The Golden Sparrow on Saturday 13/08/2016

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PUNE, AUGUST 13-19, 2016 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

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They have endured the vicissitudes of time

In the nearly seven decades since the turbulent times of British rule and the gaining of Independence, the nation and Pune city, have undergone momentous changes.

But there are some landmark local businesses that have rolled with the punches and have adjusted to the demands of a new and changing clientele

See p08-09

No room for special children at this institute

See p04

MUMBAI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 13-19, 2016

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‘‘Incidents of road accidents have increased due to indiscipline and rash driving.

We do not have control over rash driving as the length of the Expressway is long and there is insufficient police staff for surveillance.’’

- Deepak Kesarkar, Minister of State for Home (Urban)

Bt Cotton is promising for India P 13

FinMin conservative in USOF allocation P 14

Life’s no Palm Beach for these superbikers

Almost a dozen potential Kawasaki superbike customers have been waiting for delivery of their vehicles for months. With no bikes or refunds forthcoming, they’re contemplating legal action

BY TUSHAR BURMAN @tburman In an ongoing saga that is sure to give potential superbike owners pause, over a dozen customers who booked and paid for Kawasaki motorcycles have been left hanging by their dealer, SNK Palm Beach in Navi Mumbai. The bikes in question cost upwards of Rs 8 lac and some were booked as early as April 2016.

Customers TGS spoke to had a repetitive tale to tell. They made payments -- whether in full or financed through a bank -- to the SNK Palm Beach Kawasaki dealership and were promised deliveries, usually within a month. While a few lucky customers have received deliveries or refunds due to delays, about 11 customers have been waiting upto three months for their motorcycles. More recently, the aggrieved customers have selforganised and created a WhatsApp group to coordinate among themselves.

Mandheer Singh, who works for Future Group sold his Ninja 650 in the hopes of upgrading to a Z800. He booked the motorcycle on 27 April with an initial payment of Rs 4 lac and transferred the balance some time later, including a remittance from his financier, HDFC Bank. On 22 June, after a considerable wait, Satyen Karandikar, proprietor of SNK Palm Beach informed him that they were unable to deliver the bike and would process a refund. Singh recounted his poor experience on social media on 29 June and received a refund cheque dated 7 July. He deposited it, and the cheque bounced. He’s currently on his

Amin Qureshi

Mandheer Singh

third HDFC Bank EMI for a bike that was never delivered.

“After over 60 days of waiting for my delivery, I discovered that there were more customers like me. I connected to a few through Facebook and eventually found 11 such customers,” says Neil Shah, a manufacturer of parts and fixtures for the automotive industry.

Shah booked his Kawasaki Z800 in May, and was promised delivery before June began. He continues to wait for a resolution.

Neil Shah

Yet another customer, Amin Qureshi, 58, a civil, construction and development business owner, booked a Z800 for his son toward the end of May, paying Rs 3.7 lac by cheque and financing 5 lac from HDFC bank.

He was promised a 5th July delivery, which did not take place. Qureshi requested and received a post-dated refund cheque, as did HDFC Bank for their loan amount. However, he was informed by the bank that the account from which the dealer issued

the cheque did not have sufficient funds, and so Qureshi did not deposit it. Neil Shah also received a similar refund in the form of a cheque dated 21 July, which he was to deposit once instructed by SNK Palm Beach. Those instructions too, never came. HDFC Bank has started claiming an EMI from him as well.

TGS has contacted other customers, who have had their refund cheques bounce, or who hold postdated cheques that they have not deposited for fear of being dishonoured.

When TGS reached out to India Kawasaki Motors, Sukhad Sangamnerkar, Manager, Marketing, had this to say: “Our customers are always our first priority. Several customers and banks have reached out to us regarding this issue. IKM also has certain claims on the dealer that remain unresolved. Our MD, Yutaka Yamashita is currently in Japan and will be back next week, but we are working night and day to resolve the situation.”

Fully imported Kawasakis in India Prices ex-showroom, Mumbai Kawasaki Z800

Rs 8,13,380

Kawasaki Z1000

Rs 12,87,000

Kawasaki Ninja 1000

Rs 12,87,000

Kawasaki Versys 1000

Rs 13,28,000

Kawasaki ZX-10R

Rs 16,40,000

Kawasaki ZX-14R

Rs 17,90,000

Kawasaki H2

Rs 29,10,000

We also spoke to Satyen Karandikar, the proprietor of SNK Palm Beach. He acknowledged and apologised for the delays. “We are expecting a final decision from India Kawasaki Motors between in the coming week, and I assure all customers that their bikes will be delivered by the end of August, or they may opt for a full refund, including interest. We will also absorb any additional taxes that have become applicable for those

customers who have insisted on this. As for the dealership, it continues to be open and we have an LOI with India Kawasaki Motors valid till 31 March 2017. Satyen Karandikar We have had some challenges but we will bounce back,” he said.

Shortly after we began researching this story, in a news release dated 10 August on their website, India Kawasaki Motors maintains that SNK Palm Beach continues to be an authorised dealer and is responsible for sales and delivery of Kawasaki motorcycles to its customers. They add that they are reaching out to customers and are instructing SNK Palm Beach to “satisfy and resolve these issues at the earliest”.

Karandikar also confirmed that he was instructed by IKM to stop taking bookings in a letter dated 16 June 2016. tushar@goldensparrow.com

Mumbai railway bridges to be scrutinised Plan to reduce farmers’ dependence on rains

GRP chief calls for review of all railway bridges in Mumbai in wake of the Mahad bridge tragedy

BY SANTOSHEE MISHRA @santosheemishra After the collapse of the British era bridge over the Savitri river near Mahad in Raigad district, Additional Director General D Kanakaratnam of Government Railway Police (GRP), has asked for a review of all the railway bridges across the city. The review is also called for since some miscreants damaged railway bridges at the all entry and exit points on the Mumbai Suburban Railway, including long route trains.

“We held a meeting with Railway Protection Force (RPF) and GRP. I have asked them to inspect each and every railway bridge, especially the entry and exit bridges. We are doing an internal audit independently. We are not leaving any loopholes, as earlier miscreants have been sitting on the

railway bridges. In the drive by GRP, we have kept a tight vigil. I have asked for the review in the wake of the two state transport buses falling into the river Savitri off the collapsed bridge.

On August 7, 2015 heavy rains and waterlogging had washed away the material holding the tracks, as a result of which derailment took place of two long route trains, Kamayani and Janata

Express,” said Kanakaratnam.

Citing the two tragedies in the meeting he presided over, he asked both GRP and RPF to inspect each and every railway bridge.

“The report will be submitted in eight days to the railway authorities of Mumbai Suburban. The inspection will be based on the possibility of miscreants causing damage to the railway bridges,” he said.

“The long distance trains have 4000 passengers onboard and protecting them is very important.

We are also checking on the crossings and have asked for opinions from fishermen. There is tight patrolling on the bridges,” he said.

Based on the report, railways will be asked to repair and build the bridges and assistance will be provided by GRP and RPF personnel. santoshee.mishra@goldensparrow.com

Maharashtra cabinet gave nod to a World Bank-supported ‘climate resilient agriculture project’ which aims to reduce farmers’ dependence on unpredictable weather cycles.

An official from the Chief Minister’s Office said the project will be implemented in 4,000 drought-hit districts of Vidarbha and Marathwada and some 900 villages on the banks of river Purna.

“Changes in climatic conditions lead to situations like drought and hailstorms that affect agricultural production in a big way... Erratic climate also leads to stress among farmers. To put an

end to all this, this project will be undertaken,” the official said.

A detailed project report (DPR) and manuals for the project will now be prepared. The cabinet has sanctioned creation of 23 posts for the project.

The cabinet also sanctioned gratuity and pension benefits for teaching and nonteaching staff of private and government-aided Ayurveda and Unani colleges.

It would benefit the employees of a total of 20 colleges.

In another decision, it increased ‘transportation rebate’ given to ration shop owners.

PTI

Project to be implemented in 4,000 drought-hit districts of Vidarbha and Marathwada

Govt failed to implement IRCTC asked to compensate man for wrong train schedule information noise pollution rules The Bombay High Court said the Maharashtra to implement the rules are not supported by government has failed to implement noise political bosses, which hampers effective pollution rules in the state and violation of implementation, it noted. norms is more rampant during The rules have been enacted religious festivals. for the people of every religion Further, the government did and no religion demands or not follow in letter and spirit the advocates use of loudspeakers orders passed by the high court during the festivals, said the in this regard earlier, said the court. judges.

At the last hearing, The observations came as the Government Pleader division bench headed by Justice Abhinandan Vagyani had Abhay Oka started dictating informed that the government the judgement on PILs on had ordered 1,843 noise meters violation of noise pollution rules for effective implementation of and encroachment by pandals Noise Pollution (Regulation and - HIGH COURT on roads during the religious Control) Rules, 2000, and they festivals. would be available by AugustThe petitions have been end. filed by Thane resident Mahesh Bedekar, During the hearing, the HC had cited Awaz Foundation and others. The court a Supreme Court judgement to state that would continue the dictation of judgement freedom to practise religion does not extend to tomorrow. “any and every place”.

The civic authorities which are supposed PTI

“No religion demands use of loudspeakers during the festivals.”

A consumer court has directed the IRCTC to pay a compensation of Rs 7,000 along with ticket and RTI costs to a Thane resident for his sufferings due to the rail corporation’s deficient service in giving wrong train schedule to him.

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that handles the catering, tourism and its online ticketing operations.

Complainant Gopal Bankatlalji Bajaj, from Kamothe in Navi Mumbai, had booked his train ticket through the IRCTC portal for a reserved seat in Nagpur-Mumbai Express for travelling from Amravati to Mumbai on May 5, 2013.

He made an online payment of Rs 300, and he got the ticket with PNR number on his mobile via an SMS from IRCTC. However, when he arrived at Amravati station at the specified time to board the train, which was scheduled to depart at 1940 hrs, he was informed that it was late by four-and-ahalf hours.

As he had to reach his office the next day,

he purchased a general ticket for Rs 180. He then travelled the entire distance with extreme diff iculty in general (unreser ved) compartment of another train, the complainant stated before the Thane District consumer Redressal Forum.

He also informed the forum that the IRCTC had informed him in reply to an e-mail that the train was on time.

However, later the complainant sought the train running status vide an RTI query from the IRCTC headquarters in New Delhi, which informed him that the train was running behind its schedule on that day.

The IRCTC also refunded Rs 300 which

he paid for the first ticket that he had booked.

However, unhappy with wrong information being provided by IRCTC about train schedule, Bajaj also sought refund of the money he spent on the second ticket and also the RTI charges, beides the compensation for sufferings and legal expenses.

The forum relied on the fact that IRCTC refunded Rs 300, which means there was a delay in running of the train, and also the RTI reply kept before it.

Thus, Forum president Sneha Mhatre, and members Madhuri Vishwarupe and N D Kadam recently ordered the IRCTC to pay the new ticket cost of Rs 180, and also the Rs 150 RTI cost along with 12 per cent interest from May 5, 2013, to the complainant, along with Rs 5,000 towards mental his sufferings and Rs 2,000 for his legal expenses.

The forum observed that in falsely informing that the train was running as per schedule, the IRCTC has given deficient services to the complainant.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 13-19, 2016

‘‘As the Union Urban Development Minister, he is not approving many development related projects for the city. And now his I&B ministry has decided to shut down the regional news unit of AIR, Pune. This is clearly step-motherly treatment of Pune citizens by the Union government.”

— Ajay Shinde, MNS Pune President

Study ‘outdated’ autopsy regulations P12

Wanted, pregnant women for sting operations

The discontinuation of funding for the scheme that facilitated the use of decoy pregnant women stalls action against sex determination malpractices

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 The state family welfare department has cut off funding for decoy pregnant women used in sting operations, like conducting raids on doctors or radiologists carrying out clandestine sex determination tests. As a result, such operations are on hold in Pune and all over the state. Health officials need decoy pregnant women for such raids, but their pleas to women and social organisations have come to nought for the last year. Health experts and activists related to this field blame the stoppage of funding by the health department for the situation.

The state family welfare department had introduced the funding scheme for decoy pregnant women for sting operations at diagnostic centres under the ‘Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act 1994, two years ago. The scheme made provisions to pay Rs 25,000 to women who assisted in the sting operations, and were present in court during hearings. The scheme to encourage women to come forward

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in seeking action against the sex determination tests was stopped after a year.

Dr Shekhar Bendre, president of Jan Arogya Manch, an organisation of general practitioners involved in public health care, said that funding was essential. “Decoy customers are the most reliable way to detect sex determination activities by doctors compared to methods like tracking or recording. But these operations are difficult to carry out, and are timeconsuming and require lots of efforts.

Therefore the women should be given fair compensation. Without funds, it is difficult to recruit women to take part in such operations. The health department should resume funding for these operations, as sex determination testing is rampant in rural areas, and curbing it is the need of the hour,” he said.

“The scheme was stopped because the defense counsel of accused doctors repeatedly alleged that the pregnant women involved in the sting operations, gave their statements in court just for money. This led to the stopping of funding for the scheme by the government,” said a senior officer from the state welfare office on the condition of anonymity. “Besides the Rs 25,000, the women were paid daily wages and travelling allowances during the raid and court hearings. The money will not promote actions, but only those women who wish to improve the system will help in the operation,” he said. An officer from the PCPNDT cell of Pune

FTII to screen ‘Lagaan’ on I-Day

FTII to celebrate Independence Day, with the screening of three films with patriotism as the prime motif

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma

Municipal Corporation (PMC) health department said that they were dire need of decoy pregnant women but none were coming forward. “We have leads regarding ongoing sex determination malpractices but we do not have any women to be used as decoys to catch the culprits. Earlier, such women were easy to recruit as they were being paid Rs 25,000. But since the government has stopped the scheme, no women are volunteering and this has affected our drive adversely,” said the officer.

PMC PCPNDT cell has filed as many as 37 cases as per the law from year of 2014 till date. These cases were filed against doctors for not maintaining records of patients, writers, publishers and astrologers. Three doctors were booked for using unregistered sonography machines, while one was

nabbed in a sting operation. But these days, despite having certain leads, the department does not have the women decoys necessary for the cases.

PCPNDT health officials are booking radiologists on suspicion with the help of decoy customers. The act was amended in 2014 and made easy the ‘F’ form to fill the radiologist.

Dr Archana Patil, Additional Director of Health Services, who is in charge of the state PCPNDT cell, said that department is paying informers and not the decoy women, due to allegations. “We are providing Rs 25,000 to the informers after the accused are sentenced to imprisonment by the court, but not to the decoy women, by which allegations have happened,” said Dr Patil. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com

Film and Television Institute of India, Pune is holding a special Independence Day celebration. As part of the celebration, the authorities have organised a three-day film festival, with one film screening every day. The highlight of this festival is the screening of ‘Lagaan’, officials confirmed.

According to Chandrashekhar Joshi, the Film Research Officer at FTII, the institute is to celebrate ‘Azadi Sattar Saal Yaad Karo Kurbani’ through the screening of films devoted to patriotism. The three movies selected for the festival are ‘1921’, a Malayalam historical movie, ‘Rang De Basanti’ and ‘Lagaan’. According to

the official mailer, ‘Lagaan’ has been described as a “masterpiece, set in the 19th century British-India, portrays battle with the unfair rulers, not with guns but a bat-and-ball”.

Students are skeptical about this, while authorities maintain it is a part of Independence Day celebration. “It is the ongoing oppression on most universities that needs to be focused on. We welcome the film festival, but aren’t their other things to be looked into as well?” asked a student requesting anonymity.

Meanwhile, the film screenings, starting from August 14 will be held in the main theatre of FTII, and will remain open to the public at no cost, till August 16. gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 13-19, 2016

PUNE

“The government will take action against errant civic officials who were responsible for the increasing illegal constructions in the city.

The state government will take steps to fill up vacancies in the civic building permission department and recruit engineers.”

—Ranjit Patil, Minister of State for Urban Development

Time to get smart with TVs

Reward for taking victims to hospital

P10

P12

No room for special children at this institute

Dehu Road Cantonment Board run institute has been expelling students arbitrarily, stating age and funds as reasons

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma Mental health is just as difficult or even more difficult to manage than physical ailments. However, a government-funded organisation has been expelling students

Rahul Rahul is a shy nine-year-old, who turns into a boisterous boy as soon as he meets his group of playmates.

However, he can’t run around like them as both his legs are disabled. He sits in a crude metal wheelchair his father could afford to buy him, all day and enjoys watching his friends play.

His younger sister and his friends are the only family looking after him as his parents go to work and return late after sundown. Rahul suffers from malnutrition and that has rendered him frail, and without any special training, his condition just keeps deteriorating.

“The school van just wouldn’t come to pick dada up. He used to go daily, but he has stopped since March,” says his younger sister. Rahul just looks up sadly when enquired about the school and says nothing.

arbitrarily, as they are allegedly difficult to manage and might cause trouble for the school later.

Disha is a special home for differently-abled children. The school and shelter is run by the Dehu Road Cantonment Board, which looks after children who are physically and mentally disabled, by working on their all-round growth and rehabilitation. The institute has been running on funds generated by the cantonment board, in the premises of the cantonment board hospital.

But what was started as a noble initiative has now lost its way. Disha started as a centre with 24x7 helplines

for children and shelter for special children. It had a sensory garden and even had medical help for the children who came daily. However, it has now fallen in disarray as the helplines are disbanded, the shelter doesn’t work like it should and the sensory garden, meant anyway for blind students, none of whom are in the institute, has nothing but few marigold bushes. Its facilities now include teaching the children alphabets and rhymes, whereas no special care for their rehabilitation is taken. Disha, even though it is government-funded, doesn’t have a licence from the Department for the welfare of disabled people.

While all of this has been going on for some time, the dismissal of children arbitrarily has started recently. For this academic year, many parents were told not to bring their wards to Disha anymore. These parents were also told that if they complained, action would be taken against them by the board, forcing them to stay quiet or to state that they don’t send their children out of their will. However, a few parents expressed their grievances and they were told that they did not have funds to arrange transport or that their children ‘did not meet the criteria’ of Disha. While no official letter states their dismissal, the team involved did not take any verbal or written effort to get these children back when they stopped coming to the institute. Team TGS decided to speak to a few of the affected students’ parents.

When asked, he meekly mutters, “The vehicle doesn’t come to pick me. How do I go?”

Since Rahul can’t walk, the helper had to pick him up and put him in the vehicle. Since the school now has a female helper, he couldn’t be picked and thus was expelled, his friends tell us. “He had also fallen down in there, once,” says one of his friends and Rahul stops him with a glare. His sister confirms, “He had slipped from his chair and no one was around to even pick him up.”

Rahul’s parents are labourers working at the broom factory in the area. He stays alone the entire day with no one to help and take care of him. Whatever little he was learning in the school has stopped along with the little exercise he was getting.

His head wound is gone, but this is a bigger wound that is making his future bleak.

Chandani

Aakash Aakash Hukke, 25, gets excited at the mere mention of school.

Mentally handicapped, his physical growth surpasses his mental growth.

However, he loves going to Disha which for him is ‘school’. “He has been going there for the past ten years. So, it has become a part of his daily routine.

Every day, he would dress up, wake us up to tie his shoe laces and would wait for his ‘sir’ to come and pick him up. He continues to do the same; even though no one has come to pick him up for nearly three months now.

“He was so enthusiastic about going to Disha. He loved the company there and had even learnt a lot of things.

He had even won a state dancing competition in Nashik, where they had gone from Disha. However, then the administration changed and slowly all of it stopped,” recounts his mother Alka Hukke. Meanwhile, Akash is busy showing us his copies, all of which are his attempts to write the alphabet and his own name. All of this was part of the Disha school work.

Alka has made several rounds of the institute. “They give me different answers all the time. First it was about the non-availability of funds, and then they said they don’t have staff. So, I volunteered brining him up to the school. Then they started complaining about how Aakash is old now. Tell me, can he ever behave like an adult? Then why are they treating him like one?” she said.

However, the biggest defence for the institute is Aakash’s age.

According to them, he has grown too old, at least physically, to be helped.

Chandani does not looks like a 21-year-old. Her mental and physical growth stopped at the age of two.

She understands when she is being spoken to, but is unable to speak, comprehend or respond. She is able to stand up with support, but is unable to walk and has several other health constraints.

She lives at Dehu Road with her maternal grandmother. “My daughter’s in-laws would have killed her had I left her with them. She is my responsibility now as her parents can’t look after her,” says Akkatai Pawar, her grandmother. When she was enrolled in Disha, five years earlier, she was in an even worse condition as she couldn’t stand and was unable to ingest food. “Earlier, there was a doctor madam, who took it upon herself to get routine checkups and physiotherapy done. She has now been replaced by someone who just puts Chandani in a corner,” she said. She was okay with even that as it provided Chandani with a favourable distraction. “However, one day they came and told us that there’s nothing that they could do to help her and that she should not be sent to Disha anymore,” Akkatai said.

Akkatai and her husband are both in their 70s. Their son is the breadwinner and he works for the cantonment board. She says, “I can’t ask him to look after Chandani without feeding his own kids. So, Disha was our only hope.” Now that

even they have turned their backs, Chandani has nowhere to go.

It wasn’t like this always, Akkatai recounts. “Earlier, there were physiotherapy sessions that helped her gain balance to stand up. She even had a proper diet chart planned out and the doctors there helped in whatever way they could.” She was even invited for special gatherings and was looked after. “Without any help from the government how are we to look after all of her medical needs when we just have enough to feed everyone?” asks a dejected Akkatai.

Her husband, Ganpat adores Chandani and sits in a corner holding her the entire time. He interrupts, “We will look after her till our life goes on. But, what after that?”

While these three are only few of the cases, there are many other children, some of whom have been sent to their villages as parents can’t afford the time and money to look after them. Many have even decided to keep them in the houses, even if the institute takes them back, stating, “If the institute throws them back again, we won’t know how to handle them anyway. It is better they stay at home.”

Deepti Salvi, a child activist from Nigdi believes that it is a grave issue and needs to be looked into by the authorities. “Clearly the institute is throwing out students that have the potency to cause problem for them or are difficult to handle. But they need counselling and proper guidance, not the tantrums of the institute,” she says.

However, Abhijeet Sanap, the CEO of Dehu Road Cantonment Board said that he was unaware of the entire situation. “I haven’t received any

communication from anyone about this. I am not sure if children were actually expelled or not,” he said. The person in charge of Disha, Dr Sami, when contacted by TGS cited that he wasn’t authorised to comment on it and his senior, the Resident Medical Officer Dr Waghchoure should be consulted.

Dr Waghchoure said, “Anyone above 18 years of age cannot be taken to the school. They are sent to rehabilitation centre. There is also no compliance on us to provide these children with vehicle. Neither Pune Cantonment, nor does Kirkee cantonment provide for vehicles. So why should we? We do this for welfare of children as much as we can.”

Speaking about the issue of not having the licence to run the institute, he said, “We have applied for the licence long ago. It is still under process.” gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

Ancient Budhwar Peth wada gutted KCB to start pay & park to ease congestion

BY VICKY PATHARE @Vickypathare2

An old wada in Budhwar Peth was gutted in a massive that fire broke out in the wee hours of Friday. The Fire Brigade doused the fire in half an hour. No injuries have been reported but a shop on the ground floor reported loss of goods worth Rs 30 lakh.

The Olympia wada was built in the year 1928. It caught fire at around 3 am. The wada had been declared as dilapidated by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), and notice had been served notice to the owner of the wada, to demolish the structure. Two floors of the three-storey wada were vacant, and there was a hardware shop and godown on the ground floor. The fire spread rapidly, causing major damage to the two-storey wada, and wooden furniture and the goods in the godown were destroyed. The cause of the fire is not known.

PMC Chief Fire Officer Prashant Ranpise said, “Fortunately nobody was injured but the goods in the godown at the ground floor were destroyed. Due to the wooden structure and rubber mats and pipes, the fire spread rapidly.

It took four fire tenders and two water tankers to douse the fire. The situation was brought under control within 30 minutes, but cooling took more time. Initially two fire tenders were sent after receiving a call at 3.44 am, but two more fire tenders were sent later to bring the fire under control.”

Owner of the wada, Quresh Poonawala said, “I don’t have any idea about the incident and came to know about it in the morning after getting a call from other shop owners in the area.” Asked about the notice issued by PMC for demolishing the structure, Poonawala

TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly

said, “Yes, I had received the notice but have not acted on it.

Faraskhana Police Station Police Inspector Rajendra Chavan said, “No injuries have been reported, We learnt about the incident at 3.00 am. MSEB officials will be coming to disconnect the electricity supply, and further investigation is on to find the cause of the fire.”

Owner of MS Kashinath Mahadev Jadhav godown, Suresh Shah, said, “There was around Rs 40 lakh worth of goods in the godown, and we are not aware about the amount of goods destroyed. Fortunately there was no untoward incident and human loss. I am not aware about the cause of the fire.” vicky.pathare@goldensparrow.com

The Khadki Cantonment Board (KCB) has devised a strategy to raise funds for the development of the area under its jurisdiction, where encroachments and traffic congestion are a huge problem. The KCB plans to start a pay and park system in its jurisdiction, which it hopes will ease traffic congestion and stop encroachments.

After a long wait of almost ten years, the KCB has picked out nine spots in its area where the pay and park scheme will be implemented from September. These spots include survey number 108/A (parking area), Moledina Road up to Excelsior Talkies, Market square near fish market and the open plot near a bus stop.

KCB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Amol Jagtap said, “Currently pay and park system is operated in all parts of the city and there’s no issue of following this practice in KCB area.

Applications have been received for the tenders issued towards pay and park and will be finalised within a couple of weeks.” All the identified places will be fully operational as pay and park within a month, assured Jagtap.

Residents of the cantonment area will be given monthly parking passes for two-wheelers. “People from the board area unnecessarily use bikes even to a nearby distance adding up to the number of vehicles, resulting in traffic jams. Previously residents of Akashdeep housing society and vendors from Khadki business centre opposed the implementation of pay and park, but the issue has been solved now and we don’t have any opposition from them towards

the implementation,” said the CEO. Cantonment officials are conducting antiencroachment drives regularly in the board area, but it was strongly opposed by the vendors. Some vendors have even abused and manhandled the board officials. Most of these vendors do business on the proposed parking lots resulting in no places for parking, which leads to haphazard parking of vehicles leading to congestion.

Nijanand Palankar, a shopkeeper from Khadki bazaar said, “Customers visiting our shops are left with no place for parking as the place is already occupied by the illegal hawkers. The situation is getting worse day by day and KCB is least bothered about it. If the pay and park is implemented, at least the roads in the board area will be free from this encroachment.”

Nitin Sarode, a resident of Khadki said, “I am happy that pay and park will be started in Khadki.

Most of the times people don’t get place for parking their vehicles. The hawkers running their businesses illegally on the parking places, often quarrel with people over parking.” tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 13-19, 2016

“The water supply from Khadakwasla dam is murky at present due to presence of mud. Though the water is looking good, it will be better to boil the drinking water to avoid any contamination.”

— Prashant Jagtap, Pune Mayor

Bill on forest land gets Parliament nod, finally P11

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Assange to be probed in London P13

City hospitals ‘overspend’ on poor’s treatment While many underprivileged patients are turned down by city hospitals, charity office says they spend more than required for the needy

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 While Pune charity commissioner office is flooded with complaints by poor patients blaming private hospitals for denied treatment and holding patients’ discharge for unpaid bills, the office claims that charity hospitals have done ‘commendable’ job and spend much more than their quota for poor patients. The data shows that out of the total 59 charity hospitals in the city, many have utilised the Indigent Patient Fund (IPF) and Ruby Hall Clinic tops the list, having spent Rs 12.7 crore between June 2015 and June 2016 even as its quota was only Rs 8.87 crore.

Any medical institution (hospital)

overspent the money from their IPF quota. It is their responsibility and even if any hospital refuses treatment, citizens can approach us and make complaint,” said Navanath Jagtap, Additional Charity Commissioner (Hospitals), Pune district, adding that every month hospitals have to submit report to the charity office regarding the IPF amount credited and spent.

The charity office data for 13 months (June 2015-June 2016) shows Ruby Hall using Rs 12.7 crore of IPF while it had credited Rs 8.87 crore.

The hospital treated 2,170 patients.

Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital spent Rs 7.34 crore from Rs 6.37 crore IPF account and treated 7,155 patients. Jehangir Hospital stands third in the city as it spent Rs 4.87 crore of Rs 3.55 crore IPF limits and treated 1,088 patients. KEM Hospital spent Rs 3.27 crore out of Rs 2 crore and treated 2,799 patients. Inlaks and Budhrani Hospital spent Rs 2.75 crore and credited Rs 1.63 crore towards the IPF patients and treated 8,639 patients. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com

whose annual expenditure exceeds Rs five lakh and those hospitals that are using the government lands, additional Floor Space Index (FSI) with reasonable rates from government, comes under the charity as per various clauses of Bombay Public Trust Act. As per the provisions laid down in the act, charity hospitals should reserve and earmark 10 per cent of the total number of operational beds to indigent patients (below poverty line or whose annual income is less than Rs 50,000) and provide medical treatment to the poor for free.

All these charity hospitals should reserve and earmark 10 per cent of the total number of operational beds at concessional rate (50 per cent) to the weaker section patients (whose annual income is between Rs 50,000 and Rs one lakh). Each public charitable hospital creates separate fund — Indigent Patient Fund (IPF) — and credit two per cent of gross billing of all patients (other than indigent and weaker section patients) without any deduction.

“Most of the hospitals have

Pune cops forget about crucial The gunshots in Vadodara exposes evidence that could help them city’s criminal underbelly crack mysterious cases Pune cops suffered injuries but managed to arrest a gang member of Gajanan Marne whose rivalry with Nilesh Ghaywal since 2008

BY GUNWANTI PARASTE @TGSWeekly

Gajanan Marane

Timely examination of viscera in a medico legal case can help the cops nab the real culprits. But in Pune, cops really don’t care much. Several samples of viscera wrapped in plastic bags are found lying around in a corner at Sassoon General Hospital. They are anywhere between a day to six months old. Mind you, these are from the deceased, who according to doctors conducting the autopsies, have died mysteriously. The samples are meant to be rushed to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Mumbai within 24 hours so that real cause of the person’s death can be ascertained.

The plastic bags containing viscera are found lying on the ground floor of the hospital. Some have labels with details of the deceased, while most do not.

Authorities at the hospital reveal that if the doctor conducting the autopsy believes that the death is because of poisoning or other mysterious circumstances, viscera are removed. They are packed with common salt, which acts as a preservative, and handed over to cops from respective police stations. Often the cop on duty tends to leave package behind for the investigating officer to take them to Mumbai. In this process, the viscera samples get forgotten or left behind for weeks or months on end.

Hospital authorities say this is common with cases from Pune Rural police.

Experts say that there is a 24-hour window for viscera to be transferred to FSL or it is compromised. If viscera are not transferred on time then it rots and is not usable for a forensic test.

In one such case, a cop from Bhigwan police station woke up from his slumber and went to Sassoon Hospital to collect viscera samples of a case which was a few weeks old. Since, he had come after a very long time, authorities at Sassoon could not find viscera related to that particular case. The cop was quick to blame the hospital administration for not storing the viscera samples in a designated room with proper labeling.

The hospital administration however blames the cops for being lax. Sassoon hospital medical superintendent, Dr. Ajay Taware said, “It is not the

BY YOGESH WAGH @YogeshWagh1857 hospital’s responsibility to take care these viscera. After postmortem, we hand over the samples to Sassoon Police Chowky. It is duty of designated police officer to collect the case related viscera from Sassoon police. But if they do not collect it on time, is not our fault. It’s police duty to collect viscera and send it to the forensic lab for a test.

Rural police have always delayed collecting viscera, but Pune police are always on time.”

Situation is no different at YCM Hospital, Pimpri.

YCM’s medical superintendent Dr Manoj Deshmukh said, “We have informed rural police many times and also written a letter to SP, but they never replied. We have followed up many times but don’t get any feedback.

A year or two ago, we locked the room because the rural police did not come to collect sample. The room stinks and some rats have also eaten some viscera samples.”

Supreme Court Advocate, Ashutosh Shrivastav said, “Viscera is very important evidence to solve any criminal case. There are lots of cases where viscera sample was vital very to solve the case. It is, by protocol, police duty to collect viscera from hospital and submit in forensic lab.”

When TGS contacted Dr Jay Jadhav, Superintendent of Pune Rural police, he said, “I will inquire from police stations as to why do they not collect viscera samples on time. Moreover, hospitals take months to give us reports.

That problem needs to be addressed as well.” gunwanti.paraste@goldensparrow.com

The recent incidents of gang wars in broad daylight have shattered the quiet life that Pune city is known for. With hundreds of global companies set up in the city attracting wellpaid employees and high lifestyle, real estate is a booming industry and so is land mafia, a nexus comprising politicians, criminals, property dealers and corrupt government officials.

On Thursday (August 11), an assistant police inspector and a constable were attacked by a member of the notorious Gajanan Marne gang.

Gangster Sagar Rajput, a wanted criminal in a Pune murder case, fired at the police officials who were trying to arrest him at Vadodara (Gujarat) around 10.30 pm on August 10. The cops sustained injuries in crossfire but nabbed Rajput.

The recent shooting and arrest is a dark chapter to the Nilesh Ghaywal-Gajanan Marne rivalry that started in the 1980s in the city.

The police records point to the late 1960s as the start of organised crime in the city. By the late 1980s, Malvadkar and Andekar gangs started fighting to establish supremacy. Later their venture into politics and booming real estate gave a violent phase to gang wars in Pune as killings became a part of everyday city life.

History sheeters Marne and Ghaywal have a violent history. It is alleged that Ghaywal used to

be a close aide of Marne before a financial dispute made them arch-rivals. Both the gangsters have tried to kill members of the other’s gang and have many cases filed against them, including murder, extortion, and possession of illegal arms. Marne and his accomplices were also prosecuted under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) but weak evidence always let them get bail. The police externed Ghaywal in 2009 but he managed to get it cancelled. The arrest of Ghaywal from Kothrud in July 2010 in connection with a murder of a member of Marne gang was crucial. Marne was also arrested but both operated from behind bars.

Marne claims to do social work through his organisation ‘Hamraj Mitra Mandal’ based at Shastri Nagar, Kothrud. His wife Jayshree Marne is the leader belonging to a leading political party. Thus, the killing of land dealer and Marne gang member Kunal Pol in 2013 highlighted the organised crime nexus comprising politicians and builders and broad daylight murder of a Ghaywal gang member near a crematorium in November 2014 in Pune shows the gang’s daredevilry. Increasing bloodshed is also due to the presence of large number of illegal firearms dealers and recruitment of youngsters with clean records, leaving the police flummoxed. The gangs have branched out and started threatening service industries for labour contracts, which include scrap, transport, security, canteen at

Leopard on the loose in Kinhai Village The leopard has been feeding on cattle and strays from the village. Locals say forest department has failed to initiate any action TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly Residents of Kinhai, a village near Dehu Road, claim to have spotted a leopard repeatedly over the last few days. The villagers are terribly scared following leopard attacks on domestic animals in the village over the last couple of days. Some villagers have found and preserved leopard pugmarks

on their farming land. Others villagers too have witnessed the leopard during the day.

Sandeep Gote, 24, a resident of Kinhai said, “The leopard has been roaming in and around the village for the past three to four days but the Forrest Department are not taking any action. They are delaying taking action on our complaints.” Another villager, Badasaheb Divse, 32, further added “We are living in fear.

People are not going to work and children are skipping school and not even playing outside.” Such are the conditions of Kinhai, that no official action has been taken in spite of repeated complaints. Vaibhav Pinjad, 35, said, “We have seen the leopard in the fields, but Forest Department

is either ignoring us or not believing us.” With the help of an NGO, the villagers have now installed a cage by themselves.

Founder of the NGO ‘Wildlife Saver of Maval’, Abhay Kewat blames Forest officials for not doing their duties. The Ranger Forest Officers (RFO) do not support him and his team in their operations. He said, “Yesterday, we needed a vehicle to move the carcass of a calf which was attacked by the leopard, but the RFO did not give us a vehicle even though the department has a brand new van.”

Several dogs and a calf have been killed by the leopard attacks and there continues to be threat in Kinhai. He added, “We hired a private Tempo, but the RFO refused to pay the rent.

They haven’t even called to ask about the rescue operation.” The villagers are frustrated by the forest department’s attitude and feel that only a human death will attract their attention.

Satyajit Gurjar, Deputy Conservator of Forest, Pune Forest Department, said, “ We have arranged for a cage and two forest guards have been deployed. We are alert but it has been difficult to capture the leopard.

However, we have found some pugmarks.”

Range Forest Officer, Madhukar Ghodge said, “We had to take first permission from Nagpur office before we could provide the cage. That’s why there has been a delay. We are positive that we will catch the leopard soon. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Nilesh Ghaywal

newly developing industries and malls.

Gajanan Pandrinath Marne, alias ‘Maharaj’ is a native of Mulshi taluka, Marnewadi village.

He studied at a Kothrud school and started his criminal activities in 1988, where he was booked for indulging in fights. He started Hamraj Mitra Mandal and organised Ganesh Utsav to mobilise youth who were impressed by his leadership qualities. Nilesh Bansilal Ghaywal of Dnyaneshwar Colony in Kothrud was a native of Sanegaon village in Jamkhed tehsil in Ahmednagar district. A masters in commerce and working in a company, he also dealt in cable business. With the help of Marne, Ghaywal’s cable business developed and the duo became good friends and later gangsters.

It is alleged that both of them murdered Milind Dhole, the president of Patit Pawan Sanghatana, Pune and Mahendra Kawedia, the prime accused in Satish Misal murder case at Harjivan Hospital near Sarasbaug. Lodged in Yerawada jail, Marane had conflicts with notorious gangster Baba Bodake on the issue of supremacy with regard to land dealing in Mulshi. In lieu of this conflict, a member of Baba Bodake gang Parashuram Jadhav along with his associates murdered an important member of Marne gang Sudhir Rasal at Sahakarnagar. In this conflict, Bodake and Marane took a neutral stand and Ghaywal left the Marne gang to started his own.

The two gangsters have eliminating members of each other’s gang since 2009, and both are growing in number and violence. The recent encounter in Vadodara has once again exposed the criminal underbelly of the quiet city as most gangsters, if not disappeared, were at least lying low. yogesh.wagh@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 13-19, 2016

PUNE

“I have formed a committee to study and implement the Metro project, and have already met with the Chief Minister with its progress report. I assure you that work on the Metro project will start this year, as soon as the prerequisites are met.”

— Anil Shirole, Member of Parliament, Pune

Nepal’s quakedamaged museums re-open P 13

Poor patients have no MSWs’ help at Pune’s top hospitals Premier city hospitals ignore the Joint Charity Commissioner’s order to appoint medical social workers round the clock

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 The premier charity hospitals in the city are violating the orders of the Pune Joint Charity Commissioner, regarding the appointment of social medical workers in their respective hospitals round the clock. The order passed one and a half months ago is not being followed by hospitals, since Medical Social Workers (MSWs) work during the day and not at night.

The absence of MSWs at hospitals in the night has resulted in the hospital administrations refusing admissions to poor patients, or they being asked to deposit the required advance amount before admission. Poor patients in need of emergency care are being exploited. This has come to light when TGS visited seven prominent hospitals in the evening and at night. Some hospitals have put up notices stating that MSWs’ official timings are from 10 am to 5 pm.

MSW verify poor patients’ documents and help them avail of treatment at hospitals at concessional rates, or free of cost. MSWs are present at the hospitals between 10 am and 5 pm. But for patients in need of emergency admissions in the evening or at night, the MSWs are not available.

Taking serious note of the situation, newly appointed Joint Charity Commissioner (Pune region)

Shivaji Kachare had directed all 59 charity hospitals in Pune district to appoint MSWs for round-the-clock assistance. The order was given at a review meeting held to discuss free medical treatment to indigent and economic weaker section patients under the government scheme, at Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital in Thergaon, on June 30.

One and a half months later, the order from the charity commissionerate seems to have fallen on deaf ears. TGS found that the order is ignored and MSWs working from 9-10 am to 5-6 pm.

On August 10, TGS visited four hospitals between 11 pm and midnight, but not a single MSW was found at these hospitals. The Deccan Sahyadri Hospital security guards did not allow us to enter the hospital. When we asked to visit the MSW, they said that the office was closed since 6 pm.

Sancheti Hospital in Shivajinagar was no different. The hospital receptionist asked us if we had any medical insurance. When we said no, he said that any patient being admitted at night must pay a deposit amount before admission. “You have to deposit Rs 20,000 for general ward, and Rs 30,000 for semi luxury ward.

If urgent surgery was needed, 80 per cent of the total amount for the surgery should be deposited before surgery,” he said.

At Jehangir Hospital on Sassoon Road, the two staffers at the admission counter said that there were no MSWs available. We said that we had a patient suffering from chest pain who needed urgent admission, who had a low income certificate and was eligible for 50 per cent concession. “If you have to admit the patient, you have to pay Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 as per the ward

Ratna Memorial Hospital

Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital

At Ratna Memorial Hospital on SB Road, a pharmacist and cashier were present. The cashier said that all the MSWs had left at 5 pm. If any poor patients had to be admitted, it could be done in the morning.

It was the same situation at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Erandawane, that we visited on August 9 at 6:30 pm. A staff nurse said that the MSW’s official timing was from 10 am till 5 pm. Asked about the emergency poor patients, she said that patients are admitted but the necessary documents could be submitted in the morning.

charge. If surgery is needed, 100 per cent of the amount should be paid before surgery,” they said. When we said we had a low income certificate, they said, “Then you come in the morning and meet the MSW. They will check availability of the bed and advise you whether to admit the patient or not. But we can’t admit these types of patients right now” they said.

Navanath Jagtap, Assistant Charity Commissioner, confirmed the situation and said that they will seek action against such hospitals. “We

know that hospitals are not following the order but they accept patients and ask to submit reports next morning.

We will take a review meeting and issue notices to all hospitals,” said Jagtap.

About the charity commissioner’s order Dr Pervez Grant, managing trustee of Ruby Hall Clinic, said, “We don’t have money to pay night duty MSWs. If the charity office wants to appoint night MSWs, why don’t they pay their salaries?” dnyaneshwar.bhonde@ goldensparrow.com

Ruby Hall Clinic

TGS visited Ruby Hall Clinic on August 4 at 5:30 pm. The social workers’ cabin was locked. Sanjay Kalokhe was waiting for admission for his relative Vishal Pardeshi .

“I was asked to write an application by MSW to admit my patient.

While I was writing the application, the MSW left, locking up the cabin and leaving my patient in the casualty section,” said Kalokhe. After waiting for many hours, Pardeshi was admitted to cardiac ICU unit the next day at 12 pm.

Poona Hospital TGS visited Poona Hospital in Sadashiv Peth on August 9 at around 6 pm, and found the MSW office locked. The hospital receptionist said that the MSW’s official timing was from 10 am to 5 pm.

Recycling machines This petrol pump lends a helping hand to the disabled to resolve plastic water bottles mess

Bharat petrol pump near RTO employs seven disabled persons, who are grateful for the opportunity, and are doing their jobs to the satisfaction of their employer

BY SHAILESH JOSHI @TGSWeekly

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar Plastic waste is a major concern worldwide. It takes more than 1000 years for plastic to decompose. Most of the plastic waste is created because of packaged drinking water bottles.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is now devising solutions to curb the proliferation of empty, discarded plastic water bottles. PMC is collaborating with the corporate social responsibility (CSR) units of private firms to install five plastic bottle recycling machines at five busy city spots, which PMC has identified, where most plastic water bottle waste is generated. Some civil and electrical work in underway at these locations, where the recycling machines will be installed very soon.

PMC has purchased the first plastic bottle recycling machine recently, which was brought to the PMC building.

Empty plastic water bottles are hard to deal with as users tend to leave the empty bottles wherever they please, and so they need to be collected. Some 1600 tonnes of garbage is generated within PMC limits everyday, out of which 15 per cent, or almost 240 tonnes is plastic.

PMC will install plastic bottle recycling machines at the busiest of spots in the city, like Rajiv Gandhi Garden, P L Deshpande Garden, Pune Railway station parking, Swargate bus depot and Dalvi Hospital, where the volume of empty plastic water bottles is the highest.

Head of PMC solid waste management department, Suresh Jagtap said, “Empty plastic water

bottles are one of the major concerns in the city’s waste management.

Nowadays many citizens buy packaged drinking water when they’re out of their homes. Many of them leave empty water bottles wherever they can, or they just drop the bottles into available bins.

This creates the issue of garbage segregation. It is going to be difficult for waste-pickers to segregate the plastic bottles. Bio Cru, a private company through its CSR fund, is providing plastic bottle recycling machines to the PMC. We have identified five locations like Rajiv Gandhi Garden, P L Deshpande Garden, Swargate bus depot, Pune railway station and Dalvi Hospital, where most empty plastic water bottle waste is generated. These are the locations where we plan to initially install these machines. PMC has received the five machines recently.

We have started civil and electrical installation work at the five locations, which belong to the PMC. The machines will be operated by self-help groups of the city.

The private company providing the machines to PMC, will hand the operation to self-help groups of their choice. Right now we are installing only five machines, but we will install these machines at 20 locations in future. The companies can use the recycled waste. It is going to resolve the plastic water bottle disposal issue for PMC, so this is a win-win situation for both PMC and the private companies supporting the project. The recycling machines will be installed at Pune airport and Pune railway station as well.” tushar.rupanavar@goldensparrow.com

Bharat petrol pump in front of the Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO) is one with a big difference.

This is the only petrol pump in the city which employs seven disabled persons, including six deaf and dumb persons as well as a visually impaired one.

These seven employees working at the pump in two shifts. Three of the deaf and dumb employees work between 9 am and 2 pm, checking the air pressure in the tyres of vehicles of customers who fill fuel at the pump.

The other three work the second shift, from 2 pm to midnight. The visually impaired person works as announcer from 9 am to 6 pm. He makes announcements regarding the dos and don’ts while filling fuel at the pump.

It all began when a customer asked pump service provider M Y Baadndl to find jobs for his two deaf and dumb friends. “I employed the two persons for checking and filling air in the tyres of customers’ vehicles. Employing them eased the pressure on the other employees,” said Baadndl. Their work was very satisfactory and so Baadndl placed advertisements in newspapers and recruited other disabled persons to work at the petrol pump.

“These deaf and dumb employees don’t argue with the customers, and they also work conscientiously.

Customers never complain about them, and in fact, their attitude has pleased my customers and even brought in new ones. We give them fair payment which includes Provident Fund also,” said Baadndl.

Visually impaired Vishal Ratan Gaikwad, 27, resident of Pimple Gurav, started working at the pump last week as announcer. He makes announcements like, ‘Remain in queue to fill petrol, don’t use mobile or smoke on the premises’, and other such useful

directions. He has completed his B A, and wants to be a probationary officer.

“I have a family who I have to provide for and this job enables me to do so. I am enjoying this job,’’ said Vishal.

Kiran Niravane, 31, resident of Mangalwar Peth has been deaf and dumb for two years. He is paid Rs 10,000 per month for the job he does at the pump. He can communicate with others in writing. His wife is also deaf

and dumb and his daughter Aarya is in standard IV. Amit Kshirsager, 29, resident of Yerawada, has been working at the petrol pump for seven years. He has studied up to standard VIII. Deaf and dumb, he also communicates with others through writing. “We enjoy the work here and the payment is good. I am grateful to the owner for putting his trust in us,’’ Amit expressed himself in writing.

Satish Garud, 43, resident of Parvati has been working here for four years. “I am satisfied with the work,” he said.

The Bharat petrol pump has provided these people with the opportunity to earn their livelihood, and they in turn have responded with honesty and by acquitting the jobs they do with efficiency and trust. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 13-19, 2016

“I don’t want to be known as a Dalit film-maker. I touch upon caste inequalities because I’ve been affected by it. Even if I don’t belong here, I would have continued to speak about inequalities.”

— Pa. Ranjith, Film Director

“The intelligent boys are going for professional education and the less educated youth are entering into politics. This situation is very bad and it should be the other way around.”

— Subhash Desai, Minister, Industries and Mining

Leading the lost, like him

Army aspirants get a helping hand

An addict in the past, Smart helps people recover and re-enter society with the help of his rehab centre Santulan

BY SHAILESH JOSHI @TGSWeekly

BY RITUJA RAO @TGSWeekly Dwijen Praveen Smart has covered the distance from sympathy to empathy and back. A recovering addict himself, the 57-year-old has noticed the social stigma an addict faces and founded Santulan, an open rehabilitation centre about five years ago. Santulan, running from a small room in Gokhale Nagar and having 23 patients, provides treatment for free. Given the high relapse rates, these inmates cannot afford the fees charged by rehab centres in the city.

“People are mindful of a sleeping dog on the streets, but walk over a drunkard. The society discriminates, loathes and dismisses addicts as people who cannot be helped,” said Smart, who lives, works and thrives with recovering addicts whom he calls his fellowship.

He said, “At Santulan, we look at people as human fi rst and then as a sick human.” Santulan works on three stages — detoxification, vocational rehabilitation where they bring their patients back into mainstream life, and holding workshops for patient’s co-dependents. The centre also runs workshops and events to spread awareness about addiction as a disease of emotions and the substance as only a symptom.

“Our work model uses a patient’s skill for their rehab. Be it painting, craft or cooking. Only their skill can help them recover. They sell craft at stalls, supply food, run errands and even do day jobs during their time at the centre. Th is is how Santulan funds its operations,” he said. Smart also runs a professional rehabilitation centre at Yerawada called Renaissance.

While this isn’t a free model, it helps him sustain Santulan. Residents of Santulan cook and supply meals to everyone at Renaissance. “All the patients and staff eat the food cooked at Santulan. My wife and two kids too eat the same food.” Santulan was started a year before Renaissance was established. While

Dwijen Praveen Smart’s Santulan provides vocational training to bring patients back into mainstream life

patients pay at one and not at the other, they lead the same principles. Their goal is to create self-sufficient productive citizens of the society.

DARK DAYS Addicted to alcohol at 14, Smart, an optometrist, experienced relapse 25 times and was an addict for about 17-18 years. Life had almost given up on him when he moved to Pune from Surat in 1996. He was a divorcee and bankrupt living on the streets of Pune before his father, an exporter, admitted him to Muktangan. He was a patient for about eight months and started working as a staff for a year and a half. He went on to work as the Regional Support Officer for the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Later, he fell in love and married Shilpa Smart. Life was difficult for the couple as they moved on with familial responsibilities.

He tried many businesses but wasn’t satisfied with the endeavours before they started a tiffin service.

“Shilpa used to make chapattis and I helped her.

We packed and supplied tiffins. I am doing what I am because of my wife,” he said about Shilpa who manages the accounts and networking for Santulan

Back to classroom for dropouts’ sake

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar Education is base of nation building.

Since Independence, the government has brought many inclusive policies to curb school dropout ratio. But many children have to drop out from school due to various reasons like when they become orphans, parent is in jail, Ashutosh Kamble lack of fees and other basic needs, negative approach of parents who are illiterate.

Ashutosh Kamble, 29, has started the initiative to teach school dropout children in his neighbourhood.

Pursuing M Phil in economics from Garware College after completing his MA (economics), Kamble believes in doing his bit to educate the society rather than pointing fingers at the authorities. He visits the neighbourhood and encourages dropout kids to attend his personal coaching classes held on the terrace of his friend’s bungalow. His sincere efforts have led to 70 children of different age groups attending his night coaching given at the Jai Bhavani Tarun Vichar Prasarak Mandal Hall at Jai Bhavani slum in Kothrud area

and Renaissance as Smart looks at administration and clinical tasks.

Smart’s team comprises industry experts and recovering drug addicts. His deputy and manager at Satulan is Anand Waghmare, who became paralysed and bankrupt because of addiction. With no boards, signs, websites or doctors recommending Santulan, the centre believes in word-of-mouth publicity and does not ask for donations or give commissions to doctors.

“The day I am satisfied my work will stop. So, no, I am not satisfied, I never will be. My dream is to create an umbrella that provides all sorts of services related to de-addiction. I want to create treatment models for women, children, poor, middle-class, upper class, for everyone. Smita wants to design a de-addiction MBA programme. De-addiction is a thankless job but I will never shut Santulan. Who would believe that a divorcee on the road would marry a double graduate and have two children who dream of being great cricketers.”

Leading a life that is an inspiration for his fellow beings, Smart and his family is a symbol of faith in humanity. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Sarthi Sikshan Yojana of Ashutosh Kamble is giving free coaching to 70 school dropouts of the neighbourhood

from 6 pm to 11 pm every day, for free. Kamble calls his initiative ‘Sarthi Sikshan Yojana’.

A college dropout, Kamble could not pursue further studies for four years, before realising the importance of education and joined the college.

With a desire to help school dropouts, Kamble and friends visited Jai Bhavani Nagar, Kishkinda Nagar and Sutardara slums and found four children who left school in IV and V standard due to family problems.

He met the parents of these children and requested them to send their wards to the coaching class. Kamble enrolled these four children directly to standard X under Form No 17 that allows a student to appear for the board exam as an external candidate, on June 25, 2015.

And two of these youngsters, Tanmay Pol and Babasaheb Magar cleared the tenth board. Tanmay, who left school in standard IV, now hold a tenth board pass certificate and works at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital. He aspires to be a paramedic Kamble said, “Our education system honours only those who gets high grades. Those who fall in the less percentage category are looked down upon, and I belonged to this ‘grade’.

It was only when I rejoined college did I valued the power the education.

I found that education is the only way to uplift lower and middle class people.

The school dropout children just need

words of encouragement and have to be sensitised about education. Taking part in National Social Service (NSS) activities during college days gave me the idea to start such an initiative.”

He started the coaching class on June 25, 2015 with four students and prepared course materials for standard V-XII. “I started coaching them on the terrace of my friend’s bungalow. Starting with four students now we have a student strength of 70 from various age groups.

My colleagues Poonam Shinde and Pradnya Chaudhari also extend help in teaching the kids. I had requested PMC Commissioner and school board to give me a classroom for night coaching but they declined,” he said.

The coaching classes are held at hall of Jai Bhavani Tarun Vichar Prasarak Mandal from 6 pm to 11 pm daily.

“My Garware College teachers Dr TS Kamble and Dr Atul Kulkarni have appreciated my effort and extended support. We now enrol students who have passed standard IV but could not pursue education and have touched 14 years to standard X. Students who have completed 17 years and cleared standard X but dropped out are enrolled directly in standard XII. Our free coaching is on all days of the week. Cognizant company officers recently visited our coaching class and taught soft skills to students.” tushar.rupanavar@goldensparrow.com

PUNE

His love for the uniform that called for discipline, strive for a well-rounded personality and aim for high standards of professionalism did not wane despite hanging up the military boots. Colonel (retd) Jayant Chitale, who resides on Bhandarkar Road, has been devoting his time to guide youngsters who aspire to join the armed forces. The 72-yearold has helped more than 1,500 students become military personnel through his training institute ‘Maharashtra Military Foundation’.

Every Sunday, he and his team provides free training, including physical, mental and social aspects of the profession, to youngsters. Apart from this, Col Chitale also addresses students and youngsters and provide details about choosing the armed forces as a career option. The passion to serve the nation inspired Chitale to joined the military force in 1968 as a Second

Lieutenant despite being a mechanical engineer. He fought the 1971 battle with Pakistan, Operation Blue Star, and Air Observation Post and before he retired voluntarily after 20 years of service.

Post-retirement, with the aim to guide students from the state to join the armed forces, he started supporting Raigad Millitary School and Maharashtra Military School in Mahad and Thana. He also suggested the government ‘one school, one district’. Later, with the help of Jayant Nadkarni, Brigadiyar Avinash Wagh and Colonel Shamarao Chavan, he started ‘Maharashtra Military Foundation’ in Pune in 1999. In 2001, he set up an institute ‘Commandant Academy’ in Badalapur and raised the commando squad.

The increasing number of students attending the military school is a notable reference to Col Chitale dedication to serve the nation, without wearing the combat uniform. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Many personnel in the Armed Forces thank Col (retd) Jayant Chitale for grooming them

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THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 13-19, 2016

There was a time when Pune was the bicycle capital of Maharashtra

There is a demand for copper articles and people do invest in copper

Late Shankar Balwant Kulkarni, father of Jagannath alias Baba Kulkarni (above), had opened city’s first cycle shop Kulkarni and Sons (left) at Appa Balwant Chowk in 1926

Before the dawn of the automotive age in India, Pune was a city of bicycles. It continued to be so even after the advent of the motor scooter, which was still out of the reach of the majority of people, and there were waiting periods of seven years after booking one. The streets of Pune, most of them narrow, were capable of accommodating the large numbers of cyclists those days, and Pune had the highest number of bicycles in the state.

Kulkarni & Sons Cycle Mart, located in the heart of Pune city, at Appa Balwant Chowk, has been landmark in the area for over nine decades. The shop entrance proudly displays the ‘established in 1926’ tag, and continues to do business in a city that once loved its bicycles, but has moved on. The Kulkarni & Sons Cycle Mart was started before the year 1926 by the late Shankar Balwant Kulkarni, who rented out and repaired cycles. Later, as the business grew, they started selling cycles.

Jagannath alias Baba Kulkarni, 75, the second generation owner of the shop, recalling the glorious days of past said, “During the years 1960 to 1970, there was a time when we even didn’t have time to speak or eat. Every month we used to get orders for 600 to 650 bicycles. Even the government provided two tyres and two tubes per person after showing their ration card. Most of the cycles sold were imported from England, Japan, Russia, Holland and China, costing between Rs five and Rs 25.”

“We want to complete 100 years of the shop, but I am really not sure about its future, as many of the cycle marts in the city have shut down. For decades, we sold ten to 15 cycles a day, but it is hard to sell one cycle a day now.

Business was good then. Today we are running into losses, but we run the shop to keep the tradition of the Kulkarni family going,” said

Kulkarni.

Shriniwas Kulkarni, 70, younger brother of Baba Kulkarni, who is the only man in the country to complete his PhD thesis titled ‘Impact of bicycle industry on mobility of population with reference to Pune city’, said, “Even in the 1980s, the Kulkarni Cycle Mart did good business throughout the year. On occasions like Dussehra, or Padwa, we used to sell more than 200 cycles on a single day.

There were bookings for cycles two months in advance during those days,” Kulkarni recalls.

“After the Panshet floods, the city’s geography changed and this was the time when the use of cycles started dwindling.

The residents in the core city areas started moving away and settled in the outskirts and suburbs like Hadapsar, Sarasbaug and Parvati.

As a result, distances increased and at that time there was no public transport. Just like Mumbai had a network of local trains, citizens of Pune started depending on motorcycles to move from one place to another. They became popular and every house had one or two twowheelers,” he said.

The dwindling numbers of cyclists over the last three decades has Kulkarni worried.

“People now buy cycles for leisure, as against those days when it was a need,” he says.

As in earlier times, there are a very few or no cycle stands in schools, colleges, institutes.

Even if there are, one can see very few cycles there. Most people living in different parts of the city come to Pune city for business or jobs, and go back to their homes in the evening.

Most of the people use motorcycles or public transport for travelling, and don’t use cycles,” said Kulkarni.

As the city has prospered, and the middle class could afford to invest in automobiles, the city roads are now clogged with cars and

PUNE

motorised vehicles, leaving no room for the humble bicycle.

There are still signs that hark back to the time when Pune was a cycle city. A new generation of people now invest in cycles for recreational, professional or health purposes, but the age is past when the bicycle was the prime mode of mobility and commuting for the majority of the populace.

The Tambat community gets its name for their craftsmanship that involves making articles out of copper (tamba in Marathi) such as coins, weapons etc. They hail from Konkan, and arrived in Pune around 400 years ago. It is said that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj himself established 12 balutedaars in Pune, and enabled the Tambat people to make their home in Kasba Peth, which location is known as Tambat Ali. This area was also became home to the Kumbhar community at around the same time.

The Wadke brothers are among the oldest coppersmiths of Tambat Ali. Vishnu Haribhau Wadke used to make copper utensils in the 1940s. His son Maruti inherited and continued with the family business. His sons Avinash and Rajendra are the third generation of Wadkes who currently carry on with the coppersmith profession.

Times have changed and so also has the coppersmith business undergone huge transformation. “Time changes everything.

Earlier, the whole process was manual, so we were able to make just about two utensils a day. Around 25 years ago, new machines and techniques were introduced, which has resulted in the whole process taking less time and effort. Now we are able to make 12 utensils in a day,” says Rajendra. “In earlier times, people would come to us to order a new utensil or repair an old one. Now we get orders from dealers, and we don’t have individual customers.”

Today a coppersmith’s work is much easier, and the physical effort is much less compared to when it was all done manually, which also called for a huge amount of skill. In comparison, using machinery to make the copper pots and vessels is far less demanding physically. Almost all the work is done on the machine, from removing the impurities from the metal, to polishing the vessels. The only manual work required now is hammering the copper vessel to make it sturdier, or to give it a design and shape.

“Our family has earned a living from the coppersmith profession for generations. The market scenario keeps changing, and besides gold and silver, there is a constant demand for copper articles, and people also invest in copper goods. I can’t say whether the next generation will continue with the family business and tradition. My son, for instance, is pursuing a course in engineering, and is aiming for a career in that line. The world now offers infinite career options and opportunities for youngsters. Meanwhile, we will continue to carry on our line of work as coppersmiths.”

Avinash Wadke is a part of the third

They have e VICISSITUD

In the nearly seven decades since the turbulent times of British r have undergone momentous changes. But there are some landm adjusted to the demands of a

BY VICKY PATHARE

Shriniwas Kulkarni showing the latest models of bicycles at his store

The city of Pune has been in existence for centuries and it nat pre-Independence era. From a homely boarding house that a shop that sells bicycles, a theatre venue that later switched picked out establishments that have endured and flourished d and its people almost beyond recognition, and who still look

From a house of plays to a popular Hindi and Marathi movies venue

Vilas Tapre showing a century-old film reel of a movie shown at Vasant Talkies

The British passed the Dramatic Performances Act in 1876, to curb the use of theatre by Indians as an instrument of protest against colonial rule.

The roots of modern Indian theatre go back to the days of British rule in India.

Modern Indian theatre developed during the period of colonial rule under the British Empire, from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. From the latter half of the 19th century, theatres in India experienced a resurgence. After India gained Independence in 1947, theatres spread throughout India as one of the prime sources of entertainment.

Vasant Talkies near Shaniwar Wada was built by in the year 1907 by the late Martand Narayan Tapre, a jeweller by profession. The theatre was named ‘Kirloskar Natyagruh’ by Tapre, as it was dream of his friend Annasaheb Kirloskar to build a theatre, but he was unable to do so. The theatre with a rich heritage going back 109 years provided a platform for Marathi theatre artists such as Bal Gandharva and others.

“Those days the initial and natural form of expression of the patriotism of the intelligentsia was through plays and literature in the regional languages. Modern Indian literature and plays developed everywhere in association with the reform movements. It was then taken over by the new patriotic mood when a large number of patriotic plays, poems and songs were made

and played all over the country and also in the Vasant Talkies,” said Vilas Damodar Tapre, who is the fourth generation descendant of Martand Narayan Tapre.

“Later, in the year 1935, the theatre name was changed from Kirloskar Natyagruh to Vasant Talkies, and the plays were stopped completely and replaced with Hindi and Marathi movies. The theatre’s three-floor structure was reduced to two floors resulting into the diminishing capacity to 450. The theatre has gone through many ups and downs, but it is still standing proudly in the heart of the city,” he said.

Till the year 1990, it was a golden period for the single screen venues, but after the city got multiplex cinemas, the single screen cinemas started fading out. Single screen cinemas that were once thronged by audience in large numbers are struggling due to many reasons.

Some have already closed their doors since they suffered heavy losses.

Remembering the movie made by the Tapre family, named ‘Bhagyarekha’, Vilas said, “My father the late Damodar Tapre had made the movie in the year 1947-1948, about single parent unmarried mother, which was a unique topic those days. The famous actress Shanta Apte played the lead role as the mother. The movie had five songs and a bhajan in it. I have even converted the movie to DVD format and preserved it,” he said.

Vasant Talkies at Budhwar Peth

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 13-19, 2016

PUNE

PICS BY RAHUL RAUT AND VISHAL KALE

New Poona Boarding House is famous for its long list of loyal customers; (inset) Suhas Udpikar

Serving homely and wholesome food to its faithful customers for nine decades

generation that is following the profession of forging copper pot

endured the DES OF TIME

rule and the gaining of Independence, the nation and Pune city, mark local businesses that have rolled with the punches and have a new and changing clientele

There were few eateries in Poona (as Pune was called then) in the pre-Independence era. People did not have money, and what little they had was not be splurged on restaurant meals, or going to dining halls or hotels. The British rulers though were fond of going out for dinner, but they would only go to a select and exclusive kind of restaurants that would cater to their tastes.

Gururaj Ramakrishna Udpikar, came to Poona from Udupi in Karnataka. He started the New Poona Boarding House at Sadashiv Peth, on November 5, 1925.

Th is was a decade after the launch of start Sir Parshurambhau (SP) College in 1915, which brought students from outside of town to the city. These outsiders needed lodging and boarding, and this resulted in the setting up of restaurants and eateries.

“My grandfather saw that there was a need for boarding houses that would provide meals at affordable rates for these outsiders.

That is when he thought of starting New Poona Boarding House,” recounts Suhas Udpikar, Gururaj’s grandson, who now runs the boarding house, and takes pride in preserving the homely and wholesome tradition of food that is served at the eatery.

New Poona Boarding House would serve typical homely Maharashtrian food to such customers, and charge them Rs 12 a month.

“During the British era, many freedom fighters used to eat here. So there used to be frequent raids at our boarding house by the British to capture the freedom fighters.

As the city continued to develop, so did out clientele and more and more people came to our eatery to partake of our homely food. We have never compromised on the quality of food, and we have strived to serve our customers the same kind of healthy and wholesome food that my grandfather built his reputation on. My grandfather used to cook the food himself, and always made sure that our meals had the quality of home-cooked food. Even today we do not cook food at our home, as everyone in my family eats here,” said Suhas.

Recalling past times, Suhas said, “During the 1965 Indo-Pak war, there was a shortage of ammunition. So the ammunition factory workers were working round the clock, and they couldn’t even go home for their meals. We used to deliver tiffins to them,” said Suhas.

New Poona Boarding House has been and continues to be a homely and friendly place, where individual customers are greeted by their names. And such genuine warmth and hospitality has always meant that the boarding house has its regular, faithful flock of customers, who treat it like a home away from home.

Times though are hard and with the changing tastes, it takes lot of effort to ensure and serve quality food to the customers at rock bottom prices. Then there are the daily, practical things to take care of, such as the workers needed to run the boarding house, and managing the budget as prices of commodities continue to rise.

There is also competition in the form of other restaurants and food delivery services, that cater to a variety of tastes, and offer new and western-oriented cuisines. But the New Poona Boarding House USP is its home-cooked food, and Suhas knows that this is what he has to preserve.

Suhas’ son is a doctor, and there is no one else Suhas can hand over the legacy of New Poona Boarding House to. But until he is there at its helm, the boarding house will continue to flourish and prosper.

E & ROMIL KOTHARI

turally is home to a number of businesses that date back to the serves wholesome meals, craftsmen who work with copper, to screening movies, and dealers in khadi apparel, TGS has despite the sweeping changes that have transformed the city to an uncertain future with undying optimism and resolve

City’s Oldest khadi shop ‘Gandhi Khadi Bhandar’ at Kunte Chowk; (inset) Anand Gandhi

Khadi, more than just a fabric, it was a potent catalyst of India’s freedom struggle

standing proud since 1907

In India, Khadi is far more than just cloth, it is the movement started by Father of the Nation, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. The fabric of the freedom struggle, and a potent weapon of the Swadeshi movement, Mahatma Gandhi used khadi as a means of self-employment and self-reliance, and also urged the boycott of the use of cloth manufactured industrially in Britain, in the 1920s.

The charkha used to spin out threads of khadi cloth, used to be a symbol of India’s poverty and backwardness. But the Mahatma transformed it into a symbol of self-reliance and non-violence. The freedom struggle revolved around the use of khādī fabric and the ban of foreign-made cloth.

The late Chandulal Gandhi established Gandhi Khadi Bhandar on Laxmi Road, in 1942, which went a long way in boosting sales of the home-made fabric in the city. Chandulal was a nature lover and had a great fondness for khadi. The business is currently looked after by the second generation of the Gandhi

family, Anand Gandhi and his younger son Dr Harshad Gandhi. They are aiming to expand the business further, after setting up a branch of the bhandar at Karve Road a couple of years ago.

“Till date we have maintained the high standard of the store. Though the hand-woven fabric tends to have defects, the fabrics of Gandhi Khadi Bhandar are all selected after painstaking scrutiny and quality checks. As a result, you will not find any defects in the fabric we deal in,” said Anand.

Gandhi Khadi Bhandar fabrics are and have been imported from Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, since the inception of the business. There are thousands of varieties, including Khadi Wool, Khadi Cotton, Khadi Silk and Printed Khadi.

The prices of khadi fabrics range from Rs 80 to Rs 1100 per metre. Cotton khadi is the cheapest, while silk khadi is the most expensive variety.

“Khadi offers a comfort level which is far

greater than of other fabrics. Nowadays khadi is in great demand by youngsters, and college students are very keen on printed khadi. Khadi is not just the choice of older people now. Modi jackets are in great demand, it is the apparel people choose to wear at special functions like marriages, parties, cultural programmes etc,” said Anand.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to Indians to buy khadi and promote the khadi culture. He has urged people to buy khadi in large quantities, individually and in groups, for their own selves and for their families, to help the people who depend on the khadi cottage industry for their livelihood.

Asked if the PM’s urging has boosted the sale of khadi, Anand said, “Yes the sale of khadi has been boosted by more than 30 per cent after Modiji urged people to go in for khadi. Khadi has found wide acceptance in society, and shoppers come along with their families to buy khadi garments.”

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 13-19, 2016

PUNE

TECH/START-UP

“Microsoft is working on a headphones that plays songs according to your mood, health and situation.”

— https://blog.varnion.com/

BJP’s Dalit MPs, leaders to counter opposition charges P 12

In the App World Make payments without OTP

Time to get smart with TVs The PC-TV combo is here— and buyers are saying: bigger is better!

BY ANAND PARTHASARATHY Yes, Godzilla got it right. Size does matter.

With multiple festival seasons around the corner, TV buyers are telling us, bigger is better—and are gearing up to avail seasonal discount sales to snap up the largest model they can afford.

Recent announcements, made interestingly, by a couple of China-based players, whose previous launches here, were smart phones, hold out the promise of very compelling pricing for smart TV sets. And especially at the large screen end of the spectrum, the asking price is less than half of what is currently prevalent.

What is more, these new entrants into the Indian TV scene have cannily bundled a lot of local content into their offerings.

Smart TVs have been around for some time now—sets which incorporate connectivity to Internet. Now, you can do more than just surf the Net, look at YouTube and check your mail. The trend this year is to bundle a lot of infotainment—movies, sports, live shows, archival TV serials—both free and pay-byview. This opens up the whole new game of offline viewing, unshackling the viewer from seeing content only when it is broadcast.

These new entrants seem to have brought learnings from the phone business - and are scaling up their screens, from a 6 inch phone to a 60 inch TV set (and often, both are Dolby DTS sound and full High Definition or even Ultra HD).

Le Eco which in its earlier avatar, LeTV, was one of the biggest content providers for television in China, has smartly (pun intended), entered the TV market here with a trio of sets at the big -screen end of the smart TV spectrum, with a canny combo

of carefully curated desi and international content thrown in. By tying up with content biggies—Hungama, Yupp TV, Eros and the like—they are able with little effort of their own, to offer a platter of 2000+ HD movies, over 3 million songs and 100 satellite TV channels as a package deal with each TV model. The first generation of television was a a one way broadcast-only technology. The second was a platform for multiple channels.

Now Generation 3.0 is a big screen that is Internet -connected to an entire ecosystem of global infotainment options. The Connected Smart TV is here.

You can control the screen by voice or gesture. You can change channels by waving the remote—or using your mobile phone instead. And you can store your favourite programming in your own cloud, and share clips or music much as you now do with Whatsapp.

What is finally happening, is seamless merger of TV, mobile and Internet where every viewer in a family can create his or own personalized version of TV content—and control what to do with it.

LeEco has chosen to address the top end of the TV market: their three sets for India are: the top of the line 65-inch 3D UHD TV, the Super3 Max 65; the 65-inch ultra HD Super 3 X65 and the 55-inch UHD Super 3 X55. All three are so-called ‘4k’ displays which means 3840 x 2160 pixels compared to Full HD which is 1920 x 1080 pixels.

Do the multiplication—and you can see why 4K (or UHD) has 8 million+ or four times more pixels in the same area compared to 2K or Full HD, making for much sharper images.

All the TVs are WiFi enabled (802.11 ac, the fastest standard currently available

in consumer electronics) and Android 5.0 driven. I was tickled to see TVs rated like PCs: “3 GB RAM, 16 GB Flash storage”... this is PC-TV sangam in action.

The Max 65 is priced at Rs 1,49,790 which is about half what competing 65-inch 3D sets cost. The X 65 costs Rs 99, 790 and the X55 is Rs 55, 790, all aggressively priced in their categories. Their common USP is the access to all that extra content which is valued at around Rs 5000/ year and comes free for two years. Anytime online content, over and above the cable/satellite channels, has finally come to Indian TVs.

RETURN OF TCL

TCL is the other Chinese company, to launch aggressively priced TVs in India this month. Readers may know it by the Thomson brand it brought to India some years ago. It has chosen to launch its TV business in India with four sets: two full HD models in the D2900 series: 32 and 40 inch at Rs 13,990 and Rs 20,990 and the TCL P1 Smart TV series with a 48inch curved full HD TV for Rs 37,990 and the better-resolution, but smaller UHD 43-inches for Rs 31,990. A curved smart TV has hitherto cost about three times this price.

The TCL smart TV sets have conveniently put their more interesting functions into an app.

There is no overlap between the India offerings of TCL and LeEco for a reason: They work closely in China and in fact, TCL makes some of the sets for Le Eco and in turn uses its content. and is the No.3 TV seller in the US. It seems, the upcoming festival season will see some compelling deals for customers.

IndiaTechOnline

VW to make Pune its IT hub

ADVERTORIAL

Volkswagen’s newest entity in India, will serve as the global back end for information technology services, for all its global operations. “Volkswagen IT Services India” began work from premises in the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park at Hinjewadi last week, with a team strength of 300, slated to rise to 450. The German automobile giant plans to pump in 3 million euro (approximately Rs 22.5 crores) into creating a tech services backbone, eventually for all its iconic brands, which include Audi, Lamborghini, Porsche and Skoda.

The Pune team will handle all in-house, technology-driven processes, and help VW to gradually do away with outsourcing such services.

Sidharth Yadav is the Managing Director of Volkswagen IT Services India. He was joined by

Embassy Techzone, Hinjewadi which houses the offices of Volkswagen IT Services. Inset: From left: Volkswagen executives Sidharth Yadav, Martin Hofmann and Uwe Matulovic at the inauguration of the IT services facility

Dr Martin Hofmann, CIO, Volkswagen AG and Dr Uwe Matulovic, head of the management board of VW Group IT Services, for the inauguration of the new Pune facility. VW already runs a state-of-the-art vehicle plant in Chakan and is a key member of Pune’s burgeoning automobile ecosystem. With a workforce of over 3500, the plant has ramped up production capacity to over 1,30,000 vehicles a year.

Unlike many such manufacturing enterprises, VW welcomes visitors to its high tech plant. Educational institutions, corporate and private goups (minimum 20, maximum 40) can book a plant tour at the company’s website www.volkswagen.co.in.

IndiaTechOnline

NOTEBOOK HUB LAUNCHES INDIA’S FIRST EVER COMPUTER & LAPTOP SERVICE AND MAINTENANCE PACK Pune’s own trusted Notebook Hub launched India’s first ever computer and laptop service and maintenance pack on August 5, 2016. Launch of CARE PACK is not only revolutionary, but practically beneficial to all end users. Since the last 10 years, Notebook Hub has won a million hearts through quality products and exceptional services.

Notebook Hub is a renowned brand with four grand showrooms — Tech IT Mall on Tilak Road, Chinchwad near Big Bazaar, Viman Nagar near Datta Mandir and another on Tilak Road — spread across the city. The firm will soon open a new branch in Aundh.

Sairaj Techinfra Pvt Ltd directors Azharrudin and Arshad Tamboli believe that the customer is the king and good service along with quality products enhance brand loyalty. Azharrudin said

that in the past 10 years of running the business, he has come across many clients and addressed their problems.

“Customers have many options for product and different purchase platforms.

What bring them back to the showroom is after-sale service. I personally interact with customers. Providing good aftersales service shows your customers you want to build a long-term relationship and the unique product CARE PACK is the result of my five-year study of user service experience,” Azharrudin said.

CARE PACK comes with three options, CARE PACK-Silver that covers complete services of one computer or laptop for three years. A customer simply has to visit any nearby showroom and get their product repaired. CARE PACK-Gold covers onsite services for one computer/ laptop for three years. CARE PACK-

Platinum also gives onsite services for three computers and laptops.

At the launch, Azharrudin was delighted that finally a product is introduced which will take care of all computer/ laptop related problems. He said, “I am very happy that Notebook Hub owns the pride of being India’s first brand to launch such a kind of product.”

CARE PACK is a facility that gives customers the assurance that their product will be taken care of by experts.

A full-fledged, dedicated team is working 24X7 to deliver extraordinary services for CARE PACK customers.

Notebook Hub is not just about computers, mobiles, accessories, printers, CCTV or repairs. With CARE PACK it is much more than that. Notebook Hub will surely transform the service industry with this innovative step.

Leading Indian provider of authentication, and payment solutions, Wibmo has launched a consumer payments tool—Wibmo, One Step. The consumer does not have to provide additional data on each transaction or wait for an OTP. With the seamless integration of the consumer’s device, personal credentials, and data secured and validated by the participating bank – all in real time, WibmoOne Step enables the consumer to conduct a fully authenticated transaction, literally, in one step – with just a tap on the “Approve” button on a mobile app. In addition, the transaction is completed without sending any card details to the merchant. Wibmo One Step is being incorporated into mobile payment offerings by a number of banks. One of the first is HDFC Bank which has used the Wibmo technology to fuel its PayZapp one click app which is available for Android and iOS.

IS 4K WORTH THE PRICE?

Mobile wallet, Udio, is a Visa card

Readers often ask: Is 4K/ UHD TV worth the extra asking price? Having seen UHD and HD TVs from TCL and Le Eco’s UHD only TVs, side by side last week at their respective launches in Bangalore and Delhi, here is my take for what it’s worth. In TV sizes 42-inch and smaller, you will hardly tell the difference from Full HD/2K and UHD/4K. It is only in larger sizes that there is discernible difference. At 55-inch to 65-inch if you look at the same content on a 2K and a 4K set, the latter shows a lot more depth—ie what looks like a black shadow area in a 2K set, reveals a lot of detail in 4K. The real difference will be seen when viewing sports, where a 4K set shows absolutely no blurr even when the action is very fast. When 4K TV sets were priced Rs 90,000 and more, I would have said: Don’t rush, there is hardly any 4K content to view and hence this is not value for money.

But now you can get a 43-inch 4K set for around Rs 31,000 and a 55-inch for about Rs 55,000—and if I had the money, I would think: no harm in buying now at these prices: the content will eventually come!

Mumbai-based digital payments player Transerv, has launched Udio, claimed to be India’s first social mobile wallet. It makes payments a social experience, by connecting with family & friends via simple features like Bill Splitting, Geo Tagging and Social Gifting. It comes with a facility of a physical prepaid visa card that can be used for payments both online as well as offline. It is best for the people who don’t like entering their debit card PIN in public. Udio can be used to access wallet money at any online or offline retailer that accept cards as a mode of making payments. It makes the wallet money interoperable across online and offline channels whilst at the same time granting users greater flexibilty of usage. The Android app can be found in Google Play under “Udio”.

Gift the presents, recipients really want That very American practice of giving presents short listed by pragmatic hosts has come to India. MyThofa.com has read the message and come up with a solution to the dilemma: what does the bride or groom or whoever really want? How to avoid presenting the 20th pressure cooker. MyThofa.com offers you the opportunity to create a gift registry. You choose gifts you would like from available online stores, share this gift list with your loved ones and be assured that you have saved them a whole load of hassle. As a guest you would think, “What do I buy? Will he/she like it?” and then “Where do I buy it?” At MyThofa you get to see the list of things that your loved ones want and buy them online too. Your practical approach will be appreciated, feel the founders. Let’s see if this hard nosed approach will catch on in India!

IndiaTechOnline

Author honored for book on Indian IT saga The US-based Society for the History of Technology’s Special Interest Group for Computers, Information, and Society (SIGCIS) has honored Indian science journalist Dinesh Sharma, with the 2016 Computer History Museum Book Prize for his book, The Outsourcer: The Story of India’s IT. The prize which includes a $ 1000 cash award, is given to an outstanding book in the history of computing. It was presented to Sharma recently at the Society’s event in Singapore.

The book published by MIT Press (US) at $29.95, is an abridged and updated version, of the book, ‘The Long Revolution’ written by Sharma in 2009. It is available in India from Amazon and other online sellers for around Rs 1400 and is possibly the most complete account in print of the rise of the Indian infotech industry.

It traces how the global Brand India in IT was born, with foreign technology companies—starting with Texas Instruments—basing their software development teams in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, etc.

It documents how in the post-millennium years, India morphed into the world’s leading destination for software and services outsourcing. It weaves the story of how desi tech companies like TCS, Wipro, Cognizant and Infosys, took on global giants and became respected global brands names. A fascinating saga of 25 years of Indian innovation.

IndiaTechOnline

A-gifting we will go: Co-founders Shiv Nair, Presita Nair & Shalini Nair launching MyThofa

IT is like that...

ENVIRONMENT “The major threat to the environment now is that humanity is overusing the planet as a resource base. I’ve been extremely clear that if we have only one planet, we have to be really, really smart about how we use it.”

— Terry A’Hearn, Chief Executive, Scottish Environment Protection Agency

H EALTH

Researchers used data from China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa

BY SUBHASHIS MITTRA

(NHANES) from 1999 to 2011.

“By analysing the results of 174 studies published between 1980 and 2016, we found higher levels of weekly physical activity were linked to reduced risk in all five common chronic conditions,” Veerman said.

He said most people could achieve 10 MET-hours per week by running for 75 minutes or two and a half hours of walking per week.

“People may need to incorporate additional daily activity to achieve 50 METhours,” Veerman said.

“Th is could mean being more active at work, doing housework, using stairs where possible, gardening or running, and using active transport such as walking or cycling,” he said.

PTI

What do children like to read?

What do school going students like to read or access? what do they feel about their educational materials and why do they exhibit certain learning preferences?

An ongoing survey powered by the Cambridge University Press and the German Book Office is attempting to provide a context for discussion with a diverse mix of teachers, publishers, authors and content creators.

Initiated at the recently concluded eighth edition of Jumpstart - an annual creative forum that brings together creators of children’s content, the survey attempts to delve into preferences of learners. Reading preferences of children, the time they spend on their

devices, who are they influenced by for making a choice on what to read and use as reference, what would they like to see more of in their textbooks, what components they spend time on and what does not interest them, all these find place in the survey.

Children’s opinions on gaming, discussions and use of other components linked to today’s books have also been included.

Initial findings reveal that out of those surveyed 41 per cent read 1 to 2 books outside their regular text books, 30 per cent read 3 to 5 books and 16 per cent read more than 5 books while the remaining do not read anything outside

The approval of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) Bill, 2016 by Rajya Sabha has come as a breath of fresh air into the otherwise stagnant debate over environmental concerns getting short shrift in the face of the development agenda.

After much delay, Parliament passed a bill which will pave the way for “unlocking” of about Rs 42,000 crore earmarked for forest land which is lying unspent for about four years.

The Bill, which was hanging fire since May last year when it was approved by the Lok Sabha, seeks to provide for setting up of funds under the central public accounts and that of each state governments for undertaking plantation, assisted natural regenation, protection of forests and forest related infrastructure development.

The law will ensure expeditious utilisation of accumulated unspent amounts available with the ad hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) which is presently around Rs 42,000 crore. 90 per cent of the amount will go to states and the remaining will be there with the central government.

“The money available under this fund is huge.

This fund is not of anybody but of Team India,” Minister for Forests and Environment Anil Madhav Dave said while replying to a debate on the bill.

He said the money would be “returned” to the states which have suffered deforestation on account of development. Odisha would get the maximum amount of about Rs 6,000 crore, followed by Chattisgarh which will get Rs 3,861 crore and Rs 3,459 crore for Madhya Pradesh.

Andhra Pradesh will get Rs 2,223 crore, Arunachal Pradesh Rs 1462 crore, Gujarat Rs 1100 crore, Himachal Pradesh Rs 1395 crore, Jammu & Kashmir Rs 926 crore, Jharkand Rs 3099 crore, Karnataka Rs 917 crore, Maharashtra Rs 2,433 crore, Rajasthan Rs 1425 crore, Uttar Pradesh Rs 1,314 crore and Uttarakhand Rs 2,210 crore.

India is an important grower of cotton at global scale. In India, it is cultivated in 117 lakh ha with an average productivity of 496 kg/ha. The insect pests spectrum of cotton is quite complex. More than 1,326 species of insects and pests are infl icting cotton throughout the world. Billions of dollars are spent worldwide to control insects and pests in agriculture.

Despite this expenditure, up to 40% of a crop can be lost to insect damage, particularly in developing countries.

The Helicoverpa armigera is a common major pest, causing epidemics, resulting into a calamity. It comes in more than one peak along with pink boll worm in all cotton-growing zones.

Rs 2,600 crore is spent on controlling insects and pests on cotton. A number of insecticides effectively control these insects and pests but they have been proven to be hazardous to human health and environment.

Hence, there is a need to go for safer alternatives which can reduce our dependence on pesticides. Insecticidal proteins present in soil-born bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is very effective as a spray to control insects.

The area under Bt cotton has reached 9.4 million ha in 2010-11, constituting nearly 85% of the total cotton area in India. Insect pest management is one of the important steps to safeguarded its crop and productivity. Pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella) has become

economically the most destructive pest of cotton, causing 2.8 - 61.9 per cent loss on seed cotton yield, 2.1 - 47.10 per cent loss in oil content and 10.70 - 59.20 per cent in normal opening of bolls.

The Bt cotton offers high level of resistance to cotton bollworm complex, caused by Helicoverpa armigera, Earias vittella and Pectinophora gossypiella, according to a report in the Indian Farming. The Bt cotton has inbuilt genetic resistance to bollworms and is very effective in controlling the yield losses caused by bollworms.

The resistance is governed by a single dominant gene. Use of Bt cotton reduces use of pesticides, resulting in reducing the cost of cultivation. It results in improvement of yield and margin of profit. The Bt is a short form of ubiquitous soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis.

In India, Bt cotton is supplied in Maharashtra by the agri-biotechnology company, Mahyco, as the distributor.

The use of Bt cotton in India has grown exponentially since its introduction.

Recently India has become the

On the concern expressed by some members that the bill does not empower “forest dwellers, tribals and gram sabhas”, the minister assured the House that the rules under the law would be framed after necessary consultations with Gram Sabhas. He said the consultations with Gram Sabhas would even be recorded.

Dave also assured the House that if the rules are not found to be adequate, the government will “revisit” it after one year.

The funds would be utilised for creation and maintenance of compensatory afforestation and execution of other activities for conservation, protection, improvement and expansion of forest and wildlife resources of the country. Apart from creation of direct employment, utilisation of these amounts will result in increased availability of timber and various other non-timber forest products, and will thus help in improvement of the overall living standards of the forest dependent communities.

It is understandable that a developing country cannot put its economic agenda on hold. But environmental security has to be attended to simultaneously to secure the rights of those who depend on the forests for their livelihood and also as an antidote the ill-effects of climate change.

PTI Feature

!

T S E NE B

U P S W KNO

their syllabus. It also finds that on the devices among other things children access educational material, 31 per cent access learning resources daily, 48 per cent access learning resources weekly and 13 per cent do not access learning via devices.

“The vital thing to note is that teachers and parents remain the key influencer to what children read and view. Over 90 per cent refer to advice from their parents, teachers or both.

We will get the opinion of students across India over the next few months,” says Ratnesh Jha, Managing Director Cambridge University Press South Asia.

PTI

number one global exporter of cotton and the second largest cotton producer in the world. India has bred Btcotton varieties such as Bikaneri Nerma and hybrids such as NHH-44, setting up India to benefit now and well into the future.

However, India’s success has been subject to scrutiny. Monsanto seeds are expensive and lose vigour after one generation, prompting The Indian Council of Agricultural Research to develop a cheaper Bt cotton variety with seeds that could be reused.

Maharashtra has banned the sale and distribution of Bt cotton in 2012, to promote local Indian seeds, which demand less water, fertilizers and pesticide input. The main selling points of Bt cotton are the reductions in pesticides to be sprayed on a crop and the ecological benefits which stem from that.

Similarly in India and the USA, Bt cotton initially alleviated the issues with pests while increasing yields and delivering higher profits for farmers.

Studies showed that the lower levels of pesticide being sprayed on the cotton crops promoted biodiversity by allowing non- target species like ladybirds, lacewings and spiders to become more abundant. Likewise it was found that integrated pest management strategies becoming more effective due to the lower levels of pesticide encouraging the growth of natural enemy populations.

PTI Feature

Passing of bill will pave the way for “unlocking” of about Rs 42,000 crore earmarked for forest land which is lying unspent for about four years

PUBLISHING

 Pune has 22

bridges over two rivers

Bt Cotton is promising for India

BY DR SOM DUTT

PUNE

Bill on forest land gets Parliament nod, finally

Study prescribes at least five times higher than current WHO recommendations

the exact type and quantity of activity that most reduces the risk of common conditions because it is difficult to accurately measure physical activity,” said Veerman, who collaborated with researchers from the University of Washington and Dartmouth College.

Researchers used data from the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) conducted in six countries - China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa - from 2007 to 2010, and additional data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys

AUGUST 13-19, 2016

“Two generations ago, people were interring waste in different areas of the world, and now climate change is modifying those sites.

It’s a new breed of climate change challenge we have to think about.”

— William Colgan, Researcher, Toronto’s York University

More exercise needed to fight chronic diseases People’s engagement in physical activity needs to be at least five times higher than current WHO recommendations to reduce risks of diseases like cancer, diabetes and stroke, suggests new research that included data from India.

Researchers are calling for a major boost to physical activity recommendations, with the study linking more weekly exercise to a reduced risk of five common diseases.

Lennert Veerman from University of Queensland in Australia said a significant boost to physical activity level recommendations to the equivalent of 15 to 20 hours of brisk walking or six to eight hours of running a week could reduce breast and bowel cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

“Although the fi rst minutes of activity do most for health, our research results suggest activity needs to be several times higher than current World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations to achieve larger reductions in risks of these diseases,” Veerman said.

“WHO advises a minimum total physical activity level of 10 metabolic equivalent of tasks (MET) hours a week, but the study found health gains accumulated up to levels of 50 to 70 MET-hours a week,” he said.

“A lot of previous research had shown the benefits of being physically active, but we still do not definitively know

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THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 13-19, 2016

PUNE

“Today, we have barely 42,000 square miles under our control. To say that we will not talk is not a mature response. When we say we do not need to talk to Pakistan, have we legitimized Pakistan occupied Kashmir?”

— Karan Singh, Senior Congress leader

57K plans to provide drinking water Centre has ambitious schemes for rural areas

Come down hard on ponzi schemes: Panel P 14

BJP’s Dalit MPs, leaders to counter opposition charges

NEW DELHI: Over 57,400 schemes are going on in different states to provide drinking water to the rural population and over Rs 4,300 crore utilised for the purpose in 2015-16, the government said.

Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Narendra Singh Tomar informed Lok Sabha that Rs 4,373 crore was allocated to states under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme in 2015-16, of which Rs 4,369.55 crore has been utilised.

Citing data, he said there are 57,489 ongoing schemes in different states to provide drinking water to the rural population as on August 8.

In Jammu & Kashmir, there are 1,838 ongoing rural drinking water supply schemes, he said during Question Hour.

Noting that drinking water and

sanitation is a state subject, Tomar said the Centre’s role is to provide technical and financial support to the states as well as monitor such programmes.

With regard to Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G), Tomar said the programme aims at achieving Swachh Bharat by October 2, 2019 and focusses on behaviour change and community engagement.

In 2015-16, Rs 6,525 crore was allocated for SBM-G and out of it, Rs 6,524.52 crore has been utilised, he said.

“Since launching of SBM-G on October 2, 2014, 212.98 lakh toilets have already been constructed till August 8. In addition to this, a total of 17 districts, 232 blocks, 32,395 gram panchayats and 72,727 villages have been declared Open Defecation Free,” the Minister said.

PTI

Study ‘outdated’ autopsy regulations

Law Commission to come up with comprehensive report NAGPUR: The Centre wants the Law Commission to study regulations related to postmortem examination which have become outdated and come up with a comprehensive report so that amendments can be made in laws related to it, according to a forensic medical expert.

The move comes after an 82page study report was submitted recently to the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister by Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS) Sewagram’s (Wardha) Clinical Forensic Medicine Unit incharge Dr Indrajit Khandekar.

According to Khandekar, the PMO recently asked the Law Commission to study laws related to postmortem examination in the country and to give a report covering all aspects of criminal laws so that comprehensive amendments can be made in various regulations like the Code of Criminal Procedure, Indian Evidence Act, etc, related to autopsy.

Khandekar has pointed out in the report that since 1898, doctors have been following the Criminal Procedure Code provision 174 chalked out by the British government which is now outdated and not followed correctly.

Even after over 100 years, there was not a single amendment in the law that would help to check the

NEW DELHI: Under the opposition attack over issues concerning Dalits, RSS and BJP have asked the party’s Dalit leaders to launch an aggressive campaign among the community, claiming that its “success” in winning over a section of them has prompted Congress and BSP to launch a “disinformation” campaign against it.

Dalits MPs and office-bearers of BJP, besides state presidents of the party’s SC Morcha, held a meeting where Krishna Gopal, a senior RSS functionary who is the Hindutva organisation’s pointsman for BJP, besides party general secretaries Ramlal and Bhupendra Yadav spoke to them.

The meeting assumes significance in view of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls as BJP has been making sustained efforts to woo Dalits, who constitute over 20 per cent of the electorate. Many believe that the recent rows have harmed its campaign.

Its Dalit MPs and other leaders are likely to fan out to areas where the community’s presence is significant to defend the party over the rows following cases of attack on Dalits in

Vol-III* lssue No.: 09 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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Muslims take part along with the members of Dalit community in a protest rally in Ahmedabad against the recent attack on Dalits at Una

many states by cow vigilantes.

“The opposition has launched a disinformation campaign against us.

Congress and BSP are together as they are worried over our success in winning over Dalits. Comments of our senior leaders are being distorted. We have to counter it aggressively and effectively,” party spokesperson and Dalit leader Vijay Sonkar Shastri said.

The recent comment of Prime

Minister Narendra Modi that 70-80 per cent of the self-proclaimed cow protectors are anti-social elements also found a mention in the meeting.

Many leaders mentioned in the meeting that Modi had said that cow protection is good and referred to his own work but it is now being alleged that he ran down all groups working for cow welfare, sources said.

PTI

PM should make a statement on dalit issue in Parliament BSP chief Mayawati demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement in Parliament on the issue of atrocities on dalits.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister alleged that the recent statements of the Prime Minister on dalits were an exercise in “damage control”.

Ahead of UP elections and polls in some other states, there have been incidents like the Rohith Vemula

Engineer beaten to death over inflated bill

existing pitiable quality of medicolegal death investigation by police and the horrendous quality of postmortem examination in the country, he said in the report.

Not amending the old law (since 1898) has led to unscientific, improper death investigation and incomplete postmortem reports, which is one of the reasons for low conviction rate in the court of law, according to the report.

Relatives also face tremendous difficulties in getting a copy of the postmortem report at the earliest.

Collection of various organs and even foetuses of pregnant women for keeping in museum without written consent of relative is also a matter of concern, the report said.

PTI

PTI

Ruling political party believe that the recent rows concerning Dalits have harmed its election campaigns

BHOPAL: A 25-year-old junior engineer of the Madhya Pradesh Central Power Distribution Company Limited (MPCPDCL) was beaten to death at his office here allegedly by two persons over an inflated electricity bill, police said.

Santosh Vishwakarma and his nephew Nikhel, who beat the JE Karmakar Varathe to death were arrested, Superintendent of Police (South) Anshuman Singh told PTI. Santosh, hailing from Sagar district along with Nikhel went to MPCPDCL office in Chandbad under Bajaria Police Station to settle the alleged inflated bill issue, he added.

Santosh had an altercation with a clerk and later a heated argument took place between Varate and the duo following which they punched and thrashed Karmakar, he said.

Victim was rushed to hospital but doctors declared him brought dead.

PTI

episode, the Una attack on youths and other atrocities which have affected BJP’s image with regard to dalits, Mayawati claimed.

“Our party wants that rather than expressing sympathy with dalits, the PM should focus on acting against those who commit atrocities against them,” the BSP chief said.

She also demanded that Modi should speak on the issue in Parliament.

“If he can speak on it outside, he can also say it in the House,” she said.

Mayawati

Guj HC seeks probe progress report AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat High Court asked the state government to file a report on progress of the investigation into the incident in Una tehsil last month where some Dalit youths were flogged after being caught skinning a cow.

A division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice VM Pancholi was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Kantibhai Chavda, seeking transfer of the case to CBI. At present, the state CID is probing it.

The court asked the Government Pleader to file a probe progress report

by September 7.

“CID Crime has not proved to be effective in any (Dalit) atrocity case in the state in the past,” Chavda’s petition has alleged.

According to him, in several cases of atrocities against Dalits, police personnel are involved. He has referred to killing of three Dalit youths, allegedly by the police, at Thangadh in Surendranagar district in 2012.

CID closed the case, saying that it found no evidence, and Una case might meet the same fate, the PIL has said.

On July 11, seven Dalit youths were brutally beaten up by a cow vigilante group at Mota Samadhiyala village in Una tehsil of Gir Somnath district. The assailants had alleged that the youths had killed the cow which they were skinning.

The video of the incident went viral, sparking nation-wide protests.

PTI

ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE

Women watches from windows of their homes during the 34th day of curfew at Nawakadal in Srinagar on August 12

Reward for taking victims to hospital NEW DELHI: As the apathy of people to road accident victims was exposed again after a security guard bled to death in west Delhi, the city government said it will soon announce a scheme under which people, including drivers of taxis and autorickshaws, will be rewarded for taking victims to hospital.

Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain said that the government has prepared a draft of the scheme where an incentive will be announced to ensure immediate help to road accident victims in the national capital. The draft will be tabled in the Cabinet by the end of this month and then sent to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung for his approval.

The government’s move comes a day

after a 35-year-old security guard died on road after being hit by a speeding delivery van in West Delhi’s Subhash Nagar area, with no passerby coming to his help for an hour while a rickshaw puller stole the victim’s mobile phone.

The whole incident was captured on a CCTV camera installed near Meraj cinema in Subhash Nagar where the victim Matibul was hit by a delivery van in the wee hours.

“It is very unfortunate that no one come to assist him.

Government has prepared an incentive scheme under which people including drivers of taxi and auto, taking road accident victims to hospital will be rewarded,” the Home Minister said.

He also said that a Cabinet note has been prepared in this regard. The proposal of the scheme will soon be tabled in the Delhi Cabinet by the end of this month and subsequently, it will be sent to the Lt Governor for his final approval to implement the scheme in the national capital. Jain said that usually people don’t take road accident victims to nearest hospital fearing that they may be questioned by the police.

“There is also a Supreme Court directive that such people who help accidet victims cannot be harassed or questioned. I appeal to people to help them as it is a pious task to save someone’s life,” he said.

According to police, Matibul was

walking back to his home near Tihar village when he was hit by the van around 3 AM. The entire incident as well as the injured Matibul lying on the road and people passing him by was recorded by the CCTV camera.

The recording also showed that a rickshaw puller came near him and took away his phone. The victim was a native of West Bengal and lived in a rented accommodation near Tihar village.

Police said that they received information about a body lying on the road in Subhash Nagar at 7 AM, following which a team was rushed to the spot which took it for autopsy.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 13-19, 2016

‘Olympics seems like a distant dream’ P 16

PUNE

“We witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments from Donald Trump that crossed the line. Every single one of these incidences shows us that Donald Trump simply does not have the temperament to be president and commander in chief of the US.” — Hillary Clinton, Democratic Presidential Nominee

IS commits ‘genocide’ against minorities US State Department annual report on religious freedom around the world express concern at the rise of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Europe WASHINGTON: The United States denounced the “genocide” carried out by the Islamic State group against Christians, Shiites and Yazidis, as the State Department unveiled its annual report on global religious freedom. In its comprehensive look at the situation in more than 200 countries in 2015, the State Department singled out its usual bugbears on the issue of religious repression: ally Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sudan.

And as in previous years, the US government expressed concern at the rise of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Europe, against a backdrop of the continent’s migrant crisis and an uptick in jihadist attacks. But the report denounced non-state actors like the IS group and the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, which “continued to rank amongst the most egregious abusers of religious freedom in the world.”

The IS group “continued to pursue a

Sheikh Nozhan Selman, second from the right, poses for a picture with his men holding an Islamic State flag they captured in Hajj Ali, Iraq. Sheikh Nazhan Sakhar and the 700 men under his command are among the forces preparing to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic state group

brutal strategy of what Secretary (John) Kerry judged to constitute genocide against Yazidis, Christians, Shiites, and other vulnerable groups in the territory it controlled,” the State Department said.

Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who formally unveiled the

report, recalled that Secretary of State John Kerry had in March “made clear his judgment that Daesh is responsible for genocide against religious communities in areas under its control.”

“Daesh kills Yazidis because they are Yazidi, Christians because they are

Christian, Shia Muslims because they are Shia,” Blinken told reporters, using an Arabic acronym for the IS group.

He also accused the Sunni jihadists, who control swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, of being “responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.” Kerry and UN experts had previously used the term “genocide”, which has legal implications in the United States, to refer to crimes carried out by IS jihadists in Iraq and Syria.

In the two war-torn countries, jihadists were “responsible for barbarous acts, including killings, torture, enslavement and trafficking, rape and other sexual abuse against religious and ethnic minorities and Sunnis,” the report said. The Department’s global view on religious freedom does not spare many countries, with the notable exception of home soil, where Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been criticized for his anti-Muslim rhetoric.

India ‘slow’ in reacting to incidents of religious violence, cow vigilantism The US said it has been clear in conveying its concerns whenever the Indian government was “slow” in reacting to incidents of religious violence and cow vigilantism.

“We have been clear in our engagement with India about our concerns about those times when the government has been slow to react when violence has taken place, and some of those controversies over the cows — are an example of that,” US

Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, Rabbi David Nathan Saperstein, told reporters at a news conference.

“There have been other times where (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi has spoken out and has spoken out very forcefully about the need to protect religious freedom for all and security for all,” Saperstein said in response to a question on religious freedom in India after releasing the annual report

‘Ukraine playing dangerous game’

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of waging “terror” over alleged attempted incursions into annexed Crimea that Kiev has fiercely denied.

Russia’s security agency announced it had thwarted “terrorist attacks” in Crimea

by Ukrainian military intelligence and beaten back an armed assault, claims that have ratcheted up tensions first sparked

by Moscow’s 2014 annexation of the strategic Black Sea peninsula.

The FSB said in a statement that one of its officers was killed in armed clashes while arresting “terrorists” on the night of August 6-7 while a Russian soldier died in a firefight with “sabotageterrorist” groups sent by the Ukrainian defence ministry on August 8.

“This is very alarming news. In fact, our security services prevented an incursion into the territory by a sabotagereconnaissance group from Ukraine’s defence ministry,” Putin said.

The Kremlin leader accused the authorities in Kiev of “practising terror” and pledged not to leave the deaths of the two Russian officers unanswered.

“From the Russian side there were losses — two servicemen killed. We obviously will not let such things slide by,” Putin said. “This is a very dangerous game. We will of course do everything to assure the security of infrastructure, citizens and will take additional measures to provide security, including serious additional measures.”

Moscow and Kiev have been locked in a bitter feud since the Kremlin seized Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 after Russian-backed president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted.

Ukraine’s national security council chief Oleksandr Turchynov branded the allegations as “hysterical and false” and said Moscow was trying to stoke fear in Crimea.

AFP

on International Religious Freedom in 2015.

“He (Modi) has promised to ensure that ‘everyone has the’ — I’m quoting him now — ‘the undeniable right to retain or adopt religion of his or her choice without coercion or undue influences’, responding to some of the attacks on Christians because they are seen as proselytising and encouraging others to convert,” he said.

The United States, Saperstein

Indian students going to UK, US varsities to go up by 50 per cent SINGAPORE: The number of Indian students going overseas for undergraduate and post-graduate studies is expected to increase by 50 per cent over the next five years due to a manifold increase in their family incomes, a placement expert said.

“We see, conservatively, a 50 per cent increase in Indian students going to the US and UK for under-grad and post-grad studies over the next five years.

This is strongly supported by the growing disposal income of their families,” said Rohan Pasari, Co-founder and CEO of Cialfo, a Singapore-based education technology (edtech). Pasari noted Indian students’ strong interests in acquiring international education and experiences for placing themselves in the top range of professionals, both in India and globally.

Indian students accounted for 4.3 per cent of students in the UK in 2013-14, according to the British Council.

PTI

said, has been clear and consistent in its messages about the things that they think are most helpful to the stability of the region and the stability of the country. “And we’ll continue to be supportive of those efforts where he is acting in accordance with the international obligations of India in these regards,” he said. Saperstein’s remarks come amid a slew of incidents of cow vigilantism in India.

PTI

Pak blasphemy laws used as justification for mob justice Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws were often used as justification for mob justice, a US State Department report on religious freedom in the country in 2015 said, which also took note of the incidents of violence and discrimination against the minority Shia and Ahmadi Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs.

“Throughout the year, attackers targeted and killed Shia and Ahmadi Muslims.

Unknown assailants kidnapped individuals from minority religious groups, including Zikri Muslims and Hindus,” the State Department said in its Congressionalmandated annual report on international religious freedom for 2015.

“Pakistan’s blasphemy laws have often been used as justification for mob justice,” it said.

“There were reports of continued efforts by societal actors to coerce religious minorities to convert to Islam and continued discrimination against Christians in employment,” it said.

There were also attacks on the holy places, cemeteries, and religious symbols of religious minorities, it added. According to Hindu and Sikh leaders, the legal uncertainty surrounding the process of registering marriages for their communities created difficulties for Hindu and Sikh women in obtaining their inheritances,

accessing health services, voting, obtaining a passport, and buying or selling property, the State Department said. The government announced the creation of a new Ministry of Human Rights but did not specify its authority or responsibility for religious minorities, it said, adding the Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights continue to be responsible for protecting individuals against religiously based discrimination.

Although the Constitution devolved some authority and responsibility for the protection of religious minorities to provincial governments, legal experts said the full legal framework remained unclear.

“Minority religious leaders stated discrimination against Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and Ahmadis in admission to higher education institutions persisted,” the report said.

Representatives of religious minorities said a “glass ceiling” continued to prevent their promotion to senior government positions, the State Department said.

“Although there were no official obstacles to advancement of minority religious group members in the military service, they said in practice non-Muslims continued rarely to rise above the rank of colonel and were not assigned to senior positions,” it said.

AP/PTI

ROYAL WELCOME IN FOREIGN LAND

Being crowned by her predecessor, 26-year-old former Syrian refugee Ninorta Bahno is crowned, becoming the first former refugee in Germany to be crowned Wine Queen of Trier, in the town of Trier, southern Germany. Ninorta Bahno was a Syrian refugee who fled to Germany in 2012.

Nepal’s quake-damaged museums re-open Assange to be probed in London

BY YOSHITA SINGH

UNITED NATIONS: More than a year after the devastating earthquakes struck Nepal, some of the country’s famous museums and institutions have once again opened to visitors as a result of combined work of the UN’s cultural agency and its partners, a top UN official has said.

“The rehabilitation of Nepal’s museums and historical buildings following the 2015 earthquake has a deep, positive impact on the economic and social development of the country,” said Christian Manhart, Director of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Kathmandu.

“There is a tremendous sense of identity, determination and hope that comes with the reopening of museums and the restoration of temples,” Manhart said.

The April 2015 earthquake and series of aftershocks killed more than 8,700 people, injured more than 22,000, and destroyed or damaged more than 250,000 houses.

The disaster also badly affected

the landlocked country’s cultural and natural heritage as 691 historic buildings in 16 districts were damaged, of which 131 fully collapsed.

In the months after the earthquake, UNESCO joined the country’s Department of Archaeology in salvaging, inventorying and ensuring the safe-storage of artefacts and other architectural features in several impacted sites and museums including the capital’s Hanumandhoka, Swayambhu and Chhauni National Museum.

The UN agency also worked to ensure that local museum staff were trained in earthquake recovery, safe storage and access of museum collections.

In February this year, in collaboration with its partners, UNESCO organised workshops that trained staff from museums in the capital Kathmandu and other cities including Pokhara, Kapilvastu, Nuwakot and Dhangadi on sustainable collection and storage, surface cleaning, stabilisation, labelling and packing of

museum objects, participants gained technical, scientific and practical skills to save collections.

“However, much still remains to be done and other museums have yet to open their doors. For example, local volunteers have been guarding sites to prevent the looting of objects,” UNESCO said.

The agency added that cultural heritage constitutes a source of identity and pride, and its protection is essential for sustainable development and especially for the tourism economy in the country.

The future rebuilding programme is in great need of support, and UNESCO aims to incorporate means for visitors to see, understand and contribute to the restoration process.

UNESCO also noted that the Post Disaster Needs Assessment for Nepal, which outlines short-term recovery and repair needs as well as long-term restoration and rebuilding plans, has proposed the total restoration of the damaged heritage sites within six years, as indicated in the Post Disaster Restoration Framework.

PTI

BY ADITI KHANNA LONDON: Swedish prosecutors investigating a rape allegation against Julian Assange will question the Wikileaks founder at the Ecuadorian embassy here where he has been holed up since 2012, in a possible breakthrough to the four-year impasse.

The Ecuadorian attorney general delivered a document agreeing to a request by the Swedish authorities to question Assange at the Ecuadoran embassy in London, where he has been hiding out since the 44-year-old sought political asylum from Ecuador four years ago.

“In the coming weeks a date will be established for the proceedings to be held at the embassy of Ecuador in the United Kingdom,” a statement issued in Ecuador to the ‘Guardian’ said.

It adds: “For more than four years, the government of Ecuador has offered to cooperate in facilitating the questioning of Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian

embassy in London, as well as proposing other political and legal measures, in order to reach a satisfactory solution for all parties involved in the legal case against Julian Assange, to end the unnecessary delays in the process and to ensure full and effective legal protection.

In line with this position, Ecuador proposed to Sweden the negotiation of an agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, which was signed last December and which provides the legal framework for the questioning, the statement said.

“Ecuador’s foreign ministry reiterates its commitment to the asylum granted to Julian Assange in August 2012, and reaffirms that the protection afforded by the Ecuadorian state shall continue while the circumstances persist that led to the granting of asylum, namely fears of political persecution.

Assange is wanted in Sweden in relation to a 2010 rape allegation, which the Australian national denies.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 13-19, 2016

PUNE

MONEY MATT ER S

“Labour is a big component in the nation-building activity as their participation is very high. India has got a huge human resource. That is why labourers or workers play a significant role in building the nation.”

— Bandaru Dattatreya, Union Labour Minister

“There is need for innovation in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector as India cannot afford to emulate developed economies due to limited resources.”

—Manoj Sinha, Communications Minister

Come down hard on ponzi schemes: Panel

To curb the ponzi menace, government should expedite the process for bringing a central law that will plug regulatory loopholes, a Parliamentary panel has recommended.

Observing that even now several cases of unauthorised collection of money and deposits are being reported, the committee said agencies concerned should work with “greater cohesion and coordination” to ensure concrete results at the ground level.

The observations are part of the report of the Standing Committee on Finance, headed by senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily.

“The committee would expect this proposed legislation to plug once and for all the regulatory loopholes, gaps and vaccum prevailing in the vast and expanding fi nancial services industry,” the report, tabled in Parliament said.

It was the Saradha scam in West Bengal that turned everybody’s attention to companies running chit funds and ponzi schemes

The committee is of the view that central law on unauthorised deposits and related matters “to be expedited so that a comprehensive Bill can be

introduced in Parliament at least during the Winter Session later this year”.

Currently, central economic

intelligence bureau in the department of revenue and its regional economic intelligence councils along with state level co-ordination committees provide the necessary administrative structure for capturing information regarding ponzi schemes early.

“It would be better to attune, with strengthening if necessary, the already existing structure to address the problem of unauthorised deposit taking,” the report said.

Besides, the committee noted that regulatory regime in respect of MultiState Co-operative Societies (MSCSs) should be streamlined to protect the interest of small investors of these societies.

It should be streamlined so that they do not become an instrument of diverting and shielding illegal funds from ponzi companies.

PTI

Centre spells out in SC steps taken to curb ponzi schemes The Centre told the Supreme Court that various steps have been taken by the government for empowering SEBI to take appropriate actions with regard to any illegality regarding “collective investment schemes” or chit funds.

“Various steps have been taken by the (Finance) Ministry with regard to carrying out suitable amendments in the statute for empowering SEBI to take appropriate actions with reference to any illegality regarding collective investment schemes.

“It is submitted that the government has prepared draft rules for effectively

Signposts

A total of 108 cell phone towers were found exceeding radiation limits in the last three years and penalties amounting to Rs 6.60 crore have been imposed on the telecom providers concerned, Lok Sabha was informed. A total of 72 cellphone towers were found exceeding prescribed radiation level in 2013, while the figure came down to 24 the next year and no tower was found violating the norms till May this year, Communications Minister Manoj Sinha said during Question Hour. In 2015, the number of such towers stood at 12.

Mahindra calls for ‘monsoon-proofing’ Calling for “monsoon-proofing” of the economy to ensure steady growth, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra lamented that Indians scan the skies for rains anxiously even in the second decade of 21st century as their forefathers did two centuries ago. While stating that the passing of the landmark GST Bill will “unleash the ‘caged tiger’ India’s huge common market”, and private investment will make a comeback as economic recovery strengthens, he, however, said, “it’s too early to celebrate. “The one fear that keeps me up at night is that once things look up, we will become complacent. And, as a result, we will always be hostage to the next round of failed monsoons.

marketing companies, non-banking financial companies and companies running collective investment schemes under the chairmanship of additional secretary DFS, it said.

“DFS had written in 2012 to all the chief secretaries requesting them to set up committee including representatives from RBI, SEBI, MCA and EoW of the state police to enable enhanced sharing of information among the agencies concerned regarding unregulated activities and entities raising money from the public with a view to defraud people.

The response of the ministry came on a PIL filed by NGO Humanity Salt Lake alleging inaction on the part of the government in regulating chit funds resulting in multiple scams across the country.

Refuting the allegation that absence of banking industry and lack of financial inclusion for the low-income groups have drawn people to collective deposit schemes of financial companies, the ministry said that “the Government of India is committed to financial inclusion of the poor and vulnerable sections of society across the country.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) told the Supreme Court that banned ponzi schemes do not fall under its regulatory purview and only the state governments concerned can control them.

The stock market regulator also said banned activities cannot be regulated by any regulator and be just stopped, if it is intimated about such schemes or it takes suo moto cognizance.

“It is submitted that ponzi schemes do not fall under the regulatory purview of SEBI. The same is banned under Chit Fund and Money Circulation (Banning) Act 1978, and the concerned state government is the enforcement agency of the said law,” SEBI said in an affidavit, adding that only Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) are under its jurisdiction and these too can be stopped if not registered.

“Banned activities cannot be regulated by any regulator, except to stop the same if made aware of it. It is stated that CIS, within the domain of SEBI, is not banned activity, but is authorized only upon registration/ permission of, as the case may be, with SEBI and in the absence of such registration such schemes are not allowed to operate and have to be stopped.

“Upon being made aware of the same, or suo moto coming to

knowledge of such schemes, SEBI has been taking action by way of interim order and final order,” it said.

The response of the regulator came on a PIL filed by NGO ‘Humanity Salt Lake’ alleging inaction on the part of the government in regulating chit funds resulting in multiple scams across the country.

SEBI also told the apex court in its affidavit that it has been “alert and proactive in tackling the menace of unauthorized money mobilization”.

“During last three years, upon completion of examination with respect to the applicability of the SEBI Act, 1992 and regulations, SEBI passed interim order against 299 entities, including 76 CIS and 223 Deemed Public Issues (DPI),” it said, adding that it has referred 1657 cases to various agencies as activities of these entities did not fall in SEBI’s regulatory purview. .

The markets regulator said through various measures it has spread awareness among investors about unregistered CIS schemes.

“Investor education/ awareness activities are conducted under the aegis of SEBI Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF) and so far over Rs 73 crore have been spent on various education/awareness activities including media campaign on unregistered CIS/ unrealistic returns,” it said.

FinMin conservative Telco wars: COAI seeks meeting in USOF allocation with PMO, minister on Trai, RJio Around Rs 10,000 crore will be spent from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USO Fund) in 2016-17 to speed up digital infrastructure projects even as the Finance Ministry remains conservative in allocations from it, Telecom Secretary JS Deepak said.

The expenditure from the USO Fund was around Rs 3,000 crore last fiscal.

Speaking at a seminar on ‘ICT emerging technologies & USOF for Digital India’, Deepak announced that Rs 10,000 crore will be spent in 201617, “which is the highest in the history of USOF”.

An official statement also quoted him as saying that “the Finance Ministry is very conservative in allocation of funds under USOF” and “despite Rs 70,000 crore available under USOF, allocation of work is less than 40 per cent”.

He admitted however that the execution of digital infrastructure

projects particularly in rural areas needs to be speeded up.

“Th is year, the spending would be Rs 10,000 crore which would be utilised for expansion of Bharat Net project and improving connectivity in North East, and Andaman and Nicobar islands, as well as providing connectivity in areas affected by Left Wing extremism,” Deepak said.

For USO, the total amount accrued so far is Rs 76,404 crore, of which Rs 31,147 crore has been disbursed. “The balance amount is pegged at Rs 45,256 crore,” he said.

Department of Telecom has taken several measures for expansion of services in rural and remote areas, including chalking out a comprehensive telecom development plan for the North-East as well as setting up of mobile towers in the Left wing extremism affected states at an estimated Rs 3,567.50 crore.

PTI

Levelling charges against Trai of “tilting the playing field” and newcomer Reliance Jio of bypassing regulations, existing operators’ body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has sought meetings with the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the Telecom Minister to raise these issues with them.

It has been up in arms against Trai’s consultation paper on call connect charges calling the move “unfair on incumbent operators”, and has questioned the regulator’s urgency in initiating the process of interconnect review, claiming that it “favours new entrants”.

“We will meet Secretary, Department of Telecom (DoT), JS Deepak. We will highlight the issue that we see Trai’s opinion tilting the playing field,” COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews told PTI. “DoT as a licensor is responsible for ensuring level playing field... In this context, we will also be taking up our concerns related to RJio,” he added.

PTI

108 towers exceed radiation limits

implementing the provisions of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (banning) Act, 1978 and the same has also been circulated to the state governments requesting them to adopt such Rules after vetting by their respective law department for protecting gullible investors,” an affidavit filed by the Ministry of Finance before a bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur said.

The Department of Financial Services (DFS) had constituted a highlevel Inter-Ministerial Group in 2013 for proper enforcement of regulatory/ legal framework for multi-level

Banned ponzi schemes not under atory purview: SEBI

RJIL owner Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani at Windsor convention centre, ahead of the Olympics in Brazil

He said COAI has also sought a meeting with the Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha, and the PMO to highlight the matter but it is yet to hear from them.

A war of words has broken out between existing telecom operators and Reliance Jio after COAI called the latter’s testing of network a bypass of regulations, with the Mukesh Ambani firm hitting back saying the charge is a

bid to block its rollout.

COAI, which has members including Bharti Airtel, Idea and Vodafone, on August 8 wrote to DoT demanding that Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) or RJio immediately stop all connections provided to 1.5 million users because it had allegedly bypassed regulations by offering full-fledged services under the guise of test connections.

RJio has hit back in a eight-page letter saying COAI charges were “malicious, unfounded, ill-informed, and frivolous and are contrary to actual facts” and was “promoting the vested interests of the incumbent dominant operators”.

“RJIL has already extended the media to the other operators’ premises at its own cost. However, the other operators, instead of augmenting the point of interconnections (PoIs), are blocking the POI augmentation, on various unreasonable grounds,” the company said in the letter.

PTI

Attacks on me abominable, was open to extension Outgoing RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said he did the best in the interest of country and was the “best team player” Terming political attacks on him as abominable, outgoing Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said he was open to staying a bit longer to complete the unfinished work of bank clean up, but is perfectly happy to go.

Rajan, who had in June decided against seeking a second term after 3-year tenure which ends next month, said the process of dialogue with the government did not reach a stage where he could have agreed to stay on.

He said however that he was never worried about reappointment or a future career in government and did the best in the interest of the country and he was the “best team player”.

Rajan, who plans to return to academia after his term ends on September 4, said his stays at university made him “pretty thick skinned”, but the attacks then were not abominable.

“Some of these (recent) attacks were abominable, that is imputing sort

of motives, alleging things completely without any basis,” he told CNBCTV18, adding that he put them aside and did not pay any attention to them.

Towards the end of his three-year tenure, Rajan faced personal attacks from BJP MP Subramanian Swamy who had alleged that the former IMF chief economist was not “mentally not fully Indian” and sent confidential and sensitive financial information abroad.

Rajan said when people asked him if he was open to the second term, he said that although he had structured all his initiatives at RBI with a three-year horizon, there was some unfinished work like PSU banks’ balance sheet cleanup and setting up of monetary policy committee framework.

“That does not mean in any way, that I was absolutely hell bent on having a second term,” he said. “I was open for staying a little while longer to see them complete, but at the same time I was

perfectly happy to go.” Rajan said 9095 per cent of the job that he had taken on was complete and he had absolute freedom in doing his work.

On his future plans, he said: “I have said again and again, I am fundamentally a academician. This (RBI Governor) is my side job”. Asked if crony capitalists had a hand in his not getting an extension, Rajan said: “I don’t think you should attribute this to some hidden hand. I feel, I have done what was needed to be done, if they had such power they would have stopped me (from doing) what was needed.”

Stressing that he had absolute freedom in doing, whatever he wanted to do, Rajan said this required lots of work behind the scenes, with government and persuading government.

“So when people say you have been fighting all the time, absolutely not. Great relationship with previous government as well people who matter in this government...,” he said Rajan said legitimate criticism like focusing too much on inflation can be addressed and he has tried to convince

public about his stand through his speeches.

“I keep saying, it is a no brainer to generate growth when the rest of the world is growing strong; when it is export led growth, you don’t need institutional change,” he said.

Stressing that RBI is an entity which has conser vative approach as focuses on stability, Rajan said that in taking decisions he did not worry about his future career prospects. “ W herever we had to say ‘no’, I have

never worried about reappointment, or about whether I will have a future career in the government or anywhere else. I have said ‘no’ when I think it is in the best interest of the country and I think in that way, I am being the best team player that I can possibly be.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 3 9 20 6

WATCH OUT RAMEN FEST VAL

SP R TED SATURDAYS W TH CHÉ Th s Saturday en oy an unpara e ed beer ng exper ence w th a per ormance by the super ta ented Ché Ché s a crooner songsm th and a gu tar st rom Pune She wr tes songs to u y comprehend her ee ngs The mad mesh o chaos stra ghtens and structures tse out n the songs she wr tes Her mus c can best be descr bed as a b end o me ancho c voca nes over so t finger-p ck ng Ché has been p ay ng mus c r ght rom nd e o k acoust c to pop For a b ss u ponder ng on a ra ny day th s s one per ormance you shou dn t m ss When August 3 Where The Beer Ca é Koregaon Park

ood es Che recommends r ch Musse s Soup Napo tano and Crunchy Prawns Caesar Sa ad or Qu noa and capo Natta sa ad to start w th One can then re sh on the Tender o n Carpacc o wh ch s ust me t n your mouth de cacyA per ect to end such a flavorsome d nner can be Canno an authent c dessert o the reg on When T August 2 Where Marr ott Su tes Koregaon Park

PA NT NG EXH B T ON

ENJOY A PLATEFUL OF NAPLES

Attend an exh b t on o pa nt ngs by two versat e art sts Tahera Lokhandwa a and Sh r sh Deshpande at B ss Art Ga ery Sh r sh a so tware pro ess ona works w th var ous med a ke acry cs o co ours pen nks waterco ours and d g ta med a whereas Tahera a soc a psycho og st s a cert fied art therap st She oves us ng d fferent k nds o mater a s ke o and acry c and exper ment ng w th d fferent co ours and techn ques When T August 20 Where B ss Art Ga ery Koregaon Park

Irom Sharmila recently broke her 16 year long hunger strike. She was moved to tears by a few drops of honey as she announced her intentions to join the electoral process and even try to become Chief Minister of Manipur. What do Punekars make of it

H MALAYAN F LM FEST VAL Lost the P ot and Orchestrated Q Works n assoc at on w th the Pak stan nternat ona Mounta n F m Fest va br ngs to you to an even ng o ndependent fi ms ce ebrat ng the mag ca ma est c H ma ayas Th s cross border effort was born out o an nherent ove or the g gant c mounta ns that separate as we as o n our two countr es Rather than ocus ng on the d fferences t s t me to ce ebrate the r ch cu ture and her tage that both nd a and Pak stan share The even ng w nc ude screen ngs o two adventure sports fi ms – one rom nd a and one rom Pak stan but centered on the H ma ayas and w take p ace on the same day at the same t me n both Lahore and Pune The aud ences rom both c t es w be un ted v a a ve v deo pane d scuss on a ter the fi ms When August 4 Where Seasons Hote Aundh

Shreyas Kan a S uden I s d fficu or me o unders and why he peop e o Man pur sudden y cons der Irom o have be rayed her cause because she was a cons an y success u y and w h mmense gr or a mos 16 years I h nk her sudden sh rom ac v sm o po cs has s ruck a wrong chord w h peop e as po c ans and he bureaucracy are assoc a ed w h power money and greed and are perce ved nega ve y by he popu a on Bu he way she has cons an y ough aga ns he a roc es me e by he same agenc es o power wh e n u con ro and po se s ev den ha she has no g ven up However she has chosen a d fferen me hod o ach eve he cause by n egra ng herse n o he sys em and chang ng rom w h n ns ead o figh ng Yes be ng he Ch e M n s er o Man pur w open up severa poss b es o re orm power and suppor wh ch she can u se or he benefi o her peop e I s ndeed sad o see her own peop e m scons rue her good w or de ea We everyone wan s someone e se o figh he r wars don hey?

Aman She kh S uden I goes w hou say ng ha her dec s on o o n ac ve po cs w be a yay or a nay depend ng on he par y she o ns or orms I cou d us as we end up be ng an Arv nd Ke r wa s ua on w h he AAP os ng ou on he goodw hey en oyed or he sake o po ca goa s G ven he w de gu ha ex s s be ween po cs and ac v sm I am more nc ned o be eve ha h s s ke y o end up as a power s rugg e However s a so mpor an o no e ha w h he an -AFSPA br gade s champ on en er ng he po ca ray herse here may be a sea change n he way AFSPA s d scussed a assemb y eve or a Par amen eve Even AFSPA does no ge repea ed a power u persona y ke Irom Sharm a br ngs abou a huge d fference n he way he nor h eas s v ewed bo h by he corr dors o power and genera popu ace

DJ WAR

SENIORS KNEW THAT THE COP WAS DISTURBED AND SUICIDAL

The su c de by cons ab e Amar Ga kwad 35 rom he Governmen Ra way Po ce has revea ed ha he sen or officers were aware o h s depressed and d s urbed s a e o m nd bu d d no pay heed o he s ua on Deceased Ga kwad s subord na es c a m ha he was n need o psycho og ca counse ng bu he never ava ed o “We do no even ge an oppor un y o mee he op brass so hey shou d address and ocus on h s Ga kwad was no ou o reach and he had have been g ven some counse ng sess ons I don h nk he wou d have gone o h s ex en ” sa d a co eague o Ga kwad s On Augus 7 Ga kwad comm ed su c de by shoo ng h mse w h h s serv ce r fle n a oca ra n The deceased was on du y rave ng n a second c ass compar men o a Churchga e-bound ra n rom Bor va when he a eged y sho h mse w h h s r fle be ween Ma ad and Goregaon Be ore board ng he ra n Ga kwad had d nner w h h s co eagues a Bor va on Augus 6 ”Wh e hav ng d nner he was g v ng sp r ua ec ures o a o us say ng ndag ka kuch bharosa nah aa ha ka na rahe Ear er a so he had a emp ed su c de w ce ” sa d h s r end

Baan Tao re- aunches ts D msum unches w th exc t ng and exot c set menus The ta ented che s at Hyatt Pune have brought together a who e mea made o D msums that nc udes avor tes ke As an Green dump ng Bra sed wonton w th burnt gar c Gyoza Hargao amongst many D msum - a sty e o Cantonese cu s ne that nc udes a var ety o treats served n steamer baskets or sma p ates nc us ve o dump ngs baos and other sma -s zed b tes are served dur ng unch t me Courses on the menu nc ude soup sa ad ma ns and desserts a w th d msums When Ongo ng Where Baan Tao Hyatt Pune Ka yan Nagar

Sah Ka e S uden She has no po ca background as such so cou d be a very wrong dec s on o ge n o po cs A so she has made s a emen s ha NaMo s v o en wh ch cou d resu n her os ng some suppor Fur her here s no chance she can w n he assemb y po s aga ns he curren Ch e M n s er o Man pur who s rom INC because he s popu ar and INC s he par y she m gh wan o o n I don h nk she shou d en er po cs bu ha s us my op n on Ano her po n o v ew can be ha peop e can reg s er sympa hy vo es n her avor You never know how h ngs w go

Th s Saturday you w exper ence the DJ War between DJ Kuna P ay and DJ Akshay Yeo e Kuna s known or dropp ng the beats and tak ng patrons on a ro er coaster r de rom Commerc a to H gh Octane EDM DJ Akshay Yeo e w sp n you rom EDM to Bo ywood Dance Mus c trans t you n a un way rom Bo ywood mus c to Deep House When August 3 Where Atmosphere 6 V manNagar

25 SNAKES MEANT TO BE REHABILITATED FOUND DEAD IN PUNE ZOO

V s ors a he N sargakav Bah naba Chaudhary Zoo n Akurd run by P mpr Ch nchwad Mun c pa Corpora on were shocked o see 25 dead snakes recen y The rep es were ound dead ns de p as c bags n one o he zoo s enc osures where hey were unceremon ous y dumped a er snake-ca chers and rescuers brough hem o he zoo Speak ng o TGS V kas Pawar who s assoc a ed w h W d An ma s & Snakes Pro ec on Soc e y ded ca ed o he pro ec on and pub c educa on abou snakes sa d “In one o our regu ar mee ngs w h he zoo au hor es we ound he dead snakes n carry bags and a p as c box e abandoned a an enc osure ha used o house py hon ” The dead rep es nc ude wo common r nke s wo Ind an ra snakes one cobra one Russe s v per and one grass snake A ha zoo n-charge Dr Sa ya Gore and care aker An Rau cou d say was ha hey w ake s eps o no e such neg gence happen n u ure “Many o he snakes ha are brough here a er rescue are phys ca y n ured as pan cked c zens bea hese rep es w h s cks The zoo au hor es shou d ake proper care o an n ured snake depend ng on he na ure and sever y o he n ury These dead snakes have exposed he care ess a ude o zoo keepers ” Pawar sa d

A brand new life

Runn ng rema ns one o he bes orms o exerc ses Pune has a ways been a fi c y fi ed w h fi ness en hus as s Bu gym cu ure s ak ng over very as Th s s ory abou runners n he c y comes as a resh find and nsp ra ona We g ve a sor s o reasons o avo d runn ng- ack o space no me rom our busy ves age Th s s ory proves how busy success u peop e are mak ng me or a hea hy e They come rom d fferen and cha eng ng wa ks o e ye hey are embrac ng he r pass on Pune has such grea spaces or any runner

TGS LIFE JULY 9, 2016 PUNE

THRILL OF DRIVING

By Tushar Burman

PMC goofing up on var ous soc a ssues s a common h ng Bu saddened me o even more o read abou how hey have a ed o de ver ra ncoa s o he was e p ckers They are orced o work even dur ng he heavy ra ns I we are vouch ng or Pune o become a smar c y hese are he bas c ssues we shou d be ab e o overcome firs They had prom sed hem ra ncoa s and umbre as even be ore monsoon and now hey have pos poned o nex week For peop e who are s r v ng or Swach Bhara h s s very e he au hor es can do or hem -Shobha Jag ap

Road-tripping in Thailand

by a Gujarati. He has a huge fan following!

Having been (and motorcycled across) the country twice, I almost tend to take it personally when people refer to the country and its sex trade, as if the nation is one giant red light district. It isn’t, and you should definitely avoid visiting it with someone who holds that belief.

This author travelled the length of the country with his spouse, feeling perfectly secure despite being a nervous traveller. It truly is a place where you can hit the road without any specific plan and come off the bike feeling like you’ve explored and seen something new.

S TGS LIFE JULY 16, 2016 PUNE

THRILL OF DRIVING

T

here are many legends surrounding the birth of the Ford Mustang, one of America’s most well-known performance cars. I will avoid the word “iconic” because it’s so overused in this context that I challenge you to find a launch or drive report without it. One such legend has its name inspired by the legendary P51 Mustang fighter aircraft used by the USAF, which makes sense seeing its “aviation inspired” interior on this 2015 model we drove. Other stories tell of how the entire allocation of the original run of the Ford Mustang sold out in just a few months. It has been an immensely popular vehicle since its birth in 1964-65, and this is its 52nd year in continuous production, despite the challenges of the ‘70s oil crisis, various downturns and such. Other muscle cars have come, gone and been resurrected, but the Mustang has been a constant.

The model Ford has launched in India is the Mustang GT and it wears all-new bodywork compared to the outgoing model. The previous generation started the “retro-futuristic” craze back in 2005 and has served the company well, spawning innumerable special editions and variations on performance and body style. This new model bears the same basic shape, but has a much more stylish, swoopy visage. The front is more aggressive with a wider grille and three slashes in each headlamp, while the rear looks more old-school with the same three-segment design following through.

The classic long bonnet and short boot with a fastback roofline remains, covering a 2+2 cabin and a surprisingly roomy boot! It’s all very well executed, betraying no irony or cheesy nostalgia. This truly does look like many decades of progress have been made to get to this handsome shape.

The Mustang is only available in the V8 engine option for India, which makes

Perfect roads as far as the eye can see

are present and are best used in sport mode or one of the sharper driving modes. There are four of those, including a “Track” mode that turns off the traction control, unleashing all 515Nm upon the rear wheels. Some of our colleagues were caught unawares as their cars did unintended 180-degree turns.

The Mustang isn’t for the hardcore trackjunkie, despite what the driving modes may say. The tendency is to safely understeer as opposed to snap-oversteer. Of course, you can get it to do the latter but it’s a deliberate effort. The upside is that it’s very easy to get used to and just, well, drive. Suspension is pliant and comfortable, ground clearance is generous, which should make it good to use in our road and traffic conditions. The interior is a bit bland — all black and grey surfaces, but with a surfeit of buttons. The steering wheel has no less than four separate clusters of buttons for various controls. Everything is generally where you expect it, save for the bonnet release, which is inexplicably in the passenger footwell. We had to get off the car for motorcycle to open the hood! Comfort is good, however, with supportive leather seats, usable rear seats (but not for adults), cup holders, armrest with storage, two west of Chiang Mai which is considered oneUSB of slots, an SD card reader and an 8” information/navigation screen. the best riding roads in Asia. Among the first All this at Rs 65 lac, ex-showroom Delhi, stopovers on this route is a popular, butshould still tiny which translate to about Rs 77 lac onroad.If Maharashtra town called Pai, which we visited.

Chiang buyers will be disappointed however, as the recent revision in RTO taxes Mai were Pune, think of Pai asmeans Wai,thatexcept the imported Mustang GT will 140km away. probably cost north of Rs 80 lac. Still, in this price waterfalls segment, one’s options are cars like the Nestled in a valley replete with Audi TT and the Mercedes CLA 45 AMG. and lush greenery, Pai is a small with all-wheel drive and much Bothtown are smaller, a growing tourist population, sharper pioneered aroundby a track, but also less practical in terms of ground clearance, comfort and backpackers. It’s close enough to the border space. With the Mustang, you have the with Myanmar to have cultural heritage, influences of and enough space in the machismo for a verybut grand tour, as long as you leave the hill tribes in terms of food andboot clothing, Our Honda CB500X proved an able, fun and comfortable ride for our trip that giant spare tyre at home. significant enough to have all the infrastructural tushar@goldensparrow.com

TANKED-UP TGS LIFE

JUNE 25, 2016 PUNE

JUNE 11, 2016

By Tushar Burman @tburman

W

that Himachal Pradesh is likely to make more of a dent in your bank balance. Food, boarding and infrastructure are organised and consistent, typical of a nation that takes tourism seriously, and with pride. You never pass a street stall without a sing-song “Sawatdi-khaaaa” (Thai for namaste, quite literally), friendly smiles and a disarming lack of guile. Thailand also has strong cultural connects to India, having a Hindu and Buddhist history. It occasionally surprises the uninformed when encountering names and iconography from the Ramayan and other Hindu mythology. There is, in fact, a Thai version of the Ramayan on TV, with Ram played

perfect sense. There’s an intimate connect Mustang, but the saving grace was that those in most minds between muscle cars and big, were around the lauded Buddh International brawny engines. That’s not to say that the Circuit, India’s only F1 track. As you’d Mustang has always had a V8. There have expect, the Mustang is pretty fast in a straight been many inline-four options over the years line. This time round, it isn’t too bad around as well, but we suspect the international the corners either, having an independent EcoBoost version would not be accepted in rear suspension instead of an ancient liveour market. The motor makes 395bhp and axle type found in most generations of the 515Nm of torque, which is down somewhat car. This is clearly a grand-tourer sort of car. from the international model. This is The suspension feels quite plush, there’s to accommodate the varying fuel perceptible body roll when you’re quality available in India. We’re hustling around the corners and Verdict pleased with this decision; a car things are generally smooth at + Comfort, like the Mustang deserves to speed. I suppose we should be price, heritage be driven, not bragged about pleased as consumers that we’ve - Middling auto when comparing specs, while come to a point where we can gearbox your staff takes a jerrycan to actually buy much harder-core the nearest 97 octane bunk, performance cars in this price TGS rating which is probably an hour away. bracket. ;;;;2 Trust us: we know what it’s like The V8 sounds nice inside the to have a hoot of a car in the garage cabin, but isn’t particularly evocative because it’s out of pricey fuel. It wears beefy insideChiang or out. It’s butjump-off muted burble Maia isdeep your point tyres shod around 19” wheels and uses large that comes to the ear; no snap crackle and adventures Brembo brakes to bring things to a halt. pop drama of European tyre-burners. The We only had five short laps in the India edition only comes with the 6-speed

THRILL OF DRIVING

The TUV300 urban SUV gets more punch with a 100hp motor

MOTORS IN THAILAND Riding or driving in the country is bound to feel familiar to an Indian tourist. For one thing, they drive on the left side of the road — a colonial vestige similar to ours. They accept International Driving Permits issued in India.

Being part of the ASEAN region with a large contract manufacturing industry also means Shima a recently-released Polish brand of that vehicles tend to be similaris to what you’ll see on Indian roads. Toyota Innovas and Corollas,far less known than the typical motorcycle apparel, Suzuki Swifts, Nissans and familiar European gear you’ll see on your mates on a Sunday ride. luxury cars in urban areas. What you’re likely to they aren’t be unprepared for However, is the automotive culture of scrimping on their debut. customisation that If seems the is country. theto pervade catalog anything to go by, the lineup is It’s ridiculous! On my first day in Bangkok, I was thorough and top-notch betraying no cost-cutting. passed by a courier delivery truck with massive tested the D-Tour WP (waterproof) gloves oversize rims and We’ve tyres. Even cabs — whether licensed or Uber —and are seldom without an impressed. To begin with, have seen come away obligatory level of customisation. the price isis right: Rs 4800 for a pair of this kind Automotive enthusiasm even more is a good the dealThai indeed. evident in the two-wheelers ride. There are several things to Unlike in India, where culturally, we’re about Key is the fused liner, which like about the gloves. “bigger is better”, the Thai have a different take Shima calls NextFit/NextDry. What this means on their commuter vehicles.

Step-thrus and

SHIMA D-TOUR WP GLOVES

THOROUGHBRED

By Tushar Burman

MOTO GEAR

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hen we last drove the TUV300 shortly after its launch, it was a pleasant surprise in its package, refinement and general ability around the city. At the time, we didn’t really take it on an extended highway jaunt and probably just as well; you see, in it’s previous guise, the TUV300 came with a modest 75hp output motor, which was fine in urban environs, but didn’t really have punch anywhere in the rev range.

That has now changed with Mahindra calling this iteration the mHawk100 motor -- essentially the same thing but now putting out considerably more power and torque, up to 100hp and 240Nm. If you’ve read our previous assessment of the TUV300, not much has changed, save for our experience with other, more recent SUVs in and around the same segment. The TUV300 crossover/hatchback which was globally unveiled in is surprising in its nice interior accoutrements. A great AC, Out back are the jump seats that make this he SUV,urban technically, a very decent infotainment system with Bluetooth and iPod a 7-seater. It’s doable, but not comfortable for long journeys.

Then April, Datsun’s Redi-GO finally makes its way to Indian roads. connectivity that works flawlessly, a nice two-tone Dash that again, have you seen how many passengers tourist cabs can pack The Redi-GO runs on a three-cylinder i-SAT engine mated looks contemporary and a quiet cabin that belies the intrinsic into a Scorpio these days? The jump seats fold 799 up andccrear seats nature of a three-cylinder Diesel engine. It should sound and feel fold down to liberate a lot of extra cargo room, you need it.manual transmission. It produces 53 hp, 72Nm of to ashould five-speed rough, but it doesn’t. Nothing in the SUV does.

Call us picky but this author is not a fan of the TUV’s torque and delivers a fuel efficiency of 25.17 kmpl. The top speed Of particular interest to us in this new 100hp guise of the aesthetic. I’d prefer the front of the NuvoSport with a squat stance is 140 Kmph and the ground clearance is 185mm. The vehicle on TUV, was the suspension. You see, the Mahindra NuvoSport, instead of sharp corners and the face of Bane, Batman’s formidable which we also recently tested, uses the same engine, but has a foe. That said, with a top-end model, you do get at a nice display thefinish, press launch looked solid, with most details standing up problem with considerable body roll. Not so much with the TUV, decent looking alloys and wheels that fill their wells properly. to scrutiny. While it may be built to a cost, it looks good in the flesh which is controlled and feels more secure at highway speeds. It There are even some nice extras like a start-stop system (well, not andextends doesn’t also feels a bit firmer, but that’s a trade-off we’re willing to make: really nice in our traffic), an eco mode that rangebetray while it’s budget category. some more jerks to the spine in exchange of careening off a cliff sacrificing power, and static cornering lamps, Safety which are aisboon courtesy “Datsun PRO-SAFE7” which includes on a sharp bend. Engine performance is also on par with the when turning the wide vehicle in darkness. In fact, we’re confused braking NuvoSport, but after using the TUV’s manual transmission, we about why these features don’t make it toshortest the NuvoSport, whichdistance, high strength body shell to absorb impacts, ended up missing the AMT of the NuvoSport, which somehow gets cruise control as consolation. But thegood TUV doesn’t.

Strange. visibility and wider view of the road, high bolster support while managed to keep things feeling sprightly.

Still, it’s evident from the quality of thecornering, interior that the TUV energy absorbing steering and a driver airbag.

With the benefit of hindsight and experience, we can also is meant to be a bit more upmarket. But it costs between 10 and Five personalized kit options are available: Urban, Style, Kool, say that the current TUV300 feels a bit heavy to steer compared 16,000 rupees LESS than the NuvoSport. Confused?

So are we. to peers like the Vitara Brezza and NuvoSport, but retains the On our extended time with the TUV300, urban and Easy Kit - Premium. Colour options available Easywe’ve Kit done - Sporty surprisingly, far better than the NuvoSport practical turning radius we enjoyed previously. It’s squared-off commuting, Mumbai-Pune highway runs, multi-passenger are: White, Silver, Interior Grey,is,Ruby and Lime. The Datsun Redi-GO design (tank-like, according to Mahindra) has the benefit of outings and cargo runs, and we were unable to run the comes with warranty of 2 years/unlimited km andandthe car allowing excellent visibility while squeezing into tight tank dry, so anecdotally, the mHawk100 engine ais also with follow-me-home lamps, parking sensor other bellscan and be spaces, which the TUV can do despite its width. The quite efficient. Highway runs were usually whistles one expects in a India modern App’. vehicle. Mahindra is churning Verdict booked via cruising mobile app called ‘Datsun breadth manifests in internal space as well, with the between 100 and 120, which is where the vehicle out vehicles rapidly based on what are fast turning out to be + Refinement, front passenger having plenty of shoulder space. feels most comfortable. We’re sure the 240Nm is proven platforms. Perhaps at some point they will also consolidate performance, The rear seat is wide enough for three passengers capable of more sprightly performance, but the vehicles to be less confusing. As a parting googly: you can still buy price as well, though we did hear the odd complaint TUV300 weights 2.2 tonnes, so there’s only so the old, less powerful engine with the TUV300, but the new one - Heavy steering much it can do. The rest of it is up-to-date. Dual costs just Rs 8,000 more, so why would you? about jerks being transmitted up into the spine from rear passengers. airbags and ABS are present, as are keyless entry tushar@goldensparrow.com TGS rating ;;;`2

Datsun Redi-GO launched, starting at Rs 2.38 lac

VW launches Ameo compact sedan Sub-4m three-box starts at Rs 5.14 lac

the palm area and a reinforced, soft pad on the knuckle. There’s a rubber screen wiper on each thumb, which worked very well on our rainy rides.

Waterproofing is good, with light showers being repelled entirely. The D Tour WP do seem to run a bit large, so you might need to order one size smaller than your typical glove. Recommended.

Shima D-Tour WP gloves PRICE: Rs 4800 BUY AT: Kombustion Imports & Exports Pvt Ltd (+91 87938 84215)

is that there’s no inner lining flapping about behind the exterior shell. Those can be infuriating to put on and take off.

Shima’s solution is to fuse the waterproof liner with the exterior shell. This makes for a slightly stiff feel, but far more comfortable in the long run.

Fasteners are good, with a velcro cinch at the wrist and a larger velcro pad to secure the cuff, which is extra roomy to accommodate your sleeve, should you choose to wear the gloves over them. The velcro Hondapads themselves are CB500X not the typical sort, with the + Refinement, base (hooked) part being Fueling, practicality a - much Bland flatter, smoother material that catches less on TGS rating dri-fit material. Protection ;;;;2 is adequate for this sort of glove, with some leather in

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MIDDLE CHILD Hardcore performance is great for track days. Audi has a more everyday option @tburman

Minimal badging on the sides and at either end

W has finally put a price tag on its sub-4m sedan — the Ameo, and it’s very competitive. Evidently, the company has taken steps to address its reputation in making cars that are costlier to own than the competition.

In this case, the Ameo ends up being cheaper than their own Polo hatchback, Currently, the Ameo is availabel only with a petrol engine — the same 1.2l MPI three-cylinder motor we’ve seen before in the Skoda Fabia and VW Polo.

A diesel is promised soon. Volkswagen is touting several segment-firsts: rain-sensing wipers, static cornering lamps, cruise control and a centre armrest up front, but the kicker for us is that two airbags and ABS are standard on all variants, which is a big step forward at this price point.

Visually, the Ameo looks very similar to its Polo and Vento cousins, with a slightly stubby-looking front and

back. The rear boot is expectedly short, but allows a bit more cargo volume than the Polo hatchback. It’s not the Large plenty prettiest integration of a boot thatboot we’vestores seen, but VW and is easy to access have been understated in their styling of the rear. In a front three-quarter view, the boot does not draw attention to itself, which is probably a good thing.

Watch for a detailed review of the made-in-India Ameo next week. Prices:

A

udi’s S line of cars don’t get the recognition they deserve. Sitting in between the standard models and the totally performance-oriented RS cars, they sit as the middle child, often overlooked. We have, on occasion, driven the RS5, RS7, even the R8 and come away impressed by the raw power they pack into seemingly standard body styles. But let’s face it: a wolf in sheep’s clothing isn’t likely to make you a nice wool coat. It’d rather eat the coat with you in it. Not so much the car on this page: the S5, which is what Audi calls a “sportback”, basically a sedan with a hatchback rear and more rakish roofline. In terms of size, it sits somewhere between an A4 and an A6 but ends up feeling surprisingly compact.

Even in terms of performance potential, you could consider the S5 the middle child. There are sportscars in the lineup that make less power.

Why then did Audi feel the need to paint the media car in this lurid yellow, we have no idea. It’s a unique shade for sure, akin to pure printer’s ink

R is equipped with Brembo monobloc callipers, Showa big piston forks, Öhlins rear suspension and Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa Tyres.

The Thruxton R is priced at Rs 10.90 lac ex-showroom, Delhi. That’s a lot of bike for the money, and should appeal to a wide swath of motorcyclists with it’s “modern classic” vibe. This rounds out the new Bonneville platform with the Speed Twin, Bonneville T120 and Thruxton R coming in at attractive prices and all immediately available. Triumph continues to push aggressively forward in terms of models and marketing.

There are more than a few lessons for some other manufacturers to learn.

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MERCEDES-BENZ GLC LAUNCHED AT RS 50.7 LAC JUNE 18, 2016 PUNE

JUNE 4, 2016 PUNE

expanse of nice, flat luggage area and very easy to access thanks to the hatch opening. It’s a bit like THRILL the Skoda Octavias of old -- looking like sedansOF DRIVING with hatches hiding huge boots.

On the go, the S5 is a refined experience. The 7-speed dual-clutch transmission is quick and smooth, and shifts gears with digital efficiency.

Press the throttle with aggression and the gearbox quickly shifts down, releasing a nice V6 roar from the quad pipes out back. It’s a chatty car in that it likes to make nice growly noises when provoked, but never overpowers. The sound is enough for feedback and kicks, but does not cause discomfort.

High-rev gearshifts release a nice crackle from the exhaust. Paddle shifters are present for those times when you think you know better than the car’s electronics. Driving modes can be chosen Dash is usual Audi fare. Dark two-tone upholstery between comfort, dynamic, efficiency or tailored and carbon trim look sporty to your individual tastes. Ride quality is where the generally luxurious experience breaks, with than anything else and it drew attention wherever the large wheels and relatively low profile tyres it went. Though, we suspect, it would pass under transmitting road imperfections to the passenger. the radar in a more sedate paint job. Few, if any Setting the car in ‘Comfort’ mode didn’t do much external features stand out. You have a typical in this regard.

Audi front grille, headlamps and design language On our favourite, winding hill road, the S5 tweaked slightly to accommodate the curvaceous shone with its Quattro permanent all-wheel rear hatch. The red ‘S’ badges are also discreet on drive system. There’s always more grip than you the front and the back. need, and it works well with the performance of Step inside and the treatment is typical Audi. the motor. The specifications will surprise you if “Butat mom! my friends have SUVs with lower and the GL-class). Mercedes provides two If you’ve been in a recent A-type sedan, everything you drive the car before looking theAllbrochure: coefficients!”. IsV6! this a common refrain in engine options: the diesel GLC 220 d outputs is familiar. There’s the MMI screen, central console 329hp and 440Nm from thedrag supercharged your household? Tired of doing the school run 170hp and 400Nm of torque while the petrol and ergonomics as expected, but with a small, We’ve driven much angrier-feeling carsright angles? Mercedes GLC 300 outputs 245hp and 370Nm of torque. in an SUV that has only beendelivers listening tothis you and your burgeoning Officially, Mercedes has launched the fiddly jog dial. The steering wheel also with less power. Thhas e S5 ilk and is readyDespite to address this sticky problem.

GLC ‘Edition 1’, which is their traditional was doesn’t have explicitly labelled phone capability with little drama.

Verdict One is no longer stuck with the BMW X6 as of saying ‘first batch’. As they’ve done before, controls, which is something that being 4.7 metresthelong, the that S5 slices feelsthrough the air rather the Edition 1 cars come into the country as only SUV + Refinement, bashes itfootprint into submission.

CBUs (fully imported). This is Mercedes’ sixth will confuse those coming from compact with than a small performance, The Mercedes-Benz other car brands. Upholstery is in width-wise. Visibility is good andGLC class of vehicles luxury SUV in the country, making their lineup was launched on 2 June, conveniently slotting the most comprehensive among the luxury car unique black and dark brown and there the flat-bottomed feels into thesteering sliver of space left between the GLEpurveyors.

- It’s just “nice” class and GLS-class (previously, the ML-class Expectedly, equipment levels are high. is much leather on display. There nice to till around good surfaces. are some lacquered carbon fibre The ORVMs could have done a TGS rating trim pieces along the door and other better job showing the sides and rear ;;;`2 surfaces as well, though we’re not sure if of the vehicle, but that could be down it’s the real thing. The seats are comfortable to personal preference. and supportive one-piece units for the front, lending The Audi S5 has plenty ofIn performance a surprise move, Mahindra launched vehicle from 0-80% charge in 1 hour and an all-electric feeling version of its Verito sedan, 45 minutes, is reserved only for the top (D6) a sporty look without being uncompromisingly potential, but keeps everything the eVerito, on 2 June. Mahindra variant. Fast charging needs to be done hardcore like the near-race seats you’d find in a comfortable and luxurious. It isdubbed an odd, middle claims that the sedan can go 110km on a at one of Mahindra’s designated charging sports car. child and we imagine it will have takers than fullless charge.

The manufacturer is claiming stations, while a standard full charge takes costsbecause as low as Rs 1.15/km.

8 hours and 45 minutes using a 15-amp Rear legroom is good for a person of my size more overt sportscars or luxuryrunning sedans e eVerito also phones home home plug. Other features include (5’9”) but then, few grown men are actually my of the niche it occupies. That’sThan opportunity with a variety of information regenerative braking and a Claims a size, so we’d suggest a seating capacity of four for for the buyer who wants something diff erent.

(Telematics).

Fleet sales seem feature called REVIVE, which range of to becomes a likely target, especially is basically an 8km power maximum comfort. At least one passenger we rode Certainly no other car we’ve seen in this considering the aging Verito/ reserve for emergencies. You 110km on a with commented on how his i20 felt more spacious shade. At just north of Rs 69 lac ex-showroom, Logan platform. The eVerito don’t get airbags in any variant. full charge in the back. Again, apart from the “sport” theatre, the price will give you pause. You can buy more in key is available immediately Performance is about New Delhi, adequate for city use, which is there is little else to talk about. Open the hatch spacious luxury cars for less, or cities: more overt sports Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, where Mahindra is pitching the and it’s another world. Literally! Audi claims 480 cars for as much. Stuck in the middle again. Pune, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Jaipur, and eVerito. Top speed is claimed at 86kmph tushar@goldensparrow.com litres of cargo space, and we believe them. It’s a vast Nagpur. and the 110km range is dependent on load.

THRILL OF DRIVING

Marks the sixth luxury SUV that Mercedes sells in India

AMEO=POLO PLUS

By Tushar Burman

bottomed steering wheel which feels nice to manipulate.

If we were to nitpick, we’d say that the touchack in 2009, when Volkswagen introduced screen infotainment system is a bit smaller than the Polo in India, it was a breath of fresh on the hatch, but it serves the purpose perfectly air. At the time, the go-to car for the well and doesn’t end-up looking aftermarket like segment was the Maruti-Suzuki Swift, and some recent cars we’ve driven. You get steeringwhile the Fabia did exist to represent a European mounted controls, cruise control and a cooled contender, it was deemed too odd and expensive glove box for beverages on hot days. A centre for what it offered. Volkswagen was reeling from armrest is available for the driver which is a slim problems with the Skoda brand’s service and unit much like in the Vento. You don’t get rear cost complaints and didn’t want to repeat the AC vents behind it, however. same mistakes with VW. Fast-forward to 2016 Rear seat accommodations are quite and anecdotally, VW cars are still considered comfortable, and the extra knee room over the expensive to run (they’re not; this author owns a Polo hatch is apparent. Headroom at the rear is petrol Polo). VW has taken specific note of this at a premium, much like the Polo hatch, so those sentiment with the Ameo compact sedan, and with long torsos (or generous behinds) may hit has launched it for a very competitive price, even their heads on the roof. slightly undercutting the Polo hatchback!

If you’ve read so far and are wondering where How they’ve achieved this was not the masala begins, well, it doesn’t. The Ameo immediately apparent to us on our long-ish test is striking in its anonymity. Even viewed from drive. The car is fundamentally the same inside the front 3/4 angle, one can barely discern the and out, save for the added boot. We drove the boot sticking slightly out of the rear. It’s a tiny Eighteen-inch alloys areHighline standard.

Mercedes sunroof, lighting switchable petrol variant (the diesel motor will ambient extension of the body, to bewith sure, since the idea during Diwali) and fit, finish and quality and is to fit a sedan within fourbehind metres tothe qualify will provide an optionalcome off-road engineering colours levels, cargo bars rear to be on par with the hatch. Plastics for lower taxes. We’ve always liked the practical package that raises the appeared ride height by 20mm seat that liberate another 30 litres of luggage are just as pleasing to the touch, with no hollow, depth of the Polo boot, and this remains useful in and offers three additional ride modes: - find.space and thewhat an up EASYplasticky-feeling spots we off could The twoAmeo. Mercedes Only now, the calls volume goes from dashdrive and beige interior remain,PACK and make tailgate.

294 litres inDO the hatch to 330 in the sedan.

It’s a road, incline and slippery.tone Five modes are WE HAVE YOUR the cabin feel airy. Bonus points for the flatminor bump, but it’s there. @tburman

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standard in the GLC: Comfort, Eco, Sport, ATTENTION YET? Sport+ and Individual. Hill descent control Safety is typical Mercedes fare: ABS, ESP, is standard as well. We also see the use of Crosswind-assist, PRE-SAFE, Attention Verdict Mercedes’ new 9G-TRONIC nine-speed + Safety,auto price Assist, Active Parking Assist, 7 airbags, LED transmission. headlamps and adaptive tail lamps.

- Marginal engine Slotting in below their range-topper, the All this could be yours at Rs 50.7 lac for the rating diesel GLC 220 d, and Rs 50.9 lac for the GLC of comfort GLC understandably gets plentyTGS ;;;22 and convenience features. There’s a panoramic 300 petrol, ex-showroom, Pune.

It’s finally here: the Polo with a boot

The exterior of the boot itself is reasonably well integrated, and not as much of a tack-on like you’d find on the Swift Dzire. Not as good as the Ford Figo Aspire, but not bad. The tail lamps are simple and don’t draw attention to themselves.

Styling seems to be borrowed from the Skoda design language, with a crease running across the otherwise slab-like boot lid. Everything seems to be designed to be anonymous. VW have had to adjust the front and rear overhangs accordingly, and the car ends up looking a bit stubbier than the hatch.

The Ameo at present is only available in a petrol variant, utilising the venerable 1.2l MPI three-cylinder motor that does duty in the hatch.

It generates 75PS and 110Nm of torque, which felt inadequate six years ago, and continues to be. It’s a flexible engine, to be sure, with useful low-end grunt that allows you to have a load of passengers and navigate inclines with grace rather than amateurish slipping of the clutch. However, there’s no getting around the rough sound of the three-cylinder and this author continues to field the same questions he’s had to with his own car: “is this a diesel?”. Once at highway speeds, it’s okay, but overtakes take effort. You do get cruise control, however, so that sort of balances things out a bit. The stiff suspension makes the car fun

Engine and interior mimic the Polo hatch

to drive, but is hard on all passengers. We really wish VW would do something about this.

Perhaps the most important thing about the VW Ameo is the fact that it comes in at such a competitive price, and that it does so with two airbags and ABS as standard across variants.

There are some segment-firsts such as rainsensing wipers, cruise control and auto up/down power windows with anti-pinch all-round, but that’s about it. The Ameo is a competent car at a competitive price about in the middle of the pack. You can get more features for more money with a Hyundai, but you get the secure, Teutonic feel of a well-built car with the VW. The petrol engine is a mixed bag, and we suspect many will wait for the diesel this Diwali. tushar@goldensparrow.com Watch a video overview here:

Mahindra launches all-electric eVerito

Triumph Bonneville Thruxton R launched for Rs 10.90 lac

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while remaining lightweight.

Features are basic but thoughtful.

There’s a water-resistant pocket within the shell at chest level for your phone, and a felt pocket above the waist for your glasses.

Unfortunately, this pocket is unusable when the rain liner is in place. Zippers are of high quality as is the neck fastener, which uses velcro and has a soft pad where your neck meets the textile.

The jacket comes with CEapproved armour in the shoulders, elbows, and along the back. Fit appears to be European, which will work well for slimmer riders.

There are button fasteners on the mor snug fit, and sleeves to get a more velcro on the cuffs and waist. The RST mesh jacket will be available in this black/red combo, or the inverse: red/black.

RST mesh jacket Price: Rs 9500 Buy at: Bay City Speed Shop (baycityspeedshop@gmail.com)

TGS LIFE

JULY 30, 2016

By Tushar Burman

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RST MESH JACKET

RST is a British manufacturer of motorcycle apparel that has recently become available in India. The distributor pegs them as a mid-tier brand, but we were impressed with the thought behind this jacket and its features.

This is a basic textile/mesh jacket with a supplied, removable rain liner. Some background: it’s very hard to stay entirely dry in motorcycle gear unless you use an impermeable rain jacket over your kit or invest in much more expensive stuff. Rain liners are nice to have, but rarely foolproof.

Thankfully, this RST jacket comes with a liner that zips into the shell using a long U-shaped zipper. Sleeves are held in place with small elasticated loops holding onto buttons on the liner.

It’s a snug fit and doesn’t move around much. This design allows the jacket to be quite resistant to rain in light to medium rain,

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wo months after the release of the Bonneville T120, Triumph has rolled out Thruxton R in the Indian market.

The 1200cc Thrurxton R runs on a high power, 8-valve, parallel twin engine generating just over 95hp and 112Nm of torque. This is a higher output version of the mill that powers the T120.

The Thruxton R carries feature like ABS, ride-by-wire, traction control, torque assist clutch, LED DRL, LED rear light, an engine immobilizer and a USB charging socket. The bike also has riding modes to choose from: road, rain and sport.

The equipment list continues; the Thruxton

B g dea

Riding your motorcycle in the monsoon is a necessity for many, but it also brings out the adventurers. You’ve almost certainly got that Facebook friend who takes his bike to impossibly wet and dirty locations just because she can. If you’d like to follow suit but prefer to stay a bit drier, we have some kit you might want to consider

MOTORCYCLING THROUGH THAILAND niceties of the rest of Thailand. Think perfect 4G If you’re a motorcycling enthusiast, or have connectivity, AirBNB and the most incredible become one in the recent past, you’ve probably gourmet burger I’ve ever eaten on the street. The known or heard of someone who’s ridden a bike Pai river itself is popular for white water rafting around our ASEAN neighbour. In fact, there at various skill levels, and you can even take a is now a land route from North-East India slow boat to Laos, which takes two days and through Myanmar into Thailand. Heck, you costs just 1750 baht, or about 3500 rupees. In can go all the way to Singapore before you hit fact, our overnight stay and jaunt in the night the inevitable shore. There are many reasons to market ended up costing less than Rs 2000 for this, not least of which is the incredible road the two ofconverter us. Try getting that deal in Panchgani automatic. It’s a traditional torque you won’t be banging and down network. You’re very unlikely toso see a badly anyupnight of thetheyear. gearbox like a dual-clutch unit, but it’s okay. In potholed section of tar. In termsterms of distances, And that, in essence, is a microcosm of the of speed, it’s somewhere in the middle the country is about 1600km longofand 1000km experience you’re likely to have on any a economy automatictype and aofperformancedual-clutch. It can be sluggish, we across, so there’s plenty to explore.tuned road trip in but Thailand — it’s cheap to the point Of particular think it matches the character of the engine. note car” is the Mae Hong a long circuit sure, we’ve driven slower. Paddle shifters What else do you call a vehicle that the term “pony was coined for?Son loop --For

@tburman

MONSOON

So close yet so far. Perfect reasons to take off for a motorcycle trip

@tburman

till buzzing from what must have been thousands of curves across just over a hundred kilometres of road, it occurred to us that perhaps we should take a break and refuel our bodies, since the Honda CB500X we were riding showed no signs of using any significant quantity of gasoline. We were at Pai canyon, a small lookout point for tourists along the highway with four food and one coffee stall.

My spouse enjoys the occasional coffee, so she requested one. The beans were promptly ground in front of us, mixed with condensed milk, ice and water, and served in a convenient plastic container. All this while, I bit down on a prepackaged Tuna sandwich knowing full well that the nearest fresh tuna was at least 1200km away.

Both the sandwich and coffee were fresh and delicious. If this was roughing it on a road trip, it’s exactly my style.

black rubber piece. We think it goes rather well on our “modern classic” Ducati Scrambler. Grip is excellent, whether seated or standing, and it doesn’t rip up your pants or cause discomfort. Also useful is the fact that the adhesive allows you to remove and reposition the pads a number of times before losing efficacy. It also comes off without leaving residue.

Grippy tank pads are one of the cheapest mods you can do to you bike to allow you to ride safer and more confidently. It certainly helps in the rains to make sure you stay on the bike. The Techspec pads are available for most popular bikes, or you can buy them in self-adhesive panels and cut them to suit your vehicle.

Techspec ‘snakeskin’ tank pads PRICE: Rs 4000 - Rs 7500 depending on application BUY AT: Bay City Speed Shop (baycityspeedshop@gmail.com)

VISHAL KALE

Fit and Inspirational

No raincoats yet for waste-pickers

Regardless of what bike you ride, your knees and thighs are typically going to come into contact with the fuel tank/airbox cover, which is usually made of painted metal or plastic. The problem is that metal and plastic don’t stick very well to textile, nylon or any material that you’d typically wear as pants on a motorcycle ride. Anchoring to your bike with your knees and thighs is critical for safety and confidence.

Most sport riders are familiar with grippy stickers that you can put in place on the sides of your tank to alleviate this.

Techspec is one such brand, which makes a unique ‘snakeskin’ pattern rubber material that can be applied to your tank with adhesive.

Unlike some other brands of grip pads that look like organic globs or some sort of acupressure surface, the Techspec item is a fairly basic,

AUGUST 6, 2016 PUNE

THRILL OF DRIVING

TGS LIFE

Each o hem has descr bed he r ove or runn ng n such a beau u way ha I am nsp red o ake up runn ng oo -Ameya Ka ve

TECHSPEC TANK PADS

TGS LIFE

Legroom is decent at the back. Headroom is a bit tight for taller passengers.

The eVerito will be available in three variants with marginal differences between them. Unusually, fast-charging ability, which Mahindra claims can charge the

Prices start at Rs 9.5 lac ex-showroom, Delhi, for the D2 variant after state and FAME subsidies. The D4 and D6 variants cost Rs 9.75 and 10 lac respectively.

VISHAL KALE

The one h ng ha keeps everyone afloa n he wors o mes s s mp y how pos ve hey are n he r hough s The as week s spo gh abou he s or es o a hose nsp r ng peop e who rose o ame and r chness us based on he r own mer s some h ng everyone shou d read I eaches you how no ma er wha you go hrough you are de erm ned and know wha your end goa s you can ach eve rrespec ve o every h ng ha e hrows a you The s ory was we pu oge her and he ac ha hese peop e are s down o ear h and modes abou he r ach evemen s on y goes o show how mpor an hardsh ps are n e -Sakh Ju e a

CARS, BIKES, TRIPS, GEAR HONEST, FUN REVIEWS

VISHAL KALE

WEEK THAT WAS

EDITOR

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PUNE

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THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 13-19, 2016

PUNE

“I will never give up, the hope will be there to be there in 2020, 2024, 2028. The hope, determination will always be there. I will give my 100 per cent.”

— Heena Sidhu, Indian Shooter

Signposts Pune wins state title Pune city girls defeated Sangli 11-0 in the 23rd Maharashtra State Junior Softball tournament held recently.

Preeti Kamble (3) and Vaishnavi Chouhan (2) were impressive from the winning team. They were supported by Vaishnavi Vadne, Arati Bhalerao, Samrudhi Mule, Mohini Garad, Pratiksha Murkute and Kavita Rathod with one homerun each.

Uday Sane to officiate in Olymics Uday Sane, the founder secretary of Haveli Taluka Badminton Association, has been nominated as technical official (umpire) for the badminton event at Olympics. Sane has a experience at international tournaments since 1999 and has been in the elite panel of umpires since 2011.

He has worked as technical official in many events like Asian Games.

Custodian Edel Bete comes to FC Pune FC Pune City signed up one of Indian Super League’s most decorated goalkeepers, Edel Bete, for the 2016 edition of the league. Bete, a topnotch custodian, last season played with 2015 champions Chennaiyin FC and was a part of defending champs Atletico de Kolkata. Bete has once been a member of French giants Paris Saint-Germain.

“ The standard of India’s performance in Rio has gone down as compared to earlier Olympics. The Indian Olympic Association will have to take responsibility for this.”

— Milkha Singh, Legendary Athlete

‘Olympics seems like a distant dream’ Says India’s number 1 shuttler PC Thulasi, who wants to focus on smaller tournaments to improve her ranking

BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis_ashish PC Thulasi of Kerala is currently the top ranked player in India, according to the Badminton Association of India (BAI) latest ranking chart. Eventually, she is just behind the top aces of Indian badminton like Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu.

However, the gap between the top and the second string of players is way too wide. To make matters worse, Thulasi suffered an ankle injury and suffered a massive drop in her world ranking. As a result, she needs to work really hard to close the gap between her and the top players.

“My injury affected my world ranking badly and I have been thrown out of the top 100. In order to get back into the game, my fi rst target is to be in the top 100 fi rst, and only then can I can think of other goals,” said Thulasi, on the sidelines of the recently held VV Natu Memorial All India Senior Ranking Tournament at Shivajinagar, Pune.

“With the lower rank, you are allowed to play in smaller tournaments only. So, that’s what I am focusing on now. Of course, playing in the Olympics is my dream, but it seems a distant one now. I can’t say anything about it right now,” she said.

The top seed had a fine outing throughout the tournament, but she faltered against youngster Ruthvika Shivani in the final. The Telangana player outplayed Thulasi in straight 21-

18, 21-6 games. Thulasi fought well in the fi rst game, but in the second, she surrendered tamely.

“It wasn’t my day. I tried my best but wasn’t able to control my unforced errors. On the other hand, Ruthvika was playing flawlessly and her accurate strokes made me difficult to come back in the game,” said Thulasi, who had earlier beaten Ruthvika twice.

“We train together and know each other’s games quite well. She is a strong upcoming player and has a bright future ahead,” said the Kerala player.

The 24-year-old recently won the Yonex Sunrise 80th National Badminton Championship in April.

She was the fi rst women player from Kerala to achieve this feat and also overall third after U Vimal Kumar and George Thomas.

In 2010, Thulasi won a silver medal in women’s doubles and was part of the Indian team that won a gold medal in the South Asian Game. Last year, she won a gold medal in the 34th National Games held in Telangana. Even at the international level, she was going strong and quietly climbed up to her personal best ranking of 34 and was hoping to get into the top 25.

Unfortunately, her ankle injury pushed her way beyond her target and all of sudden she is now ranked 119 in the world ranking.

“That was a big blow for me. It’s very difficult to reach the peak and it’s equally difficult to remain at the peak.

A player knows how hard it is to get

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back into the top list. Nothing happens overnight and it’s a slow, gradual process. You have to start all over again and have to keep yourself motivated,” she said.

Thulasi trains with P Gopichand at his academy in Hyderabad, a hub of Indian badminton. Asked what difference she notices between the top string players like Saina and Sindhu and second string players, she said, “We all get the same intense training from Gopi sir. What makes the difference is the exposure. Unlike top players, we don’t get many international tournaments. The match temperament is what you need.” ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com

Double crown for Satwik, Maneesha Satwik Sai Raj R of Andhra Pradesh won a double crown in the VV Natu Memorial All India Senior Ranking Tournament at Shivajinagar, Pune.

In the mixed doubles final, he along with Maneesha K, defeated Air India player Jishnu Sanyal and Prajakta Sawant 18-21, 26-24, 21-14. Later, he paired with Maharashtra’s Chirag Shetty to beat MR Arjun and Shlok Ramchandran of Air India 21-16, 2118 in the men’s doubles. Meanwhile, Maneesha K and N Sikki Reddy prevailed over the pair of Aparna

Balan and Prajakta Sawant 13-21, 21-18, 21-9 in the women’s doubles.

Sourabh Varma clinched the men’s title, beating RMV Gurusaidutt 2112, 17-21, 21-14.

In the women’s singles, the venue turned out to be a happy hunting ground for Rutwika Shivani. The Telangana shuttler had won Sushant Chipalkatti Memorial badminton tournament at the same venue last year. Th is year, she won national title beating top seed PC Thulsai in straight games.