The Golden Sparrow on Saturday 09/04/2016

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PUNE, APRIL 9, 2016 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

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TGS LIFE

Who’s your mommy?

MUMBAI

Not so Dabangg and original: HC to Arbaaz Khan Production P2

The guardians of the law in the city are made to live in abominable conditions at the police lines, where dilapidated buildings, garbage, drainage and water supply are issues that haunt them day after day

‘Religion has become a problem today’ P5

Cadbury caught selling underweight chocolates Legal Metrology Organisation’s surprise check at Cadbury’s Talegaon manufacturing plant reveals Dairy Milk Silk chocolate sample below permissible weight

RAHUL RAUT

Why are Pune policemen made to live in such squalor?

CITY

BY SANTOSHEE MISHRA @santosheemishra There is bad news for Cadbury lovers. In a recent surprise visit conducted by the state Legal Metrology Organisation (LMO) at the US snacks gaint Mondelez India Foods Private Limited’s Cadbury plant at Talegaon, the officials found that company is manufacturing and selling products weighing less than what is mentioned on the wrappers. As per the law, the weight of the product should not be less than its tolerance limit. LMO is now all set to impose a fine on the firm for violation.

Post the surprise check in the second week of March, the department claims that Cadbury has admitted their fault and that they will have to pay a fine after calculating the amount as per the standard norms of the LMO. “As per the standard norms set by the department, the product should not weigh

(tolerance limit) less than 4.5 gm of the figure mentioned on its wrapper. However, the samples taken at the surprise check had crossed the set standard norms. The raid was conducted at the manufacturing unit of Mondelez India Foods Private Limited of the parent company Cadbury. Our team headed by food inspector-in-charge visited the manufacturing unit at Talegaon. We found that wrapper of Cadbury chocolates imprinted with net weight mentioning 137 gm actually weighed much less. We randomly collected about 80 Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk chocolates. We found that one of the packets weighed less than tolerance limit,” said Maharashtra LMO (Pune unit) assistant controller Dattaraya Mahajan said.

“The net weight mentioned on the wrapper was 137 gm but it actually weighed

129.26 gm, 7.74 grams less. The tolerance limit is 4.5 grams, which essentially means that at best the product can weigh that much lesser than what is mentioned on the wrapper. We can imagine the volume scale as the firm manufactures thousands of chocolates,” he said.

LMO Special Inspector General of Police and Controller Amitabh Gupta said, “The company has decided to not fight the case. We have registered a case under Section 18(1) of Legal Metrology Act 2009 (no person shall manufacture, pack, sell, import, distribute, deliver, offer, expose or possess for sale any prepackaged commodity unless such package is in such standard quantities or number and bears thereon such declarations and particulars in such manner as may be prescribed) against the firm and our department’s Pune unit will follow up the case. The violation committed by a multinational company like Cadbury is a cause for concern regarding packaged commodities. We will also fine the firm.”

Mahajan said that consumers at the last receiving end feels cheated. “The net weight is the price consumers pays and even a single chocolate found like this is a serious concern. The compound amount (fine) will be decided by the seniors,” he concluded. santoshee.mishra@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY APRIL 9, 2016

PUNE

MUMBAI

“David Cameron cut short his vacation on knowing that major industrial units in England were on the verge of a shutdown. Will this ever happen in our country?

Our Prime Minister keeps hopping from country to country.”

— Uddhav Thackeray,Shiv Sena president

Ancient viruses lurking in our DNA P 11

Pune is behind Chandigarh in golf development: Bhullar P 16

Not so Dabangg and original: HC to Arbaaz Khan Production HC allows release of Telugu film Sardar Gabbar Singh; Says there is no infringement of rights and the character of Gabbar Singh is distinct from Chulbul Pandey’s

the Gabbar Singh character vest in and only in the Defendants (NEPL). They are entitled to use those as they please.

Senior counsel Janak Dwarkadas who argued for Pawan Kalyan Creative Works Private Limited (PKCWPL), Pawan Kalyan and Ganesh Babu supported Kadam’s case. He pointed out that the producers of Gabbar Singh had copyright in the cinematograph film but that they also owned the rights in the script, and that it was the entirety of all of this material that was assigned to make SGS.

BY BAPU DEEDWANIA @TGSWeekly Stars are clearly not in favour of Arbaaz Khan these days. After the much talked about separation from his wife Malaika Arora Khan, now it’s Tollywood producers who have won the first round of battle over the release of Sardar Gabbar Singh (SGS).

Arbaaz Khan Production Private Limited (AKPPL) went to the Bombay High court in March 2016, claiming that the producers of Gabbar Singh and SGS had breached the agreement with them. They pointed out that makers of Gabbar Singh had bought the remake rights of Dabangg. Their contention was that the agreement was only for the first movie that SGS, which is a sequel of Gabbar Singh. Khan’s company stated that the main character in SGS is akin to Chulbul Pandey, the police officer played by Salman Khan in Dabangg, and that this is a breach of the agreement signed between the two parties. SGS was scheduled to release on April 8. The petition was filed on March 28.

THE BACKGROUND The whole drama began around the much publicised Telugu film SGS, starring Telegu super star Pawan Kalyan, who plays the lead. Arbaaz Khan Productions Private Limited (AKPPL) challenged the release stating that the producers of SGS had taken remake rights from them to make Gabbar Singh, which were granted.

However, now they are making a sequel to Gabbar Singh, where the main character is again inspired by character ‘Chulbul Pandey’ and this is violation of his Dabangg franchise.

AKPPL’s suit is against producers Northstar Entertainment Private Limited (NEPL), Eros International Media Limited (EIML), Pawan Kalyan Creative Works Private Limited (PKCWPL), Pawan Kalyan and Ganesh Babu.

In January 2011, AKPPL entered into an agreement with Parmeswara Arts, a proprietary concern of Ganesh Babu, for the remake rights of the first Dabangg film. It is this agreement that is the bone of contention of the legal battle. The remake was a huge hit. After the success of Gabbar Singh, producers are now making a sequel.

AKPPL ARGUMENTS Dr Birendra Saraf argued the case for

AKPPL on the grounds that all Babu was entitled to do was to produce a remake of Dabangg 1 and at best he could have had copyright in the new film but not in any underlying literary work. He said that AKPPL has not assigned the rights of the character ‘Chulbul Pandey’ to the producers of Gabbar Singh and it is this character that is entirely unique and was found attractive to even want to produce a remake.

AKPPL told the court that the sequel to Gabbar Singh’s character is nothing but Chulbul Pandey with another name and portrayed by a different actor. AKPPL has exclusivity over Chulbul Pandey’s character and Gabbar Singh is nothing but a licensed avatar of Chulbul Pandey. Various instances were submitted to show the court the similarity between the two.

AKPPL said that after the success of Gabbar Singh, the Telegu movie producers now wish to capitalise on and encash this goodwill by making an unauthorised sequel, SGS. TELEGU MOVIE PRODUCERS’ ARGUMENTS Northstar Entertainment Private Limited (NEPL), Eros International Media Limited (EIML), Pawan Kalyan Creative Works Private Limited (PKCWPL), Pawan Kalyan

and Babu, defended their side by claiming that Gabbar Singh’s character was far from Chulbul Pandey’s.

Rohan Kadam, who argued for NEPL said that the agreement of January 2011 (for remake of Dabangg into Gabbar Singh) was required because the story line was being used and any unauthorised use of that story line would have infringed the underlying literary work in the first Dabangg film.

Kadam said that Gabbar Singh’s character was an entirely different character from Chulbul Pandey - the name was different, portrayal was different, stylisation was different, locales were different, so were his mannerisms, qualities and, most of all, his core value system. Kadam pointed out that Chulbul Pandey is a fearless but corrupt cop, but Gabbar Singh is fearless and honest one.

“This was an adaptation developed distinctively. The script or story line underlying Gabbar Singh, one that is said to have been developed by Pawan Kalyan himself, has an independent copyright. In any case, the character developed in that adaptation is wholly unique and belongs to the Gabbar Singh franchise-in-the-making, not to the Dabangg franchise. Consequently, the rights in the Gabbar Singh character are wholly distinct from the rights in the Chulbul Pandey character. The rights in

HC RULES IN FAVOUR OF GABBAR SINGH Justice G S Patel who heard the matter said that ‘if the plaintiff (AKPPL) is to be believed, for example, that none could portray a character whose life is inspired by music or dance, or is highly influenced by Hindi cinema (are not we all in this country?) or who delivers his dialogue in a particular manner (this could be said of the original Gabbar Singh in Sholay or Amrish Puri in his Mogambo role), it would be very difficult to make any movie at all.”

Justice Patel went on to note that there was nothing unique as such about Chulbul Pandey. He noted that since both Chulbul Pandey and Gabbar Singh wear their uniforms in a casual manner is hardly unique. “As far as I can recollect, so does Ajay Devgn, and in the past so did Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan. There is then a particularly alarming claim of a signature dance move with a pelvic thrust. I hardly think this is the kind of stuff that is unique to any one character in Indian cinema, or otherwise. Many others have done it before (perhaps most famously Bachchan in quite spectacular fashion in the film Hum) and I have little doubt that they will do it again; and it is a ‘signature’ move of Michael Jackson and his army of followers,” stated Justice Patel in his order.

In a bid to prove his point when Dr Saraf requested Justice Patel to watch the two Hindi and Telegu film, he declined to watch them. He came down heavily on this proposition. “Dr Saraf has been insisting for some time that I should spend what little time is available to me in watching these two films, presumably back-to-back. I have resolutely declined to do anything of the kind. I do not think that it is possible in law for a plaintiff (AKPPL) to improve his case by demanding that

Don’t come to court last minute Justice Patel while hearing this case also assertively said that from now on he will not be lenient with parties who though aware of their rights come to the court at the last minute. He was referring to AKPPL’s knowledge of the making of SGS since August 2015 but still coming to the court only in March 2016 when the film is scheduled to release on April 8, 2016.

“Something that seems to have become a fashion, parties who come to court to seek an ‘urgent’ injunction do themselves a disservice and the Court a very great discourtesy. I have spent the entire morning hearing this matter and dictating this order...These last-minute luxury applications arrogated by plaintiffs should not be tolerated; they come at very considerable cost, not just in terms of judicial time spent, but in time stolen from other litigants waiting in queue. I will let this pass one last time. I will not do so again….. These litigants should not take courts for granted. They should not take other litigants for granted. If they do, it will be at their peril, one that is likely to be very considerable indeed.” either it should be allowed to see a defendant’s copyright-protected work or even that the Court should examine the two works to determine whether the plaintiff has made out a case,” stated Justice Patel.

NOT SO UNIQUE When the HC was told about the uniqueness of Dabangg and how the scene of a man transported to a certain distance after being shot, was unique to the movie, Justice Patel cited several Bollywood and Hollywood movies with a similar scene. “I imagine that there is a very long line of such films going back to Zanjeer, if not earlier, and moving forward through Deewar and other films. It also seems to have been in almost every single film made by Quentin Tarantino: in Django Unchained, a female character is similarly transported, and not just across a room, but out of the frame altogether,” the ordered noted. It went on to state, “Then there is a claim that a protagonist using two pistols at the same time is unique. That is

also incorrect. Examples abound: The Defendants (Telegu movie producers) point to Day of the Jackal and LA Confidential. Others leap to mind: almost everything by John Woo, from his early Hong Kong The Killer movie starring Chow Yun Fat, to Face Off; the Boondock Saints films. In the ‘auteur’ theory of film making, every director has certain ‘signature’ elements. These stamp the works as those of that director alone, and make the film instantly recognisable. This is true of the works of many established directors. Some are subtle in their use of these telltales; others less so.”

NOT A STRONG CASE MADE OUT BY AKPPL Justice Patel refused to stay the release of SGS. He pointed out that AKPPL claimed that their character Chulbul Pandey has been exactly copied and is represented by the Gabbar Singh, but they have next to nothing to show this.

The suit will, however, continued to be heard by HC. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Armyman ‘exposes’ rape victim, gets techie brother out on bail The brother found out under RTI that the lady had filed similar complaints with three police stations in the past

BY SANTOSHEE MISHRA @santosheemishra Anand Kumar Singh, an IT professional working in Bengaluru was in for a rude shock early this year when he was asked to appear before Kamothe police station in Navi Mumbai. On January 21 when he went to the police station he was arrested and told that a rape case had been filed against him. He spent the next two months behind bars till he was released on bail in March. His elder brother, who works with armed forces, turned sleuth and found out that the girl who had filed the rape case against Anand had done so to several others in the past. She had filed three similar complaints with Navi Mumbai cops and in fact withdrawn two of them. The documents, when produced in Bombay High Court by senior counsel Ashok Mundargi, helped him in getting bail. Not stopping at that, the HC has now sought a report over

the alleged nexus between the cops and the victim.

Anand, who used to live in Navi Mumbai and later joined a reputed IT company in Bengaluru, was accused of raping a 41-year-old resident of Kamothe. In her complaint to the cops, the victim alleged that Anand was her gym instructor and used to go to her house to coach her. Sometime in Janury 2011, when her parents were away for two days, she alleged that Anand raped her. Her complaint stated that Anand recorded the entire episode on a camera and threatened to circulate the video if she squealed. She also claimed that the accused suggested that they start a gym together and took Rs 2.20 lakh from her. The complaints suggested that though she wasn’t in favour of giving him money, she did so, as he threatened to make the video public. While the incident dated back to January 2011, the victim filed the FIR on January 15, 2016, good five years later. Kamothe cops booked Anand on charges of rape, extortion, defamation, intimidation and also for capturing the video under the Information Technology Act. On January 21, after Anand was arrested, his family went into shock. His father retired from the armed forces, and his elder brother Satish too, has joined the army. Realising that something

was amiss as the victim had filed the complaint good five years later, Satish decided to dig deeper. He obtained all the documents pertaining to the FIR against his brother and later filed RTIs seeking information about other cases filed by the victim in Navi Mumbai.

Satish was stunned when he got the information. The lady had filed a similar complaint with CBD Belapur Police

Station alleging that one Nitin Kohli raped her from 2007 to March 2015 and also took Rs 14.15 lakh from her. The FIR was registered on March 11, 2015.

She filed another complaint with Nerul Police Station on June 19, 2015 against KK Anna and Amit Sharma­alleging that the two raped her in 2007-08. This time too, she alleged that they took Rs 3.25 lakh from her. Third complaint

was filed with the Vashi APMC Police Station on October 21, 2015 against Avdhoot Jadhav and Pappu Sharma.

She alleged that the duo raped her between 2007 to 2013. Like the two previous complaints, she alleged that the duo had taken Rs 5.5 lakh from her.

Satish found out that she withdrew her complaints from Vashi and Nerul police station eventually.

Armed with these papers, senior counsel Mundargi moved Anand’s bail application in HC. He told the court that ‘the complainant along with some police officers of various police stations (in Navi Mumbai) has been indulging in extortion activities’. He added that ‘it is the modus operandi of the complainant, to file such cases which are identical in nature, only to extort money’. Advocate Mundargi also pointed out that Anand was a qualified engineer working with an IT company and never a gym instructor as claimed by the victim.

Anand’s lawyer also argued in court that his client was receiving threats from unknown persons to pay a certain amount or get implicated in a ‘false case’.

Justice Revathi Mohite Dere, who was hearing the bail application, found substance in senior counsel Mundargi’s arguements. “Prima f­ acie, there appears to be some substance in the submissions advanced by the learned counsel

for the applicant (Anand), that the complainant had filed similar cases for extorting money and possibly the same was done with the connivance of the police,” Justice Mohite Dere observed. The HC ordered Navi Mumbai police commissioner took into the three identical complaints filed by the victim in other police stations. The Justice noted that of the three previous complaints, the victim withdrew two and filed an affidavit that she had settled the dispute with the accused.

HC released Anand on bail on March 11 on the condition that he would not tamper with the witnesses, or contact the complainant. Meanwhile, the Navi Mumbai police chief has been asked to submit a report within four weeks.

In all this, Anand is out on bail and did not wish to speak about the case.

His brother Satish said that he grew suspicious after seeing the FIR against his brother. He sought information under RTI and was stunned to see that the complainant had filed similar complaints against others in the past.

Senior counsel Mundargi was all praise for Satish. “He was the one who managed to get crucial papers from various police stations. It is evident that my client was falsely implicated,” he concluded. santoshee.mishra@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY APRIL 9, 2016

SC raps Govt for not giving funds in drought-hit areas P12

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar Nine years after it was constructed and inaugurated with much fanfare, the Late Rajiv Gandhi Hospital in Yerawada is of little or no use to patients. Most of the departments are locked up and the three storey building constructed at the cost of Rs seven crore in 2007 is gathering dust. Probably not aware of ground realities, Pune’s municipal commissioner Kunal Kumar announced to set up four new hospitals while presenting the budget for 2016-17.

On paper, the hospital owned by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) hospital has it all - intensive care unit, critical care unit, operation theatres, male and female medical wards, pathology lab, dental setup, among others.

However, a trip to the hospital makes you realise that it is nothing but an abandoned building which has become a hotspot for revellers.

TGS team visited the hospital this week and one of our reporters approached a doctor in the Out Patient Department (the only functional department) with

PUNE

“We are planning 24x7 water project, for which 1,600km of roads will have to be dug up.

Also, laying of drain pipeline is scheduled and gas pipelines will have to connect all parts of the city.”

— Kunal Kumar, Municipal Commissioner

Ailing hospital!

With just six doctors working in shifts, limited stock of medicines, no technicians, and a pathology lab for namesake, municipal hospital in Yerawada is good for nothing

his health problems. He was told that he would need a tetanus shot, some medicines for his fever, and a few blood tests. Once out of the doctor’s cabin, he went straight to get his shot only to be told that tetanus injections were out of stock. Pathology lab didn’t help either, as the lady at the counter told our team member that it takes nothing less than four days for basic blood tests. As for medicines, none of the ones prescribed by the doctor were available with the hospital.

One other function that the hospital claims to handle is vaccination. However, locals revealed that even something as simple as rabies vaccine was not available post 5 pm. The maternity section is equally useless, as due to shortage of staff, often patients are diverted to other hospitals. All the other departments are locked up. It’s been a while since the

hospital was cleaned.

While medical services are barely offered at the hospital, it sure has become a den for drunkards, who are seen making merry in the parking lot of the institution.

Insiders revealed that there are just six doctors working in shifts at the Rajiv Gandhi Hospital. When TGS contacted Dr ST Pardeshi, chief of PMC’s health department, he said, “We need more staff to run the hospital efficiently. For the ICU we need intensivists, and specialists to run other departments. We have been issuing ads inviting doctors to join us, but in vain. Doctors get better salaries in private hospitals and hence do not want to join public hospitals.” He said that the civic body has a health budget of Rs 207 crores per annum which is not enough to cater to 33 lakh citizens in Pune. tushar.rupanavar@goldensparrow.com

Women can now enter Shani Temple

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1

In a landmark development, members of Shani Shingnapur Temple Trust on Friday (April 8) announced to allow women to enter the inner sanctum of the temple on the occasion of auspicious Gudi Padwa. The trustees announced their decision after holding a meeting on Friday. It is a historic judgement as the temple authorities break the 400-year-old tradition not to allow women to enter the inner sanctum of famous Shani Temple.

Bhumata Ranragini Brigade’s Trupti Desai said, “The trustees held a meeting Friday morning and announced the decision after some male devotees stormed into the inner sanctum of Shani Shingnapur Temple despite trust’s order banning any male or female devotee from doing so. We will visit the temple now.”

Women activist including Vidya Bal and Desai have welcomed the decision. Desai termed the decision as a victory of women power.

Shani Shingnapur Trust President Anita Shete said, “Women will be

allowed to enter the temple. We had taken this decision after some male devotee forcefully entered the sanctum today to offer Abhishek despite our refusal. So we declared that women will also be allowed to enter the sanctum.”

In response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Vidya Bal and Nilima Varta, Bombay High Court on April 1 had declared that no law prevents women from entering places of worship. Despite the HC direction, temple trustees denied permission to women. Meanwhile, activists Trupti Desai had tried to enter the inner sanctum but was prevented by Shinganapur villagers and police. Desai along with her fellow women supporters had given a written application to Supa (Ahmednagar) police to file a criminal offence against Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for non-complying with HC orders.

The temple had hit the headlines after a young girl entered the inner sanctum of Shani Temple and offered oil on November 28 last year. dnyaneshwar.bhonde @goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY APRIL 9, 2016

PUNE

“Corporators are diverting massive amount of funds allocated for other works to roads. The commissioner can take up this matter to the state government. I feel the commissioner is playing the role of a silent observer.”

— Major-General SCN Jatar (retired), Activist

3D printers to battle pollution

Is India for Hindus only, HC asks NMC

P10

P12

Stolen academic certificates are worth their weight in gold Crime Branch sleuths recover stolen goods, money and certificates belonging to an unemployed engineering graduate

BY YOGESH WAGH @YogeshWagh1857 Being robbed of academic certificates can be a nightmarish experience.

The certificates are of no value to the thief, but as curriculum vitae, they are priceless for the owner.

The Crime Branch, Unit 4 of Pune Police, during a burglary investigation, recovered stolen items which included a set of certificates, and returned them to their owner, who had lost all hope of finding them.

Early morning burglaries are on the rise in Pimpri-Chinchwad. On March 13, 2016, between 6 and 7 am, unidentified thieves broke into the house of engineering graduate Vishal Santosh Chaudhury and his friends, and stole his laptop which had copies of his standard X and XII certificates, engineering graduation certificate, caste certificate, caste verification certificate, as well as his Modem, Election, PAN and Aadhar cards.

Also stolen was room-mate Bhushan Chaudhary’s mobile and wallet with Rs 15,000, which was their collective flat rent.

Vishal Chaudhury had gone to the bus stand to receive a friend. He just shut the flat door without locking it.

A little later when Bhushan woke up, he could not find his phone. He tried calling his own phone from a friend’s mobile, but the response was that the phone was switched off. Vishal had

returned by then and while looked for Bhushan’s phone, they realised that Vishal’s laptop bag was missing. Then Bhushan found that his wallet with the house rent money was missing. That is when they realised that their flat had been burgled.

Vishal, who had come to Pune in search of a job, and losing his certificates was a traumatic experience. “I have completed engineering from J T Mahajan Engineering College, Faizpur, District Jalgaon in 2014. I needed a job immediately to support my family. I was also doing a software development programme. But the certificates were necessary to validate my qualifications for a job. Having them stolen left me traumatized and I was unable to even think clearly. I had been jobless two years after completing engineer-

ing. And procuring duplicates of my certificates would cost money and time both. I was depressed at the thought of asking my family for money. We lodged a complaint at Chinchwad police station about the burglary. I called my family and they told me to come home and start the process of applying for duplicate certificates,: he said.

Bhushan said, “I was not worried about the mobile, though it was worth around Rs 20,000 but losing the house rent money was a big blow. The thought of asking my parents for money was casing me great distress.”

For Vishal, the process of applying for the fi rst duplicate certificate took four days and Rs 600. He was also dreading the ordeal he would have to undergo for the other certificates, and what the interview committee would think about his inability to keep such important documents safe, and the questions he would be asked for verification. All in all, things seemed hopeless.

Vishal got a call on March 31 from the Crime Branch Unit 4, Pune Police, stating that they had nabbed the burglars, and recovered the stolen goods, but not the certificate fi les. But they assured that they would recover the certificates.

Pune Police Crime Branch Unit 4 API Ganesh Patil said, “Operation

Muskaan is continuing. We found Saurabh Kunjaram Bedse, 19, and two minor boys. On interrogation, one of the minor boys was found to have been caught for trying to steal a mobile. But he was given a thrashing and set free.

Then the boys confessed that they had committed eight burglaries, including at Vishal Chadhury’s flat, and had stolen two laptops, 16 mobiles and two motor bikes, colkectively worth Rs 3,17,500. But Vishal’s certificates were not recovered. We questioned the culprits about the certificates and after intense interrogation, they said that had dumped them near Ganesh Vision Multiplex in Akurdi.”

Pune Police Crime Branch Unit 4 Police Inspector Laxman Borate called Vishal on March 4, 2016, stating that they had recovered the fi le and all the certificates.

Crime Branch DCP P R Patil said, “We are extremely happy that we could recover Vishal Chaudhury’s certificates fi le. Academic and professional documents are extremely vital. Procuring duplicate certificates can be time consuming and expensive.” yogesh.wagh@goldensparrow.com

City enggs toiled for Nainital telescope

BY PRIYANKKA DESHPANDE @journopriyankka

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel were inaugurating a telescope in Brussels last week, a group of 15 engineers was celebrating this moment in Pune, as five years of hard work was finally paying dividends. While the telescope was built by Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) with Belgian assistance, the revolving dome and tower that are an important part of the structure, was designed and constructed

by Pune based engineers. A group of 15 engineers of Precision Precast Solution (PPS) Private Limited, Warje which has expertise in all branches of engineering, started work on this project in 2009 and completed it in just five years. To quote founder member of the PPS Charudatta Kulkarni, the project was a perfect example of complex engineering.

“It was not regular industrial structure. The telescope that was brought from Brussels weighed 150 tonnes and it was tough to install,” said Kulkarni.

“We had never handled anything like this before. After completing this project, we immediately received a project of International Liquid Mirror Telescope in Nainital which is nearly complete,” he said.

Ramesh Raskar, the team leader and expert in civil engineering, said that the unpredictable weather conditions were the biggest challenge. “Devsthal is

60 km from Nainital and has extreme weather conditions. To install the telescope, we needed a particular crane which can work even in snowfall, but the place of the project was so small that we had to make a plan and present it to a Project Management Board in the form of video clip,” Raskar said.

How Precision Precast Solution Private Limited bagged this project is interesting. The senior most team member of the group Arun Ghanti, 65, said that his organisation was selected to work on the structure of Asia’s biggest telescope through international bidding. “There were three competitors including PPS, but we got the project as I and other member of the group Rajendra Kulkarni had earlier worked on a telescope project in Girwali,” said Ghanti.

He said that the board consisted of representatives of country’s 16 leading organisations, including InterUniversity Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Ghanti worked as an mechanical engineer and made the basic structural design of the revolving done and tower.

The team has been working on a Solar Telescope for ARIES for a year.

“The entire team has pitched in for this new project. The preliminary work has been done and we will complete it as soon as possible,” said Kulkarni. priyankka.deshpande@goldensparrow.com

Pune MPs come up with Babus unite to help youth from out of the box ideas drought affected regions Vandana Chavan’s astro lab, and Anil Shirole’s solar panel proposals have district administration in a dither TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly The district administration has been unable to follow suit when Members of Parliament think out of the box. The District Planning department is used to handle routine works such as repairing roads, building toilets, giving away computers to schools and such. Now that the MPs are coming up with intellectual concepts for the welfare of citizens, the committee is also starting to think out of the box.

Around seven months ago, Rajya Sabha MP Vandana Chavan and Pune MP Anil Shirole proposed innovative work under the MPLAD (Member of Parliament Local Area Development) funds. Chavan has proposed development of an astro lab at Fergusson College, while Shirole asked for funds to install solar panels with the help of Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML). But they have had to wait seven months for their works to be sanctioned.

The delay was not for a lack of funds but because the district administration had no clue about how to implement the innovative works. “When I received the proposals from both the MPs, I did not know who to refer for such kind of work,” said PR Kembhavi, district planning officer. MPs are entitled to Rs 25 crore each, for the five years of their tenure, which is meant to be used for developmental works in their constituencies. “ L e g i s l ator s usually propose developmental work like

building community halls, amusement centres, concretisation of roads and providing computers to schools. We are familiar with such works and know who to refer, but we are clueless as to whom we should refer for works which these two MPs have proposed,” said Kembhavi.

After much of brainstorming, the district administration sanctioned Rs 20 lakh and Rs 1.10 crore for the astro lab and solar panels respectively. “Th is was a good attempt by MPs though we found it difficult to deal with.

More legislators should come up with such innovative work proposals,” said Kembhavi.

So far Pune MP Shirole has proposed developmental works worth Rs. 4.45 crore, of which work of Rs four crore was already sanctioned. Chavan had proposed work worth Rs 3.40 crore, of which district planning department has sanctioned work worth Rs 2.94 crore.

TEJAS GAIKAWAD

BY YOGESH WAGH AND EKTA KATTI What do those who have appeared for competitive exams and now are at senior posts in various government organistions do when they meet up? Certainly not chit-chat over banal issues or host random reunions. Instead, they work on changing the world around them.

Recently, when several members of Jaykar Group came together, they decided to do something for the society. The group which had been informally coming together for the last several years, after clearing their competitive exams, decided to start Competitors Foundation. The Foundation, to begin with has collected 150 bicycles to be given out t youth from drought affected regions in Maharashtra.

Members of the group explained that they all came together as they used to study for competitive exams in Jaykar Library at the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU). Even after most of them had gone on to join various government departments, they would come back to meet up with their friends under the Bodhi vriksh (tree) outside Jaykar library. These casual meetings soon took shape of Jaykar Group. In the past five years the group held several reunions and always felt the need to do something for the society. Sometime last year, when the group came together they decided to flaot the Foundation and take up a cause.

Since the state is reeling under worst ever drought in 100 years, the members, who at one point of time appeared for competitive exams through the Foundation and are now placed in government organisations, decided to give out cycles to youth from parched areas. They set the target of 150 cycles, of which the first lot of 10 was given out on last weekend.

“Over the last few years we have been meeting regularly and sharing our experiences.

Over a period of time our number has gone up to 1,200 members. Since most of us are placed as administrative officers, we are well aware of challenges of our society and problems people face. We realised that as a group, we can bring about change even when we are not at work,” said Dr Sanjay Bhosale, joint registrar in the state government and also the president of the Competitors Foundation.

The group consulted Vikas Amte, son of Baba Amte, and came up with the idea of collecting unused cycles and providing them to the needy from drought hit villages. Within a month of the idea germinating, the group had collected and repaired over 150 cycles. It was decided that they would first help citizens from Marathwada region, which is the worst affected by drought.

Sandeep Bhujbal, director of Competitors Foundation and a research associate at the SPPU explained that several of their members are from Marathwada and well versed with

the problems faced by the locals there.

“Transportation is second most important issue for these villages. Hence, we decided to start with giving cycles. This is just the beginning and are working on the next phase,” he said. He explained that in drought a affected regions students drop out of schools and colleges as educational institutes are located at a distance and most of them cannot afford to pay for public transport. Recently a girl from Marathwada committed suicide as she could not afford to pay for monthly bus pass to get to her college.

On April 2, the first lot of 10 cycles was given out to likes of Swati Kamble, Balaji Puri, Pramod Survare, among others. They are all students hailing from drought affected regions and currently studying in Pune. With their families struggling to make ends meet back home, the youth barely have any means to commute. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY APRIL 9, 2016

“The department should maintain a schedule record in conjunction with other departments detailing the type of surfacing done on each road and the defect-liability period of the contractor. Till that time, the road should not be tampered with at all.”

— Qaneez Sukhrani, secretary, Nagrik Chetna Manch

75 auto drivers face losing jobs

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan

(From left) Pandurang Vitthal Mhaske and Raju Ghatole

The stalled free distribution of condoms by NACO and MSAC forces CSWs and NGOs to buy them on their own CSWs to purchase condoms from the company at nominal prices. Because there is no guarantee whether the governments free condom scheme would be sustainable,” said a senior officer from MSAC on the condition of anonymity. Asked why the delay in the distribution, he said that there may be delay in tendering process by NACO. PMC health chief ST Pardeshi said that MSAC has stopped providing condom stock for the past three years. “Nowadays the stock is provided by State Family Welfare Department,” he said.

There are 16 NGOs working in the field of AIDS control programme which is called Targeted Intervention (TI) in city. Out of them two – ‘Kayakalp’ and ‘John Paul Slum Development Project’, are funded by MSAC for providing condoms in the entire Budhwar Peth area. But these NGOs only said that they are facing shortage for a month or two.

But the non- funded NGO ‘Vanchit Vikas’ founded by Meena Kurlekar said that there is an acute shortage of condoms.

“There is no stock of condoms for the last one year. We purchase the stock on our own and provide CSWs free of cost or at nominal rates,” said Kurlekar. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com

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Watch the first Marathi web-chat show

Vintage beauties take on pune streets

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The National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) and Maharashtra State Aids Control Society (MSAC) have failed to provide sufficient free condoms in the red light area of Budhwar Peth, for a year. The free condom distribution programme has been affected by a delayed tender process, forcing more than 3,000 Commercial Sex Workers (CSW) and NGOs purchasing condoms to purchase condoms with their own money.

NACO is the national body providing leadership to HIV/AIDS Control Programme in India. MSAC is a state body implementing the NACO programme at the state level.

Free condom distribution is a major programme carried out by both bodies in the high-risk red light areas. NonGovernmental Organisations (NGO) also help them in this programme.

Condoms are the best means to protect people from contracting Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD), HIV/ AIDS. Every year NACO distributes condom stocks to MSAC, after which the state body delivers them in high-risk areas like brothels and government hospitals. But the free distribution has stopped for a year.

“We didn’t receive condom

stocks for the last one year from NACO. We have not got answers from NACO why the free condom distribution programme was disrupted,” said Dr Rajiv Bamble, Nodal officer and Secretary of Pune AIDS Control Society. “We don’t get proper communication from the authority whether they are providing the condoms or not. If they refuse, we will manage and purchase the condoms from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) budget. If we purchase them and then NACO sends their routine stock, one of the stocks will go waste, as has happened in the past,” said Dr Bamble.

As per MSAC record, there are around 3,000 CSWs in Budhwar Peth, the biggest red light area in the city, and 6,000 in municipal limits including call girls, and men having sex with men (MSM). Around two lakh condoms are used in a month

by CSWs in Budhwar Peth. So the CSW needs around 24 lakh condoms per year. Sources in the MSAC office in Aundh said that MSAC has only 1.60 lakh condoms in 2015, 70,000 in February and 90,000 in October in last year for the entire Pune district. “However we were provided some condom stocks from PMC health department. We are basically stressing on social marketing scheme of condoms by which we encourage

GOVT SPENDS RS 135 LAKH FOR PROTECTION The Maharashtra Government had launched the construction of a protective wall around the centre.

An expenditure of Rs135 lakh was categorised under the state’s wildlife orphanage funds. Along with the wall, construction of new cages and expansion of existing cages will also be done this year. As per the government circular dated March 19, Rs 8.10 lakh will be spent on repairing drainage, protection layer for the cages and other infrastructure. ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com

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BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1

hospital, ramp, squeeze cage, big operation room, X-ray facility and lab will cost around Rs 50 lakh.

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animals and set them free in the wild.

But if we were equipped with a proper hospital, we could quickly decide on the line of treatment. Delays can prove fatal for injured animals. Nothing like that has happened so far, but there is always the danger of losing them,” said Deshmukh.

The centre receives 2-3 calls a month on an average and the number increases during summer and sugarcane harvesting season. The staff is adequate to undertake such tasks, but they are in dire need of a multiequipped hospital.

The centre has already put up the demand for a hospital to the Government of Maharashtra, and expects approval in the next financial year. According to Deshmukh, a big

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The centre works mainly on treatment, caretaking and rehabilitation of leopards. Currently 27 leopards are housed at the centre and the number is likely to increase, in view of the human-animal conflict.

In the last couple of years, the centre has released 16 leopards into the wilds, and reunited several cubs with their mothers.

Dr Deshmukh and his staff also treat and take care of injured animals and birds brought in by people from nearby villages.

“Earlier our work was mainly focused on leopards. But now that the village residents are aware of what we do, they contact us regarding injured animals like hyena, deer, birds like kites, horned owls etc. We treat these

cancelled? I got the badge on September 6, 1997 and has been regularly visiting the RTO office to renew my permit. But I am shocked by this RTO notice,” he said.

There are around 75 auto drivers like Mhaske who have been served the show cause notice by RTO. Regional Transport Officer Jitendra Patil said, “If the committee has found that two drivers have one badge then the latter’s badge will be cancelled. It is a normal procedure and auto drivers should not panic as we are trying to find a solution to this issue.”

Pune City Motor Driving Schools’ Association President Raju Ghatole said, “The system was computerised with details of autorickshaws and drivers manually fed into the system. The RTO failed to carry out the work effectively and we are paying the prize for it. It is surprising how two drivers can get the same badge number. And the RTO realised the flaw after 20 years. Wonder what they were doing all these years.” sushant.ranjan@goldensparrow.com

It seems Pune Regional Transport Office’s (RTO) ambitious project of office computerisation in issuing licences and permits is giving sleepless nights to as many as 75 autorickshaw drivers.

Autorickshaw driver Pandurang Vitthal Mhaske, 47, never imagined that after dutifully renewing the driving licence in the 19 years of driving an auto, RTO will serve him a notice to cancel his permit and badge. Mhaske got the permit to drive a three-wheeler in September 6, 1997. He has been renewing his licence from time to time.

However, on April 2, 2016, he got a show cause notice from RTO stating that the badge he got from RTO belongs to another auto driver.

Mhaske was in for a shock when an RTO staffer told him that his badge number 101976 has also been allotted to Samir Mohinuddin Attar from Bopodi.

“How will I run my family if my badge is

BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis_ashish The Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre (MLRC) in Junnar is probably India’s largest nursing and care taking centre for leopards. Run by Wildlife SOS, an NGO, along with the Government of Maharashtra since 2007, it has been expanded over the years, but the centre still lacks basic infrastructure, when it comes to treating injured animals.

According to wildlife veterinary officer Dr Ajay Deshmukh, the staff faces difficulties when they are required to check blood samples, or perform surgeries on wild animals.

“We manage with the facilities we have. But for pathology reports, we have to send blood samples to the Shirwal veterinary hospital, which is 150km away from Junnar. For X-rays, we have to take the animals to Pune.

In emergencies, we have to avail of the help from private labs in Junnar, but that’s not ideal. A multi-equipped hospital along with lab facilities, X-ray machine, and squeeze cages will go a long way in enabling us to treat animals efficiently,” said Dr Deshmukh.

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The lack of a well-equipped hospital, lab facilities and X-ray machine hampers the treatment of injured animals and birds

Obama visits Cuba, steps into history

On the web start-ups strike success

Manikdoh Leopard rescue centre demands vet hospital

PUNE

Nothing tastes better than being fit

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY PUNE

“The state and Centre are neglecting the issues of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. After Mumbai, the real need for a metro is in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad but it has got stuck in politics.” — Ajit Pawar, NCP leader

The

circus

Global executions up by 50 per cent P 13 PICS BY RAHUL RAUT

APRIL 9, 2016

of life

BY HEENA GROVER MENON & EKTA KATTI @TGSWeekly Rambo Circus, one of the few surviving circus companies in the country, is back in the city. Established in 1991 by PT Dilip, the company pitched its tents on the open ground near Magarpatta-Koregaon Park Road last month and will continue to hold shows for another month. The circus party banks on a battery of artists who perform unbelievable stunts. Even as Indian artistes form the core of the troupe, performing a wide range of seemingly impossible feats with ease, the team also has performers from South America, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Ethiopia, Colombia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

Established in 1991 by PT Dilip, Rambo Circus is one of the most popular circuses of India and has played host to several Bollywood and television projects such as ‘Luck

By Chance’, ‘Mujhse Dosti Karoge’, ‘Comedy Circus’ besides advertisements and music albums. The troupe is run by PT Dilip’s sons Sujit Dilip and Sumit Dilip.

Even as the audience appreciate the daring physical feats of men and women at the circus, little do the visitors know the toil, tears and sweat that goes into presenting the two-hour show. Theirs is not a life of bed of roses, but find solace in entertaining others. Team TGS spent a day with the artists of Rambo Circus to understand the real face behind the makeup and costume. For the artists, circus is their new-found family.

They laugh, cry, fight, travel together and are always in search of tricks that would keep the world entertained.

HOME AND FAMILY Twenty-five-year-old Ruksana was adopted by Sujit Dilip when she was barely three-year-old. She doesn’t know who her parents were but credits the circus for supporting her throughout. It’s also at the circus that she met her husband and the couple has two sons aged five and three years. “I was an orphan and Sujit Bhaiyya gave me home. I perform gun shooting, ring dance, headstand and hand balancing stunts on unicycles taught by Ustaad (teacher) Pavitra. I will soon visit my husband’s hometown in Bihar to put my elder son in school and he will stay with my mother-in-law. We have built a house in our village. I will leave circus to focus on my kids’ education once they grow a bit older and my husband will continue working here,” she said, adding that circus staff have always supported the family

CLOWN NEVER CRIES Their tent smells of warm earthy aroma of Indian spiced roast potatoes. “It goes well with boiled rice,” said 36-year-old dwarf clown Rajeev Chatterjee. He has been in this profession for 17 years. “Owing to my physical appearance, I couldn’t take up any other profession,” said Vijay. His tent mate, Biju Nair, 44, is the senior-most clown at the circus. The duo is inseparable as they have been together with Rambo Circus for more than a decade. “We share an amazing bond. Other members of the troupe teasingly call us ‘husband and wife,” said Rajeev.

From being a gatekeeper at the sets of Kundan Shah’s television project ‘Circus’ to becoming Asia’s best clown, Biju has come a long way. “Whatever I am now is all due to circus. I ran away from my home in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) after a quarrel with father when I was just 12-year-old and landed in Mumbai. I had a difficult childhood and did odd jobs. It was while watching a shoot of TV serial Circus that I decided to become a clown. No circus organisation was willing to - BIJU NAIR take me because of my dark complexion before Rambo became an inseparable part of my life. Now those troupes who rejected me earlier are willing to take me at my terms,” said Biju, who also featured in Farhan Akhtar-starrer ‘Luck By Chance’.

For Biju, who earns Rs 18,000 per month, circus has given him the life that he wished for. “I think to make others laugh is a God’s gift. A clown never cries. My job has helped me give my children a life that I never got. My elder son Shinu, 21, is an engineer and my 16-year-old daughter Shrini is in standard XII. I will never get over the loss of my wife Sheelu, but we worked hard to provide a decent living to our children, “said Biju, who owns a 2-BHK flat in his hometown. Giving final touches to his makeup, he said, “Circus fraternity is very amiable. We share tips and tricks online.”

“No circus organisation was willing to take me because of my dark complexion”

CIRCUS HITCHED THEM

DESERVE PRAISE AND SUPPORT Having been with Rambo Circus for over 20 years, Baby Kesari’s life

has revolved around circus ever since she was six. Her mother taught her gymnastics and took her to work in the circus, but that wasn’t really what she wanted to do at that tender age. “I wanted to study and now my children are living my dream.

My husband and I have worked hard for our kids’ education. While one is an airhostess, the other is happily married in our hometown in Rampurhat, West Bengal.” Baby and her husband Durga Kesari work as caretakers of the girls who perform in the circus and also train them. The couple are disappointed by the lack of support from government authorities. “I have applied for government jobs, but it never happened. People get medals and awards in gymnastics and other sports but we are never recognised despite spending our lives doing the same and risking our lives. We are grateful to our owners for taking caring of us. Here, we all live like a big family,” Durga said.

Artist Carlos Galiano, 29, is from Colombia and his wife Jeni Gautham, 23, is from Nepal. Working at Rambo Circus brought them together. The duo fell in love when they met while performing in Pune. And they got married at the circus in Andheri in May 2015. “The circus has given me everything – money, fame and Carlos,” said Jeni, with a radiant smile as she lovingly caresses her pregnant belly. The wire and candle artist entered the world of circus because of her sister Juna. “She is a wire and candle artist too. My family in Nepal is happy where I am right now and visit our troupe to see me perform live,” she said. Carlos performs daredevil acts like Wheel of Death and running and jumping on the outer circle of the pendulum attached to a stand. “The manager here hired me after seeing the videos of performances.

I have travelled all around the globe but I feel at home when I am in Pune.

My family run their own circus back home. I am the fourth generation of my family that is into this profession. I still remember my mother taking me to circus when I was three-year-old to see her perform. The stunts that I perform are risky but I love my profession,” said Carlos, who has also performed stunts with animals like lion, tiger and elephant. “The baby is due in May and we are working hard to save money. Though circus has given me everything. I would like to have a stable job in future,” said Carlos. When not performing, Carlos loves to cook for his pregnant wife. Language has never been a barrier for the couple. “I love to hear him speak Hindi. He also makes it a point to teach me Spanish,” Jeni said.

KIDS ON THE BLOCK Three young boys came from Manipur to join Rambo Circus to support their families. In their early 20s, Shyam, Momo and Bipil wanted to go to college, but their financial situation made them become a part of Rambo. Having learnt martial arts back home, they soon mastered the art of balancing their bodies on spears and performing other life-threatening yet entertaining circus skills. “I heard from many boys in my neighbourhood that one can earn a decent living while working in a circus, so I came here. I want to join the Army and am preparing myself for it,” says Bipil.

But his friend Momo left hometown after his girlfriend married another boy. Pointing at the tattoos on Momo’s body, Bipil said, “He regrets the tattoo that he made in girlfriend’s memory.” The boys also get hurt while doing stunts and it takes three to four days for the wounds to heal.

“But all the pain vanishes when we hear the audiences clap after our act. It fills us with pride that people enjoy our shows,” said Shyam.

Even though there’s a great deal of risk involved in the circus business, these people seem happy with the lives they have chosen and feel safe in their family. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY APRIL 9, 2016

“When I arrived at the UN, there were no women leading our peace missions. Now, nearly a quarter of all UN missions are headed by women, far from enough but still an improvement.”

— Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General

PUNE

“I have always said we need to delink terrorism and religion.

Once the definition of terrorism comes in black and white, people will be deterred from following that path.”

— Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

Pune Bishop Thomas Dabre terms his doctorate on Tukaram’s abhangs as an entry point into the world of Hindus

BY JAMES MATHEW @mathewthejames In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, and representing the Church. He is responsible for teaching, governing, and sanctifying the faithful of his diocese along with the priests and deacons who serve under him. Bishops are the shepherds of Jesus Christ’s flock and guardians of the faith of the apostles.

He is required to teach and uphold ‘sound doctrine’ and be an example of ‘righteous and godly living’. And 70-year-old Pune Bishop Thomas Dabre has not only been a shining example for his flock but has taken steps to reach out to communities who follow other faiths.

SANT FOLLOWED SAVIOUR’S EXAMPLE The leader of Catholic community Bishop Dabre has done his doctorate on the abhangs (poems) of Sant Tukaram, one of the greatest poets in Marathi language. He was a prominent Varkari Sant and spiritual poet during a Bhakti movement in India. “There are quite a few people among both Christians and Non- Christians who find it strange that I as a Catholic priest and now bishop chose to study and pursue doctorate on the poems of Tukaram who is from Dehu (Maharashtra). I am happy to have completed doctorate in Tukaram and my principal reason is that I do not believe that any religion should be sectarian and ghetto. Religion should have a universal spirit all-inclusive and welcoming. Above all, Jesus Christ, whose disciple I am, lived and sacrificed himself for all humanity.

When in her final year of college she decided to do a little bit of social work and started teaching children, little had she thought at that time that a few years down the line, she would be on a global panel that will be working towards reforming global education.

Sanaya joined Teach for India in 2009 and began by teaching the second and third graders. After two years she became the programme manager and started mentoring the other fellows at the organisation. Everything that she did at the organisation not only allowed her to get a better understanding of what holistic education means but she also got the opportunity to implement it.

“Art can in many ways help educate children and often leaves lasting impressions on them. It not only allows for the child to be in a position of leadership but gives them a way for public expression and invention,” she said.

Nominated to be on the youth panel of the International Commission on financing global education opportunity she feels that is a huge honour. “I am super excited to see how I can help and what I will be able to contribute when I am on the panel. I can’t say much about it now though as I have not yet begun working on it,” she added.

While she hadn’t exactly thought of what she wanted to become growing up, she loved nature and often went

THE JOURNEY

Jesus cannot be confined to Christianity or church as His message is for all to love one and all,” he said. Highlighting the essence of Christianity, Bishop Dabre said that it is the perspective of the Universalism of the Christian faith.

“I believe that we Christians should understand the practices, good value and perspective of people who belong to other faiths and should go beyond the confines of our faith. For us in India, whatever good values we can find in Hinduism should be adopted and I took up abhangs in this spirit.”

NO COMPARISON BETWEEN JESUS AND TUKARAM Bishop Dabre clarified that there cannot be any comparison between Jesus Christ and Tukaram. “We believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord, God and saviour of humanity and we should follow his teachings irrespective of our religion.

Neither Tukaram nor his followers or Hindu leaders state that he is a saviour or God. Tukaram was a deeply spiritual man striving to reach and experience God. And what he experienced and realised in his relationship with God, he expressed in abhangs (poems). Tukaram had immense love for God. The sant believes that God is also full of love for him and finds happiness and joy in God. He finds that a man of faith who searches for God should not be insular and selfish but show concern, compassion and love for others.”

The religious leader said that spiritual and human values found in Tukaram are forcefully present in the life of Jesus Christ. “The teachings of Jesus show that we should be merciful towards others, patient in their shortcomings, understand

She wants to reform global education

BY SALONEE MISTRY @SaloneeMistry

VISHAL KALE

‘Religion has become a problem today’

on camps and treks. Had she not been teaching, she would have probably become an environmentalist. With a B.Com. degree in Banking and Finance from Ness Wadia College of Commerce and is currently 28 years of age. In the future she hopes to continue working in the field of education and hopefully change the way the system functions. “Changing the mindset of the rural or the way education is imparted here is a wicked problem and must be addressed at the earliest. In the current scenario the way the system is structured lives will not change and this is a cause of concern,” she told us. What the children who aren’t financially welloff need is support. If there are more than enough people backing them and providing them with opportunities to learn, there will be no stopping them, she adds.

Aimed at finding ways to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on Education, the commission is chaired by Gordon Brown who is the United Nation’s special envoy for global education.

Th rough this they aim at getting together, policy makers, leaders and researchers to come up with a plan to help improve global education. The Commission will present a report, to the UN Secretary General and the UN General Assembly in 2016. Th is report will have some contribution from the Youth Panel of which Sanaya is a part. salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

understand other religions is to observe people’s way of living and thinking. Such efforts will help check misunderstandings and flimsy notions. It is a regrettable that people are not practising the religion that is demanded of them. No religion practices hate towards other human beings and violence. If at all such texts are present in scriptures, religious leaders should remove it at the earliest,” he said.

their weaknesses and forgiving. Love thy neighbour and forgive they enemy form the basis of Jesus’ teachings. Hence, I find that the compassion that Jesus Christ spoke is reflected in Tukaram’s abhangs and in his life,” Bishop Dabre said.

RELIGION IS MISUNDERSTOOD The Catholic Church leader is pained by the portrayal and adaptation of religion. “Today religion has become a problem. People are fighting, discriminating and resort to violence and killing in the name of religion. It is necessary to realise what is the essence of religion. I am afraid that one reason for fundamentalism and fanaticism is the

Free sterilisation surgeries on stray dogs and cats TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly The Pune Municipal Corporation estimates that there are close to about 50,000 stray dogs that roam about on the streets of Pune. Scientific studies

by W.H.O. and the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) have shown that a well implemented Animal Birth Control program is the only effective way to reduce the stray dog population.

Th is, combined with an Anti-Rabies Vaccination program will not only decrease the so called stray dog menace but will eradicate Rabies from Pune as well.

There are however a few problems with PMC’s Birth Control Program.

The ABC program can be effective only if more than 70% of dogs in the city are sterilised over a short period of time. The number of dogs sterilized by the PMC is only 8000 to 10,000 per year. Th is is a woefully inadequate number. Sterilising less than 25% of estimated dog population leaves the other 75% free to breed.

In an attempt to reduce the stray dog population and keep the city Rabies free, Dhanashree Bhisey along with Deepa Bajaj have started an NGO – Canine Control and Care (CCC) – which conducts free sterilisation surgeries on stray dogs/cats and gives them free anti Rabies vaccinations.

“In one year, more than 700 stray dogs and cats have been sterilised and vaccinated. The surgeries are conducted at different centers in Pune by a registered Veterinary surgeon,” said Bhisey. Currently CCC conducts surgeries at Kothrud, Karve Road, Bavdhan, Bhugaon and Wagholi but it plans to spread its outreach to all parts of Pune, she added.

Animal welfare volunteers who feed and care for stray dogs are requested to avail of CCC’s free services and get the dogs under their care neutered by them. “Local Corporators and Ward Office medical officers should convince vasti dwellers and tapri owners to get their dogs sterilised and vaccinated so that the community at large is safe from dog bites and Rabies,” told us Bajaj. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

general misunderstanding about other people’s religions and beliefs. Prejudices, poor interactions and inter-relationships between people of different religions have increased over time. One can observe people of certain faiths living together like a ghetto and leading selfish existence.

It is all about tolerance and acceptance of all religions,” he said.

The bishop is hopeful that a new wave of thinking will make people’s behaviour outgoing and reaching out to others and seeking brotherhood unconditionally without depending on anybody’s faith.

“Prejudices and misunderstanding are cause for fear of others. People fall and make mistakes but we prefer to forgive only our near and dear ones. To

SOLUTION IS THERE Bishop Thomas Dabre said that Tukaram always found good in all, an observation that is missing amongst most people.

“Many people of various religions are good. It is wrong to paint all members of a community in the same colour. Those who practice their religion sincerely know that there is no scope for violence, atrocities and killing in any religion. The true witnesses of religion know that it is an instrument of peace. I am inclined to think that some people are wicked.

The challenge today is to find a solution.

Religious leaders should go out to people, followers and interact with them and ‘walk the talk’. They should not confine themselves to temples, mosques and churches but preach right teachings.

They should set an example of respecting others religions for others to follow. I

Seventy-year-old Pune Bishop Thomas Dabre was born in Bhuigaon in Vasai. He was ordained priest in Mumbai in 1971 and became the auxiliary bishop of Bombay in 1990 and Bishop of Vasai in 1998 before taking the title of bishop of Poona in April 4, 2009. He is the head of Poona Diocese that comprises civil districts of Pune, Satara, Solapur, Sangli & Kolhapur city. believe that things will change,” he said.

CALL OF FAITH Underscoring the choice of Tukaram as his thesis, Bishop Dabre said, “My religion does not teach me that other religious books and scriptures other than the Holy Bible are taboo. Jesus sacrificed his life for all. Our duty is to find the light given by Jesus in Tukaram and the teachings of other religions to create a better society and better humanity. There is a lot of prejudice towards other religions. We must make efforts to read books of other religions and find the good in the text and follow them. My study on Tukaram exposition and discourses has helped me in my mission as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I have made many friends who belong to other religions. My study has facilitated my work for church.” Bishop Dabre has spoken about Sant Tukaram at Chicago, Rome, Pandharpur Temple, Mysore Mandya Temple, Delhi, Mumbai (KJ Somaiya College of Arts & Commerce and Bharati Vidyapeeth), Ram Mandir and Savitribai Phule Pune University.

These talks have given me an entry point in the world of the Hindus. james.mathew@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY APRIL 9, 2016

New police line, same old problems

PUNE

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY APRIL 9, 2016

PUNE

Why are Pune policemen

made to live in such squalor?

The guardians of the law in the city are made to live in abominable conditions at the police lines, where dilapidated buildings, garbage, drainage and water supply are issues that haunt them day after day

YOGESH WAGH AND DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @TGSWeekly

BY RAHUL RAUT, VISHAL KALE AND YOGESH WAGH

Dilapidated, decrepit, ramshackle and run down are adjectives that instantly come to mind when one sees the houses that the ordinary policemen and their families live in. In fact, the police lines are generally marked by an air of neglect and lack of upkeep, not to mention a disregard of hygiene and safety. The policemen’s houses are relics from the colonial era, some of which were jails, prisons and even stables, which have been turned into makeshift living quarters for the lowly policemen. But despite the run down state and general squalor, there is great demand for accommodation in the police lines, with around a 1000 applicants on the waiting list, for housing in the police lines. But why do the policemen have to endure living in such dreadful conditions, and is there no government policy to ensure decent, respectable and quality housing for policemen? Surely, the guardians of the law deserve better than to live in houses that are in a state of ruin? The tweet

by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on March 29, 2016 is relevant in this context: “Police housing board has prepared a comprehensive plan. Government is committed to housing for police personnel all over the state.”

The CM’s statement is timely and welcome, and against its backdrop, TGS reviews the police housing societies in Pune. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Vishrantwadi police line was built in 1993 but is poorly maintained. It is situated next to the mental hospital on Vishrantwadi Road. It has 18 fourstorey buildings, housing 320 families.

It is beset by a spate of issues, including garbage, and an open drainage line. “The open drainage line comes from the mental hospital and all our complaints to repair it have gone in vain,” said Vitthal Mate (name changed), a policeman attached to Shivajinagar police head quarters.

There is garbage strewn all over the colony premises and there is no sweeper to clear it. There are some broken down, rusted and rotting vehicles lying around. There is no compound wall and the overgrown shrubs and bushes are home to snakes and other creatures. A gym was built two years ago but is lying unused.

Oldest police line has problems galore

Shivajinagar Police Line is the oldest, dating back to the British Raaj. These dilapidated buildings are a picture of neglect and decay, and there are unending issues regarding drainage, leakage, haphazard wiring and more. There is no provision for garbage disposal so the environment is generally messy and untidy.

What’s more, the residents of this police line have been issued notices to vacate their houses as the Public Works Department (PWD) wants to undertake new constructions. But finding alternative accommodation in Pune is well out of the reach and budgets of these policemen, who get a housing rent allowance of Rs 1800.

Then there is also the issue of their children’s schools and tuition classes, which are within reach of the police line, and moving away from here will upset their lives in more ways than one. The PWD is putting off the policemen’s demands for repairs of the old houses because it wants to undertake new constructions.

The MLA fund has been used to lay a jogging track on the police line premises, but this has been a rather pointless facility as the track and its surroundings have become a haven for stray dogs and pigs. Not just that, but some people of the area are using the spot for alcoholic gettogethers. This is possible as there is no watchman to keep an eye on the people frequenting the track. In fact,

owing to the kind of people who use the jogging track for such booze parties, the womenfolk of the police line do not venture near the jogging track after dark.

The issues of drainage and leakage are a major problem at Shivajinagar police line, and the residents blame the lackadaisical approach of the PWD personnel, who do just makeshift repairs, and the problems crop up time and again.” The PWD does not want to resolve the long-term problems of drainage and leakage, as they want us to move out,” the residents claim.

What you see, as a result, is that most of the roofs are waterproofed with plastic sheets.

The entire premises of the Shivajinagar police line bear an unkempt look with overgrown weeds and shrubs. There is no means of garbage disposal, so the residents contribute Rs 50 monthly, for the colony’s garbage to be disposed of.

A 45-year-old housewife who lives on the first floor of building number 104 is concerned about the open electricity meter box. “Our children play around in the building and I am worried that one of them may go too close to the meter box and come in contact with a live wire,” she said. The PWD is turning a blind eye towards maintenance of the police line buildings, despite the residents’ constant pleas.

The cleanest of all police lines All they can think about all day is water

The Khadak Police Line is the second oldest in Pune. It has 141 10x12 sq ft one bedroom/ kitchen houses. The 125-year-old buildings were jails and stables, converted into police housing.

This is a police colony with a difference, though, being the cleanest.

The problems in this colony include drainage, toilets, leakage and no watchman. The residents claim that that the PWD is shirking its duties. Earlier the buildings had common toilets.

Since 2012, the PWD started

building toilets for every home with the MLA fund, but stopped after building 96 toilets.

Therefore, 42 families have to share toilets.

Another problem is leaking roofs and walls during heavy rains, which leave their houses become wet and mouldy. Most houses suffer from lack of ventilation.

The gymnasium is in a rather run down state. In the office are seen an array of liquor and beer bottles. A janitor said that the bottles were left for the bottle collector.

Body gate police colony, in Aundh near Parihar chowk, was built in barrack format in the 19th century, and used to house the horses of the lady governor, who used to live in her official residence at the Pune University.

The 350 families who live there have grievances galore, including a lack of garbage bins, toilets, run down houses, dug up roads, no street lights etc. In fact, this police colony lacks even the most basic facilities. Water supply is a major issue, and owing to the low pressure, and the womenfolk have to fill every pot they can. “The PWD has not replaced the 50-yearold iron pipeline, which cannot handle any increase in water pressure,” said Aniruddha Adalge, a resident.

Lalchand Dhavale is a traffic policeman deputed at the Hinjawadi Traffic division. He has lived at Body gate police line for 25 years. “My wife has taken

Living at the mercy of the PWD

our children to her parents’ house due to the water shortage as we do not have enough for bathing or washing clothes. I have spent Rs 80 a day on mineral water bottles,” he said.

Bhawani Peth police line dates back to 1925. The 300-odd houses in the colony were used as stables and after independence they were turned into police quarters. Bandicoots have a free run here, and they burrow into the ground and often block the drainage lines. The residents’ pleas to the dabedar and administration regarding the rodents have fallen on deaf ears.

A young policewoman of the Crime Branch said, “I have to visit the PWD office for 15 days before they send someone to attend to my complaint.” The issue can be drainage, water or anything else.

A woman waste picker comes everyday to collect the garbage and each resident pays Rs 50 a month for her services.

But garbage collection is the responsibility of the PWD. There is a water tank in the colony set up seven years ago but it is empty as the water does not reach up there.

Over Rs 2000 is deducted from the policemen’s salary as house rent, but they get no facilities. “It takes us more than four hours to fill about 50 litres of water,” said R Sonavane.

Regarding the squalid living conditions at police quarters, Headquarters II DCP Aravind Chavriya said, “We function as per our strength. This matter concerns Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), Maharashtra State Electricity Board and Public Works Department. But they are facing problems in raising funds.

Even we try and raise funds through police welfare and doing basic repairing activities.”

Chavriya said the Shivajinagar Police line has been issued a notice because the building is in a dilapidated state. “Three buildings are granted for police line but we had asked for six. We

need to demolish old chawls to built new ones. We have spoken with the builder and the work will be completed in two years,” he said About the migration of 289 families affected DCP Aravind Chavriya (HQ-2) by this demolition, he said that there is a waiting list of about 1000 families and they have settled 289 families on priority basis.

Anyone is free to come and go as they please This Swargate Police Line includes 14 buildings and four single-line chawls, which together have 630 quarters, 24 quarters for Police Sub Inspectors and five officers’ bungalows. The residents of this colony are very vocal about their problems, the major one being garbage. They do not have a system to dispose garbage and some of the residents themselves are the culprits as they do not segregate wet and dry garbage, or dump leftover food around the colony, or those living on top floors, take the easy way out and fling their garbage from their windows. No surprise, the Swargate Police Line is not the cleanest of places, with garbage strewn all over. Residents of two quarters share a common toilet, which is generally stinking and filthy as it not cleaned regularly. The buildings are cleaned once in a fortnight and overall, the environment of the colony is one of squalour and filth.

During the monsoon, the colony is dotted with

ditches and puddles, and along with the overgrown weeds, are a haven for mosquitoes and the incidence of malaria, dengue and such. Seven cases of dengue

have been reported from the colony in three months.

The playground has turned into an open garbage dump, while a new playground has been built using the corporator’s fund.

A fire caused by a short circuit spread to the garbage dump and a two-wheeler and a car were burnt in the fire, an incident that spotlights the conditions in the colony.

Shobha Savale, a resident, said, “We have repeatedly asked the Commissioner’s office and the local corporator to deal with the issues we face, but to no avail. Some of the houses have been invaded by roots of large trees, and there is an imminent threat of snakes, leeches and scorpions. Bandicoots have infested the ground floors of some buildings, and these large rodents also bring along the threat of disease.

There is no maintenance of the drainage system and the resulting stink forces us to keep our kitchen doors closed. The repairs to the drainange system are few and far between and are never thorough. The PWD workers did such a shabby job of replacing the tiles of the quarters, that the slabs of some quarters came crashing down.”

The water pumps, some of them 40 years old, are not working and neither is there any maintenance.

Complaints to the PWD always fall on deaf ears.

The line in-charge P S Dalvi said, “There are just three persons assigned for the cleanliness of the whole police line. The residents do not separate wet and dry garbage, throw garbage into any open place, and people on the top floor throw leftovers from their windows. These residents themselves are the reason why this place is so dirty. We need 20 workers but have only six, of whom, four report for duty. The workload is too great. There is just one person to clean 630 toilets. There are two people to regulate the 56 valves of water connections. This police colony is filthy owing to the lack of an adequate work force.”

The colony happens to be in the vicinity of Swargate bus station, and people tend to park their vehicles on the colony premises, for days on end.

There is no watchman or security guard to keep tabs on who enters the colony. Beggars and hawkers are known to enter the colony premise freely. “Our colony is open to hawkers and beggars. The hawkers make a racket and are a nuisance, as are the stray dogs,” said a housewife. The colony gymnasium has no equipment nor trainers. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY APRIL 9, 2016

TECH/START-UP

PUNE

“There are 6.8 billion people on the planet and 4 billion of them use a mobile phone. Only 3.5 billion of them use a toothbrush.”

— http://www.websitemagazine.com

Fed up with human apathy, farmers seek Krishna’s help P 12

On the web start-ups strike success

APP WORLD

A strong online presence is the key to having a successful venture today. Read on to find some Pune-based entrepreneurs underline the benefit

Discover your creative side

BY SALONEE MISTRY @SaloneeMistry

Autodesk SketchBook

Many people desire to start a business and be the master rather than serving others throughout working years. Yet the main hindrance that lets them do not make it past their first draft of a business plan is fear. The fears of taking risks, raising capital, executing ideas and organising and operating the business till it starts rolling let possible entrepreneurs to remain would-have-entrepreneurs. Social networking sites and Internet have helped start-up founders to overcome these fears. And the number of start-ups that have come up in the country is a testimony to this valuable facility that is instrumental to resurgence of entrepreneurial spirit in India.

The online presence helps first-timers to at least know the response of the pilot phase of their venture. Apart from having a novel idea and good market, a high online presence is also necessary for a start-up to click.

TGS speaks to some Pune-based entrepreneurs who credit online presence and social networking sites for the success of their venture. They share the challenges they faced in launching the start-up and using Internet to build up their confidence and take bold steps.

THE START-UP JOURNEY On a month-long business visit to India with his family while working with Google at its headquarters in California (United States), Ashish Agarwal was looking forward to staying in an apartment that would have a laid-back atmosphere and offer home-cooked food unlike the corporate hospitality of hotels. After seeking the help of an Indian family, he found such a property but ended up paying much higher than the market price. This experience led to the launch of RoomLion (RoomLion.com). An entrepreneur at heart, he believes that inspiration becomes an accessory when any entrepreneurial spirit sees opportunity. “RoomLion had humble beginnings.

It was started in an extremely scrappy manner. This generally surprises people who hear how it was started, especially when the norm nowadays is to raise multimillion dollar funding with no route to profitability in sight,” Ashish said. The start-up that helps customers find and book service apartments online has a very lean team. RoomLion was the first site to bring 360-degree virtual tours to India on a large scale. They are also the first to bring Matterport tours which help customers get a good understanding of a space before they book any

The LetsRide App, allows you to carpool and share your ride

WhatsApp’s new encryption feature raises security concerns Security agencies have expressed concern over the new encryption feature introduced by popular messaging giant WhatsApp saying it could be misused by anti- national elements for achieving their nefarious designs.

The just-introduced end-to-end encryption of WhatsApp will protect texts and voice calls and gives no access to the security agencies, making it much tougher for them to tackle any situation arising out of messages, videos being circulated through the messaging service.

WhatsApp has puts out a one-line advisory to its users: Messages you send to this chat and calls are now secured with end-to-end encryption. “The move is a potential security threat,” said a security official. WhatsApp’s action came close on the heels of a legal battle between Apple and FBI over the US agency’s demand that the iPhone maker help unlock its mobile phones.

The security agencies will be taking up the matter with the Telecom ministry to ensure that proper safeguards are in place before the services could be allowed in the country, the sources said.

In past, the government had redflagged BlackBerry Internet Services (BIS), BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) and BlackBerry Enterprise Servers (BES) of smartphone maker ResearchIn-Motion (RIM) until the company installed a server within India for realtime information to security agencies.

PTI

The home page of RoomLion where you can rent apartments Handcrafted jewellery by Aadya Studio

place in India. Persistence, resilience and focus on key fundamentals is the best way to run a business successfully.

And social media and networking sites help in connecting to customers, raising awareness, attracting talent and creating buzz. Hence, these are indeed a very important channel for start-ups.

The best part of running a start-up is the freedom to execute ideas rather Sayalee Marathe than convincing others to do so. You get the pleasure of creating something that meaningfully solves a problem and makes people happy,” Ashish said.

SWEET TASTE OF SUCCESS Living in South Africa for a few years, Swati Jindal and Tanuj Sinha were greatly influenced by the region’s cuisine. After moving to Pune in 2013, they settled in Wagholi and often found it difficult to source for the ingredients to make the food that they loved eating in South Africa. Coming from IT backgrounds they also realised that even though people wanted to have good food in fine-dine experience their busy schedules did not give them the time. The couple launched Gourmet Eat In (gourmeteatin.com) to fill this gap. “We essentially provide readyto-cook-meal kits to give a fine-dine experience in minutes in the comfort of your home. Our aim is to give customers some of the most exotic delicacies like cold Italian dessert panna cotta and Malaysian dish laksa among others, paired with the joy of having cooked it themselves. We give you ingredients measured to perfection and all you have to do is follow the recipe,” Swati said. While Tanuj quit his IT job to take care of the venture fulltime, Swati still works from home to keep the funds flowing till the venture become profitable and financially self-sustaining.

The couple is constantly adding and experimenting with their menu to give buyers a taste that will stick. The couple admits that word-of-mouth publicity and online reactions on dishes prepared by the ingredients they provided helped them generate a stable clientele. “It is not easy to convince people to cook something that they would generally go to a restaurant for. I think that online presence is vital for the success of any start-up,” Swati said.

RIDE TO PUBLICITY Providing a viable solution to traffic and transportation problem is former

Infosys techie Rajkumar Mundel. While it started as a web platform in September 2013, Letsride app now has more than 3,700 downloads. The app allows a person to ask for lift from someone who is going in the same direction in a single click. It also works for those who want to offer a ride and earn some extra bucks. Through start-up Letsride, Rajkumar is attempting to promote the idea of carpooling and sharing.

Rajkumar roped in his three friends Pravin Mane, Averi Pal Chowdhury and Rahul Kate to promote the app. The four pals are often seen at busy junctions holding posters promoting the idea of carpooling. The user-friendly app is available for both Android and iOs phones. “To kick-start the project was not easy. Be it finance, the right people to work for or even finding the right tool to market products, we had to do a lot of back and forth and every step was risky. Being online helped me in making people understand carpooling. Through this start-up we are trying to change the way community looks at public transport and social networking is the key factor,” Rajkumar said, adding that Letsride is essentially based on supply-demand model for rides and hence is a slow process. “Having an online presence helps in catching attention and marketing the idea,” he said.

LIVING HER DREAM Sayalee Marathe’s handmade jewellery brand Aadya has been doing exceptionally well. Started three years ago only through an e-commerce website and Facebook page, not only are orders pouring in but the response too has been great. “It was when I was travelling across India in places like Rajasthan that I saw a few artisans making some really brilliant looking handicrafts. I decided to help them by taking their products to the urban market,” she said. She visits the artisans once every six months with sample designs and gives them the opportunity of leading a better life by employing them. Not only does Aadya gets products made by rural craftsmen it also gives the option of personalising the items. It is for this very reason that Aadya products are unavailable on sites like Amazon, Flipkart or Snapdeal. Every customer that Sayalee has got for Aadya has been only through word of mouth and her social media pages. “I went from making jewellery pieces on my own to getting enough business to be able to hire people. It was social media and just the presence of the brand online that made this growth possible,” said Sayalee, who had to quit her high-paying job to pursue her dream. salonee.mistry Swati Jindal and Tanuj Sinha with @goldensparrow.com their GourmetEatIn meal kit

3D printers to battle pollution For the first time, researchers have used commercial 3D printers to create a chemically active structure the size of handheld sponge that acts to mitigate pollution.

The experiment, created with many off-the-shelf materials common to makers, hobbyists and home enthusiasts, puts the power of chemistry invention into the hands of people taking advantage of the 3D printing revolution, researchers said.

The researchers led

by Matthew Hartings, professor at the American University, designed a small structure the size of handheld sponge.

They dispersed throughout plastic chemically active titanium dioxide (TiO2) Matthew Hartings nanoparticles. Using the same filament hobbyists use in the printing process of 3D-printed figures, researchers added the nanoparticles.

Scientists dispersed throughout plastic chemically active titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles

Using a 3D thermoplastic printer, ubiquitous in manufacturing, the researchers printed a small, sponge-like plastic matrix.

Pollutants break down when natural light interacts with TiO2, which has potential applications in the removal of pollution from air, water and agricultural sources.

To demonstrate pollution mitigation,

they placed the matrix in water and added an organic molecule (pollutant). The pollutant was destroyed. TiO2 also photocatalysed the degradation of a rhodamine 6G, a highly fluorescent dye in solution.

“It’s not just pollution, but there are all sorts of other chemical processes that people may be interested in. There are a variety of nanoparticles one could add to a polymer to print,” Hartings said. One limitation of the research is that for the structure to print, the concentration of nanoparticles needed to be less than 10 per cent of total mass of the structure.

To have an efficient structure, a higher concentration could be needed, Hartings said.

The structure printed for this study was a simple shape. Harnessing the power of 3D-printing, the researchers’ next step will be to print many exotic shapes to understand how printed structure affects the chemical reactivity.

The study was published in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials.

PTI

Now, app to alert user about call drop Seeking to cash in on the call drop menace, a Pune-based start-up claims to have launched a mobile application that will alert caller about possibility of call drop after analysing a host of factors.

“We have launched ‘smartbro range’ app which alerts user about possibility of call drop when they open phone dialer.

The app checks various

factors to calculate the risk of call drop including network strength, phone hardware, battery level, RAM utilisation, if the phone user moving/travelling etc,” Optinno Mobitech CEO Sagar Bedmutha told PTI. He said that at present the app checks factor that can lead to call drop on caller side and in six months it will also alert risk of

call drop on destination network.

“We will be able to add this feature in next 3-6 months but as of now it is not a high priority area,” Bedmutha said.

The users can also track the number of call drops that occurred with smartbro Range.

He said that smartbro Range is first mobile application in the world around

call drop management.

Call drop is a raging issue in India. Telecom regulator Trai has issued a rule asking service provider to compensate Re 1 for each call drop with upper limit being up to three call drops a day.

The regulation, however, has been challenged and matter is still sub-judice.

PTI

IOS/Android: Free Autodesk SketchBook is an intuitive painting and drawing application designed for people of all skill levels, who love to draw. We reimagined the paint engine, so SketchBook delivers more fluid pencils and natural painting than ever before, all while keeping the interface clean and simple. With SketchBook, capture everything from your smallest doodles to your biggest ideas, all in one place, no matter where you are. You can sketch, create line art, paint and discover an authentic, natural experience as close to pencil, pen, marker, or brush on paper as a digital art tool can be.

Kids Paint IOS/Android: Free Kids Paint - Colouring Pages is a funny colouring book application for children to paint and learn colour. This is a wonderful colouring game for kids. With a source of more than 200 vivid colouring pictures: farm animals, wild animals, bird, fish, flower, insect designed by our artists, we surely attract your kids. Your kids and you can paint and colouring together. Let’s choose a picture, then paint and colouring. Moreover, Kids Paint - colouring Pages helps your kids identify colours when playing.

This colouring game has been primarily designed for toddlers, preschool and kindergarten children but it’s equally great for your baby or infant and even for older kids.

Infinite Painter IOS/Android: Free Infinite Painter has garnered a well-deserved cult following among Android users. Infinite Painter features 80-plus natural brushes and the ability to create custom ones, infinite layer support, paper textures, a variety of transformation tools and perspective aids, colour blending, pattern and gradient tools and more. Works can be exported into PSD, PNG or JPG. The app is free with a 7-day trial, after which premium features are available as in-app purchases.

ArtFlow Android: Free The ArtFlow Android digital art studio comes packed with features and tools, both in its free and paid tiers.

ArtFlow’s free tier is already a solid drawing app, with nine customizable brushes, a symmetry tool, colour picker, six-step undo and support for two layers.

A premium version unlock massively expands the tool selection, with more than 50 brushes, expanded history support, the ability to create up to 16 layers, stylus pressure support and custom palettes. ArtFlow’s premium versions has more features than any normal user would probably know what to do with, but it’s great for seasoned and aspiring digital artists looking for an Android art app.

Artrage IOS/Android: Free Where many apps try to take fullest advantage of the digital experience, ArtRage tries to do the reverse, delivering a set of drawing and painting tools firmly rooted in the analog art of applying graphite on paper or paint on canvas. ArtRage features a series of tools that aim to mimic real world painting tools and mediums, such as oil paints, watercolours, a palette knife, paint rollers, etc. The painting engine is designed to mimic the effects of paint thickness, thinner and other real-world behaviors of tools and media. That said, ArtRage doesn’t totally eschew digital features, with layer control, a recording feature and undo/redo.

ENVIRONMENT

H EALTH

others and hand over recyclable material either to authorised waste-pickers and recyclers or to the urban local body.

The new rules will cover outgrowths of urban agglomerations, census towns, notified industrial townships, areas under the control of the railways, airports, airbases, ports and harbours, defence establishments, special economic zones, state and central government organisations, places of pilgrimage or religious and historical importance.

“Earlier, its jurisdiction was over 4,041 such areas. Now, it will also include 981 villages under various gram panchayats, apart from railways, ports etc.

“In these rules, we have identified these areas as separate solid waste management entities. We have increased the ambit. Earlier, only 15 crore people were under the ambit of these rules.

Now, 45 crore will come under it,” Javadekar said.

All waste generators will have to

Ancient viruses lurking in our DNA

segregate and store the waste generated by them under three separate categories -- bio-degradable, non bio-degradable and domestic hazardous waste -- in suitable bins before handing it over to authorised ragpickers or waste collectors.

Municipal authorities will levy user fees for collection, disposal and processing from bulk generators. The amount will be decided by the local civic bodies.

“No person should throw, burn or bury solid waste generated by him on streets, open public spaces, outside his premises or in drains or water bodies.

The generator would have to pay ‘User Fee’ to waste collectors and ‘Spot Fine’ for littering and non-segregation,” the new rules state.

The concept of partnership in ‘Swachh Bharat’ has been introduced in the new rules wherein bulk and institutional generators, market associations, event organisers and hotels and restaurants have been directly made responsible for segregation and sorting of waste and its management in partnership with local bodies.

The new rules also make it mandatory for bio-degradable waste to be processed, treated and disposed of through composting or bio-methanation within the premises as far as possible.

The developers of special economic zones and industrial estates and parks will also have to earmark at least 5 per cent of the total area of the plot or minimum five plots or sheds for recovery and recycling facility.

PTI

Over 68 per cent of milk in India is below standard Question Hour that a new scanner has been developed which can detect adulteration in milk in 40 seconds and can even pinpoint the adulterant.

Earlier, for every type of adulteration, a separate chemical test was required. But now a single scanner can do the job, he said.

There were murmurs among members when the minister suggested that these scanners could be purchased by MPs through their

constituency funds. Though the scanners are costly as of now, each test costs a mere 10 paisa, he said.

Vardhan said in the near future, GPS-based technology could be used to track the exact location where the milk supplied in the cold chain has been tampered with.

There are two lakh villages in the country from where milk is collected.

PTI

from the sun in distant past.

Water stored in dams is used to produce electricity by turning the turbines connected to a dynamo. The water that flows into turbines is initially drawn from the rivers, lakes and oceans in the form of vapor, (which we call clouds), by evaporation caused by the heat in the sunlight and is transported overland in the form of clouds by wind. The heat in sunlight also generates the breezes (wind) that drive wind-powered generators – wind turbines or wind mills.

The biggest issue concerning wind energy is its unreliability. There can be

NATION

CITY

Get your voice heard on NetaG P6

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

When hunger strikes past midnight

NATION

CITY

Bakery worker’s daughter gets her wings P 12

Why are traffic cops taking selfies these days?

P3

DITCH THE

AUTO,

HAIL A

CAB

GAUTAM SINGHANIA

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

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

Five members of the team tried

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

ALANDI

AKURDI

CHINCHWAD

RAVET

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

Sab golmal hai...

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, the project is nowhere in sight

said director of the school, who

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

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

Th e investigation was carried out by statements.”

DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL

CHIKHALI

KIWALENIGDI

~ Suit filed by the siblings

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

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,

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

RITU GOYAL HARISH

Truly, a tree lady P4

~ 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.’

RAHUL RAUT

There have been reports about the danger that windmills posed to birds

TGS LIFE

Run for... yourself

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

With the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of the Government of India (GOI) setting a target of 175 Giga Watts (GW) of clean energy by 2022, the authorities are keen to see that states should not lag behind in their progress towards the goal. GOI has therefore asked states to prepare an action plan for renewable energy plants What is energy? In a layman’s language, energy is the capacity to work. What is work? Again work is an activity in which one exerts force to do or perform something like moving an object like throwing a ball. Energy is the capacity of a system to perform work. Energy exists in several forms such as heat, kinetic or mechanical, light, potential energy, electrical, chemical, and nuclear and the like. What is renewable energy? Renewable energy is generally defined as energy that is collected from resources which are naturally replenished on a timescale such as biomass (wood and grass), sunlight, and water in dams filled by rain. Waves, tides and to some extent geothermal heat are also sources of renewable energy but as of today their contribution is practically nil in India and not likely to come up in near future.

The sun is our primary energy source.

Many scientists believe that coal and oil, our fossil fuels, are the decayed remains of trees and plants that drew their energy

periods when adequate electricity is produced on account of strong winds, and there can also be periods of lull, where no electricity can be produced for days, owing to the absence of wind.

There have been reports about the danger that windmills posed to birds.

Due to the staggering height of the windmills, birds often collide with them, and a number of bird deaths have been reported to have occurred due to such collisions, particularly at night.

Installation of windmills has faced stiff opposition from people living in nearby areas, where the wind power plants have been proposed .One of the prime reasons for their opposition is the fact that, windmills do cause some level of noise pollution. Many conservationists consider wind turbines as a sore in the eye, as they interfere with the aesthetics of a city. Sunlight serves as a direct source of renewable energy in two ways. First by heating water in the homes and factories and second by generating electricity through the well-known photo-voltaic (PV) effect.

Looking at the global picture, there will be not be a single one winning renewable technology.

Rather, there will be a healthy mix of solar and wind that depends on specific regional factors.

However, fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas aren’t going away soon.

PTI Feature

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

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

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

BY GV JOSHI

THANK GOD IT’S S AT U R D AY

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Renewable Energy: Which one is most promising?

that inserted a DNA-based copy of their own RNA genetic material into our ancestors’ genomes.

They are part of the same type of virus that includes the modern human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS. Over generations, the virusgenerated DNA kept getting copied and handed down when humans reproduced.

That is how it ended up in our DNA today, researchers said.

About 8 per cent of what we think of as our “human” DNA actually came from viruses. “This one looks like it is capable of making infectious virus, which would be very exciting if true, as it would allow us to study a viral epidemic that took place long ago,” said John Coffin from Tufts University.

“This research provides important information necessary for understanding how retroviruses and humans have evolved together in relatively recent times,” Coffin said. The findings were published in the journal PNAS. PTI

PICS ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Over 68 per cent of milk in the country does not conform to standards laid down by the food regulator and the most common adulterant found in it is detergent, caustic soda, glucose, white paint and refined oil considered “very hazardous” which could cause serious ailments, the Lok Sabha was informed.

Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan said during

Our DNA is actually less human than previously thought, according to a new study that found 19 new pieces of non-human DNA left by viruses in our ancestors hundreds of thousands of years ago.

One stretch of newfound DNA, in about 50 of the 2,500 people studied, contains an intact, full genetic recipe for an entire virus, said researchers from University of Michigan and Tufts University.

Researchers do not know yet whether it can replicate or reproduce.

But other studies of ancient virus DNA have shown it can affect the humans who carry it, they said.

In addition to finding these new stretches, researchers also confirmed 17 other pieces of virus DNA found in human genomes by other scientists in recent years.

John Coffin The study looked at the entire span of DNA, or genome, from people from around the world, including a large number from Africa - where the ancestors of modern humans originated before migrating around the world.

Researchers used sophisticated techniques to compare key areas of each person’s genome to the “reference” human genome.

The findings add to what science already knows about human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs). HERVs is the name for the ancient infectious viruses

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

This is the sixth category of waste management rules brought out by the ministry, as it has earlier notified plastic, e-waste, biomedical, hazardous and construction and demolition waste management rules

waste,” Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters here.

Citing a complaint of ragpickers that they face health hazards while picking diapers and sanitary napkins, the minister said, “Manufacturers or brand owners or marketing companies of sanitary napkins and diapers should explore the possibility of using all recyclable materials in their products or provide a pouch or wrapper for disposal of each napkin or diaper along with the packet of their sanitary products.

“All such manufacturers, brand owners or marketing companies should educate the masses about wrapping and disposing of their products.” .

“Burning of solid wastes and biomass is a crime now and will be dealt with severely under the Environment Protection Act,” Javadekar said.

All residents’ welfare and market associations and gated communities with an area of above 5,000sq.m will have to segregate waste at source into material like plastic, tin, glass, paper and

PUNE

“Rising temperatures worldwide are changing not only weather systems, but just as importantly the distribution of water around the globe, thereby affecting the availability of potable water. ” — Myron Mitchell, Professor, New York College of Environmental Science

Centre issues new solid waste management rules The Centre came out with new solid waste management rules which make it mandatory for manufacturers of sanitary napkins and diapers to provide separate pouches along with the product for its proper disposal.

The Environment Ministry’s Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, has an expanded ambit and extends beyond municipal corporations and includes railway stations, industrial townships, airports, ports, defence establishments, places of pilgrimage.

Under the new rules, local bodies can charge a certain fee from generators for proper management of such waste while provisions have been included for spot fine for littering at public places.

This is the sixth category of waste management rules brought out by the ministry, as it has earlier notified plastic, e-waste, biomedical, hazardous and construction and demolition waste management rules.

“The last such rules were framed in 2000 and for 16 years there was no review. At present, 620 lakh tonnes of solid waste is generated every year. Out of that, only 70 per cent or 430 lakh tonnes is collected of which only 30 per cent, or 120 lakh tonnes, gets treated.

The rest of it goes into the dumps.

“This is dangerous and also gives rise to health hazards. The way the population is increasing, it is projected that by 2030, the solid waste generated will be 165 million tonnes and by 2050, it is expected to increase to 437 million tonnes. So, this is the time to ensure proper management of solid

APRIL 9, 2016

Supriya Bhoite from Chaturshrungi police station.

Contd on p4

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

Hum

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 them knew about the existence of fi lm. In January 2013, the Culture Ministry forwarded his application to Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) as well hoping that they would have commissioned the fi lm. I&B in turn contacted National Films Development Corporation asking if Dhumale had registered a fi lm in the name of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak with them. The answer was negative.

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

BY ASHOK BHAT @ashok_bhat The fi lm was jinxed from the start. It was commissioned to celebrate 50th Anniversary of Indian Republic.

While 2000 was the celebratory year, the project was assigned to fi lm-maker Vinay Dhumale only by the end of 2001. Money was doled out and it was expected to get over in a year’s time.

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

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

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

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

“E-waste segregation is very important. We need to efficiently dispose them off so that their components are reused and the scrap leftover is also saved from dumping.”

— Eric Miller, Director, World Story Telling Institute

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

Ministry of CPIO of special cell in Ministry Culture wrote to also of Culture wrote to Kamalapurkar in July 2013 admitting that the issue of Kamalapurkar funds being sanctioned for such a fi lm admitting that by the government came to light only PUNE, MARCH 21, 2015 | www.thegoldensparrow.com the issue came to after receiving his RTI. light only after 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 Hain

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 APRIL 9, 2016

PUNE

“To my mind, lack of electricity access in villages across the country is a serious concern for us as a nation. There are about 50 million homes which do not have access to electricity.”

— Piyush Goyal, Union Minister

SC raps Govt for not giving funds in drought-hit areas Directs Centre to give expenditure details under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act Supreme Court pulled up the Centre for not releasing adequate funds to states for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and asked it to give details of expenditure on the scheme in drought-hit states, saying relief has to be provided now and not after one year.

“If you are not releasing the funds, then no one will like to work. States will say they have no funds, so they can’t pay anyone for MGNREGA work. No state will make any commitment to the people,” a bench headed by Justice M B Lokur said.

“Relief has to be given immediately and not after one year. Temperature is soaring at 45 degree celsius, there is no drinking water, nothing is there. You have to do some thing and provide relief on time,” the bench said.

It said as per government’s own figures, average workdays is 48 days, while the statute says it should be 100 days.

“The argument holds substance that since you (Centre) are not releasing the funds, states are not willing to allocate works to people under MGNREGA and hence the average workdays will fall,” the bench also comprising Justice NV Ramana said.

“We should realize that there is problem. Nine states and now Rajasthan have declared drought. It is difficult to believe that there is no drought in

The court had expressed its concern over low compensation paid to calamity-hit farmers and observed that it was leading some of them to commit suicide

Bundelkhand and Marathwada,” the bench said.

Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand informed the bench that Rs 7983 crore will be released by the Centre in a couple of days towards wage liability, while Rs 2400 crore material liability will be cleared in June.

She said that Rs 2,723 crore was being released as wage reliability for the drought affected states.

“This year also, you will face problem. Things will not improve unless you provide funds. One more state Rajasthan has now declared drought.

Now the total drought-affected states have gone up to 10. Total of 256 villages

Is India for Hindus only, HC asks NMC Expressing anguish over the move to recite “Hanuman chalisa” at an AIDS awareness programme, the Bombay High Court has asked the BJP-ruled Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) if, according to it, “India is for Hindus only”.

The Nagpur bench of the court, while hearing a PIL, asked NMC “whether India is for Hindus only” and expressed strong reservations over the plan to recite ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ at its AIDS awareness event, in association with Poddareshwar Ram Mandir Trust.

The event is planned at Kasturchand Park ground.

“Why only recital of Hanuman Chalisa and why not from Quran, the Bible or other religious literature?

What is the nexus of AIDS awareness and Hanuman Chalisa recital? Is it only Hindus who contract AIDS? Is chanting of Hanuman Chalisa the only remedy for eradication of this deadly disease? the division bench of justices Bhushan Gavai and Swapna Joshi said.

“If people can come for this event, they will also come for recitation of Quran and Bible,” they observed.

The judges disposed of the PIL filed by former corporator Janardan Moon, after both the NMC and programme convener Dayashankar Tiwari, who is the ruling party’s leader in the civic body, agreed to disassociate with the two events (AIDS awareness and Hanuman Chalisa event), and pay the cost of stage and ground (used for the

event) on pro-rata basis.

The judges asked the respondents (NMC and the temple trust) to keep at least an hour’s gap between the AIDS awareness programme and the Hanuman Chalisa recitation, which over 1.5 lakh people are expected to attend.

The court further directed to ensure that separate banners are put up backstage during both the programmes, with individual names of organisers.

The NMC was also asked to give wide publicity to its AIDS awareness programme, without mentioning the Hanuman Chalisa event.

“We dispose the PIL after accepting statements of NMC and Tiwari, that they would totally disassociate with Hanuman Chalisa recital and only hold AIDS programme,” the court said.

The judges said that they were not against any religious programme, but only concerned with government agencies associating with it.

PTI

Vol-II* lssue No.: 43 Editor: Yogesh Sadhwani (Responsible for the selection of news under the PRB Act, 1867) Printed and Published by: Shrikant Honnavarkar on behalf of Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. CIN:U22200PN2014PTC151382 and printed at PRI – Media Services Private Limited CIN: U22222MH2012PTC232006 at Plot No. EL-201, TTC Industrial Area, MIDC, Mahape, Navi Mumbai.

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in Gujarat have been now declared drought-affected,” the bench said.

“We are not targeting anybody. We are not targeting the officials. There are other ways of targeting. This is not an adversarial issue and everyone should come up with solutions.

We are just trying to help the people,” the bench said while referring to the officials present in the court room.

The Additional Solicitor General further submitted that the Centre was trying to do everything possible to help the people in drought-hit areas but there were some constraints.

The hearing remained inconclusive and will continue tomorrow.

On March 31, the apex court had asked Centre to say how many states had drought management cells and why no district- level disaster management authorities have been set up.

It had suggested that the Centre, with the help of satellite data, should analyse the expected rainfall in the monsoon season and take effective steps to tackle drought-like situations on time.

The bench is examining various aspects of relief given to drought-hit farmers during the hearing of a PIL filed by NGO Swaraj Abhiyan seeking urgent implementation of guidelines for areas hit by natural calamity.

Earlier, the court had expressed its concern over low compensation paid to calamity-hit farmers and observed that it was leading some of them to commit suicide.

The NGO, in its revised prayer, has sought a direction to Centre to abide by the provisions of MNREGA Act and use it for employment generation in drought-affected areas.

The PIL filed by the NGO has alleged that parts of 12 states of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Haryana and Chattisgarh were hit by drought and the authorities were not providing adequate relief.

PTI

Daughter reveals Patnaik’s plans to topple British Incredible though it may seem, the late Biju Patnaik had plans to print fake currency notes and circulate them across the Indian subcontinent as a means of bringing about the downfall of the British Raj. This was revealed by the legendary leader and former Odisha Chief Minister’s daughter Gita Mehta in an article ‘Mo Bapa (My Father)’, published in ‘Utkal Prasanga’, the Odisha government mouthpiece.

The state government, which is headed by her younger brother Naveen Patnaik, is celebrating the birth centenary of Biju Patnaik, who had founded the UNESCO Kalinga Prize for Popularisation of Science. Mehta, a prominent writer whose works include ‘Karma Cola’, ‘A River Sutra’, ‘Snake and Ladder’, ‘Glimpses of Modern India’, revealed facts about her illustrious father.

PTI

Smaller cities to drive growth for wine: Sula Vineyards P 14

Govt’s ‘concern’ list may include China Government is likely to take a view soon on whether to put China again in the list of ‘country of concern’ as it blocked India’s bid to have JeM chief Masood Azhar designated terrorist by the UN for his involvement in the terror strike at the Pathankot airbase.

Upset over the action by the China, a meeting will soon be convened to examine the possibility of revisiting the decision to remove China from the list of ‘country of concern’, official sources said today.

The removal of China from the list led to faster security clearance to Chinese investment in India.

Pakistan is another country which is in the list of ‘country of concern’.

The security establishment is considering a review of the liberalised investment regime being offered to Chinese investors after Beijing snubbed India by blocking its latest bid to have Masood designated terrorist by the United Nations.

Official sources said the view in the security establishment is that security clearances given to Chinese companies should be reviewed after China’s action in the UN on India’s bid in the wake of terror strike at the Pathankot airbase.

The Indian security establishment feels that China has shown insensitivity as far as core security issues relating to India are concerned.

Around 25 Chinese companies were given security clearance by the

government in the past two years for setting up industrial projects mostly in power, telecom, railways and infrastructure sectors.

According to Department Of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), India had received Rs 3,066.24 crore investment from China in 2014-15 and Rs 2,196.11 crore in 2015-16 (up to September 2015).

As per DIPP records, the Chinese companies which have invested in India in last 15 years were Saic General Motors Investment Ltd, Beiqi Foton Motors Co Ltd, Tbea Sheyang Transformer Group Ltd, Cina Steel Corporation, Boasteel Resources Co Ltd, Gaungxi Liugong Machinery Co Ltd, Shanghai Hitachi Electrical Appliances C, Xiangfen County Hongda Group Cement & BL, Dongfang Electric Corporation Ltd and ZTE Corporation.

PTI

INDIA’S PRIDE

Team members of Indian Air Force contingent with an IAF’s C-17 (Tactical Lift Aircraft of Indian Air Force) before proceeding for participating in prestigious Exercise ‘Red Flag’ scheduled to be held at Alaska in USA, at Air Force Station Jamnagar

Fed up with human apathy, farmers seek Krishna’s help Fed up with cold response from district administration to their demand to declare Devbhoomi Dwarka as drought-hit, farmers knocked at the God’s door for help and submitted a memorandum to Lord Krishna seeking divine intervention to alleviate their sufferings.

Dozens of farmers led by NGO Khedut Hit Rakshak Samiti submitted the memorandum to the high priest of the famous Dwarkadhish Temple in Devbhoomi Dwarka district, about 400km from here, dedicated to Lord Krishna.

In the memorandum addressed Lord Krishna, the farmers pleaded for help and said they have come to him “as a last resort” after getting tired of approaching Government officials with their list of demands.

Maulana Masood Azhar

They listed their demands before the God, which included declaring the district as drought-affected, setting up cattle camps, providing water for drinking and irrigation and reducing power connection tariff.

BJP in Gujarat declared parts of district as droughthit. “We have come to you

as a last resort...the present government, elected from farmers’ votes, is working for the industrialists.

Government invest crore of rupees to organise farmer programmes but refuses to address our problems.

Leaders and government officials are corrupt, and we farmers are crying for help,”

the memorandum stated.

“Government is not thinking of waiving interest on crop loan for the current year. Nothing is being done to ensure water supply for irrigation...the CM calls herself farmer’s daughter, but makes hollow promises in the name of farmer welfare,” it stated. President of Khedut Hit Rakshak Samiti, Palbhai Ambaliya, said the local administration has been apathetic to their plight.

“Farmers in Devbhumi Dwarka district have approached government offices several times with their demands. We submitted several memorandums stating our demands to Collector and other officials and even held rallies but nothing happened. So we decided to knock at the God’s door,” he said.

PTI

Just pouring kerosene on self not an attempt to suicide: Court A man accused of trying to commit suicide by pouring kerosene oil on himself at an MCD office here 16 years ago, has been acquitted by a Delhi court which said it was “merely a preparation” to commit suicide and nothing more.

The court said the act of the accused, who poured kerosene on himself and took out a matchstick, could only be termed as a preparation to commit suicide which is not punishable under the IPC. “The act of accused pouring the kerosene oil on himself and taking out a matchstick can at best be termed as a preparation to commit suicide which is not punishable under Indian Penal Code.

“An attempt is the direct movement towards commission of crime after the preparation have been made. However in my considered view, the act of accused in the instant case was merely a preparation and nothing more than that,” Metropolitan Magistrate Anuj Agarwal said while acquitting the accused.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATUR APRIL 9, 2016

‘I would love to coach Maharashtra squad’ P 16

“Japan should arm itself to deter a threat from North Korea rather than have the US military protect the longtime ally against the rogue nuclear nation. And frankly, the case could be made that let them protect themselves against North Korea. They’d probably wipe them out pretty quick.”

— Donald Trump, US Presidential Candidate

Global executions up by 50 per cent

Amnesty International states Pakistan among top three countries

BY SAJJAD HUSSAIN Worldwide executions marked a dramatic 54 per cent rise in 2015, with Pakistan figuring among the top three countries which together carried out 90 per cent of the capital punishment, a rights body said today.

Most of the executions in 2015 took place in China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the US in that order, according to Amnesty International.

The trend of executions represents over 50 per cent increase in the number recorded in 2014, when 1,061 executions were carried out in 22 countries, it said.

China remained the world’s top executioner but the true extent of the use of the death penalty in the country is unknown as this data is considered a state secret, the London-based body said. Pakistan - which lifted a ban on execution after Peshawar school terror attack of December 16, 2014 - hanged 326 people out of at least 1,634 executed in 25 countries in 2015.

The total number of executions last year is the highest worldwide since 1989, Amnesty noted. It said that excluding China, almost 90 per cent of all executions took place in just three countries including Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

India, with one execution in 2015, is

Most of the executions in 2015 took place in China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the US in that order, according to Amnesty International

also included in the list of 25 countries.

140 countries worldwide, more than two-thirds, are abolitionist in law or practice. It said that at least 1,998 death sentences were recorded in 61 countries in 2015. There were at least 20,292 people on death row at the end of 2015.

In reference to India, Amnesty said: “India carried out one execution, on 30 July, when Yakub Abdul Razak Memon was hanged at the Nagpur Central jail. At least 75 new death sentences were imposed during the year, almost all for murder. At least four people were sentenced to death for aggravated circumstances of rape following

10 of 21 arrested for visa fraud in US are Indian-Americans

BY LALIT K JHA

Ten Indian-Americans are among 21 people arrested as part of a sting operation in which a fake university was created by US authorities to expose a visa scam that allowed more than 1,000 foreigners to maintain student and work visas. In a nationwide sweep federal authorities arrested 21 people in New York, New Jersey, Washington and Virginia.

“These defendants arranged to obtain visas by having individuals enroll in a fake university. Unfortunately for them, that fake university was run by undercover agents of the Department of Homeland Security,” Paul J Fishman, US Attorney for New Jersey, told reporters.

The arrested people were brokers, recruiters and employers who unlawfully and fraudulently obtained or attempted to obtain student visas and foreign worker visas for approximately 1,000 foreign nationals from 26 countries.

It is learnt that a large number of students who received necessary visa and permits to work in the US as a result of the sting operation for which they reportedly paid huge sums of money are from India.

Officials, however, did not give the number of Indian students who were trapped by this year-long sting operation done by immigration and law enforcement authorities.

While the US Government did not reveal the nationality of the arrested people, names released by authorities indicate that 10 of them are either Indians or of Indian-origin.

Those name include: Tajesh Kodali, Jyoti Patel, Shahjadi M Parvin, Narendra Singh Plaha, Sanjeev Sukhija, Harpreet Sachdeva, Avinash Shankar, Karthik Nimmala, Govardhan Dyavarashetty and Syed Qasim Abbas.

These people arrested for their involvement in an alleged scheme to enroll foreign nationals as students in the University of Northern New Jersey, a purported for-profit college located in Cranford, New Jersey (UNNJ).

Unbeknownst to the defendants and the foreign nationals they conspired with, the UNNJ was created in September 2013 by special agents of Homeland

UNNJ was created in September 2013 by special agents of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)

Security Investigations (HSI). “Payto-Stay schemes not only damage our perception of legitimate student and foreign worker visa programmes, they also pose a very real threat to national security,” Fishman said.

The HIS sting investigation was carried out to unearth the unauthorised networks and educational institutions that are “nothing more than sham visa mills”, he said, adding that these educational institutions have no curriculum, no classes, no instructors and no real students. “These purported schools and their corrupt administrators simply give out I-20 forms in exchange for payment,” he said.

“This illegal practice is known as ‘pay to stay’ because foreign nationals pay money to brokers and recruiters, like the defendants, to be enrolled in a school for the sole purpose of obtaining immigration status as a student but with no intention of or interest in going to class or making any progress toward an academic degree,” Fishman said.

To catch these recruiters, HIS developed an undercover investigative strategy that involved the creation of a school called the University of Northern New Jersey or UNNJ. Although UNNJ was physically located in New Jersey, in a real building in Cranford, the university was not a real school. Its only employees were undercover HIS agents posing as corrupt administrators.

The school had no instructors or educators; it had no curriculum; and no actual classes or educational activities ever occurred there.

PTI

PUNE

amendments to the Criminal Code in 2013. At least 320 people remained under sentence of death at the end of 2015.”

The Amnesty analysis also highlights the Law Commission of India’s report on the death penalty published last August as a means to “contribute to a debate on the prompt abolition of the death penalty” but says it “fell short of recommending that the death penalty be abolished for all crimes and instead suggested that this punishment be retained for terrorismrelated offences and waging war.”

PTI

China opens its new lighthouse in disputed SCS

BY KJM VARMA Amid rising maritime tensions, China has stepped up its foothold on the disputed South China Sea by operationalising a newly built lighthouse atop a reconstructed reef also claimed by Vietnam and the Philippines.

China’s Ministry of Transport held a completion ceremony for the construction of a lighthouse on Zhubi Reef, marking the start of its operation, state media reported today.

Construction of the Zhubi Lighthouse was initiated in October 2015.

The 55-meter-high lighthouse, with a lantern of 4.5 meters in diameter on the top and rotating lights inside, is monitored through a Beidou remote control terminal.

The automatic identification system (AIS) and very high frequency (VHF) stations inside the lighthouse can provide efficient navigation services such as positioning reference, route guidance and navigation safety information to ships, which can improve navigation management and emergency response, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Defending the Chinese action, the report said the South China Sea is a critical maritime corridor linking the Pacific and Indian oceans, as well as a major fishing ground.

However, high traffic density, complex navigation condition, severe shortage in aids and response forces have combined to threaten navigation safety and hindered economic and social development in the region, it said.

PTI

UK claims visa changes will not impact Indians Allaying concerns of Indians over the new visa rules change, the UK government said a new 35,000 pounds salary threshold requirement for Tier 2 work visas which has come into effect will not impact a “vast majority” of Indian professionals.

Thousands of Indians and other nationals from outside the European Union (EU) living and working in Britain on a Tier 2 visa may have to leave or be deported if they earn less than 35,000 pounds a year once the terms of the visa expire. “This rules change will not impact majority of Indian professionals who work or are looking to work in the UK as last year 89 per cent of all work visas issued to Indian nationals were for routes which are not impacted by the 35k pounds (35,000 pounds) income threshold,” UK minister James Brokenshire said.

PTI

ISIS recruits enter Europe as refugees

Migrants and refugees look out a wire fence of Moria camp in the Greek island of Lesbos

Islamic State terrorists are disguising as refugees and taking advantage of loose border checks to infiltrate Europe, the EU’s own border agency has admitted in a shocking report.

Officials at Frontex admitted a string of security blunders has led to a large number of people arriving in Greece and Italy with false documents and not facing thorough checks or penalties.

“Two of the terrorists involved in the attacks had previously irregularly entered through Leros and had been registered by the Greek authorities. They presented fraudulent Syrian documents to speed up their registration process,” said the report ‘Risk Analysis for 2016’ released yesterday.

The Paris attacks last November demonstrate how the chaos caused by the ongoing migrant crisis could be used by terrorists to reach the EU, it said.

“With a large number of persons arriving with false or no identification documents or raising concerns over the validity of their claimed nationality with no thorough check or penalties

in place for those making such false declarations, there is a risk that some persons representing a security threat to the EU may be taking advantage of this situation,” it said.

The report has come after more than 1.8 million illegal border crossings were detected by EU member states last year, a whopping six times the number reported in 2014, the ‘Daily Express’ reported. The report also noted that as the vast majority of migrants arrive undocumented, screening activities were essential to properly verify their declaration of nationality.

“Islamist extremists will exploit irregular migration flows whenever such movements fit their plans.” said investigators who also raised concerns that EU citizens who had joined ISIS in Syria were taking advantage of the irregular migrations flows to return home. “The staggering number of EU citizens who joined the conflict as jihadists has resulted in a number of returnees opting to use irregular means of traveling,” they said.

PTI

NATURE’S BOUNTY

A couple enjoy a tea ceremony on a boat in a river under blooming cherry blossoms in Yokohama, near Tokyo. People all over the country go out to enjoy cherry blossoms this weekend as the country’s iconic flower is full bloom

Obama visits Cuba, steps into history A lot of things are called historic, but President Obama’s trip to Cuba truly is.

Pushing decades of acrimony with Cuba deeper into the past, US President Barack Obama visited Havana and in the process stepped into history as he forged irreversible ties with America’s former adversary.

For more than 50 years, Cuba was an unimaginable destination for a US president, as well as most American citizens.

The US severed diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961 after Fidel Castro’s revolution sparked fears of communism spreading to the Western Hemisphere. Domestic politics in both countries contributed to the continued estrangement well after the Cold War ended.

The last visit to Cuba by a US president came in 1928, when Calvin Coolidge arrived on the island in a battleship.

Obama, the first US president to visit Cuba, hailed a “new day” -- a “nuevo dia,” as he said – in relations between the former Cold War foes.

His trip to Cuba, the first by a sitting United States president in 88 years, is in many ways the most symbolically charged and groundbreaking diplomatic move of his presidency.

Bidding to turn the page on the Cold War in Cuba, Obama met his counterpart Raul Castro as part of effort to restore normal relations between the two countries. While deep differences persist, the economic and political relationship has changed rapidly in the 15 months since the leaders vowed a new beginning.

The mere presence of a US President in Havana is startling, refreshing, novel.

No president has been there since 1928, a time when presidents visited few countries and went by battleship if they

did. For those and other reasons, this visit will garner far more attention than a typical foray.

During his three-day visit, Obama met with Cuban leaders and entrepreneurs. He made the case that the United States and Cuba will get more out of working together than resenting each other from afar.

Castro acknowledged there were still “profound” differences over Cuba’s human rights situation and the decadesold, crippling US economic embargo on the island.

US President Barack Obama attends a state dinner hosted by Cuban President Raul Castro in Havana as part of Obama’s three-day visit to Cuba

In a sometimes comic, sometimes tetchy press conference -- which in an extremely rare move was carried live on Cuban television -- Castro refused even to acknowledge that his government holds political prisoners.

However, the mere fact that the joint press conference took place in Havana’s Palace of the Revolution -- after the leaders met for more than two hours -demonstrated how much has changed.

Without question, US economic sanctions have been an exercise in frustration. They have not prompted a popular uprising or compelled the Cuban regime to open up. If anything, they have been counterproductive, allowing the Castro regime to blame its woeful economic performance on vindictive U.S. policies, rather than on its failed communist ideology.

The Obama administration should be applauded both for the strategy it adopted to Cuba and for the perseverance it has shown in carrying it through.

Obama’s visit is not just about good neighbourly relations, nor about lifting the burden of the past.

It confronts Cubans and their regime with the question of what kind of future they want to make possible.

PTI Feature

MONEY MATT ER S

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY APRIL 9, 2016

PUNE

“Xiaomi has been an Internet company from the very start. We are investing in Hungama not only to start integrating content into our smartphones, but also to grow together with them.”

— Hugo Barra, Vice President, Xiaomi

Signpost LIC clocks Rs 11k-cr profit through equity investments in FY16 Life insurance giant LIC has made a profit of Rs 11,000 crore through its equity investments in the recently concluded 2015-16, a senior official said. “We saw some profit booking opportunities during the fiscal and have made a profit of Rs 11,000 crore through our equity investments in the recently concluded FY16,” its executive director for investment operations, Pravin Kutumbe told reporters. He said the largest domestic investor pumpedin Rs 2.70 lakh crore across equity and debt markets in the fiscal, of which Rs 65,000 crore was in the equity segment. The depressed markets towards the latter part of the year led to the corporation exceeding on its equity investments target of Rs 60,000 crore announced earlier, he said.

“One of our primary objectives is to bring down the number of visitors to Shastri Bhavan and move towards less regulation and facilitate India to become the hub of media and entertainment industry.”

— Sunil Arora, Secretary, Union I&B Ministry

India, Russia go strong with new deals Pacts allow India partners to participate in Russian upstream sector, whilst opening the growing India market to Russia

BY AMMAR ZAIDI India is fast expanding its footprint in China’s backyard by forging deals with Russia for stakes in Siberian fields that supply Asia’s biggest economy and crude consumer. State-owned oil firms struck deals with Russia’s Rosneft in March in two assets that are linked to the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline. That conduit has a direct link to China, which also lifts a majority of ESPO supplies shipped from the Pacific port of Kozmino and is the biggest buyer of Russian crude.

ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and a consortium led by Indian Oil Corp on March 16 signed agreements to buy stake in two Russian oilfields in Siberia for an estimated USD 4.2 billion (over Rs 28,253 crore).

IOC, Oil India Ltd and a unit of Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) signed sale purchase agreement (SPA) for 29.9 per cent stake in Tass-Yuriakh oilfield from Russia’s Rosneft for USD 1.28 billion.

The consortium also signed Heads of

Agreement (HoA) with Rosneft for taking 23.9 per cent stake in Vankor oilfield for just over USD 2 billion.

OVL, the overseas arm of stateowned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), which had in September last year bought 15 per cent in the Vankor for USD 1.26 billion, signed a MoU envisaging its stake going up in the Siberian oilfield to 26 per cent by paying an additional USD 925 million. The IOC-led consortium also signed another MoU with Rosneft for exploring taking stake in development of Vankor cluster fields of Suzunskoye, Tagulskoye and Lodochnoye. The agreements were signed on the second day of Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin’s two-day visit to India.

Speaking to reporters after the signing of the agreement, he said the pacts “allow India partners to participate in Russian upstream sector, whilst opening the growing India market to Rosneft”.

While the IOC-OIL-Bharat PetroResources deal for 29.9 per cent stake in Tass-Yuriakh oilfield is a concluded agreement, the consortium’s Vankor deal is an initial pact and a sale purchase agreement is yet to be concluded. Similarly, OVL’s increase in stake in Vankor too is yet to be concluded.

Taas-Yuriah oilfield, which holds recoverable reserves of 137 million tons, currently produces 20,000 barrels of oil per day. The output is slated to rise to 100,000 bpd in two year, officials said, adding that IOCOIL-Bharat PetroResources will pay another USD 180 million as its share of future capex.

Rosneft had last year sold 20 per cent stake in Taas-Yuriah BP of UK for USD 750 million. The Russian firm will hold 50.1 per cent stake in the project after the deal.

The Russian firm will hold the remaining 50.1 per cent in Vankor after OVL and the IOC-led consortium complete buying the total of 49.9 per cent.

Vankor has recoverable reserves of 2.5 billion barrels. While the 15 per cent stake guaranteed OVL 3.3 million tonnes of oil a year, India as a whole will get access to about 12 million tonnes once 49.9 per cent stake buy is completed. Rosneft, Russia’s biggest oil producer, has been impeded by US and European economic sanctions over Moscow’s involvement in conflict in Ukraine. It needs to pay off debts incurred in its USD 55 billion acquisition of TNK-BP in 2013 and investments by India will help its cause.

BPCL in a regulatory filing said its 100 per

Deals mark the turning of a new leaf in the cooperation between both countries

Telcos give Centre Rs 12 cr loss: CAG

cent subisidary Bharat PetroResources Ltd (BPRL) along with Oil India Ltd (OIL) and Indian Oil Corp (IOCL), acting jointly as the Indian Consortium, have signed definitive agreement to acquire 29.9 per cent. The consortium acquired the stake of “the charter capital of LLC ‘TYNGD’, a company organised under the laws of Russian Federation, from LLC RN Razvedka I Dobycha, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rosneft Oil Company, a national oil company of Russia”, it said.

Vanko is Russia’s second largest field by production and accounts for around 4 per cent of the country’s output. It produces oil at a peak level of about 440,000 barrel a day.

The MoU with OVL “also oversees the analysis of the joint trading development’s potential, including the possibility of entering into long-term crude-oil supply contracts,” it said.

Sechin said: “The signed documents literally mark the turning of a new leaf in the cooperation between Russia and India in the energy sector, reached in continuation of t h e agreements, achieved at the highest level between the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and the Prime Minster of India Narendra Modi.”

“The reached agreements represent a shift from energy dependency to energy partnership of both countries.”

PTI

India soon to be RB’s top markets

Government has suffered a loss of Rs 12,488.93 crore due to underinvoicing of gross revenue by six telecom companies including Reliance Communications, Vodafone and Bharti Airtel, the CAG said in a damning report.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in a report tabled in Parliament said Reliance Communications, Tata Telecom, Vodafone, Airtel, Idea and Aircel under reported their adjusted gross revenue

by Rs 46,045.75 crore, leading to a loss of Rs 12,488.93 crore to the exchequer from 2006 to 2010.

CAG said adjustment of one-time entry fee paid by telecom companies, whose licences were quashed by the

Supreme Court, against the spectrum price they paid in 201213 deprived national exchequer of Rs 5,476.3 crore.

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on his part said the special audit of the operators book would be ordered for three years -- 200910 to 2010-11, to find if there is any outstanding due on them.

Telecom industry bodies COAI and AUSPI in a joint statement said the matters relating to interpretation of Gross Revenue/Adjusted Gross Revenue of telecom companies for the purpose of calculation of license fees

Exports dip continue for 15th month in Feb

Smaller cities to drive growth for wine: Sula Vineyards

BY KIRAN RATHEE

CAG presented its report on sharing of revenue by telcos in Parliament

BY KUMAR RAHUL

BY RAJESH RAI Things are getting worst in front of India’s merchandise exports.

Steps taken by the government like 3 per cent interest subsidy for exporters too are not able to influence the exports in a positive manner. Important sectors like petroleum products and engineering goods continue to register negative growth. Falling for the 15th month in a row, exports dipped 5.66 per cent in February to USD 20.73 billion amid tepid global demand.

Trade deficit, however, fell to near five-year low of USD 6.54 billion during February as imports too slowed down.

Imports declined 5.03 per cent to USD 27.28 billion last month, leading to a lower trade deficit of USD 6.54 billion compared to that of USD 6.74 billion in February 2015. The trade deficit is the lowest since March 2011 when it was USD 5.6 billion. The Commerce Ministry has said the trend of falling exports is in tandem with that in other major world economies. The growth in exports have fallen for the US (10.35 per cent), European Union (7.62 per cent) and China (1.67 per cent) for December 2015. The Federation of Indian Export Organisations said drop was largely due to low export base in February 2015.

PTI

are under litigation in various judicial forums including the TDSAT, High Courts and the Supreme Court.

“The issues pointed out by the CAG pertain to those disputes, which have either been settled or stayed by various Courts. Further, we would like to reiterate that our member companies follow the highest standards of corporate governance and have always been in compliance with all regulations,” the statement added.

The CAG report has been much awaited as operators had been resisting auditing of their books since 2009 and

Country’s largest wine maker Sula Vineyards is banking on smaller cities and towns to drive its sales, as growth in metros witnesses a slowdown. The firm which expects to sell close to 10 lakh cases of wine this year is looking at 15 per cent volume growth in the next 3-4 years.

While speaking to PTI, Sula Vineyards Founder & CEO Rajeev Samant said that wine is no longer a metro drink. The wine industry in India would comfortably sail through a growth of upto 20 per cent as the consumption continues to be strong across the country and tier 2 cities and towns where earlier hardly any wine was consumed..

PTI: Indians are gradually consuming wine at social gatherings as its getting socially accepted. Some studies even suggest an increase in the consumption patterns. In such scenario how do you see the overall wine market in India in terms of value and volume?

Samant: It’s very true that more and more Indians are drinking more and more wine every day. The market has been shown growth of almost 20 per cent annually over the last three years and it’s likely to continue growing at least by 15 per cent for the next decade as far as we can see.

The per capita income continues to be tiny at just 0.015 litres per head

translating to a total volume of around 8 lakh cases a year for the market.

PTI: Could you share some future projections about the wine industry in the next three to four years?

Samant: We are expecting to see between 15 to 20 percent annual growth for the next three to four years.

The consumption continues to be strong across the country, and tier 2 cities and towns where earlier hardly any wine was consumed are now showing exponential growth in wine consumption, which makes us very optimistic. The only challenge on the horizon is climate change which is causing a big strain on the grape supply.

PTI: What is the sales turnover/ revenue base of Sula right now?

What is the year on your growth of the company?

Samant: Sula will sell close to 10 lakh cases of wine this year which gives us close to 65 percent of the market share of the total Indian wine industry.

PTI: Where do you see the brand Sula in the next 5 years in terms of sales, production and reach in the market?

Samant: We expect to continue growing our volumes comfortably by 15 percent per year for the next 3 to 4 years. We expect to maintain or slightly increase our market share over this time.

PTI: Presently, what is the size of Sula’s

had moved different courts to challenge mandate of the official auditor.

It was only after Supreme Court settled the issue in favour of the CAG in April 2014 that they were compelled to share info. The auditor reported instances of under reporting of revenue due to netting off of discounts/waivers granted to post-paid subscribers and under-invoicing of roaming revenue due to set-off of inter-operator traffic discounts paid to other operators.

The financial impact due to understatement of AGR stood at Rs 3,728.54 crore for Reliance Communications, Rs 3,215.39 crore for Tata Teleservices, Airtel (Rs 2,651.89 crore), Vodafone (Rs 1,665.39 crore), Idea (Rs 964.89 crore) and Aircel (Rs 262.83 crore), the CAG said.

PTI

sales network? How many places or a points of sale and cities is it getting retailed? Is the company planning to expand its reach, if yes then kindly share some

BY KUMAR RAHUL UK-based FMCG major RB expects India to be among its top three markets globally soon with health and hygiene business led by power brands such as Dettol, Harpic and Durex to drive growth in the country.

The company is betting on emergence of e-commerce, besides its traditional retail channels, along with rural markets for enhanced sales in India, which is currently among its top five markets.

“We are a big business for the group and we are steadily climbing the rankings. We are not in top three at the

information on that?

Samant: Sula is now in every state and union territory in the county except Tamil Nadu which does not allow domestic wines to enter the state. For this year, we have added Mizoram to our portfolio, and we currently deal with 100 distributors in India.

PTI: Tier two places are also consuming wines, although their volumes are very less in comparison to the developed metro markets. What is the potential Sula sensing in those non metro markets?

Samant: The potential is huge. At the start of the Sula story, all the growth came from the main metros. Today, the growth in the main metros has slowed down, but the growth in the tier two cities and towns is easily running at over 30 percent a year.

PTI: Alcobev firms in India are moving towards premiumisation of the low alcohol beverages due to factors such as rise in income and to increase the margins

Wine market has shown annual growth of almost 20 per cent

Rajeev Samant

moment but potentially we are among top five countries and we are very close to it... We would be there very soon,” said RB South Asia Regional Director Nitish Kapoor. In order to achieve the target, RB India will expand its product portfolio and plans to launch vitamin, minerals and supplements under its health and hygienes business.

With rural sales accounting for 30 per cent of its sales, RB India is coming up with different packaging and smaller sizes to suit low income group to further increase it, besides being an active partner in government’s Swacch Bharat Abhiyan.

PTI

which is always pressurized due to sales restrictions. Is Sula considering to join the premiumisation drive by launching more brands into the market?

Samant: It should be remembered that Sula is already by far one of the most premium alcobev companies in India. Most of our sales are for products above the Rs. 500 per bottle price point. As such we were the pioneers of premiumisation and Sula Vineyards continues to be India’s number one premium alcobev brand. Sula started the trend in India and we have seen other companies follow suit over the years.

PTI: Sula is largely concentrated at Nashik for its Production. Is Sula considering to move to other locations in South India or in the Eastern flanks as the brand is expanding?

Samant: Our main wineries are in Nashik but production in Karnataka has been increasing very fast over the last three to four years. Production in Karnataka currently accounts for 20 per cent of our total, and we expect to see it rise to 25-30 per cent over the next few years. At present we have no plans outside Maharashtra and Karnataka.

PTI: Is Sula exporting wines produced from its Nashik Vineyards? Could you share some information about that?

Samant: We currently export to 24 countries and tend to add two to three countries every year.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY APRIL 9, 2016

PUNE

Our voices need to be heard

AN EXPRESS MEAL FOR PEOPLE ON THE GO

OLLY ESSE LIVE

Olly Esse is an international DJ and producer from Italy based in Mumbai, playing mostly future house. She started her career with the music seven years ago. From that time, she worked in best clubs in Italy, Poland, Swizerland, Indonesia, Tunis Marocco and India. She is an Official DJ of Italian Playboy Party and in India one of FTV clubs DJs. Gear up and put on your dancing shoes as she sets the dance floor on fire.

When: April 9, 9 pm onwards Where: blueFROG, Ishanya Mall, Yerwada

DO YOU LOVE TO SING OR DANCE?

Be a part of ‘Kalaviskar 2016’, a funfilled yet competitive dance and karaoke singing championship. A unique opportunity to showcase one’s singing and dancing proficiencies, ‘Kalviskar 2016’ will see some of the city’s best talents competing heads on with each other for the title. The competition will be judged by renowned artists, Vikas Dholpodia and Sabu Thapa.

The uniqueness of the event lies in the fact that just about anyone who has the desire and the confidence to perform and compete can register and go on to win the final competition.

When: April 9, 6 pm onwards Where: The Home Sukh, Aracade 4, Ishanya, Off Airport Road

INDIE ALERT THIS HIGH SPIRITS COOKOUT

Good gigs keep rolling as the café presents Vernon Noronha with his

indie music and Kanchan Daniel and the Beards with their Blues Rock. So if good music is not enough to entice you, let the chilled beers and amazing food be. You know where you need to be this Sunday afternoon.

When: April 10, 1.30 pm onwards Where: Café High Spirits, North Main Road, Koregaon Park

CELEBRATE THE HARVEST FESTIVAL

Join the festive glory of Baisakhi and treat yourself to a variety of delectable North Indian dishes in an irresistible set menu featuring a selection of traditional Baisakhi recipes prepared by chef de cuisine, Sadab Qureshi.

When: Till April 17, 6 pm onwards Where: Kangan, The Westin, Koregaon Park Annexe

Make a pit stop from your fast paced life for an express lunch. Indulge in a four course meal, complete with desserts in just 45 minutes. The talented Chefs have designed two set menus for both the restaurants. Start off your lunch with Caesar salad and a variety of aromatic soups. Choose from delicious pastas or risottos for the main course followed by freshly baked Pizzas in this amazing lunch. Sign off with a warm walnut brownie and ice cream at the all-day dining restaurant, Eighty Eight.

When: Ongoing, 12.30 pm to 3.30 pm Where: Hyatt Pune Kalyani Nagar

GET WRITING WORKSHOP

Author Sudha Menon’s Get Writing workshop will help you write down those stories like a pro. Through a series of guided writing exercises, she will get you comfortable with the process of putting down your thoughts on paper in a manner that will grip reader attention. She will give you tips to generate good quality writing each day and discuss ways to make sure you remain committed to the writer within you.

When: April 9, 10 am onwards Where: Hyatt Regency, Nagar Road

HAVE A WHOLESOME BREAKFAST

A LONG BEACH WEEKEND

Another long weekend is here. While it might not be long enough for a vacation, a quiet getaway is all you need. Letscampout has the perfect solution for your getaway cravings at its Kashid beach campsite. The picturesque campsite is located over a hillock overlooking the magnificent Arabian Sea. All the tents face the pristine blue waters of the Arabian Sea. A private beach located right next to the campsite for outdoor games and activities making

CONTEMPORARY DANCE FESTIVAL

Witness ‘Dance on Film Screenings’ as

WEEK THAT WAS

it an absolutely spectacular location for the weekend.

When: April 9 & 10 Where: Kashid beach

They say, “You should eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a Prince and dinner like a pauper”. Holding true to the saying, Pune Baking Company, the welcoming deli at JW Marriott Pune is offering a wholesome breakfast menu at the JW Food Truck. Including a platter of dishes to help you start your day on a healthy note, the breakfast can be enjoyed by patrons amidst a breezy outdoor seating and lively chatter on every weekend When : Ongoing on weekends, 8 am to 10.30 am Where: JW Marriott, SB Road

RAHUL RAUT

a part of the 5th edition of AVAYAVA - Contemporary Dance Festival.

The screenings will be followed by a Q&A round with artists Koel Sen and Swapnil Dagliya. The short film programme presents carefully selected films, curated by Swapnil Dagliya. They represent the reform and experiments in contemporary dance and dance on film techniques that are currently seen in the work of filmmakers and other artists/dancers. The films vary in narrative and genre.

When: April 9, 7.30 onwards Where: Gyaan Adab Centre, Lane 3C, Kalyani Nagar

Undri residents suffer due to poor infrastructure

I

n the last couple of years, Undri has witnessed rapid development. The area is now considered ideal for offering residential options to these segments. The area has the advantage of being well connected to various key localities like NIBM and Kondhwa. It has dense green cover which is well protected by the Government authorities.

Some renowned restaurants and malls have also set their base in that area.

Being a developing area, there are still some issues which need to be tackled. With so many real estate projects coming up, the infrastructure needs to be upgraded in the area. For instance, the Sushil Jadhav internal roads should be improved.

The area also needs better roads. The roads which are being constructed at present are narrower than what was promised to us. With so many new real estate projects coming, the number of residents will increase. The roads will not be sufficient to cater to the growing population.

Many parts of the area have water supply issues. Residents have to buy water every other day to meet their daily requirements. We are frustrated as our demands have still not been met. Moreover, it becomes a tad expensive to buy water every alternate day.

Another major issue is the public transport system. More PMPML buses should be deployed. The frequency of the buses is one in every hour which is very inadequate in an area with dense population. Due to the lack of public transport connectivity from the other parts of the city, many residents here prefer private vehicles for their daily commute, causing traffic jams. Just because the area is situated in the interiors, the garbage is not collected every day. I have written a number of letters to the authorities, but my grievances are yet to be addressed.

RAHUL RAUT

Anjali Bhalinge declared the winner eventually

EDITOR

LETTERS TO THE

PIC THE

you may have won the race but the prizes are for men only’. The story evoked a widespread response from readers, berating the organisers for refusing to acknowledge Bhalinge’s win.

Earlier, Pune Racing’s Vikas Kaduskar said, “Anjali Bhalinge came in as a substitute for another rider. Later she insisted on changing her category since the women’s races had been cancelled, and we said we would think about it. However, she assumed it was a yes from our side and took part in the race.”

The organisers had put up a note on social media, stating that Anjali did a great job by finishing in 3.08 hours, but the prize was given to a man who was the winner of the open hybrid category.

OF

After the fiasco of Saturday, April 2, Pune Racing, the organisers of the Lonavala 100K Challenge got their act together, and on Monday, April 4, their list of winners of various categories included Anjali Bhalinge as the winner of the ‘Men Masters Hybrid’ event, with a time of 3’ 8”, with a 16-minute margin over the runner-up.

Bhalinge, 49, participated in the 100 km cycle race alongside men, since the women’s category had been scrapped owing to a low number of participants. The organisers had granted her permission to participate in the event. But after winning the event, the organisers refused to acknowledge her victory, let alone give her a prize.

TGS reported the incident on Saturday in a report titled ‘Lady

E WE K

Pune Racing relent and declare Anjali Bhalinge as the winner of the Men Masters Hybrid cycling event

UTTER NEGLIGENCE: At first, this looks like a natural water body, but a pipeline burst that has been unattended for several months on the Empress Garden Road stretch has become a spot for these vegetable vendors who frequent here to wash vegetables. Several commercial vehicle also stop by for a regular wash here, but the Pune Cantonement has not paid any heed.

A great initiative indeed

Spilling the beans on Matheran

How low can tanker mafias stoop?

The story about the women collecting clothes and other things for people in need, on the Community Conversations page, is uplifting. The selfless nature of such activity is a rarity and a positive sign amidst all the chaos and confusion of the times we live in, when no one has any time to do something for those in need.

The women go out to the slums themselves and try to provide the people there the basic necessities. Such people are indeed like angles of mercy and we as a society must do all we can to show them our appreciation. It is hard enough to survive in a city for educated and privileged people like us, and one can only imagine what hardships the underprivileged and those who live in slums have to undergo. Well, there are people who care, and they need the gratitude of society.

— Shailu Vaghri

Matheran hill station is a perfect getaway for the people of Pune and Mumbai. The picturesque little hill station with its little train and unending charm, has fallen on bad times, at the hands of truly unscrupulous people. And it is a matter of shame that the people responsible for the decay and downfall of Matheran include some well known persons.

TGS has done a commendable job by spilling the beans and this should help a lot in undoing some of the wrongs.

What is needed is for the concerned authorities to spring into action and do the needful to restore Matheran to its pristine glory.

— Raj Nikam

Corruption is rampant today and the water tanker situation is another case in point. Tanker mafias have been selling water to construction sites and fringe villages at high prices instead of providing it to housing societies and people in dire need. The authorities need to treat this matter with the utmost urgency and bring to book the culprits, who go about their misdeeds with impunity. In the peak of summer, water is a priceless commodity and it is shameful that there are unscrupulous elements who will deprive people who need it for day-to-day living, and instead use water to make a fast buck.

— Shoba Korekar

Finally some ray of hope

Suresh Prabhu is taking the lead in the plan to renovate Shivajinagar station. The place is in urgent need of makeover and given Prabhu’s past record, he is sure to do a good job at the Shivajinagar station. The station is in a really sorry state, with no concern for cleanliness, hygiene or orderliness. A railway station is like a showpiece for a city, as countless travelers pass through it, and therefore it is all the more important to maintain a railway station in a spotless and scrupulous state of cleanliness.

The citizens of Pune themselves are largely to blame for not caring about such matters, and the way people throw garbage around and spit anywhere they please, is disgusting to say the least. While the world has moved on and even our neighbouring countries have put in place high standards of cleanliness and hygiene, we her in India are still as ignorant and primitive when it comes to basic hygiene and cleanliness. Shame on us.

— Shubhangi Jagtap

The nature of the beast

Rape has become an almost daily affair. The recent case involving two engineering students raping a 17-year-old is another example of human beings turning into animals for the sake of their base desires. There is something fundamentally wrong with our upbringing in India, if young men think that any woman is fair game and unleash their mindless desires on the hapless victim. This has been going on for years and all the furore and outrage after the Nirbhaya case a few years ago, has had no effect at all. India is like the rape capital of the world and no woman is safe in any corner of India from such predators who seem to have no conscience and no concern for the consequences of their animalistic doings.

— Mohan Sohra

Write to Us

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

SPORTS

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY APRIL 9, 2016

PUNE

“Leadership can take many forms. MS Dhoni is open to ideas and I am sure he will be an inspirational captain for the Rising Pune Supergiants” — Stephen Fleming, Former New Zealand Cricketer

“ I don’t see myself in any full time role and with the BCCI, you really need to commit full time which is understandable but at the moment I am open to opportunities in IPL down the track.”

— Adam Gilchrist, Former Australian Captain

International player calls for more public golf centres to promote sport

after five years.

The Arjuna awardee was ranked 85th in the world in 2013 before a wrist injury in 2014 led to ranking slipping to 387 and the slide continued.

At the end of 2015, Bhullar stood at 637 in the world ranking. However, he has been putting up TGS NEWS SERVICES a good show recently and has raised his ranking to 563. @TGSWeekly “After my injury I wasn’t able to give my The golf in Pune is definitely growing. I have hundred per cent. Fortunately, I didn’t have to been told that a lot of women and juniors are alter my shots. Right now I am training hard and taking up the sport. However, compared to have set my priorities. So it’s a matter of time to Chandigarh, the development is a bit slower in get back in top-100. One good week can get me Pune and the city needs public golf courses, said back on track,” said Bhullar, who will participate international golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar. in Panasonic Open in Japan later this month.

India’s leading golfers, including Gaganjeet He also stressed that European circuit is and Rashid Khan, are in action challenging but can earn more at the inaugural Pune Open, the points than Asian events. sixth event of the Professional “The golf courses in Golf Tour of India’s (PGTI) European circuits are 2016 season, from April 5 at the comparatively easy but the Oxford Golf Resort. “In Chanweather is tough. You have to digarh, I have seen several young wear three layers of clothes. It’s players and kids trying their windy and the ball doesn’t travel hands on golf club. Most of them far. You have to compete against play the sport as a hobby while players who are well adopted some want to take it as a career. with this weather condition. So I don’t see such a thing in I know what it takes to play on Pune. And we need public golf European circuit,” he said. courses to make that happen.

The 27-year-old praised the - Gaganjeet Bhullar These play centres should be for decision of including golf in Rio the common man whether they Olympics 2016. However, he is come, pay Rs 100-200 and play unsure about getting a chance to for a while. Unfortunately, what we have are represent India. private golf clubs where membership fee runs in “If I win all my tournaments before the Rio lakh. This has to be changed. Not just in Pune, event I might have a chance. July is the cutbut all over India. Right now we just have one off date for that, so I have to win at least four public golf course in Delhi and we need many tournaments before that,” said Bhullar. more,” said Bhullar, who is playing at Oxford tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

“Any common man should be able to play golf by paying Rs 100”

RAHUL RAUT

Pune is behind Chandigarh ‘I would love to coach Maharashtra squad’ in golf development: Bhullar Former Indian player Hrishikesh Kanitkar debut at IPL assistant coach for Rising Pune SuperGiants

BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis_ashish Wearing the Indian cap for two Tests and 34 ODIs in his three-year international career did not impress the selectors of Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) to later pick Hrishikesh Kanitkar in their team. The all-rounder who had started his domestic career for Maharashtra in 1995 moved to Rajasthan as a senior player and lead their Ranji team to maiden title defeating Baroda in the finals in 2010-11.

The left-handed batsman called it a day in 2015 and later took over a new role as Goa’s coach. The 42-year-old is back in Pune as an assistant coach of Pune’s new Indian Premier League team – Rising Pune SuperGiants. And the seasoned player’s love for the game has made him not hold grudge against anyone related to the sport.

On his willingness to take up the responsibility if given the opportunity to coach the Maharashtra Ranji side, Kanitkar said, “I am open to take up the challenge.

Two other states have shown interest in roping me as a coach, but I don’t want to disclose their names.”

He praised the Maharashtra squad for their consistent performance in the recent past. “They were runners-up in 2013-14 and

made it to the semis in 2014-2015. Some players are consistent and some are not but they have an experienced squad and I feel they need a different level of coaching. They should adopt different strategies and different game plans,” he said.

Kanitkar also said that the new responsibility will be emotionally close to him.

“Even though I played for Rajasthan and we beat Maharashtra in Ranji, my feeling for Maharashtra never changed. I am proud to be back in Pune,” said the Pune-born.

Kanitkar, who will always be remembered for his match-winning boundary against Saqlain Mushtaq during India’s memorable win over Pakistan in the Independence Cup at Dhaka in 1998, said he is excited about his new role as coach.

The cricketer admits to starting the journey of coaching much earlier.

“When I was leading the Rajasthan team in Ranji Trophy, it was not just about my game and team. I was helping the juniors break into fi rst class cricket. The responsibility demanded an open mind as I had to reach out to different players. It was a multi-dimensional job which I enjoyed thoroughly. I feel that the process of being into coach’s shoes started at that time,” said Kanitkar.

The coach shrugged off chances of giving opportunity to local players in the IPL showcase.

“I don’t think there is any local or Maharashtra player in the squad right now. But we have this team for two years. So probably next year, we might give some talented players a chance,” he said. ashish.phadnis@ goldensparrow.com

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