stadium-cum-complex in this jurisdiction at a cost of Rs 18 crore on the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT)

RAHUL RAUT

basis. The proposed sports complex was suggested at a plot adjacent to the upcoming Archival Unit and Research Centre (AURC). The original proposal of the sports complex at survey number 209/B4 included an astroturf hockey

ground with spectators’ galleries on both sides.” he said.

An 80,000 square feet commercial complex beside the Old Pune-Mumbai highway has been sent to the Centre.

The complex is proposed to house

badminton courts and facilities for indoor games like table tennis, boxing and martial arts. A gymnasium is also likely to be included in the complex. Two rooms for doctors or physiotherapy on the upper floors have

also been proposed.

KCB CEO Amol Jagtap said, “I do not know much about the proposal. I’ll discuss this in the next board meeting.

I have only information about sports complex, which is near Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Cantonment General Hospital. We have already sent a proposal for putting astroturf, which costs Rs 5 crore. Last year, the MoD had rejected the proposal and said to resend a fresh proposal. Now we are preparing a fresh proposal which will be sent by January end.”

A senior official said that the Board might suggest replacement of the hockey ground with a football ground as KCB already has a hockey stadium in its limits. The complex will also house a hostel and gymkhana building. sushant.ranjan@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 26, 2015

“A large number of juveniles from Pimpri Chinchwad are involved in crimes like rioting, thefts and anti-social behaviour. If the trouble is not nipped, such crimes will escalate.”

— Sunil Ramanand, Joint commissioner of police

China to address economic slowdown

Music therapy to cure respiratory disorders

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EOW set up to probe land scams in rural areas around Pune

BY GITESH SHELKE @gitesh_shelke The Pune rural police have decided to step up investigations in the face of indiscriminate registration of land scams and frauds under the jurisdiction

of ten police stations at Bhor, Mulshi and Maval talukas.

In a special order issued last week, Superintendent of Police, Pune rural, Dr Jay Jadhav stated that before the registration of such crimes, preliminary investigations

will be done by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Pune rural police. The orders relates to the police stations of Rajgad, Haveli, Paud, Dehu Road, Talgaon Dabhade, Vadgaon Maval, Talegaon MIDC, Kamshet, Lonavala (city)

Shingnapur loses its zero crime status

Within two months of the opening of police station, 16 cases have been filed, which includes burglary, pick-pocketing, among others

The Shani Shingnapur temple complex

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @TGSWeekly Shani Shingnapur in Nevasa taluka in Ahmednagar district is known for its Shani temple, but even more remarkable is the fact that the houses in the village have no doors, only door frames. There was never a theft in Shani Shingnapur until 2010, when cash and goods worth Rs 35,000 were stolen from a vehicle, and in 2011, Rs 50,000, gold rings and other valuables were stolen from the home of a retired Shree Shanaishwar Devasthan Trust official. In January 2012, gold ornaments were stolen from the temple itself.

But Shingnapur residents do not believe in keeping their valuables under lock and key, trusting that Lord Shani will punish anyone attempting a theft.

In January 2011, the United Commercial (UCO) Bank opened a ‘lockless’ branch in the village, the first of its kind in the country, given the near zero crime rate in the region. The bank has doors which always remain open, but the bank officials take precautions for the safety of lockers.

The Shani Shingnapur police station was opened on October 3, 2015. Six days after its opening, a pick-pocketing case was registered at the police station.

Shani Shingnapur police station Assistant Police Inspector Prashant Mandale said, “In two months, we have registered 16 cases, including incidents of burglary, pick-pocketing, fights and road accidents.”

Shani Shingnapur temple trust deputy executive G K Darandale said that Lord Shani has been worshipped for more than 350 years in the village. The residents believe that he is protecting them so there is no need for doors to their homes, even the RCC homes. “People believe that anyone attempting robbery will go blind. The pickpocketing incident was an exception and I have no idea about any burglary in our village,” he said. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Temple trust wants 24x7 police watch The Shani Shingnapur Temple Trust has deployed 18 private security guards including eight women security staff at the temple premises in wake of the members of Bhumata Brigade, a women’s rights organisation, trying to enter the temple, on December 20.

The trust also has planned ask Ahmednagar Superintendent of Police Saurabh Tripathi for round-the-clock vigil at the temple by five men and five women police constables.

The trust’s deputy executive officer G K Darandale said that there was no gender bias and that both men and women devotees are free to take darshan from the boundary, which was put up to stop devotees from anointing the deity’s idol with oil which made the f loor slippery.

“Only the pujari can cross the boundary for pooja,” he said.

“The Bhumata Brigade wanted to violate a 350-year tradition, and trying to enter the sanctum was a publicity stunt, as there were media persons and people with cameras. The trust does not want to deprive women of their rights but women’s organisations are trying to disrupt the peaceful environment of our village.

That is why we have deployed 18 private security guards, until we get 24/7 security cover with ten police constables. We need women security guards and women police constables to deal with the women,” said Darandale.

Meanwhile. Bhumata Brigade president Trupti Desai said, “It is a shame that women are still barred entry to temples in India.

We will go to the Shingnapur on Monday, December 28 and try to enter the temple again, and do away with the pointless Shani Shingnapur temple tradition.”

Shani Shingnapur police station Assistant Police Inspector Prashant Mandale said, “We have deployed two police constables at the Shani Shingnapur temple. A case has been registered against the temple security guards based on Trupti Desai’s complaint.

We have not registered any case against the Bhumata Brigade.”

and Lonavala (rural).

Pune rural EOW, Police Inspector Shivaji Deokar said that the aim is to curb police interference in land scam or fraud cases. “It has come to the notice of senior officers that there is interference by police staff. The cases

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henceforth will be first reviewed EOW personnel and if necessary, a report will be prepared for the police station.

If not, they will treated as civil or revenue cases,” he said.

Deokar said that land prices are skyrocketing in areas under the

jurisdiction of the ten police stations.

“Given the industrialisation and housing projects, land prices in Paud (Mulshi) and Maval have shot up,” he said.

Eight cases have been verified in two days, and the concerned officers have been told to register FIRs, while a couple of cases have been referred to the revenue department gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 26, 2015

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Atomic Energy Act amended

“Since the last eight years, there are discussions and debates about Pune metro. We are not going to allocate four FSI randomly. There will be a proper system to implement the project.”

— Girish Bapat, Guardian minister

IndiGo shows the way to ideal passenger service

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4 dead as car falls into Kukdi canal Driver lost control of the vehicle due to tyre burst

IndiGo airline staff goes out of their way to enable woman passenger reach Pune in time for crucial exam

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma Indian air carriers are not known for being especially passenger-friendly.

But the folks at IndiGo airline proved to be a welcome exception to the rule, going way out of their way to help out a woman passenger travelling from Assam to Pune, Savita Singh on December 22. The helpful IndiGo staff promptly responded to all her tweets, and even bent their rules some to ensure that the passenger got on to her fl ight.

Savita Singh, the lucky passenger, lives on an Army base in Tezpur, Assam.

She was due to appear for a Harvard Business Online School exam in Pune.

“It’s called HBX CORe and is held annually at just a handful of centres in India,” said the 30-year-old, who has a PhD in genetics. The fee for the online certification course is $1800 or about Rs 1,20,000, which she stood to forfeit were she not to appear for the exam.

“I have been preparing for the exam for three months, the last date and slot for which was December 23. I had planned my travel plan accordingly,” said Singh, but the plan went awry. Her SpiceJet fl ight 658 which was to leave Guwahati airport at 3:35 pm left at 5:30 pm and reached Kolkata at 6:20 pm instead of 4:55 pm.

The connecting fl ight from Kolkata to Pune was at 7:00 pm from Kolkata airport. There was a real possibility of Singh missing the connecting fl ight.

On the brink of panic, she started tweeting to IndiGo airline from her

Sandalwood thieves strike again

twitter handle @perperplexed. And IndiGo responded promptly from their handle @IndiGo6E. “Since I had booked the tickets under the defence quota, I couldn’t even e-check in. They needed my ID proof and for me to be present for the check-in,” she explained on Twitter.

Even this problem was taken care of as she mailed her IDs to the IndiGo officials. The minute by minute Twitter timeline showed how the officials helped the female passenger. They let her check in from her fl ight en route Kolkata and also facilitated her travel between the two fl ights, waiving the 45-minute prior seating.

The irate Singh also sent several tweets to Spice Jet, asking them to “learn from IndiGo”. But the unassuming IndiGo officials thought that they did just what is expected of them. Their social media executive Abhishek Vats said, “Passengers’

comfort is our highest priority. We make sure that we provide the best service. In Singh’s case, we didn’t really have to do much and we are thankful for all the praise coming our way.” It is normal for passengers to take to the social media, he said. “Delays can happen due to traffic, or any other circumstances. Our aim is always to help the passengers in their transit,” he said.

Savita Singh reached Pune at around 9:00 pm, with enough time for some last minute preparations. “I am thankful that three months of hard work and the course fees did not go down the drain. IndiGo is one of the best service providers in the country,” she said. gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 Four persons lost their lives when the car (MH 14 CC 757) they were in veered off course and fell into the Kukdi canal on Pune-Ahmednagar Road near Narayangaon, 10 km from Shirur, on Sunday night at around 11 pm. The deceased have been identified as Motilal Shivlal Jadhav, 34, his wife Dipalee, 30, and sons Aaditya, 11, and Yashraj, 7, of Wagholi. Their bodies were recovered from the canal by the Supa police at 6 pm on Monday.

According to police, the family was returning from Shirdi, when left tyre of the vehicle burst. Motilal, who was on the wheel, lost control of the vehicle. The Jadhavs were supposed to return home by late night on Saturday.

However, when they did not turn up till wee hours of Sunday, their family got worried and started searching for

them along the highway leading to Shirdi.

Somewhere near Kukdi canal they spotted a part of the car and immediately alerted the cops. The police roped in locals and was able to fish out the car only by around 6 pm on Monday evening.

Motilal Jadhav was the secretary of Bhatkya Vimukta Jati Shiskshan Sanstha, a school fabled children and orphans at Parner Phata on PuneAhmednagar Road. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com

Improved PMPML service on the cards

Quartet of thieves rob sandalwood tree, cellphones from Kalyani bungalow

The transport body appoints Ernst & Young to chalk out a turn around plan

BY GITESH SHELKE @gitesh_shelke

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan

Four unidentified culprits entered the premises of businessman Gaurishankar Kalyani’s bungalow in Kalyaninagar and fled with a sandalwood tree and two cellphones belonging to the security guards, whom they also beat up, at 2.45 am on Thursday.

According to the complaint lodged by security guard Rameshwar Aakarik, 32, of Yerawada, Gaurishankar the culprits cut through the Kalyani barb wire fence to enter the bungalow premises.

The culprits, brandishing sticks, cutters and a saw, threatened the security guards, and confi ned them to a room. They then chopped down a 25foot tall sandalwood tree, and also made away with the security guards’ cellphones. gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com

The much awaited Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPMPL) Business Plan was approved by the Board of Directors on Tuesday. PMPML Chief Managing Director Abhishek Krishna confi rmed this and said that after an extended delay, the business plan will soon become a reality.

The contract worth Rs five crore for this plan has been given to Ernst & Young LLP, Mumbai.

Krishna said, “The decision has been taken in the board meeting on Tuesday. The contract has been given to Ernst & Young. The company will take nine months to chalk out the plan and two years to implement it. We will promote the brand in every manner. The MoU

Pune commuters can expect better bus services in the near future

will be signed before the end of this financial year.”

Under the ambit of the plan, the agency will review bus stops with or without shelters, survey passenger information services and undertake surveys regarding passenger services.

PMPML sources said that the agency would work on a Smart City

plan. “The fi rst task of the agency is to turn the PMPML into a profitable organisation. The business plan will provide the information of the frequency, route and number of buses,” they said.

A senior PMPML official said, “We have been pursuing this issue for the last two years. The proposal is crucial to improve public transport.

It has been finalised after eliciting suggestions from stakeholders and commuters. All the formalities have been completed. Funds have also been sanctioned by the PMC.” Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Commissioner Kunal Kumar was present at the board meeting. He approved the proposed plan.

The Mayor and standing committee chairman were also present. The board of directors meeting was held recently, but the meeting was postponed thrice owing to uncertainties about the projects. On Tuesday, the plan was finalised.

The PMC has allocated funds for preparing the plan, which accounts for the overall operational, institutional and financial blueprint for the next 20 years.

In November 2014, a joint letter addressed to the CMD and the members of the Board of Directors of PMPML, several NGOs had pointed out that despite making public statements that improvement in public transport in general and PMPML in particular were essential for solving traffic problems,

no concrete steps had been taken.

The selection committee included Vivek Velankar of Sajag Nagrik Manch, Jugal Rathi of PMPML Pravasi Manch, Sujit Patwardhan of Parisar and Maj Gen Sudhir Jatar (Retd) of Nagrik Chetna Manch.

Rathi said, “The business plan was approved after a long delay. I hope that the interests of commuters will be given priority. The PMPML had undertaken several surveys for the plan. They should not ignore the interests of commuters.”

The PMPML business plan was postponed for the last three years, with mounting losses forcing the transport body to cut corners.

During the Nagpur winter Assembly session, the state government decided to take the matter into its own hands after a member of the legislative council (MLC) raised the issue.

The transport body operates 2,053 buses in Pune, Pimpri and Chinchwad. It posts operational losses to the tune of Rs 90 crores annually. sushant.ranjan@goldensparrow.com

Two teachers go on a hunger strike over unpaid salaries

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma

Pune may be known as the Oxford of the East, but teachers in the city are getting a raw deal in government schools. Five months after temporary teachers had staged a protest, 13 permanent teachers of two schools have now resorted to a hunger strike at the Education Office, as they have not been paid for the past year.

The teachers of Kailashvasi Bhaurao Tapkir School, Kalewadi

and Kranti Jyoti Savitribai Phule School, Chinchwad, under Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation area, launched their protest 20 days ago. For the first fortnight, the strike was in shifts, and now it’s throughout the day. One of the striking teachers, Ramdas Jadhav, 41, “The authorities are not at all concerned about us.”

These teachers have been employed at the schools for 15 years. Sandeep Bohite, 40, said, “There were minor issues in salary distribution but it did not matter as long as we could feed and clothe our children and managed to save a little.

But when the temporary teachers came in, our salaries were affected.”

They had moved the High Court in 2012, which directed the schools on

July 4, 2012 to declare the salaries and pay the teachers regularly, which the school authorities ignored.

“Everything was fine until the salary issues cropped up again. We then realised that they had not even maintained the service book,” said another woman teacher, refusing to disclose her name. “The service book is for keeping records of our service, of our tenure of working. These records are then presented when we retire and they decide our pensions,” she said. But the problems are not limited to that. The schools don’t follow any seniority orders either.

“Things work more by greasing the palms than actually working,” said Bhimrao Lagad, 38.

Gajanan Shinde, a senior teacher,

has been on hunger strike for 25 days.

He has been taken to hospital several times due to weakness, nausea and vomiting. “We can’t do anything except protest but the authorities don’t care.” Ramdas said, “Even the schools don’t care. They don’t want us back. When I went back, they forced me out. That is the reward for serving the school for 20 years.”

The schools are actually benefiting as they have to pay temporary staff much less.

While the Education officer had called the teachers to discuss the matter, nothing substantial came out of it. “No one cares about us. We will continue to fight unto death,” said Lagad. gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

TEJAS GAIKWAD

No one cares about us, say these government school teachers

These government school teachers have resorted to a hunger strike over salary issues

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 26, 2015

“ There is no intolerance towards any community in the country and it would never happen till rule of law and judiciary is there to protect their interests.”

— TS Thakur, Chief Justice of India

“ People from minority community had to face insult by other community. They are feeling insecure about not only regarding their property but also their lives.”

— Amin Patel, Congress MLA

Brighter future ahead for waste-pickers’ children Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat organises get-together for children of wastepickers from Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad

BY SALONEE MISTRY @SaloneeMistry The Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP) has organised a get-together for the children of waste-pickers from Pune and PimpriChinchwad, at SNDT University, Pune on Sunday, December 27. The event will feature workshops and there will be a variety of stalls at the SNDT premises, for the benefit of the children and their parents, highlighting the benefits of education, and how it can determine prospects for the youngsters’ future.

Education is essential in today’s world for any individual if he or she is to succeed in any sphere, be it technical, artistic or commercial. It is training that enables a person to hone one’s skills and put them to use in the most constructive or creative manner. With the great and continuing technological advances being made on all fronts, being educated is now not a luxury but a necessary for one to keep abreast of the times.

KKPKP’s ‘Aamhi Ghadvuya Pidhi

Udyachi’ (we’ll create tomorrow’s generation) initiative aims at encouraging and providing a platform to the waste-pickers’ children to enable them to make their way forward to a future denied to their parents. The melawa or get-together is primarily for adolescents and youngsters between the ages of 13 and 20. They are on the threshold of life which is a crucial phase in anyone’s life which will determine how the rest of their life shapes up.

KKPKP activist Maitreyi Shankar, 35, said, “It is important that these children be exposed to the right kind of opportunities and this is what we aim to do at the melawa. Apart from this, the event also will give them a basic understanding of their rights.

Talks of gender and sexuality which are extremely important at this age

will also be given to them through workshops. It is these things that are responsible for moulding their future and making them responsible citizens.”

The fi rst half of the day will be spent in visiting stalls set up on different themes. There will be a large number of organisations and volunteers, who will all be contributing their share to bring to the wasterpickers’ children all the information on a wide-ranging spectrum of topics such as Environment and Ecological Rights (Waste Management, Wildlife, Biodiversity), Governance and Civic duties (Public transportation, Schemes of the PMC- Urban Community Development, Roles of the E-Seva Kendra), UN Convention for the Rights of the child and associated themes (Right to Play, Right to

Leisure, Education, health).

The workshops that are to follow, will provide the youngsters information about issues they are interested in.

The stalls will be open to all but the youngsters will need to register themselves for the workshops.

There is also a function to felicitate the 16 waste-pickers and their children who have abided by the oath they had taken, to ensure that their daughters continued with their schooling, and not succumbing to the evil of child marriages that are very common among this community.

“Th is is the fi rst time we have arranged something like this. Th is community is at a disadvantage because of the work that they do and it is time that their next generation bring about a change. Engaging with the children and involving them in the activities of KKPKP and proper guidance is the thing that will fuel this change,” Maitreyi said.

The co-organisers for the event are SNDT Women’s University department of continuing and adult education and extension. They have provided space for the event as well as provided money for the holding of the get-together. The other organisers are Terre Des Hommes (TDH), while some corporates are providing buses for transport. Every child participating in the melawa will be charged an entry fee of Rs 30, which will be accounted for in the expenditure. salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

Musicians on a mission

A Delhi quartet is all set to make you dance till you drop at High Spirits Café this Saturday, even as they raise funds for India’s first mobile sound system TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly Music has always been a source of inspiration and more importantly a way of connecting people irrespective of their differences. Delhi based musician Taru Dalmia, 34, has been working hard at developing India’s first mobile reggae sound system, along with his team. A graduate in History and Politics, Taru’s love for music ultimately prevailed as he decided to make it his career. Taking inspiration from a theatre group that he worked for, who believed in taking theatre to the masses, his idea about the music system is similar. The team is hoping to raise funds to build a large sound system with the best materials. They are touring the country and will be performing at High Spirits Café, Pune on Saturday, December 26. Taru’s mission to take the Jamaican style sound system to the remotest villages in India.

NEED FOR A MOBILE SOUND SYSTEM Clubs and restaurants that feature live music performances generally have a select number and kind of patrons. There are so many others who are not aware of or interested in going to such places, while there are others who can’t afford the prices or do not want to spend all that much. These are the people Taru and company want to reach out to. They are attempting to form a Jamaican-Indian connection along with giving people a chance to understand and appreciate reggae music. “I feel that independent music culture has suffered not from a dearth of talent in the country, but mainly two things, the scarcity of venues where noncommercial music is played, and secondly, the dependence on sponsors,” says Taru. The one thing that does not allow everyone to host their own music event is the cost involved. Hoping to bring about a difference, they have already begun building their mobile sound system. This system will not only lower the cost considerably but also help communities put together events of their choice, wherever they choose. It will also give listeners a chance to experience quality and infectious music live. “Music attracts a lot of people. It is a perfect medium to spread social messages or ideas. Getting rid of the hassle of finding sponsors or collecting funds, the mobile system will appeal to and reach all. If people can’t come to your music, you take your music to them,” he says.

THE TEA M Taru (AKA Delhi Sultanate) is the lead singer of Ska Vengers, the band that plays reggae and rocksteady. Using music to spread the message of social justice, he is also the founder of Word

Sounder Power, a non-profit organisation. The rest of the team includes Somara Chopra, Sohail Arora aka bass music DJ EZ Riser, founder of the booking agency KRUNK and Rahul Mangal who is the artist manager for King Jassim, Sahaj and Bass Foundation Roots (Delhi Sultanate and Begum X).

GENER ATING FUNDS The kick bass speakers and the scoops have already been built. Taru has invested his own money in this. The funds that will be generated now will all go towards sourcing the best components to make

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the speakers. Once installed, they will be hand painted. The gate money collected from the Pune event will all be redirected towards the campaign.

After Pune the team will be heading to Goa. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Colourful rural carnival kickstarts

PICS BY TEJAS GAIKAWAD

BY HEENA GROVER MENON @HeenaGM Over 300 women self-help groups have displayed their products at this four-day event The Agricultural Development Trust, Baramati, has organised ‘Bhimthadi Jatra’, a rural carnival that was inaugurated by former Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Thursday. The 10th edition of this event provides a platform for 300 women self-help groups from 20 districts and 12 states, who are promoting their hand-made products such as handicrafts, foods, herbal medicines, clothes, accessories, home décor and lots more.

While inaugurating the fair, Agricultural Development Trust member Sunanda Pawar said, “This platform has given women from the rural villages immense confidence to demonstrate their art to the people of Pune. It makes me very happy to see such a tremendous response from the visitors who keep coming back to the carnival and place orders which help these women earn a decent amount of money.”

The major attraction of the fair this year is ‘Suvarna Konkan’, a special initiative demonstrating socio-cultural aspects of Konkan, including food, art, music, folk dances,

dashavtari and dabalbari bhajan. Local crafts from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal on display are also major attractions. In addition, there are around 90 food stalls serving traditional rural food, including dishes such as kothimbir wadi, palak puri, bhakri pithla, bhakri with rassa. As you enter the food stall area, you will see a group of women preparing puran polis on large skillets. And the aroma of mutton, chicken thalis, bhigwan fish thali, biryani cooked in a traditional way are sure to make your mouth water.

Another highlight of this year’s carnival is the science park which will showcase interesting and innovative projects by school and college students.

Some of the projects by the Modern Technical Centre on display are swing irrigation pumps, modern energy bullock cart, bicycle spray machine, bicycle grinder and more. There is also an exhibition of illusion images, simple toys made from scrap, life jackets made from scrap bottles and innovative home fire extinguisher.

This year an android app on Bhimthadi Jatra has also been developed for the benefit of the participants and visitors. heena.grover@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 26, 2015

PUNE

Pune’s heritage finally to get preserved Ignored for time immemorial, the PMC has recently embarked on an ambitious mission to preserve and restore Pune’s heritage sites and structures Vishrambaug Wada

Omkar

ishrambaug Wada was built by Bajirao the second, the last of the Peshwas.

Wadas are known by the number of chowkys they have, and so Vishrambaug was also known as Teen Chowkywada.

The luxurious 20,000 sq ft residence, with its imposing entrance with teak pillars and

ating back and glorie Omkaresh the devastating 1 Marked by intrica deepstambha, an black stone leads Shivalinga. Its mo is its kalash or dom a main kalash rin feature combining Rajasthani and M styles. The temple w

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carved woodwork balcony took six years to build, was completed in 1807 and cost Rs 200,000. Its location, being opposite Tulsi Baug and near Omkareshwar Temple added to its significance. Reformist Mahatma Jyotiba Phule was felicitated at Vishrambaug in 1852.

In 1821, the wada housed Sanskrit Pathshala, a school for the learning

of the Vedas and Shastras. A major fire caused much damage to the wada in 1879.

The PMC bought the wada from the government for a lakh of rupees and then constructed a second floor. During the early 1980s, Vishrambaug Wada housed PMC’s birth and death registration

department, ward office, and was also a centre for the pulse polio programme. The lack of upkeep and maintenance had left the wada in a dilapidated state come the new millennium.

The Rs four crore Vishrambaug Wada restoration project was undertaken in phases and procuring

accomplishment, and procuring the documental evidence was a major step in the endeavour. We were also able to reconstruct the attic which was destroyed in the 1879 fire. Ninety per cent of the restoration is now complete, and the beautification is what is left to be completed.”

Bund Garden Bridge

Nana Wada

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ana Phadnavis, an outstanding minister of the Peshwa era, built the Nana Wada in 1792. Located in the vicinity of Shaniwar Wada, Nana Wada was the workplace and residence of Phadnis.

A major fire during British rule destroyed 70 per cent of Nana Wada. The British retained what remained and also constructed a ‘meghdambari’, a unique dome-shaped balcony.

The Nana Wada restoration project began in 2008. The darbar has been restored as well as painting dating back to the Maratha times. The first phase of restoration has also focused on

the architectural plans was a big challenge.

Dhavale said, “The wada was in a truly sorry state, with considerable structural and architectural damage. We commenced its restoration in 2004 and hope to complete it in 2016. Restoring the fountain and stairways was a major

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strengthening of the wooden structure, façade elevation and even leakages have been attended to. The PMC has spent around Rs two crore thus far but work on the original wooden structure remains unfinished.

Dhavale said, “Restoration work of this nature cannot be executed in a rush as just procuring the material to replace the original is arduous and time-consuming.

The restoration is now in the final phase. I must say that our major focus and concern was on restoring the meghdambari and I regard succeeding in this intricate and complex architectural endeavour a great accomplishment.”

Some rooms of the wada house PMC records and the files are to be shifted to another location soon. The wada is also home to Nutan Marathi Primary school and the L N Kinkar Night School and a day-care centre for the aged.

he historic Bund Garden Bridge over the Mula-Mutha river was built by the Royal Engineers in 1876 under the leadership of Captain Robert Sellon. It was Pune’s first spandrel arch bridge, connecting Bund Garden and Chima garden. Named after Sir William Robert Vesey Fitzgerald, the then Governor of Bombay, it is also known as ‘bridge of lions’, thanks to the stone Medici lions on either side.

Parts of the bridge were renovated in 2011 under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

The PMC started restoring the unused part of the bridge in June 2015, and has spent over Rs 60 lakh on the project which will be completed in the next two months. The PMC plans to set

up an art plaza with equal sized cells, a pavement, and also plant a garden.

Dhavale believes that it is a one-ofits-kind project, where a heritage site will be open for public use. “The art plaza is

sure to attract musici others. The project is completed by February could run into nearly a Dhavale said.

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 26, 2015

PUNE

PICS BY RAHUL RAUT

The history of Pune goes way back to the fifth century, when the settlement known as Punnaka existed along with the Pataleshwar temple and Kasba Peth. It was under Yadava rule in the ninth century, then the Nizamshah Sultans, until the Maratha and Peshwa rule in the 17th century, when all the peth areas came into being. Given such a long and extended past, the city’s architecture, especially the wadas and temples, should reflect the rich and eventful history and heritage. However, the reality is that the relics of the ancient past that remain, are in a rather deplorable state, sorely in need of regular upkeep and restoration.

Better late than never, they say, so it is a matter of great joy and rejoicing that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has taken up an initiative to preserve and restore the city’s landmark wadas, temples and bridges.

The PMC began listing all the heritage sites in the city in the late 1990s of which there are no less than 250. A heritage cell including a panel of eight members was set up in the new millennium. Sham Dhavale, who is executive engineer in charge of the cell, has spearheaded the mission to restore heritage sites of the city, the first of which was the restoration of Vishrambaug Wada.

Heritage sites are categorised as Grade I, II and III according to their national and historical significance. Of Pune’s 250 heritage sites, 78 are Grade I, 85 are Grade II, and the remaining are Grade III. The Archaeological Survey of India has listed Shaniwar Wada, Pataleshwar Cave Temple and Aga Khan Place as monuments, while the State Archaeology department has declared Nageshwar Temple, Vishrambaug Wada, Trishund Ganpati, St Crispin Chruch and Mahatma Phule Wada as monuments.

reshwar Temple

k to the 17th century es of the Peshwa era, hwar Temple survived 1962 Panshet floods. ate stone carvings and n entrance featuring s to an eye-catching ost prominent feature me with nine kalashas, ged by eight others, a g elements of Mughal, Maratha architectural was a meeting place for

ians, painters and s expected to be y 2016 and the cost a crore of rupees,”

BY EKTA KATTI @Ektaak

“Apart from these eight, there are so many other sites that deserve to be regarded as monuments. The aim behind setting up the heritage cell was to preserve and restore every heritage site for posterity,” Dhavale said.

The PMC has chalked out a welldefined procedure for the heritage sites mission. Post a survey of the site, a proposal for its restoration is made and reviewed by the panel. If the proposal is approved, the PMC then provides the finance.

The heritage site restoration includes strengthening, beautification and refurbishment of the structure, and care is taken to preserve its heritage value and status. The expense, accessibility of material and availability of craftsmen determine the duration of the restoration. Materials such as wood are procured from Pune’s Timber Market and Mumbai.

Vishrambaug Wada, Nana Wada, Kasba Ganpati, Bund Garden Bridge, Mahatma Phule Mandai and Omkareshwar Temple are the heritage sites currently under restoration, while work on the Nanasaheb Peshwa Samadhi and Gokhale Smarak Mandir will commence in 2016.

Citizens will have access to the restored sites, with heritage walks and such, and booklets and pamphlets will provide elaborate details about the sites.

Dhavale says that restoring heritage buildings calls for a team effort.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Vandana Chavan and Guardian Minister Girish Bapat have set a good example by extending their support to the heritage sites restoration mission, he said.

Rohit Tilak, 36, great grandson of Lokmanya Tilak, is all praise for the PMC initiative to restore the wadas of Pune.

“Wadas are an essential ingredient of Pune’s heritage and culture and the citizens and the civic body should do all they can to preserve this for posterity.” ekta.katti@goldensparrow.com

Mahatma Phule Mandai

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freedom fighters during British rule.

There are six other temples on the premises, including for Lord Shani, Lord Hanuman, Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesh and Durga.

The temple is often the venue for music concerts, bhajans and sermons.

The lack of upkeep had left the temple in disarray, with cracks around the dome, and leakage issues. The PMC started restoration of the kalash in 2013 and has spent around Rs two crore so far. The restoration is expected to be completed by mid 2016.

They had to search far and wide for skilled craftsmen for the intricate eloquent detailing work on the kalash. The temple premises have been completely transformed, with the construction of new toilets, a small hall and setting up of drinking water facilities, and planting of a lawn.

Dhavale said, “The restoration of Omkareshwar Temple has been held up owing to a lot of valid reasons. The elaborate detailing of the kalash was undertaken on a trial and error basis, and had to be done manually. We also

had to ensure that we procured the identical lime for the kalash. The delay was unavoidable but what is important of course is to ensure that the rewstoration is immaculate.”

Parshuram Nagur, 35, of Bijapur, Karnataka has worked on the Omkareshwar restoration from the start.

“I had to employ all the skills I possess while working on the restoration of the kalash, which is matter of immense pride for me, as this 250-year-old temple is such a significant architectural monument,” Nagur said.

he restoration work on the 128-year-old Mahatma Phule Mandai began two years ago. The sprawling building houses more than 1000 vegetable and fruit stalls. Made from wood and stone, the structure features eight wings or petals, with an equal number of entries and exits. The 80-foot cylindrical structure is most unique.

The British set up Mahatma Phule Mandai as the throngs of vegetable vendors at Shaniwar Wada had created a rather unhygienic market place.

The vendors agreed to shift to the new market.

The tiles for the mandai were specially ordered from Marseilles in France. The

sturdy construction of the market building has withstood the ravages of time, but some wood decay and leakages were noticed in 2013.

While preparing for restoration, the original manufacturer’s name was found, and the same quality of tiles were imported from Hermaos Diaz Redondo Group, Spain.

The PMC has spent Rs 1.5 crore on the restoration so far, and the work is expected to be completed in January 2017.

Dhavale said, “It was fortunate that the run down conditions of the market structure came to our notice in time.

A delay could have resulted in serious damage to the structure.”

Kasba Ganpati Mandir

K

asba Ganpati is also known as the Gramdevata or the presiding deity of Pune. The temple was built in 1630 by Jijabai Shahaji Bhosale, the mother of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Jijabai, along with the Thakar family who had migrated to the city, installed the Ganesh idol at the Kasba Ganpati Mandir.

The main part of the temple was built in the Yadava era. The Sabha Mandap was constructed in the Peshwa era. The property was later handed over to Thakar

Family.

The PMC restoration project started three years ago and will be completed in 2016. The stone structure is intact, and

the restoration is focused on the wooden structure.

Ceramic tiles were used in the temple oil paints were used to colour the interiors.

Finding exact replicas of these materials was an arduous task.

Kasba Ganpati is the oldest and best known temples of Pune and it is always thronged with devotees so the restoration work had to be timed accordingly.

The front portion or original elevation of the temple has been restored and the roof has been reinforced as well. The plaster was removed to revert to the original brick work. The staircase was restored using the finest wood. The original structure has been restored and unnecessary modifications have been eliminated.

Guardian Minister Girish Bapat has taken the lead in the restoration, and the state government has provided Rs 25-30 lakh each of the three years.

The current owner Sangeeta Thakar, 50, said, “As the owner, it’s an honour to reside in such a prestigious temple.”

We need more funds to preserve heritage sites: Dhongde Sharvey Dhongde, 43, a member of the PMC’s heritage panel for six years, feels preserving and restoring heritage sites in Pune is a great initiative.

“We are ensuring that our heritage is preserved for the next generation. It is rare for a civic corporation to set up a heritage cell. The PMC heritage cell is ensuring that our heritage is preserved and restored,” said Dhongde, who also is an architect and a professor at Dr Bhanuben Nanavati College of Architecture For Women, Karvenagar.

The funds allocated for restoring heritage sites and structures is inadequate as procuring the right materials is expensive.

“PMC should allocate more funds. Restoring heritage sites is a complex process, which involves reviewing the site, procuring resources and materials. The PMC should also augment the heritage cell,” he said.

Vishrambaug Wada built during the Peshwa era is the only wada in good condition, he said.

There is a lack of awareness about the city’s rich heritage amongst citizens “We are not the owners but trustees of this heritage. Every citizen should endeavour to preserve of culture,” said Dhondge.

He thinks that the art plaza plan at the Bund Garden Bridge is a constructive plan that will benefit all citizens.

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 26, 2015

PUNE

TECH/START-UP

“As of this year, there are currently 17 billion devices that are connected or related to the internet and the use of the internet.”

— http://geekofreak.com

Quran found at UK varsity might have belonged to Prophet’s friend P 13

A member of the Indian football team, Sangram Lonkar wants to take the game to a whole new level

RAHUL RAUT

Pune footballer gives the city two new Futsal pitches

BY SALONEE MISTRY @SaloneeMistry

As the players tend to make a lot of noise while they are playing, when the ground or playing area is near or in a society, there is always have a problem. In addition to this to ensure that his future plans can be accommodated for, he had to ensure that the space was huge. Maintaining international standards, the Astro Turf Futsal pitch has been imported from Belgium.

Pune footballers will no longer have to cancel their plans to play a game because of shortage of space.

Finding the best way to honour and give back to the game that gave him so much, Indian football team member Sangram Lonkar decided to build two Futsal Sangram Lonkar pitches in the city.

Born and brought up in Pune, football has been a huge part of his life. Even though he is a computer engineer by degree and is currently employed in the construction business, football is something that has always been a priority for him. Of course, there was some resistance from his

BRIGHT FUTURE While right now he has only two pitches in the city, his dream is to have at least 48 more spread across the country. “In the space where the two pitches are currently located I want to open a sports club as well. The place will be a hub for all sport enthusiasts to come together and social during big games. A big screen to see all the games and the place to be in during the big tournaments is where I see the place a few years down the line,” he said.

The pitch is currently available round the clock. The fact that it isolated allows for the pitch to be available at any time. During the day the pitch is available at Rs 500 per team. As the sun sets and the flood lights go on the cost per team automatically rises to Rs 1500 per team. salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

Chinese TV employs robot as weather reporter BEIJING: For the first time, a Chinese news channel has employed an artificial intelligence robot as a weather reporter on its live breakfast show, raising concerns among the country’s journalists as it could threaten their jobs. “I’m happy to start my new work on the winter solstice,” robot XiaoIce said during her debut. XiaoIce is actually a piece of software developed

by Microsoft using smart cloud and big data. In the first two days of her work, XiaoIce impressed many with her cute voice. She also comments on big news events on Shanghai Dragon TV. According to Microsoft, breakthroughs in text-to-speech artificial intelligence (AI) have helped XiaoIce score high points for linguistic naturalness, and hers is closer to the human voice than other speech synthesizers. Through emotional technology, she can make comments instantly based on weather data.

After her successful debut, people are worried that XiaoIce could cause traditional TV anchors and weather reporters to lose their jobs, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Song Jiongming, director of TV news for Shanghai Media Group, pointed out that human anchors will not be completely replaced by XiaoIce, but the robot will supplement humans with her big data analysis capability. Chinese journalist in Guangzhou said. “I’ve heard about robot reporters for a long time, but thought they only operated in US,” Li said adding that “I’m not ready to compete with them yet.”

family in terms of changing careers, but at the end of the day, they too have become extremely supportive.

OVERWHELMING RESPONSE Launched just last week, the pitch has already seen its first tournament and almost 400 footballers. In addition to that the response even for the daily bookings is overwhelming. “There are at least five to six bookings every day and I am glad that there are so many lovers of the sport. A

majority of the people that book with us are foreigners. The response has been super awesome and I could not be more excited,” said the young boy. What more could one ask for when the thing that they love the most is in reality their profession, he said.

The biggest challenge for Sangram while setting up the place, was to find the right location. Keeping in mind the fact that the sport should be available at any time of the day he had to ensure that there were no housing societies in the vicinity.

Obama to present US’ highest science award to Indian-American WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama will felicitate a 65-year-old Indian-American professor at the Harvard Medical School with the US’ highest honours for achievement and leadership in advancing the fields of science and technology, the White House has said.

Dr Rakesh K Jain, an IIT-Kanpur alumnus and professor of tumor biology at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Harvard Medical School, will receive the National Medal of Science at a White House ceremony early next year.

Jain is among the nine latest recipients of the National Medal of Science. Eight persons have been chosen for the latest National

Medal of Technology and Innovation.

The White House yesterday announced the recipients of the National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation, America’s highest honors for achievement and leadership in advancing the fields of science and technology.

“Science and technology are fundamental to solving some of our Nation’s biggest challenges. The knowledge produced by these Americans today will carry our country s legacy of innovation forward and continue to help countless others around the world. Their work is a testament to American ingenuity,” Obama said.

Jain has received numerous awards for his work on tumor biology, particularly research on the link between tumor blood vessels and improving the effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

He received his B.Tech degree from the IIT-Kanpur in Chemical Engineering in 1972. The National Medal of Science was created by statute in 1959 and is administered for the White House by the National Science Foundation. Awarded annually, the Medal recognises individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science and engineering.

PTI

Crows too can use complex tools LONDON: Crows too can learn to fashion complex tools, say scientists who captured first video recordings of wild crows making and using ‘hooked stick tools’ to hunt for insect prey in the wild. Jolyon Troscianko, from the University of Exeter, and Christian Rutz, from the University of St Andrews, have captured video recordings documenting how New Caledonian crows found on the island of New Caledonia, fashion these particularly complex tools in the wild.

The researchers developed tiny video ‘spycameras’ which were attached to the crows, to observe their natural foraging behaviour.

They discovered two instances of hooked stick tool making on the footage they

recorded, with one crow spending a minute making the tool, before using it to probe for food in tree crevices and even in leaf litter on the ground. “By documenting their fascinating behaviour with this new camera technology, we obtained valuable insights into the importance of tools in their daily

search for food,” said Troscianko.

To obtain a ‘crow’s-eye view’ of this elusive behaviour, researchers developed video cameras that are attached to the crows’ tail feathers. The cameras are about the weight of a British 2-pound coin, and a tiny integrated radio beacon let the scientists recover the devices once they had safely detached after a few days. “I went through it again frame-by-frame, I discovered this fascinating behaviour,” said Troscianko.

“In one scene, a crow drops its tool, and then recovers it from the ground shortly afterwards, suggesting they value their tools and don’t simply discard them after a single use,” he said.

Virtual attendance at work and school proposed Under the plan, employees, especially from the IT sector, and students can work from home

NEW DELHI: Amidst concerns over alarming pollution levels in the city, a Virtual Attendance at Work and School (VAWS) plan has been proposed by a laboratory of the Ministry of Science and Technology in which employees, especially from IT sector, and students can work from home.

Under the VAWS plan, the National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (NISTAD), a laboratory of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, has proposed that one day in a week should be virtual attendance in school and work.

“Our proposal is that 2+1+2 working week in which the third day (Wednesday) will be a day of Virtual Attendance at Work and School (VAWS), with two regular working days before and after.

“This would allow spike in air pollution to subside during mid-week. In addition to reducing air pollution,

VAWS will have several other socio-economic benefits like energy saving at work/ school, reduction of travel related stress and health hazard, higher efficiency and improved quality life.

VAWS is a viable alternative “ NISTAD’s Director P Goswami said.

Speaking about the Odd Even Formula, Goswami said, restrictions have not worked in the past.

“I am not suggesting anything against Odd Even Formula, but I am only saying that restrictions have not worked in the past and the plan is more like a restriction and implementation is a problem.

“On the other hand VAWS can be done with a government directive,” Goswami said, citing examples of Bogota and Mexico city where people have circumvented an Odd Even like plan and bought two cars, adding to the pollution.

When asked whether suggestions regarding this were sent to the Delhi Chief Minister, Goswami said, “Yes, we have sent a copy to the Delhi Chief Minister, PMO and other concerned ministries.”

He, however, did not specify on when the suggestion was sent.

Delhi government is working out a detailed plan to implement the Odd Even Formula, which will come into force from January 1 to 15 on a pilot basis.

PTI

APP WORLD

Learn a foreign language Duolingo

IOS/Android: Free Duolingo is one of the highest rated apps available when it comes to learning another language.

The app works similar to a game wherein users receive experience points for every correct answer.

They are also given an in-game currency called Lingots that can be used to get items from Duolingo’s virtual store. Users of Duolingo learn a new language through repetition, audibly speaking it and conversation. The lessons are designed to increase in difficulty as the user progresses. Compared with other learning apps, Duolingo is not grammar-intensive as it only focuses on 10 of the most commonly used tenses to allow novice users to pick up the language they want easily.

Babbel

IOS/Android: Free Just like Duolingo, Babbel also lets users learn to understand a language by completing and repeating phrases. Users can choose from Babbel’s different language apps such as German, Italian, French, Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish. These apps can be downloaded individually so that learners can focus on a single set of lessons before moving on to another language. Babbel also uses a custom goal system that allows users to set benchmarks as they learn a foreign language and to monitor their progress as well.

Memrise

IOS/Android: Free As its name suggests, Memrise teaches users how to speak Spanish by having them memorize different words. The app features different learning modules depending on the proficiency of the user, including lessons on basic Mexican Spanish and advanced Spanish. It also allows users to study Spanish words through functions such as 250 most commonly used Spanish words and Spanish vocabulary by frequency. Memrise’s lessons typically consist of a Spanish word, its definition in English and an audio recording of how it is spoken. Users are given 15 words to study per lesson.

Busuu

IOS/Android: Free What sets Busuu apart from other language-learning apps in the market is its bustling community of users. Aside from finding out how to read and write one of 12 languages it offers, people are also encouraged to listen and speak a foreign language by interacting with native speakers.

After each lesson, Busuu users are taken to a mock conversation.

The app will play a video recording of another person speaking, and once it is through, the user is asked to record his or her response. Members also can improve their language skills through interactive courses and direct interaction with native speakers via an integrated videochat application and peerto-peer text corrections.

50languages

IOS/Android: Free 50languages contains 100 lessons that provide you with a basic vocabulary. This free app has 30 lessons. With no prior knowledge, you will learn to fluently speak short sentences in real-world situations in no time. The 50languages method successfully combines audio and text for effective language learning. The app corresponds to the Common European Framework levels A1 and A2 and is therefore suitable for all types of schools and students.

The audio files can also be effectively used as a supplement in language schools and language courses. It is available in over 50 languages and in approximately 2500 language combinations, e.g. German to English, English to Spanish, Spanish to Chinese etc.

ENVIRONMENT “Ministry of Road Transport has planned 10 automated model centres. These centres will have capability of doing emission measurements.”

— G M Siddeshwara, Minister for Heavy Industries

NEW YORK: Music therapy can increase the effectiveness of standard rehabilitation that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other respiratory disorders receive, a new study has found.

In the study, patients with COPD and other chronic respiratory disorders who received music therapy in conjunction with standard rehabilitation saw an improvement in symptoms, psychological well-being and quality of life compared to patients receiving rehabilitation alone.

The study by researchers at The Louis Armstrong Center of Music and

Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel (MSBI) in US suggests that music therapy may be an effective addition to traditional treatment.

COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the US with symptoms including shortness of breath, wheezing, an ongoing cough, frequent colds or flu, and chest tightness, researchers said.

Patients with COPD are often socially isolated, unable to get to medical services and underserved in rehabilitation programmes, making effective treatment difficult.

The 68 study participants were diagnosed with chronic disabling respiratory diseases, including COPD. Over the course of six weeks, a randomised group of these patients attended weekly music therapy sessions. Each session included live music, visualisations, wind instrument playing and singing,

DECEMBER 26, 2015

PUNE

“We should aim for sustainability in our daily lives. It is true that we have 18 cars per 1000 people and US has 700, but we should aim towards reducing consumption through public transport.”

— Prakash Javadekar, Environment Minister

Music therapy to cure respiratory disorders

COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the US with symptoms including shortness of breath

H EALTH

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

which incorporated breath control techniques.

Certified music therapists provided active music-psychotherapy.

The music therapy sessions incorporated patients’ preferred music, which encouraged self-expression, increased engagement in therapeutic activities and an opportunity to cope with the challenges of a chronic disease.

“The care of chronic illness is purposefully shifting away from strict traditional assessments that once focused primarily on diagnosis, morbidity and mortality rates,” said Joanne Loewy, Director of the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at MSBI, where the study was conducted.

“Instead, the care of the chronically ill is moving towards methods that aim to preserve and enhance quality of life of our patients and activities of daily living through identification of their culture, motivation, caregiver/ home trends and perceptions of daily wellness routines,” said Loewy.

“Music therapy has emerged as an essential component to an integrated approach in the management of chronic respiratory disease,” said Jonathan Raskin, co-author of the study and Director of the Alice Lawrence Center for Health and Rehabilitation at MSBI. “The results of this study provide a comprehensive foundation for the establishment of music therapy intervention as part of pulmonary rehabilitation care,” Raskin said.

PTI

Air quality in Delhi plunges to ‘very poor’ level NEW DELHI: Air quality in Delhi plunged to the ‘very poor’ level on Tuesday with real-time readings of PM 2.5, the tiniest and most damaging of all the particulate matters, breaching the ‘severe’ category in areas across the national capital. 10 PM, in three stations of System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), PM 2.5 fell in the severe category which affects healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases.

Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s (DPCC) reading of Anand Vihar station, one of the most polluted spots in the city, had PM 2.5 at 534 micrograms per cubic metre at 9.50 PM while PM 10 was at 853.

The corresponding safe limits are 60 and 100.Mandir Marg and Punjabi Bagh, localities far away from each other, had PM 2.5 levels at 271 and 315 micrograms per cubic metre, nearly 5 times above the safe limit respectively. R K Puram’s PM 10 was at a staggering 1135, 10 times above what is considered safe.

Central Pollution Control Board’s National Air Quality Index was not available and its official website continued to display almost two week figures. Very poor quality air signifies PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels between 351 and 420, and 211 to 252 micro gram per cubic metre while severe is declared when PM 2.5 and PM 10 cross 253, 421 micro gram per cubic metres respectively.

PM 2.5, microscopic in size, is considered by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the best indicator of the level of health risks from air pollution.

PTI

Saliva test to predict early death risk

LONDON: A simple saliva test may predict the risk of early death, suggests a new study that found lower levels of antibodies in saliva are associated with an elevated risk of mortality.

The study from the University of Birmingham in UK examined associations between secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA), the common antibody found in saliva, and mortality rates in the general population.

There was a negative association between IgA secretion rate and all-cause mortality, the researchers said. Further analysis of specific causes of mortality showed that the all-cause association was due to an underlying association with cancer mortality and, in particular with non-lung cancers, researchers said.

As it appears to be a marker of mortality risk, and is much less invasive than blood sampling, saliva sampling to determine IgA secretion rate has the potential to be used as an indicator of overall health by professionals as part of a general check-up, they said. Participants, aged 63 years old at the time of saliva

sampling in 1995, had their IgA secretion rate measured and the mortality rate was tracked over the following 19 years.

Associations were adjusted for gender, assay batch, household occupational group, smoking, medication usage, and self-reported health. Immunoglobulins, or antibodies, are proteins secreted by white blood cells and are essential for combating infectious disease. “There are a number of factors that can affect how well we produce antibodies and maintain their levels,” said Anna Phillips, from the University of Birmingham.

“There are some that we have no control over, such as age, heritability or illness, but our general state of health can also affect their levels; stress, diet, exercise, alcohol and smoking can all influence those levels,” Phillips said.

“Quite how saliva samples could be used in check-ups remains to be seen, as we need to better understand what secretion rate would be considered cause for concern - what we call the protective level,” she said.

PTI

Healthcare, ‘Bring water in concurrent list for its conservation’ still a hurdle for India India will face an acute water crisis in the near future, especially on the ground water front

BENGALURU: President Pranab Mukherjee said affordable healthcare was still a challenge and the governments, both at the Centre and States, were making efforts for increasing the affordability of cancer treatment.

“Affordable healthcare is still a challenge for us. The cost of cancer treatment has been increasing owing to huge investments on trained manpower and equipment that are necessary for treatment,” he said at the foundation stone laying ceremony for the State Cancer Institute of Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology here.

“Both Centre and states are making their best efforts for increasing the affordability of cancer treatment.” Sustained and collaborative multiagency effort is needed to minimise the suffering of patients and their families, Mukherjee said.

India needs to develop a system for early detection and proper disease management, and explore how technology can be best utilised for both prevention of cancer and its treatment.

“An appropriate and well defi ned communication strategy will be one of the key factors in the fi ght against cancer,” he said. India is showing a steep increase in cancer cases. “One in about 15 men and one in about 12 women in the urban centres would be at risk of developing cancer in their lifetime,” he said.

PTI

Cancer, HIV drugs added to essential list NEW DELHI: The government has added 106 drugs including that for Cancer, HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C to the list of essential medicines, taking the total number of items to 376.

In a revision of the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2011 by the core committee constituted by the Health Ministry, 106 medicines were added while 70 were deleted after a series of meetings and consultations across the country.

“There were 348 medicines listed in NLEM, 2011. A total of 106 medicines have been added and 70 medicines have been deleted to prepare NLEM, 2015 which now contains a total of 376 medicines,” a notice by the Ministry said today.

“The NLEM, 2015 has been prepared adhering to the basic principles of efficacy, safety, cost-effectiveness, consideration of diseases as public health problems in India,” it said.

PTI

NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary panel looking into ground water scenario in the country has urged the Centre to initiate “earnest” efforts to build national consensus to bring water in Concurrent List of the Constitution so that a comprehensive plan can be prepared for water conservation.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources has

maintained in its report that subject of water needs to be dealt within a consultative manner, taking into consideration the overall national perspective, given the fact that country will face an acute water crisis in the near future, especially on the ground water front.

The fi fth report on ‘Review of Ground Water Scenario, Need for a Comprehensive Policy and Measures to Address Problems in the Country’ was presented to both houses.

“In view of the need to adopt a holistic approach for tackling the problem in a comprehensive and equitable manner, the Committee, therefore, reiterate

their earlier recommendation and urge the Government to initiate earnest efforts to build national consensus to bring the subject of ‘Water’ in the Concurrent list of the Constitution after undertaking necessary consultations with the states with a view to evolving a comprehensive national plan of action for better conservation, development and management of water, including ground water,” the Committee said.

Water supplies, irrigation and canals, drainage and embankments and storage fall in the State List, and development of inter-state rivers come under the Union List.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 26, 2015

PUNE

“The AAP claims zero tolerance on corruption but Kejriwal selected an officer who indulged in it. Kejriwal hugged Lalu Prasad in Bihar. Did Anna teach him to do so or has he forgotten Anna’s teachings? ” — Shahnawaz Hussain, BJP National spokesperson

Ex-IITians come up with open-school learning startup They chose the name Eckovation for their startup, a portmanteau of ecosystem, knowledge and innovation

not get access to quality education early in their life. I always wanted to make quality education accessible even in places where only minimal infrastructure exists. That’s how Eckovation came into being,” he told PTI. From conceptualising to its practical usage, there were many challenges. One of the major challenges they faced was dependence of teachers on WhatsApp. “Although teachers wanted students to join their classroom-learning group, they were wary of their phone numbers falling in the hands of strangers. At the same time, teachers had to block students and parents because sometimes they

BUFFALO POWER

A jockey rides his buffaloes at the slush track buffalo race (Mulky Seeme Arasu Kambala) competition in Padu Panambur near Mangalore

Vol-II* lssue No.: 28 Editor: Yogesh Sadhwani (Responsible for the selection of news under the PRB Act, 1867) Printed and Published by: Shrikant Honnavarkar on behalf of Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. CIN:U22200PN2014PTC151382 and printed at PRI – Media Services Private Limited CIN: U22222MH2012PTC232006 at Plot No. EL-201, TTC Industrial Area, MIDC, Mahape, Navi Mumbai.

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did not want them to disturb them beyond office hours.”

Though the dependence on WhatsApp was a challenge but its limitations were also an opportunity for Singh and Goel. “For instance size limit of 100 members in a group, privacy concerns, no control over conversation for teachers, so on and so forth. All of this has been taken care of in Eckovation app Ritesh Singh plus a lot more

Tourism promotion gets super boost Financial Assistance is provided to states and union territories for development and promotion of tourism NEW DELHI: Union Tourism Ministry has taken various steps, including introduction of e-Tourist Visa, to promote tourism and enhance earnings from the sector, Rajya Sabha was informed.

In a written reply, Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said his ministry operates various schemes through which Central Financial Assistance (CFA) is provided to states/union territories for overall development and promotion of tourism.

Besides, he said, the Ministry promotes India as a holistic destination in the international markets.

As part of its promotional activities, the Tourism Ministry releases campaigns in the international markets under the Incredible India brand line to showcase various tourism destinations and products including its cultural heritage, the Minister said.

Moreover, a series of promotional activities are being undertaken in tourist generating markets overseas through the India Tourism Offices abroad with the objective of showcasing India’s tourism potential and promoting tourism.

These promotional activities, he

said, include participation in travel fairs and exhibitions, organising road shows, Know India seminars and workshops and organising and supporting Indian food and cultural festivals.

He said Tourism Ministry provides financial assistance to stakeholders and Tourism Department of states/ union territories for undertaking promotional activities under the Marketing Development Assistance (MDA) scheme.

The government has also introduced the facility of e-Tourist Visa for the citizens of 113 countries at 16 airports. “Introduction of e-Tourist Visa is a path breaking measure by the Government in easing formalities in the country,” he said.

The government has also revised the e-Tourist Visa fee in four slabs from November 3 this year. As per the 2nd Tourism Satellite Account of India (TSA) 2009-10 and subsequent estimation, the contribution of tourism to total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 were 6.77 per cent, 6.76 per cent, 6.76 per cent and 6.88 per cent respectively.

PTI

e-Tourist Visa introduced for citizens of 113 countries

SC, ST kids admitted to English school ODISHA: A total of 34 children, 27 tribal and 7 scheduled caste, have been admitted to a private English medium school in Odisha’s Koraput district under ‘Anwesha’, a recently launched urban education programme.

Officials today said the district administration admitted the children to Vikash Vidyalaya in Koraput town under the scheme which aims to provide SC and ST children from rural areas an opportunity to receive quality

education.

According to the scheme, which was launched by the state government in the district on Tuesday, 70 per cent of selected students will be from ST category, while the remaining 30 per cent will be from SC category. In each category 50 per cent of the seats will be reserved for girls.

Officials said 368 children from 14 blocks of the district had applied under the programme but only 34

Meghalaya Guv gives assent to bill empowering tribal village councils

FTII, censor board issues kept I&B ministry busy

SHILLONG: Meghalaya Governor V Shanmuganathan today gave his assent to a bill passed by the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) aimed at empowering tribal village councils and their heads, whose powers and function were questioned by the Meghalaya High Court last year.

The Jaintia Hills Autonomous District (Establishment of Elaka and Village and Election, Appointment, Powers, functions, and jurisdiction of Dolloi, Sirdar, Waheh Shnong) Bill, 2015 was passed by the Council earlier this year.

“The bill has been approved by the Governor,” Governor’s Principal Secretary M S Rao told PTI. He said, “We have sent back the bill to the District Council Affairs (DCA) department with the assent of the Governor.”

This is the second time that the bill was sent to the Governor and necessary modifications in the bill were made to suit the administration.

JHADC chief executive member Thombor Shiwat expressed happiness over the Governor’s assent to the bill.

“The Governor’s assent could not have come at an appropriate time other than before Christmas. I, on behalf of the Council, express our gratitude to him,” he said.

Of the three tribal councils, only the bill passed by the JHADC has the Governor’s assent on village administration.

PTI

NDA maintains arm’s length distance from matters of film certification

could be accommodated in the current academic session.

“As many as 202 children out of the 368 who applied were found to be eligible for admission. However, as half the academic session is over, schools were reluctant to take in the children.

Hence, only 34 children were admitted to the school,” District Welfare Officer (Koraput) Trinath Rao said.

The students have been admitted to Class I and all their expenses,

including school fee, tuition charges, library and miscellaneous fees, will be borne by the state government and paid to the school on annual basis, he said. The administration will provide hostel facilities and will also facilitate transportation. “The students will be provided with special coaching classes so that they can keep up with the other students,” Collector (Koraput) Jaya Kumar V said.

PTI

RAHUL RAUT

NEW DELHI: Two ex-IITians have come up with a unique open-school communicat ion and social learning platform that allows teachers, parents and students to interact freely and effectively on mobile phones.

Ritesh Singh and Akshat Goel Akshat Goel wanted to provide innovative solutions for effective knowledge transfer in our ecosystem. Hence, they chose the name Eckovation for their startup, a portmanteau of ecosystem, knowledge and innovation. Founded in March 2014, the app was finally launched this June after more than a yearlong market research and study.

CEO Singh, who hails from tierIII town Chapra in Bihar, he had language issues from the beginning and these never left him.”I was always thinking about solutions that could help people just like me, who do

features are there to ensure educationfocused communication. We are also introducing document transfer on the app. The app, by design, is very light and uses minimal Internet on your phone,” says Singh.

Eckovation allows teachers, parents and students to interact freely and effectively while safeguarding privacy. Except the teacher, it does not allow anyone to see anyone else’s mobile number in the group.

“Moreover, we also observed that teachers are not very comfortable in being active 24x7 on the app and rightly so. So they can easily change the mode of the app from two-way to one-way thereby disallowing anyone else but themselves from posting on the group. It ensures that teachers only interact when they want to and have the time to do so.” Also, Eckovation allows open learning by enabling teachers who are willing to share their group code outside of classrooms.

There are 400 such teachers active on the platform. Through this, students who may not have access to quality teachers can take lessons and clarify doubts from accomplished and experienced teachers who are willing to help in their free time.”

To make sure that a child lives up to his or her potential, it is very important that all questions are responded to with appropriate answers. This is what Eckovation does.

PTI

Bus commuters face daily ordeal in Bibwewadi P 15

BY AMANDEEP SHUKLA NEW DELHI: The Information and Broadcasting Ministry was hit by several controversies in 2015 be it issues related to FTII and censor board or appointments.

The ministry, however, held a successful round of private radio auctions during the year and DD Kisan was launched.

In January, Leela Samson, the then chief of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) alleged interference by the ministry and submitted her resignation. A massive controversy erupted and several other board members followed suit.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley had to step in and emphasised that the NDA government maintains arm’s length distance from matters related to film certification.

The ministry accepted Samson’s resignation and appointed Pahlaj Nihalani in her place. Nihalani proved no stranger to controversies either as soon after taking over, he circulated a list of banned cuss words, which was opposed among others by CBFC members themselves.

Over the year, several members of the Board expressed unhappiness over Nihalani’s functioning.

Meanwhile, another appointment that the ministry made in June, nominating small-time actor Gajendra Chauhan as the president of the FTII Society, led to a much greater upheaval.

Students of the premier film institute went on strike, and three members of FTII society -- Santosh Sivan, Jahnu Barua and Pallavi Joshi -- also quit.

Several rounds of talks between the students and the ministry followed.

The logjam even took a nasty turn when five students were arrested after FTII director Prashant Pathrabe was gheraoed by them. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also paid a visit to the FTII campus in support of the students’ demands. The students ended their strike after over four months, but their protest continues and Chauhan is yet to visit the institute after being nominated its head.

Another controversy that the I&B ministry witnessed was when it

issued an order on the appointment of senior Information Service officer Veena Jain as Director General of DD News saying she would “report to the ministry for all purposes”.

The order triggered a debate over the issue of autonomy of the public broadcaster and the I&B ministry modified it saying Jain would report to Prasar Bharati for “all operational purposes” and to the ministry as officer on special duty.

Modi launched DD Kisan Channel on May 26, as his government completed its first year in office.

Among other stories was e-auction of the first batch of Phase III FM private radio channels. At the close of the e-auction, 97 channels in 56 cities became provisional winning ones, earning a cumulative provisional revenue of about Rs 1,156.9 crore as against an aggregate reserve price of about Rs 459.8 crore.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 26, 2015

PUNE

“India’s 48 million widows need a government-appointed commission that will help them and protect them from abuse. A commission for widows is an ideal forum to shelter and protect widows in India.”

— Raj Loomba, an Indian-origin member of Britain’s House of Lords

Long way to go for me, says Lalawmpuia P 16

Indian lion put on endangered species list US Fish and Wildlife Service will list Panthera leo leo found in India and Africa as endangered

WASHINGTON: The US has placed a breed of lion found in India and Africa in the endangered species list in a bid to curb the “dramatic” decline of their population in the last two decades.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service said it will list Panthera leo leo (a subspecies of lion) located in India and western and central Africa as endangered, and Panthera leo melanochaita, located in eastern and southern Africa, will be listed as threatened.

Certain kinds of the iconic big cats of west Africa and India are now considered endangered because they are in “dramatic decline,” the US Fish and Wildlife Service

said. “The lion is one of the planet’s most beloved species and an irreplaceable part of our shared global heritage,” said Dan Ashe, Director of US Fish and Wildlife Service.

“If we want to ensure that healthy lion populations continue to roam the African savannas and forests of India, it is up to all of us not just the people of Africa and India to take action,” he said.

US Fish and Wildlife Service said the new scientific research have concluded that the western and central populations of African lion are more genetically related to the Asiatic lion. These lions are now considered the same subspecies, P l leo. “There are only about 1,400 of these lions

remaining, 900 in 14 African populations and 523 in India. Considering the size and distribution of the populations, population trends and the severity of the threats, the Service has found that this subspecies meets the definition of endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),” a statement by the US Fish and Wildlife Service said.

The other subspecies of P l melanochaita likely numbers between 17,000-19,000 and is found across southern and eastern Africa. In the last 20 years, lion populations have declined by 43 per cent due to habitat loss, loss of prey base and retaliatory killing of lions by a growing human population. Coupled with

Just 1400 of these lions remain, of which 523 are in India

inadequate financial and other resources for countries to effectively manage protected areas, the impact on lions in the wild has been substantial. The order issued in this regard, which aligns with President Barack Obama’s National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking, will ensure that violators of wildlife laws are not subsequently granted permits for future wildlife-related activities, including the import of sporthunted trophies.

With an endangered listing, imports of P l leo will generally be prohibited, except in certain cases, such as when it can be found that the import will enhance the survival of the species. The final lion rule will be published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2015, and will go into effect 30 days after publication on January 22, 2016.

PTI

Quran found at UK varsity might have belonged to Prophet’s friend

Indians launch Islamic airline

LONDON: An ancient copy of the Quran found at the University of Birmingham in July may have belonged to Abu Bakr, one of the world’s first ever Muslims, British media reported today.

Radiocarbon dating carried out in July found the fragments to be at least 1,370-years-old, raising the possibility that it could be the oldest copy of the Islamic holy book in existence.

Now Jamal bin Huwareib, managing director of the UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Islamic studies, has suggested that such an early document could have been commissioned by a very small number of people the most likely of them being Abu Bakr, The Independent reported.

Abu Bakr is widely understood to be the first person to convert to Islam outside the Prophet Mohammed’s direct family.

He served as a friend and trusted advisor to the prophet and became the first ever Muslim caliph in 632, ruling for 27 months until his death 634.

The age of the Birmingham

KUALA LUMPUR: An ethnic Indian Hindu couple has launched Malaysia’s first Islamic airline - offering Shariah compliant services including prayers before take-off, no on-flight serving of alcohol or meals with pork and a strict dress code for female flight attendants.

Rayani Air founders Ravi Alagendrran and his wife Karthiyani Govindan - who used parts of their first names for the airline’s name - assured that passengers of all faiths would be welcome on the flights although they are primarily eyeing the Muslim market.

“This is not a matter of segregation. We have a target market and anyone wishing to travel in a modest and alcohol free environment will feel right at home,” Ravi told Malay Mail, adding, the Shariah-compliant industry had a huge potential for growth.

Department of Civil Aviation senior assistant director Jaafar Zamhari, who handed over the licence to the airline, said: “Muslim crew members will be obliged to cover their heads and non-Muslim members of the crew are required to dress decently in accordance to Shariah requirements.

“The airline will not allow any pork or alcoholic beverages on board

It could be the oldest copy of the Islamic holy book in existence

Quran means it is likely to have been created in Islam’s very earliest years, when the world’s global Muslim population was only in the low hundreds.

“I believe this is the Koran of Abu Bakr,” bin Huwareib told BBC News, adding: “It’s the most important discovery ever for the Muslim world.”

The quality of the Birmingham Quran’s parchment and handwriting suggests the 200 leaf document could only have been created for an incredibly important figure, he said.

“This version, this collection, this manuscript is the root of Islam, it’s

India, Pak keen on solving issues: US

BY LALIT K JHA

WASHINGTON: Welcoming the recent effort

by India and Pakistan to revive talks, the US has said leaders of the two countries now appear to be “genuinely interested” in fostering greater understanding among them.

“We continue to welcome efforts by India and Pakistan to work bilaterally to solve these very difficult, complicated issues. And so that they have started to do that,” State Department Spokesman John Kirby told reporters at his daily John Kirby news conference.

“Leaders of India and Pakistan appear to be genuinely interested in fostering greater understanding between the two countries, that’s welcome,” he said, adding that the US continues to encourage that. When asked about reported direction by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to his ministers not to make antiIndia statements, Kirby said “there’s always a balance to be struck here. And without having more detail about his comments or the context in which they were made, I’d really be loath to go further than that. We’ve been crystal clear, bilaterally with Pakistan, about our concerns about terrorism in the region, to include the safe havens that we know terrorist organisations have,” Kirby said.

PTI

the root of the Koran.... This will be a revolution in studying Islam,” bin Huwareib said.

But everybody is not convinced that the Birmingham Quran was Abu Bakr’s personal version on the holy book.

David Thomas, Birmingham University’s professor of Christianity and Islam, said bin Huwareib’s claims amounted to “a very big leap indeed”, adding that he believes the radio carbon dating suggests the manuscript was actually created around 20 years after the first caliph’s death.

While he concedes that “the person who actually wrote it could well have known the Prophet Muhammad”, Thomas believes too much emphasis has been placed on dating the document on “graphical evidence”, such as handwriting trends.

But staff at Oxford University’s Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, which dated the parchment, are convinced their findings are correct, no matter how inconvenient.

Researcher David Chivall told the BBC that the accuracy of dating has improved in recent years, with a much more reliable approach to removing contamination from samples.

In the case of the Birmingham Quran, Chivall says the latter half of the age range is more likely, but the overall range is accurate to a probability of 95 per cent.

“We’re as confident as we can be that the dates are accurate.”

PTI

and Islamic prayers will be conducted before every flight for the safety of the passengers.”

Ravi said the airline had hired 350 staff including eight pilots and 50 cabin crew and would fly five times a week between Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi, at a distance of some 410 kilometers.

“Operations will be expanded to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu next year. International flights to Indonesia and the Philippines will be added at a later date,” he said. Rayani Air’s fleet has two Boeing 737-400 aircraft with a capacity of 188 passengers each.

The airliner operated its inaugural flight on Sunday.

Malaysia is a Muslim-majority country with Muslims constituting about 60 per cent of the country’s 30 million people. The country also has a sizable ethnic Indian community, majority of them Hindus, forming about 6.3 per cent of the total population.

Many Muslim leaders in the country has blamed the two recent disasters involving Malaysia Airlines - Flight 370 which went missing in March last year and Flight 17 downed over Ukraine were a message from God for breaking Islamic rules on flights.

PTI

Rayani Air owns two Boeing 737-400 aircraft

MONEY MATT ER S

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 26, 2015

PUNE

“We will train Android developers in partnership with 30 universities. The reason we are doing it is that in India when you bring access to internet it changes lives of people.”

— Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive, Google

Signposts Indigo joins 100-plane fleet club Budget carrier IndiGo said it has raised its fleet size to 100 with the induction of a new Airbus A320, making it the third domestic airline to have as many planes. Till now, only state-run Air India and Naresh Goyalpromoted Jet Airways had over 100 planes in their fleet. IndiGo took delivery of the ‘VT-IDR’ aircraft to join its ever growing fleet, the company said in a release issued here. The Gurgaon-based no-frills airline, which recently got listed on the bourses, currently operates 653 daily flights connecting 39 destinations.

PTI

Ola autorickshaws in Chandigarh Taxi aggregator Ola launched autorickshaws on its app here and after registering 75,000 autos on its platform across seven cities, the company intends to add two more cities by the end of this year. After Ola’s auto service was launched in Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune since October 2014, Ola is gearing up for expansion in more cities like Chandigarh. “With over 1,000 autos already registered on the platform in Chandigarh and over 75,000 across the country, we make the experience of hailing, tracking and payment, seamless for users”, Anand Subramanian, Senior Director- Marketing Communications at Ola. A base fare of Rs 14 will be applicable for the first one km and Rs 7/km thereafter. An additional convenience charge of Rs 10 will be payable to the auto driver over and above the fare along with a ride fare of Re 1/minute.

“The US Fed rate hike and reference to gradualism are on expected lines. India (is) well prepared. The US Fed confidence on recovery is good news for our exports, especially from IT sector.”

— Shaktikanta Das, Economic Affairs Secretary

Rs 16,000 crore undisclosed income detected since March 2014 90-day window to come clean on undisclosed wealth, led to declarations worth over Rs 4,160 crore

NEW DELHI: A government crackdown on black money has led to detection of undisclosed income of over Rs 16,000 crore since March 2014, while assets worth Rs 1,200 crore have been seized, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said.

“In 2014-15 and 2015-16 (up to November), the Income Tax Department by its enforcement actions has detected undisclosed income worth more than Rs 16,000 crore and seized assets worth Rs 1,200 crore,” he said.

“Prosecution has been fi led in 774 cases (up to September 2015).”

The measures included a onetime 90-day window to come clean

on undisclosed wealth, which led to declarations worth over Rs 4,160 crore, and the government is expecting Rs 2,500 crore as tax and penalties by month-end, he told PTI here.

“The present government is very serious on the issue of black money.

Various pronouncements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley have made it very clear that this government does not want to spare any effort to bring people with black money to book,” Adhia said.

Atomic Energy Act amended Minister of State Jitendra Singh clarifies that the Joint Venture is for public sector companies and not private sector ones NEW DELHI: State-run NPCIL can now collaborate with other PSUs in the nuclear field, with the Indian Parliament on Wednesday passing a bill in this regard after government allayed fears that the step will allow FDI into the sector or enable participation of a private fi rm in atomic power production.

The Atomic Energy Amendment Bill 2015, that was passed by Lok Sabha on December 14, got approval from the Rajya Sabha on the last day of the session without any discussion, evoking protests from some Opposition parties including Left.

The law seeks to amend the 1962 Atomic Energy Act to change the defi nition of “government company” in the Act with a view to expand its scope by including such joint venture companies as may be formed between NPCIL and other PSUs, according to the statement of object and reasons.

At present, only two Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) -- Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Bhartiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI), which are under the administrative control of Department of Atomic Energy, operate nuclear power plants in the country.

Minister of State for PMO Jitendra Singh, who holds the portfolio of atomic energy, clarified that the Joint Venture is for public sector companies

To deal with illegal wealth stashed abroad, the government legislated the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 which provides for stringent penalty and jail term. A one-time compliance window was provided to illegal foreign wealth holders to pay a tax and penalty of 60 per cent and escape the new law’s penal provisions.

In all, 635 declarations worth Rs 4,160 crore of illegal wealth were made in the three-month compliance window.

“The last date for paying income tax for those people who made disclosures under the Black Money Act is December 31, 2015. We are hopeful of getting approximately Rs 2,500 crore as tax in the current year,” he said.

Articulating steps taken by the government to curb black money, he

China to address economic slowdown

BY K J M VARMA

and not private sector ones. Jairam Ramesh (Congress) wanted to know whether private companies can also be permitted under the joint venture.

The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 7 and proposes to to amend the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 that empowers the central government to produce, develop, control, and use atomic energy.

While under the Act, a government company that is allowed to produce atomic energy is one in which at least 51 per cent of the paidup share capital is held by the central government. Paid-up share capital is the capital received by a company from the issue of shares.

The amendments expand this defi nition to include companies where the whole of the paid up share capital is held by one or more government companies and whose articles of association empower the central government to constitute its Board of Directors. Th is provision will allow for the formation of joint ventures between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and other government companies. Under the Act, a license is required for acquisition, production, use, export and import of any plant designed for the production and development of atomic energy or research.

PTI

said the requirement of mandatory furnishing of PAN for money transactions above certain limits is a way of making people report their income legitimately.

In addition, the government will initiate enforcement action in a big way in those cases where it gets defi nite information.

“Our attempt to get more information from governments of other countries about the resident tax payers is likely to get more traction in 2016,” he said.

Also, international cooperation on tax matters is gaining momentum now, with a multilateral agreement on automatic exchange of information taking fi nal shape.

Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), signed with the US, India has already started getting information.

PTI

BEIJING: Reaching the dead-end of an exports-led growth, China has unveiled a new blueprint to make its monetary policy more “flexible” as it embarks on a supply-side reform to arrest the slowdown of the world’s second-largest economy and power its transition to a consumption-based model.

Ahead of formally launching the 13th Five-Year Plan (201620), Chinese leaders headed by President Xi Jinping announced an “overarching strategy” to lead the economy’s ongoing transition at a closed-door conclave of top officials of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) on Monday.

At the Central Economic Work Conference, Xi told CPC leaders and economists that China’s emphasis in 2016 will be on supply-side reform, or a package of supply-side policies to boost new demand and raise productivity, state media reported.

As the economy slipped below 7 per cent for the fi rst time since 2009 from the heydays of double-digit growth, Xi said China must, over the

next five years, maintain an average growth of at least 6.5 per cent to realise the country’s goal of doubling its gross domestic product and per capita income.

According to Chinese economists, this means China will no longer seek to fuel economic growth solely by using fiscal and monetary measures to boost capital investment, consumption and exports.

Until now, China used to rely on investment, exports and consumption, which are classified as demands.

As the effectiveness of boosting growth on the demand side wanes, the government has started to reform the supply side to make effective use of production factors, including funds, resources, skilled workers, equipment and technologies, said state-run China Daily.

From now onwards, the government will be more focused on devising policies which, from the supply side, are aimed at helping the industries with more supportive polices. Outdated businesses will also be phased out.

PTI

China’s emphasis in 2016 will be on supply side reform

Crossing the India projected to be fastest growing economy red tape hurdle NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary panel has suggested several steps such as urgent requirement to reduce procedures and time period for registration of a company in order to improve India’s ranking in ease of doing business.

It has recommended measures an all the 10 parameters, whose performances was evaluated by the World Bank to prepare the ease of doing business report.

The parameters include starting a business, dealing with construction permits, paying taxes, and getting credit.

It has said that Aadhaar, PAN and passport may be linked to eliminate the basic need of verification.

The committee has observed that the issue of

construction permits is a grey area in the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ scenario and there is an urgent need for introduction of fast track building plan approval systems. “...the committee is distressed to note that the long time taken for getting an electricity connection in metropolitan cities like Mumbai and Delhi,” it said.

On the parameter of registering property, it suggested to upload standardised formats of documents like sale deed on website of all state governments.

On paying taxes, India ranked 157th in 2015 out of 189 countries. It said there are far better ways to resolve tax issues instead of resorting to coercive methods to recover taxes.

PTI

India tops the global list for predicted annual growth rate

KEY TAKEAWAYS

India has made important gains in productive capabilities, allowing it to diversify its exports into more complex products, including pharmaceuticals, vehicles, even electronics.

BY YOSHITA SINGH NEW YORK: India, with a projected annual growth rate of 7 per cent, has the potential to be the world’s fastest growing economy over the coming decade, surging ahead of its South Asian economic rival China that will continue to see a slowdown, Harvard researchers said in new forecast.

“India has the potential to be the fastest growing economy over the coming decade. India tops the global list for predicted annual growth rate for the coming decade, at 7.0 per cent,” new growth projections presented by researchers at the Centre for International Development (CID) at Harvard University showed. “Th is far outpaces projections for its northern neighbour and economic rival, China, which the researchers

India’s recent gains in complexity, coupled with its ability to continue improving it will drive higher incomes, positioning India to lead global economic growth over the coming decade.

expect to face a continued slowdown to 4.3 per cent growth annually to 2024, the report said. South Asia and East Africa have the greatest potential for “rapid growth” as oil economies and other commodity-driven economies face the slowest growth outlook, it said.

“India has made important gains in productive capabilities, allowing it to diversify its exports into more complex products, including pharmaceuticals,

vehicles, even electronics,” said Ricardo Hausmann, Professor of the Practice of Economic Development at Harvard Kennedy School and CID director. Hausmann noted these gains in economic complexity have historically translated into higher incomes.

“China has already realised many of these gains, doubling per capita income in less than a decade. We expect that India’s recent gains in complexity,

coupled with its ability to continue improving it will drive higher incomes, positioning India to lead global economic growth over the coming decade,” he said.

The CID data predicted that growth in emerging markets will continue to outpace that of advanced economies, though the gap is closing. CID is also bullish on East Africa, with Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya ranking in the top 10, with all

predicted to grow at least 5.5 per cent annually.

The growth forecast also looks favourably on Southeast Asia, where the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam look to drive growth well above global averages.

Growth in advanced economies remains slow by comparison, though it has risen slightly in the projections in recent years.

The US is expected to grow at 2.8 per cent annually to 2024, with higher growth predicted in the United Kingdom (3.2 per cent) and Spain (3.4 per cent), and slower growth in Italy (1.8 per cent) and Germany (0.35 per cent).

The United Nations has also predicted that India will continue to be the fastest growing economy in the world in 2016 and 2017, projected to grow by 7.3 per cent next year and 7.5 per cent the year after amid a global order that will see persistent macroeconomic uncertainties, diminished trade flows and stagnant investment.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 26, 2015

PUNE

Our voices need to be heard

Bus commuters face daily ordeal in Bibwewadi

RAHUL RAHUL

SOUNDS OF THE SUFIS

Sounds of the Sufis is a documentary theatre format performance that traces the journey of Sufism in India through 13 Centuries with the help of music, anecdotes and narratives. The performers, Anuraag, Priyanka and Karan explore the meaning of Sufism with the help of the stories of the mystics and the Sufis that have been, and through their own life stories.

When: December 30 Where: Jyotsna Bhole Auditorium, Maharashtra Cultural Centre, Shukrawar Peth

UNCOLOR BY RUVE NARANG

WADA CHIREBANDI

Playwright Mahesh Elkunchwar’s popular drama, Wada Chirebandi highlights the decline of joint family culture. The play starts with the death of the head of the Deshpande family and goes on to depict the individual and interpersonal conflicts and struggles of the family members.

The play is directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni When: December 27 Where: Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Jangali Maharaja Road

carnival will see a lot of art, entertainment, food, music and fashion on a single platform.

The 2-day fair will have 50 pop-up stalls with various products for the audience to wander around. There will be live bands performing, dance performances, workshops from various arts at the great stage set for them.

When: Till December 27 Where: Amanora Town Center, Hadapsar

‘Uncolor’ is a beautiful plight of the winged wonders of nature – Birds. It’s a calling to express the most difficult, yet strongest emotion of letting go. The series is staged to be in the forests of our worlds, where birds are the protagonists. The birds also express an underlying example of adapting with the environment around. Afar from the rights and wrongs, we all tend to mould ourselves with respect to the environment and people around.

‘Uncolor’ intends to reflect the art, life and ideologies of Ruve Narang.

When: Till December 31 Where: The Muse, Koregaon Park

AADICHITRA

MAESTRO SCREENING

Triffed, a Govt. Of India organisation under Ministry of Tribal Affairs, presents an exhibition titled Aadi-Chitra, a collection of tribal paintings.

This exhibition presents creative expressions of about 40 tribal artists belonging to Gond, Bhil, Rathwa/Pithora, Saura and Warli tribes of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Orissa and Maharashtra respectively. This exhibition will be an excellent blend of artistic ecstasy, cultural confluence and emergence of new opportunity.

The idea is not only to bring tribal paintings from the oblivion to the mainstream of art and help tribal artists in earning their livelihood, but also to restore, preserve and reinforce the tribal art in its forte so that the traditional farm, flow and flavour undergo least dilution.

When: December 29 Where: Darpan Art Gallery, Senapati Bapat Road

Lost the Plot, Pune’s only rooftop cinema lounge joins hands with the Alliance Francaise de Pune to bring you the best in French cinema every fortnight as part of ‘A Very Long French Film Festival.’ In Maestro, a novice actor (Pio Marmai) pursuing fame and his attractive female co-star develop an unlikely friendship on set with his eccentric and seasoned Director (Michael Lonsdale). If youre looking for a quiet, whimsical evening before the big NYE bash, look no further, head for a unique cinema experience under the stars.

When: December 30 Where: Seasons Hotel, Aundh

HOLA PUNE

After the success of previous editions of Hola Pune, they are back with a 4th edition. The fun

WEEK THAT WAS

TEJAS GAIKWAD

Chandrakant Ghodake

OF

THE

E WE K

The Khadki police have arrested two persons on Sunday for threatening CBI officer Chandrakant Ghodake who is investigating the Narendra Dabholkar murder. The culprits have been identified as Chandrakant Mohite, 41, and his wife Sangita, 25, of Rethre, Karad tehsil, district Satara, who are farmers.

The police traced the number from which the threatening messages were sent to Ghodake. Khadaki police station in-charge Police Inspector Kamlakar Takawale set a trap and succeeded in arresting Chandrakant and Sangita Mohite. The Mohites were produced in court on Monday, and remanded to police custody till December 23.

Rationalist Narendra Dabholkar was murdered on August 20, 2013.

LETTERS TO THE

EDITOR

BUNGEE JUMPING: This street urchin makes the most of what he has. He was spotted by our lensman Tejas Gaikwad repeatedly jumping from a two-wheeler on a hay stack. This was his idea of fun.

The best way to travel The feature about the adventurous people who travel long distances on bikes and bicycles is inspiring. With easy access to all kinds of modes of travel, be it trains, boat or planes, or just motor car, it is laudable that some of us choose the less comfortable but far more interesting alternative. In fact, using a bicycle to travel long distances is the best way because you are free to stop wherever and whenever and you really have the opportunity to observe things first hand and at your leisure. And if you are able to cycle long distances, it also keeps you fit, your muscles and lungs in great condition. When one makes up one’s mind, all things become possible and we all should follow this example and make time to go out into our still wonderful world and see it at our own pace and leisure.

— Sahana Katre

What happened to the Hippocratic oath?

The story about the malnourished boy who was denied treatment at Aundh Hospital just shows how callous the medical community has become today. Making money is the top priority of most hospitals and medicos and the Hippocratic oath seems to long forgotten by these people in the medical profession who have turned hardhearted and are immune to the suffering of the patient. The excuses of not having an internet connection for registration given by the doctor in charge is laughable if it was not so sad. With the private hospitals becoming exclusively for people who can shell out money like cornflakes, it is imperative that Aunch Hospital and the DEIC centre are sensitive to the needs of poor patients and go out of their way to help alleviate their suffering.

—Rahul Gaikwad

Write to Us

Letters to the Editor may be emailed to editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com, yogesh.sadhwani@goldensparrow.com or mail it to The Editor, Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt Ltd, 1641 Madhav Heritage, Tilak Road, Pune-411030.

MISSING MALVANI TRIO WAS IN TOUCH WITH ISIS CONVERT

MAN AND WIFE ARRESTED FOR THREATENING CBI OFFICER IN DABHOLKAR CASE

PIC

I

live in Bibwewadi and commute by bus or autorickshaw to office and back. But the area around the bus stop has been dug up a week ago and consequently the bus commuters are forced to do a bit of a circus act while getting on to the bus. This is a crowded area and there are lots of vehicles passing by and the bus commuters are right in their way. Naturally, the elderly people have even more of a problem and they are even more at risk. The dug up road is also causing a hold-up for the traffic and I wonder how long this situation is going to last.

Sumedha K The least the people who dig up the road can do is complete their work as soon as possible and avoid creating an obstacle for the countless number of people who use the road on a daily basis.

The situation is also causing some of the bus drivers to avoid stopping here, which means that commuters who have already been waiting for some time, are forced to wait even longer.

The situation is even worse during peak rush hours.

This kind of irresponsible ways of working by the civic workers is common around the city, which just shows the lack of consideration for the welfare of citizens.

As we move towards a smart city status, I hope that the civic workers also mend their ways and make sure that they do not inconvenience the common man.

Narendra Dabholkar

The Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) is tracking down two youths who are still missing, after tracing one at Katraj in Pune, after receiving a tip off on Tuesday.

Wajid Shaikh, 25, was on a private luxury bus going to Mumbai from Belgaavi in Karnataka.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Bhanupratap Barge attached to ATS, Pune said that Wajid Shaikh, Mohsin Sayyed, 26, and Noor Mohammed, 19, all of Malvani in Mumbai were reported missing on December 16.

The trio was in touch with Ayaz Sultan, 23, who was a follower of ISIS doctrines. But Wajidsaid that he was not contacted by ISIS, nor did he want to join them.

APTE ROAD FIRING HANDIWORK OF A PARBHANI CRIMINAL

The mystery surrounding the identity of the culprits who fired at a police constable on Apte Road ended in the wee hours of Wednesday when one of them surrendered to the police. He has been identified as Akshay Soni, 19, of Parbhani who is a first year college student, the Deccan police said. However, Devendra Deshmukh, the prime suspect, is still at large.Deshmukh is a member of a Parbhani based criminal. On Tuesday afternoon, Accused Devendra Constable Deshmukh was riding pillion with Soni, when off Deshmukh Mayur Bhokare duty constable Mayur Bhokare spotted a firearm tucked inside his (Desmukh’s) shirt. The constable chased the duo to an open plot and in the ensuing scuffle, Deshmukh fired at Bhokare. Soni was remanded to police custody till December 27. He has been booked on an attempt to murder charge.

Parking at airport The five-minute limit for vehicle entering the Pune airport premises seems to be the right solution to avoid congestion and ensure the convenience of all. The space at the airport is at a premium so it makes sense that vehicles are not parked there unnecessarily. With growing air traffic and more people visiting the airport every day, such a rule has become necessary.

The rule should be strictly implemented so that only those who need to stay longer at the airport are permitted to do so by paying the surcharge.

Rules and laws are for the convenience of the public at large so they should not become a means to harass people and make them pay unreasonable amounts of money. No one comes to the airport without a reason and these legitimate people who come to see off or receive their families and friends should not be made to feel as if they are harassed unnecessarily.

—Amey Walkar

Water tax defaulters The names on the list of those who have not paid their water tax includes elite citizens and organisations, but it no surprise because the working of the PMC’s water department leaves a lot to be desired. The department still works in a World War II kind of style where simple things take ages to get done. None of the people are to be found in their seats during working hours, as they are busy having tea or passing time under some pretext or another. The water department is known for sending huge bills to unsuspecting citizens and forcing them to shell out the money before correcting their own mistakes. Of course there are two sides to every story so it might be that the bigwigs mentioned in the feature are guilty of not paying their dues. But it is also high time the PMC itself mends its ways and show more concern for citizens and work more efficiently and not harass them by sending out wrong bills.

—Kaushal Ghange

A helping hand The new carts for waste-pickers, with curtains and a roof make so much sense as not only will they make their job a little easier, but the carts more importantly will also take care of the hygienic aspect, by curtailing the odour. That they can be folded is another big advantage as it eliminates the issue of space for parking them. A waste-picker’s job and life are hard and these are the people who are deprived of the advantages of education and a respectable life. The issue of garbage and waste in a big city is a crucial one as it can be a huge health issue when garbage is left uncleared on the streets. The government and even us citizens should think of more ways to make the lives of waste-pickers easier.

—Parul Jagad

SPORTS

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 26, 2015

PUNE

“Raina is an impact player and a match winner in the shorter format. He is livewire in the field, can play big shots and bowl useful overs. He still has a lot to offer in ODI and T20.”

— VVS Laxman, former India batsman

“To be recognised as the best player this year against some unbelievable talent around the world, it’s very humbling and it’s an honour. Five years ago I wouldn’t have pictured myself in this position.”

— Steve Smith, Australia captain

Long way to go for me, says Lalawmpuia

The 17-year-old striker who shattered several national records with 14 goals, including three hat-tricks in eight matches, aims for international glory

BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis_ashish

Two-time former champions Pune FC clinched the Maharashtra Zone title of the Under-18 I-League for the second successive season. And it was 16-year-old striker Lalawmpuia, who played a major role in the team’s success in this tournament.

The striker is known for his hunger for goals, and having been promoted to the U-18 squad after an impressive show for the U-17s at the start of the season, Lalawmpuia surprised one and all, topping the scorers’ chart by smashing 14 goals in just eight games.

“It has been a great season so far. I am very happy with my performance and by God’s grace I have managed to score so many goals. It’s only because of my team that I have managed to score. We have been working hard in the training during

the last three months and it feels good to top the Maharashtra zone,” said Lalawmpuia.

The youngster eclipsed the four-year record held by Mumbai FC’s Jayesh Rane who had scored 13 goals, incidentally under current Pune FC coach Naushad Moosa, in 2011-12. While Jayesh notched up that tally in the entire campaign, Lalawmpuia’s feat was accomplished in the zonal phase itself. Interestingly, Lalawmpuia became the first ever Pune FC player to net multiple hattricks (three) in the competition.

“I feel I have got a natural instinct to get into goal-scoring positions. I have always strived to score goals when I was growing up, and I want to get more. I believe my ability to work with both feet around the box is my strength,” he said.

Lalawmpuia hails from Aizawl in Mizoram.

His father runs a carpentry business and like any other kid in that football-crazy state, Lalawmpuia was attracted to the sport at an early age.

“I first started playing football in 2007 when I got into the government’s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme. While we were in school, we played football every day in the morning at the Ramlun

Sports Complex ground in Aizawl. It was a big ground and lots of kids go there to play and learn the sport. I was instantly hooked,” he recalls.

Lalawmpuia’s predatory instincts had always been evident while representing local sides. In fact, his performances in the 2013 Subroto Cup in which he helped Mizoram to the championship caught the eye of the local teams and at 15 years of age, he was called up to play in the Mizoram Premier League for Dinthar FC. “The Subroto Cup is a massive tournament with teams from all over the country. Playing in such a tournament is important for any player and I had a great experience in my first national level competition. The fact that I was voted the ‘best player’ and won the ‘top goalscorer’ award playing for my state Mizoram made it even special. My coach gave me confidence going into the tournament and I managed to give my best,” he said.

The striker was also part of another Mizo side, Chanmari FC in the U19 I-League the same year before making the switch

to Pune FC this season.

“At Pune FC, we have a very intense training schedule which I experienced for the very first time. Ever since I joined Pune FC in July, I have improved my strength as well as my finishing in front of goal. There is still a long way to go and I’m working hard every day on the field,” said Lalawmpuia.

He said, “Our coach, Naushad Moosa sir, always pushes me to do better and score more goals. He knows exactly what he wants from his players and has been constantly guiding me.

Working under him has helped me understand the game better, my movement has also improved and I hope to repay the trust he has put in me.”

An avid Cristiano Ronaldo fan, ‘Opia’ as he is fondly known, wants to make his mark at the international level.

“The important thing is to stay focused at all times. I always want to improve as a player and have been working hard to become better. The is still a long way to go and it is very important to stay grounded,” he says. ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com

Pune FC shatter records

Ankita crash out in second round Defending champion Ankita Raina was sent packing from the $25,000 NECC-ITF Women’s tennis tournament, in the second round.

Winning only 33 per cent of her service games, Ankita lost the plot early on after having been taken the distance in the first round by Sowjanya Bavisetti. Ankita’s Russian opponent Viktoria Kamenskaya won the match 6-4, 6-1.

Meanwhile, top seed Jia-Jing also went down to Spain’s Georgina Garcia-Perez.

Cognizant, Infosys and Tata Communications won their league matches in the first edition of the Suhana and Lakshya women volleyball championship, organised by Sportiluv at Symbiosis School. Infosys registered a 25-18, 25-6 win over Wipro, while Cognizant trounced Amdocs 25-9, 25-10 . Cognizant recorded their second win with a 25-8,25-7 win over Symbiosis Society.

The 28th edition of Pravin Trophy under-12 national ranking tennis tournament, sponsored by Pravin Masalewale will be played at the Hill Side Gymkhana tennis courts, Bibwewadi from Saturday (December 26).

Having started in 1986, this is the oldest running junior tennis tournament in the state and and Pravin Masalewale being involved with the event since its inception.

“We are happy to have been

a integral part of the tennis revolution in the city and the state, and are happy that many of the juniors who have played our event some time or the other in their careers have gone to great heights, players like Davis Cupper Vishnu Vardhan, Karan Rastogi, Rohan Gajjar, Isha Lakhani, Radhika Tulpule, Arjun Kadhe, Rutuja Bhosale and Aishvarya Srivatsav are to name a few,” said tournament director and vice president of the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) Rajkumar Chordia. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

NATION

CITY

Get your voice heard on NetaG P6

No damaged goods please P3

GRANDCHILDREN SUE THE COMPLETE MAN

PAGES: 16+16 (TGS LIFE) | PRICE: `5

PUNE, MARCH 21, 2015 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

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PUNE, MARCH 14, 2015 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

Dr Vijaypat Singhania’s grandchildren from his estranged son Madhupati have moved Bombay High Court seeking their share in ancestral property. They have filed a suit against their grandfather, father, mother and Raymond Limited. Detailed story on p7 TGS LIFE

When hunger strikes past midnight

NATION

CITY

Bakery worker’s daughter gets her wings P 12

Why are traffic cops taking selfies these days?

P3

DITCH THE

AUTO,

HAIL A

CAB

GAUTAM SINGHANIA

or long distances (depending on their mood), overcharge or ask for obnoxious fares, often refuse to ply by meter – the list is endless.

TGS Team members decided to give the ‘victimised’ autorickshaw drivers a chance.

Five members of the team tried hiring rickshaws for distances ranging between 1.5 and 20 kms. All the members came back irked and disgruntled. The autorickshaw community let us down badly, as they do with

Intentions of Dr Singhania were ‘malafide and illegal’ with a motive to grab the share of Madhupati and Anuradha as well as grandchildren and to achieve the same he directed that his son and daughter-inlaw move to another country ‘instead of Collectively Pune Municipal continuing to stay in India with the family.

DEHU

6

Corporation, PimpriChinchwad Municipal Corporation and Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited have spent `1,816 crores on constructing dedicated corridors and flyovers along major routes, erecting bus shelters, and buying buses.

Despite this not a single route is operational or has succeeded in years. Citizens residing in twin cities continue to cry foul over pathetic public transport system. And from the looks of it nothing is going to change in near future.

See Spotlight on p8&9

Spotlight Pg 8 and 9

CHINCHWAD BHOSARI

4 THERGAON HINJEWADI VILLAGE

KALEWADI FATA

WAKAD

DIGHI

NASHIK PHATA

5

LOHEGAON

DAPODI 50

PIMPLE GURAV

WAGHOLI

3 4 BANER

VISHRANT VIMAN WADI NAGAR YERWADA

AUNDH

2

SANGAMWADI PASHAN

AH47

WADGAON SHERI

MUNDHWA

SHIVAJI NAGAR

GHORPADI

9

BAVDHAN

CAMP

HADAPSAR

KOTHRUD

SWARGATE PARVATI

WANOWRIE

1

NANDED AMBEGAON BUDRUK

KONDHWA

UNDRI

KATRAJ

4

Had it not been for a Pune-based activist everybody had forgotten about a film on Lokmanya Tilak commissioned in 2001 by Central Government at the cost of 2.5 crores. Three years after Vishnu Kamalapurkar raised questions about the film,

said director of the school, who

fi led the FIR and kept in touch with “We are feeling the investigating officer and public prosecutor The director is let down by the PUNE, MARCH 14, 2015throughout. | www.thegoldensparrow.com yet to get a copy of the order. prosecution The case dates back to February 2013 when some of the students and the system. studying in class five walked up to their class teacher and alleged that It is upsetting their creative writing sir had touched because we do them inappropriately. The class teacher in turn informed the principal and not how to face management.

School authorities spoke to several other students and the parents and found that 22 girls in all had levelled similar allegations. Director of the students who school approached Chaturshrungi came forward police station and lodged an FIR under the Protection of Children from to give their Sexual Offences Act (POCSOA).

The investigation was carried out by statements.”

DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL

ALANDI

AKURDI

RAVET

Sab golmal hai...

The creative writing teacher from a reputed school in Baner was booked and arrested in February 2013. A special court acquitted him on the grounds that police bungled up in collecting evidence

RITU GOYAL HARISH

CHIKHALI

KIWALENIGDI

~ Suit filed by the siblings

Precious man hours are lost every day at Hinjewadi just because Then we tried our luck with private cabforgot operators, to whomake were planners more entry and exit points. Over a decade more than were willing to oblige after saying is true. But what they andHinjewadi take us wherever we was wanted planned to house country’s best IT firms and are not telling us or willing to to go, for a price of course. talent, planners concede is that their enemy lies In some cases, the have cab fare finally woken up to the plight of citizens. within. Their enemy number one worked out cheaper than what They have now planned five alternative roads. But the authorities is not private cabs but members the auto drivers were asking us of their own ilk – many of whom are in no hurry to complete them. See spotlight on p8 & 9 are rude, refuse to ply short

The case created ripples across the city. A teacher was accused of sexually abusing 22 students all from fi fth standard of a reputed school in Baner.

In February 2013, Chaturshrungi police registered a case of sexual abuse against the creative writing teacher and arrested him immediately. Two years after the cops went all out to claim that they had a watertight case, the teacher has been acquitted by a Special Court. The court ruled that the prosecution made out a weak case. The management of the school and parents of students are not only disappointed but also irked with the outcome.

“We are feeling let down by the prosecution and the system. It is upsetting because we do not how to face the parents and students who came forward to give their statements.

We believe we were on the right,”

Parents teach them more than exams do P 10

`1,816 1,816 crores spent on BRTS,

~ Suit filed by the siblings

What a mess!

Teacher booked for sexually abusing 22 students acquitted

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS

CITY

Truly, a tree lady P4

And yet no respite for commuters

DR VIJAYPAT SINGHANIA

Madhupati Singhania (57) and his wife Anuradha (54) with their children Ananya (29), Rasaalika (26), Tarini (20) and Raivathari (18)

Rickshaw unions across the city want us to believe that private cab service providers or radio cab operators, as they are popularly known as, are villains.

Around 12,000 radio cabs have made their lives miserable for 50,000-odd autorickshaw drivers in twin cities of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The auto drivers want us to believe that corporate houses with deep pockets behind the cab services are eating into their share. Essentially poor rickshaw drivers are getting poorer because of stiff competition from private cab operators.

While Gautam Singhania ‘in a span of 14 years as CMD of Raymond Limited has built a personal net worth of `1.4 billion, Madhupati belonging to the same family was struggling to settle down in a new country, educate his children and make a new life.’ Gautam and his family led a luxurious life ‘with fancy cars, private jets, yachts and expensive holidays.’

PICS ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Cognizant, Infosys win in women volleyball

TGS LIFE

Run for... yourself

Supriya Bhoite from Chaturshrungi police station.

Contd on p4

advance, and second instalment was to be released after completion of certain formalities. The very next year second instalment was also disbursed.

Cut to October 2012 – Kamalapurkar fi led an RTI with chief public information officer (CPIO) of Ministry of Culture seeking information about the fi lm on Tilak.

The CPIO was clueless about the project and sought information from

PUNE, MARCH 21, 2015 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

PUNE, MARCH 28, 2015 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

Hum

Fourteen years later, there is no sign of the fi lm. Vishnu Kamalapurkar, Pune-based activist, sought details of the project in 2012 from the Central Government only to be told that they had no records left, the concerned ministry had been wound up, and that fi lm-maker could not be traced.

Essentially, the government acceded that it had been duped of `2.5 crores, the sum that was transferred to the fi lm-maker.

It has taken Kamalapurkar three years since he sought details about the fi lm under Right to Information Act to get the government to launch a fullfledged investigation. Dhumale has

receiving his RTI finally been traced by the government with the help of police and claims that the fi lm will be released in “next two to four months”. He still hasn’t answered several questions raised by the government about the script and the star cast.

It all started in December 2001, when Commemoration Bureau under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture commissioned a fi lm on Lokmanya Tilak. A sum of Rs 1.25 crores was paid to Dhumale immediately as an

Saath Saath

When

HUNGER STRIKES past midnight

A family that prays together stays together. Pune’s joint families on why they agree to disagree

TGS takes a night trail around the city to look for places that will silence a grumbling tummy in the dark of night

The Kamdars

Run for…

yourself

National ranking tennis from today TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly

PAGES: 16+16 (TGS LIFE) | PRICE: `5

PUNE, MARCH 28, 2015 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

RAHUL RAUT

Maersk and Amdocs scored wins in their league matches at the Indian Bank IT League 2015, organised by Pratham Sports Management. In the first match, Maersk scored a five-wicket win over Yardi. Amit Radkar fought a lone battle with his unbeaten 70, for Yardi, while Dinesh Wadkar scored 61 runs for the winning team. In another match, Amdocs defeated Square Line Solutions by five wickets. Aviral Jain top scored for the winners (57 runs).

Pune’s Subhankar Dey clinched his maiden men’s singles title in the Nationalr a n k i ng badminton circuit at the Manorama Indian Open this week.

In the final, he defeated former junior national Subhankar Dey champion Daniel Farid 21-19, 21-13.

Second-seeded Subhankar was regarded as the favourite in the men’s final but he was down 14-19 in the opening game and 1-5 in the next but each time, he clawed his way back. It looked like nothing was working for the second seed.

However, he put in his best effort and forced Farid to sweat for each and every point.

Shubhankar’s crosscourt smash turned out to be a crucial

weapon and Farid was clueless against this strategy. He even failed to match Shubhankar in speed and controlling the match.

Interestingly, five months back, Shubhankar had suffered minor injuries when his scooter skidded off the road in Pune after returning from practice. He sustained injuries to his foot and arm, yet he decided to participate in the Maharashtra Senior State Selection Badminton tournament in Nanded. However, his big risk to play with an injured right foot did not last long as the top seed had to concede his third round match making a disappointing exit.

Meanwhile, Kerala’s unseeded PC Thulasi staved off a strong challenge from Petroleum’s Tanvi Lad, the tournament’s highest seed at No 2 after the withdrawal of top-seeded Shreyanshi Pardeshi, 21-15, 21-17 to bag the women’s title. Thulasi, despite her shrieking after almost every point, was the more composed player in the women’s final. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Maersk, Amdocs secure wins in IT league

TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly

THANK GOD IT’S S AT U R D AY

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Manas Dhamne and Khushi Sharma lifted the boys’ and girls’ titles in the 28th edition of Pravin Trophy Under-10 state ranking tennis tournament. In the final round, third seed, eightyear-old Manas registered a 4-1, 5-4 (4) win over sixth seeded Jaishnav Shinde. Manas is a standard II student of Bishop’s School and practices at Solaris Club under coach Ravindra Pande.

In the girls’ final, top seeded Khushi Sharma outplayed second seeded Madhurima Sawant 4-1, 4-1 for the crown.

Subhankar wins national badminton

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Manas, Khushi lift titles at U-10 tennis tourney

zonal phase undefeated for the fi rst time since the new home-and-away format was introduced in 2013-14.

While creating national records, Pune FC also managed to improve a few personal achievements. To begin with, Pune FC hit double figures for the fi rst time hammering Mumbai FC 10-0 at Cooperage for their biggest ever win in the competition.

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Signposts

zonal phase since the competition’s inception, even ahead of free scoring teams in DSK Shivajians and AIFF Elite Academy (Goa zone) who came close with 34 goals this season.

As a total of 11 players contributed to 37 goals up front, the defense too put on an impressive show keeping six clean sheets and conceding just three goals as Pune FC ended the

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Pune FC sealed a famous 2-1 win over arch rivals Mumbai FC to clinch the Maharashtra Zone of the Under-18 I-League tournament. In the process, Pune FC also managed to break a number of national records.

Beginning with their goal tally of 37, Pune FC outscored all teams to net the most number of goals in the

Puneites are running to fight depression, lethargy, even physical disadvantage. Marathoners are taking over the street and making the city fitter than it has ever been

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