The Golden Sparrow on Saturday 23/01/2016

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

PUNE, JANUARY 23, 2016 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

PICS BY RAHUL RAUT AND VISHAL KALE

THE LOST AGE OF

INNOCENCE They have been deprived of the most precious phase of life when it’s most carefree, when there are parents and teachers to watch over you, and toting a school bag is the biggest burden you know of See Spotlight, p08 & 09

This is how PMC brazenly wastes public money

50 of the city’s 178 public parks are closed to the public owing to incomplete work

See P4

Mr GM, please visit Pune station more often

Central Railway General Manager Sunil Kumar Sood and his team’s inspection of the Lonavala-Pune stretch

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan What a difference a few days can make!

Just five days after Central Railway General Manager Sunil Kumar Sood and his team’s inspection of the Lonavala-Pune stretch, the cleanliness and beautification

drive has come to a standstill.

Sood and his team made their annual inspection visit to Talegaon, Dehu Road, Chinchwad and Pune station on January 18. On that day, the railways officials and Railway Protection Force (RPF) jawans were out in full force, turned out in smart official uniforms. A few days later, TGS

discovered quite another scenario. The ticket checkers and RPF jawans were nowhere to be seen. The TCs were taking it easy in their offices and there was a solitary RPF constable operating the baggage scanner which was disconnected and only used during peak rush hours.

Contd on p5

MUMBAI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 2016

PUNE

Is homoeopathy a good alternative?

P 11

“Development in Vidarbha and Marathwada is the key to keeping Maharashtra united. Even though the talk of forming a separate Vidarbha is gaining ground, the Marathi speaking people of Vidarbha want a united Maharashtra”. —Sharad Pawar,NCP chief

Shivajians grab a point in opener P 16

Mercedes driver mows down five street dwellers A close aide of Chhota Shakeel, Haji Amin Khan was driving at 120 kmph when he lost control of the vehicle TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly

Haji Amin Khan

A speeding high end car rammed into four people late on Thursday.

The incident occurred around 12.45 am Mohammed Ali Road, Mumbai.

According to eye witnesses, the car which was heading towards CST from JJ Hospital, suddenly started swerving and rammed into median. Five street

dwellers were injured.

Eye witnesses say that after the accident, the driver got out of the vehicle and ran away. The driver was later identified as Haji Amin Khan, who has been booked in couple of cases of attempted murder, among others in the past. Khan is said to be close to Tariq Parvin, a Chhota Shakeel aide.

The five injured were rushed to state run JJ Hospital by onlookers.

The injured were identified as Munira Sheikh (25), Rahul Moinuddin Shaikh (4), Alisha Shaikh (40), Rashida Sheikh (20) and Ayesha Khatum (50). While four were discharged on Friday morning, Munira was kept under observation as she has suffered a collarbone fracture.

Khan was driving the Mercedes SLS AMG, a car worth around Rs 2.5 crores. The car registered in Jharkhand - JH 05 BF 0025 – was speeding when it rammed into the street dwellers. The car is said to be an extremely powerful vehicle powered by a 6.2-liter V-8 that makes 583 horsepower.

Sunil Kavlekar, senior inspector of Pydhonie police station said, “The accused Haji Amin Khan was driving his friend’s car. The supercar was being driven at 120 km per hour. We arrested him around 4 am. The victims are all street dwellers and were fast asleep

According to the police, the supercar was being driven at 120 km per hour when the accident took place

when Khan lost control of the car.”

Immediately after the accident, while Khan fled from the spot, a mob gathered at Pydhonie police station. Those who had seen Khan on the wheel demanded that he be arrested without any delay.

Initially, the cops weren’t willing to book Khan, but when the crowd refused to budge, they summoned the driver and arrested him.

Khan was booked under sections 279 (rash driving), 337 (causing hurt

by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code, and the Motor Vehicles Act (MVA).

On Friday afternoon, Khan was released on bail. “The medical reports revealed that he was not drunk. Since his offence is bailable, the magistrate released him,” added Kalvekar.

Khan has been named in a few crimes in the past. He is known to be close to Tariq Parveen, who was deported from Dubai in 2004 for his alleged involvement in construction of Sara-Sahara malls on public land.

Both Parvin and Amin were arrested in 2008 for attacking a relative of former gangster Karim Lala. The duo are said to be close to Chhota Shakeel.

Recently he was booked for a case of cheating and attempt to murder

by Byculla police station in Mumbai.

“Khan had taken anticipatory bail in the attempt to murder case. The incident took place a few months ago in Modi Compound. We arrested the four accused involved in the crime, however Khan obtained anticipatory bail,” said Suresh Magdum, senior police inspector of Byculla police station.

Khan has now strated a social organisation called Rehmani Group in Bhendi Bazaar area of Mumbai.

The organisation has organised a few events and Khan has been spotted with several local politicians tgs.feedback @goldensparrow.com

Cops who bumble majorly in EOW Diesel smuggling on high seas Coast guard use private fishing boat to nab diesel smugglers on Indonesian vessel

EOW officer castigated for not even checking contents of pen drive containing crucial evidence after filing chargesheet over 18 months ago

BY SANTOSHEE MISHRA @TGSWeekly

BY SANTOSHEE MISHRA @TGSWeekly Additional Chief Magistrate N B Shinde has reprimanded the investigating officer of the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police for not even verifying the contents of a pen drive, after filing a chargesheet more than one and half years ago.

The pen drive was seized from Avinash Khandale, 30, one of the accused in a case where the South Indian Education Society (SIES) trust was duped to the tune of Rs 58 crore.

The court had asked EOW investigating officer Pramod Tambe to provide the Central Forensic Science Lab (CFSL) report from the pen drive. Tambe, who has since been transferred to the Regional Transport Office at Byculla, told the court that he had sent the pen drive to the CFSL but had not checking the contents.

“How can you be so irresponsible? You filed the chargesheet in 2014 and named the pen drive contents as crucial evidence, but you have not bothered to check it,” Shinde said.

Khandale’s advocate B B Tiwari filed a discharge application in the metropolitan magistrate court, claiming that all of Khandale’s money transactions shown by the EOW were before the crime occurred. Funds transferred to Khandale’s accounts were in 2011, 2012, 2013 and till February 2014, whereas the public charitable trusts diversion of funds took place

after March 28, 2014, and there was no concrete evidence from the CFSL despite filing of a chargesheet in July 2014.

The EOW arrested Mohammad Fasiuddin alias Fasih, owner of Sheesha Bar lounge at Andheri, for allegedly masterminding the siphoning off the money in the bank accounts of his firm Showman Group of Companies, with the help of his accomplices Anil Pawar, Roy Joseph Thomas and Avinash Khandale.

The SIES trust was promised high interest returns on fixed deposits in nationalised banks.

The Fixed Deposit (FD) certificates were later used by the swindlers to create cash-credit facilities to withdraw money.

During the investigation of the SIES trust, the fraud to the tune of about Rs 700 crore was seen to be masterminded by Fasih, who siphoned off money from UCO Bank,

the State Bank of Jaipur and Bikaner, Vijaya Bank, the Punjab and Sindh Bank, Union Bank of India, Central Bank of India and the Bank of India, in collusion with senior bank officials. They had also duped the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA), the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) and the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC). There have been ten First Information Reports registered with the EOW regarding cheating and fraud by the arrested accused.

EOW senior police inspector Sanjay Joshi said, “Tambe was transferred to the RTO last year and the Khandale’s pen drive was sent to the CFSL, which is also understaffed, so the CFSL report could be delayed.” tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

A Yellow Gate Police station source said that after a tip on smuggling of diesel on the high seas, they had to use private boat to conduct the raids.

The nauka (boat) department of the police now has only 20 boats of the sanctioned 69, and the coastal security force is also understaffed. Under the Sagari police station at Yellow Gate and Mahim, 1400 police personnel are needed for security and patrolling, while they have only 700.

The police received a tip on January 2 about diesel smuggling by a foreign vessel five nautical miles in the sea. The deputy commissioner of police (Port Zone) Kiran Kumar Chavan used a private fishing boat named Malleshwari for the raid, and arrested Mohammad Yasin Abdul Aziz Lakdawala, Monu Madan Singh, Monurul Ismail Manadal, Naushad Qureshi, Akbar Suleman Subaniya and Arif Yusuf Baya. A case has also been registered against Samshul Bakhari, captain of the Indonesian vessel. The fishing boat

Virat Kohli buys Rs 34 crore flat in Worli

BY YOGESH SADHWANI @yogeshsadhwani

A few days before he became the quickest man to reach the 7,000-run mark in 161 innings, Virat Kohli bought a spacious flat in Worli.

On January 5, the 27-year-old cricketer bought a 8,000 sq feet flat for Rs 34 crore.

The cricketer, who is dating actor Anushka Sharma, booked the 35th floor flat in the Omkar 1973 Worli building.

Documents in possession of TGS reveal that the flat in the ‘C’ wing of the plush residential project comes with four parking slots.

In October last year, Virat and Anushka were spotted leaving the Omkar 1973 Worli’s site office. They were apparently there to see the flats. Three months later, on January 5, he signed and registered the deal with the Department of Registration and Stamps.

The Ready Reckoner value of the flats is Rs 26.68 crore, while Virat paid Rs 34 crore for the house.

The palatial 5BHK flat is part of ‘Sky

Bungalows’ constructed in the housing complex comprising three towers. The flat offers a breathtaking view of the Arabian Sea. According to the developer’s website, “each sky bungalow has a sprawling living room with both dining and seating areas, minimalistic bedrooms with a spa-like bathrooms, kid’s room, gym area, cigar room, kitchen and a servant’s room along with a separate kitchen”. The construction of the residential project is going on in full swing and is slated to be over by 2017 end. The project is spread over 4.5 acres and offers a sports pavilion and a spa.

Virat, who recently broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record by reaching 24 centuries in 161 innings in contrast to 219 innings taken by master blaster, has joined the league of the super rich by buying the palatial apartment in the project. Others who have bought flats in the project include the director of D Y Patil Sports & Infrastructure Pvt Ltd Shivani Vijay Patil, Kalyani Group chairman Dr Baba Kalyani, and several members of the

Sancheti family from Nagpur.

Shivani Patil, wife of Dr D Y Patil University pro vice chancellor Vijay Patil, bought a 2,500 sq ft flat for Rs 4.91 crore.

Dr Babasaheb Kalyani, the chairman and managing director of Bharat Forge, the second largest forging company in the world, has also bought a 5,400 sq ft flat on 55th floor for Rs 21.27 crore. Rizwan Koita, CEO of CitiusTech and the winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2013, has bought a 2,400 sq ft flat in the project for Rs 4.91 crore.

Several members of the Sancheti family of Nagpur too have bought flats in Omkar 1973 Worli. This includes designer Shruti Sancheti, wife of Anand Sancheti and sisterin-law of the controversial businessman and Member of Parliament Ajay Sancheti. She has bought a 3,400 sq ft flat for Rs 4.83 crore.

Ajay Sancheti’s son Nirbhay has bought two flats each measuring 3,400 sq ft on the 30th and 31st floors for around Rs ten crore. yogesh.sadhwani@goldensparrow.com

Damodar Tandel

used for smuggling belongs to Rafiq Gulshan Khan, who is still at large, but has taken anticipatory bail.

Chavan said that he had to hire a private fishing boat as he did not want to take chances.

“I got a tip about a vessel from Indonesia for smuggling diesel, which was linked with the oil mafia. I personally visited the spot and caught the culprits red handed,” said Chavan. “We

have 20 patrolling boats of which four are bullet proof, while the rest are regular ones,” said Chavan.

The fishing boat used for smuggling did not have any number and wasn’t registered with the port zone.

Akhil Maharashtra Machhimar Kriti Samiti President Damodar Tandel said that of the total 69 fishing boats, 49 were eroded and malfunctioning.

“Biometric cards are required for fishing boats when they are at sea. So how did Khan’s fishing boat enter the sea? Biometric cards are issued by the state fishing department. There are lapses in the costal security by the Mumbai police even after the terror attack of 26/11. There are many boats bearing the same registration number.

It shows that there is hardly any patrolling by the police,” said Tandel.

The Defence Coastal department had reviewed security and safety on the Arabian Sea. Almost 60 per cent of fishing boats owners are from Bangladesh, Nepal, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar. tgs.feedback @goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 2016

WB offers funds to rebuild Indian zoo P12

“The PMC’s policy aims at reducing dependence on private vehicles and encouraging public transport as well as pedestrian activities. The civic body plans to bring a paradigm shift in the city’s traffic and transport system. ” — Kunal Kumar, Municipal Commissioner

Passengers forced to pay extra for Rail Neer at Pune

Stalls at Pune station charge Rs 20 for bottles priced at Rs 15

PICS BY TEJAS GAIKWAD

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan Not long ago the railway administration went all out to ensure that only their inhouse brand of bottled water was sold at all the railway stations across the country. They managed to win the legal battle against private bottled water brands and catering contractors in Bombay High Court. But little do they bother to keep a tab on stalls who are selling Rail Neer bottles at higher price. The bottles are being sold for Rs 20 instead of MRP of Rs 15 at Pune railway station.

TGS team took a trip to several stalls at the station only to find that most stalls did not even relent even after being told that the Rail Neer bottles were priced at Rs 15 each and not Rs 20. They continued selling the bottles at higher prices.

The overpricing is not restricted to bottled water. Passengers allege that they are overcharged for eatables and beverages at the railway station. The vendors charge Rs 10 instead of Rs 7 for tea.

A software engineer in Kharadi, Kamal Kishor of Darbhanga, who was waiting to board the Gyan Ganga Express, said, “Vendors take advantage of the fact that passengers are in a rush to board trains and that’s how they get away with charging five rupees extra for water.”

“The facts is that some passengers do not have the change and if we also do not have the change, we end up keeping the extra five rupees for Rail Neer,” said a vendor on platform number five. Surendra Singh, a tea vendor on platform number one, said that he has been ordered by his seniors to charge Rs 10 for tea. He said, “The Railway has increased the tea price and we have been told to charge Rs 10. No one has objected.”

Pune Rail Division Public Relations Officer Manoj Kumar said, “We make on the spot inspections of the vendors. If they are charging extra for water, tea or snacks, we will penalise them.”

A vendor said that they are paid very meagre salaries and they have to depend on the extra money they can earn. sushant.ranjan@goldensparrow.com

PUNE

Platforms number 2 & 3 Food outlet: Monginis Experience: We asked for water and were given a bottle of Rail Neer and asked to pay Rs 20.

When we pointed out to the printed price of Rs 15, the vendor said that the price had been increased.

Platforms number 4 & 5 Experience: R&K Associates outlet sells Rail Neer for Rs 20 instead of Rs 15. We asked about the five rupees extra and were told that Rail Neer is sold for Rs 20 at all outlets at Pune Railway station.

Platform number 1 Experience: Krishnaz food court run by IRCTC’s tea vendor at platform number one sells tea for Rs 10. We asked him if that was the actual price. He said, “This is the original price and we’re not charging extra. File a complaint if you want to.”

13-yr-old undergoes vaginoplasty

The child with blocked vaginal opening was operated on at Sassoon Hospital earlier this week

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 A one-year-old girl child with a blocked vaginal opening underwent a ‘vaginoplasty’ surgery at Sassoon General Hospital on January 19. Her condition, known as ‘Vaginal Labial Adhesions’ was detected at a health camp drought-hit farmers and their families at Jalgaon district on January 9-12, which 77,000 persons availed of.

Thirteen months old Sangita (name changed), is from Umala village of Jalgaon taluka and district. Her father earns Rs 6000 a month from his job at a warehouse. He discovered his daughter’s condition when he was giving her a bath.

Sangita’s vaginal opening was blocked, while the urethral opening was normal. Her anxious parents were told at private hospitals that her daughter’s condition would be cured automatically.

Sangita’s parents were told about the health camp at Jalgaon organised

by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and water resource minister Girish Mahajan. At the Paediatric Out Patient Department (OPD), Sangita was examined by Dr Sandhya Khadse of Sassoon General Hospital, who told the parents to bring the child to Sassoon Hospital for surgery.

Sangita was brought to Sassoon Hospital on January 13, and admitted to the paediatric ward. The admission and investigation were done free of cost. The paediatric surgeons decided to perform a vaginoplasty surgery on Sangita. She was operated on by Dr Dashmit Singh and his team on

January 19 and discharged the next day. Sangita’s parents voiced their gratitude to the Sassoon Hospital doctors for treating their daughter.

The father said that he knows of an 18-year-old married woman from his village who also has a blocked vaginal opening and he will advise her to come to Sassoon Hospital for treatment.

What are Vaginal Labial Adhesions Labial adhesion is a disorder in prepubertal females, especially between the ages of six months and six years.

Ordinarily the lips of skin (labia) surrounding the entrance to the vagina are separated. In rare cases, they grow together to block the vaginal opening, partially or completely. This condition is called labial adhesions. This can lead to difficulty with urination and increase a girl’s susceptibility to urinary tract infections. The cause is unknown but may be irritation to the external genitals. Vaginoplasty is is a reconstructive plastic surgery and cosmetic procedure for the vaginal canal and its mucous membrane. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 2016

PUNE

“The drive towards improved sewage facilities is key to us becoming a Smart Cantonment. The new improvements in our sewage system will focus on Ghorpadi and Wanowrie areas, where new sewage pipes could not be laid.”

— Sanjeev Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, PCB

IITians’ love for camera and lights takes centre stage

Censor board revamp won’t be window dressing: Benegal

P10

P12

PICS BY VISHAL KALE AND RAHUL RAUT

This is how PMC brazenly wastes public money

50 of the city’s 178 public parks are closed to the public owing to incomplete work

BY PRIYANKKA DESHPANDE @journopriyankka Fifty of the city’s 178 public parks and gardens are for the birds and bees only as the Pune Municipal

Corporation (PMC) has them under lock and key. It costs a minimum of Rs 30 lakh to set up a public park or garden, and it seems like money down the drain if citizens are denied entry to these parks.

Some parks and gardens have been under

Public park near Bollywood theatre (Kharadi) Th is 2.5-acre park is complete including a jogging track, but it has not been opened as its beautification has not been done. Work began on the park in 2014, with an allotment of Rs 25 lakh. Another allotment of Rs 25 lakh lapsed as it was not used.

IT professional Kunal Barmecha took up residence near the park hoping to avail of its benefits. “I thought that I would be able to go jogging every morning. But I’ve been waiting for the park to open for a whole year in vain,” Barmecha said.

CORPOR ATOR SPEAK Local corporator Suman Pathare said, “In 2014, we got only Rs 25 lakh so the work was not completed. The 25 lakh rupees we got in 2015 lapsed as it was not used. Th is year I have demanded Rs 50 lakh and the park will be ready by the end of the year.”

construction for ages, and residents in the vicinity now have given up waiting for their formal opening, and have been using the places for morning or evening walks.

The PMC claims that all the parks in the city are open to citizens, but a TGS survey finds this to be far from the truth. priyankka.deshpande@goldensparrow.com

Public park on BT Kawade Road

Parimal Park, Senapati Bapat Road

owing to budget issues. The trees have been planted and the walking track is complete, but the children’s play area is still to be completed. The residents of the area are waiting for its opening, though the PMC said that it would be opened when the jogging track was constructed.

Kalashankar Nagar resident Abhijeet Kawade said that he is tired of waiting for the park to open. “All we see is a banner informing us that the work is in the progress,” said Kawade.

T

his sprawling, six-acre park with an estimated budget of Rs ten crore is one of the most expensive in Pune.

Rs 1.75 crore has already been spent on this park, but progress has been sluggish for one and a half years

CORPORATOR SPEAK Local corporator Surekha Kawade said, “Work in the garden is still pending as I was not given the budget I had asked for in the last financial year. The children’s play area completion has been stalled for the same reason for one and a half years,” said Kawade.

She refused to comment on why the park was not opened for the public, except for saying that she would demand funds for the park in the coming financial year.

and evening. What a waste of public money,” said Anuradha Pandey, SB Road resident.

Sakshi Ghorpude said that there are multinational companies, five stars and restaurants galore on posh SB Road but there is no public park or playground. “Vishrambaug Society residents were overjoyed when the construction of Parimal Park began. But it has never been inaugurated and opened for the public,” said Ghorpude.

P

arimal Park in the upmarket Senapati Bapat Road area is a bit of a mystery, thanks to its inappropriate location and many people do not know that it exists. The oneacre park and its jogging track are shrouded by trees. There is no security guard and the park is a picture of neglect and lack of upkeep.

It was completed three years ago but was never opened formally. “I did not know there was a park in this area. I was glad to discover it as there is a proper jogging track. But the tragedy is that the park remains closed in the morning

CORPORATOR SPEAK Model Colony corporator Raju Pawar said that the park had been closed before he elected as corporator in 2012. “Former BJP corporator Jyotsna Sardeshpande inaugurated this park, but it was never formally opened. I have been following up on this issue for eight months, but the PMC officials seem to have turned a blind eye towards it. I have sent two letters regarding the park issue. I have also released funds for the maintenance of the park,” Pawar said.

Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki Park (Warje)

Civic authority speak

P

andit Jitendra Abhisheki Park is situated in an upper-middle class area of Warje. Th is 2.5acre park was completed way back in 2008, but citizens are yet to benefit from its lush green lawns and jogging track as it has not had a formal opening, owing to entanglement in legal issues.

“I thought that I would be enjoy the environs of this park when it was completed but unfortunately it has not been opened for the public. I still have to go on my morning and evening walk on the crowded streets. It’s a shame that senior citizens like me are deprived of the use of this park for some reason,” said Gopal Doddahalli, 78.

PMC Garden Department head Ashok Ghorpade said that all the parks in the city are open to the public. “The moment the jogging track is constructed, parks are open for citizens. Apart from a few, all public parks have jogging tracks,” Ghorpade said.

Manasi Kulkarni who lives in the vicinity at Bhagirathi Tower Society, claims that the local corporator gives them some standard replies when asked about the opening of the park.

“The Shiv Sena corporator has been saying that the park will open in three months for seven years, and now we have stopped asking,” said Kulkarni.

“My six-year-old kid has no park or playground within reach,” she said.

CORPORATOR SPEAK First time corporator Yogesh Mokate said that the matter is sub judice in High Court but he has been following up on the issue. “I have been raising the issue

of the park in General Body meetings. On October 29, 2015 I was told that the PMC would get back to me after three mont h s ,” Mokate said.

The owner of the plot where the garden was built had approached the High Court and three litigations have already been filed in this case.

“I urged the PMC to jeep the park open in the morning for residents to go for walks,” Mokate said.

They have been instructed not to mention their names or designations, while answering calls

VISHAL KALE

Cops ordered to greet callers with Namaste, Jai Hind

BY YOGESH WAGH @YogeshWagh1857 The Maharashtra Police has issued a circular signed by Special Inspector General Ravindra Kumar Singhal, under order of the Director General of Police (DGP), The circular has directed police constables to respond with either a ‘Jai Hind’ or ‘Namaste’ to incoming phone calls, and that they should not reveal their identity or designation.

A decision to this effect was

arrived at in the conference of state DGPs and Inspector Generals of

Police (IGPs) at Bhuj of Gujarat. The order came into effect on January 16.

TGS called up the Faraskhana, Khadak, Deccan, Bharati Vidyapeeth, Market Yard, Chandannagar, Kondhwa, Sangavi police stations and ACP office, Swargate to verify the implementation of the order. What we found is that most police stations were unaware about the circular. Most policemen were of the opinion that it would take time to get used to the new form of response.

A woman constable at Faraskhana police station responded with a ‘Namaste’ and did not disclose her designation. The Khadak, Bharati Vidyapeeth, Market Yard, Sangavi police stations were ignorant about the circular. The Chandannagar police station policeman who took our call said that they had seen the circular on

What does Jai Hind mean Jai Hind is a salutation, slogan and battle cry. It is commonly used in speeches and communications pertaining to or referring to patriotism. It translates roughly to “Hail India”, “Victory to India” or “Long live India”. The Jai Hind slogan was created by Chembakaraman Pillai. The term was coined by Major Abid Hasan Safrani of the Indian National Army as a shortened version of “Jai Hindustan Ki”.

The Jai Hind postmark was the first commemorative postmark of Independent India, and was issued on the day of independence, August 15, 1947.

WhatsApp and would follow it.

A woman constable said that it was necessary to disclose her designation for official work. Just the name would not be enough for the person calling to understand who they were speaking to.

Most police personnel preferred Jai Hind to Namaste.

The common man in intimidated by the police and hearing the police person’s designation is not conducive to good communication.

Commissioner of Police K K Pathak said that they will train the staff to respond according to the circular. yogesh.wagh@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 2016

“The formation of the PMRDA was pending for a long time. City would have not faced any infrastructure and housing issues if the authority were put in place on time. The BJP-led government is taking speedy steps to develop the PMRDA.” — Girish Bapat, Guardian Ministe

PUNE

Sister of IS jihadist hopes it’s not him

Right to sleep in public space

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P10

Officials at the station put up a charade for Central Railway General Manager Sunil Kumar Sood. Overnight they spruced up the station. A day later, things went back to way they were - pathetic

Station manager was seen in his uniform on the day of GM’s visit

Contd from p1 In contrast, all employees of Pune Rail Division, including the Station Manager and TCs were out in strength during the GM’s visit. There were 30 TCs at the entry/exit points of platforms, along with RPF personnel on all the six platforms. Six RPF constables were at hand at the baggage scanner.

The lone baggage scanner at the station is used round the clock to check the baggage of an estimated 2,50,000 visitors every day. It has been moved to the main entrance from its earlier position at the entrance

of the reservation centre.

The station authorities were on their toes during the GM’s visit and a whole platoon of sanitation staff were employed to keep the platforms and tracks spick and span. Security was also beefed up.

Platform number one was the cleanest of all platforms, with sanitation staff working overtime, from Saturday morning and during the GM’s visit.

A worker said, “We are forced to work overtime. Those on contract with the electricity and maintenance departments had to be on duty for the duration of

the GM’s visit to Pune.”

The health inspector of Pune Division said that the station was under intense scrutiny. He said, “Our seniors made us use boric powder though there was no need for it. Attention to hygiene and cleanliness is fine but there is no need to go overboard.”

Railway Pravasi Group President Harsha Shah said that the administration had also driven away the usual crowd of hawkers and beggars from Pune station at the time of the GM’s visit.

Milind Jadhav, a regular commuter to Daund, said, “The rail officials are only interested in creating a good impression with their superiors. What about regular commuters like me? The administration should have carried out a survey and marked out stations which need renovation and allotted funds judiciously.”

The Railway administration admitted that they had lavished more attention on the PuneMalvali stretch for the GM visit.

Pune Division PRO Manoj Jhawar said, “All the TCs and RPF jawans are on duty whether you see them or not. All the staff has to present for the GM’s annual inspection.” sushant.ranjan@ gldensparrow.com

PICS BY TEJAS GAIKWAD

Mr GM, please visit Pune station more often AFTER

BEFORE

Online pharmacy Chaiwala cracks Chartered Accountancy trade is playing with people’s lives Since his family wanted him to start working after completing HSc, Somnath came to Pune in search of a job. He set up a tea stall, which paid for his further studies

TEJAS GAIKWAD

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar

42 websites engaged in online pharmacy business: FDA

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 The Food Drug and Administration (FDA) of Pune has found as many as 42 websites to be engaged in the online pharmacy business. FDA has cancelled licences of two unauthorised medical stores involved in online trade.

Medibyz, a medical store on the fourth Floor of Dhanvantari Apartments on Tilak Road, in Sadashiv Peth, was sealed by FDA authorities a few months ago. The other, RWL Health World in Kothrud, was auctioned.

FDA also asked Chennai’s Food Drug Controller authorities to initiate action against two medical stores operating from Chennai and sending medicines to Maharashtra.

Pune FDA authorities tried to access numbers of online pharmacy websites and they found 42 websites accepting orders online. “We placed fake prescription orders online by calling directly as well as uploading prescriptions. But only three of them replied and provided medicines without verifying prescriptions,” said Suhas Mohite, assistant commissioner of FDA (drug). “Some websites refused to respond citing issues of address, pin code and other discrepancies,” he said.

The websites have catchy names like ‘buy drug online, netmeds.com, medidart.com, medibyz, RWL health

world, med plus, mera pharmacy, easy medico etc. FDA took action against medibyz, RWL health world and two other retailers from Chennai for provided medications in violation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 under section 61. The Bombay High Court directed the state government recently to take necessary actions to prevent unauthorised sale of drugs online, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Mumbai college lecturer Mayuri Patil, seeking a ban on the sale of Schedule ‘H’ drugs online without prescriptions or with false information.

When FDA took action against Medibyz, the retailer appealed before state minister Vidya Thakur of Food and Drugs Administration, seeking a stay. But Thakur also upheld the FDA action and refused a stay. Justices N H Patil and S B Shukre expressed concern over the sale of medicines by online pharmacies, raising doubts over several aspects of the online delivery system, including sources of procurement.

Chemist association of Pune district president Vijay Changedia urged more action. “We welcome the move of cancelling licences by FDA but are not entirely satisfied. There should be more action against online pharmacies which is putting the health of the common people at risk,” he said. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com

The story of this chaiwala is an inspiration for many. With not a single penny in his hand, Somnath Giram came to Pune, set up a tea stall, and now has become a Chartered Accountant. He toiled day and night so he could pay for his education and send some money to his family living in Sangavi village, Solapur.

After completing HSc from his village, when he wanted to study further, his family asked him to drop out and focus on earning instead.

Son of a drought affected farmer, Somnath had no option but to give up his studies and take up odd jobs.

But that didn’t go well with him for too long. He left his village and came to Pune, with a hope that he would be able to work and study. On January 17, the 28-year-old chaiwala’s dream came true when he passed the Chartered Accountancy exams.

RAUL RAUT

THE BEGINNING Somnath Baliram Giram hails from village Sangavi, Tal-Karmala (Solapur district), 100 km from Pune.

Erratic rainfall and drought situation left his father Baliram Giram unable to sow anything on their four-acre farmland and work in the fields of landlords as a daily wager. Poverty left Somnath’s elder brother and sister to leave school. He studied in his village’s zilla parishad school till standard IV and walked two kms to Kavitgaon for further schooling.

Later, he joined Bharat High School and Junior College (commerce) at Jevur, located 14 km away from his village where he used to travel back and forth on his bicycle every day.

After finishing his junior college, the condition of his house further deteriorated, and his family was left with no money. “My father told me to stop my studies and find any petty job which could at least take care of one meal for the five of us.” He did try his hand at few odd jobs around his village, but they didn’t pay him much. Moreover, there was no way he could have pursued his studies, since work kept him busy through

the day. In 2006, Somnath decided to leave his village and move to Pune.

THE STRUGGLE After landing in Pune, he stayed with his friend Manoj Shende. Manoj also hailed from Sangavi village and had moved to Pune to prepare for competitive exams. Initially, Somnath looked for part-time jobs that would pay for his family back home, and in spare time he would be able to study. However, he couldn’t bag any such jobs. He was in a state of despair but didn’t want to give up at any cost.

Seeing his plight, Manoj took Somnath around and showed him the tea stalls being run by people and suggested him to start one of his own too. “I really liked the idea and soon put up a stall near Peru Gate Police Chowki in Sadashiv Peth with the money that Manoj gave me.” And here’s where he started his struggle – of earning a livelihood which could help him pursue his further studies.

Soon, Somnath’s tea stall which he named ‘Somnath Dadancha Nad Khula Tea Katta’ became a popular adda. From whatever he earned from the stall, he would send a certain amount to his family back in the village. Even though his tea stall was attracting a large number of

customers and making huge business, seeing educated people visiting his stall would make his heart yearn as it was his biggest wish to study and earn lots of money one day. This pushed him and he enrolled himself in Shri Shahu Mandir Mahavidyalaya in Parvati to pursue BCom. Though he wasn’t regular in the college because of pressure of running his tea stall, he somehow managed to graduate and then went on to take an admission in Garware College for MCom. “It was very hard to balance studies along with my work. So, I used to take small breaks during the business hours to study. Even though I used to get extremely tired after standing throughout the day, I made it a point to go back to my room and study till 2 am. There were days when my body would give up due to exhaustion, but I kept pushing myself.”

Well aware of situation, Somnath’s professors at Shahu and Garware colleges were lenient towards his attendance and supported him in every way they could. “One of my professors from Garware College introduced me to a chartered accountancy firm, Sheetal M Shaha and Company. That’s when I came to know about this profession for the first time. My request to the officials

at Sheetal to give me internship was turned down initially. It was only when someone left the firm did they allow me to join,” he said.

The firm motivated him to pursue CA but Somnath failed to clear Common Proficiency Test (CPT), the first level. “I joined AS Foundation private coaching class by paying Rs 20,000 that I had saved from my earning. I cleared the first group (exams) in my fifth attempt but cracked the final in the first attempt with 55 per cent,” he said.

Somnath’s efforts paid off eventually, but there were many hardships that he went through.

“While I was preparing for my CA, it was very tough to give those hours of studies that the course needed. So, during the exam time, I used to call my friends from village to come and take care of my tea stall so I could stay at home and study. I used to go to the stall once every day to see everything was running smoothly and then get back to study again.

Sometimes, I would lose count of the hours I had been up studying without food and water, but I am glad that I succeeded in what I had aimed.”

HUMBLE SUCCESS Somnath gives credit to his friend Manoj and Sheetal M Shaha and Company’s Sheetal for all his achievements. “It was Manoj who gave me a shed over my head when I had nothing to look forward to when I first came to stay here. All these years, he never asked me to pay him any money and it was through his money that I started my business.

Whatever I am today has a lot to do with my friend. Sharing his parents’ reaction to his success, he added, “My poor parents do not know what CA means. They said that it doesn’t matter what I study or where I work, I should just earn a lot of money so the miseries of my family could come to an end.”

Today, he stands tall and greets his customers with the same warmth and says this is just the beginning.

Somnath has plans to start his own practice. As for his tea stall, he does not have any plans of closing it down.

“I will hand it over to my friends from my village, so that someday they are also able to achieve their goals,” concludes Somnath. tushar.rupanavar@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 2016

PUNE

“Installation of CCTV cameras will instill fear in people with wrong intentions. All schools should implement it for security, however, expenditure, maintenance need to be discussed. If we are talking about security, all places need to have cameras. ” — Mahavir Mane, director, primary education

Sharp increase in income inequality P 14

They have made Sassoon Hosp their home

30 patients abandoned by their families are still staying on at Sassoon Hospital after recovery

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 The Sassoon Hospital medical social department is in a quandary owing to 30 patients who have been disowned and abandoned by their families. These patients are still occupying hospital beds as their families have not taken them home despite being treated.

The medical social department had rehabilitated 178 homeless patients last year, sending them home, to orphanages and old age home with the help of Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs).

Street-dwellers and beggars are brought by the police to the 1200-bed state run Sassoon Hospital. The ‘dial 108’ ambulance service provides free transport. Deaf and dumb or old patients who cannot reveal their identities are treated as unknown patients.

Medical social department superintendent M B Shelke said, “Despite completion of the treatment, some patients are not taken home by their families. We transport patients all over Maharashtra in our ambulances and bear the expenses.” These patients are in various wards across the hospital.

The medical social department is a mediator between these patients, doctors and their relatives. Medical social workers Prathmesh Gaikwad and Madhukar Mhetre are trying to rehabilitate them. They trace their relatives and if not, rehabilitate them to orphanages, beggars homes or old age homes. Sassoon Hospital Dean Dr Ajay Chandanwale said that they are doing their best to rehabilitate these patients. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com

Unknown woman

Wasudev Maruti Ganu, 62, Khed

A 60-year-old woman was brought to Sassoon hospital by the Alandi police on December 1 in a ‘Dial 108’ ambulance. She had met with an accident and was unable to speak. She has recovered now but she is still in the hospital.

Wasudev Ganu, a welder worked in a Bengaluru based company until he met with an accident in 2011. He came to Pune by train and was admitted to Sassoon Hospital. His leg was amputated and he was rehabilitated in a Katraj based old age home. But due to poor facilities he was living with his friend Ravindra Karnavat.

“A boy on a cycle collided with me and I again landed here for treatment. My brother refuses to take care of me,” said Ganu. He is unmarried and waiting for rehabilitation.

Baburao Sanas, 40, Satara Baburao Sanas, 40, of Satara was admitted to Sassoon Hospital ward number 9 of Orthopedic department on October 15.

He is a beggar and had fractured his leg in an accident. He was brought in by the ‘Dial 108’ ambulance. He has recovered and is able to move around with a walker. But he has stayed on for two months after recovery as he has no family. “Now finally his aunt has agreed to take him in and we will leave him at Satara,” said Satyawan Suravase, deputy medical social superintendent.

Narayan Pawar, 80, Osmanabad Narayan Pawar was found on the Sassoon Hospital premise on January 10 with head injury. He was admitted and has now recovered. He had been living on the street after his wife’s death a few years ago. He has no children. They are looking for his family or else they will send him to an old age home.

L&T starts work on self-propelled Japan’s help will not resolve the sewage issue completely howitzer gun at Talegaon plant

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan As part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, Larsen & Toubro will manufacture and supply 100 self-propelled artillery guns for the Indian Army, as part of a USD 800 million contract.

L&T will manufacture the K9 Vajra-T 155/52 calibre selfpropelled howitzer (SPH) in collaboration with Samsung, at its Talegaon plant. The Vajra will be the first new artillery gun to be produced in India in the last three decades after the 155 mm Bofors gun. Ministry of Defence sources said that the K9 Vajra-T is a modified version of Samsung Techwin’s K-9 155/52 calibre tracked SPH. A senior R&DE(E) scientist said, “It is likely that K9 Vajra will be 50 per cent indigenous.

It will help 30 per cent offset investment into the domestic defence, internal security and civil aviation sectors.”

“The K9 Vajra-T 155mm/52 calibre tracked SelfPropelled Howitzer meets the requirements of 21st century warfare, which is based on deep fire support with its longer firing range. The K9 Vajra-T is a variant of the K9 Thunder which

is inarguably the world’s best 155mm/52 calibre SPH in terms of number of systems in active service,” he said.

Senior Army officials said that the first ten guns will be supplied within 18 months and the remaining 90 guns will be supplied in the next two years.

These 155 mm artillery guns are ideal for use in desert areas bordering Pakistan, and have been a longstanding requirement of the Indian Army.

Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) is also developing a light-weight long range automated gun called ‘The Advanced Towed Artillery Guns System’ (ATAGS), which will be ready for production by 2019 after six years of development and testing. The ATAGS, which was sanctioned in 2012, has about 6,000 different components.

Defence expert Lt Gen D B Shekatkar said, “The indigenous arms initiative will help reduce spending on weapons and foreign dependency. It will save foreign exchange, build technological capacity for civilian manufacturing. If we export defence equipment, it can generate forex.” sushant.ranjan@goldensparrow.com

VISHAL KALE

PMC has not taken into account population growth and increase in sewage volume in the future

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar

On January 13, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a loan agreement of Rs 1000 crore (19.064 billion Yen) with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), for the clean-up of Mula-Mutha river. Under this plan, 11 sewage treatment plants of 396 MLD combined capacity will be set up, as well as a sewer network of over 113 km, and four sewage pumping stations. JICA will assist in the design of the sewer network, construction and application of GIS (Geographic Information System) and MIS (Management Information System).

Mula-Mutha river water is extremely polluted as untreated sewage water is directly released into it. The existing ten sewage treatment plants have the capacity to treat 477 MLD (million litres per day) of sewage but only 300 MLD sewage is

being treated, as the plants have not been maintained properly.

The sewage volume is 744 MLD per day.

After the setting up of the 11 new sewage treatment plants with 396 MLD capacity, the combined capacity will go up to 696 MLD per day in 2022. But that is still not adequate to treat the current 744 MLD per day volume of sewage water. PMC and JICA have not taken into account the population growth and increased volume of sewage water in future. So the clean Mula-Mutha river prospect is still under a cloud of doubt.

The current population of Pune is 31,96,000 as per the 2011

Census, and is estimated to reach 52,45,000 by 2022. The current 744 MLD volume of sewage water will increase by 2022 and even with the new plants the capacity will be inadequate.

Deputy Mayor Aba alias Ulhas Bagul said, “Taking a loan from JICA and setting up 11 sewage treatment plants will not ensure that we will have clean Mula-Mutha river. As the population grows, we will require more capacity to treat sewage.

The JICA project will not be enough. PMC must seek the central and state governments’ financial assistance for sewage treatment. The administration should set up some additional sewage treatment plants through Public Private Partnership (PPP) to deal with the increased volume of sewage.”

Additional Municipal Commissioner Om Prakash Bakoria said, “The JICA project will not resolve the sewage treatment issue. We will seek assistance from organisations and private companies to help PMC install more sewage water treatment plants through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). We will also seek the help of people and NGOs.” tushar.rupanavar@ goldensparrow.com

We were far happier during ZP days, say Bavdhan residents

After its merger into PMC limits in 1997, Bavdhan Khurd residents have been left completely in the lurch

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar

Bavdhan Khurd village was merged into Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits in 1997. But nearly two decades later, Bavdhan residents are still deprived of basic facilities like drinking water, public toilets, street lights, school, grounds, garden and hospital. Bavdhan residents are supplied water twice in a week and at low pressure at that. Residents

of some localities do not get water at all and they have to fetch water in pots and cans from nearby areas.

Bavdhan Khurd resident Ramesh Wede-Patil said, “My family has lived in Bavdhan for generations. Some residents were opposed to the merger of our village in PMC limits in 1997, but were outnumbered. PMC had assured us 24 x 7 water supply, street lights, roads, school and hospital but they have not fulfilled a single promise. With twice in a week water supply, our wives and daughters spend half their day fetching water in pots and cans. The pressure is far too low in many localities. The water shortage disrupts our daily routine, our children are late for schools and our meals timings go awry. Even the menfolk help by ferrying water on cycles. Our corporator promised us a fitness club in place of a talim two years ago but nothing has happened.

Our school was constructed by the Zilla Parishad, but after the merger, PMC has put up its board in place of the Zilla Parishad board.”

The women are fed up of the water shortage. They have to wake up earlier than before to make sure they have time to fetch water. The physical exertion is also taking its toll and women are prone to coughs, colds, and assorted aches and pains. The PMC has also not built enough public toilets.

Local resident Ghanshyam Patil said, “Water shortage is a major issue. The PMC is responsible for this state of

PICS BY TEJAS GAIKWAD

affairs. PMC officials and our corporator have been making false promises about the water issue for ages. Nearly two decades after the merger, the PMC has not constructed a new school building, a hospital, made roads, put up street lights or replaced water pipelines. We had no complaints regarding drinking water, sanitation and electricity in the Zilla Parishad days, but now we pay more taxes and are provided no facilities. The PMC has just cast misery upon us after the merger and we have completely lost faith in the PMC.” Local corporator Bandu alias Shankar Kemase said, “The old water pipelines are rusted. The PMC administration has passed the tender to replace the pipelines but some

villagers are disrupting the work. The work is also help up as homes have been built over the pipelines. Some localities are inaccessible with narrow lanes. Bavdhan used to be a panchayat so there were no development control rules for construction and homes were built randomly. We have a budget for public toilets but the problem is land. It’s not possible to build toilets in lanes. I have proposed construction of a school building to commissioner Kunal Kumar and funds will be forthcoming in the next budget.”

About the water shortage, PMC water supply department head V G Kulkarni said, “We are unable to release water at full pressure in Bavdhan owing to the old and rusty water

pipelines. There is no option but to replace these water pipelines. We plan to supply water to Bavdhan by tankers.” tushar.rupanavar@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 2016

“BJP promised reservation to Dhangar community while campaigning for the assembly elections. They had also promised reservation to Maratha community but they did not appoint good lawyers to plead the case in the court.Farmer suicides have increased in their rule.”

— Ajit Pawar, NCP leader

Genes may decide how happy your country is P11

Being parents of school-going kids ain’t no cakewalk in Pune

PUNE

General insurers outpace pvt players P14

Standard VIII student raped by three boys

Patience, fortitude, determination and probably wads of hard cash are necessary for admissions to city’s most wanted schools

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma What all do you need to get your child admission in a decent school?

If private schools have their way, a permanent house near the school is one of the most important factors, followed closely by a family picture, correctly timed date of birth and parents with good educational qualifications. All of this, along with the regular birth certificate of the child and his previous school’s Character certificate and mark-sheet and an assurance that the parents earn enough. As the admission time in schools galore, private schools around the city are having a field day with parents being forced to comply with their demands.

While parents of the little ones around the city are fighting a battle to start their children’s education, TGS decided to have a look into what the demands of the schools are.

Disguised as parents, we went from school to school, asking for admissions only to be met with bizarre demands and multiple side comments on how a ‘backdoor entry’ is easier. Here are a few major schools and their responses.

BISHOP’S SCHOOL, CAMP One of the most in demand schools of the city, Bishop’s has a complex admission process. It is not easy for

parents to avail admissions there, unless you have strong support.

When TGS tried enquiring about admissions, we were curtly told that the admission process doesn’t begin till late March. However, when we pushed on and asked about the admissions in Lower Kindergarten classes in the oreprimary section, we were asked to wait.

After hours of waiting, we were asked to come back in the evening, a meeting which was later cancelled. Many more parents faced similar issues. “There were certain dates decided prior to when the forms became available shown on their webpage. Two dates were decided and time given for submission of the admission form. Even though we came on time, we were turned down on the second day,” said a harrowed parent.

“They said too many forms had already been accepted. But then, why sell so many when you are not even willing to get them submitted,” he said. Our team, posing as parents, was told by the office staff on their third visit that the admission process had closed. When we hinted at backdoor entry, however, the first question was about our jobs. A parent faced said, “We have relatives in the defence services and when we got their ‘approach’, they told us to contact them in March end. We are hoping to get the admission here, then,” she said.

Even then, the schools demand certificates like a permanent residence proof or letters from organisations in case of company-allotted quarters certifying that the house has been given t0 the families, within a 5km radius of the school. All of this, along with the birth certificate and other regulars of the pupil-to-be. All for admission in pre-primary classes.

DASTUR SCHOOL, CAMP For parents trying to get their wards admission to the Bai Najamai Nosherwan Dastur Primary and Nursery School, their first concern should be their child’s date of birth.

The school which has closed all admissions for any class above prenursery due to no vacancies, insists

PICS BY VISHAL KALE

According to the admin staff, “Since we are private organisation, we have our own rules. We are not doing anything illegal. This is just part of the admission process.”

on following a specific date period to consider applications. “Children born between December 1, 2012 and November 30, 2013” is the eligibility criteria that the school insists on strictly following, according to a notice board at the main gate. Not only that, the school asks for a family picture to be attached to the admission form.

“It is just ridiculous as my husband stays out of Pune and we don’t have a latest family picture, one I can attach to this form. But I have to figure out a way, if I want my ward’s admission,” said an exasperated mother. However, that’s not all the administration demands. “They also want a copy of our education qualifications. All of our degree certificates need to be self attested and attached with the form. Is it something they are going to judge us on?” asked a parent.

The school administration however, keeps mum. “We have certain parameters to shortlist students for admission. We are not asking for any confidential information, we just want our proof and records to be in place,” said one of the admin staff on conditions of anonymity.

LOYOLA HIGH SCHOOL, PASHAN ROAD On the first day of form submission, nearly 5o pairs of parents lined up in front of the administrative building armed with bags of documents. Even though the time to submit forms was from 09:30 am to 11:00 am, parents who came later than 10:30 am were forced to leave. The school peon even clicked a picture of the last person in the line, arbitrarily decided by him, to

identify the last and shoo away the rest.

However, that is not the starting point of the axes the parents are supposed to grind. “Along with the form, they ask us to submit the income proof, details about our occupation and even a character certificate from our offices,” said a harrowed parent. All of this, along with the regular birth certificate of the child and his previous school’s Character certificate and marksheet.

But the most important document, at least for the school administration is the permanent address. “Almost all private schools in Pune ask that only parents living in 5km radii to the school apply for admissions. But Loyola school demands that the house we are staying in is a permanent residence,” explained a parent standing in the line.

He said, “We live in a rented house.

Our permanent address is not even in the city. Should I now be forced to buy a house in this area if I want my ward to get admission?”

The school, notoriously known taking interviews and even written test of the kindergarten children, however alleges that they have all rights to implement their own decisions.

ST JOSEPH’S SCHOOL, PASHAN ROAD Standing right next to Loyola school, St Joseph’s seems to have adopted many of their characteristics. Not only do they enforce the 5km rule, they demand, like Loyola, that the house should either be permanent or company quarters. However, an added clause here is, the company needs to provide a letter, stating that the family in question actually stays in the given quarters.

They also enforce a strict rule asking the parents to show their educational qualifications. “They want to know if we have studied enough and are capable to teach our kids at home as well. But it is embarrassing for parents who are not that well educated,” said a parent.

Even in St Joseph’s, for submitting

enrolled last year, they said that they have no vacancy. However, one or two new students did join in,” said a parent who lives close to the school.

The school administration cites the rules of the managing committee when asked about the discrepancies. “We all work according to our committee’s guidelines. However, we do everything within the lines of law,” said the admin staff.

PARENTS TAKE IT IN THEIR STRIDE Parents, however, have resigned to the way things are. While many actually plan their houses around the school, some take help of the growing number of agents that “arrange” admissions at a staggering cost. “Private schools in Pune have a compulsory 5km rule.

All the good schools in Pune have a difficult system in place. So many students apply to them every year and they have very few seats. It is their criteria of natural selection,” a parent said. Another parent said, “We want only the best for our children and for the best, some things need to be compromised and ignored.”

THE BACKDOOR ENTRY While the schools have made the admission process complex, agents have made the best out of the situation.

Donations and “side fee” as they like to call it, run into lakhs of rupees, money parents are forced to spend for their pupils’ education. These agents ensure

forms parents line up in front of the school’s main building and submit all documents, including the address proof.

“Even though there’s no compulsion to get the child, it is an unstated fact.

When we take them inside, they do ask them questions,” explains a father, standing with two daughters in the sun. He further added, “It’s very time consuming and irritating for the children as well as us. We have been standing here for the past hour now.”

The school administration however, refused to comment at all about this admission conundrum.

DAV PUBLIC SCHOOL, AUNDH One of the oldest schools in the city, DAV is famous as they are spread across the country. Since all schools are linked, transfer for students from one city to another becomes easier. Thus, most parents living in the Aundh-Baner area and having transferable jobs prefer to send their children to the DAV Public School. However, even here, getting admissions is not an easy feat. “Not only they want a permanent residence proof within the 5km radii, they also are very adamant on age limits,” explained a parent who had come to secure admission of twin 5-year-olds in junior kindergarten. “They are both born in December 2011. However, according to the rules, my children need to be 5 by June. By next academic year, they will be above the age limit and the behavioural complexities will follow,” she said. The school also asks for your income proof and in case you are a non resident of Pune, one letter of reference.

All this is for pre-primary. There hardly are any openings in the classes above primary, however, new students manage to come in every year. “My sister’s son studies in class VI here. When we tried to get our son, who is of the same age,

that the admission process looks as normal as possible. While most take the money in instalments and claim that part of the money actually reaches the school, nothing is confirmed at either end.

The other way is to avail a help of or ‘approach’ of a celebrity or a ranked official. With the correct ‘backing’ admission process becomes much easier and sometimes, this can also be provided by businessmen.

OFFICIAL SPEAK While the Pune Municipal Corporation’s education department enforces a strict eye, it has been unsuccessful in getting the private schools to toe its line. “Anyone residing anywhere in the city can get admission in whichever school they want.

There’s no 5km rule. However private schools demand that the pupils live close by as they don’t want to provide far off transportation,” explained the Dhananjay Pardeshi, deputy education officer, PMC. Commenting about the other demands, regarding the age limit and even the parents’ educational qualifications or their income certificate, he said, “There’s no such rule that entitles the schools to get away with this. No one should be allowed to ask all of the information.”

He further added, “Schools enforce such criteria on their own. If parents complain about any specific behaviour, we will take action.” gargi.verma@goldensaprrow.com

BY YOGESH WAGH @YogeshWagh1857 A standard VIII student of Chinchwad has disclosed that she had been raped by three boys of her neighbourhood.

Two of the three boys, Sagar aka Dadya Sidhu Ranjagane, 19, and Kumar aka Pappy Kalyan Kamble, 22, are currently in police custody.

After a fight with her mother, the girl had been living in an observation home at Nana Peth. She confided to the home authorities about the rape.

She said that two of the accused had forced her into a car on January 6, 2015, and raped her at different places till January 14, 2015.

The observation home authorities took the girl to Bal Kalyan Samiti, where she gave a detailed statement, and was then taken to the Chinchwad police for further questioning.

The girl is currently undergoing medical tests and the police are on the lookout for the third boy.

The police have booked the three boys under sections 363 and 366 (punishment for kidnapping), 376 section 2 (punishment for sexual assault), 376(d) (unlawful sexual contact) of the Indian Penal Code. They have also been charged under the Protection of Child from Sexual Offenses Act 2012, under section 3 for penetrative sexual assault, and 4 and 5 for aggravated penetrative sexual assault. yogesh.wagh@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 2016

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

PUNE

JANUARY 23, 2016

PUNE

PICS BY VISHAL KALE AND RAHUL RAUT

THE LOST AGE OF

INNOCENCE They have been deprived of the most precious phase of life when it’s most carefree, when there are parents and teachers to watch over you, and toting a school bag is the biggest burden you know of

BY EKTA KATTI @Ektaak ou probably don’t notice them always, but they are to be found everywhere in the city. Under their frown of everyday worries and cares there still lurks the shadow of a smile, a spark of innocence not yet fully lost. Their minds may not have matured enough to question a god or fate and hold him or it responsible for their less-than-enviable fate. But looking around, seeing – and envying? – their decidedly more fortunate peers, who only have to shoulder the weight of their school satchels, while they themselves are weighed down by the burden of a cross, the daily, grown-up, adult grind of going out into the world to earn a living, they must surely feel, realise, that they have been handed a raw deal, dealt a losing hand.

You probably see them every day, at a car wash, garage, tea stall, bakery, laundry, on the roadside, and probably you have wondered about the ban on child labour despite which there is such a profusion of these young, whomluck-has-abandoned subjects, the heroes - and heroine, of our story.

But their lot in life, sordid and strewn with hardships as it may be, has served to or forced them to adapt, quickly and deftly to the cold and harsh realities of a mostly uncaring world and existence, where there’s always a wolf at the door, and where the next meal is coming from is a question that does not always have an answer.

Most of them are deprived of the opportunity for an education, but being on the threshold of youth and life, they must surely dream of, hope for a future, a tomorrow when and where, by their sweat, toil and fortitude, or wits, skill or plain good fortune, they have risen to become respectable – if not famous – citizens of the world.

Over to them… ekta.katti@goldensparrow.com

Y

The river diver

SALMAN SHAIKH

H

e just loves his name and all the attention it generates, including the bhai tag. But he is also a smart cookie and he has got something going that fetches him what turns out be quite a regular income.

Meet Salman Shaikh, 12, who is the partner of Rakesh Shewal, 25.

What they do begins at around 8 am, on the banks of Mutha river near Omkareshwar.

“People throw all kinds of things in the river, plastic items, coconuts, silver or gold-plated objects, and idols. We collect whatever we can with a net and sell all the things we can,” said Salman.

Their net is hand-made. They break the shell and sell the coconut kernels. “We make about Rs 100. I have been saving some money and now I have around Rs 5000. I will buy clothes for me and my

family,” Salman said.

Rakesh is like an older brother and guardian. “Salman is smart though he is so young. His parents are poor so the money we earn is a big help to them.

The garage guy

SATISH KUMAR

Where we live, kids turn to stealing and get into bad habits. Salman keeps away from all those kind of things. He wants to be somebody and he has big dreams,” said Rakesh.

Salman knows that he owes a lot to Rakesh, who taught him how to swim, before learning how to collect things from the river.

Salman’s father Shaufiq, 45, is a labourer and mother Raziya, 43, works as domestic help.

“I do not want my mother to work in other people’s homes, One day I will have enough money to take care of them,” said Salman. Salman goes to school and also helps the neighbourhood kids with their studies.

‘May be I’ll become an engineer one day,” he says.

Salman loves cricket and Sachin Tendulkar. “I see him every day. On the TV,” he laughs.

H

e radiates a certain glow, with his quick smile and wit. They, the owner and co-workers at the garage-cum-motorcycle/scooter wash he works at, know him to be always helpful and engaging. And by now, they are all well accustomed to his quick fire repartee and in other contrasting moments, to his sage-like, philosophical discourses on the vicissitudes of life.

Satish Kumar, at the age of 14, makes quite a first impression too.

“Most people think I’m much older than 14. I let them think so. My life has been eventful and I have seen so many ups and downs that I have learnt a lot of lessons without knowing it. I had to learn to take responsibility for my own life quite a long time ago,” said Satish.

A native of Mughalsarai, Uttar Pradesh, he came to Pune a year ago.

“Papi pet ka sawal hai,” he says with a chuckle. Satish’s job at the garage near Katraj pays him Rs 7000. The energetic and resourceful Satish moonlights as

a watchman at the nearby restaurant.

From what he earns, Satish sends home Rs 10,000 every month to his parents.

His brother has been disabled in an accident and his ageing father doesn’t earn all that much.

“My parents mean the world to me.

I am glad that I can do something for them and the money that I send them saves them from a lot of hardships,” he says.

“I know how important it is to study, get a college degree and all. It wasn’t written in my fate,” says Satish who has studied up to standard VIII. “I have no regrets. Coming here and working in Pune has taught me such a lot,” Satish says.

Satish also has a flair for cooking and he is in great demand in the little garage kitchen. As it happens, the place is filled with the tangy aroma of freshly made tomato chutney. “He makes some unbelievable chicken dishes,” says Wasim Saha, Satish’s work-mate. “I just love to cook and can rustle up any dish.

Cooking is a stress-buster and it’s fun to cook up a tasty dish for my colleagues

The balloon seller

GOVIND PAWAR

H

e is an early riser. He has to, if he is to prepare his wares, which if he sells in good numbers, will fetch him enough money to feed himself, and not to forget, add to the family kitty.

Govind Pawar, 12, does his business from a ramshackle tent alongside a footpath on Bibwewadi-Kondhwa Road. He sells balloons. It involves a lot of work. First he has to gather the twigs or sticks from trees. Then the bark is removed from the sticks, and the balloons are blown up and tied on to the sticks.

“It’s boring and it takes a long time to find all the sticks I need, skin them and then put the balloons on them. But the kids like my balloons,” he says with a bright smile. “I miss my mother a lot. There’s not a day when I don’t think of her,” Govind says. “I wish

regimen of three square meals a day. While he speaks, Govind is at his job, stringing the balloons on the sticks for the customers, who he thinks will turn up, or whom he will go out and find.

“I make around fifty rupees in a day on average, all of which I hand over to my father or big brother.

They do not earn a lot either but we get by. We have kind and friendly neighbours who give us food if we don’t have any,” he said.

He has time left over from his chores to hang out with the neighbourhood kids when his working day is done. “Playing around with my friends is the best time of the day. We sometimes just stand around at a shop with a TV if there is a movie showing. I like watching Akshay Kumar and the way he does all the fights and stuff,” he said.

Wonder who Govind sees himself as in his own dreams…

The rag picker

KAJAL KAMBLE

W

after a tiring day,” he says.

Satish has a never-ending litany of jokes which are also greatly in demand at the garage. “The jokes keep the atmosphere cool even in times of tension,” says Wasim.

Satish’s dreams are just as big as his infinite energy. “I am going to see the world. I want to travel to all the places that I ever wanted to. I will need money.

No problem, I will first get a job in the Gulf and earn all the money I need. I know I will watch the sunrise in London and the sunset in Paris,” he says.

I could go back to school, but there’s no chance of that now as my family can barely make ends meet, even with what I earn, which is not much,” he says. Govind’s family includes his father Rama, an older brother and his wife.

The family moved to Pune two years ago, and he remembers going to school back home in Tuljapur with a sense of longing. “It was a good time for me. I had no cares like I do now and in the village I had so many friends,” he said.

“You’ll laugh at me and what I dream of, but I would like to own a big house. Of course I will have to work and study really hard. I think I would like to be a smart engineer, with a happy family whom I can give the best of life,” Govind says.

Sweat streams down his face as the mid-day sun beats down on him and his rickety balloon stall.

There’s not an ounce of excess flesh on his scrawny limbs and body, he looks like he could do with a

hat’s up, dude?” she says in the best Hollywood phirang accent she can pull. “Yeah, I can speak to you in English. I am ten years old and my name is Kajal. What’s yours?”

It’s a bit unsettling to hear Kajal Kamble spout her brand of English at the sprawling garbage dumping yard in Hadapsar. But this is where she comes along with her mother after attending school, the Krantiveer Vasudev Balwant Phadke Prathamik Vidyalaya at Fatima Nagar.

Little Kajal has a shovel and a bag to carry away whatever she scours from the garbage. “I have to look for the things that are of some

use, like plastic bottles, boxes etc.

We well whatever we can collect and we can get around Rs 50,” she said.

She makes a rather heartwrenching picture as she maker her way through the heaps of foul smelling and yucky looking stuff.

But Kajal moves about pretty surefootedly and without showing any signs of nausea or revulsion. There is a certain air of dignity about her as she goes about her rag picker chores.

She knows that what she does is helping her family make ends meet.

“My teachers always say that we must obey and serve our parents,” says Kajal. “So what if we are poor now. I will study hard and make my parents proud of me. I want to become a police officer who catches

all the bad guys,” she says.

Kajal has a best friend named Sharwari. “She is genuine and she is truly my best friend. We are both serious about studies and we also like the same things like Tom and Jerry cartoons,” says Kajal.

Her mother Savita is understandably proud of her daughter. “It’s just wonderful how Kajal manages her studies so well, though she helps me out as well. I couldn’t ask god for a better daughter.

She’s an angel,” said Savita.

The brick loader

VISHAL KASBE

H

e rides a truck loaded to the rood with bricks. When the truck makes its top at a brick dealer’s shop in Bibwewadi, his work begins. He unloads the truck, brick by brick and carries them into the shop.

It’s tough, back-breaking work but he doesn’t mind. It pays Rs 200 a day.

Meet Vishal Kasbe, 13, who has come to Pune from Latur a year ago, to do just this – earn a living. He has adapted quickly to the circumstances and is not given to complaining too much. “It’s no use complaining, if you ask me. We are really poor. My father and brother are both working for others in the village, but what they earn is just not enough. Our only option was for me to try my luck in Pune,” said Vishal.

The Rs 6000 he earns means a lot to his family back home, but only Vishal knows how he survives in Pune, where he has to pay for all his living expenses. “Pune is a really expensive place, and I have to save every paisa that I can, so that I can send enough money home,” he says.

He manages with the bare necessities. “I am still new to Pune and I don’t know too many people here.

There are times I miss my family and friends so much that I feel like going back. But I know I can’t do that as my family depends on me to send them some money. I can’t be a burden for them back home,” he says.

“I am not ashamed of being poor but now I feel proud that I am doing something for my family. The work is hard and it does not pay all that much.

But money is not everything. To me,

The pandal maker

BAIRUL SHAIKH

my family is important. I am earning enough to survive on. I wish I was like other children who are able to study and get a good job. But I can work hard and may be the time will come when my family and I have enough money and we will be all living together,” he says. “I’m going to buy a house for my mother one day,” he says.

H

e is in great demand in the wedding season. He is responsible for erecting pandals at the venue of a marriage ceremony. Bairul Shaikh, 13, of Malda, West Bengal came to Pune two years ago in search of a livelihood.

Besides the pandal business, Bairul augments his income by washing motorcycles and scooters.

“The business of putting up

pandals is like an auspicious job as a wedding day is special for every one.

I do my best to cater to the customer’s demands and put up just the kind of pandal that they desire,” said Bairul.

The voluminous pandals are quite tricky and have to be handled with a lot of care. They have to be kept immaculately clean after use and stowed away with care too.

After a wash they have to be dried thoroughly lest they acquire a damp and foul odour.

“I make around Rs 5000 per month and live with friends near Ambegaon. I have studied up to standard VII, but I was forced to find a way to earn some money to provide for my family. My parents are not that well off and I am managing to find enough work in Pune so that I can send home money,” he said.

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 2016

PUNE

“ I am here to clear certain misrepresentation of facts on the suicide of Rohith.

It’s not a Dalit versus non-Dalit confrontation. There has been a malicious attempt to project the issue as a caste battle. The truth is that, it is not.”

— Smriti Irani, Human Resource Development Minister

“Tolerance is a very great virtue and right now in India we need it very badly. We have to cultivate the highest quality of education, elitism in that sense. Detachment would not work.”

— Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate

Right to sleep in public space Women across the country are raising their voice against gender violence by claiming their freedom to use public places

BY SALONEE MISTRY @SaloneeMistry An open space, one park bench and one pillow is all 30-year-old Sayali Patwardhan needed to be a part of the ‘Meet to Sleep’ campaign.

“I cannot experience the feeling in words. It being a relatively new concept, I was doing it with an Sayali Patwardhan open mind and was excited about it,” she said. Walking into the park, Sayali, a spanish teacher, had absolutely no pre-conceived notions about what was going to happen. Her only reference was the other similar meets that had taken place in Bengaluru.

Public spaces like parks are free for us, have a much prettier ambience and are definitely cheaper. Yet we choose to visit a café when we make plans with our friends. When was the last time you were at ease at a park, you were yourself and more importantly you felt like you were at home? Be it day or night, for generations now, we have noticed that public spaces are not as welcoming and accepting towards woman as they should be. A woman’s right to access of a public space has been limited. Attempting at changing

Sayali take nap at Lakaki Lake in Model Colony

this, Blank Noise, an initiative of Bengaluru-based Jasmeen Patheja, started the ‘Meet to Sleep Campaign’ across the country.

“The idea was sparked in 2007, while I was trying to take a nap in Bengaluru’s Cubbon Park. We were doing an initiative in Cubbon Park that asked Action Heroes, members of Blank Noise, to build a wish list for their city, and then try it,” she said.

Top on her wish list was to be able to take a nap in a park without fear.

While actually attempting at doing so she realised that she keep getting up the moment a leaf dropped on her or a dog went by. Her main reason was fear. It was after this experience of hers that she started the ‘Meet to Sleep Campaign’. After the fi rst meet at Bengaluru in November 2014, the campaign has spread to Jaipur, Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

SHARING EXPERIENCE “Taking a nap in a public space gave me a sense of power I had never felt before. Immediately afterwards, I began questioning myself on why I had not done this before,” said Naksha Erappa, who has been an Action Hero

for six years. A finance manager in a manufacturing company in Pune, the 2 7- y e a r- o l d ’s experience with ‘Meet to Sleep Campaign’ has most definitely been an enriching one. Her sleeping at a park in Koregaon Park has changed her.

“We as Naksha Erappa women are so used to guarding ourselves when we step out of our homes that doing something like this is completely out of question,” she said.

Just like her, Sayali too assured us that an exercise like this is bound to make you question so many things about life. When she visited Lakaki Lake near Model Colony for the fi rst time, she chose a bench in the park to sleep on. While another friend documented her experience, they noticed that there were the occasional glances and stares but otherwise they weren’t disturbed much. Th is made them realise on why they hadn’t done this before.

Kaustubh Joshi, 27, was also a

part of the ‘Meet to Sleep Campaign’ event at Chitranjan Vatika earlier this month. “The guards at the garden did not allow us to lie down and sleep as they said it was against the rules.

So while I did not quite get the experience of it, the fact that I can do something like that and probably be okay with it, was pleasantly surprising,” he Kaustubh Joshi said. When he fi rst heard about it, the whole event in itself intrigued him. He had never thought that something like this could have been done and even if he just went to the park with the intention of napping and did not actually nap, the fact that he knows that he can do that, is a great feeling, he said. salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

BLANK NOISE Blank Noise is about all about dealing with fear, by exploring it. It was launched as Jasmeen’s final year project while she was pursuing a Fine Arts Diploma at Srishti School of Art Design and Technology, Bengaluru, she continued it even after graduation. She was sure that it was something that she couldn’t let go off. Her inspiration behind the whole idea was a personal experience to a sexual harassment incident. The other events organised by the group are, ‘I Never Ask For It’, ‘Unwanted’, ‘Why R U Looking At Me’ and ‘One Night Stand’. All these topics revolve around eradicating genderbased violence.

Mission cycle yatra to promote peace Ten enthusiasts will cover 2,200 km from Jammu to Pune TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly With a mission to promote cycling and spread the message of global peace, a few cycle enthusiasts from the city will start their Jammu to Pune expedition from January 26. The expedition ‘Ride for Peace’ will cover 2,200 km and pass through Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The riders will pay homage to the martyrs of Pathankot terrorist attack and interact with jawans. Th is is the second consecutive year of the expedition. Last year, the group had

The eight-member team had covered 1,565 km from Pune to Kanyakumari last year

covered 1,565 km during their Pune to Kanyakumari expedition.

Th is year, the group has been

supported by internationally renowned cycle brand Merida, in association with Pro Bikes and Sports, Pune.

The riders will start from Jammu on Republic Day and will reach Pune on February 11, via Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Sri Muktasar Sahib, Hanumangarh, Sardarshahar, Didwana, Ajmer, Bhilwara, Nathdwara, Kherwara, Modasa, Vadodara, Ankleshwar, Valsad, Vasai and Khopoli.

Upendra Shevade and Anand Ghatpande will lead the group of 10 cyclists, including Vedang Shevde, Suhrud Ghatpande, Advait Joshi, Omkar Brahme, Chandrashekhar Iti, Hemant Pokharankar, Shirish Deshpande and Ashish Phadnis.

Later, three riders Nandu Apte, Atul Atitkar and Umesh Pawar will join the expedition from Ahmedabad. The ride is self-supported without any escort vehicle. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Get ready for art attack at Mandai

Artists from different disciplines come together for Art Mandai to create awareness about art within hustle-bustle of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai

BY ZAINAB KANTAWALA @kantawalazainab To make art reachable to the common man, four renowned artists from Pune — Gauri Gandhi, Vaishali Oak, Raju Sutar, Indranil Garai and Sujata Dharap — got together to discuss the Pune art scenario. They wanted to create awareness about the main purpose of visual art. The brainstorming session resulted in holding an exhibition at a public place. “Mahatma Phule Mandai was the unanimous choice. The history, architectural spaces and interesting stories related to Mandai vendors were the deciding factors to start ‘Art Mandai’,” said Gauri Gandhi, an artist and curator of the event.

Art Mandai starts with joining the Republic Day Flag hoisting at Mandai, followed by a performance ‘Hum Dost Hein Hai Na!’ by students of Flame University. The story of this play is based on Panchatantra story of monkey and crocodile that highlights the issue of co-existence within society and environment.

All the artists would occupy empty stalls among vegetable and fruit vendors at Mandai. “We believe art is a celebration of life that every person needs to be a part of. Art spreads sweetness in everyone’s life, thus even a common man should be able to relish it. If people aren’t coming to galleries, artists shall go to them,” she said.

The line-up of artists include Raju Sutar, Vaishali Oak, Arti Kirloskar, Saaz Aggarwal, Nitin Hadap, Prashant Bangal, Prabhakar Singh, Ruby Jhunjhunwala and Shraddha Borawake. The event will cover artists from many fields, including painters, sculptors, installations, photography.

They believe in art as a medium of commun icat ion and expression.

“Art addiction is the best solution for de-stress and revival.

Many are using art as a therapy. For an Gauri Gandhi artist, the process does not finish till the person has an audience to communicate with,” Gauri said.

The cause has inspired many artists to take time from their busy schedule to be a part of the initiative and create paintings, sculptures, installations for visitors at Mandai to buy at affordable price. Fifty per cent of the sale proceedings will go to Naam Foundation started by actor Nana Patekar to help farmers facing drought in Maharashtra.

When: January 26, 9 am to 1 pm Where: Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai zainab.kantawala@goldensparrow.com

A painting to be put on display by Vaishali Oak

Go khadi Khadi is not just a piece of cloth, it is a textile that connects to our history and heritage. On Republic Day, Verry India will hold a three-day handloom workshop ‘Virsa’ where Puneites can experience the magic of handloom, interact with weavers and buy handmade stoles and bags. “Our idea is to open the world of handloom to citizens. Not many know how much effort goes into this art. We have live demo sessions to make people aware about the artistry,” says Vikram Nandwani, founder of Verry India.

The weavers are coming to Pune from the remote villages of Kutch, Gujarat. Products are designed using their original motifs made by hand as it was since centuries with the best

materials and zero carbon footprint.

“These artists have been doing this for generations. Th is is our small attempt to give this dying art visibility and exposure,” he said.

Verry India is a Pune-based design studio that draws inspiration from India. Virsa is their social impact project to collaborate with local artisans to create quirky India inspired products. Virsa which means ‘traditional roots’ in Punjab is a small attempt to help artisans earn a respectable living and revive traditional Indian art forms such as weaving and block printing.

When: January 26 Where: Sanskriti Lifestyle, Koregaon Park

IITians’ love for camera and lights takes centre stage Seven friends launch ‘Camera and Shorts’ to promote budding film-makers

BY SHEKHAR PAIGUDE @TGSWeekly

Film-mak ing is very close to their heart; their faith lies in films.

These group of friends from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) started a platform to bring Ashay Gangwar the hidden and unexplored places and ideas across India on the screen. IIT Kharagpur student Ashay Gangwar documented his classmate Siddharth’s 600 km journey from Delhi to Ajmer. He documented the culture and life of common people that his friend came across during his trip. And the experience gave the birth to ‘Camera and Shorts’ — a platform for

young and inspirational film-makers to explore their ideas.

‘Camera and Shorts’ was started by Ashay and his childhood friend Harshit Saran in December 2014. Vaibhav Jadhav from IIT Madras; Samarth Mahajan, Saurabh Wani and Shivajee Biswanath from IIT Kharagpur, and Anadi Athaley from Film and Television Institute of India(FTII) joined the firm with their own ideas and concepts. The firm basically focuses on non-fiction films.

“The real-life stories could appeal to audience at a more personal level and have huge potential. Since our maxim is ‘rolling the experience’ during the production of film, we focus more on capturing our personal experiences over information to give viewers the experience of being at a place. We hope that through our films people get encouraged to move out of their mundane lives to explore new places,” said Ashay.

THE COLLECTION The team has completed five successful projects. ‘Walking Back To My Roots’ captures the life of Rajasthan and Shekhawati paintings.

‘Theyyam Saga’ directed by Vaibhav explores the

form of 4,000-year-old folk ritualart traditions of northern part of Kerala’s Kannur district. It explains the century-old complicated caste system in India. Samarth Mahajan’s ‘Kazwa-A Million Lanterns’ won best cinematography award in Tyre International Short Film Festival in Lebanon and nominated for Pune short film festival. The film highlights the organic relationship between the tribal

villagers of Purushwadi of Ahmednagar district and fireflies. The film attracted researchers and travellers.

“We launched ‘Camera and Shorts’ nomads (CNS nomads) to encourage young, talented film-makers and visited colleges and universities across India, including Savitribai Phule Pune University, to explain our idea,” Vaibhav said. During their promotion of the initiative, the team came across

Mumbai girl Joelle Fernandes, who put forth the idea of Sao Joao, a traditional festival of Goa. And short film ‘Viva Sao Joao’ became a reality. “We also met Rajnees, an aspirant film-maker from Delhi who wanted to make a film on Kathputli Colony, world’s largest community of street performers. We worked upon the idea and the filming has already begun. We also provide financial and technical assistance to budding film-makers,” Vaibhav said.

BUSINESS MODEL The firm owns the films that are made under its banner. Profit is shared between film-makers and firm. “Non-fiction filmmaking is difficult in India and market for documentaries is poor. Internet has helped to change the scenario,” he said.

The firm is based in Mumbai but has online presence across the country.

‘Theyyam Saga’ directed by Vaibhav explores the form of 4,000-year-old folk ritualart traditions of northern part of Kerala’s Kannur district

THE TEAM The natural surroundings of IIT Kharagpur inspired Ashay Gangwar to explore nature with camera. He also started his Facebook page on photography. A short documentary ‘White Cloud’ and 600-km travel with Siddharth sealed his career plans. He

declined lucrative job offers to start ‘Camera and Shorts’.

Vaibhav Jadhav was interested in theatre since his schooldays. He has taken part in Marathi plays ‘Tarun Turk Mhatare Ark’ and ‘Vittal to Aala’. After joining IIT Madras, he started ‘Imagining The Cinema’, a 15day course of understanding cinema in the college and it is still running.

Vaibhav also made a documentary ‘The Mystery of K.R. Market’. Love for films persuaded him to become a full-time film-maker and meet Ashay Gangwar.

After completing his studies from IIT Kharagpur, Samarth Mahajan took up a job in Bengaluru for six months.

With a desire to serve society, he became a part of ‘Jagriti Yatra’. It is a non-profit initiative that takes youngsters to different parts of India to interact with organisations and meet role models of enterprise-building. Later he made ‘Kazwa-A Million Lanterns’.

Harshid Saran hails from Lucknow.

After completing MBA, he planned to start a business. His love for cinema made him join the group and handle the firm’s advertising and marketing activities. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

ENVIRONMENT “Pollution levels and vehicle population are increasing by the day. An odd-even plan can be implemented to check them.”

— Abhay Chhajed, Congress Party Pune Unit Chief

Researchers found citizens of nations which rate themselves happiest are more likely to have a specific allele in their DNA, which is involved in sensory pleasure and pain reduction

Gene suggests explanations for differences in happiness between European nations

of Hong Kong, China, Thailand and Taiwan, which had the lowest prevalence of this allele, were found to be the least likely to rate themselves as ‘very happy’. Genetics also suggests explanations for differences in happiness between European nations.

Northern Europeans such as Swedes were found to have a much higher prevalence of the A allele - and more often rate themselves as being very happy - than their cousins from Central or Southern Europe.

Economic wealth, the type of law governing a nation or disease patterns did not significantly influence national differences in happiness.

However, politics and economics did cause fluctuations in happiness levels in certain countries during the time this

study was conducted, researchers said.

Climatic differences were also found to be significantly associated with national differences in happiness.

“It seems that some equatorial and tropical environments select for a higher occurrence of the A allele as a counterbalance to environmental stressors,” said Michael Minkov from Varna University of Management.

“We have not shown that a nation’s genetic and climatic heritage doom a particular country to a specific happiness score, but that it can still rise and fall because of situational factors,” said Michael Bond from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

The findings were published in the Journal of Happiness Studies.

PTI

Normal deliveries safer: Docs Flagging concern over the “alarmingly high” rate of caesarean section operations in the country, doctors said normal deliveries were safer and in interest of women’s health.

Doctors attending the 59th conference of obstetricians and gynaecologists in the Taj city stressed that normal deliveries were safer and in the interest of women’s health.

According to a presentation made during the event, 40 per cent of deliveries done in India were caesarian, while the same in neighbouring Nepal was at 8.6 per cent and relatively lower in other south Asian countries.

“What this reflected was the decreasing level of patience and pain-

tolerating capacity in women,” it said.

Dr Rasheed Latif from Pakistan said the percentage in rural areas was only five per cent, because of physical activity. “If in any country the rate was more than 15 per cent, it was a signal for alarm,” he said.

The participating doctors reached a consensus at the workshop to reduce C-section rate in developing countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal,

Forty per cent of deliveries done in India were caesarian committee.

JANUARY 23, 2016

PUNE

“The Indian Railways has embarked on transforming its energy mix by using renewable energy sources like solar and wind energy, and is undertaking energy audits to improve efficiency to meet its sustainability targets.”

— Suresh Prabhu, Railway Minister

Genes may decide how happy your country is Ever wondered why some countries are happier than others? It may all come down to the citizen’s genes, a new study suggests.

The citizens of nations which rate themselves happiest are more likely to have a specific allele in their DNA, which is involved in sensory pleasure and pain reduction, researchers found.

They used data from the nationally representative World Values Survey (2000-2014), calculating the average national percentages of respondents who unambiguously reported being ‘very happy’.

The researchers, including those from Varna University of Management in Bulgaria, found a strong correlation between a nation’s happiness and the presence of the A allele in the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) gene variant rs324420 in its citizens’ genetic make-up. This allele helps prevent the chemical degradation of anandamide, a substance that enhances sensory pleasure and helps to reduce pain.

Nations with the highest prevalence of the A allele are quite clearly also those who perceive themselves happiest.

These include Ghana and Nigeria in West Africa, and northern Latin American nations, such as Mexico and Colombia, whose citizens are of Amerindian or mixed Euro-American descent. The Arab nations of Iraq and Jordan, and the East Asian nations

H EALTH

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

Sri Lanka, Bhutan and India.

Doctors attending the conference also noted that by 2020 India and China would be the centres of cancer deaths.

“Changing lifestyles, stress, tobacco and liquor consumption are the chief causes of cancer which would take a very high toll of life in both the countries by 2020,” said Dr GS Bhattacharya of the WHO’s expert PTI

Poor sleep stresses teens more: study Adolescents who experience sleep problems and longer sleep duration are more reactive to stress, which could contribute to academic, behavioural and health issues, a new study has warned.

Insufficient sleep and sleep problems contribute to cognitive problems and poor physical health over time, possibly because of disruptions in a key part of the neuroendocrine system that controls reactions to stress and regulates many body processes the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis).

Researchers at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) explored the relationship between sleep and reactivity to stress, specifically as it relates to HPA-axis activity, in adolescents.

The researchers examined two dimensions of sleep sleep duration and sleep problems from the perspectives of adolescents and their parents, as well as cortisol levels before and after social stress. They also looked at how the results varied based on gender.

“We chose to look at sleep patterns in urban African-American adolescents, due to information we understood from earlier research in the field,” said Sylvie Mrug, a professor at UAB. “This particular population is more likely to experience insufficient sleep, and their functioning is more negatively affected by lower sleep quality, so we knew that finding results for this demographic could be especially important,” Mrug added.

The study was conducted on 84 adolescents with an average age of 13.

They were given the children’s version of a common stress test, called the Trier Social Stress Test, to measure their physiological responses to stress.

This test involves speaking and computing mental math problems in front of an audience. Saliva samples were taken from each participant in order to test cortisol levels before and after the stress test.

Participants then reported on their bed times and wake times and any sleep problems, such as insomnia, daytime sleepiness and general sleep quality, during a regular week.

Parents of the adolescents were asked to report on their children’s sleep as well. The adolescents most commonly reported the following sleep problems - the need for multiple reminders to get up in the morning, not having a good night’s sleep, feeling tired or sleepy during the day, and not being satisfied with their sleep.

The findings were published online in the journal Physiology and Behaviour.

PTI

Is homoeopathy a good alternative?

BY GV JOSHI After reviewing 225 research papers on homoeopathy, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (highest Australian body for medical research) has concluded that homoeopathy is not effective for treating any medical condition.

In their words, “People who choose homoeopathy may put their health at risk if they reject or delay treatments for which there is good evidence for safety and effectiveness in Allopathy”.

Homoeopaths believe that illnesscausing substances can, in minute doses, treat people who are unwell. By diluting these substances in water or alcohol, homeopaths claim the resulting mixture retains a “memory” of the original substance that triggers a healing response in the body, the report said.

According to Dr Paul Glasziou, of the NHMRC Homoeopathy Working Committee, the findings would lead private health insurers to stop offering rebates on homeopathic treatments and force pharmacists to reconsider stocking them.

Dr Paul Glasziou FRACGP, PhD, is Professor of Evidence-Based Medicine at Bond University in Australia and a part-time General Practitioner. He was the Director of the Centre for EvidenceBased Medicine in Oxford from 20032010.

“There will be a large number of people who will not respond to this report and who will say it is all a conspiracy of the establishment,” He further added. According to Dr Glasziou use of homoeopathy declined in the UK following a House of Commons report released in 2010 which found the treatments were ineffective.

Homoeopathy came to India as early as 1810 when a French traveller, Dr John Martin Honigberger who learnt homoeopathy from Dr Samuel

Hahnemann visited India and treated patients with homoeopathy.

In his second visit in the year 1839, he treated the then ruler of Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh with Dulcamara.

Dulcamara is a homeopathic remedy used to treat a host of ailments, especially joint problems, skin conditions and complaints that have an influence on the mucus membranes.

Ranjit Singh was so happy with results that he encouraged Honigberger to continue the homoeopathic treatment in India.

Oliver Wendell Holmes was the first American to recognise that homoeopathy was nonsense in 1842 .In his words, “Long ago we gave up the nonsense of trying to balance the four humors by bloodletting and purging, but the homoeopathy is still marching on and flourishing.”

Homoeopathy is very popular in India.

Presently, there are over 100,000 homeopathic doctors and over 100 four- and five-year course homeopathic medical colleges in this country.

World Health Organization (WHO) under United Nations Organisation (UNO) has warned that people with diseases such as HIV, TB and malaria should not rely on homeopathic treatments. There is no evidence that homoeopathy has any effect on these diseases. It is time Indian Council of Medical Research or any other Government of India authority examine the Australian study in great depth as well as study British government 2010 report and issue suitable directive about homoeopathy.

PTI Feature

Homoeopathy is very popular in India

Nuclear power is solution to global warming

WNA says over one-third of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions come from the burning of fossil fuel

BY DR KS PARTHASARATHY

Climate change is admittedly the most discussed topic during the end of 2015. The World Nuclear Association (WNA), a nuclear advocacy group in one of its booklets explained the “science” of climate change. To appreciate it, we must know what is meant by “Greenhouse Effect”. “The greenhouse effect itself occurs when short-wave solar radiation (which is not impeded by the greenhouse gases) heats the surface of the Earth, and the energy is radiated back through the Earth’s atmosphere as

heat, with a longer wavelength.

In the wavelengths 5-30µm a lot of this thermal radiation is absorbed by water vapour and carbon dioxide, which in turn radiate it, Dr James Hansen thus heating the atmosphere and land and ocean surface” (WNA, Nov 2014).

According to WNA, most of the net energy increase in the climate system in recent decades is stored in the oceans.

The WNA noted that over one-third of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions come from the burning of fossil fuel to generate electricity.

Nuclear power plants do not emit

these gases.

WNA added On November 3, 2013, four scientists Dr Ken Caldeira, Senior Scientist, Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution, Dr Kerry Emanuel, Atmospheric Scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr James Hansen, Climate Scientist, Columbia University Earth Institute, Dr. Tom Wigley, Climate Scientist, University of Adelaide and the National Center for Atmospheric Research sent an open letter to those influencing environmental policy but opposed to nuclear power.

Dr Hansen has been a pioneer climate scientist who alerted every one about the dangers of climate change.

“As climate and energy scientists concerned with global climate change, we are writing to urge you to advocate the development and deployment of safer

nuclear energy systems. We appreciate your organisation’s concern about global warming, and your advocacy of renewable energy. But continued opposition to nuclear power threatens humanity’s ability to avoid dangerous climate change.” the four pronuclear scientists asserted.

They conceded that renewables such as wind and solar and biomass will certainly play roles in a future energy economy, but those energy sources cannot scale up fast enough to deliver cheap and reliable power at the scale the global economy requires.

“While it may be theoretically

possible to stabilize the climate without nuclear power, in the real world there is no credible path to climate stabilization that does not include a substantial rolefor nuclear power”, they cautioned.

“Modern nuclear technology can reduce proliferation risks and solve the waste disposal problem by burning current waste and using fuel more efficiently”, they added. They hoped that innovation and economies of scale can make new power plants even cheaper than existing plants. “No energy system is without downsides. We ask only that energy system decisions be based on

Wind and solar and biomass will play roles in a future energy economy

facts, and not on emotions and biases that do not apply to 21st century nuclear technology.”, they argued.

A total of 311 US and international environmental and clean energy groups challenged the notion that nuclear power is the solution to global warming.

They pleaded that instead of embracing nuclear power, the pronuclear scientists must join them in supporting an electric grid dominated by energy efficiency, renewable, distributed power and storage technologies.

India boldly declared that it “has a well developed policy, legislative, regulatory and programmatic regime for promotion of energy efficiency, renewable energy, nuclear power, fuel switching, energy pricing reform and addressing CHG emissions in the energy sector”.

PTI Feature

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 2016

PUNE

“Another year passes with no further progress in bringing back the displaced Kashmiri Pandits. Words sound even more hollow. Much was expected of the current government where all others were accused of paying only lip service but nothing changed.”

— Omar Abdullah, Former Chief Minister, Jammu and Kashmir

Dug up drainage raises stink at Dhankawadi P 15

Kashmiri Pandits: Exodus, exile & anguish The Kashmiri Pandits were driven out of their homeland in 1990 to live in exile

NEW DELHI: Twenty-six years after Kashmiri Pandits were forced to flee the Valley, their heart wrenching and poignant tales of persecution, struggle and plight speak of wounds that are yet to heal and a yearning to return to a peaceful co-existence with their Muslim neighbours.

“A Long Dream of Home: The Persecution, Exodus and Exile of Kashmiri Pandits,” -- a collection of first hand narratives of “never told before” stories by several generations of those evicted from their own state-was unveiled here.

At the launch, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah said, “Don’t wait till the last guns stop firing. Come home!”.

The Kashmiri Pandits were driven out of their homeland in 1990 to live in exile and 26 years since then governments at both central and state levels have changed, and myriad policies have also been formulated but “the rhetoric remains unchanged”, said Varad Sharma, who along with Siddharth Gigoo edited the tome published by Bloomsbury.

Kashmiri Pandits holding a protest on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the Kashmiri Pandit exodus in New Delhi

There have been several attempts in the past to rehabilitate the Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley by proposing the erection of townships but that, Gigoo said , “will not be home. It will be nothing less than a house arrest.”

According to Gigoo, Sharma and other contributers to the book, the Pandits essentially want “justice”, which means getting back their way of life - a peaceful co-existence with their neighbours, i.e. the Kashmiri Muslims and more importantly, no threat to their lives.

Sharma suggests a “dialogue” to restore peace in the Valley.

According to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, the major impediment in the rehabilitation of the Kashmiri Pandits lies in the fear of losing their lives and homes all over again.

“Kashmiri Pandits will find reconciliation very difficult because they have gone through a deep sense of hurt and betrayal,” Tharoor said. .

Despite assurances by authorities about “reduced militancy” in the state, Tharoor pointed out that the Pandits continue to reel under the post traumatic effect of their ouster that followed a massive devastation of property and loss of lives.

Censor board revamp won’t be window dressing: Benegal MUMBAI: Stating that the censor board of India revamp committee is there to do a “thorough job” and not simply “window dressing”, the panel head and veteran film-maker Shyam Benegal said he will ask the government to extend its two-month term if the report is not ready by that time-frame.

“Well if it does not get ready by two months we will ask the government to extend the time period... Because it’s important enough for us to do a thorough job. We are not there simply to do window dressing.”

Benegal was speaking at the 6th National Science Film Festival & Competition (NSFF) press meet.

The committee, set up to revamp the functioning of censor board which has been mired in controversies, is to submit its report in two months.

The panel also includes film-maker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, adman Piyush Pandey and film critic Bhawana

Shyam Benegal (centre) is awarded with Lifetime Achievement during 14th Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) in Pune. Seen in the picture (L-R) Pablo Ceasar and Nenad Dukic

Somaaya. Benegal said the committee will look into what the audience feels about certifying films.

“We are taking into consideration the views of all the stakeholders, which means cinema audiences. The questions are being posed to people via Internet. There is a website of the NFDC, asking some questions. And also offering to the people exactly what

Violence against women in focus RANCHI: Experts and technologists will come together to address the challenges of violence against women by finding innovative technological solutions to issues involving prevention, response and awareness at ‘Hackathon’, to be organised in Ranchi from January 24 to 26.

It is a programme designed to discuss and understand gender-based violence in the east and north-east

India and provide an understanding of how to create interventions to solve gender issues with technology, according to a release from the US Consulate. These initiatives by various organisations from across the globe range from mapping violence to gathering data and providing survivors with access to essential information and support, it said.

PTI

Vol-II* lssue No.: 32 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.

Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. 1641, Madhav Heritage, Tilak Road, Pune-411 030, Tel: 020-41220010.

has happened in this field earlier or over a period of time,” the 81-year-old film-maker said.

“All of that will be available now to anyone who wishes to study and comment on what they feel should be done in terms of certifying films for public choice. Those includes the film industry, and the non governmental sectors, organisations or NGOs too.

“That exercise is going on at present. It’s only after that, that we will be sitting down and working towards creating a report. Hopefully, it’ll be useful to us,” he added.

Benegal said right now the panel is examining if the current functioning of the censor board is “useful” or not.

“What we are doing is to look at it and see if it is useful the way it (censor board) is working or it is not. Whether you can keep certifying films, but not as a negative act of mitigating the films.

All of these things are being studied.”

PTI

“Even though Farooq has his heart at the right place but even he cannot guarantee the security and nobody wants to be the guinea pig,” Tharoor said. The narratives of friendship and love in the book act as evidence that the exodus has not made the Pandits bitter towards their Muslim counterparts who they admit had suffered too.

In an anecdote, Gigoo mentioned the kindheartedness of a Muslim cab driver in curfew ridden Jammu who offered to take him home to his ailing grandmother when everybody else had refused. The driver also declined to take any money from him.

Even though his grandmother passed away by the time he reached, Gigoo said he still remembers the stranger’s act of kindness. “Kashmir is still surviving because of such instances of humanity,” Gigoo said.

According to the authors the exodus in the Valley , has often been compared to the Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947.

The only difference, they say, essentially was that the Partition did not leave those who had left their homes behind with any hope for returning.

“Pakistan became a different country so, there was no hope of going back, but there is a constant noise of hope here,” he said.

PTI

CVC puts foot down on corruption issue NEW DELHI: Expressing serious concern over delay in finalising corruption cases, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) asked all departments to complete these inquiries within a maximum period of six months to keep away “nothing will change” notion associated with governance. The move comes after the Commission noted that administrative authorities are not adhering to the timeschedule prescribed for completion of disciplinary proceedings.

“In a recent study conducted by the Commission, it has been noticed that while the average time taken by the administrative authorities in finalisation of disciplinary proceedings is more than two years, the maximum time taken in a particular case was eight years and at least in 22 per cent cases the inquiry took more than two years,” the CVC said. The timelimit for completion of departmental inquiries is six months from the date of appointment of Inquiry officer.

PTI

Farooq puts onus on Pandits to return NEW DELHI: Twenty-six years after Kashmiri Pandits were forced to flee the Valley, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah has put the blame on them for not returning to their homes.

“They have to realise that nobody is going to come with a begging bowl and say come and stay with us. They have to make the move,” he said.

He was speaking at the launch of a book of first hand narratives of stories of persecution and struggle by several generations of Pandits evicted from the state and who yearned to return to a peaceful co-existence with their Muslim neighbours.

Abdullah said that several Pandits who had made their homes in Delhi had come to see him when the J-K government asked them to return to the Valley.

“When the government made a move that the officers and doctors who are settled here should come back, they came to see me and said, look our children are now in schools here, our parents are ill and need medical care,

we can’t leave them back. So for God’s sake let us live here,” he said.

“Don’t wait till the last guns stop firing. Come home!”, he urged, adding “Who are you waiting for? Don’t wait.

You think Farooq Abdullah will come, hold your hand and take you there.”

Noting that it was tough unless they make the first move, Abdullah said, “Yes, onus is on them to come home.”

Kashmiri Pandits were driven out of their homeland in 1990 to live in exile and 26 years since then governments at both central and state levels have changed.

Myriad policies have also been formulated but “the rhetoric remains unchanged”, said Varad Sharma, who along with Siddharth Gigoo edited the book “A Long Dream of Home: The Persecution, Exodus and Exile of Kashmiri Pandits launched here last evening.

Abdullah said that he had made efforts to help the Pandits return to the Valley but they continued to remain skeptical.

WOMAN POWER

Candidates run during in a physical fitness test during J&K police women recruitment rally at Gulshan Ground in Jammu

WB offers funds to rebuild Indian zoo WB to help reconstruct the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP) devastated during cyclone

BY PALLAVA BAGLA NEW DELHI: The World Bank usually tames wild economies and helps countries stabilise their fluctuating finances, but in a global first, the banker for the world has gone to a zoo that too in India! This is a new addition in the portfolio of the bank as part of its ever-expanding work on urban regeneration.

A zoo is nothing but a bank of captive animals. In a novel initiative, the World Bank has embraced a zoo for its eco-development!

In Visakhapatnam, the global bank is extending an assistance of USD 20 million to help reconstruct the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP), which got devastated during cyclone Hudhud. This is part of the USD 370 million Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery Project for which the bank is extending assistance of USD 250 million from 2015-2020.

The much-loved Vizag zoo is nestled in the picturesque Eastern Ghats. It sees an annual footfall of about 8 lakh people and was set up

in 1972 and shot into fame because it had some aviaries designed by the legendary ornithologist Salim Ali, the ‘bird man of India’.

Neha Vyas, senior environment specialist at the India country office of the World Bank who is actively involved in this eco-development project, asserts that this is “the very first time in the history of the World Bank that it is directly involved in a zoo”.

The Vizag zoo situated on the northern limit of the Visakhapatnam town houses 170 different species of animals on its 250-hectare campus.

Only a road separates the zoo from the sea and this became its undoing, when Hudhud struck the region it caused

huge damage to the entire zoo.

According to a damages needs assessment report by the World Bank, almost 40 per cent of the trees of the complex were flattened and a larger number were damaged. Some 180 birds and animals escaped from their enclosures as the cages were badly damaged and 11 animals died due to the cyclone. Out of 67 enclosures about 57 suffered damages.

“Unfortunately for the zoo, the eye of the cyclone Hudhud passed right over it causing widespread devastation in the zoological park,” says Vyas.

The enclosures for tiger, python and the white tiger were severely damaged. The offices including the veterinary hospital were also affected

Vizag zoo situated on the northern limit of the Visakhapatnam town houses 170 different species of animals on its 250-hectare campus

and the compound wall was breached in several places. The adjoining Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary was also damaged.

Cyclone Hudhud was classed in the “very severe” category and it crashed into Andhra Pradesh on October 12, 2014.

Sixty-one people lost their lives in the natural calamity.

According to the Andhra Pradesh government, Hudhud affected about 9.2 million people in over 7,285 villages in 4 coastal districts of the state. The damage caused by the cyclone was due to the unprecedented wind velocity of over 200 km per hour followed by torrential rains that caused massive destruction in the districts of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and East Godavari.

According to The World Bank, the cyclone caused a damage equivalent of USD 2,155 million and over two lakh houses were affected. .

At the zoological park where local support to retain it on its original location is widespread, the World Bank partnering with the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department and the Central Zoo Authority will help bring back the pristine glory of the zoo.

It will also help re-build the ecotourism park at the Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 2016

“Engaging directly with the Iranian government has created a unique opportunity, to try to resolve important issues. For decades your government’s threats and actions to destabilise the region has isolated Iran from much of the world. Now our governments are talking to each other.”

— Barack Obama, US President

Donald Trump branded a ‘buffoon’ by British MPs a poisonous, corrosive man from entering the country”.

“Hate crime is being inflamed and stoked by the words that Donald Trump is using. I draw the line of freedom of speech when it actually invites violent ideology which is what I feel is happening,” she said.

Paul Flynn, a Labour MP who opened the debate, said a ban would

China launches database on monks

give Trump the “halo of victimhood”.

“The best plan was not to give him the accolade of martyrdom and we may already be in error in giving him far too much attention,” he said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has already said he does not support a ban, while condemning Trump’s comments about Muslims.

PTI

Buddhist monks and local people take part in a procession from Dhungeswari Mountain to Mahabodhi Temple on International Buddha Mahotsav in Bodhgaya

UK asks migrants on spousal visas to learn English or leave UK

BY ADITI KHANNA LONDON: US presidential hopeful Donald Trump has been branded a “buffoon” during a parliamentary debate on whether to ban him from entering Britain.

The Republican frontrunner was the subject of a House of Commons debate last evening after a petition against his anti-Muslim remarks received over half a million signatures.

Any petition that attracts more

than 100,000 signatories is considered

by British MPs for a debate.

Most of the 50 MPs present in Parliament attacked Trump for his views on Muslims, women, disabled people, global warming and other issues in the three-hour discussion but the majority of parliamentarians from both left and right dismissed the idea of banning the millionaire.

Alex Chalk, a Conservative MP, said: “Th is is about bufoonery. And buffoonery must not be met with the blunt instrument of a ban. It must be met with the classic British response of ridicule”.

Tulip Siddiq, Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, joined the calls for him to be banned, saying people had felt “we need to stop

‘US contributed to instability in Pak’

can’t accept that he would ever do that.

I can’t accept it,” the London-based law student said. Siddhartha, 32, a former bouncy castle salesman from London, had changed his name to Abu Rumaysah after converting from Hinduism to Islam. His sister said she and her family were “left in the dark” over how he came to convert about a decade ago and how he adopted his radical views, but feared he had been “brainwashed”.

She said it would “absolutely” be a good idea to have organisations for families to turn to for advice or share their concerns in confidence. “I think this is one thing that needs to be addressed, because for me personally it was very difficult to know who to turn to,” Konika said.

PTI

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

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

TGS LIFE

Run for... yourself

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

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

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

Truly, a tree lady P4

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

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

said director of the school, who

Supriya Bhoite from Chaturshrungi police station.

Contd on p4

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,

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 and the parents and found that 22 girls in allstudents 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 planners forgot to make more entry and exit points. Over a decade after Hinjewadi was planned to house country’s best IT firms and talent, planners have finally woken up to the plight of citizens.

They have now planned five alternative roads. But the authorities are in no hurry to complete them. See spotlight on p8 & 9

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

TGS LIFE

Hum Saath Saath Hain

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.

All that the auto drivers are saying is true. But what they are not telling us or willing to concede is that their enemy lies within. Their enemy number one is not private cabs but members of their own ilk – many of whom are rude, refuse to ply short

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

LONDON: The sister of an Indianorigin Islamic State terror suspect dubbed “New Jihadi John” has said she is hoping that the masked man in a recent video of the terror group is not her brother and her family was in the dark about how he was radicalised.

Konika Dhar appeared before a House of Commons Home Affairs Committee hearing over the possibility of her brother Siddhartha Dhar being the masked man who recently appeared in an ISIS propaganda video which showed “British spies” being executed.

“I’m still holding to the firm belief that what I’m seeing is not him - and I haven’t had verification otherwise. It’s sort of the realisation that ‘is he really my brother that has done this? and I

SINGAPORE: Singapore has deported 26 Bangladeshi migrant workers late last year and jailed one for supporting “the armed jihad ideology” of terror groups like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, authorities said.

The men, who were working in the construction industry here, were detained between November 16 and December 1 last year, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.

Investigations showed that they supported the armed jihad ideology of terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Some of them had considered waging armed jihad overseas, but they were not planning any terrorist attacks in Singapore, said the MHA. The 26 deported were members of a closed religious study group that subscribed to extremist beliefs and teachings of radical figures like Anwar al-Awlaki, an American and Yemeni Islamic lecturer alleged to have ties with militant group Al-Qaeda.

Awlaki was killed in a drone strike in Yemen in September 2011.

The Bangladeshi authorities were informed of the circumstances of their repatriation.

The jailed man was not a member of the study group, but was discovered to have been undergoing radicalisation.

He supported extremist preachers and possessed jihadi-related material.

He was jailed for attempting to leave Singapore illegally. He will also be repatriated once he completes his sentence. In the course of their arrests, the Internal Security Department recovered a “significant amount” of radical and jihadi-related material, such as books and videos containing footage of children undergoing training in what appeared to be terrorist military camps.

Several members also possessed a shared document with graphic images and instruction details on how to conduct “silent killings” using different methods and weapons.

The group members took measures to avoid detection by the authorities, sharing jihadi-related materials discreetly and holding weekly gatherings to discuss armed conflicts involving Muslims, said MHA. PTI

RAHUL RAUT

Sister of IS jihadist hopes it’s not him

BY GURDIP SINGH

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

as the war was over, a factor which contributed to decades of instability in Pakistan and the region,” Aziz was quoted as saying by Dawn News.

Talking about “external threats” to the country’s stability, Aziz said that since 2013, Pakistan has been pursuing a policy of non-interference and is not taking part in other nations’ wars.

“We have decided that we are not going to indulge in fighting other countries’ wars now, and this policy is being pursued vigorously by the government,” he said.

“Pakistan has also taken a strong stance against terrorism. Operation Zarb-i-Azb in tribal areas and the operation against criminals in Karachi have helped improve the internal security situation of the country,” he added. In his State of the Union Address, Obama had warned, “Instability will continue for decades in the Middle East, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in parts of Central America, Africa and Asia.”

PTI

THANK GOD IT’S S AT U R D AY

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

ISLAMABAD: The US created “holy warriors” in Pakistan’s tribal areas during the “Afghan jihad” and then left them as soon as the war was over which contributed to decades of instability in the country and the region, Prime Minister’s Sartaj Aziz Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said. During a discussion on an adjournment motion in the Senate, moved by Senator Mushahid Hussain, about US President Barack Obama’s recent remarks that instability will continue for decades in Pakistan, Aziz said, “Pakistan’s answer to instability is the strengthening democracy in the country.”

“The US created ‘holy warriors’ in our tribal areas during the ‘Afghan Jihad’ and then left them as soon

BEIJING: For the fi rst time, China launched an online system to check the “authenticity” of top Tibetan Buddhist monks, amid growing incidents of fraud involving religious leaders.

The fi rst list of 870 verified Tibetan monks, also known as ‘living buddhas’, was published on the official website of the State Administration for Religious Affairs.

It is the fi rst time information on the country’s religious leaders is accessible via the Internet.

“As a living buddha, I feel genuinely happy about it,” said the 7th Drukhang living buddha Drukhang Thubten Khedrup, vice president of the Buddhist Association of China (BAC) at the launch ceremony.

The online database follows a government white paper in September last year, reiterating that Beijing “has undeniable endorsement right on the reincarnation system” of living buddhas.

that there are consequences,” Cameron wrote in a commentary.

Arguing that community cohesion is the best antidote to extremism, Cameron pledged to fund English language classes for female migrants.

“We will also fund a dramatic improvement in the way we provide English language services for women.

With a new 20 million pounds programme, we will make sure every woman from isolated communities with no English at all has access to classes, whether through community groups or further education colleges,” he writes.

Cameron flagged up the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities as the heart of the language barrier in the country.

The Prime Minister said that English classes will be held in homes, schools and community centres with travel and childcare costs provided to encourage the maximum participation.

Singapore deports 26 Bangladeshis

Originated in the 13rd century AD, reincarnation of living buddhas is a unique inheritance system in Tibetan Buddhism. Since 2010, the BAC began to issue certificates to living buddhas.

The system was put in place to counter fake living buddhas who have been found cheating believers for money and undermining the reputation of living buddhas and Tibetan Buddhism.

One of the most renowned cases involved Wu Darong, who pretended to be a living buddha and was worshipped by the famous Chinese artist Zhang Tielin. Wu was later exposed as a fake living buddha, the report said.

The BAC said the system, which can be used both on computers and mobile phones, publishes detailed, accurate information on living buddhas, including photos, names, religion names, monastic titles, date of birth, religious sects, numbers of living buddha certificates and resident monasteries.

PTI

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 his colleagues in other department in the same ministry. But none of

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Most of the 50 MPs attacked Trump for his views on Muslims, women, disabled people etc

The UK government warned that migrants on spousal visas who fail to speak English may face deportation, as it announced a new 20 million pound fund to improve the language skills among migrant Muslim women.

Writing in ‘The Times’ newspaper, Prime Minister David Cameron warned that migrants who failed to improve their fluency in English after two years may face deportation.

New rules will mean that from October this year, migrants coming to the UK on a five-year spousal visa with poor or no English skills will have to take a test after two and a half years to show they are making efforts to improve their English.

“We will now say if you don’t improve your fluency, that could affect your ability to stay in the UK. This will help make it clear to those men who stop their partners from integrating

BY KJM VARMA

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Bonanza for Pune’s cricket buffs P 16

PUNE

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

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

Hum

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

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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THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 2016

PUNE

MONEY MATT ER S

“With technology being the core of financial services business, we needed a strategic partner like IBM with proven service management expertise in the financial sector.”

— K Srinivas, Managing Director, BTI Payments

Signposts Kerala draws strategy for MICE tourists Kerala, which is facing drought in MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) travellers to the state due to liquor ban in the state, has drawn up a strategy to overcome the problem by issuing short-term liqour licences to hotels.

MICE tourists account for 25 per cent of total arrivals but on revenue terms the share is much bigger.

“ The joint venture company between Renault and Nissan Motor Company plans to roll out around 3,30,000-3,40,000 units of Micra model next fiscal.”

— Colin MacDonald, Managing Director, Renault

Sharp increase in income inequality

The world’s 62 richest persons’ total wealth has increased by more than half a trillion dollars to USD 1.76 trillion since 2010

Trust gap widens to record high

(From L) Wall Street Journal Editor (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Thorold Barker, RBI Governor Raghuram G Rajan, UBS Group Chairman of the Board of Directors Axel A Weber, JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Officer (Asset Management) Mary Callahan Erdoes and SkyBridge Capital Founder and Co-Managing Partner Anthony Scaramucci at the Annual Meeting 2016 of the World Economic Forum in Davos

Showing a sharp rise in income inequality in India and other countries, a new survey said the wealth of 62 richest persons globally now equals that of the poorest half of the world’s population.

Besides, there are just nine women among the world’s 62 richest persons, whose total wealth has increased by more than half a trillion dollars to USD 1.76 trillion since 2010.

The study, titled ‘An Economy for the 1 per cent’ and conducted by rights group Oxfam, also showed that the wealth of the poorest half of the world’s population has fallen by a trillion dollars since 2010, a drop of 41 per cent.

This has occurred despite the global population increasing by around 400 million people during that period.

The survey showed that the number of people whose wealth is equal to that of the poorest half of the world’s population stood at 388 in 2010.

Since then, it has been continuously declining and stood at 177 in the year 2011, 159 in 2012, 92 in 2013 and 80 in 2014. Talking about the income inequality in various countries, the study cited that India’s top IT firm CEO makes 416 times the salary of a typical employee there, while that of the largest cigarette manufacturer gets 439 times the median staff salary.

It also said that 46 per cent of billionaires in India have made their fortunes from sectors that depend upon market power, influence or preferential access to licensing. At the same time, the report praised regulatory efforts in India mandating greater disclosures in this regard. “Lawmakers in India passed a disclosure mandate in 2013 which requires CEO pay ratios to be made public, an important step towards informing the public about the level of inequality within companies,” it said.

PTI

The trust gap between the informed public and the mass population globally has widened to a record high level, while the divide is fourth highest in India among all major countries, a new survey has found.

As per the latest yearly Edelman Trust Barometer released ahead of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting, the US presents the largest trust divide, followed by the UK, France and India.

The study said that the global trust disparity between the informed public and mass population has risen to a record high level of 12 points, driven by income inequality and divergent expectations of the future.

“While trust levels among informed publics are the highest ever in 16 years, trust is below 50 per cent for the mass population in over 60 per cent of the countries surveyed, having barely moved since the Great Recession.

“The trust disparity has widened and is now at double digit levels in more than half of the countries surveyed,” it added.

Released by the global PR giant Edelman every year ahead of the annual WEF meeting, the Trust Barometer study forms part of various discussions at the fi ve-day annual jamboree of the rich and powerful.

Govt sells $5 billion of PSU shares in ’15

BY JOYEETA DEY

After mopping up after a hefty Rs 35,200 crore through PSU share sale in 2015, the disinvestment department has readied a warchest of over two dozen PSUs, including Coal India, ONGC, NTPC and Oil India, which could fetch around Rs 50,000 crore to the exchequer.

At a record high of Rs 35,236 crore (USD 5.3 billion), the total funds collected by the government through part-sale of its stake in the ‘family silver’ PSUs during 2015 marks a huge jump from about Rs 18,000 raised in 2014.

The disinvestment proceeds stood at about Rs 22,000 crore in the year 2013.

Targetting at least Rs 50,000 crore of funds from sale of the ‘family silver’ PSU shares in 2016, the government will look for right market conditions and positive global cues to resume its disinvestment drive in the new year as it looks to garner the much needed resources to meet the deficit targets.

The trends in the crude and metal prices would however hold the key as the planned portfolio for the new year largely comprises of commodity stocks.

Besides there are initial public offerings (IPOs) lined up in PSUs like Cochin Shipyard, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) and Hindustan Aeronautics.

Besides, proposal for offer for sale (OFS) in PSUs like SAIL, MOIL, NMDC, BHEL, MMTC, Container Corporation, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) and NALCO are also under consideration.

Bharat Electronics, Dredging Corporation, Engineers India, National Fertlisers and Hindustan Copper are also on radar for disinvestment.

The Department of Disinvestment has been pitching hard for cutting down the ‘notice period’ for launching the share sale in an already-listed PSU

stock to just one days, but the markets regulator Sebi has refused to budge on this as it wanted the retail investors to get sufficient time to ready for a share sale offer. Sebi has agreed to trim down the window from ‘two trading days’ to ‘two banking days’ -- a move that has led to many PSU disinvestments taking place on Mondays.

Retail public investors, who were supposed to be the core constituency of the disinvestment exercise, however continue to remain away from most of the offers. The success of many PSU disinvestments continue to hinge on help of the state-run insurance behemoth LIC although, the foreign roadshows by the government helped attract some overseas investors in 2015.

The government sold minority stakes in five PSUs, including Coal India and Indian Oil Corporation, to mop up Rs 35,236 crore in 2015.

PTI Feature

General insurers Hidden workforce of 116 mn at outpace pvt players 50 MNCs: Trade union body State-owned general insurers led by New India Assurance have outpaced their peers in private sector in premium collection, though marginally, by recording 12 per cent growth in the fi rst nine months of the current fiscal.

All the four state-owned non-life insurers — New India Assurance, Oriental, United and National — mobilised a total premium of Rs 35,000 crore in nine months to December against Rs 31,300 crore during the fi rst nine months of previous fiscal, data collated by industry body General Insurance Council showed.

In contrast, 24 private sector general insurers, led by ICICI Lombard, recorded a growth of 11.70

per cent in premium collection at Rs 28,650 crore in the reporting period against Rs 25,631 crore in the year-ago period.

“The marketshare of PSU general insurers has gone up in the fi rst nine months and in case of New India, it has gone up significantly. The growth has come not only from sectors like motor and health, but also from miscellaneous sectors,” New India chairman and managing director G Srinivasan told PTI. “It will help us regain our marketshare in some of those segments where we have lost it to our peers in the private sector,” he said.

PTI

As the rich and powerful from across the world congregated for their annual jamboree, global trade union body ITUC said just 50 MNCs have a “hidden workforce” of 116 million people in their global supply chains including in India.

“The global supply chains of 50 companies employ only six per cent of people in a direct employment relationship, yet rely on a hidden workforce of 94 per cent,” as per a new research report released by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

The report was released a day before the prestigious World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting of

top global leaders that began from Tuesday.

“Just 50 companies including

Samsung, McDonalds and Nestle have a combined revenue of USD 3.4 trillion and the power to reduce inequality. Instead they have built a business model on a massive hidden workforce of 116 million people,” said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow, who is one of the co-chairs of this year’s WEF Annual Meeting.

ITUC said the new report, titled ‘Scandal: Inside the global supply chains of 50 top companies’ exposes an unsustainable business model, with a global footprint that covers almost every country in the world and profi les 25 companies with headquarters in Asia, Europe, and the US. “Sixty per cent of global trade

in the real economy is dependent on the supply chains of our major corporations, which uses a business model based on exploitation and abuse of human rights in supply chains,” Burrow said.

As per ITUC research, the cash holdings of 25 companies of USD 387 billion could increase the wages in their combined hidden workforce of 71.3 million by more than USD 5,000 for a year.

“The combined wealth of 24 companies in the US including Amazon, Walmart and the Walt Disney company, could buy Canada,” it said.

PTI

IT noose tightens on offenders, simpler laws in the offing The government is open to any proposal for an out-of-court settlement of retrospective tax issues

BY JOYEETA DEY The tax department has set itself a target for 2016 to simplify the voluminous Income Tax laws and follow a non-adversarial but effective mechanism of tax collection. Talking to PTI Economic Service, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia also said the government is open to any proposal for an out-of-court settlement of retrospective tax issues like the ones facing Vodafone and Cairn Energy.

Below are the excerpts of the interview.

PTI: Since taking over the charge of revenue department, you have been proactive in simplifying the tax laws. What has been the underlying achievements of your efforts?

What more can we expect from the department in 2016?

Adhia: The thrust of our reforms in the tax department is to have non adversarial, non intrusive (and still effective) system of tax collection.

We have been able to put to rest some of the issues in which the foreign investors were facing uncertainty regarding their taxability. We have put in place mechanism for giving immediate refund in cases where the refund amount is below Rs 50,000.

We have decided to withdraw low value appeals in which tax effect is less than Rs 10 lakh and Rs 20 lakh from income tax appellate tribunal and high court respectively. All these measures would give more certainty and satisfaction to the taxpayers and would lead to less litigations. Our efforts in 2016 will be to simplify the income tax law and address other issues relating to taxability of REIT and alternative investor funds (AIFs).

PTI: Are you confident of meeting the direct and indirect tax collection

Justice (retd) RV Easwar, chairman expert committee to simplify income tax laws, presenting the report to Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia (R) in New Delhi

targets? If there are shortfalls, how do you propose to bridge them?

Adhia: We are absolutely confident of meeting target of indirect tax collection and we are hopeful of reaching as close to the target in direct taxes as possible.

But we would not like to achieve

target by mandatorily asking some big companies to pay extra advance tax in the current year or by stopping refunds.

PTI: For common man, what are the initiatives the tax department is taking to reduce his hassles in dealing with the Income Tax department?

Adhia: For the common man we have issued the directions to expeditiously release refund where refund claim is less than Rs 50,000. We have established about 300 aayakar seva Kendra (ASK), centers in which any common man can go and take help for fi ling his return or can make enquiry about his/her case of tax refund due. We have also set up mini- camps for people to get PAN cards in the country.

PTI: You have also taken pioneering effort in reducing tax litigations and put to rest concerns of foreign investors. Can you sum up the efforts and highlight if there are more such moves in offing?

Adhia: In my reply to previous question I have already given the steps taken by us to put at rest the concerns of foreign investors and for reducing tax litigations. The main cause of litigation is various exemptions and deductions given under the income tax law. We have already announced roadmap for phasing out of such incentives over a period. When such exemptions are

removed and the tax law is simplified, the litigations will come down further.

PTI: Black money legislation and efforts have been the corner stone of government’s efforts to weed out illegal money from the system. How much has the government collected as taxes so far from the over Rs 4,000 crore disclosure that had come in the compliance window?

Adhia: The last date for paying income tax for those people who made disclosures under the black money act is 31st December 2015. We are hopeful of getting about Rs 2500 crore as tax in the current year.

PTI: What in your opinion needs to be done more to uproot this menace?

Adhia: Several steps have been taken for containing black money.

The income tax department by their enforcement actions have detected undisclosed income worth more than Rs 16,000 crore and seized assets worth Rs 1200 crore and prosecution have been fi led in 774 cases.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 2016

KABIR CAFÉ LIVE

Th is republic day enjoy the contemporary folk fusion assorted with Kabir’s verses as Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Café performs live in the city. The band brings alive the poetic works of Kabir infused with rock, pop, reggae and fusion.

When: January 26, 6.30 pm onwards Where: Phoenix Market City, Viman Nagarw

Our voices need to be heard

Dug up drainage raises stink at Dhankawadi TEJAS GAIKWAD

scene and market their own style of covering popular rock artists.

When: January 23, 9 pm onwards Where: The Beer Cafe, Kapila Matrix, Koregaon Park

PUNE

OFFER VALID TILL JOKES LAST

IT’S TIME TO HIP HOP

All the party animals get ready for a kickass party this Saturday that will make you dance all the way with our city’s fame DJ Abhishek Mantri who is making India proud with a huge followership internationally on SoundCloud. Mantri will be spinning some of his latest hip rock and retro line up only for you crazies. So make sure to mark your calendars for this weekend and be there to witness the most amazing time.

When: January 24, 8 pm onwards Where: Wynkk, Symphony C, Range Hills Road, Shivaji Nagar

COMIC CON EXPRESS IS COMING TO TOWN

Gear up for the biggest pop culture event of the city as Comic Con Express Pune presents a special Cosplay Workshop with Cosplayer RJ in association with Hoppipola. The workshop will

educate the fans on how and where to obtain costumes, props, wigs, and more. The session will teach people fun easy hacks on how to cosplay and make an impression.

When: January 24, 12 noon onwards Where: Hoppipola, Amanora Town Centre, Hadapsar

POETRY READING SESSION

BY MARK WALDRON

The British Council is delighted to be collaborating with the Poetry Book Society on an international showcase of contemporary British poetry featuring the Next Generation Poets. The Next Generation Poets is an accolade announced once every 10 years, recognising the 20 most exciting new poets from the UK and Ireland.

When: January 27, 4pm to 5.30 pm Where: British Council Pune

As a part of Stage42 Festival, 8 comedians will make you an offer you can’t refuse - to keep you in splits for 4hours straight at Arc Asia. Abijit Ganguly, Karan Talwar, Anuvab Pal, Kunal Kamra, Abhishek Upamanyu, Nishant Tanwar and Mikail Almeida are ganging up for this marathon stand up comedy night. The fi rst slot from 6 pm - 8 pm will see acts by Abhishek Upmanyu, Karan Talwar, Abijit Ganguly and Mikail Almeida; and the second slot from 8.15 pm - 10 pm will see Anuvab Pal, Kunal Kamra, Nishant Tanwar and Rahul Subramanian.

When: January 30 Where: Arc Asia, Koregaon Park

SIKH FEELM FESTIVAL

Enjoy

the

AN EVENING OF ACOUSTIC ROCK

Enjoy an unparalleled beering experience with a performance

by Neil & Keith (Joint Venture). The band began as an experimental project by the artistes to venture out in the commercial acoustic rock

culture of Sikhs via fi lms and other performances at the Sikh Feelm Festival, which is onto its 8th year.

Th is one-day event will contain short fi lms, amateur videos but and a a lot of exciting stage performances like Gatka and many more.

When: January 31 Where: Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Jangali, Shivaji Nagar

VISHAL KALE

WEEK THAT WAS

THE

E WE K

OF

LETTERS TO THE

EDITOR

This rider near Omkareshwar Temple has taken the helmet rule too seriously and decided to wear the headgear even while reading a newspaper on parked bike

The story of how two girls were molested for months before they actually figured out what was happening only goes to show how much sex education is needed in India. In addition to that it is also extremely necessary that sex education should start from home and that from a young age itself parents should tell their children the difference between the right and wrong touch. This kind of education is needed from a very young age even if it might be something difficult to talk to your children about and that they might have questions.

— Sonal Nagret

PUC chaos

It has come as huge shock that something like PUC which is supposed to be streamlined as it allows to regulate the pollution emitted by vehicles, is different at different centres across the city. While TGS reviewed only four of these PUC centres, after this finding it would not be a poor judgment to assume that across the city, the readings will keep coming up different. Who is going to take responsibility for something so small and that has the potential to create so many problems?

— Sumedh Raje

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.

Sujit Pradhan

Sujit Pradhan, 19, the student of SNBP College, Pimpri, who jumped from the fourth floor of Pune Police Commissioner’s office on January 12, succumbed to his injuries at Ruby Hall clinic on January 19 at 3pm.Sujit had been summoned by police in connection with creating a fake Facebook account in the name of a female classmate.Sujit had sustained head injuries and broken ribs and was taken to Sassoon Hospital and later to Ruby Hall Hospital.Sujit was using the fake account to chat with the girl’s friends and malign her. He fi rst denied the charge but later confessed.Sujit had been charged under section 309 (Attempt to commit suicide) of Indian Penal Code.

BRAVE GIRL SCUTTLES CHILD MARRIAGE PLAN BY PARENTS

A couple ruthlessly thrashed a 15-year-old girl Sonali (name changed) in front of an educational institute’s gate on SB Road. They later forced the XI standard student to sit in an autorickshaw and they left the spot.The teenager’s concerned friend alerted the former’s grand aunt who rushed to the spot at Pandavnagar along with her husband and social worker PranitaJagtap and rescued Sonali. The victim was taken to Pune Police Commissionerate, Women Cell. She told authorities that the abusive couple was her parents who were forcing her to marry 25-year-old Yogesh Dhere, a labour contractor in Mundhwa, Pune.

Women’s Cell Police Inspector Pratibha Joshi warned the victim’s parents and Yogesh Dhere.

PIC

Need for better sex education

Write to Us

TEEN ACCUSED OF CYBER CRIME IS NO MORE

THREE ROUNDS FIRED AT GOLD GYM’S OWNER

An identified person fi red three rounds at ShakilBijapure, owner of Gold’s Gym in Kothrud, Puneon Monday evening when the former was leaving from his gym at Revolution Mall. The shooter wearing mask shot three rounds but the 42-year-old escaped unhurt. Bijapure had received a threat on his cellphone asking him to cough up Rs one crore or pay with his life.Alankar police believe the shooting is a handy work of one Ali Shaikh. A case has been fi led against Shaikh and his unidentified accomplice.“I survived only due to blessings of my parents,” said a rattled Bijapure.

I

live in Raj Mudra Society at Dhankawadi.

Th is area of Pune has developed rapidly, but along with the development some problems have also cropped up. A drainage hole has been dug up in front of our society gate and it is still in that state two weeks later.

Now there is stagnant drainage water on one side of the narrow road, where people also throw garbage. The result is that this has turned into a rather fi lthy spot, and the water and rubbish has turned into a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Ketan Yadav We now have to keep the windows closed for fear of the mosquito invasion.

We have complained about this state of affairs to our corporator but this has had no effect. We still have to cope with the stink from the garbage which also attracts stray dogs which forage through the rubbish.

The dug up stretch has also created an obstacle for traffic and this is another hassle that we must cope with.

Two weeks is a long time and this just shows the careless attitude of civic workers who seem to have no thought for the inconvenience caused to residents because of the unfinished work. The condition of the road is also a cause for concern as it is full of potholes. We have no idea when they will resurface this road again.

As it stands, it seems as if we will just have to cope with the situation the best we can, as a solution seems to be beyond reach.

Living the past behind There aren’t a lot of people in the world who know how to leave their past behind, move on and do something fruitful with their lives. The story about the smugglers and murderers who have turned over a new leaf is inspiring in more ways than one. There is something about their stories that touches you and tells you that no matter what the low in life, if you try, you most definitely can get your highs back. The jail is definitely not a pleasant place to be living in and if they can be humble even after that, then we can most certainly be civil at least.

— Netra Shojhe

When will things change?

It is completely disheartening to find that even after living in a metropolitan city and sending their daughter to college, the parents of the girl are forcing her to get married. It often makes me wonder why parents like these become the cause of problems in their own child’s lives when they are the ones who are supposed to solve all their problems and not create them. Kudos to that girl for standing up and not coming under their pressure. It is also great that she has someone in her family who will help her out.

— Rishab Malik

Hinjawadi not Hinjewadi To begin with it is great that the locals of Hinjawadi took it on themselves to bring about the change. Their efforts bore fruit simply because they decided to do it and took the task seriously. This is a perfect example of how people can set things right in their immediate surroundings only if they try. It is so much better to do things on your own and take the initiative rather that crib and cry that things don’t happen.

— Jiten Purohit

SPORTS

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 2016

PUNE

“You can’t expect MS Dhoni to do it every single time, and he has done well for India for such an amazingly long period of time. I would keep backing him to do this job for as long as he feels he can do the job.”

— Mike Hussey, Former Australia Cricketer

“In my whole career I’ve given 100 percent. I gave everything I had, like always, and left nothing in the locker room and that’s something I can always be proud of.”

—Lleyton Hewitt, Former World Number One Tennis

Bonanza for Pune’s cricket buffs A whole lot of cricket, with T20, Ranji Trophy, ODI and Test matches scheduled at MCA stadium in Gahunje TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly The Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) will host a bonanza of cricket this year beginning with the India-Sri Lanka Twenty20 International at its Gahunje Stadium, on February 9.

The weekday encounter between the two Asian rivals will be part of the three-match T20I series and will also serve as preparation ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup to be held in India in March-April.

Besides the ‘lip-smacking’ and ‘ideal getaway’ daynight encounter, the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy final will also be played at the venue between February 24 and 28.

Augmenting this list are a Test match and a One Day International (ODI), which will happen against the backdrop of the packed home schedule of the Indian team in 2016. “MCA is delighted to announce that cricket action this year will be across all forms of the game. While official international encounters – T20I, an ODI and a Test add spice, the Indian Premier League (IPL-9) will have a full schedule of home matches courtesy the new Pune franchise, while the Ranji Trophy final will be historic as it will be only for the second time that the city will host this showpiece BCCI

Signposts Double crown for Arnav Arnav Paprkar won a memorable double crown in the Arun Wakankar Memorial Trophy District Ranking Tennis Tournament in Mukundnagar.

Arnav, who had won a double crown last week, continued his fine form and won the under-8 mixed event with a 7-1 win over Tej Oak. Later he outplayed Aaryan Rajput 7-2 in the boys’ under-10 final. Meanwhile, Daksh Agarwal stunned fifth seeded Abhirav Patankar 4-3(4), 4-1 to claim the boys’ under-12 title. Fourth seeded Arjun Gohad asserted his supremacy, ousting Aditya Pillai 4-0, 4-2 in U-14 final.

ONGC are champions Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) registered a 36-run win over Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) to emerge champions in the finals of the 21st PSPB veterans cricket tournament organised by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) at the Deccan Gymkhana cricket ground.

Batting first and riding on an unbeaten 68 runs

by Pabitra Butta and 41 runs by Rajesh Bajwa, ONGC scored 161 runs for loss of one wicket in 20 overs. Chasing the score, IOCL was restricted to 125 runs, losing seven wickets in the process.

Manjusha dominates veteran badminton Manjusha Sahasrabudhe won a triple crown in the Old Monk veteran badminton tournament at PDMBA complex, Shivajinagar. Manjusha paired with Rajashree Bhave to win the women’s doubles (45+) event. They defeated Anjali Kunte and Pratibha Nair. Manjusha then won the above-50 women’s singles’ final beating Pratibha Nair 21-5 4-0. In the mixed doubles, Manjusha and Sameer Bhagwat prevailed over Deepak Patwardhan and Deepali Joshi. Meanwhile, Sameer Bhagwat and Harish Angolkar also won two events each.

tournament final.

The fans and MCA couldn’t ask for more,” said MCA president Ajay Shirke. The Indo-Lanka T20I will thus be the third match to be played at the MCA Stadium, Gahunje. The other two were the India-England T20I played in 2012, which Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Team India triumphed, and the India-Australia ODI played in 2013 that the hosts lost by 72 runs. The MCA will host Sri Lanka after ten years. The last time the teams met was at the MCA’s former home ground - Nehru Stadium, in 2005. Incidentally, the November 3, 2005 encounter was the last match played at the venue before MCA moved to the state-of-the-art stadium at Gahunje near Pune.

NEHRU STADIUM TO BE INSPECTED Asked if the newly-renovated Nehru stadium will host Ranji matches, Shirke dodged the question, saying a decision will be taken by the BCCI. “They (BCCI) have set strict norms about hosting international matches. So I can’t c o m -

ment whether Nehru stadium will regain its past glory. The stadium will first be inspected by the committee and only then can we decide about hosting a Ranji match at the venue,” he said.

MCA BOYS TO TRAIN ON UNPREPARED WICKETS The last time the city hosted a Ranji final was when the sixth edition (1939-40) was played at the Poona Club ground between Maharashtra and United Provinces. For the record, Maharashtra won by ten wickets for their fi rst ever triumph. However, this season, Maharashtra failed to perform up to expectations and faced an early exit.

Maharashtra managed to notch up just one win, drew five and lost two matches. But MCA’s selection committee chief Riyaz Bagwan blamed it on unprepared wickets.

“Our boys put up a good show at the home ground.

But against Delhi at Firoz Shah Kotla ground and against Vidarbha in Nagpur, we played on unprepared wickets. That affected our performance

The athlete, who had won a national title in city, sees Pune as a happy hunting ground

Gurmeet Singh, who became the fi rst Indian in 28 years to make it to the Games in the 20km walk event at the 2012 London Olympics, has qualified for the Rio Olympics 2018, too. The 30-year-old athlete is currently caught up in a hectic training schedule, and is determined to grab a podium finish in Brazil this time.

The Jharkhand athlete was in Pune to promote a walking event organised

by Max Bupa. Walk for Health is a fi rst-of-its-kind, 33-day walking event in India that aims to inspire Indians across 15 cities including Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Jaipur and Delhi to walk regularly.

Gurmeet said, “Pune has always been a happy hunting ground for me. I won my fi rst national title in 2002 here and then kept winning several events.

Pune citizens are drawn to fitness, which I have seen for myself during my 5km exhibition walk. A lot of people who saw me wanted to join in, but they could not leave their vehicles behind,” he said.

Hard work Gurmeet was born in a small village in Uttarakhand, and started on his sporting career quite late. He had won a silver medal in the national junior championships in 2000, and was placed fi fth in the 2001 Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Brunei, but his performance took a turn for the better when he started training under Ramakrishna Gandhi.

“I lost my father when I was just five. My mother raised me and it was

whether to shift to running or other athletic sports, and decided to make walking my prime event,” he said.

Ashish Mehrotra, CEO & MD, Max Bupa Health Insurance and (R) Gurmeet Singh

my cousin and national discus thrower Surjit Singh, who inspired me to take up sports as a career. Right from the start I was inclined towards walking, as it’s an individual sport and doesn’t need advanced equipment or trainer. I used to observe senior players and improve my stance. After seeing my dedication they started giving me tips,” said Gurmeet.

But he has put in exceptionally concentrated efforts that have tested his physical limits.

“During the under-16 age group events, we were allowed to participate in just 6km walking event. But I started participating in the open category and would finish the complete 20km route at a reasonable pace. That was quite difficult, but it boosted my confidence and then I was never in dilemma

• • • • • • • • •

October 21, 2007- work started at the site November 14, 2009 - Commencement of Work December 21, 2011, - Soft launch followed by the fi rst ever Ranji Trophy match between Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh April 1, 2012 – MCA Stadium inaugurated April 8 , 2012 – First-ever IPL match; Kings XI Punjab v Pune Warriors December 20, 2012 – First-ever international; India v England, Twenty20 October 13, 2013 – First-ever ODI; India v Australia, November 9, 2015 – BCCI grants MCA, Stadium Test status February 24, 2016 – First-ever Ranji Trophy Final

adversely,” he said.

“It’s unfortunate that our boys are used to playing on good wickets right from age-group matches. They just can’t perform on unprepared wickets. To ensure better practice sessions, we should also have a couple of unprepared wickets, so it does not become a surprise factor for them.”

TEST STATUS The MCA’s major upcoming fi xtures, particularly the Test match, come in the wake of the BCCI granted the MCA Stadium Test status in November last year.

Incidentally, the stadium was shortlisted by the BCCI as a backup venue to host the fourth Test match between India and South Africa, which however did not happen. tgs.feedback @goldensparrow.com

Gurmeet Singh is aiming for an Olympic medal

BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis_ashish

All about Gahunje stadium

Rio preparations In March 2012, he set a time of 1:21:31 at the Asian Championships in Nomi, Japan and produced a similar result in 2015 at the same venue to qualify for the Rio Olympics.

About his preparations for the Rio Games, Gurmeet said that he was currently in good form and is undergoing intense training sessions with his coach Dr Ramakrishna Gandhi at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) at Bangalore.

“Several Indian athletes are training with the Russian coach Dr Nikolai Snesarev. However, I decided to remain with Dr Gandhi as we have better understanding and for the past few years, my performance has been improving. For the last five years, I have managed to finish the event in 1 hour 22 minutes, which is quite satisfactory.

And I am sure that if I can reduce the time to 1 hour 18 minutes, I can grab an Olympic medal. I have scribbled 1.18 hours on the wall and I keep looking at it for inspiration,” he said.

Before the Olympics, Gurmeet has several international events lined up.

In April, he will participate in Asian Race Walking event in Japan, followed

by IFF Challenge Meet in China.

Then he will take part in World Walk Championship in Spain.

“My coach says that these events will help me to get into rhythm and I will be able to fine tune my performance. I am not bothered about getting into the top 10. What I am aiming for is an Olympic medal,” he says. ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com

Shivajians grab a point in opener TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly Debutant DSK Shivajians FC, who made their entry from second division to the I-League, started their campaign on a safe note. In their fi rst match, they frustrated Sporting Clube de Goa in their own ground, Goa with a goalless draw.

Goa had lost their fi rst encounter 3-1 against East Bengal and came up with a slight change in playing XI. Coach Mateus Costa brought in Rowlin Borges for Cajetan Fernandes, whereas Glen Martins came in for Mauvin Borges.

The game started with some exciting fare as both teams had chances galore of opening the scoring. But neither team could convert chances into goals. It was Shivajians’ Indrajeet Chougule, who had the fi rst chance. The winger skipped past his marker on the right to cut on to his left foot, but his curler went wide of Arindam Bhattacharya’s goal.

Shivajians’ custodian Subrata Paul was kept busy in this encounter. In the 10th minute, Odafa Okolie, Goa’s striker, bullied past his marker in the

box and shot straight at Subrata, a strike he saved with ease.

Mohammad Rafi also got a good opportunity within a few minutes. When he was unmarked in the box and could have done better, he missed with a wayward header on a DSK corner.

As the game progressed towards the end of the fi rst half, players opted for safety and had fewer opportunities in the box.

The second half was a similar story as both teams came close to taking the lead within the fi rst few minutes. It seemed almost as though both sides decided to turn up the ante in the second half, with more vigour and dynamism.

Indrajit was in the thick of things for DSK in the second half, the youngster nearly scoring from 35 yards out, after a well taken attempt forced a gallant save from Arindam.

Indrajit was at it again in the 56th minute, as he picked a ball from Surchandra, but his shot was off target. Th ree minutes into added time, Sporting came close to sealing the match, only for Marcus to be denied by Subrata again, who did enough to send the ball wide. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com