The Golden Sparrow on Saturday 06/02/2016

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PUNE, FEBRUARY 6, 2016 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

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PUNE,

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PICS

BY RAHU

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TGS LIFE

They’ve worked hard for a happily ever after

CITY

Agents still have a free hand at the RTO P5

CITY

Cancer can be overcome if one has the fortitude P6

Deprived of basic amenities

UNDER PMC RULE The merger of fringe villages into Pune Municipal Corporation began more than five decades ago. But despite the positive intentions of the administration and politicians, it is a travesty then that residents of several of these villages continue to be deprived of basic amenities like drinking water, proper roads and hospitals See Spotlight, p08 & 09

Here’s why Pune motorists are not disciplined

An order issued by the state government to come down heavily on the violators is not being enforced strictly by Pune cops See p3

Pilloo impersonates Silloo

The 74-year-old impersonated a senior lawyer’s 88-year-old mother, because her brother asked her to do so. At the heart of the drama is 107 acres of prime plot in Thane worth Rs 875 crore as per the Ready Reckoner rate

BY YOGESH SADHWANI @yogeshsadhwani It seemed like yet another case in Bombay High Court. A senior citizen had approached HC in December 2015 seeking help to protect her land parcel spread over 100-odd acres in Thane. Silloo Mistri’s petition against Thane police claimed that cops were not initiating action against those who had forcibly taken over her plot. Drama began in the very first hearing on January 6, 2016, when Jehangir Mistri, a senior counsel, appeared in court and pointed out that his mother’s identity had been forged to file the case. Since then the case has seen several twists. It has now come to a point where Silloo, who has filed the case, has admitted that she is an impostor and her real

name is Pilloo.

It all started with a criminal petition being filed in HC on December 17, 2015. The case came up before the division bench of JusSilloo Mistri tice Ranjit More and Justice VL Achliya on January 6. When the hearing began, Jehangir, who also practices in HC as a senior counsel, pointed out that his mother’s name had been used to file the petition against Thane cops.

NOT MY MOTHER Specialising in tax matters, Jehangir Mistri got to know about the petition

filed in his mother’s name through his mother’s lawyers. He told the court that his mother had not given authority to anyone to file such a petition.

The division bench asked Advocate HS Venegaonkar and Sailesh Thakkar, who were representing Silloo in the petition to respond, to which they said that the senior citizen was outside the court. One of the advocates was sent out to bring Silloo into the courtroom but she was nowhere to be found. The advocate told the court that one of the clerks had verified Silloo’s identity before filing the petition. Not wanting to jump to any conclusion, the division bench decided to hear the matter the next day and instructed the lawyers to ensure that Silloo was personally present on January 7.

Contd on p 2

PICS BY RAHUL RAUT

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2016

PUNE

MUMBAI

“The zeal with which Sharad Pawar works and motivates workers is unparalleled.

The NCP is determined to regain its electoral base in the coming months.”

—Sunil Tatkare, State NCP Chief

200 mn girls, women living with FGM P 11

St Felix High School, JN Petit win Rogers Cup 2016 in style P 16

Pilloo impersonates Silloo Silloo Mistri

Contd from p1

COURT CONVINCED ABOUT IMPOSTOR In the next hearing, drama intensified.

While Silloo did not make it to court, her lawyers pointed out that they had been approached by her brother Kersi Guard to represent her in the matter. The clerk who had verified her identity before fi ling the petition too told the court that the senior citizen had produced her PAN card.

Advocate Venegaonkar showed the court some CCTv images of Silloo signing documents in a government office. Senior counsel Jehangir too produced his mother’s PAN card and election card.

“The PAN Card and Election Card of Mrs Silloo Danjishaw Mistri, mother of Mr Jehangir B Mistri and the photographs produced by Mr Venegaonkar showing the petitioner signing some papers are apparently of different persons,” said the d iv ision bench.

By now the cou r t

Gilbert Mendonca

was convinced that somebody had impersonated Jehangir’s mother Silloo Mistri. The court took serious view of the matter and ordered that impostor, who had filed the petition, must remain present in the next hearing failing which action would be initiated against her. The bench also instructed the officers in-charge of security at HC to preserve and produce the footage from January 6 when the lady impersonating Silloo had apparently come to the court. The bench also asked the real Silloo to intervene in the case.

LAST WARNING On January 12, when the case came up for hearing again, the impostor and her brother Kersi Guard finally came to court. The lady told the court with conviction that she was indeed Silloo Mistri and even gave her residential address and phone number. Her brother Kersi Guard too gave his details. Th is time the division bench did not pass any strictures and slated the matter for January 14 after instructing the lady and her brother to appear again. On January 14, while Kersi appeared, his sister did not turn up.

“Notably, despite undertaking given to this Court on 12th January 2016, the Petitioner (lady claiming to be Silloo Mistri) is not present in the Court.

Mr Kersi Guard who claims to be the brother of the Petitioner is present. He

states that the Petitioner is not keeping well. By way of indulgence, as a last chance we are deferring the hearing on this writ petition to 21st January 2016,” the bench ordered.

CONFESSION On January 21, when the case came up for hearing, there was a major twist in the tale. The lady who had fi led the petition in the name of Silloo Mistri appeared with a new lawyer. Advocate RA Shaikh, appearing on her behalf told the court that she was not Silloo Mistri but Pilloo Pervez Mehta. “Ms Pilloo Pervez Mehta states that she has been used and forced to fi le this petition by her real brother by name Kersi Guard,” HC division bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice SC Gupte noted.

BROTHER BLAMES POLITICIAN When the bench inquired with Kersi Guard, he passed the buck on to a former Member of Legislative Assembly from Mira Bhayander, Gilbert Mendonca and one Ashok Hire. The brother-sister duo told the court that their lives were in danger and that they were coerced into fi ling the petition in the name of Silloo Mistri.

The division bench ordered that police must assess the threat to the lives of Pilloo and her brother and if

required give them police protection.

The court also ordered that if required, even Silloo Mistri should be given protection by the police, if required.

IT’S ALL ABOUT MONEY Now that Pilloo has stopped claiming to be Silloo, Thane police have unravelled the mystery behind the drama. According to Thane cops, Silloo Mistri owned 107 acres of land on Ghodbunder Road, Thane. The current value of the plot as per the Ready Reckoner rates is around Rs 875 crore. She sold the land parcel in June 1982 to Samartha Development Corporation.

Sometime in 2014, a few land grabbers claiming to have bought the land parcel from Silloo, tried getting the land records amended in their name. Initially, they were able to get some of the land records changed.

However, one of the government officials suspected something amiss and reported the case to Thane Nagar police station.

In November 2015, Thane Nagar police registered an FIR of fraud, forgery and cheating against Gilbert Mendonca (former Mira Bhayander MLA), AR Gaikwad, a record keeper in a government office and Manoj Sawant, an agent by profession.

Ganesh Kekane, the investigating officer attached to Thane Nagar police

told TGS that Mendonca along with others allegedly prepared forged documents of the land owned by Silloo and submitted them in Tehsildar’s office to amend the land ownership records. After the FIR was registered, Sawant was arrested, Gaikwad obtained anticipatory bail and Mendonca was granted interim relief from arrest by Bombay High Court.

Police is still investigating the case.

In the meanwhile, now that the impostor drama has unravelled in HC, police is leaving no stone unturned in getting to the bottom of the mystery.

Cops believe that using Pilloo as Silloo was nothing but a ploy on the part of land grabbers. “The petition in HC was fi led with the intention of ousting those who had legally bought the land from the real Silloo. The impostor in her petition wanted police to fi le an FIR and throw out those who had bought the land parcel from the real Silloo. The ploy however seems to have failed now that the impostor has come out in the open,” said a senior police official from Thane. The cops are likely to submit a report to HC in the next hearing on February 9.

TURNING POINTS IN THE CASE Senior counsel Jehangir Mistri’s appearance in court on the fi rst day of hearing, was a turning point of

Faulty solar panels Agency’s camp leads to panic leave poor hostelites in the cold

Goods train driver spotted armed men on track near Nagnath station, raised an alarm

BY SANTOSHEE MISHRA

TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly

The 150 students of Magasvargiya Mulanche Shashakiya Vastigruha (MMSV) hostel at Worli in South Mumbai have had a rough time this winter as there is no facility for hot water. As a result, these students have had to resort to other means for bathing, such as going to friends’ or relatives’ houses, or using water heaters without the knowledge of the hostel authorities.

The MMSV hostel caters to students of scheduled caste, scheduled tribes and backward classes from Maharashtra, and accommodation is granted according to merit.

The students have written to the minister of social justice Rajkumar Badole regarding the non-availability of hot water, and the lack of amenities at the hostel.

Deepak Kamble, (name changed on request) is a VJTI final year student. He

said, “The 16 solar panels installed on the terrace in 2011-12 at a cost of Rs.15 lakh are not working which is why we have no hot water for bathing. We are not allowed to use water heaters as per the hostel rules. We use the college washrooms for bathing.”

Rakesh Parab (name changed on request) is a final year of engineering student at Bharatiya Vidyapeeth Bhavan, Nerul. He said, “In winter, hot water is essential but since the 16 solar panels have not been maintained properly, we are left without any source of water for bathing. We are forced to go to friends’ places for a bath.”

Badole said, “I will initiate an inquiry into the matter and do what is needed at the hostel. The students’ pleas will not go unheard.”

Seventy of the 150 students don’t receive their monthly stipend regularly and even the annual project fees and uniform are not received in time. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

A group of armed men on railway tracks near Karjat led to panic earlier in the week. On January 31, Devendra Saraswat, a goods train driver spotted a group of heavily armed men on the tracks. Fearing a terror attack, the driver decided not to stop at a red light and instead rushed to the nearest railway station.

On reaching the station, he raised an alarm. For the next few hours an intensive search operation was launched and railway traffic on the stretch was brought to a halt. Hours later, it was discovered that recruits of security management company were out for a camp and had come onto the tracks with their weapons.

The incident occurred last Sunday (January 31) at Nagnath station near Lonavala at around 12.40 am. A Railway Protection Force (RPF)

offi cial said, “On January 31, at around 12.40 am Saraswat saw a red light and stopped the goods train.

He then saw 25 armed men on the railway track near Nagnath station. Fearing an attack, he Lipsa Sayaal started the engine and drove straight to Karjat station.

He reported the incident to the station master.”

Not wanting to take any chances, a massive search operation was launched for the armed men. The RPF involved local police and the intelligence department. The search operation for suspected terrorists continued for four hours.

A Lonavala RPF police official said that Yashwant Hikers had organised a four-day camp for 60 recruits of the Nagothane based Reliance School of Security and Management.

RPF Mumbai Division’s Senior Divisional Security Commissioner Sachin Bhalode said, “There were no paramilitary forces or other groups in the stretch between Monkey Hill and Nagnath. Normal movement of trains resumed at 4 am.”

“A case was registered with Lonavala police station for trespassing and obstructing train services. Bhavesh Sambhaji Shinde, Uttung Gaikwad, Tushar Sawant, Ajay Laad and Mahesh More of Yashwant Hikers, and Rahul Singh, Pradeep Yadav, Lipsa Sayaal and Bhavani Shankar of Reliance School of Security and Management have been arrested,” Bhalode said. santoshee.mishra@goldensparrow.com

the case. He got to know about the case through his mother’s lawyers and contested the impostor’s petition.

Another twist was when a distraught Pilloo ran into Advocate RA Shaikh. “The division bench had issued an order against her to be present failing which action would be initiated against her. She was distraught and was desperately looking for legal help. I ran into her in HC premises and agreed to help her,” said Advocate Shaikh. He convinced her to reveal the truth in court and come clean about being an impostor. “The law will take its own course now. But my client has made it clear that she was forced to sign the petition as Silloo by her brother. She is as much a victim as the real Silloo,” concluded Advocate Shaikh. yogesh.sadhwani@goldensparrow.com With inputs from Bapu Deedwania and Santoshee Mishra

Kersi Guard

Lifestyle disorders high among 23-35 yr olds There are rising instances of lifestyle disorders among young professionals in the age group of 23-35 years, a survey said. The findings are part of the survey conducted by Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.

It also revealed that most young professionals depend solely on employerprovided mediclaim and do not have a personal health insurance cover.

A total of 1,100 working professionals from various metro cities and Goa took part in the survey held last month.

It further revealed that 45 per cent of the respondents suffered from lifestyle disorders, while 55 per cent claimed they were not affected by such conditions.

Among those who said they were affected by lifestyle conditions, 40 per cent said they suffered from chronic body pain, 20 per cent had weightrelated issues (obesity) and 18 per cent suffered from hypertension.

PTI

Consumers can now WhatsApp complaints Consumers who are charged more than the MRP by shopkeepers and hotels can now file their complaints on WhatsApp or dial up the Weights and Measures department for appropriate action.

The move follows a recent judgment of the Thane District Consumer Redressal Forum, which ordered a lodging hotel in Thane city to pay compensation to a consumer for charging 10 times more than the MRP

for three bottles of a branded mineral water. An official from the state Food and Civil Supplies department said that people can now WhatsApp their complaints on 9869691666 or dial 02222886666 between 10 AM to 5.30 PM to register their complaints.

“A special cell has been created in the Weights and Measures department to screen the complaints and take follow up action,” he said.

“Plans are to make it mandatory for shopkeepers, eateries and other establishments selling food items to put up these numbers for public knowledge.

The government also plans to make these numbers function 24X7 soon,” he said. The Weights and Measures Act-2011 provides for inspectors to take action against such shopkeepers.

However, given the wide scope of the work that the inspectors have to do,

the state government has constituted state-level and municipal corporationlevel vigilance committees. The duties of these committees include alerting the inspectors about incidents of overpricing, referring the complaint against shopkeepers to the competent authority and displaying the telephone numbers of vigilance committee members for the knowledge of everyone.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2016

India ‘inherently unequal’: Ratan Tata P12

PUNE

“Our party high command has reduced it to 15 months to give others the opportunity to serve as mayor. Many corporators are interested in the mayor’s post but the party chief will ultimately decide.”

— Vandana Chavan, City NCP president and Member of Parliament

Here’s why Pune motorists are not disciplined An order issued by the state government to come down heavily on the violators is not being enforced strictly by Pune cops

PICS BY RAHUL RAUT, TEJAS GAIKWAD AND VISHAL KALE

BY SUSHANT RANJAN & YOGESH WAGH @tgsWeekly In the wake of the announcement on Thursday by Transport Minister Diwakar Raute to make wearing helmets compulsory in the city, the city traffic police initiated action against helmet-less riders. But while defaulting citizens will be taken to task, what about the flagrant disregard of the helmet law by traffic policemen and Regional Transport Office (RTO) officials?

At a road safety conference held in Nagpur under the aegis of the transport minister on December 17, 2015, it was decided that the Supreme Court rule regarding helmet wear was to be stringently implemented, and a report was to be sent to the government every three months.

The Home department has issued the Government Rule (GR) on December 31, 2015 in this regard.

As per the GR, the rules should be implemented on vehicle users under the Motor Vehicle Act 1988 under section 19 and Central Motor

Vehicle Act 1989 under section 21.

According to the rules, the driving/ riding licences of those found guilty of not following traffic rules would

be suspended for three months. The GR stated that a man or woman violating a traffic rule would have to attend a two-hour counselling

session regarding road safety rules.

Even the licences of offenders could be cancelled. But traffic cops are not known for their counselling abilities

Sarang Awad, DCP Traffic Revocation of licence is not entirely our responsibility. We always make it a point to stop the persistent offenders. We even make sure that they are punished. So, every month we send the law-breakers and their licences to be revoked by the Regional Transport Office. Now, there is a huge backlog at their end. I won’t even call it a backlog; it’s how the procedure works. Things take time in such processes. As for the pending cases from January, it’s not just the month’s case. Cases are always carry-forwarded from one month to the other. That’s why we take the annual statistics. That is a better way to evaluate our campaign.”

Riding sans helmet While the police have started the drive to implement traffic rules, the city police, traffic cops and RTO officials brazenly flout the rules, TGS found.

We have photographic evidence of police personnel flouting traffic rules, riding motorcycles without wearing helmets. Even police officers do not observe traffic rules as they feel they are immune to challans and can do as they feel. RTO officials too are of the same ilk. And as per the GR, traffic cops and RTO officials will co-ordinate and enforce implementation of the rules.

TGS found city police personnel riding motorcycles without wearing helmets at Shivajinagar, and the

traffic police did not issue any challans. We saw a policeman riding a motorcycle with a woman constable riding pillion, both without helmets. Then there were RTO officials riding without helmets. It seems the helmet and traffic laws are only to be observed by the common man.

In January 2013, five police personnel riding without helmets were fined Rs 500 each.

As per the order issued by state government, all those who are found riding without a helmet will not just have to pay a fine but will have to sit for a two-hour counselling session.

In Pune, however, not a single violator has undergone the session.

or inclination to do so.

The government has ordered that this rule be brought into force with immediate effect. Defaulters will,

along with a fine, have to attend a traffic rules counselling session for at least two hours and have their licences suspended for a minimum of three months in case of traffic rule violations.

Earlier, Pune police commissioners had tried to enforce the helmet rule. In 2008, the then Pune police commissioner Satyapal Singh had issued an order making helmets compulsory in the city.

However, the rule did prevail for long.

Similarly, in 2012, Pune’s first woman police commissioner, Meeran Borwankar implemented the compulsory helmet rule for all the police officers. That time more than 100 police officers were fined for not wearing helmets. Later, she tried the same rule for the general public, but again the rule did not last long.

Wearing helmets is compulsory in Delhi, Lucknow and it recently has been made compulsory in Hyderabad, but Pune, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad were still exempt. Pune has the largest concentration of two-wheelers, with over nine lakh vehicles registered here. When the state government had imposed the helmet rule in 2003, it had received stiff resistance in Pune. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Jitendra Patil, Regional Transport Officer, Pune “We are following all the rules mentioned in the GR issued a month ago. However, we will be more strict after the minister has issued a strict warning. I had a meeting with Transport Commissioner on Wednesday on how to implement these rules and counsel the offenders. We will co-ordinate with the traffic cops and start the counsel sessions. The cooperation of citizens is must to carry forward the campaign successfully.”

Statistics at a glance (January 2016)

Offence: Using cellphone while riding/driving • Total cases: 1199 • Suspension of Licence : 09

Government resolution stated that if any one violated traffic rule such as speeding violation, signal jumping, mobile talking, and drunk and drive. he or she compulsory attend two hrs counselling session of road safety rules.

Cellphone addicts

P

eople talking on the mobile phone while riding a twowheeler or driving a car is all too common. But now this act will come under greater scrutiny of the traffic police. A combination of talking on mobile phones and driving can be quite troublesome, as it invites not only accidents, but also penalties and punishments. The cops did not counsel any of the violators.

But Pune citizens use hands free mode while driving and such people are beyond number. But cellphones are a distraction and rash or careless driving is the outcome. Some are immune to honking be fellow road users.

Activist Sujit Patwardhan said that there are many amendments required in the Motor Vehicle

Act, 1988. The recently proposed amendment of raising fines for talking on cellphone while driving is a very good move, he feels.

“However, implementation of the law will only bring about the desired results if the traffic cops have the will to catch the culprits. Though there are various laws on paper, the proper implementation of it fails because of inefficient traffic cops.

The way traffic police officials handle problems in the city is miserable.

People go on breaching the law while traffic officials keep chewing tobacco in a corner,” he said.

In January 2016, the traffic police fined 1,199 riders while riding and talking on their mobiles and collected Rs 1,19,900 in fines.

Offence name

Total cases

Speeding

89

Fines Collected 17,800

Signal jumping

50,759

50,75,900

In process

Talking on mobile

1,199

1,11,900

09

Drink and drive

176

Licences revoked 1

-

50

Government resolution stated that if any one violated traffic rule such as driving without helmet or seat belts, he or she will have to attend two hours of counselling on road safety rules.

Offence name

Total cases

Total deposit

Counselling

Without Helmet (Police)

5

500

In process

No seat belt

15,726

1,572,600

In process

Seat belt (Govt vehicle)

166

16,600

In process

Without Helmet

7,654

765,400

In process

Signal jumping

T

Offence: Riding without helmet • Total cases: 7654 • Counselling: None of them

raffic signals are blatantly ignored by a large number of vehicle users.

There are people running red lights at every traffic signal, every minute, and it does not matter if there are traffic policemen present.

The moment the cop looks the

Seat belt rule

Offence: Signal jumping • Total cases: 50,759 • Suspension of Licence : None

Speeding violations

T

he seat belt is a much ignored safety device in Pune, with neither citizens nor government staffers bothering to make use of it. In January, the police fined 15,726 citizens for not wearing seat belts, while 166 government drivers were penalised.

Police collected Rs 15,72,600 from citizens and Rs 16, 600 from government officials as fines.

other way, people run the red light and are gone.

Signal jumping offences are increasing by the day. As per traffic police data, there were 50,579 signal jumping cases in January 2016, and Rs 50,750,900 was collected in fines.

M Offence name: Seat belt • Total cases: 15,726 (Common Citizen), 166 (Government Officials) • Counselling: None

otorcyle/scooter riders and four-wheeler drivers crossing the speed limit are common when the streets are clear. Thanks to the congestion, speeding is almost impossible in regular hours. In January, traffic police hauled up 89 drivers for speeding and collected Rs 17,800 in fines.

Offence name: Speeding violation • Total cases: 89 • Suspension of Licence : 01

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2016

PUNE

Non-flammable allsolid-state batteries in the offing

“We are not in favour of any additional tax burden on citizens for the Smart City project. The funds given for this project are less.

The party will oppose the formation of SPV if taxes are levied.”

— Abhay Chhajed, City unit chief of Congress

Pak court to hear Bhagat Singh case

P10

P12

Sandalwood thieves strike at Bhamburda forest

Bhamburda forest is a prime source of sandalwood for thieves as there is a just one guard to protect the 750-acre spread RAHUL RAUT

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 The forest area from Kothrud to Niljyoti, and from the stone quarry on Panchwati to Gokhalenagar is known as Bhamburda forest. Sandalwood thieves have targeted the forest as it has proved a lucrative source. Forest officials refused to reveal the exact figure, but it is very likely that the thieves could have made away with more than 25 trees in the last year.

Forest officials blame the increase in thefts on a manpower crunch. But despite the increase, the Pune forest department has terminated services of the personnel hired from a security agency, citing a paucity of funds to pay their salaries.

The Bhamburda forest stretches across 750 acres or 300 hectares, including Vetal Tekdi, Hanuman Tekdi and other areas. Vetal Tekdi is a favourite haunt of the residents of Gokhalenagar and Kothrud, who go there for morning walks. There is dense green cover and a proliferation of sandalwood trees. On an average, two or three sandalwood trees are axed by thieves every month.

“There are hundreds of sandalwood trees in Bhamburda forest but they are being chopped down one by one by the thieves in the night. The forest officials are not doing anything besides registering cases against anonymous thieves,” said a source from Bhamburda

The chopped and mutilated remains of some sandalwood trees in Bhaburda forest

forest.

When TGS team visited the spot behind the police colony in Gokhalenagar, we found the stubs of about 12 sandalwood trees that had been chopped down. There were cuts made in trees in a kilometer-long stretch along the forest compound wall. Four or five trees were axed completely. Small cuts were made on some trees to check on their cores.

Even holes were bored in some trees.

All the marks seemed recent but the forest officials kept mum on the number of sandalwood theft cases, and

said they were short staffed.

“We have a shortage of staff. There is just one forest guard, Narendra Patil who looks after a 750-acre forest land, where we actually need at least five more guards,” said V. G. Mane, assistant conservator of forests of Pune division. No additional posts were created, he said about having just one guard. The Pune forest department had hired 25 security guards from Pune District Security Guard Board agency for Pachgaon Parvati and Bhamburda forest in 2010. They were paid by the Pune Municipal Corporation through

Sanyukt Van Hakk Samiti, a joint venture between PMC and the forest department. But all of them have been discontinued owing to a financial crunch in the last two years. “There is no provision for salary made by PMC this year,” said the officer.

Forest officials tried to nab the thieves in December. “While patrolling the Bhamburda forest at around midnight, we came upon a group of thieves chopping down a sandalwood tree. We called up the Chatushringi police and even chased the thieves, who escaped under cover of the dark. They even hurled stones at us,” said Patil.

Ramesh Arge, chairperson of Maharashtra Forest Retired Organisation, said that the forest department has failed to safeguard sandalwood trees.

“The forest department is not able to save the trees in their jurisdiction. The thieves are well equipped and even armed with pistols and swords. It is dangerous to accost them armed with just sticks.

We should also have many more forest guards,” said Arge.

Another forest department employee who wished to remain anonymous blamed the forest officials’ policy. “A number of top posts are created and people are recruited by the forest department when what is required are ground staff to protect the forest,” he said. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com

Cable operators, sand mafia on radar

State government burdens district administration with a Rs 80 crore raise in revenue collection

BY PRIYANKKA DESHPANDE @journopriyankka The district administration is planning to crack down on cable operators, illegal mining and the sand mafia in a bid to achieve its annual revenue collection target. The state government has raised the district administration’s revenue collection target by Rs 80 crore, while reducing Sangli and Satara districts’ revenue collection targets.

There is just a month and a half to go for the district administration to achieve the target of Rs 546 crore. It has already recovered revenue worth Rs 485 crore by the end of January. The state government has urged district authorities to make extra efforts to fill the state’s coffers.

Resident District Collector Rajendra Muthe said, “It is mandatory for us to achieve this target. The state government should have informed us earlier rather than at the last moment,”

This year the district administration has to generate revenue of Rs 625 crore, and it is unusual for the state government to insist on such a huge amount.

To achieve this target, the district administration has decided to crack down on the sand mafia. “We have already taken stringent action against mining and illegal sand lifting and carrying, and generated Rs 130 crore.

To achieve this new target we have instructed RTO to take action against vehicles carrying illegal sand under sub section of 130/170 of Motor Vehicle Act,” said Muthe.

Cable operators are also under the radar. “Defaulters will not be spared and no additional time will be given to them to pay their taxes. So far Rs 122 crore has been generated as entertainment tax by the cable operators, while Rs 31 crore is yet to be generated,” Muthe said. priyankka.deshpande@goldensparrow.com

Woman duped of Rs 2.42L PMC’s Light House to guide citizens through matrimonial site PMC launches Light House project dealing with information about civic and government schemes

BY PRIYANKKA DESHPANDE @journopriyankka

Techie has filed case against impersonator ‘UK-based orthopaedic’ with Yerawada police

BY YOGESH WAGH @YogeshWagh1857

A 31-year-old techie working with an IT company in Magarpatta was duped of Rs 2.42 lakh rupees by a conman, who claimed to be an orthopaedic from Manchester, Lancashire in the UK. The suitor contacted the victim over Bharat Matrimonial website and proposed to marry her.

She has registered a complaint against Dr Brayan Sanjay, the profile detail mentioned on the site, with Yerawada police station.

According to the complaint, the victim had uploaded her profile picture and personal details including mobile number on Bharat Matrimonial.

“I got a marriage proposal from Brayan Sanjay on December 12. He said that he was an orthopaediac practising in the UK and showed interest in me,” the complainant said.

On December 13 the victim received a message on December 13 from Brayan asking her if she would marry him. He also messaged that his sister is in the UK embassy and will arrange visa and will be coming to meet her in India. “On December 18, he asked me whether I like platinum or gold

and I said gold. Next day he sent a parcel for me which includes gold ornaments, laptop and other thing worth Rs 25 lakh. I got a call from a woman identifying herself as Natasha from Delhi customs office. She asked me to deposit some money as clearance fee,” the victim said. yogesh.wagh@goldensparrow.com

Pune being included in the list of ten smart city projects of the central government has sparked a flurry of projects to make the city more accessible and smarter. Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has come up with an innovative project called ‘Light House’, which will provide information about municipal corporation and state government schemes, and also train those keen on self Anil Pawar employment and skill development.

Deputy Municipal Commissioner Anil Pawar said that PMC was the first municipal corporation in the state to introduce such a project. “Training in self-employment, skill development, guidance programme for private company employees and guidance programme for those who want to take government jobs will be provided through this scheme,” Pawar said. He has been given a special charge of the project.

Light House will be opened in all 15 wards of the city. Municipal authorities have

already indentified land in Yerawada and Aundh to start Light House. “By June we will identify land in three more wards. The project will start in five city wards with a budget of Rs 50 lakh,” Pawar said. A special allowance was made for this scheme in the recently PMC budget tabled by Municipal Commissioner Kunal Kumar.

The MoU in this regard was signed between PMC and NGO Pune City Connect in November 2015. “Only three employees per ward will be provided by PMC to keep

tabs on the project, while other staff will be provided by the 28 private companies involved in the project,” Pawar said. Apart from training and guiding programmes the awareness about Swaccha Bharat programme will also be held at Light House.

“The project will also undertake toilet construction and promoting tourism in the city. A docket in this regards has already been forwarded to the standing committee,” Pawar said. priyankka.deshpande@goldensparrow.com

PMC road-widening work held up by armed NDA jawans Gun-toting jawans brought in by NDA officials to halt widening of Warje-Shivne road by the PMC

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) started the Warje-Shivne road widening work on Friday, but National Defence Academy (NDA) officials put a halt to it with the help of armed personnel.

Two years ago the same thing had happened and as PMC started the road widening, the NDA officials stopped the work, claiming that it was an encroachment on NDA land. PMC

approached the revenue department regarding the ownership of the road.

Revenue department and defence estate officials measured the road and NDA estate and stated that WarjeShivne Road was out of NDA limits.

Defence estate officials confirmed that the road belonged to the PMC. A tender for Warje-Shivne road widening was floated in 2015 as per the demand of local corporator Sachin Dodake, and when the work began on Friday, NDA officials once again stopped the work.

PMC Commissioner Kunal Kumar said, “This Warje-Shivne Road is owned by the PMC, which was agreed to by defence estate officials last year after a joint measuring of the land. The local corporator had

demanded widening of Warje-Shivne Road so PMC started the work but NDA officials stopped the work. We

showed NDA officials documents of PMC’s ownership of the road. The defence estate officials have agreed to

come to the district collector’s office to verify the documents we showed them of the road ownership. A meeting of PMC and defence estate officials has been scheduled for Saturday afternoon at the district collector’s office, and a decision will be taken after the meeting.”

Dodake said, “Record of WarjeShivne Road existence is found from 1917 with district revenue department.

Our forefathers have used this road. NDA was founded in Pune in 1950. Earlier the Warje-Shivne road belonged to the public works department. Latter Warje and some parts of village Shivne were merged in the PMC and now this road belongs to the PMC. Two years ago, the district revenue department and defence

estate jointly did land measurement and concluded that this road belongs to the PMC and not NDA. Defence estate department agreed to PMC’s ownership of the road, but NDA officials brought along armed jawans to stop the work Friday morning. Later the PMC commissioner met the NDA officials. A meeting has been scheduled on Saturday afternoon with both parties at the district collector’s office regarding ownership of the road.”

Warje-Shivne Road connects 17 villages to Pune city. It is the only road for residents of Shivne, Kopare, Khandave, Khadage etc to reach Pune, as Khadakwasla dam is on one side of the villages. tushar.rupanavar@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2016

Ambitious start-up action plan to benefit nation in long run

“A proposal was tabled by the civic administration not to make any budgetary provision for any social organisation in next year’s budget. We are considering increasing the budgetary allocation to social organisations that are doing good work.”

— Ashwini Kadam, chairperson of the standing committee PMC

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Indian-origin man murdered in UK

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Agents still have a free hand at the RTO Agent Deepak Kamble, stationed at the main entrance Experience: Kamble is waiting for customers. He asked what we wanted and we said we wanted licences for two- and four-wheeler. He said, “You have to submit documents after taking appointment. I need one photograph and address proof. If all documents are correct, you will get a learning licence in a month. After a month you have to appear for a test for permanent licence. My charges are Rs 3500.” His visiting card says, ‘DK RTO consultant’.”Contact me for any RTO related work,” he said.

Agent Shankar Shane, who is stationed in the RTO main building parking lot

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan Despite Ministry of Maharashtra State Transport directives to Regional Transport Offices (RTO) regarding disallowing agents on their premises, the touts are doing a thriving business at the RTO head office near Sangamwadi An agent approached us as soon as we entered, offering assistance in getting an appointment for a learning licence test, for a charge of Rs 200 to Rs 400. They charge Rs 2500 to Rs 4500 for the entire process.

The agents assure you a permanent

RTO guidelines The Regional Transport Office guideline says that all learner licence applicant

licence within a month. Officially, an appointment for a test comes after a month and the licence takes some more time.

Appointments for licence are available on RTO’s www.sarthi.nic.in website. Applicants who are unable to login then go through an agent for an appointment and further procedures.

Leena Rawke, 49, found going through an agent for her daughter’s licence far easier. “I did not have to wait in any line, documents were taken care of and even the test for the permanent license was a cakewalk. Since the agent had informed someone at the

other RTO that my daughter would be coming, it was all taken care of.

We gave the test and were done in ten minutes,” she said.

Regional Transport Officer Jitendra Patil asserts that agents are not allowed to operate. “We have sought the help of the Bund Garden police to ensure that RTO premises remain free of agents. Our officials do not entertain any documents from the agents,” said Anil Patil, Deputy Regional Transport Officer. A help desk has been set up at the entrance of the office for the benefit of applicants. sushant.ranjan@goldensparrow.com

have to submit address proof, age proof, medical certificate A-1 and three passport size photographs. For online appointment, applicants have to pay only Rs 30 for each

class of vehicle. For permanent driving licence, applicant have to produce learner’s licence and three photographs. They have to pay Rs 200 with ‘Smart Card’.

Agent Sachin Shinde, stationed at the main entrance Experience: We asked for leaner’s licence. He said that we have to submit all documents and full amount for all procedures. He said, “We will take appointment, then after giving test you will get licence. You have to pay full amount Rs 3500 after appointment.”

Experience: A TGS reporter approached Shane, and asked for learning and permanent licences. We were told to produce documents like registered rent agreement, photograph and Aadhar card. “First you pay Rs 200 for an appointment and after one month submit all documents. You have to be present for learning licence procedure. After completing the process you have to appear for a test for the permanent licence. Total charge is Rs 2000.”

Agent Harshal Bhutada, sitting in parking lot of RTO main building Experience: We were told that pay Rs 200 for an appointment. He said, “After taking online appointment you will get date for learning licence procedure of March fi rst week. You will submit all documents including one photograph, address proof and Adhar card before date. That time you will have to pay Rs 500. After one month you will pay Rs 2000 for permanent licence.”

Getting a passport is still not so simple, after all

Three-year-old given adverse police verification report, father asked for suitable explanation

adult because children can get lost.

Unless they have a proper police record, it becomes difficult to trace them.

While the delay in the letter needs to be addressed, there are many reasons for calling it adverse report. The police may have gone a number of times to the address and were not able to see the child. Or some information could have been wrongly portrayed. While I can’t pinpoint the reason, without looking into it, I will assist the family if they meet us or write to us.” gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

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The Passport office authorities are trying to simplify the process of applying for a passport, but the fact is that it is a process fraught with hassles.

For example, a city based corporate professional received an adverse police verification report about his threeyear-old son.

Mandar Bhalerao lives at Prayeja City Society on Sinhagad Road. He had applied for passports for his wife Gayatri and sons Jay, 10 and Om, 3, in February 2015. A couple of weeks later he received his youngest son’s passport by post. His wife’s passport was the last to arrive, but it was within three months. “I was impressed with the speed and efficiency,” says Mandar.

But a year later, Mandar received a letter from the passport office. It was dated July 22, 2015, had a post stamp date of December 22, 2015. Mandar received it on January 2.

The letter demanded an

explanation why action should not be initiated against Mandar since his son Om had an adverse police verification report. “You are called upon to provide a suitable explanation and submit a fresh application with correct details.

Please note that you are required to furnish a proper explanation regarding the circumstances under which you had suppressed the material information in your passport application and obtained the above said passport,” the letter states.

Mandar said, “First of all, do they really need to do a police verification for a three-year- old?” When he had applied for the passports nothing of the sort was asked for. “In fact, Om’s passport came within a couple of weeks after we fi led the application.

They never informed us about this procedure,” he says.

About the delay, Mandar said, “I had the passport all this while. What if I had planned a foreign trip last year?

We had no inkling that there is such a problem with Om’s passport.” The letter dated July 22, 2015, was dispatched six months later in December and was received a month later, in January 2016.

Mandar said, “The language startled me. When I haven’t been asked to provide information, I can’t be accused of suppressing information, can I?” Even after the delay, no action had been initiated by the police for

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Mandar had applied for his wife’s and both his minor sons’ passports in February 2015.

But little Om’s passport is causing him woes

verification as yet. “I have neither heard from them, nor have I received a specific letter or guidance from the passport office. They keep stalling me at the passport office, and no one has been able to answer my query,” he said.

“We haven’t received any letter for Jay. He is also a minor and he underwent the same procedure. But the threeyear-old’s police verification interests them more,” he said.

According to the Indian Passport website, a minor needs police verification only when either of the parents doesn’t furnish their passports while applying. The police verification, in such cases is done after the issuance of the passport and is initiated by the police. “Even if the police verification is necessary, shouldn’t it be done for both my sons then?” asks Mandar.

Regional Passport Officer Atul Gotsurve said, “Police verification is more important for a child than an

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Meet the celluloid dreamer

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2016

PUNE

“The GR has come handy for us as our campaigns are now having a deterrent effect. Most traffic violations attract a paltry fine, which is not enough to prevent a motorist from breaking the law.”

— Milind Bharambe, Joint Commissioner (Traffic)

Jaitley bats for subsidies but for the needy, not wealthy P 14

Cancer can be overcome if one has the fortitude Cancer does not spell the end of the world or an earthly existence as these bravehearts prove with their inspiring sagas

Cancer, or the big C strikes dread instantly. It is a veritable death sentence on the person afflicted, and recovery is tantamount to a miracle. But the fact is that are many among the afflicted who have braved the anguish and the ordeal, to come out on the other side. They are the survivors, the ones who have been granted another lease on life. On February 4, World Cancer Day, Team TGS spoke to these bravehearts and their families, whose have come through the battle with cancer, emerging victorious.

Yash Yamkanmardi

Ten-year-old Yash Yamkanmardi, like kids his age, is obsessed with his collection of toys. His prized possession is his scooter with its lit wheels, and they are inseparable.

His mother Vaishali complains about the time he spends on it, but she is also secretly happy her son has a diversion. “No one can imagine that Yash could be bed-ridden on worse,” she says.

Yash was five when his family of four, father Atul, mother Vaishali and elder brother Ritwik moved from Bengaluru to Pune. Atul works for IBM and had spent his childhood in Pune, so he was the only one familiar with Pune. Then came the dark day when Yash was diagnosed with Leukemia, in 2010. “He would contract colds and coughs that persisted. I used to think it was due to the weather. Even the doctors did not take much notice.” Vaishali recalls. Yash was diminutive and never had too much of an appetite. The doctors said that it was common among kids that age. Then came the day when Yash’s illness assumed a dreaded dimension. “We took Yash to the doctor who had treated Atul as a child. The doctor immediately advised a sonography. I had an impending sense of doom,” she said. After the sonography came a couple of scans, and the doctors advised the parents to admit Yash to hospital. He was admitted to the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, where he underwent a barrage of tests and scans.

That was the time his family realised that Yash had some inner strength. “He never cried or complained. He would hold my hand and tell the nurses where to inject him,” she said. “Yash had more courage than all of us put together. I am so glad for that, because if was the crying type, we would have been even more traumatised,” she said.

Now, four blood transfusions, nine chemo sessions and two years after, the courageous has emerged free of the dreaded disease. “We had not taken him out of school, though he was irregular. He was in standard 1, and the school promoted him on the basis of oral exams,” Vaishali said. Her elder son was in standard V but Vaishali did not have much time for him, or attend to his studies and such.

But Ritwik was aware of the situation and coped pretty well.

Yash’s PET scan came out negative in 2013. “It was too good to be true, and I was beside myself with joy. The cancer had vanished from my son’s blood,” Vaishali said. But the battle wasn’t over. “We hadn’t told him about the disease.

We just wanted to keep him happy. He had no outside food

approached trusts and other organizations, we took loans, all of which we have to repay. But as long as Kiran is fine and smiling, it has all been worth it,” she says.

Victor Sangale PICS BY VISHAL KALE

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma

or water for two years, and a strict schedule and rules. That was the only way to avert infections,” she says. When Yash was told that he had undergone treatment for blood cancer in 2014, he was amazed. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” he asked. What could I have told him? she said.

Yash is now cancer free and healthy, goes to school and plays with his toys. “I still worry a lot. He never trouble me when he was ill, but these days I scream a lot at him,” says Vaishali. There is a greater sense of joy and togetherness in the Yamkanmardi household, after braving the big C.

Kiran Taur Five-year-old Kiran Taur’s schooling has just begun and she can’t figure out if 48 is smaller or bigger than 47. For her parents Badiram and Ambika, little Kiran is a ray of light, a bundle of joy. They used to live in Jalna and when she was only 14 months old, the parents realised that Kiran had a breathing disorder. She would be choking just trying to breathe. The could hardly bear to watch the little girl’s suffering. They took her to the local hospital, where the medicos advised them to take Kiran to Pune for proper medical care. The young farmer couple packed up their belongings and shifted to Pune for the sake of their daughter.

Badiram got a job at a manufacturing unit at Alandi and they took Kiran to KEM Hospital. They didn’t have enough money, and most of the KEM doctors ignored them for the most part. But one of them advised an X-ray, which showed up a 12.25-inch tumour at the juncture of the food and wind pipe. “The doctors decided to operate as soon as possible.

They removed eight inches of the tumour and sent it for some tests, which came out positive for Cancer. We were referred to Dr Minish Jain at Jehangir Hospital,” said Ambika. Dr Jain told them that Kiran would have to undergo treatment, surgery and radiation. The total cost was close to Rs ten lakh. Raising the amount was a tall order but the parents were determined to do their utmost for Kiran. “When Kiran was born, my husband and I decided that she’d be our only child, and we would never let her want for anything,” she said. That was the beginning of the long medical ordeal to follow. Kiran underwent 12 sessions of chemotherapy, once in three weeks. Then came the radiation for about a month.

They both had to draw on all their reserves of strength. “The chemo had left Kiran without hair, and even her eyebrows disappeared. She had no appetite and feeding her was a feat,” she recalls. This continued till Kiran turned three, and that was when there was a respite, and the tests came up negative.

“We were and still are cautious. Though her cancer has not shown any signs of returning, we still consult the oncologist at the smallest alarm. Dr Jain is most kind,” she says.

Kiran has just started going to school, but she loves it already, and loved to show off what she had learnt.

“We spent Rs 7.5 lakh on her treatment and raised the money however we could. My husband went to Shirdi, Siddhivinayak and other places for donations. We

Victor Sangale, 23, puts down overcoming cancer to his will power. He was detected with cancer not once, but twice.

Both times were at important junctures of his life. The first time around, cancer claimed his left leg.

Victor, the baby of the family was 14, in standard X, when he injured his left foot in 2007. There was a swelling on his foot and his parents Cynthia and Augustine took him for an X-ray. Instead of a fracture the expected, it turned out to be a tumour. “I knew something was wrong, even before the doctors termed the tumour as being cancerous,” said Victor. He only told his school principal about it before the biopsy. He had to undergo ten chemotherapy sessions over four months, he grew frail and had no appetite. The worst was yet to come. In September, the Ruby Hall Clinic doctors told the parents that Victor’s leg had to be amputated. “I didn’t believe what I had heard. When I told my family and friends, they told us to get a second opinion,” Cynthia said.

A month passed by. “We could amputate the leg and get him a prosthesis or we could take out the tissue and insert a rod but the latter wasn’t completely foolproof,” she says. They decided to let Victor decide. “That was the toughest decision of our lives,” Augustine says. Brave Victor chose the former and harder option. “I had read about prosthesis and it did seem like a daunting idea, but I wanted to get cured,” he says. “I am glad however, that we did the amputation. In two cases where they had tried the other option, both the boys died,” he said.

But there was another fallout of the amputation.

Augustine had to give up his job to take care of Victor.

Since Cynthia had medical insurance they were able to pull it off. Then came the complications, “Since we had put off the amputation by a month, the doctors got jittery. Dr Shona Nag used to counsel us and she had informed us of the dangers of delay,” she said. On the day of the operation, Victor slipped and fell in the bathroom, tearing a ligament, but the doctors went ahead the surgery.

The prosthesis came six months later, a Jaipur foot made of wood. It took Victor a long time to get used to it. But he was able to climbing three floors for his board exams. He even got guitar lessons from Make a Wish foundation during this time. Come 2008 end, Victor was cancer free. He uses a fibre fixture now.

“Just when we thought we were free, right after his Senior Secondary boards in 2010, the cancer relapsed. This time, it was in the lungs,” said Cynthia. But it was less virulent and four chemo sessions made it go away. Victor has been cancer free since then and is pursuing a career as a Chartered Accountant. “My exams are in May, and if all goes well, I’ll be a CA next year,” says Victor. He is an avid fan of Tarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashma. Victor’s elder brother Stephen is in the Army. “It was because of my cancer that he missed his first chance of getting into the IMA. I wouldn’t let cancer do

that ever again for anything,” says Victor.

Meetali Upadhye Dr. Mitali Upadhye, 43, runs a holistic clinic. About her Cancer, she said, “I take it as a wake-up call from my body rather than the disease it is.” It is with this attitude that Meetali has dedicated herself to make her life more wholesome. “I help other cancer patients and survivors to see the disease as a part of life rather than the end of it,” she says.

Meetali was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2013. “I was having a stressful phase at home and was basically trying to do it all at once,” she said. “I had a persistent stomach pain that wouldn’t subside though I was taking medicines.

So I got a sonography done,” she says. The sonography showed a massive tumour on her ovaries, which was later diagnosed to be cancerous. “The first thing to do was to get it operated on, which I did immediately. However, then my oncologist and I had a clash of ideas,” she says. While her oncologist and other medical practitioner friends wanted her to undergo six chemo sessions, Meetali wanted to try alternative medicine and practices. “It was like a test for me.

I wanted to see how my body would react. But no one else liked the idea,” she says. This did not dissuade her from her introspective journey. “Diseases like cancer and diabetes do not crop up out of nowhere. Somehow, unknowingly, we are the reason of the sickness and the onus is on us to rectify and heal ourselves. I decided to figure out where I had gone wrong,” she says. She adhered to a specific diet, a healthy routine, and ashtang yoga principles among other things. “I made sure I would not let the disease scare me or overpower me. Some days cancer would win but I would beat it more often,” she says.

That was the time when Meetali found out that she could run marathons too. “I have always been active. I swim, I trek, but I had never run. While I was fighting the emotional turmoil that accompanies cancer, I heard about Pinkathon.

It was Pinkathon’s first year in Pune and I was genuinely interested,” she says. “Not only did my interest take me to the venue, I even finished the 5km marathon. That was the turning point. It not just gave me back my confidence, but it

also made me fight harder with the cancer.”

Her approach paid off when six months later, her scans came back negative. “I see it more like my body’s cry for help.

Once I heard it and went back to taking care of it, I have been fine,” she says. So, how does one really take care of the body?

“I take vacations, I don’t overdo anything. Mostly, I have realised that I don’t need to handle everything. I don’t need to be a superwoman, I’d rather relax and take care of myself,” she explains. She speaks about her work with other cancer patients. “Most of them don’t get it at first. It takes time for my words to seep in due to the fear that the medicine world instills in patients. But once they get it, it’s no looking back,” she said. Meetali puts her success rate with cancer patients at around 80 per cent. She has a wall full of medals. “The reason they are here and not at home, is because all of them have been won after my battle with cancer. If I can, so can my patients,” she smiles. gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

People in late 20s and early 30s more prone to cancer: Study The prevalent urban lifestyle is a key reason for the growing risk for developing all forms of cancer

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma People in their late 20s and early 30s are more likely than others to contract one or another form of cancer, states a survey by the Pune based Indus Health group.

Corroborating these findings with statistics and logical explanations, the survey says that 15 per cent of the populace between the ages of 25 and 30 and 12 per cent of the 30 to 40 age group have a greater possibility of developing cancer. The group’s

researchers involved with the survey have termed it as an ‘abnormality’ report. There is also the likelihood of a greater number of women contracting either breast, ovarian or cervical cancer in the future.

The survey entailed scrutiny of nearly 25,000 individuals, over a 12-month period. Other findings of the report state that eight to ten per cent of the male populace is at greaterrisk of getting head or neck cancer, five to seven per cent of either sex are likely to develop lung cancer, and ten to 14per cent of the population is at a greater risk of contracting abdominal and stomach cancer.

The report raises pertinent aspects of how the layman perceives cancer.

Indus Health Plus Joint Managing Director and Preventive Healthcare

Specialist Amol Naikawadi said that it was necessary to define cancer as a lifestyle disease. “Though genetics play a big part, it is essential to emphasise the importance of a healthy lifestyle in the prevention of cancer,” he said. The prevalent urban lifestyle is a key reason for the growing risk for developing all forms of cancer. “Generic factors like the environment and hazardous emissions are important factors, but a focus on a healthy lifestyle is equally important,” he said.

Sahyadri Hospital Medical Oncologist Dr Tushar Patilcorroborates this. “Changing lifestyles, biological cycle, pollution, and hazardous chemicals has contributed to the increase in the incidence of cancer cases, especially among people in their late 20s to early

40s. From my analysis, anunhealthy lifestyle is a big factor in developing cancer,” he said.

Naikawadi elaborated, saying, “Alongside unhealthy habits like smoking and drinking, our work routine sitting at a desk facing a computer screen, without thought of the right posture, can lead to complications which result in cancer.” The risks are higher for women at every stage. “Today women have children later in life, which is a primecause of ovarian cancer. Excessive usage of pills can lead to sexually active women contracting cervical cancer, the third most common cancer among women. The urban woman’s aversion to breast feeding for long durations can lead to breast cancer, as can serious physical trauma to the

soft tissues,” he said.

Obesity is a another key factor related to cancer. “Middle aged people don’t consider obesity as an issue. But the fact is that obesity can lead to not just cardiac diseases, but also puts internal organs, especially in the abdomen, at greater risk of cancer,” he said. Unhygenic and processed foods also increase the risk of cancer, especially of the digestive tract.

But one can adopt a healthy lifestyle and still get cancer.

Naikawadi said, “A healthy lifestyle is not a foolproof solution to prevent cancer. Often, non smokers contract lung cancer. There are also hereditary and environmental factors involved.”

Is there a solution? Dr Patil said, “A healthy diet, keeping weight under control and being physically active

can reduce the cancer risk. Preventive check-ups and early detection also help in effective treatment and increased life expectancy.”

Indus Health advocates regular screening. “People of the age of 25 and above should be aware of what they ingest and their bodies’ reaction. Annual screenings are the surefire way to keep a check on the body and cancer,” Naikawadi said.

Early detection is crucial. “Cancer is not incurable. If it is detected in an early stage, it is completely curable,” he said.

“There is a greater risks of the younger generation developing cancer. But the healing process. Is quicker for the young. If the risks are increasing, so are the mechanisms of treating the disease,” he said. gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2016

“If you have the ability to study, work and rise on the basis of merit and not on the basis of who you are or how well-connected you are, that would make me very happy for our country.”

— Ratan Tata, Former Tata Group Chief

“Muslims— a comparatively youthful population with high fertility rates— are projected to increase by 73 per cent till 2050” — Alan Cooperman, Pew Director of Religion Research

Open young minds to tackle sex letstalksexuality is the first website launched in Pune to introduce the subject in Marathi

BY SALONEE MISTRY @saloneemistry While there are a few websites and social media platforms in India that tries to spread awareness about sex and s e x u a l it y, ‘I Soch’, Pune, is an initiative Nihar Sapre of Punebased nongovernmental organisation Tathapi Foundation. Website Letstalksexuality.com launched in Marathi by the NGO in June 2015 is the fi rst in Pune to discuss and share issues related to sex.

I Soch programme coordinator Nihar Sapre said that the idea took shape when 28-year-olds Trishul DN and Falcy Farnandis, and himself decided to make sex a subject to be discussed without shame, cultural remonstrances, ignorance, and the fear of gossip.

“I Soch encourages Pune youth to speak and share their experiences on equality, safety and diversity all within the boundaries of sexuality. It is a platform to learn, argue and clarify,” said 32–year-old Nihar, who holds a business degree and worked in media for seven years

Nihar Sapre, Trishul DN and Falcy Farnandis launched the website letstalksexuality.com in June 2015

before taking up social work. The website not only gives detailed information about sexuality but also acts as a vibrant platform to ask questions and discuss topics. Doctors and counsellors associated with I Soch answers questions depending on its nature.

With the aim to reach out to a section of society that is left behind because of a language barrier, the website is majorly in Marathi. Only a few articles sent in by people in English are uploaded to reduce the risk of losing their meaning in translation.

One of the reasons that the number of rapes and sexual molestation crimes in the country is on the rise is lack of discussion on these subjects.

Sadly, facts about sex often have not been accurately reported in our society. Most people have grown up with a variety of false beliefs. These beliefs have been handed down from generation to generation through individual interaction, media (movies, TV, magazines and books), religious beliefs and through a lack of education on the subject.

With many facts of sexuality not always easy to accept, it is necessary to educate ourselves as to the truth.

Bhutan stands tall for negligible cases of sexual abuse and crime. The biggest reason is the open discussion that the country has on topics related to sex and sexuality. In the Himalayan Kingdom, it is common to fi nd phallic symbols painted on the

walls of houses, temples and other monastic bodies. Bhutanese believe these images helps in dispelling malicious gossip, besides aiding in fertility and offering protection from evil. It also encourages discussion on sex and other related topics.

The founders said that people do not discuss sexuality at all, neither with friends or parents.

Th is leaves several things unsaid, misunderstood and vague. Th is issue must be tackled at the earliest and the only way to do so is to talk about it and keep it alive through discussions.

To take the initiative ahead, I Soch has ventured into taking sessions at colleges as well as make people aware and get them to talk about it.

They have held sessions in 17 colleges, including Ferg usson College, Abasaheb Gar ware College and Falcy Farnandis Marathwada M i t r a Mandal College of Commerce, and educational institutes on the outskirts of the city.

The importance of the existence of such a forum is validated from response that it had got. Not only did the website reach a large section of society in the fi rst three months, but also saw a significant rise in the number of questions asked on the forum. The questions range on everything from sex,

Civic official on weekdays, stage singer on weekends

PCMC Executive Engineer Satish Ingle successfully reduces stress in his professional life by fulfilling his childhood passion of holding stage shows singing old numbers

Since December 2015, the band ‘Om Sai Ram’ comprising PCMC Executive Engineer Satish Ingle (left), Priya Gokhale, Shweta Mujumdar and MK Yelgir (not in the photograph) has performed 23 shows

BY EKTA KATTI @Ektaak Heading the vigilance department and running the F Ward of Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) can be quite a task.

However, 52-yearold PCMC Executive Engineer Satish Ingle knows exactly how to tackle the ever increasing pressure and challenges.

While there are some who moonlight as singers to provide an extra income to their family, Ingle is passionate about singing and takes time from his busy schedule to participate in shows.

As the weekday ends, Ingle is all geared up to hit the stage. “There are new challenges I face in office every day. However, I still find time

to practice and brush up my singing skills,” said Ingle.

Every weekend, Ingle and his team of three singers take up shows.

The band ‘Om Sai Ram’ is a versatile combination of four passionate singers who have come together to spread joy through their songs.

“We all meet during a show. Our common interest was singing and spreading joy. We started this group in December. We take shows and perform old songs mostly for senior citizens. That’s because they connect with the kind of songs we sing,” said Ingle.

The other members of the group are 47-year-old professor MK Yelgir, software engineer Priya Gokhale (25) and 37-year-old homemaker Shweta Mujumdar. Performing in front of live audience gives Ingle an

“We take shows and perform old songs mostly for senior citizens”

adrenaline rush.

Ingle joined PCMC in 1991. He looks after the vigilance, F wards and Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) projects of PCMC area.

“It’s a big responsibility to manage this municipal area. There is a tremendous pressure of department work, management issues and coordination and with other departments. To manage all this one needs to be patient and vigilant.

Over the week there’s a lot a stress.

But singing gives me respite and the courage to manage all the work coolly,” said Ingle.

Since December 2015, the band has performed 23 shows. The four members hum while in the backdrop there are the visuals of the songs.

So the question arises, how a PCMC official turns into a professional singer by the weekend.

“I always wanted to be singer.

When I was a kid, I attended several concerts which got me hooked to singing. However, my parents wanted to focus on studies which is why I could not take up singing as a career,” he said.

Even in his professional life, due to heavy workload, Ingle couldn’t focus on singing. Until recently, when he used music therapy for his 11-year-old son Pruthviraj.

“My son has William syndrome (WS). It is a genetic condition characterised by medical problems, including cardiovascular disease, developmental delays, and learning disabilities. He is a socially active child with striking verbal abilities and an affinity for music.”

The parents were advised to take up music therapy for Pruthviraj. “To make him mentally and physically fit, we thought of giving him music therapy. Hence, I started praticising music again,” said Ingle, who’s favourite singers are Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar. ekta.katti@goldensparrow.com

PUNE

masturbation and pregnancy among many others. The b i g g e s t challenge for the team was to get the children to open up and discuss this issue in public.

Trishul DN “There was a lot of hesitation among college students during the initial period. No one was willing to share, discuss or even give their opinions,” Nihar said. There has however been a change in this perspective in the past few months. Now students are actively participating in talks and carry forward the discussion to a fruitful end. For I Soch, it is a great achievement,” he said.

The project will work for three years with undergraduate college students being the main target audience. Gender equity, self-esteem, rights and responsibilities related to sexuality, diversity and sexuality, and what makes for ‘good’ or ‘bad’ sexuality are examples of the topics that are discussed. A major supporter of the project is the National Foundation of India under the Youth Innovation Fund, 2014 which is funding the project. In future, the team hopes that they can spread and tap into even rural parts of India and curb the taboo and problems related with sexuality by changing the mindset of the youth. salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

Shingnapur temple row: Traditionalists divided over Sri Sri mediation Proponents of the tradition prohibiting women access to the sanctum of Shani temple in Shingnapur appear divided on proposed mediation of spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to break the deadlock arising out of a protest by a women’s outfit seeking end to the gender bias.

Opposing the mediation, ‘Shaneshwar Devasthan Bachao Kruti Samiti’ president Sambhajiraje Patil said the Samiti and villagers of Shingnapur do not approve such offer as Ravishankar “is not aware of the religious practices and customs...it is a political ploy”.

“Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar is not aware of the religious practices and customs. Attempts at mediation is an attempt to keep the local villagers in the dark,” he said.

However, ‘Shri Shaneshwar Devsthan Trust’, which manages the affairs of the temple situated in Ahmednagar district, said a decision on the issue of the deadlock will be taken after holding meeting with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on February 7, which is opposed by the ‘Samiti’.

The Trust stated that no decision has been taken so far to end the impasse. Both the Trust and the Samiti are based in Shingnapur. In a statement issued here, Patil instead requested seers in Ahmednagar district to take the lead and put an end to

the controversy. He claimed there was no discrimination between men and women at the shrine, which is the personification of Shani (planet saturn). The temple has no roof and a self-emerged (‘svayambhu’) five-foothigh black stone stands on a ‘chauthra’ or platform.

Referring to the recent protest by ‘Ranragini Bhumata Brigade’ led by its president Trupti Desai, Patil said the Samiti won’t tolerate any attempts to “trample upon” age-old practices.

“No house in the temple town (Shingnapur) has any doors and everyone is well aware of the legend that no theft is ever reported in the village,” Patil said.

He said the women’s body “needlessly” created the controversy on the issue.

“Women have been allowed entry to the shrine and they have been making offerings at the Udasi Maharaj Math there. Entry of both men and women has been banned since ages and there is no discrimination in that respect,” Patil added.

He referred to a resolution passed by the Shingnapur Gram Sabha condemning the women’s outfit.

Over 400 women, mainly hailing from Pune, led by Desai, had launched a protest against the tradition of not allowing women at the inner platform of the temple last month.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2016

TECH/START-UP

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Main function of Antivirus is to detect and remove harmful or unwanted files which may slowdown your computer and windows — http://geekofreak.com/

France on the same page with India in counter-terrorism P 13

Ambitious start-up action plan to benefit nation in long run

Incentives include tax holiday, inspector raj-free regime for three years, capital gains tax exemption and finance corpus of Rs 10,000 crore

BY CHANDRA SHEKHAR In one of the major and far reaching initiatives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently launched ‘start-up’ campaign to give boost entrepreneurship and new businesses. The exercise will have positive implications for generating quality jobs besides harnessing creative talent of educated youth.

The package of incentives to encourage young people to set up enterprises include tax holiday, inspector raj-free regime for at least three years, capital gains tax exemption and above all a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore corpus to finance such activities.

The Prime Minister also announced a self-certification scheme in respect of nine labour and environment laws and said there would be no inspection during the first three years of launch of the venture.

In addition, a liberalised patent regime is being contemplated to help start-up businesses register patents, for which the fee would be slashed by 80 per cent.

India, which has the thirdlargest number of start-ups globally, would also support the ventures by removing

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Centre will create a start-up India hub as a single point of contact for start-up ecosystem to enable knowledge exchange and access to funding

the criteria of experience and turnover for bagging government procurement contracts.

Among other things, Modi said profits earned by start-ups would be exempt from payment of income tax during the first three years of business. To boost financing, a 20 per cent tax on capital gains made on investments by entrepreneurs after selling own assets as well as government-recognised venture capitalists would also be exempt.

He further said an unencumbered easy exit option

Smartphone monitoring boosts behavioural studies Interpreting the data collected from volunteers’ own smartphones, which has the potential to emulate randomised trials, can advance research into human behaviour, a new study has found. Scientists have demonstrated the potential of using smartphones for conducting large-scale behavioural studies.

Fani Tsapeli from the University of Birmingham and her colleague and Mirco Musolesi from University College London in UK evaluated the cause of increased stress levels of participants employing usergenerated data, harvested from their phones. Most of the research work relying on smartphones has focused on detecting factors in the features extracted from smartphone data.

The trouble is that pure correlation analysis does not provide for a sufficient understanding

of human behaviour.

Instead, scientists are now increasingly interested in identifying factors that could be at the root cause of issues revolving around health and well-being.

In the study, the scientists used data from a research project at Dartmouth College in US, called StudentLife.

Also included is data on activity levels, like running, walking or travelling on public transport, inferred from participants’ raw accelerometer data.

They found that exercising and spending time outside home and working environment have a positive effect on participants’ stress levels. By contrast, reduced working hours only slightly impact stress. The conclusions cannot be extended to general population due to the small sample size, researchers said.

PTI

would be provided under the bankruptcy Act so that startups could exit unviable and unworkable businesses within 90 days. He also stressed that a compliance regime based on self certification would reduce the regulatory burden on start-ups.

Modi said a mobile app and portal would be rolled out for interacting with the government and regulatory institutions.

The government would also be working on a legal support for fasttracking patent examination at lower costs.

More incentives for entrepreneurs

It would promote awareness and adoption of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) by startups and help them protect and commercialise IPRs. In order to provide funding support to startups, the government will set up a fund with an initial corpus of Rs 2,500 crore and a total corpus of Rs 10,000 crore over four years.

The fund would be managed by private professionals drawn from the industry while LIC will be a co-investor in the fund.

A National Credit Guarantee Trust Company is being envisaged with a budgetary allocation of Rs 500 crore per year for the next four years.

The onus of providing the tax benefit to boost start-ups would fall on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. He would be required to give a concrete shape to the proposals announced by Modi.

The success of start-up initiative would depend upon two factors – the policy regime and the entrepreneurship. As regards entrepreneurship is concerned there is no dearth in India.

However, the real challenge now would be create a businessfriendly environment that would reward skill, entrepreneurship and hard work.

PTI Feature

In order to create a friendly eco-system for start-ups in the country, the government has rolled out an action plan for the budding entrepreneurs.

The main objective of the action plan was to reduce the regulatory burden on start-ups thereby allowing them to focus on their core business and keep compliance cost low The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has also defined the word “Startup”.

It means an entity, incorporated or registered in India not prior to five years, with annual turnover not exceeding Rs 25 crore in any preceding financial year, working towards innovation, development, deployment or commercialisation of new products, processes or services driven by technology or intellectual property.

Provided that such entity is not formed by splitting up, or reconstruction, of a business already in existence. Provided also that an entity shall cease to be a startup if its turnover for the previous financial years has exceeded Rs 25 crore or it has completed 5 years from the date of incorporation/ registration.

The DIPP has said that a start-up shall be eligible for tax benefits only after it has obtained certification from the InterMinisterial Board, setup for such purpose.

Non-flammable all-solid-state batteries in the offing Method involves melting solid electrolyte and coating that melted electrolyte around the electrodes

Scientists have discovered a new way to develop all-solid-state lithium batteries that will not be at risk of exploding or burning easily.

The method involves melting the solid electrolyte and coating that melted electrolyte around the electrodes.

The organic liquid electrolyte, mainly used in existing lithium-ion batteries, has a characteristic of easily getting gasified or burned, researchers said. Therefore, all-solid-state lithium batteries are now getting an attention as the alternative option since they are non-flammable.

However, the powder type of solid electrolyte does not permeate, compared to the liquid electrolyte.

If the contact between electrolytes and electrode active materials is not active, it would be more difficult to

Prof Yoon Seok Jung’s research team is smiling in the laboratory

move lithium-ion to the electrode.

Furthermore, it will not be simple to elevate the performance revelation of batteries.

To solve these problems, Yoon Seok Jung from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology and Seng M Oh from Seoul National University in South Korea developed a way to coat the active materials with the solid electrolyte.

This process called the solutionprocess works by diffusing the powder

type of active material in the liquid from melted solid electrolyte and vaporising the solvent.

After the solution-process, it became more possible to coat the layers of solid electrolyte on the active materials.

The researchers also developed a material for the solid electrolyte by adding the iodised lithium (LiI) to the methanol liquid which is the compound (Li4SnS4) based on tin (Sn).

The compound’s ionic conductivity was originally low, but it got increased by getting mixed with LiI. Consequently, by combining two materials together, it became possible to develop the solid electrolyte with high ion conductivity and air stability.

“A newly developed solid electrolyte has the high ion conductivity and no toxicity problem,” Jung said.

“In addition, the prices of a raw material and a solvent (methanol) are comparatively low. With this technology, commercialisation of solid lithium battery will be available sooner than we thought,” he said.

PTI

New app may help diagnose autism in children Scientists have developed a new smartphone app that may screen for symptoms of autism by reading children’s facial expressions for emotional cues.

“Not only could the app be used to learn more about childhood autism, it could possibly reveal signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) in warfighters - conditions that often have subtle symptoms and are difficult to diagnose,” said Predrag Neskovic, from US Office of Naval Research (ONR)’s Mathematical Data Science programme.

The app, called “Autism and Beyond,” was developed by researchers and software developers at Duke University and the Duke Medical Centre in US. “Autism & Beyond” has children complete a series of questionnaires and watch short videos designed to make them

DUKE UNIVERSITY

‘Autism and Beyond’ screens for symtoms of autism by reading children’s facial expressions for emotional cues

The ‘Autism & Beyond’ iPhone app could one day screen for autism signs in children

smile, laugh and be surprised.

Parents or caregivers use a smartphone’s userfacing “selfie” camera to record children’s facial movements for evaluation by doctors, researchers and software.

The app’s core technical component is a complex mathematical algorithm that automatically maps key landmarks on children’s faces and assesses emotional responses based on movements of facial muscles. “We analyse the video to track position and movement of the head and face, including the lips, eyes and nose - all of which indicate emotions,” said Guillermo Sapiro, a professor at Duke University, who developed the algorithm.

“For example, while watching stimuli like a funny video, does the child smile, look towards the caregiver or ask the caregiver to view the video as well? We study all of that. Lack of emotion and social sharing are possible characteristics of childhood autism,” said Sapiro.

Sapiro stresses the app is not a selfdiagnosis resource, but is intended to serve

as a potential screening tool for autism and other developmental challenges, and encourage users to contact a physician for specialised testing.

Once the autism studies are complete, Sapiro hopes to eventually expand and tailor the app to conditions suffered by war-fighters, including PTSD, TBI and depression.

As with autism, facial expressions can indicate the presence of such disorders. For example, many individuals suffering from PTSD or depression smile often, but their grins tend to be forced and short.

Improved analysis of such facial expressions could lead to more accurate diagnoses by doctors and, consequently, enhanced treatment options for military personnel and veterans.

PTI

APP WORLD

Learn martial arts and self defense Karate Training

IOS/Android: Free Use this app to learn beginner and advanced Karate moves.

This is the best app to learn self defense Karate techniques! If you’ve ever watched a martial arts movie or a tournament, you’ll know that their skills are enough to put anyone in awe. Martial artists are some of the greatest athletes because of their power combined with body control. This training program will provide you with the foundations of karate techniques, and build you up to more advanced moves and tricks. Each exercise can be modified for increased intensity to fit your goals.

Close Combat Training

IOS/Android: Free If you are looking to learn close combat you just found what you are looking for. This application will provide you an ultimate tutorial. Close combat is the physical confrontation between two or more opponents.

It involves armed and unarmed and lethal and nonlethal fighting techniques that range from enforced compliance to deadly force. The purpose of close combat is to execute armed and unarmed techniques to pro-duce both lethal and nonlethal results. Unarmed techniques include hand-to-hand combat and defense against hand-held weapons. Armed techniques include techniques applied with a rifle, bayonet, knife, baton, or any weapon of opportunity.

Kung Fu and Martial Arts

IOS/Android: Free Kung Fu is the app with lots of Kung Fu moves, dunks and basics with a complete program that contains all the basic and advanced lessons to practice this discipline. This traditional Chinese martial art was founded by Buddhists in ancient China and today the professional and amateur Kung Fu requires a very high level of training, vitalisation and mind control.

With this application you will learn how to improve your fitness and also your discipline.

We explain you how to execute the most complex movements and fights in this Martial Art: Kung Fu.

Judo Lessons Free

IOS/Android: Free If you always wanted to learn Judo, this app is for you. Learn judo moves with our selected judo lessons. If you like martial arts you will enjoy this judo app.

Comment our video lessons, ask questions and share our judo photos with your friends.

Watch the best judo Olympic combats with this app. Judo is a modern martial art, combat and Olympic sport created in Japan. The objective is to either throw or take down an opponent to the ground or immobilize him. Start learning judo lessons today.

Marine Martial Art

IOS/Android: Free This application will cover the fundamentals of Marine Corps Martial Arts to include the purpose of close combat, ranges of close combat, weapons of the body, target areas of the body, pressure points, basic warrior stance, and angles of approach and movement, and body hardening. There are several fundamentals of the physical discipline of our martial arts that are used throughout any type of confrontation or situation.

Additionally, you must prepare your body for the rigors of combat. To do so your body must possess the attributes of both toughness and flexibility. The proper execution of these fundamentals will enable you to effectively perform martial arts techniques that may very well save your life or the lives of fellow Marines one day.

ENVIRONMENT

TERI study added linkages need to be established between research institutions, state forest departments, private sector and gram panchayats along with allocation of green funds to combat climate change

involving climate modeling, soil and water assessment, energy modeling as well as field case studies.

The study in its policy implication part said that coal will remain the major source of energy until 2030 and that thermal plants also need to undergo massive technological changes if they were to remain sustainable.

It said installment of air pollution control equipment (APCE) should be made mandatory for all industries and their efficiency should be checked.

The study added linkages need to be established between research institutions, state forest departments, private sector and gram panchayats along with allocation of green funds to combat climate change.

PTI

‘Fat tax’ may boost healthy food choices Small price differences at the point of purchase can be highly effective in shifting consumer demand from high calorie to healthier alternatives, researchers including those of Indianorigin have found.

Low income consumers, who disproportionately suffer the consequences of obesity, are particularly responsive to such small price differences across products. Such differences are important because they mimic a “fat tax.” The results are based on a largescale field study analysing six years of sales data from over 1,700 supermarkets across the US. The study focused on a peculiar pricing pattern of milk in the US, where relative prices for milk across fat content - whole, 2 per cent, 1 per cent and skim - vary depending on where you live and which store you happen to patronise.

“The question that comes to mind is whether these different price structures have an impact on people’s choices. To put it simply, do people switch to lower fat milk for a price difference as small as 15 cents per gallon?” said Romana Khan from the Northwestern University (US).

The study finds that in markets where milk prices are equal across fat alternatives, people tend to choose whole milk over lower calorie alternatives, particularly in low income zip codes: at equal prices across fat content, the market share of whole milk is 52 per cent in lower income areas compared to 25 per cent in higher income areas.

Although the average price difference for a gallon of milk is just 14 cents (5 per cent), it causes a significant shift in market share away from whole milk to lower-fat options.

PTI

Cure to delay premature birth Scientists have identified a molecule in the uterus that can be blocked to delay or even halt premature birth, the leading cause of death and disability in newborns worldwide.

About 3 per cent of infants are born quite prematurely, after less than 31 weeks of pregnancy, said study cosenior author David Cornfield, from the Stanford University in California.

Many organs, including the brain,

lungs and liver need the final weeks of pregnancy to fully develop. Premature birth can thus lead to major problems.

During pregnancy, the womb shelters a growing foetus. When a woman goes into labour, the uterus experiences powerful contractions to push out the baby.

It remains poorly understood as to what makes the womb begin the labour process. There is currently no effective

Physicist Serge Haroche underscores the need for greater fundamental research in science and funding Nobel laureate Prof Serge Haroche stressed the need for India, China, US and the European countries to make efforts so as to achieve the target of restricting the global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius, as agreed during Prof Serge Haroche the Paris climate summit.

Haroche was speaking to reporters before delivering the GP Birla lecture at the BM Birla Science Centre. If these countries did not put in enough efforts, the 2 degrees cap on global warming can not be achieved and its consequences can prove alarming, he said.

In his lecture, the physicist underscored the need for greater fundamental research in science and enough funding for the same.

Safe energy was necessary and nuclear energy can provide safe power if precautions are taken, he said.

Governor ESL Narasimhan and Prof Haroche also gave away the awards in science and mathematics on this occasion.

The BM Birla Science Prize in Mathematics for the year 2013 was presented to Dr Ritabrata Munshi of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.

The BM Birla Science Prize in Chemistry for 2013 was jointly shared by Dr Melepurath Deepa from the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, and Dr Suhrit Ghosh of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata.

The BM Birla Science Prize in Physics for 2014 was jointly awarded to Dr Moumita Maiti of Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee and Dr Shankarnarayanan of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Trivandrum.

The BM Birla Science Prize in Biology for 2014 was jointly awarded to Dr Indumathi Mariappal of L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad and Dr Jayandharan Giridhara Rao of Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.

Hedge funds and fi nance houses are already acting on low carbon technologies. Goldman Sachs thinks the mix of tougher rules and vaulting technology is so potent that global emissions will peak in 2020, much earlier than widely supposed.

PTI

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TGS LIFE

Run for... yourself

NATION

CITY

Get your voice heard on NetaG P6

No damaged goods please P3

GRANDCHILDREN SUE THE COMPLETE MAN

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

When hunger strikes past midnight

NATION

CITY

Bakery worker’s daughter gets her wings P 12

Why are traffic cops taking selfies these days?

P3

DITCH THE

AUTO,

HAIL A

CAB

GAUTAM SINGHANIA

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

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

Five members of the team tried hiring rickshaws for distances ranging between 1.5 and 20 kms. All the members came back irked and disgruntled. The autorickshaw community let

Truly, a tree lady P4

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

DEHU

6

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

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

See Spotlight on p8&9

CHINCHWAD BHOSARI

4 THERGAON HINJEWADI VILLAGE

KALEWADI FATA

WAKAD

DIGHI

NASHIK PHATA

5

LOHEGAON

DAPODI 50

PIMPLE GURAV

WAGHOLI

3 4 BANER

VISHRANT VIMAN WADI NAGAR YERWADA

AUNDH

2

SANGAMWADI PASHAN

AH47

WADGAON SHERI

MUNDHWA

SHIVAJI NAGAR

GHORPADI

9

BAVDHAN

CAMP

HADAPSAR

KOTHRUD

SWARGATE PARVATI

WANOWRIE

1

NANDED AMBEGAON BUDRUK

KONDHWA

UNDRI

KATRAJ

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ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Had it not been for a Pune-based activist everybody had forgotten about a film on Lokmanya Tilak commissioned in 2001 by Central Government at the cost of 2.5 crores. Three years after Vishnu Kamalapurkar raised questions about the film, advance, and second instalment was to be released after completion of certain formalities. The very next year second instalment was also disbursed.

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

The CPIO was clueless about the project and sought information from his colleagues in other department in the same ministry. But none of them knew about the existence of

said director of the school, who

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

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

The investigation was carried out by statements.”

DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL

ALANDI

AKURDI

RAVET

Sab golmal hai...

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

RITU GOYAL HARISH

CHIKHALI

KIWALENIGDI

~ Suit filed by the siblings

Precious man hours are lost every day at Hinjewadi just because planners forgot to make more entry and exit points. Over a decade after Hinjewadi was planned to house country’s best IT firms and talent, planners have finally woken up to the plight of citizens.

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

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

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

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

We believe we were on the right,”

Parents teach them more than exams do P 10

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

~ Suit filed by the siblings

What a mess!

Teacher booked for sexually abusing 22 students acquitted

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS

CITY

TGS LIFE

Hum Saath Saath Hain

And yet no respite for commuters

DR VIJAYPAT SINGHANIA

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

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

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

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

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

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

and Djibouti, the practice is practically universal,” said Claudia Cappa, the lead author of the report.

“Being born in those countries means you have 9 out of 10 possibilities of undergoing the practice.”

The prevalence rates for FGM in Somalia stands at a staggering 98 pe rcent for Somalia, 97 per cent for Guinea and 93 per cent for Djibouti.

The new global figure on FGM includes nearly 70 million more girls and women than the last estimate for 2014, largely due to new data provided

by Indonesia and population growth in some countries.

There have been major strides in Liberia, Burkina Faso, Kenya and Egypt to end the mutilation of girls.

Attitudes are changing, Cappa said, pointing to surveys showing that a majority of people in those countries want the practice to end.

Five countries have passed laws criminalising the practice: Kenya, Uganda, Guinea-Bissau and recently Nigeria and Gambia in 2015.

AFP

Scientists have developed a novel capsule made from seaweed extract for preserving insulin-producing pancreatic cells, offering hope to diabetic patients to lead a needle-free life.

Patients with type 1 diabetes require daily insulin injections. Pancreatic islet transplantation is an effective treatment that can dramatically reduce daily doses or even eliminate dependence on external insulin, researchers said.

So far only human islets can be transplanted. Cryopreservation, or deep freezing, is method commonly used for the islet preservation and transportation.

However, the freezing process poses a challenge. As the cells are cooled, water in and around them freezes.

Ice crystals have sharp edges that can pierce membranes and compromise cell viability.

Researchers led by Amy Shen, head from Okinawa Institute of Technology and Science Graduate University (OIST) in Japan developed a cryopreservation method that helps to protect pancreatic islets from ice damage. The novel technique employs a droplet microfluidic device to encapsulate pancreatic islets in hydrogel made of alginate, a natural polymer extracted from seaweed.

These capsules have a unique microstructure - a porous network and considerable amount of nonfreezable water.

Freezable bound water crystallises, but the freezing point is lower. Non-freezable bound water does not form ice due to the strong association between water molecules and the hydrogel networks.

It offers hope to patients suffering from type 1 diabetes to return to a “normal” life, free of insulin injections.

PTI

Noble laureate bats for 2 degrees cap on global warming

PICS ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Diabetics may be able to lead a needle free life

DAAFEET NEWS AGENCY

UNITED NATIONS: At least 200 million girls and women worldwide have been subjected to female genital mutilation with half of those living in Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia, according to the UN children’s agency.

Somalia, Guinea and Djibouti continue to show the highest prevalence of FGM globally, but the overall rate in some 30 countries has dropped, said a UNICEF report released ahead of International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM, tomorrow.

The United Nations is working to end the practice of cutting women’s genitalia by the target date of 2030, a goal set in its new development agenda that was adopted in September by all UN member-states.

Of the 200 million FGM victims, 44 million are girls age 14 and younger.

In the 30 countries where the practice is most widespread, the majority of girls have undergone FGM before their fifth birthday, said UNICEF which declared the practice a clear violation of children’s rights.

“In countries like Somalia, Guinea

treatment for premature labour.

Researchers focused on a molecule found in the mouse uterus known as TRPV4, which helps control the flow of calcium into cells, ‘Live Science’ reported. They found that uterine tissue from pregnant women possessed higher levels of TRPV4 than nonpregnant women. The research was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

PTI

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

200 mn girls, women living with FGM

PUNE

Supriya Bhoite from Chaturshrungi police station.

Contd on p4

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

Hum

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

The Energy and Resources Institute and Global Green Growth Institute underlines the importance of green growth interventions to deal with climate change

2030 due to climate change.

“As a result of climate change, apple production in Himachal Pradesh could decrease by 4 per cent by 2030.

In addition, 11.61 per cent of the state will have catastrophic soil erosion in the 2030s. Overall warming in the state would increase with Mean Annual Maximum temperature projected to rise by 1.1-1.9 C for 2021-2050 period relative to 1971-2000,” it said.

As India steps up action following the Paris Climate Agreement, the study hopes to provide national and state level policy makers with new analysis, information and recommendations to design and implement policies and programmes.

TERI claimed that the study is the first comprehensive integrated analysis

FEBRUARY 6, 2016

“There is still a shortage of 90 in the total strength of 500 front-line staff. We are also going to write to the Centre to release funds needed to run the rhino protection force soon.”

— Atuwa Munda, State Forest Minister

Green interventions can create 117L jobs Various green growth interventions in the energy sector can create employment for around 117 lakh people by 2031 at the national level, a study has said.

The study conducted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in collaboration with Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) underlines the importance of green growth interventions to deal with climate change, natural resource management, sustainable energy and inclusive development.

The two-year study which provides recommendations both for the national level and states like Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, aims to propel them towards green growth and sustainable development.

“At a national level, green growth interventions in energy sector can create employment for 117 lakhs by 2031. As far as state interventions are concerned, Punjab will witness an increase of 6-8 per cent in evapotranspiration from crops, thereby increasing the irrigation requirement.

“In irrigation, there would be a deficit of 14.4 billion cubic metres (BCM) in 2030s unless crop diversification takes place. For Punjab, annual mean temperature is projected to increase by 1.2-1.4 C for 2021-2050 period relative to 1971-2000,” the study said.

It said apple production in Himachal Pradesh could decrease by 4 per cent by

H EALTH

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

“We certainly understand the concern. Zika virus needs to be investigated to understand the conditions and how often or likely sexual transmission is, and whether or not other body fluids are implicated.”

— Gregory Hartl, Spokesman, WHO

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

Vishnu Kamalapurkar, Pune-based activist, sought details of the project in 2012 from the Central Government only to be told that they had no records left

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

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

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

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

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

Ministry of Culture wrote to Kamalapurkar admitting that PUNE, MARCH 21, 2015 | www.thegoldensparrow.com the issue came to light only after receiving his RTI finally been traced by the government with the help of police and claims that the fi lm will be released in “next two to four months”. He still hasn’t answered several questions raised by the government about the script and the star cast.

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

Saath Saath Hain

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yourself

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

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PUNE

“Such a big incident has happened (Tanzanian woman stripping case) and still Rahul and Congress are silent for something that has happened under the very nose of their government there. This shows how much hypocrisy is there in them and how they play hypocritical politics.”

— Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Union Minister and Senior BJP leader

The everyday plight of Pune pedestrians P 15

India ‘inherently unequal’: Ratan Tata Ratan Tata said his desire is to see a unified and equal-opportunity nation NEW DELHI: India suffers from an “inherently unequal” environment and divisions have been created for political reasons on the basis of caste, religion and communal groups, top industry leader Ratan Tata has said amid debate over perceived intolerance in the country.

“This may help some people at election time, but they do not help in creating a unified country,” he said.

The former Tata Group chief, who is now Chairman of Tata Trusts, said his greatest desire is to see India as a unified and equal-opportunity nation.

“If you have the ability to study, work and rise on the basis of merit and not on the basis of who you are or how well-connected you are, that would make me very happy for our country.

“What we are going through now in terms of religious differences and inequalities, that is included in what I am saying,” he said in an interview to Tata Review, the business conglomerate’s internal publication.

“We have for political reasons carved out the country according to caste, religion and communal groups... We are now Maharashtrians, Punjabis and Tamilians rather than Indians.

Referring to late Indira Gandhi, Ratan Tata said India had a woman prime minister, “but that was an exception on the rule”

The day we all become Indians again, that’s when the country will be strong,” Tata said.

78-year-old Tata, who retired as Chairman of Tata Sons in 2012 after being at the helm for over three decades, was replying to a question about the priority issues that he thinks India should address.

“I have always felt that India suffers from having an

environment that is inherently unequal. If I could sum up in one phrase, I’d say my greatest desire as an Indian is to be proud of my country because it is an equal-opportunity nation,” he added.

Referring to late Indira Gandhi, he said India had a woman prime minister, “but that was an exception on the rule”.

PTI

Let people eat beef if they want to: Kant Senior bureaucrat Amitabh Kant is of the view that in a democracy like India people should be allowed to eat beef if they want to, asserting there should be a “freedom of choice”.

“Well, I believe we are in a democracy which allows people to decide what they want to say, which would allow people to decide what they want to eat,” said Kant, who is Secretary in Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in Government of India, at an NDTV event.

Asked if that includes eating beef, he shot back, “of course. There should be freedom of choice. I said it in the context, the fact that I come from Kerala cadre, my neighbour was a Nair, my right hand neighbour was a Brahmin, they all ate beef.

We all grew up eating beef in that state. There should be freedom of choice.”

Kant had also earlier said he was personally not in favour of banning beef exports, stating that the

government should instead stay out of such areas and act as a catalyst for growth.

Kant, who is also the acting CEO of NITI Aayog, also took a swipe at Bollywood actor Aamir Khan whom he had countered on his remarks over climate of “intolerance” in the country.

“I think everyone should have the freedom to say what they want except when he is the brand ambassador of Incredible India,” said Kant, Kant, the 1980-batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, said Aamir has damaged brand India while being brand ambassador of the celebrated ‘Incredible India’ campaign. Kant had been the key driver of the campaign.

Defending the exit of Aamir from the campaign, Kant had said the actor, by terming India an ‘intolerant country’, worked against his role as that of a brand ambassador.

“A brand ambassador promotes a brand. People will come to India and

tourist flow will increase only if the brand ambassador o f ‘Incredible I n d i a ’ promotes t h e Amitabh Kant countr y as ‘incredible’. But if the brand ambassador says India is intolerant, he surely is not working as brand ambassador,” Kant had said earlier.

“Being a Brand Ambassador imposes responsibilities. U can’t run down what u’re promoting.

That’s damaging d brand,” he had also tweeted.

Aamir had in November last year stirred a controversy after he expressed “alarm and despondency” over rising instances of intolerance in the country in the past few months and said that his wife (Kiran Rao) even asked if they should move out of India as she feared for safety of their children.

Explain why Kher was denied visa The Pakistan government should explain on what grounds actor Anupam Kher was denied a visa to travel to that country, BJP said while noting that India has been “liberal” in granting visas to Pakistani artistes.

“Why has Pakistan singled out and discriminated against the noted Bollywood artiste. The Pakistan government should clarify as well as rectify its mistake,” BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma said. The Indian government has been liberal in granting visas to Pakistani artistes visiting and performing in India, he said.

Later, Kher said that he was offered a visa but declined the offer.

VHP protests shooting of Shah Rukh film Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) members protested against the ongoing shooting of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s film “Raees” in the district, for his earlier remarks on “intolerance”.

Around 20-30 VHP activists handed over a memorandum to district officers and demanded withdrawal of the permission given for the shooting of the film.

Today, they protested outside the district Collector’s office pressing for the same demand. They shouted slogans against the actor and also burnt and tore his posters.

Delhi govt to track Drunk driver is a ‘live suicidal human bomb’ bunking in schools NEW DELHI: A drunken driver is just like a “live suicidal human bomb”, a Delhi court has observed while upholding a six-day jail sentence awarded to a man for drunken driving.

Additional Sessions Judge Lokesh Kumar Sharma passed the order dismissing an appeal filed by Badarpur resident Jogi Varghese against the trial court order sentencing him to six days in jail and a fine of Rs 2,000.

The sessions court said the man was not entitled to any leniency as the trial court had rightly opined

Delhi has proposed introduction of electronic chip-fitted identity cards for students

In order to check bunking in schools and ensure higher attendance, the Delhi government has proposed introduction of electronic chipfitted identity cards for students.

At present, there are around 1,000 government schools in the national capital with over 15 lakh students.

“We have plans to introduce electronic chip-fitted cards for students which will be connected to sensor-based CCTV cameras installed in institution premises.

“With this chip, the government will be able to keep a check on bunking of class by students and sharing the information with parents,” Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds education portfolio, said.

According to Sisodia, through the ID card the school administration can detect movement of students and,

if he or she bunks class, they will get to know about this.

“Parents will be able to detect how many times students has bunked their classes,” he said.

Apart from this, Sisodia said the government will develop a ‘School Village’, which will have 10 schools specialising in different categories like science, sports, commerce, in North-East Delhi.

“For the first time, Delhi government will come out with School Village where around 10 schools specialised in various fields will be constructed.

“Government has found 30 acres land for developing School Village in North-East Delhi. It may take around one year to complete the project,” Sisodia further said.

PTI

that the alcohol content found in his blood was 42 times more than the

Tihar staffers’ brawl video goes viral

NEW DELHI: A video of two Tihar jail staffers coming to blows allegedly under the influence of alcohol has gone viral online even as prison authorities said they have initiated the process of suspending the duo over the matter.

“We have taken serious note of the video and are ensuring strict action against the two jail staffers, head warder Anil Upreti and warder Digambar.

“Such an act is unbecoming of government servants and the process is underway to suspend them,” said Mukesh Prasad, Additional IG

(Prisons) and spokesperson for the Tihar prison complex.

Upreti is posted in the CCTV room and Digambar at Jail No 7 of the prison.

They were captured in a video thrashing each other inside a car. The incident took place on the night of February 1 when the duo started hitting each other inside a stationary car in Janakpuri area.

Drawn by the commotion, people gathered around the vehicle and somebody in the crowd also captured a video clip on a mobile phone.

PTI

an interference of this court in the exercise of its appellate powers and jurisdiction is made out.

Accordingly, appeal is dismissed,” the judge said.

The court ordered the man to be taken in custody to serve the sentence. Varghese was convicted by the trial court on December 21, last year under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act. His driving licence was also cancelled for six months by the trial court which directed him to undergo fresh driving competency test.

PTI

NOBLE CAUSE

Participants in a face-painting competition with ‘Save Girl Child’ as its theme at 30th Surajkund International Crafts Mela 2016 in Faridabad

Pak court to hear Bhagat Singh case

BY M ZULQERNAIN

Vol-II* lssue No.: 34 Editor: Yogesh Sadhwani (Responsible for the selection of news under the PRB Act, 1867) Printed and Published by: Shrikant Honnavarkar on behalf of Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. CIN:U22200PN2014PTC151382 and printed at PRI – Media Services Private Limited CIN: U22222MH2012PTC232006 at Plot No. EL-201, TTC Industrial Area, MIDC, Mahape, Navi Mumbai.

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

The court ordered a drunk driver to be taken in custody to serve the sentence

permissible limit when he was riding a two wheeler.

“In my opinion, the appellant while riding the two- wheeler scooter under such heavy intoxication, was just acting like a live suicidal human bomb, who could have taken the lives of others while driving the said vehicle in such a state of mind and it could have also proved fatal for him as well, due to a slightest mistake committed by him on road.

“Hence, in the given set of facts and circumstances, the appellant is not entitled to any leniency of this court... no ground warranting

LAHORE: A Pakistani court will finally hear a petition to prove the innocence of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in the murder case of a British police officer, nearly 85 years after his execution by the colonial government.

Lahore High Court (LHC) chief justice Ijazul Ahsan constituted a division bench headed by justice Khalid Mahmood Khan to hear the case from February 3. The petition was last heard by justice Shujaat Ali Khan in May 2013, when he referred the matter to the chief justice for constitution of a larger bench.

Advocate Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi, chairman of the Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation, had in November filed a plea in the LHC for early hearing of the matter. In the petition, Qureshi said Bhagat Singh was a freedom fighter and fought for independence of undivided India. The case was filed against Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru for allegedly killing British police officer John P Saunders.

Singh was hanged by British rulers on March 23, 1931 at the age of 23, after being tried under charges for hatching a conspiracy against the colonial government.

He said Singh was initially jailed for life but later awarded death sentence in another “fabricated case”. The petitioner further said Bhagat Singh is respected even today in the subcontinent not only

by Sikhs but also Muslims as the founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah twice paid tribute to him.

“It is a matter of national importance and should be fixed before a full bench,” he said and pleaded the court to set aside the sentence of Singh by exercising principles of review and order the government to honour him with state award.

In 2014, Lahore police provided the

copy of the original FIR of the killing of Saunders in 1928 to the petitioner on the court’s order. Singh’s name was not mentioned in the First Information Report of the murder of Saunders for which he was handed down death sentence.

Written in Urdu, the FIR was registered with the Anarkali police station on December 17, 1928 at 4.30 pm against two ‘unknown gunmen’. The case was registered under sections 302, 1201 and 109 of Indian Penal Code.

“I will establish Bhagat Singh’s innocence in Saunders case,” Qureshi said.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2016

Pune demolishes Delhi P 16

“Should the UN announce tomorrow that I have lost my case against the United Kingdom and Sweden I shall exit the embassy at noon on Friday to accept arrest by British police as there is no meaningful prospect of further appeal.”

— Julian Assange, Founder,Wikileaks

‘Terrorist safe havens in Pak a serious challenge’ Top US general McCain has demanded an immediately halt to US troop withdrawals from Afghanistan

182 ‘madrassas’ sealed in Pak

BY LALIT K JHA WASHINGTON: A top US general has said it is difficult to destroy the “enemy” in Afghanistan if terror groups like the Haqqani network and Taliban have sanctuaries in Pakistan.

“When an enemy enjoys sanctuary like that, it’s very difficult to defeat them,” General John “Mick” Nicholson, who has been nominated by the Pentagon as Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, during confirmation hearing.

Nicholson said he views the terrorist safe havens inside Pakistan as a serious problem.

“This (terrorist safe havens) has been one of the principal challenges. It’s a sanctuary that our enemies, in particular the Haqqani Network, have enjoyed inside Pakistan,” he said responding to a question from Senator John McCain, Chairman of the Senate Committee.

Critical of the Af-Pak policy of the Obama Administration, McCain also demanded an immediately halt to US troop withdrawals and eliminate any target date for withdrawal.

Responding to the question, Nicholson said it is difficult to defeat the Taliban and Haqqani network when they enjoy terrorist safe haven, and as

General John “Mick” Nicholson has asked Pakistan to take persistent action against the Taliban, particularly the Haqqani Network

such, it is important to “enlist” Pakistan in the fight against terrorism.

“In this case, Pakistan, to go after those sanctuaries, and then the other important piece is to build up the defence capacity of the Afghans so that they can keep that level of violence down to a manageable level,” the general said.

Earlier, in a written response to questions, Nicholson asked Pakistan to take persistent action against the Taliban, particularly the Haqqani

Indian-origin man murdered in UK

BY ADITI KHANNA

LONDON: A 16-year-old boy has been arrested by Scotland Yard in connection with the killing of an Indian-origin man who was found stabbed near a tennis court in west London, taking the total number of suspects nabbed in the case to five.

Harjit Singh Dulai was found bleeding by Rosdale Park tennis court in Hayes area of the city by paramedics recently and rushed to hospital where he died soon after.

A post-mortem found that a stab wound had caused the 44-year-old’s death and a murder investigation was launched.

The teenager arrested is the latest suspect in the murder. Four other men have also been arrested as part of the

investigation on suspicion of murder.

All suspects have been bailed pending further enquiries and will appear in court later this month.

One of the men was arrested at the scene while the other three were arrested shortly after.

A sixth man, aged 39, who was also arrested on suspicion of murder, has been released with no further action.

“Our investigation into Harjit’s murder continues at pace and I would reiterate my appeal to anyone with information to contact my officers,” said Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh, of the Metropolitan Police Homicide and Major Crime Command.

PTI

Harjit Singh Dulai was found bleeding

by Rosdale Park tennis court

PUNE

Network.

“Pakistan’s pressure on the Taliban combined with its support to the reconciliation process are mutually reinforcing,” he added.

Haqqani network, which is linked to al-Qaeda has also been blamed for several deadly attacks against Western and Indian interests in Afghanistan, including the 2008 bombing of the Indian mission in Kabul.

PTI

Pakistani authorities have sealed 182 ‘madrassas’ since the deadly Peshawar school attack in 2014, in a countrywide crackdown on religious seminaries allegedly involved in extremism, a media report said.

The madarassas were closed in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because of their involvement in promoting extremism and other suspicious activities, Associated Press of Pakistan news agency reported.

The action was taken under the National Action Plan (NAP) that was put in place after militants stormed an army school in December, 2014 killing at least 150 people, mostly schoolchildren.

As part of the strategy to choke terror financing, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has so far frozen Rs 1 billion in 126 accounts which have a link to banned militant groups.

Law-enforcement agencies have recovered Rs 251 million in cash. The government has put names of 8,195 people on alert and movement of 2,052 militants has been restricted.

Indian-American charged with murder of in-law WASHINGTON: A 47-year-old Indian-American woman in the US state of New Jersey has been arrested on charges of murdering her motherin-law in their residence.

Tasneem Diwan was arrested last Friday, a day after she allegedly struck her mother-in-law Safia Diwan, 73, in the head numerous times with an unknown object in their New Jersey home, law enforcement officials said.

According to a police statement, East Windsor police responded to the residence on the evening of January 26, after receiving an emergency ‘911’ call.

Upon arrival, police found the victim lying dead in the residence.

An autopsy indicated the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.

The police said there was no forced entry to the home.

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier has set Diwan’s bail at USD 1 million.

PTI

‘Sri Lankans should not fear India’ COLOMBO: Sri Lankans, particularly the majority Sinhala community, should not get “paranoid” over unfounded fears of Indians “swarming” their country whenever a bilateral trade agreement is proposed, foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera said.

Addressing Mangala the India-Sri Samaraweera Lanka Society, Samaraweera was critical of the majority Sinhala community for raising unfounded fears over the Indian influence in Sri Lanka.

He said misguided Sinhalese Buddhists who wear their ethnicity and religion on their sleeve and who claim blood relationship to a lion (the Mahavamsa) as related in the mythical history of the Sinhala people, are the ones who fear India the most.

“It is true that most races have founding myths recounting the origins of their races, but these myths are designed to inspire and are not meant to be taken literally.

“Yet the neo-fascists of today’s political climate are claiming blood relationship to an Indian lion (there had never been lions in Sri Lanka),” he said.

These neo-fascists seem to see an Indian under every bush and live in eternal fear of Indians swarming into Sri Lanka.

“Whenever a bridge over the Palk Straits to connect our two nations is

proposed, they get into a paranoid frenzy that all of India is waiting to drive over that bridge and make Sri Lanka their home, when trade agreements are discussed they see swarms of Indian doctors and barbers coming across to flood the Sri Lankan market,” the foreign minister said.

“Now they claim that their IT specialists are all waiting to come and take the jobs of Sri Lankan engineers.

This is when Indian IT engineers are some of the most sought after in the developing world,” he added.

He was responding to the opposition raised by nationalist groups to the proposed Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement between Sri Lanka and India.

He said India needs to be vigilant to the needs, hopes and aspirations of ordinary Lankans, so that recurring issues, like the bottom trawling crisis in the North of Sri Lanka, which not only affects the livelihoods of thousands of poor families and results in dangerous environmental damage to the rich seafloor of the Palk Straits, are resolved.

Commenting on Lanka-India relations under Maithripala Sirisena government, Samaraweera said: “We had the opportunity of welcoming the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi to Sri Lanka, while the President and Prime Minister were accorded a warm welcome in New Delhi. My friend and counterpart, the Hon. Sushma Swaraj, will be making her third visit in a year and we welcomed the Indian Foreign Secretary a fortnight ago,” he said.

PTI

HEALTHY MANTRA

Paula Walker, center foreground, an instructor with Green Monkey Yoga, leads a yoga class at the Mondrian South Beach Hotel in Miami Beach, Fla. The hotel world is moving beyond basement gyms and ho-hum spa menus to accommodate guests’ growing requests to stay healthy while on the road

France on the same page with India in counter-terrorism French have made ‘Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan’ a priority in the bilateral engagement with India

BY SUBHASHIS MITTRA French President Francois Hollande was the Republic Day guest this year.

Along with him came a contingent of French infantry to march on Rajpath as part of the famous Republic Day parade in which Indian armed forces display their might.

This is the first time that soldiers of any other country have participated in the R-Day march-past.

Most large French companies are now present in India, leading to a huge growth of French investments aimed at the Indian market, as a consequence of ‘Make in India’.

Several French investors have R&D centres in India, which not only work for the Indian market but also the global one. The French have made ‘Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan’ a priority in

the bilateral engagement.

More recently, the terror attacks in France have united both people as never before. Hollande made common cause with India on the issue of fighting terrorism, underlining that the purpose of his visit was to “reinforce and strengthen” the cooperation between the two countries to tackle the menace.

France, like the US did a few days before it, took a serious view of the terrorist attack on Pathankot emanating from Pakistan, and comparisons were made between this terrorist strike and the one on Paris last November.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France last April has made the bilateral relationship transformational by reassuring French investors that India was committed to reforms driven by good governance, easier norms of doing business and expeditious decision making.

During Hollande’s visit, India and France inked an MoU for the purchase of 36 French Rafale aircraft but persisting differences over the pricing of the fighter jet came in the way of final multibillion dollar deal being

concluded. The MoU was among the 14 pacts signed after wide-ranging talks between Modi and Hollande which focused on ways to enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism, security and civil nuclear energy. “...Leaving out financial aspect, India and France have signed InterGovernmental Agreement on purchase

of 36 Rafale fighter jets. We expect that even the financial aspects pertaining to purchase of Rafale jets will be resolved as soon as possible,” Modi said at a joint press event with Hollande.

Terming the signing of the IGA as a “decisive” step, the French President said there are some financial issues that will be sorted out in a “couple of days”.

New joint initiative in renewable power when Hollande inaugurated the interim secretariat of the International Solar Alliance in Delhi during his visit

He also asserted that Rafale was used in strikes against ISIS, indicating its efficacy and strength.

The two countries are in negotiation for 36 Rafale fighter jets in fly away condition since the deal was announced

by Modi in April during his visit to France. However, the final deal is yet to be sealed as both sides are still negotiating the price. The deal is estimated to cost about Rs 59,000 crore.

In a statement, Dassault Aviation, manufacturer of Rafale said, “We are very pleased with this progress, and actively supporting French authorities in their efforts to finalise a complete agreement within the next four weeks.

They said the agreement will pave the way for the “conclusion of a contract” for the sale of 36 Rafale fighters to India.

The two countries reiterated their call for Pakistan to bring to justice perpetrators of Pathankot and 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, which also left two French citizens dead. They also asked Pakistan to ensure such attacks do not recur, a joint statement issued after the talks said.

“To this end, they committed to further develop exchanges in the fields of intelligence, finance, justice and police.

They welcomed the strengthening of the cooperation between Indian and French counter terrorism authorities and units, in particular between their cybersecurity experts,” the joint statement said.

The new joint initiative in the area of renewable power — Hollande inaugurated the interim secretariat of the International Solar Alliance in the capital during his visit — also appears promising.

Hollande had invested much political capital in a successful outcome to the Paris climate talks, where Modi’s intervention played a critical role, something Hollande has acknowledged.

With India expected to be the world’s fastest growing economy this year, even as France faces an “economic emergency” at home, the visit has laid the grounds for India to enlarge both its economic and strategic partnership with France.

PTI Feature

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2016

PUNE

MONEY MATT ER S

“We are in the process of selecting CEO of NIIF. The CEO will be drawn from the market... We have received 70 applications.”

— Shaktikanta Das, Economic Affairs Secy

Signposts

“I am happy that we have been able to bring the fiscal deficit down.

I am happy results of sincere commitments of the government are slowly becoming visible.”

— Mukul Sangma, Meghalaya Chief Minister

Ensure RBI is not seen as paper tiger: Rajan to staff

Governor asked employees to be flexible, adapt to all circumstances and willing to seize opportunities that are thrown up by an expanding economy, besides going after the rich and powerful wrong-doers

BY DIPANKAR KUMAR

Centre firm on passage of GST bill Government would leave no stone “unturned” to get long-awaited GST bill passed in budget session of Parliament beginning after February 20, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said. Naidu said he hoped that Parliament functions “smoothly” to get important bills approved.

Duncan move HC against Ministry Duncan Industries filed a petition in the Calcutta HC challenging Commerce Ministry’s decision to take over seven of its tea gardens. It said government is of the opinion that these gardens are being poorly managed.

As RBI chides banks to act tough on bad debts, Governor Raghuram Rajan has asked his colleagues to ensure that the central bank is not seen as mere “paper tiger” and even rich and powerful wrong-doers are not spared.

He also wondered whether there was a need to be “more intolerant of sloppy practices at regulated entities, so that these do not result in massive scams years later?”

“Not only are we accused of not having the administrative capacity of ferreting out wrongdoing, we do not punish the wrong-doer — unless he is small and weak.

“This belief feeds on itself. No one wants to go after the rich and wellconnected wrong-doer, which means they get away with even more. If we are to have strong sustainable growth, this culture of impunity should stop,” Rajan wrote in a 5-page letter to the 16,800-strong RBI staff.

However, he was quick to add that “this does not mean being against riches or business, as some would like to portray, but being against wrong doing”.

Calling for strong and concerted action from and by them, Rajan, who has been chasing banks to arrest the rising tide of defaults by large borrowers, said

Aus okays Adani’s coal mine plan

BY NATASHA CHAKU

Indian mining giant Adani’s plan to build one of the world’s largest coal mines in Australia moved closer to realisation after the Queensland state gave environmental approval to the 16.5 billion dollars controversy-hit project but with about 140 conditions.

Queensland state’s Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP) said it has issued a final environmental authority (EA) for Adani’s Carmichael Mine project in the Galilee Basin. The project is located near the fragile Great Barrier Reef.

The department said the conditions include nine provisions relating to the black-throated finch, an endangered species, as required by a court.

In a relief to the Adani Group, an Australian court in December rejected

a bid to stall the project by Conservation group Coast and Country, saying the firm can go ahead if it agrees to some environmental measures. The green group had contended that the mine would affect groundwater, climate change and biodiversity, including finches.

“The EA application was vigorously assessed by the department and acted on recommendations made by the Land Court,” the statement by the department said.

“EHP is confident the strict conditions placed on EA, including extra requirements based on Land Court’s recommendations, will ensure this mine will not pose an unacceptable risk to environment and any potential impacts will be closely monitored,” it said. The project has already secured clearance from federal government.

PTI

Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani (R) with Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has asked his staff to maintain a student like curiosity and read outside the papers that come across their desk

RBI cannot and should not be seen as a ‘paper tiger’.

“My sense is we need a continuing conversation about tightening both detection as well as penalties for noncompliance throughout the hierarchy.

We cannot be seen as a paper tiger,” Rajan wrote in the 2,500-word letter.

“As the premier and most respected regulator in the country, we should take the lead. We have motivated staff with the highest integrity at every level. Yet there is a sense that we do not enforce compliance,” he said. inspections or scrutinies? “Should we haul up

US hikes military power to counter Russia, China

BY LALIT K JHA US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter announced a major boost in military spending to counter future threats and increase presence in eastern Europe and Asia Pacific to deter America’s “most advanced competitors” Russia and China, while also stepping up the war against ISIS. Preparing ground work for the proposed USD 582.7 billion defence budget for the year, which would be submitted to the US Congress by President Barack Obama a week from now, Carter said this budget takes a long term view. “We have to, because even as we fight today’s fights, we must also be prepared for the fights that might come, 10, 20 or 30 years down the road,” he said in his address to the Economic Club of Washington.

Carter identified Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and non-state actors represented by terrorist groups in particular ISIS as five major threats to the US. “Here, our approach is being able to deter our most advanced competitors.

We must have and you seem to have the ability to impose unacceptable costs on an advanced aggressor that will either dissuade them from taking provocative action or make them deeply regret it if they do,” he said.

PTI

accountants who do not flag issues they should detect?” he wondered.

Rajan, who has set a March 2017 deadline to banks to clean up their balance sheets which are mired in a bad loan mount of close to Rs 4 lakh crore, said RBI is changing its attitude towards compliance, but this is ‘work in progress’.

The central bank has also identified as many as top 150 defaulters and asked banks to set aside more funds as provisions on one hand and on the other chase them and make them pay up.

Calling for a more responsible behaviour from his staff, Rajan went on

to point out that “if we demand more of the regulated, we should not be found wanting ourselves.

In his letter, the noted academic and monetary economist also emphasied on improving the channels of communication within the Mint Road and with the larger world outside.

“We should get ahead of the press, rather than be reactive. If we want to highlight achievements or regulations, we should prepare a press release to focus on what is important, with the release getting to the point quickly rather than starting with pages of irrelevant history.

“Press releases are best done at or before 5.30 pm if we want them to show up in the papers the next day. Beyond that, reporters do not have the time to write copy for the next day, and the news is too old for the day after,” he said.

Rajan asked RBI staff to be flexible, adapt to all circumstances and willing to seize opportunities that are thrown up by an expanding economy.

“We emphasise specialisation, but that does not mean there is no need to read the newspapers, let alone magazines and books. This has to change if the organisation is to remain vibrant. In complacency and self-satisfaction lies a slow descent into mediocrity,” Rajan concluded.

PTI

India’s exports tumbling month after month

BY RAJESH RAI The country’s merchandise exports are contracting month after month, with no signs of global demand picking up.

The dip in the prices of global commodities including agri, metal and minerals was also one of the reasons for declining India’s exports.

India’s exports contracted for the 13th month in a row, dipping about 15 per cent in December to USD 22.2 billion due to steep decline in engineering and petroleum shipments.

Going by trend, the total exports in 2015-16 will thus be lower than the previous fiscal’s figure of USD 310.5 billion.

“On the same trend, it will certainly be much lower than the last year (201415),” Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said citing global slowdown as the cause.

Imports shrank too - down 3.88 per cent to USD 33.96 billion in December on yearly basis.

Gold imports shot up however pushing up the trade deficit to a 4month high of USD 11.66 billion, as against USD 9.17 billion recorded in December 2014. The overall trade gap in August last year was USD 12.47 billion.

Gold imports rose to USD 3.80 billion last month, as against USD 1.36 billion in December 2014.

The cumulative exports during the April-December period declined by 18.06 per cent to USD 196.6 billion.

Imports too dipped by 15.87 per cent to USD 295.8 billion, leaving a trade deficit of USD 99.2 billion. The trade gap was USD 111.68 billion in April-December 2014-15.

PTI Feature

Jaitley bats for subsidies but for the needy, not wealthy

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley (R) said 25 per cent of people below poverty line is entitled to cheap food while the farm sector stress too has to be supported

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government per se is not against subsidies, but maintained that these are meant for the needy and not the wealthy, remarks that come a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of rationalising and targeting of such benefits.

He also indicated that his upcoming Budget will not resort to “sheer populism” for good ratings, but will focus on structural reforms. He hoped that the Congress will “see reason” and help pass the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill.

“Prime Minister had a valid point and the valid point is at the end of the

day, the government per se is not against the concept of subsidies,” he said while speaking at The Economic Times Global Business Summit.

With 25 per cent of the people below poverty line, a very large section of population is entitled to cheap food while the farm sector stress too has to be supported.

“If you look at the whole structure of the Indian economy, its agriculture sector, particularly in the last two years due to the poor monsoon, has been stressed. Therefore, you need to put funds in that particular sector.

Therefore, there would be targetted subsidy,” he said.

India needs a small powerful corporate sector as well as strong powerful agriculture sector, he said. “I don’t think we can put these two sectors in conflict with each other. You need to make sure every sector of the economy grows,” the minister added. .

Jaitley said the Indian economy has to be put on a sounder platform.

“The Budget has to weigh the areas of weaknesses where investments are required. Therefore, I have to pitch in that direction. If a Budget for the cause of ratings goes in for sheer populism, it’s not necessary that the cause of economics or even sounder politics that we are aiming at (is served).”

Taxes which are payable must be collected but “there must not be unfair taxes” as unfair assessments bring “bad name” and no revenue, he said.

Jaitley highlighted the need for carrying on structural reforms, saying the focus should be on infrastructure, irrigation and farm productivity.

“We probably have potential to have a growth that is higher than what we have achieved. This 7-7.5 per cent is not our optimum range. The Indian normal is 8-9 per cent category.

And it is only when you grow at that pace, you can get rid of poverty,” he said.

PTI

Indian-origin family invests in India-UK tidal power The latest acquisition by the Gupta family is part of the programme launched by Modi and Cameron

BY ADITI KHANNA A UK-based Indian-origin family with business interests across metals and renewable energy has invested in a multi-billion-pound tidal lagoon power project.

The Gupta family’s SIMEC division has acquired a substantial stake in the UK’s Tidal Lagoon Plc, a holding company established by Tidal Lagoon Power Ltd, to finance the development of full-scale tidal lagoons in the UK and India.

“We are very pleased to invest in this ambitious and innovative

enterprise that promises to provide low-carbon, baseload energy and drive economic renewal through the development of a high-value supply chain that will create thousands of new jobs. As a group we are expanding internationally on several fronts and renewable energy is right at the heart of that expansion,” said Sanjeev Gupta, chief executive of SIMEC’s sister group fi rm Liberty House.

Liberty House had last year stepped in to acquire units of Caparo Group, Lord Swraj Paul’s steel company that went into administration.

The latest investment leads to the

creation of a joint venture between the Guptas’ global energy and commodities company, SIMEC, and Tidal Lagoon Power to develop large-scale tidal lagoons for power generation in India.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in November last year, British Prime Minister David Cameron had signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the field of clean energy.

Last month, India joined the UK in the International Energy Agency’s Ocean Energy Systems intergovernmental collaboration programme.

The latest acquisition by the Gupta family, pegged at an estimated eightfigure sum in pounds, is expected to

plug into the programme.

The past year has seen SIMEC and sister company Liberty House acquire extensive power generation, steel production and engineering capacity across the UK, including the Uskmouth Power Station at Newport.

The move is part of a wider strategy by the Gupta family to create multi-billion pound renewable energy capacity worldwide and apply innovative technologies to provide low-cost power for energy-intensive industries, particularly steel.

The fi rst tidal lagoon under the project is planned for Swansea Bay in Wales is expected to open in 2018, with an estimated cost of 1 billion pounds.

PTI

Sanjeev Gupta is chief executive of SIMEC’s sister group firm Liberty House

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2016

PUNE

Our voices need to be heard

When: February 6, 7 & 8, 9, 11 am onwards Where: Nilambari, Bhandarkar Road & Marvel Ritz, Behind Amanora Mall

The everyday plight of Pune pedestrians

TASTE OF GOD’S OWN COUNTRY

RAHUL RAHUL

Double Tree By Hilton, Chichwad brings you the taste of Kerala, a-10 day food festival that will take your taste buds on a tangy journey of a lifetime. So spice up your life with Kerala’s culinary traditions When: Till February 12 Where: 3 Spices, DoubleTree By Hilton, Pune-Chinchwad

A HEARTSHAPED PIZZA FOR YOUR VALENTINE

SULAFEST IS BACK

With over 100 international and national artists, more than 25 genres, 23 nations and over 30 gourmet food and beverage options, SulaFest 2016 goes a notch higher in its 9th edition.

Country’s most gorgeously situated, eagerly awaited Gourmet World Music Festival is back to give you a weekend full of music, wine, food, fashion and much, much more at the idyllic environs of the vineyards and the winery’s beautiful open-air, Greek-style amphitheater.

When: February 6 & 7 Where: Sula Vineyards, Nasik

Papa John’s has introduced special Valentine’s Day theme pizzas to make this Valentine’s Day even more special. Made from the freshest ingredients and prepared to perfection by its expert chefs, these special pizza specials are a must try. So loosen your belt, and dig in as your beloved pizza arrives.

When: Ongoing Where: All Papa John’s outlets

When: February 7, 2 pm onwards Where: Swig, North Main Road, Koregaon Park

AN EXHIBITION OF INSPIRATIONS

Tilting Art Gallery at Ishanya brings to you ‘Inspirations’, a remarkable collection of fine art by young artists to display their artistic feats. The artists will showcase canvas paintings, graphics,

SAVOUR THE DELICACIES OF MAHARASHTRA

CLUBLAND SATURDAYS WITH DJ AKHTAR & AMOUR

Dance the night away as the awesome duo DJ Akhtar & Amour dish out a variety of mindblowing mixes.

When: February 6, 9 pm onwards Where: KUE Bar, The Westin, Koregaon Park

VERNON & ABJI LIVE

The Beer Café will be celebrating weekend with live music, great grub and the best beers in town.

This weekend, enjoy an unparalleled beering experience with a performance by Vernon & Abji.

The band consists of Vernon Besterwicth, one of the city’s own guitar maestros and Abji George, a versatile singer and guitarist performing since his childhood.

When: February 6, 9 pm onwards Where: The Beer Cafe, Kapila Matrix, Koregaon Park

COMIC CON EXPRESS PUNE

Comic Con Express is coming to Pune, so gear up for the biggest pop culture event of the city with create your own comic book workshop by Abhijeet Kini in association With Swig. Bring out your inner nerd by joining this fun workshop and learn how to create your own comic book.

EXCLUSIVE HANDCRAFTED CREATION

Indian Artizans will showcase exclusive handcrafted creations from across India.

Experience a never before handmade extravaganza of sarees, kurtas, dupattas, Nehru jackets, jewellery, sarees for little girls and home decor. One can witness the collection of Uppada, Kanjivaram, Patola, Banarasi,Chikankari, Paithani, Bandhej, Chanderi, Maheshwari, Bidicraft, and designer fashion jewellery.

TEJAS GAIKWAD

PIC SCHOOL OF THOUGHT: Slumchildren wash their own school uniform at a nullah near Bhide bridge after attending the classes at a nearby municipal school

delicacies that can be enjoyed at this pop-up buffet include Jhinga Koliwada (crispy coated prawns with dry pomegranate) and Sabudana Wada Lollypop (typical sago croquets served with house special cucumber and banana salsa) and many interesting exquisite dishes.

When: February 6 & 7, 12 noon Where: Courtyard by Marriott Pune Chakan, Talegaon Chakan Road

WEEK THAT WAS

Write to Us

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

14 COLLEGE STUDENTS OF CITY DROWN AT MURUD JANJIRA

Fourteen students of Abeda Inamdar College, Camp drowned in the sea at Murud Janjira on Monday afternoon. A group of 130 students of the college, including eight teachers and three support staff, were on a one-day picnic to Murud Janjira when the tragedy struck. Five students were rescued and admitted to a private hospital. They were all students of the Bachelor of Computer Science (BCS) stream. Raigad Superintendent of Police Suvez Haque said, “The students had come to Murud for a picnic. Twenty of them went swimming at around 4 pm but they had misjudged the water depth and started drowning. Villagers and other tourists rescued some of them.”

A BONDING OF CREATIVE DESIGNS

Inter National Institute of Fashion Design, INIFD Deccan celebrated 11 years of glory and success by hosting the Annual Fashion Show and Exhibition 2016 – ‘The Unbroken Bond’. The show was an initiative to express bond between Indian textile and rest of the world through art and was held at Novotel Hotel. “This is an annual event proudly conducted by the institute to encourage the students and offer them a platform to showcase their talent and creativity,” said Amit Agrawal, director, INIFD Deccan.

This fashion extravaganza was an evening to remember as the guests witnessed some spectacular designs in each of the seven themes – Twiggy look, Egyptian look, Edwardian look, Hippie look, Preppy look, Moroccan look, Persian look. The event showcased themes with beautiful costumes that were a perfect blend of Indian and western cultures, all designed by the students of INIFD. The grand event unfolded in the presence of chief guest and jury, acclaimed Bollywood fashion designer and official stylist of Salman Khan Ashley Rebello.

DHANKAWADE RESIGNS AS MAYOR AFTER 15 MONTHS IN OFFICE

Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Mayor Dattatraya Dhankawade submitted his resignation to the municipal secretary on Tuesday, in line with the instructions from Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) party high command.

Dhankawade served for 15 months as Pune Mayor. He sent copies of his resignation letter to PMC Commissioner Kunal Kumar and Divisional Commissioner S Chockalingam as well. Municipal Secretary Sunil Parkhi will table the mayor’s Dattatraya Dhankawade resignation before the general body (GB) of the PMC. After the GB approval, it will be sent to the divisional commissioner who will then schedule plans to elect a new mayor. Since the resignation was mid-term, there will be no election. The new mayor will be selected by the end of February.

Women in blue Hospitals are for healing This is not the first time that some hospital has declined treatment to a patient or illtreated a patient. Such cases keep increasing in the city. Hospitals and their staff are there to take care of the patients who are admitted there. Hospitals are places where sick people go to be healed, not ignored. The hospital authorities and the medical fraternity at large must look into this matter seriously and ensure that patients are never mistreated.

—Ravi Kelkarne

The feature about women cricketers and what they achieved decades ago, is greatly inspiring. It is sad that fewer women are taking to the game of cricket these days and that there are no women from Pune in the Indian cricket team. It is good that the BCCI has taken over the reins of the women’s cricket team. This will go a long way in improving the lot of Indian women cricketers and it will also spur more young women to take up the game in a professional manner.

—Soniya Gadhe JANUARY 30, 2016

Wearing team India colours was a dream come true MANJU NADGAUDA

A step in the right direction The state government functioning draws a lot of public ire but sanctioning leave for women receiving children through surrogacy is a laudable move. The women will be able to take better care of the children and ensure that they get the right kind of nutrition among other things. With judgments like this, the government shows that it can take decisions that are beneficial to the public and that’s a step in the right direction.

—Freya Pujari

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

M

anju Nadgauda still remembers the thrill of donning the blazer she acquired in 1995, when she was inducted into the Indian women’s cricket squad.

Now 39, wearing the team blazer, the colours and cap meant the world to Manju as a teenager.

“Words cannot describe the feeling, the larger-than-life aura of representing one’s country on the sports field. It was a dream come true, a moment I had looked forward to for all my life. Being selected as a member of the Indian

women’s cricket team is a moment etched forever in my memory,” said Manju. Soon after, Manju left on a tour of England, featuring five Tests and five ODIs. Manju was obsessed with cricket when her hands were too small to grasp and her arms too frail to wield a true-to-life cricket willow.

But the childhood years of playing with her neighbourhood mates in the lanes around her house paid off. “My parents always encouraged me and my father went along wherever I used to

play. A lot of credit for my success I owe to my parents,” she said.

By the time she was 11 years old, others could see that Manju had a real, striking gift for the game, and she was urged to enrol in a cricket camp at Engineering College.

One thing led to another and before she knew it, the 12-year-old found herself in the Maharashtra team. Her prowess was also instrumental in fetching her just rewards, in the form of being named the vice-captain of the Under-13 Maharashtra team.

The years rolled by and her star continued to rise on the cricket pitch. Her striking performances in the Under-19 as well as the senior teams of Maharashtra, paved the way for Manju’s selection for the Indian team.

Her idol was captain Pramila Bhat, and the impressionable Manju made the most of the opportunity of playing alongside her skipper.

“Pramila was an unending source of inspiration. She was a tough sort, and she instilled her never-say-die attitude in all of us who played alongside her. Besides this mental fortitude, she was also an immensely gifted cricketer, with a great gift of athleticism and physical resources.

She also had the ability to take her juniors under her wing, and instill in them the desire and ambition to excel,” said Manju.

She was among the probables for the World Cup 1998 but had to sit it out owing to an injury.

After representing India, Manju was part of the Air India team. In a sparkling decade, she scored around 4000 runs, took 150 catches, scoring 21 half centuries and 12 tons.

Now retired, Manju believes that times have changed much for the better as far as sports are concerned, and that today’s athletes are far better off. “There were no proper grounds and we had no luxuries such as physios,” she said.

She also thinks that, except for the strength aspect, women sportspersons are just as skilled as men. “There is no doubt that men are much stronger than women. But strength has nothing to do with skills, and women are just as capable as men on that front,” she said.

Manju is all too aware of all that the game of cricket has endowed her with. It has literally made her the person she is today. “Being a sportsperson, one acquires the ability to deal with winning and losing. Sports also give a person a sense of fair play and justice. As a cricketer I had to put in my share of fitness training and exercise, the benefits of which I am reaping even today. As a working woman, I have to deal with the stresses of modern urban life, and I feel that being a sportsperson has given me a little edge in coping with the demands of everyday life,” said Manju.

Bowling them over with style and guile SONIYA DABIR

S

oniya Dabir came to cricket quite by accident, but discovered that she had a real flair for the game, not to mention other attributes like an ideal physique and quick reflexes.

The badminton racquet she had been wielding from the age of eight was replaced by a willow soon after she saw the children in her colony

playing cricket. It turned out to be a long-term affair instead of just a temporary fling.

Women’s cricket was gathering steam at the time and little Soniya was soon under the spell, as luminaries such as Shubhangi Kulkarni, Ujwala Nikam and Nilima Joglekar were inspiring a new generation of India women to

pick up the bat and the ball. Soniya was no exception, and she joined a cricket coaching class at Nehru Stadium in 1995. The grooming had the desired effect, and Soniya’s talent blossomed, and evolved to such a degree in quick time, that before she knew it, she was picked for Tem India. Dabbu, as she was known to her team-mates, she

featured in four ODIs and 13 T20s in the India colours. As a strike bowler, Soniya claimed 25 wickets in first class matches. Her stand-out performance was against Pakistan in the 2013 T20 World Cup, when she claimed three key wickets.

“Nothing comes close to the joy and honour I felt at playing for India. I was fortunate to be married to someone who encouraged me to carry on playing. I love the game so much that I was able to make the sacrifices and manage my time so that I could manage my chores at home without a ruffle,” she said.

Now 35, Soniya has continued to maintain her links to cricket though she is no longer active on the cricket pitch. As a much in demand coach, she is continuously interacting with youngsters of the city. “It is so different now. Girls are encouraged to take up sports professionally by their parents. I am amazed at all the talent there is here in the city. Pune is known as a base where women’s cricket in India really flourished and blossomed.

Though there are no players from the city in the current Indian squad, I am sure that this is just a momentary lapse, and that pretty soon there will be eligible women cricketers from the city knocking on team India’s doors,” she said.

Soniya is happy that the BCCI has taken over the reins of women’s cricket. “Things are only going to keep getting better, and the new generation of players who are being groomed, have all that they need and more to be shaped into world class cricketers,” she said.

JANUARY 30, 2016

PUNE

PUNE

MEET INDIA’S WOMEN IN BLUE Compared to the non-stop adulation and the incandescent magnificence of the material rewards that the men in blue are showered with every step of the way, the women representing India on the cricket oval are a largely ignored and far less celebrated lot. But the fact is that they play, work, strive and dream just as hard and as resolutely as their male counterparts

BY EKTA KATTI @Ektaak

T

he greatly hyped men in blue have had a torrid time down under, having been soundly beaten in the One Day Internationals by mighty hosts Australia. But it is the rather unheralded Indian women who have made cricket history by defeating the Aussie women at Adelaide, and getting ahead 1-0 in the threematch T20 series. The Indian eves sparkled as they completed a record 140-run chase, beat their hosts by five wickets.

As it happens, Pune has had a lot to do with the emergence of Indian women cricketers. One must rewind to 1972, when Madhu Tapikar and Suresh Dhumke saw the Maharashtra women’s baseball team playing cricket with the baseball bat at Kalyan, Mumbai. So impressed were they with what they saw, that they thought it would be worth their while to give women’s cricket a big and professional boost in India.

So it came about that the first women’s national cricket championship was held at Nehru Stadium, Pune in April 1973.

There were three teams in the fray, including Bombay, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, but the last named unit was so below standard, that Nilima Joglekar of Pune was made part of the UP team to give it some substance.

The national championship was named the Rani Jhansi Trophy to symbolise women’s power. The second national championship was held at Varanasi in November 1973, and featured 14 teams.

PICS BY VISHAL KALE AND RAHUL RAUT

EDITOR

THE

E WE K

une’s traffic situation has progressed to well beyond a nightmare. No matter where you go at whatever time of the day, bottlenecks and slow crawls are in store. Then there is also the phenomenon of road rage, which is growing by the minute. I live in Kothrud, and I must say that going out for an evening walk has changed from what used to be a pleasure to a life-threatening ordeal, where I am always in danger of being run over by some manic speeding biker or driver. The bikers are really like stunt riders and zoom on and Gajrabai Gaikwad off pavements like a circus act. But that means I am in their way and I have to move out of their way or be struck down. What kind of city is this, and what kind of policing and organisation are we provided by the municipal corporation? It is no use accosting the people who ride their bikes on the pavements, because the most civil response from them is that they tell us that the pavement does not belong to us.

How can senior citizens deal with such uncouth ruffians who do not know the meaning of manners and courtesy. In fact, I have often been honked at and made to walk on one side to let one of these ill-mannered bikers pass. This is the utter limit of lawlessness, because there is no policeman at hand who I can complain to. This is happening all over the city, so I know that I am not the only pedestrian in the city being deprived of my rights. Pune the pensioners’ paradise and a fountainhead of education and culture has degenerated into a city with no soul, a jungle where might is right and where instead of law or order, there is violence and chaos. So much for progress, and a smart city dream.

mix media and sculptures. The show will be inaugurated at 6 pm and will give Punekars a glimpse of art inspired and influenced by a wide range of subjects, styles and mediums.

When: February 7 to February 13, 11 am onwards (Monday closed) Where: Ishanya, Tilting Art Gallery, Off Airport Road

OF

LETTERS TO THE

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Courtyard by Marriott, Chakan is all set to indulge patrons in delectable weekends with celebrity chef Nilesh Limaye. Over this whole month, there will be a special Balava menu designed by the chef. The Balava menu imbibes a lavish lunch buffet which will feature the most luscious flavours of the Maharashtrian fare. Some of the sumptuous

The inter-zonal tournaments came about to fill in the void and lack of competitive games, and as

expected team Pune was a dominant force.

This initial foray led to a

Indian women’s cricket team in 1976. It also put the city of Pune in the spotlight as the national ream featured four Puneites, including Ujwala Nikam, Kalpana Paropkari, Shubhangi Kulkarni and Nilima Joglekar.

Women’s cricket had taken off the world over, and women cricketers from Australia, West Indies, England and New Zealand toured India in 1976, giving much needed impetus to the nascent endeavour.

The big news was the Indian eves’ victory in first ever Test match against the West Indies at Patna in 1976, to the resounding cheers of the 60,000 enthusiasts who had filled the stadium. The Indian women went on to win the sixmatch series against the islanders.

India hosted the first ever Women’s World Cup in 1979 won by England, which featured just four nations. Nothing much happened in the next three years, but the second World Cup was held at New Zealand in 1982, which the hosts won handily. The Indian team again featured the same quartet of Puneites.

The governing body, Women’s Cricket Association (WCA), was formed in 1973. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took over the WCA in 2007.

Pune has maintained its status as a fertile breeding ground for women cricketers, and more than 100 Pune women have represented India on the cricket pitch.

The women cricketers are rather an ignored and forgotten lot, but they do deserve to be seen and heard.

Over to Pune’s women cricketers genuine interest and enthusiasm who have made a difference. for women’s cricket and it also ekta.katti@goldensparrow.com catalysed the formation of the first

Love (of cricket) has kept them together

M

MADHU TAPIKAR/KALPANA PAROPKARI

adhu Tapikar, 66, and Kalpana Paropkari, 60,

share a love for cricket that keeps going, just as their marriage has endured.

Ranji player Madhu was promoting cricket in the 70s, especially among the fair sex, urging them to take up the game professionally. Kalpana Paropkari was at the forefront of women’s cricket in India, being part of the first national team.

“It was a different world, a different age but I feel proud that I was a member of the first women’s cricket team representing India,” said Kalpana, who featured in five Tests and five ODIs. Madhu remembers when there were no takers for women’s cricket, and it was a big challenge to organise and host such a tournament. It was a battle against the odds, but the efforts of the pioneers brought about the desired change, and women cricketers became a part of the sporting scenario in India. “There were helpful people who did what was needed to give women’s cricket a boost in India, starting from the basics such as grounds. How the world has changed since that time, and now women cricketers not only have access to the same kind of facilities that the men have, but women’s cricket matches are staged at the same venues,” said Madhu.

Kalpana feels that the craze for cricket is on the wane. “There used to be girls from small towns obsessed with cricket in my times.

In comparison, today there are very few girls interested in cricket professionally. It is sad because it

was a real struggle to get women’s cricket going in India. I hope that the new generation of youngsters show some affinity and love for the game of cricket and continue with the tradition. It would be a tragedy if women’s cricket continues its downslide. I believe that women

have a lot to offer the sport of cricket and that they possess all the attributes and skills to give cricket enthusiasts a spectacle worth watching,” said Kalpana.

“There is no substitute for hard work and no short cuts to greatness in any sport, including cricket. It

is necessary to possess a certain zeal, a love for the game that will enable one to overcome obstacles.

The rewards are sure to follow, but they are not what sport is all about.

It is the desire to rise above, to raise the ordinary to the realm of magic,” said Madhu.

The view from behind the wickets NILIMA JOGLEKAR

The future of women’s cricket in India DEVIKA VAIDYA

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he was only 13 when she Maharashtra represented in an Under-19 side.

A leg spinner and top order batswoman, she made her India debut in a T20 international against South Africa in 2014.

She was the unanimous choice to captain the Under-19 India side in the Challenger Series.

No surprise, she was named the best junior cricketer at the BCCI Annual Awards 2014-15, as she scored 900 runs, claimed 26 wickets and pulled off 20 catches.

“The BCCI award is certainly an unforgettable episode,” she said.

Meet Devika Vaidya, born August 1997, the teenager who represents the future of women’s cricket in India.

At a diminutive 5’ 3”, she is currently devoted to her college education, aspiring to acquire a degree in arts.

“My love affair with cricket began at the age of five, and I am overjoyed that it just keeps on growing. As an adolescent, I knew that I wanted to play cricket professionally. Fortunately for me, the breaks came my way and I had the opportunity to be a part of the district and state teams. Of course, the cherry on the icing was being selected for the India team,” she said. She remembers feeling both nervous and excited on the South Africa tour.

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Devika regards her parents as the foundation for her success on the cricket field. “They are the ones who know just how to keep me going when I have doubts,” she said.

“My idol is Mithali Raj, the women’s team captain. “I have a lot to learn from Mithali as regards technique, not to mention her cool and calm demeanour under pressure. I

have big aspirations but I also know that I have to keep working and improving before I make my mark on the sporting world,” she said.

“I love cricket and I know

I have both the desire and the ability. But we live in an extremely competitive world, and it is even more so on a cricket pitch. What’s life without challenges, though?” she said.

he still looks trim and fit, and it’s easy to presume or believe that she used to be involved in some sport. Nilima Joglekar must be counted as a pioneer of women’s cricket in India, having taken to the sport when there were few if any women involved. Now 52, she has featured in 11 Tests and 20 ODIs in the colours of India.

Nilima had her share of obstacles and hurdles to cross when she took to the cricket pitch in the early 70s. She was fortunate though to have a father who played tennis and a mother who was swimming coach. “My parents always supported an encouraged my talent and enthusiasm where cricket was concerned. It was a very different world and age back then, and people would look askance at women taking to the cricket field,” she said.

It started with playing with the neighbourhood children in the lanes near her house. But Nilima

was gifted with a little more than just a timepass interest in cricket.

The thought of taking up cricket as a profession however, had not entered the little girl’s mind then.

“But I knew even then that I had a little something that most of the children I used to play with did not,” she said.

There were others who had noticed Nilima’s talent. “My brother and his friends knew how much I loved the game, and they were well aware that I also had a natural talent for cricket, They urged me to take part in the team selection trials and even my mother was all excited about it,” she said. “I did take part in the team selection and the amazing result was that, at the age of 12, I was selected as wicketkeeper for a local team for a match at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana,” she said.

Nilima was also responsible for a change in people’s attitude towards women sportspersons. The

PYC Hindu Gymkhana was out of bounds for women cricketers in the 70s. But as luck would have it, none other than the revered Professor D B Deodhar happened to be among those watching the match at the ground. “So impressed was the great man with my performance in the match, that he immediately urged the Gymkhana authorities to alter their policy and allow entry on the grounds for women cricketers,” she said.

Nilima was groomed in the niceties of keeping wickets by her coach Suresh Dhumke. “I had a natural affinity for the task and relished my position behind the wickets. Thankfully, I was also able to perform rather well,” she said. She remembers being the centre of attention when she put in a striking show against the touring Australians in a Test match in 1976.

Nilima still has a strong connection with cricket. She is an umpire and has officiated in both

domestic and international cricket matches.

She has swapped the cricket bat for a golf club, and golf is a game that she is just as enthusiastic about.

She still has a great interest in all things cricket and is aware of the current affairs. She is greatly impressed with the teenager Devika Vaidya, who she thinks has what it takes to make it into the limelight in the cricket arena.

Nilima is also impressed with how the game of cricket has involved along with the training “Today infrastructure. and cricketers have access to facilities which we could not even dream of back in our time. Naturally, today’s players are better groomed and evolve to a higher level sooner than we used to,” she said.

Happily married to Mukund Joglekar for over three decades, Nilima can look back at her stint as a cricketer and revel in the countless moments of joy and achievement.

Who is to blame?

The tragedy of 14 Pune students drowning at Murud Janjira is truly horrific. A video of the way the president of the Abeda Inamdar college treated the parents of the deceased youngsters is even worse. While the students could be blamed for ignoring warning signs or going deep into the water, it is the faculty’s negligence that cost these youngsters to lose their lives. The college should have taken proper precautions considering the trip to a beach, and made sure that only those who could handle swimming in the ocean were allowed to enter the water.

—Supriya Joni

Practice what you preach

Be it traffic rules like wearing seatbelts and helmets or even bigger issues like not littering and saving water, the authorities must understand that they must set an example by following the rules themselves. The report about the wastage of water in the PMC building just shows how little the civic staff cares about following rules. What right do they have to expect socially conscious behaviour from citizens if they cannot do the same?

—Namit Shah

SPORTS

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2016

PUNE

“For every player or manager, the age comes when you have to say goodbye. I had the same experience because I loved the game so much and, when you’re quitting, it’s difficult.”

— Guss Hiddink, Interim Manager, Chelsea

Signposts

The 15th edition of the Guru Teg Bahadur football tournament will kick off from February 11. Matches will be held at the College Of Engineering ground, Shivajinagar. Entry forms will be accepted on first come first serve basis. For more details contact SM Vallan on 9689601940.

Enduro3 from February 6-7 The 14th edition of NECC NEF Enduro3 adventure race will be held on February 6-7 in Pune. The endurance test will be held around the Sinhagad, Panshet and Konkan crest-line.

The event includes trekking, mountain biking, rappelling, kayaking and navigation. Registered participants will be divided into 13 categories. Interested candidates can register by calling 8698656565 or (020) 24428359.

PFC draws East Bengal 2-2 Pune FC were held to a 2-2 draw by East Bengal in the finals of Group-B game of U-18 I-League 2015-16, at the Municipal Football Stadium in Howrah.

While winger Chesterpaul Lyngdoh (20th & 40th minute) netted a brace for Pune FC, Indrajeet Chettri (28th) and Rahul Roy (70th) levelled scores for the home side in a tight affair.

Making his move to GM pinnacle IM Harshit Raja wants to bring home the Grand Master norm in 2016

TEJAS GAIKWAD

Guru Teg Bahadur football from Feb 11

BY EKTA KATTI @Ektaak At 15, Harshit Raja is an International Master (IM) norm holder with his sights fi rmly set on the next pinnacle, a Grand Master (GM) status.

In a classy display, Harshit cruised to win the 5th edition of MJ’s Trophy Every Sunday Rapid Chess Championship, on Sunday, January 31, the fi rst champion of this series to win all his games.

“The one-of-its-kind tournament is a perfect platform for budding chess players. I feel great that I also could win all my games.” said Harshit.

Big sister Twisha had been his inspiration, the one who urged and motivated Harshit constantly, and fuelled in him a love for and obsession with the game, that spurred him on to take up chess professionally.

“I was just eight years old and watching Twisha play, it did not take me long to become fascinated with chess. I knew then that I had a flair for chess, a keen eye, and the ability to memorise the intricate moves. Since then it was no looking back,” said Harshit.

That’s when Harshit’s training began and he played his fi rst tournament at the age of ten.

It has been a whirlwind ride from a FIDE ELO rating of 1483 to his current rating of 2364. And his love for the game makes him do wonders.

Harshit is a standard IX student

TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly

St Felix High School claimed girls title

St Felix High School girls claimed the maiden title, beating Vikhe Patil School 3-1. In a one-sided encounter, St Felix were on the attack from word go, leaving their opponents few chances. Khushi Chavan scored early for St Felix, while a brace by Sania Mohite secured the deal.

of Symbiosis Secondary School, and manages to juggle between school and chess without fuss. He puts in two hours of practise on school days, and on holidays the practice stretches to a full complement of eight or even nine hours.

The silver medal he won at the Under-13 National Chess Championship at Jamshedpur in 2014 was a breakthrough event for Harshit.

The bronze at the Asian Youth Chess Championship 2015 in South Korea

St Felix High School coach Alex Mathai was understandably proud of his team. “This win was very special as it was the first time girls’ teams were included in the prestigious Rogers Cup tournament.

It was a one-sided match where we hardly gave them a chance to make a comeback,” he said.

JN Petit boys team pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament, defeating the much vaunted St Vincent’s High School 1-1 (5-4) in the final. Participating in the tournament for the first time made winning the title all the more special.

“We beat the best team in the city. Our attacking prowess won us the tournament,” said Nandu Angirwal, JN Petit coach. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Puneri Paltan beats Dabang Delhi 38-20, climbs to third place with six points

Captain Manjeet Chhillar put in a match-winning, all-round performance to lead Puneri Paltan to a 38-20 rout of Dabang Delhi

KC at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Wednesday. Th is third consecutive defeat for the team from the national capital, showed up their shortcomings. To make matters worse, Dabang coach Balwan Singh Dahiya was shown the yellow card

• • •

•

Pune demolishes Delhi

TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly

Rising star

• • •

St Felix High School, JN Petit win Rogers Cup 2016 in style St Felix High School and JN Petit won the girls’ and boys’ titles respectively at the Rogers Cup 2016 Under-14 Football Tournament organised by former students of Stella Maris High School at their home ground at Vadgaonsheri.

The nine-a-side two day event saw 16 under-14 boys teams vie for the title as well as under-14 girls’ teams.

The tournament was started by the alumni of Stella Maris School in the memory of their classmate ‘Roger’ who was a talented football player and a great person. The tournament provides a great platform for upcoming football aspirants.

“I think India will win in home conditions. Their players know the pitches and they’re playing good cricket against the best teams in the world at present in that version of the game.

—Brian Lara, West Indies Batting Legend

in the 23rd minute for dissent.

Delhi were all out in the 16th minute of the encounter, and trailed 6-14 before settling for a 9-16 score at the halfway stage. The Pune team then took the game by the scruff of the neck, with all-rounders Chhillar and Deepak Niwas Hooda grabbing the spotlight.

Delhi’s Kashiling earned his team two points in a single raid, while newcomer Surjeet Singh was not allowed to contribute much. A match tally of five points for Kashiling, three for Rohit Chaudhary and two for Surjeet illustrated Dabang Delhi KC’s ineffectual strike force.

The Telugu Titans top the table with 11 points, followed by Patna Pirates with ten points, from four and two outings respectively. Puneri Paltan are in third spot ahead of Jaipur Pink Panthers, with identical scores of six points. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

was another quantum leap.

“Wining the bronze was the most memorable day of my life. I had worked really hard,” he added.

World Champion Magnus Carlsen of Sweden is his greatest source of inspiration.

“I have learnt a lot from Carlsen, his fighting spirit, and the way he continues to try to beat his opponents.

Winning is the one thing on his mind,” Harshit said.

TIME WELL SPENT The Qatar Masters 2015 was a special time. That is where Harshit earned his IM norm, and also came face to face with his idol Carlsen, who took time out to play football with the kids.

“I was returnting to my room after the tournament, and I joined in the football match between the English and the Russians. Carlsen and I happened to be in the same team. It was a big thrill to be on the same team

Name: Harshit Raja DOB: April 3, 2001 School: Class IX, Symbiosis Secondary School, Pune First professional game: 2010 Current FIDE rating: 2364 Idols: Magnus Carlsen, World number 1, and American Chess Champion Bobby Fischer Dream: To earn the GM norm in 2016

with my hero, just out of the world,” said Harshit.

Harshit also admires American Bobby Fischer a great deal.

Competitive chess can take its toll and Harshit has devised his own way to keep his cool and not lose his nerve.

“Chess is a game that demands a strong, clear and sharp mind. Sometimes the game goes on for hours. Meditation and chanting the Hanuman Chalisa help me stay focused,” he says.

“When a game goes on for five hours, you must have reserves of mental strength to remain competitive,” Harshit says.

The King’s Gambit is a move Harshit is fond of. “It is a strong opening move and I use it often to get the better of my rivals,” he said.

He’s thrilled that Pune has becomes such a chess hub with a profusion of tournaments.

Harshit is looking forward to the tournaments in France and Russia, for which he will be leaving at the end of February.

“My next big goal is a Grand Master norm,” he says. ekta.katti@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2016

PUNE

Dhanori, Khandave Padal, Kalas

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hanori, Kalas and Khadave chaotic situation prevails all round, Padal that comes under with garbage being dumped in open Panel number 1 were part spaces owing to the non-existent of the 23 villages merged in PMC in garbage bins. The demand for 1967. PMC drafted a development regular rounds of garbage trucks has plan (DP) for these villages in 2005, fallen on deaf ears. Water logging but several projects proposed in the is common during the monsoons plan are yet to see the light with rain water seeping of day. As a result, the into low lying homes. The residents of the villages PMC has failed to install are having to make do rain drainage pipelines at without the most essential Dhanori. Lohegaon does of necessities, such as have a crematorium so alternate day water supply. its residents are forced to Work on the separate perform the last rituals pipeline from Bhamaof the deceased at the Aaskhed dam to these Dhanori crematorium. villages proposed in the Anil Tingare The pedestrian crossing at DP is still to begin. The Dhanori proposed in the residents are still awaiting last PMC budget has not the setting up of a hospital, better been built yet. The three villages road infrastructure, well-lit streets, have no gardens, nor playgrounds or drainage lines and solid waste hospitals, no garbage bins or street management. In a nutshell, there lights. Illegal constructions are is not a trace of the development rampant at Dhanori and Kalas, with and urbanisation expected after the people constructing homes wherever merger in PMC limits. In fact, a they want, thanks to the failure of

the PMC construction department to implement development control (DC) rules. It is no surprise then that the residents of these villages have lost faith in the PMC completely, and are dreading what lies in their future under the PMC yoke.

Local corporator Anil Tingare said, “There is no Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) bus service in our village. We have submitted several applications regarding a bus service to Khandave Padal to the PMPML chief, but to no avail. Children of the village have to walk to school, or parents have to shell out money and hire private vans for the kids. PMC provides free bus passes to students of PMC schools, but these are useless as there is no PMPML bus service here, and private or personal vehicles are the options. The Pune Zilla Parishad set up its school at Khadave Padal years ago. After the merger, there is now a PMC board on the school building, which is now in such a dilapidated state that

the lives of the school children are under threat. Our communication with the PMC school education board regarding reconstruction of the school building has been ignored constantly. The PMC administration will be to blame for any untoward incident if the derelict school building were to collapse. While corporators are diverting funds to their favoured and pampered wards in Pune, we keep being bypassed and deprived of the crucial allocation of funds for development.

PMC administrative staff is conspicuous by their absence as they do not care to visit our wards which happen to be in fringe areas.

Four years after the PMC election of 2012, not a single mayor has ever visited our wards. The residents have no inkling of who the PMC commissioner is, as he has never visited our village despite repeated requests, to come see for himself the dismal state of affairs that prevails in our villages.”

Mundhwa, Hadapsar railway station area

T

his is the panel (number 20) is progressing at snail’s pace. PMC of Chanchala Kodre, who dumps garbage at Phursungi and served as PMC mayor for Devachi Uruli, which is polluting 15 months during 2014-15. In the the natural water resource of wake of the formation of the Pune Mundhwa. This is the reason the Municipal Corporation in 1950, residents are forced to rely on the Mundhwa was one of the first corporation water supply. Traffic villages to be merged into is a major issue in this PMC in 1954. Over five ward and the residents decades later, residents have no option but to of Mundhwa are still face the consequences. A deprived of basic civic bridge on Mula-Mutha amnesties. Localities like river would ease the load Mundhwa Gaothan do of traffic from Solapur not get adequate water and Ahmednagar, as the supply owing to low existing bridge is 45 years pressure from old and inadequate for the the camp water volume of traffic. Work on Chanchala Kodre purification centre. One the HCMRT and ROB of the longest standing bridges has been pending demands of Mundhwa residents, the for long. Traffic snarls are common railway crossing is still incomplete. on the narrow Magarpatta to PMC sanctioned Mundhwa bridge Koregaon Park stretch. The during Kodre’s tenure, and the Mundhwa crematorium is in foundation stone of the bridge was bad shape, with just a floor and a laid in January by former deputy rusted smokestack. After constant chief minister Ajit Pawar, but work demands from the residents, the

crematorium is incomplete due to PMC administration’s slipshod functioning. The Late Mohan Dharia and G P Pradhan gardens are in a state of neglect and lack of upkeep.

Local corporator Chanchala Kodre said, “During my tenure as mayor in 2014-15, I managed to get an allocation of Rs 12 crore for Mundhwa. The funds were used to build a Youth Guidance Centre, renovation of Late Sakharam Kodre Hospital, Annabhau Sathe Bhavan, setting up of stalls for vegetable vendors, a gymnasium, an entertainment centre for senior citizens, study rooms for competitive examination aspirants and a multi-purpose building.

This is a large panel and the funds allotted for its development are meager in comparison. Being on the fringes, the administration tends to overlook our issues. After the tabling of the PMC budget recently, I got a letter from the ward

office regarding WISE and that the commissioner has put our panel on the under-developed list. But just declaring it as under-developed is not enough, but provisions have to be made in the budget for its development. Traffic congestion, solid waste management, water supply, more bridges and proper roads are crucial issues we face, so they must be the priority under the WISE implementation.

The railways had approved construction of a rail crossing bridge and the work has begun a few days ago. Despite our pleas, the administration has ignored the maintenance of two of our gardens.

It’s obvious that the administration favours the central city areas, like the peths, which leaves our residents feeling like victims of a partial attitude. I have urged officials to visit our wards and interact with the people, to reassure them that the administration cares for their welfare.”

DEPR of basic amenities

The merger of fringe villages into Pune Municipal Corporation began m administration and politicians, it is a travesty then that residents of sev drinking water, proper roads and hospitals

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) embarked on plan to merge fringe villages and bring them under its jurisdiction decades ago. Dhanori, Khadave Wasti, Vishrantwadi, Mundhwa, Hadapsar, Warje, Shivane, Malwadi, Kavdewadi, Kalepadal, Undri, Tarwade, Wanowrie, Ramtekadi, Kausarbaug, Katraj, Bibwewadi, Sukhsagarnagar and Upper Indira are villages merged into PMC limits years ago. But despite the laudable intentions behind their merger, the reality is that residents of these villages are still awaiting the benefits of development and progress.

Leave alone lofty infrastructural

implementation, most of these villages throw up a picture of conspicuous lack of care and neglect, whereby they are deprived of the most basic necessities such as drinking water, garbage disposal and proper roads. Add to that traffic congestion, water logging, ill-lit streets and unhygienic public toilets, and the residents are justified in wondering if they were not better off before the merger in PMC. The only significant change since the merger is a big increase in taxes, but the corresponding improvement in quality of life is still a pipedream for them thanks to the PMC’s lackadaisical attitude towards their needs and demands.

While tabling the PMC budget recently, PMC Commissioner

Warje, Malwadi, Millennium School

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arje panchayat (Panel number 30) was merged into PMC limits in 1997. The key reasons for Warje’s rapid growth are its proximity to Pune city and national highway (NH 4 Mumbai-Bengaluru) connectivity. But Warje residents

are faced with serious problems like proliferation of slums, traffic congestion, lack of proper roads, public transport, hospitals and street lights. Ramnagar slum in Warje, the biggest slum in Pune, occupies a hill area, a conspicuous consequence of PMC negligence. Living in

shacks constructed of tin sheets, the residents of Ramnagar slum have to tote water up to their shacks from the foot of the hill. Happy Home colony and Popularnagar receive water supply at extremely low pressure from the Warje water purification centre. Pune Mahanagar Parivahan

Kunal Kumar me PMC panels wer developed in com central parts of ten panels have be undeveloped the administrati Consequently, K the Ward Infrast and Environmen for these ten und whereby addition allocate for the But several corp undeveloped war the dark over ignorant about the initiative.

The WISE me globally to ensure development. It by the central

Shivn Ma ha ma nda l L i m i t e d (PMPML) buses are parked on Shivne Road due to the lack of parking lots in Warje. This is the reason Bhagyashree Dangat for traffic bottlenecks on Shivne Road. The Late Ramesh Vanjale PMPML bus stop has proved to be an obstruction to the smooth flow of traffic.

Warje residents say that they have to face traffic issues on a daily basis. The roads are encroached on by stalls and the PMC has done little to improve or widen roads built by the Zilla Parishad. Pune city roads are repaired every year but roads in Warje have never been repaired or reconstructed. The powerful

builders lobby, in cahoots with local politicians, brazenly resort to illegal constructions.

Local corporator Bhagyashree Dangat said, “The major problems in our panel are traffic and slums, which I have raised several times in PMC general body meetings, but the ruling combine has constantly ignored them. The MNS has time and again demanded proper

roads in my panel, but the ruling NCP is anxious that they may lose favour because of an honest MNS corporator. Warje comes under the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, which NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule represents.

The support of Warje residents for the MNS worries the ruling combine who are wary of allocating funds to my ward.”

S

hivne is th side of P Gaothan minimal Pun Mahamandal L Garbage cleara along with the

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2016

PUNE

PICS BY RAHUL RAUT

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RIVED under PMC rule

more than five decades ago. But despite the positive intentions of the veral of these villages continue to be deprived of basic amenities like

entioned that ten re not adequately mparison to the the city. These been declared to on the basis of ion’s assessment. umar introduced tructure, Services nt (WISE) index developed panels, nal funds will be eir development. porators of these rds are still in WISE and are e administration’s

ethod is employed e balanced urban t is also used government to

Vishrantwadi, Kalas Gaothan

allocate funds to states. There are 23 indicators, like geographical status of panel, population, public establishments, electricity, solid waste management, sewage treatment ....etc will be taken into consideration for development of panel. PMC’s focus will be on improving each of this indicators status.

The lop-sided development, where the major focus is on the central parts of the city such as the peth areas, while the fringe villages are almost totally ignored, now rankles in the minds of those who live in these villages. They are far more strident in their demand to pin down the responsibility for this state of affairs, where decades after the villages’ merger, they are still to see even a glimmer of hope on the

horizon regarding development, and the provision of all the amenities befitting PMC citizens.

They feel that they are due some straightforward answers rather than airy promises and grandiose talk from the administration and concerned politicians.

The state government has initiated the process to include 34 more villages in PMC limits.

But the residents are up in arms against this impending merger, as the plight of the villages merged previously is plain to see. Except for a big dollop of extra taxes, living under the PMC canopy has not improved their lot; in fact they are sure that they were much better off before being brought under PMC jurisdiction. tushar.rupanavar@glodensparrow.com

ishrantwadi and Kalas Gaotraffic. The Yerawada Road-Lohegathan villages were merged on Road intersection traffic lights are into the PMC in 1997 under not working and there are no traffic Panel number 5. This is one of the police posted here, so this junction largest panels in the PMC, with a is a picture of perennial chaos. There total population of 65,000. Now, 18 is no sign of construction of the Kayears after the merger, 45 percent of las to Ganeshnagar road proposed Vishrantwadi citizens live in slum in 2005. PMC acquired permission areas such as Ektanagar, Bhimnagar, to build Alandi road from the river Vadarvasti, Ramgad and Ramabai side under false pretexts, but the adAmbedkar, in extremely ministration has not built crowded and unhygienic this road, where traffic to environments. VishrantAlandi could have been wadi is surrounded by dediverted to ease the confence estates on three fronts gestion at Vishrantwadiand there is a nallah on Alandi Road. The lack of the fourth side. Proximity adequate drainage facilities to the defence estates has in Vishrantwadi results in proved to be a hindrance storm water seeping into to Vishranwadi’s developpeople’s homes during the ment. Being on the Pune Satish Mhaske monsoons. The residents are city boundary, Vishrantirked by the PMC adminwadi panel is constantly neistration’s failure to install glected by the PMC administration. storm water drainage management The PMC construction department system despite repeated demands. apathy has resulted in haphazard PMC construction department perprivate construction. And having bysonnel have turned a blind eye topassed the mandatory provisions for wards builders obstructing nallahs, parking during construction, people or diverting the water flow, which are are parking vehicles on the roads, the key reasons for storm water enadversely affecting the movement of tering homes during the monsoons.

that the PMC is doing nothing in return for the tax it collects from residents. Having been deprived of even the most basic amenities, they now believe that they were far happier before being forcefully merged into the PMC. The roads are in a sorry state having been neglected for years. PMC

against builders who had narrowed the nallahs and diverted their natural flow, but nothing has happened yet.

The same story will be repeated in the coming monsoon, with storm water seeping into people’s homes. The residents’ demanding for a cultural hall at Vishrantwadi has come to nought as the PMC does not have the land for its construction. The PMC did not take custody of the plots of land it got from developers, and as a result, people have encroached on them.

Meanwhile the commissioner is proposing projects like BRT in Vishrantwadi, which other wards have ignored or turned down. The commissioner has not sanctioned any new flyover or bridge in the new budget so our demand for a flyover at Alandi Road is invalid. The administration’s lax approach towards hawkers and pavement vendors has led to widespread encroachment, resulting in frequent bottlenecks and traffic jams during rush hours. I have raised the issue of widening of obsolete and old drainage lines, which has also been ignored. For all the promises and plans, the PMC has failed to provide the most basic of amenities to its citizens.”

Katraj, Sukhsagarnagar, Upper Indira

K

atraj holds a historic imporPMC control. It had assured the state tance, being the gateway to government that they would build the Pune for people coming from road, a promise they have not kept.

Satara and Mumbai. Katraj was PMC derives abundant taxes merged into PMC limits on Septemfrom Katraj, which is a developber 17, 1997. In the nearly two decades ing ward with numerous construcsince nothing has changed except for tion projects in progress. The Phula flurry of construction. The narrow rani mini train for children at Katraj roads are in a state of disrepair, brobrought in Rs 14 lakh revenue for the ken and potholed. Thirty-six people PMC. The Rajiv Gandhi Zoological have died in accidents on the narPark is a major tourist attraction and a row Katraj-Kondhwa bypass. Heavy viable source of revenue for the PMC. traffic as well as car drivBut the PMC keeps neers going towards Solapur, glecting the civic problems Mumbai and Satara prefer which Katraj residents face. this bypass road since it is Several localities are in need a shortcut, whereby they of proper roads, and most avoid the main city. Katraj, of the roads in the ward are Sukhsagarnagar and Uplike those in remote villages. per Indira falls under Panel Uncleared garbage is an isnumber 76. sue in a number of localities, Residents have been giving rise to serious health demanding the widening of and hygiene issues.

Vasant More the bypass road, corporators A resident, on condition have submitted numerous of anonymity, said, “Katraj applications for construction and widis a fast-growing suburb of Pune. But ening of the Katraj-Kondhwa bypass despite that, we are deprived of basic road, but to no avail. Hadapsar MLA amenities like water, roads and garYogesh Tilekar raised the Katrajbage clearance. The politicos are only Kondhwa bypass road issue in the interested in taking credit for the instate assembly, but this road is under consequential works they accomplish,

ne, Warje Gaothan

he last village on the south Pune. Shivne and Warje (Panel number 31) have ne Mahanagar Parivahan Ltd (PMPML) bus services. ance is also a major issue roads. The residents believe

Residents dump garbage on roadsides and vacant lots as there is provision of PMC garbage trucks in Vishrantwadi. This uncleared garbage is a health hazard with the foul odours and scavenger animals like pigs. The public toilets in Vishrantwadi are unfit for human use as they are not cleaned for weeks or months on end.

Local corporator Satish Mhaske said, “Our panel does not get adequate funds for development works.

The PMC commissioner and mayor are not interested in proposing new projects in our panel as we are on the outskirts of the city. Since my election, I have been urging setting aside funds from our allocation to cope with natural calamities like storm water entering people’s homes. But the commissioner has constantly ignored my suggestions. When storm water entered people’s homes in the last monsoon, I urged the tehsil office of Haveli to reimburse the victims, and they approved Rs 2,000 per household. This is peanuts, considering that the average loss per household was in the region of Rs 2-3 lakh. Commissioner Kunal Kumar who visited the storm water affected people’s homes, assured action

draws substantial revenue from this panel, thanks to the proliferation of residential projects in Shivne and nearby areas. But no thought has been given to the provision of basic amenities like roads, street lights, garbage disposal and public transport.

Local corporator and former deputy

mayor of PMC Dilip Barate said, “Our panel is facing the problem of encroachments.

Earlier this was a village, so there were no development control rules and people built their Dilip Barate homes wherever and however they wanted. The residents demand quality and wide roads, but nobody is allowing PMC to demolish their illegal constructions encroaching on the roads. I have built storm water lines in Ingalenagar and Shahu Colony through my ward level funds. PMC had built Late Pruthak Barate garden as well in our panel. Now commissioner Kunal Kumar has put our panel in WISE, through which we hope to get additional funds and projects. I will demand more frequent PMPML bus services to our village in the coming days.”

PMC Commissioner Kunal Kumar said, “Ten panels which we have taken under WISE index method are of outer

while crucial aspects such as basic civic amenities like road, water supply and garbage clearance continue to be ignored.”

After its merger, there were no development control rules, so builders had a free hand, setting up societies in whatever locations, and putting up constructions without leaving mandatory free space, as a result of which, roads are narrow in numerous areas.

The constructions on hill areas have disrupted the natural flow of water down the slopes. Two years ago, the water from the hill slope in the monsoons had caused an accident on Pune-Satara Road resulting in a fatality. Neither the police nor PMC has brought to book the errant builders who had destroyed the hills and sold the stones for constructions.

Local corporator Vasant More said, “I was elected to the PMC as a corporator of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). The NCPCongress combine ruling the PMC are known to deal unfairly with corporators of other parties. They divert

villages which were merged into PMC a few years ago. But these panels are underdeveloped, compare to mid city panels. Through the WISE method, we have set up 26 indicators like population, solid waste, sewage treatment, electricity, roads, education etc, and will work to improve living standard in these panels.

The city needs balanced development, so

our funds and refuse to propose new projects in our wards. Even if the commissioner proposes a new project in our ward, they oppose it and refuse to sanction it. They have a monopoly in the PMC on the basis of their majority. It is the ruling parties’ responsibility to ensure unbiased and equal development in all wards of the city.

The funds I managed to acquire were used for the Phulrani project, cleaning and renovation of Katraj lake, a musical fountain, batterycharged cars in Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, all of which has turned the Katraj area into a tourist attraction. In this budget, I have proposed a ropeway over the lake, which will be another tourist attraction, and will add to the PMC revenue. Work on the garden at Sukhasagarnagar has been stalled because NGT has imposed a stay on it.

We have limited scope for development now because a major part of our panel comes under the Bio Diversity Plan (BDP), where we cannot propose any new project.

we have to develop all panels of the city equally. So without reducing the budget of other panels, additional funds will be given to the under-developed wards. Now it is up to the elected representatives to allow the administration to divert funds to these undeveloped panels. Only then will we be able to bring these panels to the developed panel level.”