The Golden Sparrow on Saturday 30/07/2016

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Who is killing strays in Saswad?

Police initially refuse to lodge complaint of mass poisoning of dogs

A picnic or trek can turn into a nightmare when things go wrong, falling into a river may mean certain death for the victim, and being forced into prostitution is like a life sentence, unless there is someone who cares enough See p08-09 to rescue you from such an ordeal

Sonography report shocks even a doctor Woman diagnosed wrongly with extra large kidney stone, while the second sonography report from another centre shows it to be minuscule and dissolvable with medication

Nine killed as slab of building under -construction collapses TGS NEWS SERVICE At least nine labourers were killed when a slab of an under-construction building collapsed in Balewadi area on Friday (July 29), police said.

The victims were working on the 13th floor of the under-construction residential building when the cement slab caved-in, Deputy Commissioner of Police, (zone-III), B Teli said.

He said the rescue operation is underway. As per a fire brigade officer, the incident occurred in the building, named ‘Pride Express’, at around 11 am.

“Our personnel are removing the debris to see whether more people are trapped inside,” he said.

Around 13-14 labourers were working at the site at the time of the mishap. Police are trying to get information about the building owner and contractor among others. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Bodies taken from the site

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 Dr Sarang Kalekar, medical officer at the Pune Municipal Corporation run Gadikhana Hospital in Mandai area, was astounded on seeing the abdominal sonography report of Surekha Suryavanshi, 38, of Lohiya Nagar, on July 28. The report stated that Surekha had a 5.1 centimetre, eggshaped stone in her right kidney. The doctor was amazed that Surekha was relatively stable despite having such a large kidney stone, a size he had never seen in a patient before. He was sure that the report was faulty, so he referred her for an abdominal sonography at other diagnostic centre.

Her husband Manoj took Surekha to the Isha Diagnostic Centre at Sadashiv Peth. Surekha underwent an abdominal scan where she was diagnosed with 6.4 millimetre diametre hydro ureteronephrosis (kidney stone) shaped like a pomegranate grain in the right kidney. They were charged Rs 400. “We showed the new report to Dr Kalekar, and he said that the new report was correct, and prescribed some medicines. He said that there was no need for surgery as the stone was small and would dissolve with medication,” said Surekha. They knew then that the previous diagnostic centre (Lifeline) had issued an erroneous report.

The Lifeline Diagnostic Centre at Kasture Chowk, Mahatma Phule Peth, also charged Rs 700, that is Rs 300 more than Isha Diagnostic Centre for the sonography.

“Lifeline is a fraudulent centre which overcharges patients referred to them. It has nexus with private hospital doctors. The centre’s sonologist deliberately gave us a fabricated report, with the motive to get my wife admitted to their relative’s hospital. Then they would have shown that surgery was done and would have charged us more than Rs 50,000,” said Manoj, who is Shiv Sena deputy chief of Kasba constituency.

Surekha Suryavanshi

Manoj Suryavanshi has written a letter to the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) and PMC health department in this regard. His wife was in a state of shock after seeing the report by the Lifeline Diagnostic Centre. He demanded justice and appropriate action by the MMC and PMC health department. The couple runs a tea stall near the central Fire Brigade office in Bhavani Peth, from which they earn about Rs 10,000 a month.

Dr Amol Bandgar, MD radiologist, who issued the Lifeline diagnosis report, was not available for comment.

Sanjay Todkar, owner of the Lifeline Diagnostic Centre, said that they would do a sonography again. “I cannot comment on the issue now except comparing our and other diagnostic centre’s reports. I have asked the patient to show me the report and we are ready to do the sonography again. There may be a typing mistake. I am also ready to refund the money,” said Todkar. Asked about the overcharging, he said, “Rates differ at every centre. I charge the rate as per the quality of my machines.”

PMC assistant health officer Dr Narendra Thakur said, “The diagnostic centre does not require a licence, so we don’t have any authority to take action.

But if the victim will give us or Sassoon Hospital a written complaint, we will inquire into the matter. There is no rule where costs for such tests are decided by the government.” dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com

See p03

MUMBAI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 30, 2016

PUNE

‘‘Sena would hold talks with the BJP only if everything worked out fine. I am not in a hurry, as of now, to break the alliance. But, if the BJP breaks the alliance then the Sena will contest the Mumbai civic elections on its own and win.’’

- Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena Chief

1.6mn childbearing women at Zika risk P 13

Fintech sector sees deals worth $184 mn P 14

Former MLA blames Pilloo for land-grabbing Gilbert Mendonca was arrested for an alleged illegal land deal worth Rs 875 cr

prayers. “I was not even knowing who is this person Mendonca, I first time met him during the condolence meeting. I realised my role in crime only after it reached to the High Court,” Pilloo said.

BY SANTOSHEE MISHRA @santosheemishra Former Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from MiraBhayandar Gilbert Mendonca, arrested by the Kasarvadvali police station in connection with a land grabbing case, involving 107 acres in Thane, worth Rs 875 crore, claims that Pilloo Parvez Mehta was responsible for the illegal act, Kasarvadvali Police Station said.

Mendonca was arrested on July 27

by Kasarvadvali Police after his bail application was rejected by Sessions Court at Thane in connection with his alleged role in conspiring, fabricating and forging documents to grab the land located at Borivade village.

“Mendonca had applied for anticipatory bail in Thane Sessions Court, and it was rejected after which we arrested him in the afternoon for his role in alleged land grabbing case,” said Kasarvadvali Police Station Senior Inspector TD Tele.

On February 26, Kasarvadvali Police Station in Thane had registered an FIR against Pilloo Mehta, her brother Kersi Minoo Guard, former MLA from Mira Bhayandar Gilbert John Mendonca, his associate Ashok Hire and advocate GB Lal, under Sections 415 (cheating), 466 (forgery

Gilbert Mendonca

of records of public register), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 426 (mischief ), and 471 (forging a genuine document) of IPC. “Mendonca in his preliminary questioning told the police that Pilloo came along with her brother, claiming that the land is owned by her and is encroached upon by some unidentified persons. She sought his help to clear and later sell the land,” a Kasarvadvali Police Station officer said. The politician claimed that he was unaware that Pilloo is not the owner of the land.

PILLOO PLEADS INNOCENCE Pilloo Parvez Mehta claims that her brother Kersi took her to Mendonca after his wife passed away to offer

CONSPIR ACY BY MENDONCA The FIR states that Pilloo alias Silloo Mistry approached the Kasarvadvali police station with forged documents on December 5, 2015, and said that her land parcel situated in village Borivade at Thane was allegedly grabbed by one New Shree Swami Samarth Borivade Housing Company Private Ltd. With the police not registering an FIR, she approached the Bombay HC to seek an order ‘for registering the FIR’ against her false allegations. It is revealed that Pilloo was lured by her brother Guard, who had allegedly promised her money in return. The statements given by Pilloo reveal that her brother forced her and also told her that if she did not agree to be an imposter, they both would be killed by Hire and Mendonca.

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

No toilets for Dalits in open defecation-free Maha village PHOTO FOR REPRESENTATION ONLY

Pokhri village was declared open defecation free under PM Narendra Modi’s flagship Swachh Bharat in 2015

BY DIPANKAR MUKHERJEE AURANGABAD: Declared open defecation-free a year ago, the nondescript Pokhri village here is home to some other backward caste families who claim they are forced to defecate in the open as they are yet to receive funds for building toilets.

Ganga Sai, who is partially paralysed and lives in the outer part of Pokhri, only wishes to have a toilet in her house which would prevent her from relieving in the open.

The village was declared open defecation free under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) last year but she and some other backward caste families living in a colony at one of the ends of the village claim they are still deprived of toilet facility.

“The upper caste farmers have built toilets in their homes but we cannot afford to built on own,” says Sai, who belongs to SC community.

Sarpanch Amol Kakde, however, dismisses these claims saying about 47 families living in that colony have actually encroached over government land and are not considered to be part of the village and counted among its families.

Pokhri has the distinction of being open defecation-free, a feat few of the villages in the Marathawada region of Maharashtra enjoy. However, some SC/ ST residents blame gram panchayat of caste-based discrimination in building toilets.

Under SBM, a target has been set

to make the country open defecation free by October 2, 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

To meet the target of the mission, state governments and authorities concerned are working at a fast pace to meet the numbers, making them somehow lose the objective of the mission, according to experts who spoke at a FEJI UNICEF organised workshop on water, sanitation and hygiene.

Kakde says that the village, which is 6 km from here, was declared open defecation free on October 2, last year.

It also has the honour of being ISO 9001: 2008 certified and a recipient of Nirmal Gram Award.

The village, which has 80 per cent literacy, has amenities like RO water filter, solar powered street lights and CCTV surveillance near the gram panchayat building which also houses an Anganwadi.

The village head says 260 families of about 1,300 people live and every household has individual latrine which are connected to 40-45 soak pits and further to a drain outside the village.

However, Dalits living in an outer pocket of the village contradict his claims.

Pandernath Namdeo Balerao, who lives in the outer part of the village, which abruptly starts after the concrete road ends at the gate of Zila Parishad’s upper primary school, claims they are deprived of basic facilities like drinking water leave alone toilets.

Balerao, a watchman, said his family has been living here for

generations but lack the facility of toilet.

Though they have access to a set of community latrines near their houses but those are locked with the keys in the possession of village Kotwal and need to ask for it every time one wants to use it.

“The rich upper caste farmers can afford to build toilets and receive the SBM fund for toilet construction...

But most of us are just farm labourers belonging to SC/ST who can hardly make the ends meet,” Balerao says.

Women of the locality, mostly belonging to Matam tribes, claim that they have not received any funds for building latrine and still relieve in open.

Malan Bai, a casual labour, says, “You can see the stark difference in this part of the village and the area where the upper caste farmers live.

“Many of them built toilets in their homes and got the funds for it but we can’t. If we spend on toilets, how will we purchase food?”

Ruksana, a mother of eight, says she can hardly make ends meet with a meager income. Her seven daughters, who are in age group of 4 to 15 years, also defecate in the adjacent farms like others of this small area.

Two of the better off families in this colony built toilets in their homes but have not received the fund even after months have passed since they informed panchayat.

Another woman claims that she got a toilet built in her house about a year ago but the village authorities have not given the fund of Rs 12,000 yet. The sarpanch, when asked, says, “We can’t extend support to them as they do not have valid documents.

Still, 28 families might receive the SBM amount but can’t say about the others.”

When asked that if 47 families are defecating in open then how the can village be considered open defecation free, he says, “They are not counted in Pokhri and all the 260 other families have individual laterines.”

On the allegation of the sarpanch that the outer colony people are encroachers, many of them furnished their Aadhaar cards and voter IDs which were issued in 1994 with Pokhri mentioned in their address.

PTI

Pilloo Pervez Mehta

the fake Silloo were stunned and told the court that the woman was outside the courtroom. One of the lawyers went out to look for her but returned without her. Despite being summoned to court, the fake Silloo did not turn up. Meanwhile, the real Silloo’s son Jehangir maintained that his mother’s identity had been stolen.

The court was convinced in a couple of hearings that the person who had filed the petition was an impostor. They compared the documents of fake Silloo with the real ones and found that while the details matched, the photographs were of two different persons. Fake Silloo’s lawyers told the court that they were asked to file the petition by her brother Guard. On January 12, when the case came up for hearing, the impostor and her brother Guard

Man arrested for stealing from live-in partner TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly Live-in couple Renu Singh, 33, and Sunil Chedilal Tebrewal, 44, of South Mumbai, had a domestic spat, and Sunil fled with gold and cash worth Rs 5.80 lakh, leaving a message saying that “It was time to recover whatever he had spent on Renu, and Sunil Tebrewal therefore he had decided to clear the locker and break up their relationship.” Renu also received a SMS from Sunil which stated that “I am leaving the house and taking the gold and cash in the house which I had gifted to you.” The incident took place on July 23, when Renu had gone to her sister’s house after an argument with Sunil.

Renu had taunted Sunil that he was unemployed and was just sitting at home. Sunil used to run a furniture business till 2011, which he shut down due to heavy losses, and was living with Renu in her house at Grant Road for the past three years. Sunil had bought her gold jewellery and also helped Renu financially, but he was in a financial crisis after the loss of his business.

Renu approached DB Marg police station to lodge a complaint against Sunil. The police said that Renu kept nagging Sunil for sitting at home. She used to say that she was managing the house and was looking after the two children from her marriage.

“After reading the message, Renu rushed to her house and saw the house was locked. She opened the door and found that the locker which had gold worth Rs 5.5 lakh and Rs 30,000 cash was empty,” said the police.

“After the FIR was registered of theft by Sunil, we started probing and realised that Sunil had fled to Uttar Pradesh. After reaching UP, Sunil repented for what he had done to Renu after their three-year live-in relationship, and immediately returned to Mumbai. As he reached Mumbai Central station, we were informed, and we arrested Sunil,” said Nitin Lavandewe, police sub-inspector from D B Marg station. Sunil is currently in police custody. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

finally came to court. The woman told the court with conviction that she was indeed Silloo Mistry, and even gave her residential address and phone number. Her brother Guard too gave his details. The division bench of HC did not pass any strictures and slated the matter for January 14 after instructing the woman and her brother to appear again. On January 14, while Kersi appeared, his sister did not turn up. The HC issued a warning on the same day and asked the person who had filed the petition to be present on January 21, failing which they would initiate action.

On January 21, when the case came up for hearing, the woman who had filed the petition in the name of Silloo Mistry appeared with a new lawyer.

Advocate RA Shaikh, appearing on her behalf, told the court that she was not Silloo Mistry but Pilloo Parvez Mehta. “Ms Pilloo Pervez Mehta states that she has been used and forced to file this petition by her real brother by name Kersi Guard,” HC division bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice SC Gupte noted. Guard passed the buck on to former Mira-Bhayandar MLA 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 filing the petition in

the name of Silloo Mistry.

THE PAST Sometime in 2014, a few landgrabbers 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-Bhayandar MLA), AR Gaikwad, a record keeper in a government office and Manoj Sawant, a property agent by profession.

Ganesh Kekane, an 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 had obtained anticipatory bail and Mendonca was granted interim relief from arrest

by Bombay High Court. Police are investigating the case. santoshee.mishra@goldensparrow.com

Court was convinced in a few hearings that the petitioner was an impostor

10,000 Home Guards sacked across the state

Following the GR of 2010, 10,000 Home Guards across the state have been forced into compulsory retirement TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly IPS officer and Additional Director General of Police to the state Home Guard, Sanjay Pandey has come down hard on Home Guard personnel across the state.

F o l l o w i n g the Government Resolution (GR) passed by the state government for Home Guard personnel in 2010, stating that after 12 years of service, they should be relieved from the job. Accordingly, around 10,000 state Home Guard personnel were forced into compulsory retirement from services (CRS).

Home Guard personnel are summoned during disasters like floods, drought, and also deputed along with the state police during festivals to maintain law and order.

“The Home Guards are not called regularly for duty. It is counted parttime work, but they still claim their allowance of Rs.400 per day,” said a senior Home Guard officer.

“Yes, I have asked that the services of more than 10,000 Home Guards be discontinued, as per the GR passed in

the year 2010,” said Pandey.

About 32,000 Home Guards are recruited across the state, whereas the requirement is for about 50,000 Home Guards.

The department had started recruitment in the month of July but the recruitment process was disrupted by the disgruntled Home Guards.

“They are disgruntled with the decision, but it is as per the GR of the government. The department pays them Rs 400 per day for their services. We cannot keep them in service to earn their livelihood. It is unfair but we have recently relieved 10,000 odd Home Guards personnel from duty across the state,” said Pandey.

The GR states that Home Guards have to go through the process of clearing physical fitness and pass the tests every three years.

Vinod Mane (name changed on request), a Home Guard from Ghatkopar said, “The GR was passed in 2010, so why was the action initiated after six years? Where should we go for our livelihood? tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Recruitment process was disrupted by the disgruntled Home Guards

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 30, 2016

‘‘Around five per cent of the power being consumed at present would be generated through solar project in five years. Solar roof panels will be installed on municipal buildings, open spaces near sewage treatment plants and major residential complexes.”

— Dinesh Waghmare, Municipal commissioner, PCMC

Centuries-old tag no justification: SC P12

Who is killing strays in Saswad?

Police initially refuse to lodge complaint of mass poisoning of dogs

Sadistic owner tortures mule

Animal rescued from the clutches of owner who has beaten it for long after it turned old and incapable of hauling loads

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma Animal cruelty seems to be on the rise in the country. After several incidents of hurting puppies, throwing a dog from the top of a building in other states, an instance of mass poisoning of dogs has come up. Close to 15 dogs were poisoned in a span of few days in the Saswad area.

In Saswad, near Hirwarkarmala area, Fhiroze Pundol, 35, lives with his family. They look after some of the strays along with maintaining their own pets. However, there were multiple stray dogs, all from varied age groups, dying around their house. “I started seeing a number of them lying dead in the bushes. These included the young ones I had gotten vaccinated. At once, there would be nearly ten dogs lying dead,” he said. When this went on for a couple of days, he contacted People for Animals, a local NGO, on July 6.

“When I went to inspect, it was clear that the dogs were not dying of natural causes. There were nearly 15 dogs lying dead in that area, in different stages of decay,” said Anson Joseph, an animal activist who had gone to look into the matter. However, more dogs were found dead the day after his visit.

A preliminary report conducted by the NGO with the help of some shelters and local veterinary doctors, showed that the dogs were poisoned using coarse methods, with the help of daily-use low toxic elements. “So, I decided to lodge a police complaint on grounds of Animal Cruelty under the Indian Penal Code

PUNE

TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly

Section 429,” he said.

That turned out to be another hurdle. “The Saswad police refused to take our complaints. They were even unaware about the sections I was talking about. After making multiple rounds, they finally sent us away, stating that this is what the fate of stray dogs is,” Anson said. However, he kept insisting, but to no avail. “Finally I lodged an e-complaint with the Pune rural police and then they had to follow up,” he said.

Even then, it was a battle to register the FIR as the police didn’t know the relevant sections. Finally, almost two weeks later, the FIR was registered against unknown people, on July 16.

“No action whatsoever is taken by the police. Even the forensic report hasn’t come yet, to determine what exactly killed these dogs,” Anson said.

This is not the first instance, however, in the area. According to Pundol, every few months, dogs are

poisoned in a similar fashion. “No one really knows who poisons these dogs, but the best guess is that it is done by the small scale poultry owners in the area to protect their wares. Now that the police is involved, I hope this matter comes to justice,” he said.

When contacted, the Saswad police said they were looking into the matter and investigation is going on. They refused to comment further. gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

In another instance of animal cruelty, a mule was rescued from its owner after suffering multiple physical abuse. The mule, blind in both eyes, was left to die a slow and painful death by its owner after one of eyes was severely damaged. The mule is currently recuperating in a shelter home after its owner gave him up to the animal activists.

Damu Bichkule, 40, a resident of Nigdi, is a shepherd. He had the mule for the past 12 years and used it to transport goods, sheep and other heavy things. The mule, due to old age, had become blind and thus was of no use to the owner. According to the inputs received by animal activists, he had even tried to sell it multiple times. However, every time the mule was returned as it was blind, old and frail. Th is used to anger Damu and he used to lash out at the mule, infl icting deep wounds on its body.

“When we got complaints from people that a mule in a seriously injured condition was there in Nigdi, we went to inspect on July 20,” said Anson Joseph, an animal activist.

The mule had several broken bones, was emaciated and had a wound on one of its eyes which was being eaten and clawed at by crows. “It was in a pathetic state, with several infected wounds as well. It couldn’t run away

as it is blind. It just was lying there and was treated badly by its owner,” Anson said.

When they accosted the owner, Damu, he said that the mule was old and the injuries were infl icted while he was working. “He said that this is what happens when the animal gets old. It will keep lying there and will eventually die,” Anson recounted.

However, when they asked him if they could take the mule away, he became hostile. “He wanted us to either give him the money for looking after the mule or to return the mule after it got better. He argued with us stating that since he is the owner, the mule belongs to him only. When we told him that if he didn’t agree we would hand him over to the police, he allowed us to take the mule,” Anson said. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 30, 2016

PUNE

“The government had planned road safety measures for expressway after 17 people died in the accident on June 5. There is no word about this implementation. A drive against speeding was conducted and after a few days, the drive folded up.”

—Vivek Velankar, Convenor, Sajag Nagrik Manch

Josh Software: Putting web solutions ‘on the rails’

Centuries- old tag no justification: SC

P10

P12

Lighthouse for youth to attain their dreams The first batch of PMC Lighthouse project has completed the two-week foundation course, and will now be sent for skills training

TGS asked the first batch students about the Lighthouse role in meeting their goals A dream come true

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar The Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC’s) Lighthouse project, to ensure employment to the urban poor living in PMC limits, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the click of a button, on June 25, at an event marking one year of the Smart City Mission, at Balewadi. The first batch of 23 students of Aundh Lighthouse Centre have completed the two-week foundation course, and are ready to enrol in the next round of the programme, that is skill training. Through this foundation course Lighthouse teachers counselled each of the 23 students, noted their interests, likes and skills they possessed, and have accordingly made interest report cards of every one of them. These youths will now be sent for training in the skill of their interest.

During training, the Lighthouse team will keep in contact with all of them, and also help them get jobs, and start their own small scale businesses.

The Lighthouse project started

by PMC with the help of Pune City Connect (PCC) organisation to institutionalise a forum for industry and government, to work collectively with citizens towards the development of the city. The theme of Lighthouse is to provide the underprivileged youth of Pune a chance to explore possibilities to enhance their skills and pursue meaningful careers. With Pune city being selected in Modi government’s Smart City Mission, developing

The first batch of 23 students of the Aundh Lighthouse Centre have completed the two-week foundation course

citizens’ skills and providing them jobs or make entrepreneurship condition for each section of society is one of the tasks of the Smart City Mission. PMC Commissioner Kunal Kumar started the Lighthouse project. Aundh-BanerBalewadi area will be develop firstly under Pune smart city project, so the first Lighthouse project was started by PM Modi on June 25.

Aundh Lighthouse head Amruta Bahulekar, who is a TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences) post graduate, said, “This is our first batch of 23 students which started on June 27. They have now completed their foundation course of two weeks. During these 15 days, we have worked on self discovery, interests and likings of students. We helped them discover livelihood options which will enable the emergence of his/ her full potential. For example, a girl who loves cooking, may use her innate skills to the optimum by becoming a cook and perhaps in time could own her own hotel. We have Counsellor Manjiri Takale who personally counsels each and every student, and recognises their area of interest and liking. We made their interest cards, and give

them training accordingly. We have community engagement hall, computer lab, library and augmented virtual reading instruments at the centre, and everything is accessible to students.

We also showed motivational movies to these students every Saturday. Now these students have decided on his/her preferred vocation, the next step will be to acquire the necessary skills. For that we have linked with some organisations that will give them skill training. There will be an array of courses ranging from home chef and nursing to IT enabled skilling and other employability enhancement programmes. In addition there will be a skills university and several of the programmes offered there will offer a certificate or a Bachelor of Vocation (BVoc.) degree on completing the course. In certain cases the courses may be offered through online mechanism. We also had arranged field visits for these students. Some corporates are attaching with us as they need skilled persons. We try is to fit in these students according to their interests. We also will help students get internships and placements as well. The youth from Lighthouse will definitely get jobs, start their own enterprises, or move on to higher education.”

Counsellor Manjiri Takale, who did an MS in Counselling and Psychotherapy, said, “I took interest tests of each and every student. Through these we came to know about their area of interest, likings, understanding level, IQ and background. Later we worked on boosting their confidence. We saw how they were working in their interested fields and achieving their goals. We are going to take their follow-ups after 15 days, a month and after six months.

Students will remain in touch with us through alumni meets, even after they

A Raj Kapoor film title for a railways initiative

Pune railway division resorts to night lookouts, to ensure clean and orderly station premises

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan The repeated public announcements warning passengers against littering have failed to ensure a swachh Pune railway station. Finding that only daytime vigil wasn’t enough, the Pune Division has now taken up night lookout too, with the help of a squad aptly named ‘Jaagte Raho’. The squad, like Tejas Squad, is keeping an eye on litterers, smokers and ticketless travellers, and intruders, to keep the station premises clean, safe and pleasant for the visitors.

The squad comprising of seven

personnel from various departments of railways takes the round of station premise between 10 pm and 6 am, and endeavours to keep a check on nuisance creators.

In the last two weeks, since the squad worked on the ground, it has managed to catch as many as 805 violators, and also collected Rs 1,60,830 in fines from them.

“Although Tejas squad has proved quite effective, we realised that there was a need for night vigil as well as it’s a known fact that many people use the station area as a night shelter, a sarai.

There are others who decide to skip buying a ticket, thinking of the relaxed

Members of ‘Jaagte Raho’ squad at Pune Railway Station

norms of checking. Keeping in mind all this, we decided to run this ‘Jaagte Raho’ campaign, which been quite successful,” said B K Dadabhoy, Divisional Railway Manager, Pune, adding that the squad takes immediate action against the violators, thereby instilling fear among potential violators.

The Jaagte Raho squad consists of two ticket checkers, two personnel from Railway Protection Force, two senior officers and one officer from the commercial department.

Officials said that Tejas Squad too has proved to be very useful, as there has been a visible difference in the cleanliness scenario at the station.

Officials said that since its inception, Tejas Squad had caught 2205 violators and collected Rs 5,80,355 in fines from them.

“Our approach is not to merely fine the person. We point out his mistake, and then make him aware that it is going to cause nuisance to him and his loved ones and then only we make him pay the penalty. If someone spits or litters, he has to know that he has committed a mistake. So it’s awareness coupled with enforcement,” said a senior officer with the Commercial Department. sushant.ranjan@goldensprarrow.com

complete their courses and get jobs or start their own businesses.”

Riya Singhai, who visits slums and appeals to the dwellers to join Lighthouse, said, “Initially I use to go to Ambedkar, Indira and Kasturba slums, and appeal to the residents to join Lighthouse. We get great support from them. We need not say more about Lighthouse after this first batch.

Youths and citizens are coming to and enrolling in Lighthouse on their own.

In the coming days, there will be a rush for admissions at Lighthouse. We will make our work a success.”

Lighthouse Chief Executive Officer Ruchi Mathur said, “We are getting great response from citizens for Lighthouse. We had started the foundation course at Aundh on June 25. Now these students have completed their foundation course. We will conduct their counselling, through which we will come to know their area of interest and their liking. Accordingly we will send them for certificate skill programmes of their choice. Then Lighthouse with some corporate companies will look for placements for these students. Our target group for Lighthouse is students from poor economical families/background who are not getting proper guidance and school/college dropouts. There are jobs available in the market but they are not getting proper skilled persons. We will try to groom such skilful people, who need jobs or want to pursue their own small scale businesses. Through Lighthouse our aim is to provide them all facilities to reach their dreams.

On July 13 we started the second Lighthouse at Yerwada, and eventually each of the 15 wards in Pune will have a Lighthouse in the coming days.” tushar.rupanavar@goldensparrow.com

Rahul Dipak Jangam, 19, of Indira Vasahat slum, is studying F Y BCom at Wadia College. Rahul’s father died when he was a child, and his mother has looked after him and his education. Rahul got to know about Lighthouse when Aundh Lighthouse head Amruta Bahulekar visited Indira Vasahat, and spoke about it.

Rahul wants to learn computers and wants to start his own cyber cafe at Indira Vasahat.

About Lighthouse, Rahul said, “My mother has looked after me since my father died. She works as housemaid to run our family.

So I want to begin my career as soon as possible. Amruta tai told us about Lighthouse but I did not take it seriously, as many had come to our slum with such schemes. But when I saw the Lighthouse activities at Aundh, I enrolled in Lighthouse. I wish to do a computer course but I do not have the money.

Amruta tai said that I could do computer courses here at Lighthouse. It was like a dream come true for me. Tai teaches us computers daily. Initially I was very shy while speaking in front of people, but Amruta tai has taught us how to speak on stage. Now I can speak fluently in front of people. In college they teach us only the syllabus but not how to speak in public, how to appear for interviews, which we are taught at Lighthouse. Studying in Lighthouse is very interactive. They provide us free laptops, books, conduct soft skill development programme. I am sure I can make my dreams come true with the help of Lighthouse.”

Interesting teaching and non-stressful atmosphere Ratna Arjun Lavgire, 30, dropped out of school in standard X when she got married. But when she joined Lighthouse, she saw the possibility of learning Marathi transcription. Ratna loves the Marathi language and literature.

Ratna said, “I am standard X fail. I want to learn transcription and make a career in translation.

A few days ago I came to know about Lighthouse. I joined immediately. The teaching in Lighthouse is very interesting and without stress. The atmosphere at Lighthouse is helping me fulfil my aims and goals. Now with the help of Lighthouse, I am sure that I will be able to achieve my dream. The Lighthouse counselling and teaching is very scientific in nature.”

Instilling confidence Deepti Borate, 22, studied up to standard X but had to leave school because of personal reasons. She loves cooking and wanted to start her own biryani house.

Deepti said, “Cooking is very close to my heart.

I want to start my own biryani house but I did not have the guidance to achieve this. When I joined Lighthouse, they gave me confidence that I could start my own biryani house. I attend each and every session of Lighthouse, daily from 11.30 am to 4 pm. Amruta tai knew of my interest in cooking and asked me to make pulav for them. In the foundation course they find out our interests, likings and boost our confidence during the two weeks. Now they are sending us for professional courses according to our own interests. During the skill courses, the Lighthouse team will remain in touch with us two days in a week. They also plan to get us jobs in our chosen fields.”

Cash-strapped KCB turns blind eye towards unpaid rent KCB members not concerned about not receiving rent from 41 of its properties for a decade, amounting to losses that run into lakhs of rupees per annum

BY VICKY PATHARE @Vickypathare2 The Khadki Cantonment Board (KCB) has not received rent for its 41 properties for almost a decade. It’s surprising that the KCB which constantly complains about the lack of funds for development of the board area, is not concerned over the loss of revenue from the property dues. According to the officials, this delay in revisions means that the KCB treasury has been collecting just Rs 37,560 instead of around Rs 3,07,560 per annum as rent for its properties.

The KCB jurisdiction is divided into eight wards. In the year 2003, around 43 structures were constructed in all the eight wards with the help of the Member of Legislative Assembly funds. These properties were given on annual nominal rent of Rs 1/per sq foot. The properties were allotted to various social bodies and even individuals at nominal rates for various social purposes like study halls, libraries, gymnasiums, community halls etc, excluding functions.

KCB revenue department head Bhagirath Sakale said, “Since the year 2006 we are not receiving rent from these properties. Only three properties pay the rent regularly and the rest are just taking KCB for a ride. KCB has not yet

The rented property at Range Hills

taken any action against these property holders. Soon action would be taken against these people and the properties would be seized and re-auctioned.”

However, all the 40 health club officials collect admission fees, membership fees, and monthly fees without fail, but only to fill their own pockets. The KCB which could have earned Rs 3,07,560, receives just Rs 37,560. As much as Rs 36.56 lakh towards rent is yet to be received from these rented properties from 2006.

During these years the KCB has not served a single notice, conducted a raid or evacuated the premises.

“Most of the properties are also rented to third parties to conduct programmes.

Vaishali Pahilwan

KCB Corporater Vaishali Pahilwan alleged that it is the loss of the board only due to the negligence of the board members. “The gymnasium located at my ward number 6 is functional without paying rent for a decade. This people rent the hall to third party. They charge around Rs 3,000 to Rs 4000. In spite of bringing this malpractice to the notice of the President of KCB, the officials turn a blind eye towards it.”

“A committee has been established to look into the matter is the reply I am getting,” said Pahilwan. I have written to the Director General Defence Estate, Delhi, General Officer Commanding in Chief and the President of India to look into the matter. vicky.pathare@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 30, 2016

“Anybody developing roads should get floor space index (FSI) for their work. The development transfer of rights (TDR) must be given for constructing roads.”

— Shantilal Kataria, Chairman, Credai Pune

The regional mental hospital at Yerwada, one of the largest mental hospitals in Asia, that gets around 150 patients at its out patient department (OPD) daily, has been facing an acute shortage of manpower. While the number of patients is increasing, the number of staff is decreasing by the day. The shortage of doctors, psychiatrists and paramedics has resulted in a deteriorating quality of service. The hospital authorities are sending patients home due to the staff crunch. Family and kin have to make rounds of the hospital to get patients admitted. Voluntary admissions through a court are allowed from the human rights point of view as the rights of the patient are safeguarded.

Even patients in critical need of medication and observation are not admitted. Patients are kept on medication for months. Hospital sources said that there was a nexus between agents and staff, who charged money to admit a patient. These patients are given priority for admission and hence other patients are shooed away.

The hospital with more than 2,000 beds, has currently 1,648 admitted patients. The government has not upgraded the infrastructure of the hospital, owing to which patients live in condition worse than a prison. Key positions are vacant at the hospital like medical superintendent, deputy superintendent, six posts of psychiatrist,

two posts of clinical psychologist and ten posts of psychiatric nurses.

Waiting for relief from the state government, hundreds of posts of male and female nurses have been vacant for years. Spread over 110 acres, there are only 12 havaldars to guard the hospital. Six posts of cooks are also vacant. This class III and class IV staff duties include bathing, washing clothes, giving medicines, serving meals, and maintaining cleanliness and hygiene.

Due to the vacancies, the workload of the current staff has increased. Team TGS saw a doctor at the OPD refusing to take in a new patient at 1.30 pm, and told the family to bring the patient the next morning. The official OPD timing is from 10 am to 2 pm.

A case paper has to be made at block number 1, a form has to be filled at block number 2, history of the patient has to be told to social workers at block number 4, after which patients are examined at block number 7 by the doctors. OPD

block number 2 was closed during working hours, the staff having lunch, while patients and kin were made to wait. The officials at least have to make some arrangements rather than stop work during OPD working hours, which is unethical as there are no such written orders from the state health department.

Sharad Shinde’s (name changed) brother is a patient who has been kept on month long medication and not admitted. “We have been visiting the hospital for four months to admit my brother, but to no avail. His condition is critical and there is no one at home to take care of him. If he is admitted he will recover soon. Some people say that I have to pay bribe which will help my brother get admitted,” he said.

Fifty-year-old Meera’s (name changed) husband’s admission is stuck due to paper work. “My husband is an alcoholic and he even doesn’t take his medicines. I am alone at home and go to work. The doctors are not admitting my

No entry for fire tenders at KEM Hospital All four gates of 550-bed hospital are too narrow or have arches that make it impossible for Fire Brigade vehicle to enter

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 The King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital, Rasta Peth, is flouting fi re security norms. Fire Brigade vehicles, including the Branto, cannot enter the hospital premises through the south side gates, due to the low-level arch. Th is will prove hazardous in an emergency like fi re at the hospital.

Fire Brigade officials are to assess the situation again, and will take appropriate action against the hospital if need be.

KEM, a 550-bed hospital, has four gates, two on the east side and two on the south side. The front two gates do not have arches, but are not easily accessible to the fi re tenders as they are narrow. The south side two gates are also narrow, and the Branto vehicle (hydraulic ladder fi re vehicle) of the Fire Brigade used for the rescue

of people from top floors patients admitted in cannot enter the hospital premises through the 12/13 feet arch.

A fi re may prove fatal for the hospital patients.

“As per Maharashtra Fire Prevention & Life Safety Measure Act, 2006, the fi re vehicles like fi re van, rescue van and Branto should be able to enter the premises of any hospitals easily. However, the KEM Hospital has two arch gates through which the Branto vehicle cannot enter easily. There is another problem, as the open space adjacent to the building is used for parking fourwheelers and two-wheeler randomly, which will hamper the rescue work

by Fire Brigade in an emergency,” said a fi reman on the condition of anonymity from the central fi re brigade under which jurisdiction the hospital is. “The hospital gates should be wide to let the Fire Brigade vehicles enter without delay. But at KEM, Fire Brigade vehicles have to go in reverse and forward, as the gates are not wide.

The hospital is getting mandatory No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Fire Brigade department,” he said. There is no open space to move the vehicles inside the premises due to random parking.

KEM Hospital has a five-storey building with all clinical departments including Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The ICU patients cannot move even in a fi re emergency. They need to be rescued with the Branto vehicle. But there are so many hurdles for the Branto vehicles to enter. The administration does not have an internal emergency exit staircase, which is compulsory as per Fire Brigade law. Some years ago the administration built an iron staircase from outside the building, which is dangerous to the patients and their relatives in an emergency. Hospital administration asserts that fi re tenders can enter without any hurdle.

KEM Public Relation Officer Vijay Yadav said, “Vehicles can enter the premises of the hospital. There were two fi re incidents in the past, when vehicles entered. If Fire Brigade thinks vehicles cannot enter, they should issue notice to us” Pune Fire Brigade department chief fi re officer Prashant Ranpise said that vehicles are unable to enter due to the arch. “The south side small gates may be a hurdle for the fi re vehicles.

I will inspect the gates again and will issue notice to them with necessary action,” said Ranpise. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com

P13

P11

Acute shortage of staff at Yerwada Mental Hospital results in patients not being admitted for months on end, and OPD patients being made to wait for hours

BY VICKY PATHARE @Vickypathare2

Bush was against denying visa to Modi

Compound in turmeric may treat colon cancer: study

Endless waits at understaffed mental hospital

husband owing to the address proof.

Is the address proof important or treating the patient? The condition of my husband is getting worse by the day. I cannot handle him alone. These doctors cannot imagine the grief and pain I am going through each day,” she said.

Sudhakar, 32, (name changed) has lost all hope of treating his father. “I had mortgaged my farm to pay for my father’s treatment. The doctors say that my father cannot be admitted as he is not healthy, can’t walk and could be hurt by other inmates. Even I don’t want to admit my father to this hospital but have no option as I have run out of money.

My father was admitted to a private hospital for two years but his condition didn’t improve. The only option for me is to sell my kidney to pay for my father’s treatment,” he said.

Dr Madhumita Bahaley, who is temporary superintendent, admitted that there was a shortage of specialised Class II and IV staff. “The proposal to fi ll vacant post has been sent to the state government and we are waiting for their decision. The decision to fi ll these posts is not is done at the higher level. The service at the hospital is not affected due to the staff crunch. Most of the old staff have retired and their posts are lying vacant. If they are fi lled, we will be able to handle our security and safety and improve the quality of service. As per the rules, officials can take a break of 15 to 20 minutes during OPD hours.” vicky.pathare@goldensparrow.com

PUNE

Court intervenes on rape victim’s behalf

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma The Pune police have been burking cases again. The judicial magistrate of the Pune Sessions Court ordered the Yerwada police station in-charge, on July 26, to take cognizance and file an FIR. A resident of Yerwada has been making the rounds of the police station for the past few weeks to lodge a complaint against a man who had raped her after falsely promising marriage to her. He had even swindled her of her property and had brought goods worth Rs 2.5 lakh on her credit card, without intimating her. The petition stated, the accused used to make false promises and ignore the discussion about marriage.

He also used to threaten her with suicide threats. The petitioner alleges that he had raped her multiple times and had beaten her, causing her physical and mental anguish. “(the accused) cheated the petitioner by dishonestly misappropriating her property worth around Rs 2.5 lakh and also took a two-wheeler on the credit card of the petitioner,” the petition filed by advocates Tosif Shaikh and Sajid Shah said.

According to the petitioners’ lawyers, the police have been reluctant in registering the complaint.

“Even when the girl insisted, all they did was call the accused to the police

station,” Advocate Tosif Shaikh said.

“What we wanted was to register FIR under sections 323 (voluntary causing hurt), 352 (punishment for assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354a (punishment for sexual harassment), 354c (voyeurism), 376 (punishment for rape), 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) read with section 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

The court, however took quick cognizance of the matter. According to the Judicial Magistrate Gajanan Nandanwar, “The contents of complaint prima facie disclosed the fact and ingredients of cognizable offence. As such, the incharge of police station Yerwada is directed to investigate the matter.”

“It is sad that the police is not taking action at once and one has to go through the judiciary,” advocate Shaikh said. The officers at Yerwada police station declined comment on the issue. gargi.verma@ goldensparrow.com

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THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 30, 2016

PUNE

“Pune has always seen very strong protests against enforcement of the helmet rule. Many people still tuck their head gears to the bike handle, to be worn just outside the offices, which have made the use mandatory.”

— Rajendra Sidhaye, Chairman, Save Pune Traffic Movement

Elect PM within a week: Nepal prez P 13

Poor patients get a raw deal at Aundh Hospital centre Aundh District Hospital Radiology Imaging Diagnostic Centre bypasses the concessional rate and free procedures MoU and charges patients as much as private hospitals

Railway in a quandary as there are no respondents to the tenders issued to run the contract at Kanhe stop

Santosh and Rushikesh Nanaware

BY VICKY PATHARE @Vickypathare2 Private hospitals and diagnostic centres have innumerable ways to make as much money they can from patients.

The state health department started a R ad iolog y I m a g i n g Diagnostic Centre at the Aundh District Hospital on a publ ic-pr ivate partnership for Vitthal Thorat the benefit of poor patients a couple of years ago. But in reality the centre is as money-minded as any private diagnosis centre.

Vitthal Thorat, a senior citizen and farmer of Baramati met with an accident a month ago and injured his left knee. He underwent a ‘Knee single joint without contrast’ Magnetic Resonance Imagining (MRI) scan at the centre, for which he was charged Rs 5500, on July 27.

“I underwent first MRI one month back for which I paid Rs 5500.

Doctors said that there was no need of surgery and that I would recover with medication. But after a month I had not recovered and the doctor suggested another MRI scan,” said Thorat. Being a senior citizen he had the right to avail of the service free of cost, and the centre if obliged to inform patients about the free or concessional facilities. We ENSO CARE (Maharashtra) Pvt Ltd officials knew that Thorat was a senior citizen, as no medical procedure is carried out without finding out the age of the patient.

The centre is run by the Public Health Department, Maharashtra, in collaboration with We ENSO CARE

No takers for Kanhe contract

(Maharashtra) Pvt Ltd (Enso Care and Wipro Ge Healthcare) under an agreement valid till 2018. The place is provided free of cost for the centre by the Public Health Department and the manpower, machinery and maintenance expenses are borne by We ENSO CARE (Maharashtra) Pvt Ltd. As per the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between ENSO CARE (Maharashtra) Pvt Ltd and Public Health Department, Maharashtra, the centre must provide free services to patients in 17 categories, including Senior Citizen, Govt Servant & Their Dependents, Honorary Medical Officer & Staff Nurse of Govt Hospital & Dispensaries, Medical, Paramedical College Student, Detained person by order of Judge, Freedom Fighter & Their Family, Prisoner, Medical Legal Cases from Police etc. Concessional Government notified rates must be provided to patients referred by the Aundh District Hospital, as per Schedule 6 of concession agreement dated 19-12-2012 (duly revised as per Govt of Maharashtra Public Health Dept GR dated 28-12-2015). Facilities to beneficiaries of Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayee Arogya Yojana (RGJAY) also have to be provided at concessional rates as per Schedule 13 of concession agreement dated. 19-12-2012.

The Diagnostic Centre can charge money as per market rates to private patients. Team TGS found that the centre was not abiding by the above stated conditions in the agreement.

Most patients were charged as per market rate by the centre. No official at the centre informed patients about the concessional rate or free service.

The official rate chart displayed at the reception is covered Nitin Dhotre with stickers, obscuring the rates of the procedures. Senior citizens, beneficiaries of RGJAY and people falling under different concessional categories or even free categories, were being charged by the centre.

Nitin Dhotre, 26, a labourer from Thergaon who was suspected to have hernia, went to the Aundh hospital for treatment. The doctors examined him and advised a chest X-ray (CR Chest PA view (one exposure) on July 27.

Nitin was charged Rs 200 for the X-ray.

“The centre charges as much as private hospitals for the X-ray. The authorities said that they were charging as per the law,’’ he said. As per the MOU, the rate for X-ray is Rs 100.

An Ultrasound Sonography Test (USG) USG Abdomen was advised for the 18-month old child of Santosh Nanaware, of Thergaon. “I heard that they charge less at this diagnosis centre so I have came here. I paid Rs 820 for the procedure, which was more than I expected. It is like looting poor people.

The rates for this test are half at other government hospitals like Sassoon General Hospital,” he said. As per the rate specified by the centre, it is Rs 300.

Aundh District Hospital Civil Surgeon Dr Sanjay Deshmukh said, “The diagnostic centre is liable to provide free procedures to the 17 different categories of patients along with the concessional rates to patients from different beneficial schemes.

Charging people above the prescribed amount is unethical. If the centre is overcharging referred patients, this needs to be investigated. The centre has to charge the entire rate for procedures like CT scan, X-ray, MRI and USG as per the duly revised Government of Maharashtra Public Health Department General Resolution dated 28-12-2015.”

Aundh District Hospital Additional Civil Surgeon Dr B N Kakne said, “We cannot keep a watch on each and every patient to monitor the amount the diagnosis centre is charging for procedures. The regulatory powers of health department over this centre are limited as it is a private diagnosis centre. If any complaints are received, the health department will conduct an inquiry and take necessary action. Though the rates may vary in other government hospitals, charging high rates without any justification is unethical and needs to be curbed.”

So how much money has the centre earned till date by overcharging patients, and how much longer will this continue? Poor people come to the government hospital expecting affordable treatment. If the government does not control these institutions, where should people go?

(Copies of all the bills paid for procedures are with TGS) vicky.pathare@goldensparrow.com

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan While travelling from Pune to Lonavala, one may be able to take a detour back in time. The Kanhe stop, in between stations, is handled by a single member of the Railway staff. He is the ticket producer, ticket checker and the one who looks after the halt’s upkeep. Now, the halt is going to be without any caretaker after July 31.

To run this halt, railway authorities have given the contract to a local resident. Rahul Shinde has the contract and has been running it for ten years. Rahul had already sent a letter two months ago to Pune rail division’s commercial department, informing that he was not going to run this halt after July 31. After that, railway issued two tenders for selling tickets, but no one has come forward.

The first tender was issued on May 20, and the second on June 23. Again on July 27, railway issued a tender notice but no one has responded yet.

Rahul told TGS that he does not want to run it any more. He said, “I have run this halt for ten years. Now I don’t want to take care of it any more.

It is very difficult to run. Passengers are not interested in buying tickets and only one man cannot force them to buy tickets.”

Kanhe is a small village near Talegaon Dabhade, known as an automotive hub, an industry which

has developed here. Most passengers already have monthly seasonal ticketa from Pune station or nearby stations.

According to a senior official of commercial department of Pune rail division, 900 passengers pass through Kanhe everyday. “According to ticket purchase by the contractor, it can be calculated that on an average 900 passengers pass through here everyday. Average earning of railway from this halt is Rs two lakh per month. We have given a contract to Rahul Shinde and he runs it very well. But we don’t know why he is not continuing it,” said a senior officer.

Another senior officer said that anyone can take the contract to sell tickets from this halt. “The contractual process is very easy. To get this contract, the minimum qualification is only 10th pass, and he should be a local resident,” the officer said.

Passengers of this halt are not satisfied with the facilities provided by railway. There is no toilet, and the only drinking water tap is not working. Some passengers expressed concerns about the security during night. Most of them work two shifts in the automotive industry. They find the day shift secure.

Nimesh Kamthe, 28, is working in an automotive company near Kanhe. He said that he feels unsecure while working the night shift. “After I finish my work at 10.30 pm, the halt is deserted.” sushant.ranjan@goldensparrow.com

Juveniles given a Barking dog leads to bizarre murder hard time by police

Three booked for murder in Hadapsar, after an altercation between two chawl residents sparked by the barking of a dog

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma The Pune police have shown a penchant for not going by the book repeatedly.

However, when it comes to dealing with juvenile criminals, their freehandedness seems to have no bounds.

Two cases of manhandling juveniles in complete violation of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 have cropped up in the past week. In such a scenario, having training sessions with the top brass seems to be a lame option by the policemen.

A 16-year-old boy alleged to be having a love affair with a classmate from college was abused by the Yerwada police station. “The girl’s family did not know anything about this. When they realised the truth, they lodged a complaint against him at the Yerwada police station,” said the boy’s mother.

However, the trauma started after the complaint was lodged. “Instead

of trying to understand, the police just threatened my son and me. We were asked to come immediately or they threatened to pick him up from his school. When we went there, they did not let us meet or even talk,” she recounts. The boy was detained at the station, without any arrest warrant overnight. “The social workers at the juvenile home said that they couldn’t do that to my son. They beat him, abused him verbally and kept him in the lockup,” she recounts. “Since he got bail, we brought him back. However, he did not leave his room for two days, wouldn’t speak, eat or even sleep,” she recounts.

The boy himself is in shock. “I am scared to use the mobile phone now thinking it is the police. I wasn’t allowed to sit, eat or drink water. It was an experience I never want to relive,” he said.

According to Sameer Shaikh, member of the Resource Centre for Juvenile Justice, the police exercise a free hand when it comes to under 18 accused. “They are to be accompanied by either one of the parents or a social worker in the police station during interrogation. Even if they have to be detained, they should be brought to the juvenile home and not kept at the police station, as per the basic provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act 2015,” he said.

The police officers in question did not respond to our calls. Their lackadaisical approach goes a long way in shaping juvenile minds. gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

BY YOGESH WAGH @YogeshWagh1857

In a bizarre incident, the barking of a dog led to the murder of a young man in Hadapsar, Pune. The barking dog caused a fight between two groups of people from two chawls. Since a non cognisable (NC) offence was registered against the dog owners, they attacked a person from the other chawl, who it turned out, was not involved in the fight, but lost his life unnecessarily.

Ganesh Wable Ganesh Wable, 25, Pradip Karape, Gorakh Londhe and 7/8 unknown persons attacked Sagar Namdev Chaugule, 26, resident of Dawari Nagar, Sawant Chawl, Hadapsar, with a wooden baton and cement block, killing him instantly, on Wednesday, July 27, at 11.00 pm near Iron Bridge, Dawari Nagar, Hadapsar. The group also attacked and injured Sunny Chaugule, Sandeep Shinde, Kesarabai Dadaram Shinde and Shakuntala Ganesh Sawant, all residents of Dawari Nagar.

Investigation officer, Hadapsar police station Assistant Police Inspector Sandeep Deshmane said that since Tuesday there were problems and friction between the two groups. On Tuesday, Nilesh Shinde, who is physically handicapped, went to the toilet in front of Ganesh Wabale’s home. Ganesh’s pet dog started barking and attacked Nilesh, who fell and was injured. Angry and upset, Nilesh told Ganesh’s mother that they should control their dangerous dog.

She in turn abused Nilesh, and Ganesh roughed up Nilesh. Nilesh told the people of his chawl about the attack by the dog. The chawl people met Ganesh and complained about the incident. Ganesh thought the

The barking canine that led to the fracas

group wanted to intimidate him, and he threatened to kill anyone who opposed him. Hearing the threat, the group then went to Hadapsar police station and registered a non cognisable (NC) offence. The police then went to Ganesh Wable’s home to inquire about the matter.

At night Sagar Chaugule, who was not aware of what had happened during the day, went to the toilet. At that time, a group of 8/10 persons including Ganesh Wable, Pradip Karape and Gorakh Londhe attacked Sagar. They hit him on his head with a wooden baton, and then battered his head with a cement block, killing him instantly.

Sagar’s nephew Sunny Chaugule heard the commotion and rushed to the spot, where he saw a group of persons thrashing his uncle. “On seeing me, my uncle told me to leave. Then the group started pelting stones at me, and I got injured on my forehead,” he said.

Sagar’s cousin Amol Chaugule also went the spot, where he saw his cousin brother lying lifeless on the ground. “We took him immediately to Sane Guruji

Hospital but they advised us to take him to Sahyadri Hospital as his heart beat had stopped. At Sahyadri Hospital they declared him dead on arrival,” he said.

Sagar’s sister Rekha Jagtap said that they were extremely upset that despite registering an NC, the police did not take action. “If they had dealt with Sagar Chaugule the complaint promptly and set up a police patrol in the area, my innocent brother would not have paid for it with his life. We told the police that Ganesh Wable had threatened to kill residents of our chawl, but the police did not take it seriously, leading to the death of Sagar,” she said.

Sagar’s mother Phulabai Chaugule was in tears.

“I cannot see properly. Sagar’s father died a long time ago. Sagar was my only son, the sole earning member and my only support. It is shocking and outrageous that he was killed over the matter of a dog, though he had no connection. He was away the whole day, and had returned at 10 pm. He had gone to the toilet after dinner,” she said.

Deshmane said that a case has been registered under sections 302 (murder), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 143 (punishment), 144 (joining unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapon), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of the IPC, against the three accused, Ganesh Wable, Pradip Karape and Gorakh Londhe. yogesh.wagh@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 30, 2016

“The Lokmanya’s thoughts must reach everywhere. We have got Swarajya, now its our responsibility to translate it into Surajya (good governance). Tilak has shown us the way to achieve it.”

— Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister

“Countering terrorism is an imperative in the face of rising terrorist attacks across the globe, including in our region, notably in Jakarta, Bangkok, Pathankot, Dhaka and Kabul in recent times.”

— VK Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs

Slum girls fund their education, follow tradition

Finding their roots in the countryside TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly

35 girls from Kalewadi slums have collected over Rs 1 lakh by performing Mangala Gaur on festive occasions

TEJAS GAIKWAD

TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly The stark reality of girls from slums is a picture of desperation, misery and living in unhealthy conditions.

Many between 9-19 years suffer from various ailments, including anaemia. Non-governmental organisation (NGO) Niramay that works in the field of adolescent health, and largely cover girls from the lower-income groups in the city has found a unique way to provide them with a respectable life.

The NGO has given a new lease of life to 35 girls from Kalewadi slums near Paud Road. The girl troupe perform Mangala Gaur at various localities and the money earned is used for their education. In the past five years of their formation, the girls have collected over one lakh rupees.

The concept of starting such an initiative was coined by Niramay. The NGO also works with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) immunisation programme in slum areas. It was while conducting the programme that Niramay’s SK Jain and Deepa Kulkarni found that many girls of slums lack proper guidance at home because of poverty and the living conditions does not offer them a supportive environment. Many girls spend their time in nonproductive activities.

Maharashtrian women perform the Mangala Gaur, a festival for the new brides where they pray for their husband’s long life and well-being of their new family. It is performed during Shravan, the fi fth month of the Hindu calendar, that has a special religious and cultural significance among the Hindu community. During Shravan, on the day of Mangala Gaur, newlywed Brahmin girls worship goddess Parvati. According to the girls that perform the festive dance, Mangala Gaur is a beautiful performance and easily understood by the audience. The girls perform Mangala Gaur during Shravan (July to August) and earns two to three

thousand rupees per performance.

“The dietary habits of girls are generally linked to their socio-economic condition. We have found that many girls do not get one complete meal in a day,” said Deepa Kulkarni, project coordinator of Niramay. The NGO has been working in the health sector and conduct medical check-up camps at Pune slums. It has adopted many anganwadis in an effort to check malnutrition. The NGO also holds counselling sessions for parents and carries out follow-ups and check-up for proper nutrition and medication with the help of anganwadi workers.

Niramay named the initiative ‘Kishori’ and taught the girls the various dance forms of Mangala Gaur. Their teachers are Kshitija Agashe, Varsha Kondajekar and Devayani Patankar. The

35 girls between age group of 5 and 22 learn the performance between 3 pm and 6 pm at a hall of Vasudha Foundation at Kalewadi every day. Rani Thopate, the co–coordinator of Kishori project said, “We taught them 99 types of traditional dances including fugdi and more. We also teach the girls drama and stage plays based on social issues.”

Underling the issue of health among the girls living in slums, Kulkarni said, “Anaemia among young girls due to poor dietary habits is routine.

Iron deficiency, particularly in the 12-16 age group is quite common. Factors including onset of puberty and eating less food can cause a deficiency.

More of such initiatives are needed to support these girls and help them overcome poverty.” tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Bike enthusiast plans to set up museum in city 80 vintage mopeds, bikes adorn this developer’s collection

BY SHAILESH JOSHI @TGSWeekly Craze for new bikes may be common, but here’s a man who has a passion for the older varieties of two-wheelers.

Though running a successful business in the brick and mortar industry, his passion makes him quite extraordinary.

Fifty-year-old Vinit Prabhakar Kenjale owns as many as 80 vintage mopeds and bikes, and plans to build a museum when the number touches 200.

“The name of the museum will be ‘Memory’”, Kenjale said, adding that it will take visitors down the memory lane with some mesmerising images.

“My dream will be realised when people will say ‘Oh! I used to ride on this bike during my younger days; this was my fi rst two-wheeler and I miss it now or my father was using this bike’.

The city-based developer is one

of the directors of ‘GM Kenjale Constructions Pvt Ltd’. His hobby of collecting bikes sparked when he saw the old vehicles used by his father and grandfather. He at once decided to purchase and renovate them to working condition.

He comes from a family of bike enthusiasts, His grandfather Haribhau Kenjale and father Prabhakar Kenjale were avid bike riders. From a young age Kenjale heard, smelt and eventually rode those bikes as his family had over 4-5 bikes in their home.

His mission started in 1985, and he has collected over 80 two-wheelers like scooters, bikes and mopeds of the years 1940 to 1991. His love for vintage vehicles has made him travel to Poland, besides visiting across the state, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka and Goa. His friends also call him whenever they happened to find any old vehicles.

Some of his collections are Suvega of 1976, the fi rst moped in India, Matchless, Lambretta-48, Hero Majestic Student, Rajdoot Ranger, Mini Moped 32cc, Kirloskar Laxmi 48 cc moped, Atlas Auto 50 cc moped,

PUNE

Jawa Jet 60, Royal Mofa, Pishtaz, Luna, France Matchless, Lambretta Polo, Mini Bullet 200 cc, Kinetic, Vijay, Allwyn Pushpak scooter, Narmada 150 scooter and many more.

“I started collecting bikes from 1985. I love all my bikes very dearly and they are a part of my family. I enjoy the work that goes into gathering information about a certain model that could prove useful during the restoration. Most of the two-wheelers are over 75 years old. I have restored all the vehicles at the residential parking lot of Kenjale Light House building at Bibwewadi. I will set up a museum once the number touches 200,” he said.

Even as his professional commitments give him less time to pursue his passion, Kenjale wants to collect all bikes that rode on Indian roads till date, from vintage to modern and hi-tech. “I want to have a collection that draws the history of bikes and the changes that took place till the present day. I request people to donate their vintage bike for the museum,” said Kenjale. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

For students who volunteer for rural visits, actual learning comes from outside textbooks. While the Centre, state and local administration encourage such initiatives that help in understanding the countryside through community service, the youngsters acknowledge that these programmes make them socially aware about their surroundings.

Under the Suryadatta Education Foundation’s social initiative, around 250 students of Suryadatta Group of Institutes pursing design courses visited the villages in Velhe Taluka, about 60 kms from the city, for rice plantation. The educational group’s edu socio initiative saw the students carry out the crop plantation in association with NGO Vanrai. Vanrai Foundation has been implementing various social initiatives especially for farmers and social development for the past 30 years.

“The biggest learning for students is to set a goal and be able to achieve it. When the students visit the villages to address a problem or carry out farming, only then do they understand the constraints of the villagers. These initiatives help

them understand the value of social responsibility,” said principal Ajit Shinde, who also participated in the rural visit along with other faculty. The event was organised and guided by Vairai’s Nandu Phadke.

The green activists of the NGO explained to students the objectives of the initiative. A group of about 5-7 students worked under one farmer, who guided them on the various aspects of farming. The students also carried out transplantation of rice that were grown in nursery from seedlings into puddled and levelled fields covering about 30-40 farms. Sharing their time with farmers and eating with them enriched their rural experience. The farmers and their families were happy with the arrival of the young visitors. Thanking the institution, organisers and students, the villagers claimed that 80 per cent of their farming work was completed with the help of students.

“These students are becoming sociallyconscious and are identifying with a world beyond their own,” said Phadke.

Vanrai was established by late former Union minister, lawyer and social worker Mohan Dharia. The NGO also works on water conservation. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Suryadatta students and faculty take part in rice plantation at Velhe villages

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THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 30, 2016

PUNE

We all need a helping hand, someone to see us through difficult times. But there are those who need help urgently, as a delay may mean the difference between life and death. At such times, what is needed is an individual or a group of people, who will go to the extent of putting their own lives at risk, to rescue a fellow human being. It takes a special breed of person to rescue someone who is lost or injured on a trek, drowning in a river, or forced into a life of sexual slavery... and thankfully there exist such angels of mercy to come to their help

A picnic or trek can turn into a ni falling into a river may mean certa forced into prostitution is like a life s cares enough to rescue y

BY ASHISH PHADNIS, DN TUSHAR RUPANAVAR

@TGS

H ‘We have been able to save several lives and that’s a reward in itself ’

I

n recent years, there is a growing number of incidents about picnickers and trekkers getting lost, falling into ravines and gorges, drowning in lakes or dams, or being washed away by flooded streams. At such times, timely help and rescue can make the difference between life and death. Besides the police, there are groups of experienced trekkers who volunteer to come to the aid and rescue of the victims of such misadventures.

Shivdurga Mitra, a trekking and adventure club of Lonavla, has been regularly involved in the rescue work at tourist sites including the dangerous Bhushi Dam, during emergencies for over three decades.

The club members have provided a lifeline to many people in danger and distress, when the government machinery has shown up to be ineffective or non-existent.

Founded by Sunil Gaikwad in 1980, the aim of Shivdurga Mitra was to promote trekking, rapelling and similar adventure activities. Over the years, the club and its members have come to be well-known for their rescue operations. The club has carried out more than 350 rescue operations in the last decade. They have not just helped out humans, but the club members have also been involved in the care and protection of wild life and animal rescue operations.

There are a number of forts in the Lonavla area, including Rajmachi, Dhak, Lohagad and Visapur, which are popular destinations for trekkers and tourists, especially during the monsoons. Owing to the wet conditions, when rivers are in spate and lakes and dams are overflowing, accidents are likely, especially with the unwary or inexperienced

tourists. Th irty to 50 tourists die every year in such mishaps on an average. It is during such emergencies when the experienced trekkers of Shivdurga Mitra are often called on to come to the aid and rescue of the people in danger.

“We have been doing this job for decades.

Even police officials ask us for help, as they are not equipped or know how to climb down into a gorge, and pull out victims from inaccessible spots. Our members are well-versed with the area, and we also know the most accident-prone spots. With our

knowledge of the terrain and experience, we are able to track missing trekkers from the most remote of places,” said Rohit Vartak of Shivdurga Mitra.

Making one’s way through dense forests, remote and inaccessible valleys, unexpected streams and water bodies, and a thick cover of fog, are hazards that a rescue team may have to face in the course of a mission, and time is of the essence in an emergency, so reaching the accident or rescue spot swiftly is of the utmost importance. Since Lonavla is overcrowded with tourists during the

monsoon season, the traffic congestion of the roads is an issue that proves to be an obstacle during rescue operations. In the most recent tragedy, when three college students drowned in a pond at Korigad fort, the rescue team was trapped in traffic for quite some time.

“There are two types of operations. One is a search operation, where death has occurred and bodes have to be retrieved from remote or inaccessible places. The second is a rescue operation, where people are trapped and are unable to make or find their way to safety.

In the latter, timely help is crucial. We must reach the trapped people, assure them that they will be safe, and if required, transport them to the nearest hospital for medical care.

We have been able to save several lives on our missions, and that’s a reward in itself,” said Rohit.

The club has maintained records of its rescue operations and other activities since 2005. It also provides training to youths for rescue missions. The club’s team includes over 200 volunteers, who are always available in case of an emergency. The club also provides training in rapelling, valley crossing and rock climbing.

The challenges that the club now faces are mostly infrastructural and financial.

Rescue operations cost money in terms of transport, man hours and material costs.

“We organise summer camps, adventure activities for corporate groups and the money is used for rescue operations. But it would be a big help if we received proper funding to enable us to carry out such mission more effectively,” said Vartak.

Saving lives is hi and he expects n

e is ever alert 24x7, and when he is called by citizens, friends or the police about someone drowning in the Mula Mutha river, he drops whatever he is doing, and rushes to the rescue of the person in distress, and he does not expect anything in return.

Rajesh Kachi, 46, of old Topkhana, Shivajinagar, has saved more than 70 lives over the last 22 years. He earns a living as a fast food vendor on Dengle bridge, on the Mula Mutha river.

His life-saving mission began when he was 19 years old. “One day in the wee hours I heard the cries of a young girl calling for help. My friends and I reached the spot, and saw the young girl holding on to a bush to keep from being swept away by the rushing waters of the river. My friends thought she was a ghost and fled from the spot, but I put my fears aside, and pulled her out of the water. She had tried to commit suicide as her parents had arranged her marriage to someone without her consent. I took her to her parents, who were so grateful, that they called me a god man,” said

Kachi.

Shankar Kale, 4 into the river from S February 17, 2016, a

A ray of hope for girls and women forced into pr

H

uman trafficking is as prevalent in India as it is all over the globe. Pune city is no exception as minor girls are brought here from rural areas, other states and even from countries like Nepal and Bangladesh, by agents on the pretext of a job, and then sold to brothels in the notorious Budhwar Peth area. There are as many as 560 prostitutes on the records of the social security cell of Pune police, who are unable to control this prostitution racket on their own. Individuals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who work in the red light area, help the police rescue such minor girls and women forced into this profession, and even provide them food and shelter.

Parshuram Mahadev Bansode, 32, has completed his Master of Social Work (MSW) and started

rescuing girls forced into prostitution. He was associated with the NGO Freedom Project India. He has a network of informers in the red light area.

“I have been working in the red light area since my MSW college days. Actually it was my project of MSW education which introduced me to this.

Human trafficking is a serious problem in our country.

I decided to work to rescue girls and women forced into prostitution. I visit the red light area of Budhwar Peth regularly, and so I know when new girls and women are brought in. We also have informers who tip us about new girls and women brought here. We investigate where they are from, their names, who brought them, their age, education, family, and make detailed reports on minor girls as well as women forced into prostitution. The reports are forwarded

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 30, 2016

PUNE

ightmare when things go wrong, ain death for the victim, and being sentence, unless there is someone who you from such an ordeal

NYANESHWAR BHONDE, R & ROMIL KOTHARI

SWeekly

is mission in life nothing in return

43, of Manjri, fell Shivaji bridge on and got stuck in

the mud, into which he began sinking.

It reached his face and he was unable to breathe. Kachi was the one who saved Kale, and took him to Sassoon Hospital.

“Kale and his family members met me in June and their gratitude touched me,“ said Kachi.

Kachi also saved 30-year-old Shankar Ravale of Nigdi, who tried to commit suicide by jumping from a bridge near the PMC. On August 18, 2013, 75-yearold Sushila Kelji from Indira Nagar jumped into the river from Shivaji bridge, as she was being harassed by her son and daughter-in-law. Kachi and his friend Shravan Pathak saved her from drowning and handed her over to the Shivajinagar police, who summoned her son, who agreed to take her back.

On February 13, 2015, a buffalo got stuck in a drainage chamber on the riverside in Deccan area. Kachi jumped into the chamber and helped pull out the buffalo.

For his noble deeds, Kachi has been honoured with more than 20 awards by the police and social organisations.

BEFORE

AFTER

A friend in need for the sick, abandoned and stray animals of Pune

A

nimal lovers, who have pet animals in their homes, are common. Not so common are those who feel and go out of their way to care for stray animals, or any animal in distress and in need of tender love and care.

There are a number of dedicated animal welfare organisations, which are well-organised and also receive funds to carry on their activities. Then there are other voluntary organisations, that do not rely on any outside source of funds, but care for animals enough to devote time, energy and even money to lavish their care and love on stray and abandoned animals, which are most in need of shelter and protection.

Neha Panchamiya and Tanya Kane run RESQ , an organisation that they set up in 2007, to take care of stray animals. Over the course of nine eventful years, Neha and Tanya’s initial concept has evolved beyond their imaginations, and RESQ is a beehive of activity these days, receiving more than 100 calls a day from citizens asking for their rescue service.

The duo happened to come upon a dog affl icted with viral distemper, which is a grave systematic neurological disorder, in 2007. Try as hard as they did, they were unable to find a place which would take in the sick animal, or give it some much needed medical care. Th is was the catalyst that motivated them to start RESQ , their own animal rescue organisation.

Neha and Tanya interned with various veterinary hospitals to gain a knowhow of how to provide medical treatment to animals, the knowledge which they pass on to all their volunteers.

They set up their animal hospital at Hilltown, Paud Mulshi Road, in 2015. They raise their own funds which enables them to treat animals free of cost. It is a wellorganised operation that Neha and Tanya run, and their team includes veterinarians, ambulance drivers, coordinators and volunteers.

There is proper procedure and guidelines that come into play during an animal rescue operation, which starts with any citizen calling the RESQ helpline, or even one of their own volunteers coming across an injured animal.

The caller or volunteer is told to stay with the injured animal till the RESQ team arrives with an ambulance if

necessary to transport the injured animal to the hospital, or the volunteer provides on the spot medical attention.

The hospital provides nursing and medical care, as well as primary service such as vaccination, neutering and marking the animals. Animals are released in their original habitat or put up for adoption after recovery.

The RESQ mission is not restricted to just stray dogs, but they now undertake the care and rescue of all animals, be it cats, goats, birds and even horses, pigs and elephants.

“One of the most challenging cases we handled was Hulk, an Indian breed dog who had gruesome facial injuries, where even his skill bone was damaged and his brain exposed. There were maggots in the horrible wound.

Actually his condition was so bad that our veterinarian told us that it would be best to put him out of his misery. But we continued his treatment and hoped that he would recover.

It was like a miracle that he eventually did. The wounds have healed, and he looks perfectly find now. Of course, our shelter is now his home,” said Fiyana Elavia, RESQ centre Director.

Neha Panchamiya

RESQ team at their shelter at Hilltown, Paud Mulshi Road

Tanya Kane

Fiyana told us the story of a piglet they rescued recently, on July 19, and who they have christened Peppa. Even she had a head wound crawling with maggots and one of her eyes was ruined. She was so weak she could not stand on her legs, and her body was crawling with lice. In her injured state she was prone to bite any one who touched her. But the love and care she was showered with at the shelter has brought about a positive change. Peppa is now able to walk, she is eating well, and even responding to gestures of affection with a wag of her tail. She is on her way to recovery.

The RESQ team conducts monthly sessions at schools and colleges, to spread awareness about caring for animals, and also train volunteers. They educate youngsters and advise them not to abandon animals on the streets after caring for them, about unethical breeding of dogs and many other matters.

In the meanwhile, all and any of the abandoned and stray animals of Pune have a friend in need in RESQ , at all times.

rostitution to the social security cell of Pune police. The police then set up rescue teams under a police inspector, two witnesses, a woman constable and our members. We conduct raids, verify all the facts and then the police take into custody the minor girls and women. They register cases against the agent/person who brought these girls and women and arrest them. The case goes to court, while we keep the rescued girls and women at our shelter in Hadapsar. We teach them tailoring work, and English. We make social investigation reports and find jobs for them to enable them to support themselves. Till date we have rescued 16 minor girls from Budhwar Peth area,” Bansode said.

Prakash Yadav of Akhil Devdasi Sanstha and Kumar Bhore of Rescue Foundation Home also work in rescuing girls and women forced into prostitution.

HELPLINE TREKKING RESCUE Shivdurga Mitra Rohit Vartak, Lonavla - 8983578221 Onkar Oak, Pune - 9922452931 Rahul Sonawane, Nashik – 9011109174

ANIMAL RESCUE RESQ, Pune - 9373888500 People For Animals - 9890044455 IHS Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, Katraj - 020 2437 0747

HUMAN TRAFFICKING Freedom Project India Parshuram Bansode - 9970244745 Akhil Devdasi Sanstha Prakash Yadav - 9850838683

LIFE GUARD Raju Kachi, Shivajinagar (8605566753)

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 30, 2016

PUNE

TECH/START-UP

“The computer in your cell phone has more processing power than all the computers in the Apollo 11 Lunar Lander that put 2 men on the moon.”

— http://blog.varnion.com/

Denying gallantry award to deserving soldier is betrayal P 12

I, me and my selfie!

The galloping popularity of the selfie, prods phone makers to respond with the right technology

BY ANAND PARTHASARATHY The classic image of the Buddha has him seemingly looking into himself.

‘Contemplating his navel’, was supposed to concentrate the mind and prevent confusion. One might think the millions of selfies captured and posted on the Web’s social media sites indicate some sort of mass sharpening of minds. And one would be wrong. The current selfie craze is more about a narcissistic preoccupation with self — rather than self - realisation. In other words it’s all about I, Me & Myself, sorry, My Selfie.

In my younger days, getting into a photo, involved setting the self timer on the camera (fitted on a tripod), then racing to join the group, before the shutter clicked.

If you were a tourist and didn’t have a timer on your cheap use-and-throw camera, you thought nothing of handing over your camera to a fellow tourist to click that keep-sake image.

Few minded, if asked — and you got that precious image with you and your companion, with the the TajMahal or — Shaniwar Wada in the background.

Today you whip out your phone, hold it at arm’s length (or latched on to a selfie stick), click on the front camera —and do-ityourself: The result: millions of skewed, distorted images of people grinning like devils. There seems to be an unwritten, globally accepted rule, that you are expected to make a fool of yourself

when you click a selfie. In 2012, Time magazine had rated ‘selfie’ one of the Top Ten buzzwords. And in November 2013, it was the Oxford English Dictionary, Word of the Year.

The selfie mania seems to have exploded after 2 million re-tweeted the photo of the group of stars captured by Ellen Degeneres, hostess, at the 2014 Oscars. “If only Bradley ( Cooper)’s arm was longer!”, Ellen lamented when she could get only 12 actors in the picture. She should have done what any selfie-addict would have done — used a selfie stick.

With a handle at one end and an adjustable clamp at the other, to hold the phone, today’s selfie sticks let you position the camera 30-70 cms away and with some of the wide angle lenses that cameras boast today, you can easily fit 20 friends in the frame — via wireless bluetooth.

A search on web retail sites will throw up dozens of selfie sticks priced Rs 300 1000. Most sticks come preinstalled with software to work with leading makes of Android or iOS phones. But if you have a n

odd phone which doesn’t, you can always download Camera 360 or one of its clones, a popular app that has become the de facto standard powering selfie sticks.

Over - enthusiastic selfie stick artists have caused some grief to fellow humans and surroundings, by their aggressive stick work. So they are today banned from many

museums and public amusement parks (and an entire nation: South Korea).

The vast majority of selfie artists make do without a stick — which has given rise to a new class of ailment: ‘Selfie elbow’, similar to “tennis elbow,” a condition in which you experience inflammation in the tendons that run along your arm from your hand to your elbow. This occurs because inveterate selfie takers, extend their arm to full stretch, while trying to keep a firm grip on their phone. Don’t rush to the doctor: Selfie elbow can be cured with a bit of ice on the affected part, followed by a brisk massage.

The power of the selfie shows no sign of abatement. Our obsession with capturing images of ourselves, against significant backgrounds or in the company of celebrities has seen over 17 million selfies uploaded every week on social media sites. Our task is made easier every day by phone makers pandering to our craze with selfie-optimised handsets where the tail often wags the dog — pixelwise, the front or selfie camera is as good or better than the main or rear camera. A phone like Samsung Galaxy 6 Edge Plus throws in a host of special filter to make your selfies look better than your mirror led you to believe.

In fact, there could be more to selfies than social media vanities! They can be an effective tool for identification — doing away with passwords, or finger print scans, to protect your phone. It can even be an alternative to verifying a credit card holder’s online identity.

And since the selfie is captured live, there’s less chance for fraud.

French mobile security firm Morpho, used this year’s Mobile World Conference in Barcelona to unveil selfie-based facial recognition technology, which uses the built-in camera of a phone or tablet, to enable secure account access.

And since Samsung has come on board as one of the earliest to deploy Morpho technology, we can expect to be offered the option quite soon on their devices.

Elsewhere on this page, we survey the best of the current breed of selfie-friendly phones. Smile! You’re in my selfie!

IndiaTechOnline

Selfie phone reviews ‘Selfie le le re!’

BY V SUDHAKSHINA If you are an avid selfie lover, your phone buying decision would solely depend on front camera features. Among phone makers, Oppo more than any one else has adjusted to the selfie ‘hava’ with dedicated devices, for those whose prime objective for owning a smart phone is to click selfies.

We review two selfie-friendly Oppo smartphones, catering for modest to generous budgets

OPPO A37: On Budget

From Pune-based TwinMe, a 3-D selfie!

A Range Hills, Pune-based 3-D scanning and printing company, TwinMe, has launched an innovative extension to selfies—3 dimensional portraits to immortalise you, your loved ones and your special memories. It utilises 3D scanning and 3D printing to create scaled down solid figurines of yourself, cherished members of families or even your pets. You can choose to get a selfie aka TwinMe, figurines at a starting price of Rs 5,900.

Says Tushar Ganage, CEO of TwinMe: “These striking figurines raise the future of selfies and photography to a different pedestal. They capture everything to the last detail – from facial expressions to folds in clothes, these are incredible realistic.”

Your TwinMe is created using state-of-the art digital scanners, proprietary software and cutting edge 3D printers aided by a team of visualisers, sculptors and engineers.

The 3D Scanning takes less than 15 minutes of your time. 3D image processing takes upto 2 days. 3D printing and finalisation will take a day more. Once your TwinMe figurine is ready it is shipped and delivered at your doorsteps within 7-15 working days. TwinMe is based in Symphony Building, Bhosale Nagar, Range Hills, Pune and you need to visit their studio to have your physical details recorded by prior appointment on phone (91- 7620763039)

Opera assumes Josh Software: Putting a desi avatar web solutions ‘on the rails’ A redesigned version of the Opera Mini browser exclusively for Android users in India has been launched. This version also allows users to download videos from social media and video platforms, which can be watched when offline.

Opera conducted extensive research in India and found out something we always knew: Bollywood and sports are the most popular categories of content that user like, from the browser. This blinding insight was applied to the latest version of Opera Mini, making India the only country where Opera works with local content partners.

With partnerships in place , Opera Mini users can access content from Bollywood Hungama and sports updates by Sportskeeda from the start page of the browser.

Opera Mini will offer 50 Bollywood stories a day, over 1,00,000 celebrity photos and wallpapers, 15,000 videos, and 50,000+ songs along with a repertoire of Bollywood movies and a celebrity database from 1931 onwards.

Opera Mini already has a news feature that displays articles across categories such as News, Business, Technology, Travel, Lifestyle, and so on. Users can customise this news feed by choosing their preferred categories and display language.

Streaming videos on sluggish mobile networks can be frustrating. The new Opera Mini addresses this problem with a built-in media player to download videos from popular social networking and news sites directly onto users’ smartphone or memory card.

“India is the largest market for Opera and we are working consistently towards bringing users’ favourite content closer to them. It is only in India that we are partnering with local content providers, such as Bollywood Hungama”, says Sunil Kamath, Vice President for South & Southeast Asia at Opera.

The mobile avatar of Opera already supports 13 Indian languages, all part of the company’s aggressive pitch to become the favoured mobile browser of Indian users.

IndiaTechOnline

BY ANAND PARTHASARATHY

A few years ago, I met Gautam Rege and Sethupathi Asokan for the first time, on the sidelines of the ‘Ruby on Rails’ conference in Bengaluru. The duo — and the company they had cofounded in 2007 — Josh Software — were the undoubted stars of the event. Why? Because the Pune-based Josh is a global leader in developing web solutions for clients that are rooted on the Open Source programming framework known as Ruby on Rails — or just Rails. Singular focus on this technology has helped Josh roll out solutions that are often faster, more scalable and robust than similar solutions on other platforms.

Many large enterprises from Cisco to IBM to Yahoo to NASA run their systems on a Rails framework. While the adoption in India is slowly picking up, it has the potential to be a game changer for the country, enabling enterprises to gain market leadership through crucial differentiation by way of speed and ability to respond, Rege told me Both Rege and Asokan have a

background with US-based storage security leader Veritas (now a Symantec company, that retains its own strong presence in Pune) till they decided to start a company with Rails as its USP. Josh Software concentrated on building up core expertise in Rails which increasingly sees clients world-wide referred to this Indian company for supercharging their Web-based tools and customer-facing solutions.

Open Source is their dharma and they are constantly promoting it. The most recent rollout from Josh Software is CodeCuriosity a platform that enables a self-motivated contribution from members of the open source community to track and measure their open source contribution and get rewarded at the same time.

With an aim to gamify the experience, the platform allows users to set their own goals based on their time commitment for contribution and their own individual aspirations. The user is allowed to choose across three goals, namely Hiker, Mountaineer and Rover, in order of difficulty..

Another recent initiative that promises to help Pune’s Smart City

The Josh Software team in their finest Puneri look

quest is called SimplySmart aimed to make simple things smart in a smart city. It started with the innovation of IoT devices related to water and electricity.

The company has made these smart water meters and electricity meters and ultimately focuses on providing smart affordable housing to the customers associated with smart cities.

In other ways too, the DNA of the parent company Josh Software, is Pune centered: Many of the team of 40+ engineers were educated here: Cofounder Gautam Rege is a product of Pune Institute of Computer Technology (PICT). Director Sameer Tilak has a Masters degree in Computer Science from Pune University. Team Lead Kiran Chaudhari graduated from Pune University with a Bachelor Degree in Computer Engineering. Senior Software Developer Anuja Ware, holds an M.Tech in Industrial Mathematics and studied at Fergusson College...

At Josh Software, their strong local roots and their belief that programming is an art, helps the company think and innovate locally — but act and deliver globally.

IndiaTechOnline

The A37 is for the budget-conscious selfie enthusiast. The 5 megapixels front camera comes with features like Pure Image technology, a screen flash for bright selfies under low light, gesture and voice controls. There’s also the Beautify 4.0 technology, which edits your pictures using its 7 different levels of intelligent beautify and two modes for different skin tones. The 8 megapixel rear camera also gets decent pictures with LED flash and f/2.2 aperture. The A37 is a good looking device.

It comes with a unibody design made of magnesium alloy. The display size is only 5-inch, which makes this device look smaller compared to the standard 5.5 inch and above devices currently available.

But it feels quite handy and is easy to carry around. It weighs 136 grams and has 7.6 mm thickness. The device runs on ColorOS 3.0, which is based on Android 5.1. It has a 2 GB RAM with 64-bit quad-core Snapdragon processor.

It comes with an internal storage of 16 GB, expandable up to 128 GB. The A37 has a dual 4G sim slots. It has a battery capacity of 2630 mAh. Priced at Rs 11,990, the OPPO A37 is now available across all online and offline channels.

OPPO F1 Plus: Premium Phone

The OPPO F1 Plus dubbed the ‘Selfie Expert’, has a massive 14 Megapixels fuelling its selfie camera, with a panorama mode to squeeze in as many people into the frame as possible. Flash plus a special light sensor brightens dark scenes and proprietary ‘Beauty 4.0’ software knocks a few wrinkles, pimples (and years) off the beauty-conscious. The main camera is no slouch either with 13MP and the added benefits of autofocus. With 4GB RAM and 64GB of primary storage expandable to 128GB, the F1 Plus is capable of some heavy iron app work — something belied by its 145g - 1.66mm thin frame. Sensibly, the dual SIM 4G VoLTE phone can take a combo of micro and nano SIMS and at 5.5 inches, the AMOLED screen is a good compromise between good viewing and pocketability.

Oppo’s Color 3.0 OS is something that the company has strapped on top of Android 5.1 and you can like or lump it.

At Rs 26,990, OPPO is clearly aimed at premium customers for whom satisfactory selfies are worth a stiffer asking price.

Upcoming options

Oppo seems determined to milk the selfie craze for all it’s worth. On August 3 it is scheduled to unveil the F1s, with the tagline ‘Step up the selfie revolution’. Does the ‘s’ stand for selfie? We don’t know yet what new selfie feature the new handset will offer. We’ll be there to find out and tell you! Meanwhile, other phone makers are not ignoring the selfie market: Coolpad has its own launch on August 10 for a selfie-centred product. Sony has already launched the Xperia Xa witha 16 MP selfie camera.

InFocus has entered the lists with the M535 with identical 13 MP cameras front and back.

IndiaTechOnline

IT is like that...

ENVIRONMENT “Hearing new words in fluent speech without a lot of background noise before trying to learn what objects the new words corresponded to may help very young children master new vocabulary.”

— Jenny Saffran, Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison

H EALTH

Report says more than one in five children are overweight, placing them at a high risk of developing Non-Communicable Diseases

a Growing Epidemic’.

This comes in the wake of a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report which highlighted the problem of NCDs in India. Indians have a 26 per cent chance of dying prematurely between the ages of 30 and 70 due to the four major NCDs and they account for 60 per cent of all deaths in in the country, according to the WHO. The four main NCDs — cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, and cancers — are caused primarily by exposure to tobacco, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet and too little exercise. These behaviours often begin in young age.

“Among 13-15 year-old secondary school students in India, 19 per cent of boys and 8 per cent of girls have used a tobacco product in the past month.

“Most of this consumption is of non-commercially produced cigarettes tobacco products like bidi, an inexpensive hand-rolled cigarette made of unprocessed tobacco wrapped in leaves,” the report said.

Anand Krishnan, Professor at the Centre for Community Medicine in AIIMS, said both in urban and rural India, people are increasingly eating processed and fast food, leading to a rapid increase in the obese population.

“There is an urgent need for both the government and private sector to adopt an integrated approach and work in close coordination to identify effective solutions and reduce the NCD burden of the nation,” he said.

The PRB report was funded by the AstraZeneca Young Health Programme (YHP). The YHP was founded in partnership with Johns

New microneedle patch to painlessly monitor drugs Scientists have developed a microneedle patch that can painlessly monitor drugs in the bloodstream of a person undergoing medical treatment, without drawing any blood.

The microneedle drug monitoring system developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada and the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) in Switzerland could replace costly, invasive blood draws and improve patient comfort.

The new system consists of a small, thin patch that is pressed against a patient’s arm during medical treatment and measures drugs in their bloodstream painlessly without drawing any blood.

The tiny needle-like projection, less than half a millimetre long, resembles a hollow cone and doesn’t pierce the skin like a standard hypodermic needle.

“Many groups are researching microneedle technology for painless vaccines and drug delivery. Using

Sahan Ranamukhaarachchi

them to painlessly monitor drugs is a newer idea,” said researcher Sahan Ranamukhaarachchi, a PhD student at UBC. Microneedles are designed to puncture the outer layer of skin, which acts as a protective shield, but not the next layers of epidermis and the dermis, which house nerves, blood vessels and active immune cells.

The microneedle was developed

to monitor the antibiotic vancomycin, which is used to treat serious infections and is administered through an intravenous line.

Patients taking the antibiotic undergo three to four blood draws per day and need to be closely monitored because vancomycin can cause lifethreatening toxic side effects.

The researchers discovered that they could use the fluid found just below the outer layer of skin, instead of blood, to monitor levels of vancomycin in the bloodstream. The microneedle collects just a tiny bit of this fluid, less than a millionth of a millilitre, and a reaction occurs on the inside of the microneedle that researchers can detect using an optical sensor.

“This is probably one of the smallest probe volumes ever recorded for a medically relevant analysis,” said Urs Hafeli, associate professor at UBC. PTI

Compound in turmeric may treat colon cancer: study An ingredient found in turmeric, which is present in spicy curry dishes, may play an important role in treating colon cancer, researchers including one of Indian-origin have found in a new study.

The combination of two plant compounds that have medicinal properties - curcumin and silymarin holds promise in treating colon cancer, researchers from Saint Louis University in the US said.

Curcumin is the active ingredient in the spice turmeric, which is present in spicy curry dishes, and silymarin is a component of milk thistle, which has been used to treat liver disease, they said.

Researchers studied a line of colon cancer cells in a laboratory model.

They found treating the cells initially with curcumin, then with silymarin was more effective in fighting cancer than treating the cells with either phytochemical alone.

“The combination of phytochemicals inhibited colon cancer cells from multiplying and spreading. In addition, when the colon cancer cells were preexposed to curcumin and then treated with silymarin, the cells underwent a high amount of cell death,” said

JULY 30, 2016

PUNE

“There are earlier instances of devastating flood in Indian states located in the Eastern Himalayas. More emissions will result in global warming rate higher than the normal which can result into loss of flora and fauna.”

— Rajib Bandopadhyay, Professor, University of Burdwan

7/10 children exercise for less than 60 mins in a day Seven out of every 10 children in the age group of 13-15 years exercise for less than 60 minutes per day while more than one in five are overweight, placing them at a high risk of developing NonCommunicable Diseases (NCDs) which account for 60 per cent of all deaths in India, according to a report.

Stressing that there is a need to promote healthy behaviour among youths, the report said 19 per cent of boys and eight per cent of girls in the same age group have used a tobacco product in the past month.

The Population Reference Bureau (PRB) report also recommended strengthening regulations concerning food industry and setting a maximum salt, sugar and saturated fat content in food products in the country.

“Seven of every 10 boys and girls in the 13-15 year age group in India get too little exercise, meaning less than 60 minutes per day. More than one in five of them is overweight or obese, placing them at a high risk of developing NCDs,” the report said.

It also recommended the creation of safe public spaces and infrastructure for sports and introduction of effective school-based interventions on diet and physical activity.

“Promoting healthy behaviours among young people is key to curbing a growing epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs),” said Toshiko Kaneda and and Reshma Naik, who are the authors of the report ‘Addressing NCD Risk Factors Among Young People: Asia’s Window of Opportunity to Curb

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

Uthayashanker Ezekiel from Saint Louis University.

“Phytochemicals may offer alternate therapeutic approaches to cancer treatments and avoid toxicity problems and side effects that chemotherapy can cause,” he said.

Ezekiel saw promise in using the phytochemicals to help prevent colon cancer, which frequently is caused by lifestyle factors, such as diet.

“Concentrations of curcumin and silymarin that are too high could be harmful to people. We still have much to learn, and for now, it is so much safer to add a little spice to your diet and get your curcumin from foods that contain turmeric, such as curry, rather than taking high doses of the compound,” he said.

The findings were published in the Journal of Cancer.

PTI

Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Plan International with local NGO partners. Noting that the food processing industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the Indian economy and accounts for about 5060 per cent of the sugar, salt and fats consumed, the report termed as “challenging” to encourage healthy diets among young people.

Although India is taking relevant steps to address the health issues caused by harmful substances such as tobacco by introducing health warnings on tobacco packs, banning and restricting advertisement, promotion and sale amongst others, there is an urgent need to focus on fostering healthy behaviours among India’s youth, the report said.

“Strong tobacco control policy measures in some countries like India, Nepal and Sri Lanka have set best practices for the region and the globe.

“India needs to step up enforcement of tobacco control policies to provide full protection to young people and introduce innovative prevention and cessation solutions to meet one of the NCD targets of 30 per cent reduction in tobacco use prevalence by 2025 that the country has adopted.

Monika Arora, Director, Public Health Foundation of India said India has a window of opportunity to promote healthy behaviours among its 253 million adolescents and to curb their risky behaviours so that they will grow into healthy, productive adults and to lower the future NCD burden, it said.

PTI

India lacks WHO epidemics blueprint India is yet to adopt the blueprint developed by World Health Organisation (WHO) which allows rapid activation of research to understand epidemic-prone diseases and development of life-saving drugs to prevent those, the government said.

“WHO has developed a blueprint for a global strategy that allows rapid activation of research and development activities for better understanding of an epidemic-prone disease, development of life-saving drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for prevention of such epidemics.

“The blueprint was unveiled at the World Health Assembly held in May, 2016. As of now, India has not adopted the blueprint,” Minister of State for Health Faggan Singh Kulaste said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

He was asked whether the WHO has asked member countries, including India, to develop R&D blueprint to accelerate life-saving R&D during

epidemics due to seasonal outbreaks like dengue, malaria and swine flu.

Elaborating further, the minister said last year, 11,26,661 (provisional) malaria cases were reported while 99,913 dengue cases were reported in the country.

Similarly, 27,553 clinically suspected Chikungunya cases were reported while 42,592 swine flu cases were reported in the country last year, he said.

Kulaste said the UN Medical Services Division for UN Duty stations has issued guidelines for best management practices for mosquito control programme in February this year.

This document is targeted towards UN Duty stations with mosquito borne diseases and aims to provide best management practices to support implementation of a comprehensive mosquito control and surveillance programme.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 30, 2016

PUNE

Coal Auction: Competition may have been restricted P 14

“The Centre has asked states not to give subsidies to those who do not have an Aadhaar card. Forty per cent of the people don’t have an Aadhar card. ” — Ramgopal Yadav, member of the Rajya Sabha, SP

Denying gallantry award to deserving soldier is betrayal NEW DELHI: Denying gallantry awards to deserving soldiers is akin to betrayal by the society which owes a debt of gratitude towards them, the Delhi High Court said while setting aside the Centre’s order not to give a medal to a CRPF personnel who sustained bullet injuries in an encounter with a dreaded Khalistani terrorist.

Noting that “a nation which honours the sacrifice and bravery honours itself ”, a bench of Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Pratibha Rani said a brave soldier needs to be recognised for his commitment to serve the country with dignity.

“A brave soldier needs to be recognised for his commitment to serve the nation with dignity and honour. It would indeed be a betrayal by the society if a soldier deserving a gallantry is denied the same. A right created must require its due redemption,” it said, adding, “It is not a medal alone. That apart, society owes a debt of gratitude to the brave.”

The court, while quashing the July 15, 2014 order of the Centre denying award to petitioner Rajesh Shukla, referred to his claim for a gallantry award to the competent authority asking it to take into account recommendation by the then Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), who was a part of the encounter team, as well as the case diary of the 1992 events.

Referring to the SSP’s recommendation, the bench noted that Shukla had engaged the terrorist in the encounter despite receiving four

Army pay tribute to jawans who died in Kargil War on Kargil Vijay Diwas, in Kozhikode

bullet injuries and forced then Deputy Chief of Khalistan Commando Force (Zaffarwal), Khajan Singh, to retreat into a house where he was cornered and killed by the forces. It observed that as per the case diary, if the petitioner had not engaged the terrorist, he would have escaped and “undaunted” by the injuries Shukla continued to bravely fight.

“Such commitment by an armed officer who displays unwavering readiness in the hour of the need and who remains undeterred by the fear of losing his life while defending the nation against enemies is truly representative of a conspicuous devotion to duty,” the bench said.

The encounter had taken place when the police team had gone to a village in

Centuries-old tag no justification: SC NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court said that just because the bull-taming sport of Jallikattu is a centuries-old tradition, it can’t be justified.

A bench of justices Dipak Misra and RF Nariman said that if the parties are able to convince the court that its earlier judgement was wrong, it may refer the matter to a larger bench.

“Just because the sport (Jallikattu) is centuries-old, it can’t be said that it’s legal or permissible under law. Since centuries, children below the age of twelve years were married. Does that mean that child marriage is legal?,” the bench said.

The apex court fixed August 30 for final hearing of the matter to decide on the Constitutional validity of Jallikattu.

It further said that no adjournments will be granted in the case after it commences the final hearing in the matter.

During the hearing the counsel appearing for Tamil Nadu said Jallikattu is a sport being practiced for centuries and it showcases an age-old cultural practice in the state.

The Supreme Court had on January 21 refused to re-examine its 2014 judgement banning use of bulls for Jallikattu events or bullock-cart races across the country.

On January 8, the Centre had issued a notification lifting ban on Jallikattu in poll-bound Tamil Nadu with certain restrictions, which was challenged in the apex court by Animal Welfare Board of

India, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, a Bangalorebased NGO and others.

The apex court had stayed this notification.

The apex court remained unimpressed with the contention that Jallikattu was not a fight between bulls and humans but a game where the participants are required to embrace the running bulls by hanging on to their hump as long as possible and that the men are unarmed.

Jallikattu, also known Eruthazhuvuthal, is a bull-taming sport played in Tamil Nadu as a part of the Pongal harvest festival.

Vol-III* lssue No.: 07 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.

Punjab to search for terrorists on the basis of a tip off, when they came under heavy fire. Two terrorists were killed during the encounter and AK-47 rifles and stock bomb was recovered from them.

While the matter was pending in the high court, the government had said that on the basis of material gathered, it was of the opinion that no case was made out to award Presidential Police Medal or Police Medal to Shukla.

The court disagreed with the government’s view, saying it had “not kept in mind the distinction between performing acts of exceptional courage and exhibiting conspicuous devotion to duty”.

It said that the government had treated the case as if Shukla was injured

Panama papers: Centre, RBI response sought NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court asked the Centre and RBI to file their response in four weeks on a plea seeking CBI inquiry against Indian offshore bank account holders named in the Panama papers.

A bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and UU Lalit, granted four weeks time to the parties to file the affidavit after the Centre told the court that investigation is in progress and it was looking into the allegations.

A Multi-Agency Group (MAG) of various investigative agencies has been formed by the government to go into the disclosures made in the list which includes about 500 Indian entities.

The Panama Papers leaks contain an unprecedented amount of information, including more than 11 million documents covering 2,10,000 companies in 21 offshore jurisdictions. Each transaction spans different jurisdictions and may involve multiple entities and individuals. The petition filed by advocate ML Sharma also sought a CBI probe against the Indian offshore account holders and stock market regulators under the SC supervision.

PTI

FDA to test Johnson’s baby powder sample

when the terrorist had indiscriminately fired. “This is not so. The petitioner was injured when he engaged the terrorist whom the petitioner saw fleeing into the sugarcane fields. As the petitioner fired at the terrorist, the terrorist returned the fire. The petitioner suffered four bullet injuries,” it noted.

“He did not relent. He continued to inch forward and fire at the terrorist who was forced to retreat. This aspect has been completely overlooked. The result was that the terrorist could not escape and was shot dead by the other members of the force,” it said.

The court observed, “Even amidst uncertainty and doubts of whether they would live to see a new day, their respect for service and commitment to willingly support their comrades, should duty call is truly exemplary and distinguishes such officers from the ordinary.

“It is these officers who are indeed worthy of the highest regard, respect and honour and their brave and relentless efforts should never be forgotten.”

The court directed the competent authority to separately consider whether the petitioner’s acts “evinced exceptional courage/gallantry or disjunctively, exhibited conspicuous devotion to duty”.

It said that a reasoned decision would be conveyed to him and if it is found that he showed gallantry or exhibited conspicuous devotion to duty, he be recommended for either a Presidential Police Medal or a Police Medal.

PTI

MUMBAI: Maharashtra government had collected samples of 14 talcum powder brands, including Johnson & Johnson baby powder, as a “precautionary measure” to ensure that nobody gets cancer through cosmetics.

The action comes in wake of a Missouri court verdict directing J&J to pay damages to kin of a woman who died of ovarian cancer.

“The tests were conducted as precaution, to ensure nobody gets cancer through use of cosmetics,” the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Minister Girish Bapat told Legislative Assembly during question hour.

He was replying to a query by Amin Patel (Congress) and Sardar Tarasinh (BJP) in the Lower House.

In March, following a Missouri court verdict directing the healthcare products major Johnson & Johnson to pay damages to the family of the 62-year-old woman, Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had collected samples of 14 other talcum powder brands, including Johnson & Johnson baby powder, and sent them for testing to laboratory to reaffirm if they meet the standards.

In the past, the Maharashtra FDA had taken action against Johnson & Johnson twice. In 2005, FDA had sent a notice to the company accusing it of selling nine of its products as specially meant for babies without proper clearances and asked them to remove the word ‘baby’.

State government has also announced to approach the Centre for amendment in the laws for the stricter

punishment and making the milk adulteration a non-bailable offence, and has decided to frame rules to curb the menace. In reply to another query on milk adulteration, Bapat admitted that milk adulteration has been a dangerous menace and the government has written to Centre for changes in the existing laws.

“We had booked the culprits involved in adulteration under sections 283 and 328 of IPC, making the offence non-bailable, but the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court struck down the application,” the minister said.

“We have challenged the ruling in the Supreme Court. If amended by the Centre, the enforcement may get a boost,” he added. Bapat said flying squads were deputed regularly across the city to conduct the raids and the action has helped the government in restricting the milk adulteration. He said the government has also directed the officials at the Octroi entry posts to check 539 (milk) tankers entering the city everyday.

PTI

DANGEROUS LIVING

Children use a boat near submerged houses in a village near Kaziranga National Park

Irom to end fast, get married, fight polls IMPHAL: Sixteen years after starting her path-setting hunger strike demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, Manipur’s “Iron Lady” Irom Chanu Sharmila has decided to end her fast on August 9 and contest Assembly elections as an Independent candidate.

The 44-year-old iconic rights activist, who has been forcibly fed through a nasal tube since 2000, said she would join politics as she no longer believes that her fast will lead to the repeal of the “draconian” AFSPA. “I will end my fast on August 9 and contest elections on an independent ticket,” Sharmila told the media after coming out of a local court here where she is facing a trial for attempting suicide.

“I will join politics and my fight will continue,” Sharmila, who has refused to eat or drink anything since November, 2000 and is forcibly fed through a nasal tube in Imphal’s Jawahar Lal Nehru Hospital, a special ward of which acts as

her prison.

Assembly elections in Manipur are scheduled early next year. In the past, many political leaders have met Sharmila and tried to cajole her into joining politics but she has rejected all offers. She also expressed her desire to get married after coming out of prison on August 9.

The civil rights activist is known to have a boyfriend, a British national of

Indian origin, who has in the past been in trouble with Sharmila supporters.

On the charge of attempting suicide by means of a fast unto death in 2006 at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, she has been arrested, released and then re-arrested from time to time. The maximum punishment under Section 309 of IPC is a one-year jail term.

On November 2, 2000, an Assam Rifles battalion had allegedly killed 10 civilians in a village near Imphal. Three days later, Sharmila embarked on her fast demanding revocation of AFSPA, which allows security men to even kill a person on suspicion without the fear of facing a trial in court. Sharmila’s nonviolent resistance has become a nucleus for collective protest against AFSPA in the northeastern states.

Her Gandhian-like struggle has won her several human rights awards including the 2007 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, which is given to “an outstanding person or group, active in

the promotion and advocacy of peace, democracy and human rights”.

International human rights organisations like Amnesty International have been demanding her unconditional release from prison.

A network of civil societies like NAPM, Gandhi Global Family, Asha Parivar, Jagriti Mahila Samiti, Yuva Koshish, Asian Centre of Social Studies and Mission Bhartiyam have been running a “Save Sharmila Campaign” for many years.

Many books have been written about her life while a short documentary ‘My Body My Weapon’ has also been made on the same.

Pune-based theatre artist Ojas SV has in the past performed a mono-play titled ‘Le Mashale’ (Take the torch), based on her life, in different cities.

Sharmila herself is a poet having published a collection of poems in Manipuri language.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 30, 2016

‘We are capable of creating upsets’ P 16

“If there are any little girls out there who stayed up late to watch, let me just say I may become the first woman President but one of you is next. We will fight for the change we need and we will never forget our leader.”

— Hillary Clinton, nominee for President of the United States

US, China hold talks after SCS verdict

BY KJM VARMA

BEIJING: The US called for “candour and openness” ahead of NSA-level talks with China, the first such high-level political dialogue since an international tribunal rejected Beijing’s claims over the strategic South China Sea. US National Security Advisor Susan Rice began her visit here by holding talks with her counterpart Yang Jiechi after China’s outright rejection of the tribunal, questioning its legality.

Welcoming Rice, Yang said ahead of their talks that the US and China have been cooperating more closely on global issues such as nuclear nonproliferation and the Ebola epidemic and both sides should carefully manage their differences.

Acknowledging that US and China faced other “global issues and challenges”, Rice said “to the extent that we are able to surface those challenges in candour and openness, I’m confident that we will be able to work on them as we have many others in the past”.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on July 12 noted there was no legal basis for Beijing’s claim to nearly all of the waterway. While quashing China’s claims, it also upheld the Philippines’ rights over the area.

China claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan seriously differ with Beijing’s claims and accuse China of illegally reclaiming land in contested areas to

US National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for photographers during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing

create artificial islands with facilities that could potentially be for military use. On July 15, Yang said the sovereignty issue is China’s bottom line.

“Though China is large, we cannot lose one centimetre of inheritance left by the ancestors,” Yang, who is the State Councillor, holding a rank higher than Foreign Minister, said in an interview rejecting the tribunal verdict.

Earlier the commander of the People’s Liberation Army Navy Wu Shengli told US counterpart Admiral John Richardson during their meeting here that “we will never stop our construction on the Nansha (Spratly) Islands halfway... the Nansha Islands are China’s inherent territory, and our

necessary construction on the islands is reasonable, justified and lawful”.

Besides discussing the management of tensions in the South China Sea after the tribunal verdict, Rice also was expected to focus her talks on the preparations for the US President Barack Obama visit to take part in the G20 summit to be held in the Chinese city of Hangzhou in September this year.

She is expected to call on top Chinese leadership. The South China Sea, rich in natural resources, is also a major shipping lane. Over half of the world’s commercial shipping passes through the Indo-Pacific waterways including one-thirds of the world’s liquefied natural gas.

PTI

‘Ties with Pak bigger challenge than terrorism’ ISLAMABAD/KABUL: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has hit out at Pakistan for providing safe havens to terrorists and said having state-to-state ties with the neighbouring country a “bigger challenge” for his government than combating terror groups such as alQaeda and Taliban.

The Afghan President also said that Kabul was proud of its friendship with India as New Delhi shares Afghanistan’s democratic aspirations.

In contrast, Ghani said that Pakistan provides sanctuaries to terrorists and trains them, making relations with Pakistan, the bigger challenge for his country. “We cannot understand when Pakistan says it will not allow a group of terrorists to amend its constitution, army act and prepares a National Action Plan against them.

The 64-year-old Afghan president said he can provide addresses of Taliban leaders in the Pakistani city of Quetta, Dawn quoted the Afghan president as saying, a day Kabul witnessed the deadliest terror attack in 15 years which killed 80 people and left hundreds injured. Ghani claimed that Afghan forces have bombed the chief of Tehreeki-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Mullah Fazlullah, 11 times along with attacks on his close aides.

“Can you show me a single operation against the Haqqani network, against Mullah Omar, against Mullah Mansoor, Mansoor travelled on a Pakistani passport out of Karachi, does Fazlullah travel on an Afghan passport out of Kabul,” asked Ghani.

PTI

G20 FMs to use ‘all policy tools’ for global growth

BEIJING: The Group of 20 major economies, including India, vowed to deploy all policy tools to foster confidence and boost global environment for growth, which they said was “challenging” and uncertain after UK’s decision to exit the world’s largest single market, the EU. “The global economic environment is challenging and downside risks persist, highlighted by fluctuating commodity prices, and low inflation in many economies,” a communique issued after the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in southwest China’s Chengdu city said.

Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Shakthikanta Das attended the gathering, which was held ahead of G20 leaders meeting scheduled in the Chinese city Hangzhou in September.

The comminique said that the

outcome of the Brexit result adds to uncertainty in the global economy. The European Union’s 28-member account for 16 per cent of world imports and exports.

To foster confidence, monetary policies will continue to support economic activity and ensure price stability, but monetary tools alone cannot lead to balanced growth, staterun Xinhua quoted the communique as saying.

“We are using fiscal policy flexibly and making tax policy and public expenditure more growth-friendly,” it added.

The nations reaffirm their previous exchange rate commitments, including refraining from competitive devaluations and not targeting exchange rates for competitive purposes.

“We will carefully calibrate

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and clearly communicate our macroeconomic and structural policy actions to reduce uncertainty, minimise negative spillovers and promote transparency,” it said.

The G20 economies committed to enhance communication and cooperation, and take effective steps to address the challenges of structural problems, including excess capacity in some industries, exacerbated by a weak global economic recovery and depressed market demand.

According to the communique, G20 members reaffirmed commitment to promote investment with focus on infrastructure in terms of both quantity and quality. Before the meeting, the International Monetary Fund downgraded its forecasts for global growth this year by 0.1 percentage point to 3.1 per cent.

PTI

Elect PM within a week: Nepal prez

BY SHIRISH B PRADHAN KATHMANDU: Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari called on all the political parties to elect a new Prime Minister within a week based on consensus to end the political instability in the country, a day after premier K P Oli resigned.

The president also ordered to remove constitutional hurdles for the formation of a new government as per the recommendation made by the Cabinet. Nepal plunged into a political turmoil after Prime Minister Oli resigned just before a no-confidence vote. In a statement, President Bhandari called on the parties to form a consensus government within a week as per the Article 298 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal.

Prior to this, she held consultations with top leaders of three major political parties — acting Prime Minister and CPN-UML Chairman Oli, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Prachanda, who is favourite to replace Oli. Oli-led cabinet had recommended the President to remove the hurdles to form a new government by invoking Article 305 of the Constitution as there was no provision to elect new Prime Minister after the Prime Minister’s resignation in the transition.

The president called on all parties to move ahead in consensus, according to Prachanda’s secretariat.

In response, Deuba and Prachanda who are trying to form the coalition

KP Oli (left)

government said they were also of the view that all parties should be taken into confidence while forming the new government. They also expressed their determination in implementation of the Constitution and cooperation on issues of the national interest.

Oli tendered his resignation after two key ruling alliance partners — Madhesi People’s Rights ForumDemocratic and Rastriya Prajatantra Party — decided to support the noconfidence motion tabled against him by the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-Maoist Centre led by Prachanda in the 596-member Parliament.

The no-trust motion against Oli had the support of 183 Nepali Congress parliamentarians, 70 from CPN-MC and three from CPN-United. The three parties have a combined strength of 292 in Parliament.

Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) currently has 175 elected seats in parliament, far fewer than the 299 needed to win a vote of confidence.

PTI

PATRON DAY

People buy some strips of garlic during the garlic fair in Vitoria, northern Spain. Every year a traditional garlic market is set on the Saint James patron day in Vitoria gathering producers of all around Spain

1.6mn childbearing women at Zika risk Bush was against denying visa to Modi

PARIS: Tens of thousands of babies may be born with debilitating Zikarelated disorders in the course of the outbreak sweeping through Latin America and the Caribbean, researchers said.

Mathematical projections suggest about 93.4 million people may catch the virus — including some 1.65 million pregnant women — before the epidemic fizzles out, a team reported in the journal Nature Microbiology.

Eighty per cent of people will develop mild symptoms or never even be aware they have the virus.

But for babies in the womb Zika can be devastating — linked to a braindamaging disorder called microcephaly that can lead to stillbirth or severely disabling birth defects.

Among women in a high-risk early term of pregnancy, anything between one and 13 per cent have foetuses develop microcephaly or other Zika-related complications, said the multidisciplinary research team from the United States, Britain and Sweden.

This meant “somewhere on the order of tens of thousands across the whole of Latin America and the Caribbean who

could realistically end up developing microcephaly or a related condition,” said study co-author Alex Perkins of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, and specified this referred to “live births.”

The projection was “a worst-case scenario” he told AFP, “but a realistic one”.

It did not account for women who may be postponing conception or having abortions as a result of the outbreak.

“I know that does not provide a very precise number, but I think it’s valuable in that at least it gives an order of magnitude guess, which is better than having no idea whatsoever.”

The team used data on the usual number of pregnancies, the prevalence of the mosquito species spreading the virus, weather conditions and socioeconomic conditions that make people more vulnerable, and disease spread dynamics.

Mathematical models of disease progression are notoriously prone to inaccuracies, as estimates can be skewed by such factors as the infectiousness of the virus, the adaptative response of the immune system and social and economic factors that help it to spread.

Experts not involved in the study said the new estimate may be conservative.

Derek Gatherer of Lancaster University noted recent research which found that as many as 29 per cent of babies of Zika-infected mothers develop problems.

If so, “over half a million” children may ultimately be affected, he said.

Whatever the final number, a support system for affected babies and their families “needs to be put in place as soon as possible,” said Jimmy Whitworth of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

“Over 1,700 affected babies have been born in Brazil so far, and the numbers are going to continue to increase in the months ahead,” he said in comments via the Science Media Centre.

AFP

BY LALIT K JHA CLEVELAND: The Bush White House was against denying a US visa to the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in 2005, according to a former senior administration official who worked on the national security staff of the then Vice President Dick Cheney.

“I do not believe anyone in (the George W Bush) White House spoke in favour of it (denying visa to Modi),” Stephen Yates, who served as the Deputy National Security Advisor to Cheney, told a group of Indian reporters here.

“Yes,” said the chairman of Idaho Republican Party when asked if the Bush White House was opposed to denying a visa to Modi.

“At the same time, no one in the White House of sufficient rank, saw fit to get involved in that decision making process,” Yates said in response to a question as to why a Republican

administration denied a US visa to Modi, with whom it now wants to build a strong relationship.

In 2005, the State Department had revoked a visa that Modi had for travelling to the US on the ground of alleged human rights violations during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

“The State Department had their ban and frankly a lot of us in the White House felt it was inappropriate,” said Yates, who was part of the Republican Platform Subcommittee on foreign affairs. The platform approved by Republican National Committee in Cleveland describes India as a “geopolitical ally”.

“India is our geopolitical ally and a strategic trading partner. The dynamism of its people and the endurance of their democratic institutions are earning their country a position of leadership not only in Asia but throughout the world,” said the platform, which is similar to an election manifesto.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 30, 2016

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MONEY MATT ER S

“Our entry into the smartphones and television category in India is a strategic move that reinforces our commitment to lead technology and innovation.”

— Praveen Valecha, Regional Director, TCL India

Signpost AI to recruit 500 pilots in 2-3 years Air India may recruit about 500 pilots and over 1,500 cabin crew in next two to three years to meet the requirement as the fleet size is expected to increase considerably, a senior official has said.

“We are planning to have 700 more pilots in the next two to three years keeping in view the fleet expansion. From last August till now, we have already recruited 250 pilots. So about 500 more pilots we are going to recruit. Advertisement for 400 pilots has already been floated,” AI’s General Manager (Operations) N Sivaramakirshnan told PTI. Last year, Air India had sought to recruit 200 trainee pilots. However, it could select only 78. Now all those pilots are flying on various routes, he said.

Coal Auction: Competition may have been restricted Competition may have been restricted in case of 11 coal blocks that went under the hammer in the first two rounds of mines auction held last year on account of multiple bids by corporate groups made through JVs or group subsidiaries, government auditor CAG said.

“Audit could not draw an assurance that the potential level of competition was achieved during...bidding of 11 coal mines auctioned in the first two tranches,” Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said in the latest report on e-auction of coal mines.

In 11 out of 29 coal mines successfully e-auctioned in first and second tranche, a number of qualified bidders (QBs) in the e-auction stage were from the same company/parent subsidiary company coalition/joint venture (JV), according to the CAG report tabled in Parliament.

In a scenario where the standard tender document (STD) allowed the participation of JV and simultaneously limited the number of QBs which could participate in the e-action, Audit could not draw an assurance that the potential level of competition was achieved during the stage II bidding of these 11 coal mines auctioned in the first two tranches.

In the third tranche, the Coal Ministry amended the clause of JV participation with the objective of increasing participation, it added.

Reacting on the report, an official source said that as only 6 per cent of the qualified bidders were joint ventures companies and only one successful bidder

Fintech sector sees deals worth $184 mn

Fintech companies, which are at the intersection of financial services and IT, witnessed 23 deals worth USD 184 million, registering a 28 per cent fall in value terms over the last year’s period, says a report.

In the first six months of 2015, the fintech sector had witnessed 34 transactions worth USD 255 million.

According to News Corp VCCEdge India FinServ Insights, online platforms offering wealth management and lending/ credit services are fuelling fintech investments by the PE/VC/ angel community.

Since 2012, such online financial services portals have attracted over USD 500 million investor funding spread across 66 deals about 50 per cent of the fintech investment deal value.

In 2016, so far, there have been 13 deals amounting to USD 81 million.

Since 2012, such portals have attracted over USD 500 million investor funding spread across 66 deals, the report said.

The Private Equity deal of USD 200

“No subsidy is provided on the export of cow meat. As per the existing foreign trade policy, export of beef (meat of cows, oxen and calves) is prohibited.”

— Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Commerce and Industry Minister

million invested by General Atlantic and Temasek Holdings Advisors India in IndiaIdeas.com which owns payment services portal Billdesk, was the top deal in financial services sector in 2015-16.

“While the degree of adoption and regulatory stipulations may pose hurdles, the growth we see in investments in fintech space show us there is a strong investor appetite for companies with unique business models that address the inefficiency of legacy systems and the mechanism to disburse credit,” Nita Kapoor Head - India, New Ventures, News Corp and CEO, News Corp VCCircle, said.

The top deal in online personal finance segment (2015-16), was the investment of USD 59.9 million made

by Walden International India, Sequoia Capital India Growth Fund II, Eight Roads Ventures, Amazon.com and Mousse Partners in Chennai-based A and A Dukaan Financial Services which owns the online platform BankBazaar. com, the report said.

PTI

was a JV company, it is clear that this provision did not restrict competition.

“The Delhi High Court in W.P (c) No 1384/2015 has upheld this provision of the auction. It has stated that the process is neither arbitrary or irrational or designed to favour any particular bidder and has worked out well,” according to the source. The government auditor said that Moitra coal mine contained washery grade coking coal, which was to be washed out before utilisation in the specified end use plant (SEUP).

“CMPDIL should have flagged the issue while carrying out the valuation and the matter should have been referred to CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) for reconsideration,” the report said.

Otherwise, keeping in mind the spirit of CCEAs’ approval, the price at which Coal India’s subsidiaries were

selling washed coking coal, should have been considered for calculation of intrinsic value of this mine. Its absence resulted in under-determination of upfront amount and floor price of the mine, the report said.

Disqualification of West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL) from participating in the auction of Sarisatolli and Trans Damodar coal mines, on the basis of it being a prior allottee and not depositing the additional levy within the prescribed time, was not as per the existing provisions, it said.

Power sector coal mines were auctioned with the objective of providing cheaper coal and augmenting electricity production to benefit the consumers.

However, the report said, due to the vulnerabilities such as stipulation regarding non-recovery of various

Domestic air passenger traffic grows nearly 21 pc in June Maintaining high double digit growth for the 23rd month on a trot, domestic air passenger traffic surged nearly 21 per cent in June compared to the same period a year ago Eleven domestic carriers ferried 79.76 lakh passengers in June 2016 as compared to 66.01 lakh passengers in June last year, thereby registering a growth of 20.81 per cent, according to DGCA monthly air traffic data released recently.

Budget carrier IndiGo flown the highest number of passengers (30.23 lakh) followed by full service private carrier Jet Airways which, along with its subsidiary JetLite, ferried a total of 15.23 lakh fliers in June 2016.

Air India and Gurgaon-based no-frills SpieJet also flown 12.37 lakh and 11,27 lakh passengers, respectively in June. Domestic airlines, however, witnessed a drop in their seat factor during the month compared to May 2016.

PTI

Grappling with mobile call drop menace, telecom operators committed to install 1 lakh towers within a year, entailing investments of about Rs 20,000 crore, and sought more spectrum from the government.

“Telecom operators have installed 48,000 towers in last 45 days, out of 60,000 towers they promised to install in 100 days,” Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha told reporters.

“They have committed to one-year plan. Their performance has been satisfactory but government wants that improvement in networks should be experienced by consumers,” he added.

This was second meeting between the government and the operators on the call drop issue. At the first meeting with Telecom Secretary JS Deepak in June, a 100-day plan was chalked out.

A telecom ministry official said the operators have committed to install a total of 1 lakh mobile towers within a year. The cost of each mobile tower is estimated to be around Rs 20 lakh.

“The customer experience should not only be in area of call drop but also in space of data services. We are not anywhere close to experience required for success of Digital India initiative of the Prime Minister,” Sinha said.

The government is gearing up for the largest

spectrum auction, estimated to be worth Rs 5.66 lakh crore, wherein as much as 2300 megahertz of radiowaves will be put up for sale across frequency bands. Telecom operators have also sought the opening up of new frequency bands — 71-76 gigahertz (GHz) and 50 GHz. Wireless services deployed in these bands are considered to deliver broadband speed of up to 1 gigabit per second as in case of optical fibres.

Sinha told the operators that spectrum auction will be conducted in September and it will resolve spectrum

Asking people to come clean on unaccounted wealth and live with “heads held high”, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said government is aware of sectors generating black money but it would be unpleasant to start the “big brother watching” process. Government, he said, has to trust its citizen and hence keeping a watch on their transactions is not a very happy thing for it to do.

Asserting that those who earn must pay taxes, particularly in a country where rates are reasonable, Jaitley said that in future non-pay ment in all likelihood is going to be detected.

“Everybody, including tax department, is aware of the sectors in which unaccounted money is generated. It would be very unpleasant duty for any state to start the process of big brother watching,” he said.

“I do hope it is an opportunity for taxpayer to come out clean, sleep well and live with their heads held high.

Those who pay taxes lead a life without fear..,” he added.

The idea behind Income Disclosure Scheme (IDS) is to nudge India into becoming more and more compliant state, he added. IDS provides an opportunity for those who have not paid full taxes in the past to declare the undisclosed income and pay, surcharge and penalty. The scheme is open till September 30.

PTI

Amazon brings premium service ‘Prime’ to India

US-based online retail giant Amazon launched its ‘Prime’ subscription programme in India to woo customers with free one-day delivery as it looks to stay ahead of competitors like Flipkart and Snapdeal.

Amazon.in will offer free oneday and two-day deliveries to ‘Prime’ members in over 100 cities as well as early access to its exclusive offers as it aims to build a base of loyal customers in the country. Prime Video, which will include Amazon original TV series and movies besides other Indian and global content, is expected to be launched as a part of this service later.

Amazon Prime comes to India almost three years after its global launch. Prime has been a major driver of repeat purchases for Amazon in the US. While Amazon does not disclose the number of Prime members, reports suggest there are over 60 million members in the US. Amazon is betting big on the burgeoning e-commerce market in India. Recently, its chief Jeff

Call drop wakes up telcos

charges from power consumers, weaknesses in the monitoring system and limited period of bank guarantee, the risk of non-compliance with contractual obligations was high, which could adversely affect the sustainability of the model in the long run.

CAG said that even after the lapse of more than 12 months from the issue of vesting orders, operationalisation in 15 out of the 26 vested coal mines were pending which had the potential to adversely affect objective of early auctioning of these coal blocks.

The complete audit trail was not captured by the e-auction platform provided by MSTC, it added. “The registration process and the registration number issued were not liked with the SEUP, even though the bidding was to be made for SEUP/s and only one bid could be submitted for one SEUP for one coal mine,” the CAG report said.

No mechanism existed to cross check the production figures provided by the prior allottees. There was a mismatch in eight cases between the production quantity submitted by prior allottees to state governments for royalty vis-avis submitted to CCO for payment of additional levy. Though audit had not commented on any individual case, it held that the guidelines incorporating the parameters to be applied by NA and by the coal ministry for evaluation of final bid prices would enhance transparency of the bidding process and may eliminate avoidable legislation, it said.

PTI

Do not want to be big brother watching: FM

shortage problem in the industry.

Sinha said the government is studying a proposal of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India that aims at strengthening present consumer grievance redressal system and giving more powers to the regulator.

“The focus of the meeting was success of Digital India. We have committed to install 1 lakh base stations in a year. We have asked for E (71-76 Ghz) & V (50 Ghz) band to support back-haul network. Getting right of way permission for laying optical fibre is difficult so these bands can help,” industry body COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews said.

Government is working on uniform rule across country regarding permits and fee charged for laying optical fibre network.

The industry has asked government to reduce interest rates being charged on instalments paid of buying spectrum and tie it as per rates decided by RBI. “If government wants to incentivise and push broadband roll out, we have asked to lower interest rate on payments to be made for spectrum. In fact, it should be lower than retail rate as payments are huge.

Government should apply new rate on all instalments prospectively and even on those that are due to for previous auctions,” Mathews said.

PTI

Bezos had said the company will invest USD 3 billion in India, taking its total investment committed here to over USD 5 billion.

“We are very excited to bring Prime to our customers in India. With Prime, guaranteed one-day delivery becomes an everyday experience instead of an occasional indulgence, and with no minimum purchases, it provides unlimited convenience all year

long,” Amazon India VP and Country Head Amit Agarwal said. For sellers, Fulfillment by Amazon is now an even more powerful opportunity to rapidly grow their business and at the same time, provide customers across India with vast selection and unlimited free Prime delivery, he added.

Amazon Prime will be available for a free trial period of 60 days to allow Indian shoppers to experience the programme. The service is available for introductory annual subscription fee of Rs 499. Prime will also allow members in 20 cities to choose same-day, morning or scheduled delivery at a fee of Rs 50 per order on over 10,000 products.

These deliveries usually cost Rs 150.

Amazon.in has revamped online and app experience to allow customers to seamlessly discover and choose Prime products. Amazon has witnessed a 250 per cent year-on-year growth in bringing new sellers on board in India.

It has over 85,000 sellers on its platform.

PTI

‘Differences with govt inherent’ Asking the government and RBI to keep their differences “ b e h i n d the closed doors”, former Governor D Subbarao has said the central bank must prevail when it comes to the monetary policy and any disagreement should not matter as long as it exerts its autonomy.

Subbarao, a career bureaucrat who was Finance Secretary before moving to the central bank, also said the governor should be sensitive to the government’s point of view, but at the same time the latter must respect the autonomy of RBI. Subbarao, whose just-released tell-all memoir about his days as RBI governor between 2008 and 2013 lists several instances of differences between

the government and the central bank, including on interest rates, also opined that the new framework for setting rates through the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) might enhance Reserve Bank’s autonomy.

In an interview, Subbarao told PTI that such differences would always remain as governments in a democracy are driven by election cycles and therefore give priority to growth over inflation, while the central banks tend to take a long-term view on price stability that may entail sacrificing growth in the short term.

In the book titled ‘Who Moved My Interest Rate’, Subbarao has written about many run-ins with the two finance ministers during his tenure at the central bank, Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram, while he also credited the latter for pushing his name for the top job at RBI. PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 30, 2016

WATCH OUT Sunil Palwal and Saurabh himself, the play Barff is a thriller that takes place over a single night. Set in picturesque Kashmir during winter, it is based on a story Shukla heard from his friend, writer-director Ranjit Kapoor, about a doctor who visits the home of an ailing child when he is beseeched by their parents. During its course, the gripping play raises questions of truth, reality and belief.

When: August 5, 8:00 pm Where: Susie Sorabji Auditorium, Camp

INDULGE IN SOME RAMEN

MOONLIT NIGHT AND FROZEN YOGURT

GET RID OF YOUR MONDAY BLUES

A moonlit night is a remarkable occasion for a beauty seeker. It offers a very charming, peaceful and picturesque view with the trees and creepers look bright and sparkling.

Here is your chance to paint this magical power of the moonlit night on your canvas and travel to a land of fairy and imagination as you do so.

You will need no prior training in art, just the wish to experience.

When: July 30 and 31, 3:30 pm onwards Where: Menchies, Koregaon Park and Balewadi

BAR BAR touts itself as the superhero of bars – here to save the day by understanding the concerns of pub crawlers. To solve the problem of ‘Monday Blues’ they have introduced MWP Mondays. What is MWP? Market Wholesale Price or the lowest price per category achieved by ordering the highest volume. For example, on any other day the table needs to order 12 Drinks from the Popular Category to achieve the MWP of Rs 99, now every Monday you can drink at MWP irrespective of the size of your order.

When: Every Monday, 8 pm onwards Where: BAR BAR, Phoenix Marketcity, Viman Nagar.

TRIPLE SHUFFLE LIVE

START YOUR WEEKEND WITH SOME THEATRE

Enjoy an exhilarating night out with friends at The Beer Café with their celebration of live music, great grub and the best beers in town. The Pune based band covers blues right from the 60’s till the turn of the century, including blues rock, Delta blues, Chicago blues and a 40 minute rock n roll and jive set. The band consists of Ritvik Nagarkar- Vocals and guitar, Anant Joshi on Drums and Albert Dennis on the Bass. A sureshot trailblazer and a powerhouse of talent, this is one performance you shouldn’t miss.

When: July 30, 9 pm onwards Where: The Beer Cafe, Koregaon Park

Written and directed by Saurabh Shukla and starring Sadia Siddiqui,

Shizusan is bringing to Pune 10 comforting and innovative bowls of ramen with The Ramen Dairies. The new menu embodies the signature ‘pop’ theme and is inspired by Shizusan’s travel to East Asia. If you’ve been to Japan or taken the road to East Asia, then there will be much to ramen-isce over. The new menu has equal options for vegetarians and non-vegetarians with bowls starting at as low as Rs 445.

When: July 30 onwards Where: Shizusan, Phoenix Marketcity, Viman Nagar

What’s the secret ingredient to a truly unforgettable cocktail? Fresh herbs are the obvious answer.

Whether muddled, minced or used as a garnish, fresh herbs add a layer of complexity to your cocktails that’s hard to beat. Bartenders at Fishbowl are introducing infused cocktails to tantalize your taste buds. Feast on a variety of cocktails like lemongrass martini, orange basil caipiroska, ginger pomegranate mojito, kafir lime martini and many more.

When: Till July 30, 7 pm to 12 midnight Where: Fishbowl, Hyatt, Kalyani Nagar

Arwa Mukadam Homemaker There are always two sides to a coin. While it is difficult to believe that Narsingh Yadav would be careless enough to take drugs so close to the Olympics especially since he knew they would be tested, it also raises the question as to who would want to pull him down and why? Taking into consideration his previous records it is easy to give him the benefit of doubt considering that he will be representing my country but it is equally easy given the way the newer generation functions to feel that maybe he could have.

There is a lot more to this matter that needs to come to the light and till it does it’s difficult to chose sides. I do however hope that things work out for him.

Prasad Kshirsagar Theatre actor All the athletes work hard to represent their nation in Olympic Games. But everything comes to the end when such thing comes in picture. It’s said that, something was mixed in Narasing Yadav’s food or supplement without wrestler’s acknowledgment. Athletes should be aware about their surroundings and take care of their diet and staff. We are only a week away from Rio Games, so everyone should support our team India and every athlete should concentrate on their game in Rio 16.

Sadik Ghadiali IT Professional Many athletes find themselves taking substances which they don’t even know is banned. They all know that with today’s technology you will not be able to escape. It is a matter of support and training from the government that is lacking.

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 23, 2016

government babus.”

— Vandana Chavan, Rajya Sabha MP and city NCP President

Abandoned child

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 23, 2016 PUNE

PICS: VISHAL KALE

Though archery is among the six sports identified for promotion by the government, archers in the city have no facilities to speak of, despite which they are rising to the top at the national level, and are aiming to hit the mark at the international level as well

Bull’s EYE

Archers undergoing intense training session at Shahu College ground, Parvati under the watchful eyes of coach Ranjeet Chamle

I wasn’t able to hold the bow steady due to a lack of strength

Archery helps me concentrate and it has benefited me in my studies

BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis_ashish

A

rchery is one of the six priority sport disciplines selected for promotion in India, according to the revised guidelines issued by the Government of India. As a result, archers like Dola Banerjee, Deepika Kumari, Tarundeep Rai and Jayant Talukdar have won several medals at the international level, making India one of the strong contenders at archery events.

Closer to home, city archers are hoping to live up to the reputation and make Pune proud. Youngsters like Pravin Jadhav, Tanmay Malusare, Purva Palliwal and Tisha Sancheti have produced good results at the nationals, and are preparing for big events like the Asia Cup and Commonwealth Games.

These archers along with 50-60 others, train with reputed coach Ranjeet Chamle at the Archers Academy at Shahu College ground, Parvati. Chamle, who has worked as coach of the Indian junior team for the World Youth Championship in USA last year, has been running this academy for several years, and has produced a crop of talented archers.

When it comes to the medal tally, the academy’s archers have won over a hundred medals at the national level, while international medals adorn Purva and Pravin’s personal mantles. Currently, ten archers from the academy are part of the India camp, while six out of eight senior world cup trial qualifiers were from Pune.

THE CHANGE

Though archery is a top priority sport in India, it wasn’t the same in Maharashtra. While other states like Punjab, Jharkhand, Delhi and Rajasthan were dominating the events, the state archers were prone to fail at the final hurdles. Despite their unquestionable potential, the state failed to reach the level to be considered as a medal contender.

However, thanks to Archers Academy, the scenario has been changing gradually. The state archers are doing a good job at school nationals, and last year the state archers won three medals at the senior nationals, which was not possible a few years ago.

In 2015, the academy’s archers bagged over 50 medals at various state and national tournaments, including junior and senior segments. Even at the inter-university tournaments, the prodigies of the academy have fetched good results.

Several archers from tribal areas like Javhar, part of Amravati and other districts come here to train. Those who can’t afford the fees, receive total support from the academy. Not just archers, but even coaches come here for training and start grooming a new generation of archers in rural areas. The selected ones are sent to Pune for advanced training.

In Chamle’s words, this is a centre of excellence and a hub for archery in Maharashtra. However this is not enough for Chamle, as he says this is just the beginning.

“We have a long way to go. We are in a position to dominate nationals. Although everyone wants to represent India in the Olympics, we are currently aiming at the Asian and Commonwealth Games. It’s a gradual process and will bear fruit in the next five years,” he says.

“This is the right occasion to rise and shine. The sport has got top priority and the government sends fully-funded

I have to work on the mental aspect to be able to handle pressure

TISHA SANCHETI is a student of St Helena’s High School. She had her first taste of national success last year when she won a team silver in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Th is year she is yet to win any medal, but has been trying her best to perform at par.

As a child, Tisha was interested in a number of sports like skating, table tennis, tennis and swimming, and finally settled on archery, which she feels is more lively and thrilling.

“What I like most about archery is that it helps you concentrate. It has even benefited me in my studies. With a focused mind, I can get around 80 per cent without much hassle,” says Tisha, who is now aiming for the Youth Commonwealth Games qualification.

He is the first archer from his village to reach a national level

TANMAY MALUSARE has been a regular archer at the national level and has bagged 93 medals, including 23 national medals. Hailing from a rural area, Parmachi Wadi in Raigad district, Tanmay is the first archer from his village to reach this level.

“No one at my village was aware about competitive archery but fortunately my parents supported me wholeheartedly. My father even took a loan to buy me equipment,” he said.

Tanmay, who was part of the Indian team which participated in the World University Games in Mongolia earlier this year, is focused on improving his score than the medal tally.

“I am working on it gradually and my target is going beyond a score of 680. Before 2018 Asian Games, I want to reach that level and there is long way to it,” he says.

PURVA PALLIVAL is a first year arts student of Shahu College. She recently won a team silver at the Youth Fiesta held in Korea. She was also part of the Indian team that underwent a two-month training in Korea.

“It was a fascinating experience. Although they didn’t let us know all their secrets methods, we got ample knowledge and it improved our performance radically. Due to the language barrier, we couldn’t interact with the players, but their coaches fine-tuned our pulling techniques and body posture,” she said.

That reflected in her performance immediately, as she finished second in the sub-junior nationals held in Goa, and also performed impressively at the Senior Nationals held in Uttar Pradesh.

Purva is yet to win an individual international medal. World number 5 Deepika Kumari is her idol.

“During the India camp, I met her and I was impressed with the way she handles pressure. I still need to work a lot on the mental aspect as tournament pressure affects my performance,” she said.

The beginner level archers work on strength training using the hard rubber bands.

teams to several tournaments and training camps abroad.

Jobs are available in police, railways, CRPF, army and other sectors. Corporates are coming forth to fund talented archers. Our players must get the benefit of this,” he said.

WHAT ARCHERS NEED

Though these archers are doing a fine job, they are still struggling to get the basic facilities. Currently they train at Shahu College, on a piece of land mainly used for agriculture purposes. During the monsoons it gets muddy and it becomes difficult for archers to train. Sometimes they continue at the parking space of the college, or focus on strength training than skills.

“This has to change. Unfortunately, there is not a single archery range in Pune, except for the military range at the Army Sports Institute. These are the future medal prospects of India and they must have the best facilities,” says Chamle.

“A good range must have outdoor as well indoor facilities. It should be a residential project with a ground, multi-equipped gym along with physio and nutritionist,” he said.

Secondly, Chamle wants Pune to become a feeder centre for India. With proper training and facilities, these archers will fill the gap between the second and third strings of players, he feels.

“Countries like Korea send their junior teams to senior world cups, and yet they win medals. That’s the bench strength they have. Our hopes are pinned on the same athletes for more than a decade. Though they are doing well, we must have an equally strong team B,” says Chamle.

For that he stresses that the efforts should be made at the grassroots level. Except for inter-school, hardly any archery tournaments are held in the city. Even the selection trials are held for documentation purposes.

“The way Pune tennis has gained a huge boost, we should work in a similar way. With the cumulative efforts from coaches, players, parents, associations and corporates, we should make Pune a hub of archery. We have the potential and we need to convert it properly,” he says.

THE DAY’S WORKOUT

The archers start their day in the wee hours with physical training. After running a moderate distance of 3-5 km (sometimes 10 km), they work on heartbeat, pulse and core workout.

Then they shift to archery specific training which includes training with bow, conditioning, weight training and stability workout.

During the afternoon session, they focus on skill training, shooting and eventually wind up with stretching, yoga and meditation.

“There is a misconception that an archer doesn’t require much fitness, but to pull a 45-pound bow, you need strength and a good build. Not just the upper body, but even the lower body muscles should be powerful, as archers spent 8-10 hours on the ground. It looks easy, but archery is a very demanding sport. It’s not a layman’s job to fire around 400 arrows in a day with that heavy bow,” says Chamle.

The coach indicates that a scientific approach plays a crucial role in a player’s performance.

“These archers are closely supervised. Even their daily water intake is measured. They burn around 600-800 calories a day and if not hydrated enough, it hampers their performance,” said Chamle.

Archery is like a marathon. No one can just start running a marathon from day one. It’s a gradual process and needs total dedication, says the coach.

The academy also does anatomy and biomechanical analysis of the players, which has come in handy for training them better.

The novice undergoes various aspects such as psychological, physical, hand strength and straightness of arm. It helps the coaches understand which segment they have to work on and the exercises are given accordingly.

an archer’s mental toughness too. Chamle, who is doing a PhD in psychology knows the value of mental training. He feels that archery is beyond just skills and strengths.

“Fortunately, I got a chance to assist Lorenzo Belthrame, director of Athletic Performance Coaching in the US. He was appointed by the Indian government to train Indian senior players. Belthrame has worked with dozens of ATP and WTA tour professionals, including Jim Courier and Pete Sampras. I am following the same guidelines for my players and it’s helping them,” said Chamle.

MONEY MATTERS

There is also a misconception that archery is quite expensive and that commoners can’t afford it. Chamle has ample evidence where players from rural areas have shown talent and have done a great job.

“The beginners start with a wooden bow, which costs around Rs 1,500 to Rs 4,000. It can be used till national tournaments and some of the archers have won medals too with such bows,” says Chamle.

The costs rise once the archer reaches the international level. A recurve bow costs around Rs 5,000 and can go up to Rs 1.5 lakh depending on the quality and manufacturer.

The compound bow is costlier and requires Rs 25,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh.

The traditional bamboo arrows comes for Rs 50 a piece, while aluminium ones cost around Rs 300. The professionals use carbon arrows which cost Rs 30,000 per dozen, while tungsten arrows cost up to Rs 45,000 a dozen.

On an average, an archer of international standard need to spend Rs 1.5 lakh a year including his diet, training and travelling expenses.

“Once the archer clears the qualification hurdle, the government sends them to various tournaments including the Asia Cup, Asian grand prix, world cups, world championships, Commonwealth Youth Games and Commonwealth Games. So it’s a basically a one-time investment,” said Chamle.

The academy pays for the equipment for those who can’t afford it and sometimes they share the same bow for various tournaments. To cut costs, Chamle gets secondhand bows from top Indian archers, who replace them after a few years. Such bows are used for training and help archers to try their hand on them. ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com

IT’S ALL IN THE MIND

Not just physical, but the academy pays equal attention to

The Coach Ranjeet Chamle is a Level II coach of World Archery Federation with Rank 1. He has won several awards as best coach. Chamle coached the Indian sub-junior team for the Youth World Cup held in 2015, and was assistant psychologist with Lorenzo Belthrame of Human Performance Institute, USA for the Indian senior team. Recently he was the coach of the Indian men’s team at the World Cup in Colombia, and then appointed chief coach of the Indian University team for the World University Championship in Mongolia in June. He joined SP College as director of Physical Education and was selected as a member of the coaches committee for Mission 2020 Olympics Scheme of the Maharashtra Government. Under his guidance, the Archers Academy in Pune has produced more than 15 international archers, and more than 100 national level archers. These archers have bagged over 800 state level and 540 national level medals.

Ranjeet Chamle

On target It was great to read this week’s Spotlight which highlighted the plight of archers in the city. It is ironic that on one hand where the government is supposed to promote archery as an Indian sport, the facilities are not even close to being adequate. Needless to say it is great that despite all the struggles and troubles that they face, coaches and archers alike are doing all they can to make a mark internationally and bring back accolades for the country.

All power to these young archers and everyone supporting them in this feat of theirs.

-Niyati Rao

PUNE, DECEMBER 19, 2015 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

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much needed outlet Future of 70kA inmates lodged in shelter homes at stake

child. Any child, who as per the JJ Act is not eligible for admission, should not be brought before the CWC for consideration. Strict action will be taken against the children’s home that fail to follow the JJ Act.” According to the Juvenile Justice Act, “Only when a child is an orphan or his/her emotional

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

Tanishka abandoned at Sassoon Hospital

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Amravati and Nagpur. The officials The Ministry of Women and Child made surprise visitsto 823 children’s Development has not given a single homes in the state, which house 60,674 penny to the 750 children’s home in the CCTV footage shows children. They found only 2,977 last three years. The WCD department two men abandoning children present at the homes, while owes more than Rs 200 crore to the the two-year-old the remaining 49,196 were on vacation. children’s homes. outside a ward at These Hospital 2,977 children were those Balvikas Sansthachalak Sassoon genuinely in need of16+16 children’s homes.

Karmachari Sanghatan Secretary PAGES: (TGS LIFE) | PRICE: `5

PUNE

‘Pokemon Go’

babies

How inhumane or heartless could the The idea behind the Soul Journal two men have been who left two-yearinitiative is a great one. As the story old Tanishka outside a ward at Sassoon pointed out, in today’s day and age with Hospital and disappeared? Reading the amount of stress and tension that Survey revealed that not many children were elgible to stay in children’s homes, as per the guidelines of Juvenile Justice Act the story made my question the even youngsters face, having a medium VICKY PATHARE Haribhau Gaikwad said, “These kind of societyBY that we live in simply to bring out those emotions becomes children have been living at our homes @Vickypathare2 Register now at for years, and the circular has overnight because onThone hand where there are the need of the hour.

It is only through ewww.moveitmarathon.com future seems uncertain for more deprived them of food, clothing, Sunday, 21st August 2016 than 70,000 children lodged in chileducation and shelter. The circular is so many couples childless communication and conversation dren’s homes who all over are Maharashtra. unethical as eventhat the JJ Act does not The Women FOR and Child mention that only an orphan child BULKCommission& RUNNER GROUP REGISTRATION CALL SAMPAT: +91 90281 33322 and are waiting to aadopt children, one is able to not only share find erate has issued circular instructing can beand admitted to homes. There are the children’s homes to admit only provisions in the JJ Act itself that allow who are orphans, destitute, admission ofalso a child even if he/she has a those that children are blessed with them, solutions to their problems but How Pune’s puncture repair or genuinely in need of care. Post the single parent or guardian. Th is circular circular, the children have been sent has put a question mark on the future fleece customers abandon them without even giving it feel better shops and think clearly about the back to their homes, and are now beand education of the rejected children. ing refused admissions by schools. The “We are not here to fight to keep our Over-inflfact ation, soap water and are the tricks of a second thought.

It is fortunate that situation. The that itEnowas ahomes young Child Welfare Committee (CWC) is children’s the trade puncture repair shop owners employ to dupe going, but for the equally clueless. future of all these 70,000 children. gullible vehicle owners Th e circular haswho drawn the ire of If the CWC is ready to rehabilitate the security official found her was guy who came up with this is even the employees of children’s homes and these children and take care of them, activists,and who launched a protest atto the hand her will be happy to stop the agitation. good at heart decided better,Theresince it shows whatwe the next Women and Child Commissionerate state is seriously impaired, or has were only 2,614 orphans in the Most of the parents are unable to ce in Pune since Saturday, July 16. been a victim of crimes committed by children’s homes, 11,609 children had take care of the children due to their over to theoffipolice station rather than generation is capable of and how it is Bull’s Maharashtra Women and Child parents, or when parents are unable to single parents,while 36,417 children financial problems. Considering their Deputy Commissioner Ravindra Patil take care of the child, can a child be had both parents. Fifty-two children’s economic backgrounds, the children disruptingsaid, the girl’s hechildren’sEYE initiatives like that will maketo thethe “As poor per the circular, the life Child which admitted to the home.” homes were found tothis be closed. were admitted children’s homes Welfare Committee has to follow strict The Women and Child Patil accused the authorities of the to ensure thema secure future,” he said. a child toways.

Commissionerate conducted aworld survey homes for keeping place children to procure He added that WCD had could haveguidelines donewhile inadmitting so many a better to liveconducted in. a children’s home. The children’s home of children’s homes in May 2016 in more funds from the government. “Not inspection drives more Though archery is among the six sports identified for promotion by the government, archers in the city have no has to follow the 12 clauses of the 23 districts of the state including a single child in the children’s homes is than 21 times in a year to assess the facilities to speak of, despite which they are rising-Shyamlal to the top at the national level, and are aiming to hit the mark Juneja -Sandeep Langde Pune, Konkan, Nashik, Aurangabad, legally eligible to stay,” he said. facilities provided to the children at at the internationalJuvenile level as Justice well Actbefore admitting a

Don’t get fooled by cameras in Shivneris

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan In a bid to curb and catch the perpetrators of such crimes, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation’s (MSRTC) drew up a plan to install Close Circuit TVs in all the Shivneri buses in 2013.

But three years later, owing to an ineffective implementation of the plan, of the fleet of 65 Shivneri buses, only 20 buses have had CCTV camerasinstalled, but these units have no recording facility, so they are of no constructive use in catching criminals in the act. But the everyday commuter is sure to feel reassured by the sight of the CCTV that greets him when he boards the bus, knowing that the MSRTC has put in efforts to ensure the commuters’ safety. Little does he know that the CCTV is useless without the recording facility, and the security he feels is just an illusion. The

remaining 45 buses, of course, are yet to get the CCTV cameras installed.

The MSRTC operates 65 airconditioned buses from Pune to Mumbai, Th ane, Aurangabad and Nashik, includingthe newly introduced 25 Scania buses between Pune, Mumbai and Aurangabad.

Asked about the CCTV setup, a driver said, “The cameras were installed two months ago but they do not have a recording facility. When commuters ask us about the recording facility, we tell them that everything is operatedby the Mumbai office.”

Sources said that the CCTV camera plan has remained on paper.

MSRTC Pune division controller Nitin Maind said that all buses will have functional CCTV cameras soon.

“We have installed cameras in some buses. The process is still on. Very son all the buses will have functional CCTV systems,” he said. sushant.ranjan@goldensparrow.com

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the homes. Th e CWC has recently categorised the children’s homes in A, B, C and D categories, but more than 90 per cent of the children’s homes fall in the A category.

Children’s homes run by the WCD fall in the D category. vicky.pathare@goldensparrow.com

Sheer waste of money

CCTV cameras are put in place to ensure the safety of a certain area, shop, vehicle or premises. The fact that there was a plan to put them in the Shivneri buses is because there must be a reason centre. About why ignore he behind it.the Even if you the fact was not given any treatment, This is how Aundh making his makehave CCTVs that all ofand them dofathernot repeated rounds of the hospital, that they were Hospital doctorsinstalled,she it said is upsad the ones that are following and that would treat Prasad. “Our DEIC centre (mis) treat poor,insick place are not Why waste does not have working. enough doctors

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1

TGS exposé leads to probe into DEIC working

On Thursday morning, a two-year-old girl was found outside ward number three at Sassoon General Hospital. Security supervisor Chandrakant Gaikwad who was on duty at that time, heard her crying outside the ward. “I asked everyone around if they knew her, thinking that she was lost. When no one recognised her, I decided to take her to the Bund Garden police station, and handed her over to the police. She told me that her name was Tanishka,” he said. The child however could not tell him her full name or address.

The police took little Tanishka to the women and child welfare committee, and the members suggested that she be sent to Society of Friends of Sassoon Hospitals (SOFOSH).

But Sassoon Hospital administration supervisor Dr Ajay Tavde happened to browse through the CCTV footage. The Continued from p1 footage showed two men leaving the girl outside the ward at and then walk away. The CCTV footage has been Health officials in around Pune6 am, were handed over to the police who are investigating the case. on their toes afterBundDelhi Garden police station senior police inspector Dilip Kulkarni, who is investigating the case, said, “We are looking based Rashtriya Bal Swasthya into the matter. If our investigation reveals that it was the girl’s Karyakram officersrelatives sentor parents the who left her at the hospital, we will file an against them under section 270 of the Indian Penal Code.” mail, asking for FIR an Social inquiry worker of SOFOSH, Dipali Kalapurkar said that the girl will staythe with SOFOSH till the matter is resolved. Once into the matter, though the court passes judgment, she will be rehabilitated accordingly.

The bittersweet saga of the sugarcane field labourers

A day in the life of

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hand, threatened her, pushed her on the bed and raped her.” The constable had asked for a physical relationship with the victim, a proposal that the latter always denied. He had joined the police force in 2014. The Nigdi Police have arrested the accused from his residence on July 25. He has been booked under Sections 376 (rape), 450 (house-trespass in order to commit RURAL OUTING: A boy with a herd of goats on the countryside of Karandi Clerics renew offence) andgovernment 506 (punishment for way. They want to Home food not “The BJP-led state is acting in an undemocratic fatwa against ruin the system of decentralization power and concentrate it in the hands of always better for criminal intimidation) ofofIPC.

OF

The newly married 22-year-old woman was raped by Manoj Uttam Kokani (31) of Triveni Chowk, Talwade, Pune. The accused is a police constable attached to Pune Rural Police in Control Room Department. Nigdi Police Sub Inspector and investigation officer Sachin Suryavanshi said, “The accused entered the victim’s house when she was alone. When asked about his visit when her husband is not at home, the accused covered her mouth with his

JULY 23, 2016 PUNE

SURAJ ANPAT is from Wai near Satara, and shifted to Pune for his education and archery.

Th is year he switched to modern equipment from a bamboo bow and won an inter-university gold medal.

He has had to work on his strength, and with the guidance from his coach, he increased his weight by 16 kg in seven months.

“I wasn’t able to hold the bow steady due to a lack of strength.

So Chamle sir advised me to put on weight, and follow a proper diet. I would eat 7-8 eggs, and bananas for breakfast followed by a heavy workout including running and shoulder exercises.

Th is really worked for me and along with strength, I gained confidence,” he says.

Unfortunately Suraj missed the world university mark by just four points.

“I hadn’t expected to qualify so I took it as a learning experience. But when I realised how close I was, I repented having taken it a bit casually,” says Suraj.

TEJAS GAIKWAD

CONSTABLE HELD ON RAPE CHARGES

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

financial crises while pursuing his dreams. His father Ramesh works on daily wages and was unable to pay for Pravin’s archery expenses.

With help from coach Chamle and from the other archers of the academy, he managed to get the ticket to Bangkok.

He has been shooting with modern equipment for just over two years. Previously, he would use a traditional bamboo bow, but since being taken in by Shahu College, he has produced incredible results with equipment borrowed from, and gifted by, the archery community in the region. He has also represented India at the World Cup held in Colombia last year, along with the World University Games.

Sport is more than a hobby for Pravin. He hopes it will become a way to provide for his parents and a younger brother.

“I am now preparing for another Asian meet to be held later this year and planning to convert this bronze into gold,” he says. As per his coach, he is the one to watch in the future.

Jyotsna Shahane Homemaker It is very difficult to negotiate between the truth and the lies. All we understand is that sports has become a corrupt arena and politics has crept it’s way in. Things must change at the earliest.

Police Chowky at Kamshet around 3 am. Kamshet Police Station Inspector IS Patil said three of the occupants died on the spot while the remaining expired undergoing treatment at Lokmanya Hospital at Nigdi. The mishap occurred after Shirali lost control over the wheels of his speeding vehicle.

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

PRAVIN JADHAV, 20, hails from Sarde village, in Phaltan taluka, Satara. He has made remarkable progress in archery. He recently won a bronze medal in the Asia Cup held at Bangkok.

After a fabulous performance in the national selection trials held at Sonpat, Pravin justified his selection with a podium finish.

However it hasn’t been an easy journey for him. Born into a humble home, Pravin has always faced

Still taken aback by the Narsingh Yadav dope scandal, India’s Olympic build-up was rocked by another doping fiasco as shot-putter Inderjeet Singh also tested positive for a banned substance. We ask Puneites their take on the issue

Aditi Athreya Student I feel like it should not be reported before any decision is made because then its gets really confusing and complicated he spooked my drinks and stuff and obviously strict action should be taken right now there is a media trial goig on. and we are forgetting about other athletes are going an giving them support.

Paying tribute to the popular postimpressionist painter, Vincent Van Gogh on his 126th death anniversary, Dream a Painting, a unique art studio and digital art e-commerce website is organising an exhibition in the

Six college students were killed in a car accident near Kamshet on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in the wee hours of Tuesday (July 26) when they were returning to Pune after dropping off their friend at the Mumbai International Airport. The victims, identified as Aditya Dipak Bhandarkar (17) and Abhishek Arunkumar Roy (21) of Pashan, Yash Ajay Shirali (18) of Bavdhan, Akshay Rajaram Bhilare (20) and Umesh Girish Patil (24) of Kothrud, and Joachim John Samuel (19) of Punawale, were travelling towards Pune from Mumbai in their Maruti Ciaz when the car turned turtle due to their over speeding near Pavana

Finally, after five days, the Bund Garden Police on July 26 filed a complaint against two unidentified persons for abandoning the twoyear-old Tanishka in front of ward number 3 of Sassoon General Hospital on July 21. Security guard supervisor on duty Chandrakant Gaikwad (36) of Katraj found the crying Tanishka outside the male orthopedic ward.

After confirming that the baby was not left accidentally by anyone, Gaikwad handed her over to the Bund Garden Police. Meanwhile, Tanishka was immediately presented by the police before the women and child welfare committee that ordered her to be sent to Society of Friends of Sassoon Hospitals on July 21. The police examined the CCTV footage of the hospital and found two men aged between 30-40 years visit the hospital with the victim around 6 am. Police have filed an offence against the duo under Section 317 (Exposure and abandonment of child under twelve years, by parent or person having care of it) of IPC.

With a little help from the coach and fellow archers

VOX POPULI

SIX STUDENTS KILLED AS CAR OVERTURNS ON EXPRESSWAY

AFTER FIVE DAYS, OFFENCE AGAINST TWO FOR ABANDONING TANISHKA AT SASSOON

EDITOR

COCKTAILS WITH A TWIST

A TRIBUTE TO VINCENT VAN GOGH

WEEK THAT WAS

LETTERS TO THE

city. Based on the life of this great Dutch painter, the exhibition titled as ‘Vincent Van Gogh - the genius’ will be free and open to all. This exhibition will not only be an interesting & entertaining affair but will also educate the art lovers of Pune about the legend and his immense talent.

Ravi Paranjape will deliver an arttalk on Van Gogh’s most famous and critically acclaimed painting ‘Starry Night’. A documentary on the painters life produced by BBC and Australian Network Television will also be shown.

When: July 30 and 31, 10:30 am to 8:00 pm Where: The Ravi Paranjape Art Gallery, Model Colony

PUNE

news was published in Pune.

To recap the story, The Golden Sparrow (TGS) had migrant sugarcane cutters of Western Maharashtra See published a report titled ‘Th is p06doctors & 07 is howSpotlight, Aundh Hospital (mis)treat poor, sick’, on December 18, 2015. The story was about how Aundh Hospital civil surgeon ordered to seven-yearold conduct an inquiry into themalnourished functioning of boy Prasad the DEIC, after TGS Kolambekar, broke the story about and his father mistreatment of a malnourished boy Namdev, residents of Kalewadi

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDEwere made to run in Pimpri, @dnyanesh1 around by doctors at DEIC, TGS report on the lethargic attitude of doctors at the saying that they did not have Aundh based District Early Intervention Centre (DEIC) internet connection to towards child patients, has an resulted in the Additional Director of Health Services Dr Archana Patil institutingname an register Prasad’s in the inquiry against the doctors, on July 19. Dr Patil has issued a system. letter to the Aundh Civil Hospital civil surgeon Dr Sanjay

AKSHAY MAHAJAN

TGS exposé leads to probe into DEIC working

Deshmukh, asking him to conduct a thorough inquiry into

DEIC centre doctors give poor man’s malnourished son the runaround, saying they have no internet connection for registering his name

but we treat children from Aundh Hospital,” she said.

The state health department has not given attention to the development of the DEIC, an ambitious project, aimed at providing treatment for all children’s diseases. A state health department letter issued in January 2015 says that the DEIC centre would have all facilities such as pediatric, dental, psychology, ophthalmology, cleft surgery, surgery and a nutrition centre. The centre would have

PUBLISHING

money and put all these technologies in place when there isn’t a good enough infrastructure to back it? The money could have been used for so many other reasons and one’s that would have yielded a fruitful result at that.

-Sheela Jain

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Food for thought

The story about the boy who became even more disturbed and anti-social after living in the mental hospital is sad beyond words. While the juvenile home might be responsible for not handling the child properly, the root of the problem can be and in fact must be traced back to the way the child was brought up and the environment he grew up in. To be imparted with the correct values, the economic background is not the thing that matters, but it is what his parents tell him and how they manage him when he does wrong. This is a problem I see in almost everyone around me irrespective of their social standing.

It is a cause of concern and must be addressed at the earliest.

-Jhumki Nath

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

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 30, 2016

PUNE

SPORTS

“It is Olympics and there is nothing easy. Every match will be a serious affair. Therefore, it is very important for us to garner as many points as possible to increase our chances.”

— PR Sreejesh, Indian Hockey Captain

Signposts District ranking TT from July 31 The Vilas Javadekar Trophy 4th district ranking table tennis tournament will be organised by Radiant Sports Academy at PYC from July 31. Over 450 players have already confirmed their entries for this tournament which offers total prize money of Rs 75,000. Along with regular categories, this time a novice category has been introduced.

Seven players for national selection Seven junior footballers from Pune have been selected for the final national selection by Bajaj Allianz.

Austin D’Cruz (Don Bosco), Ralph Randive, Rahul Nagul (St Vincent’s), Shirish Verges (Vidya Bhavan), Pranav Kale (Lohiya), Tushar Durga (Range Hills), Joseh Lendingsanga (Spicer) will take part in the final trials along with other selected kids from other states.

Nikhil Dixit wins rapid chess tourney Nikhil Dixit won the MJ Trophy Every Sunday Rapid Chess tournament. He won all his matches to garner seven points. Akanksha Hagawane finished second with six points, while Akash Kulkarni was placed third with 5.5 points.

‘We are capable of creating upsets’

India no 1 paddler Soumyajit Ghosh says India is not amongst medal favourites in Rio Olympics, but can give the best players a run for their money

BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis_ashish Though, Indian paddlers are currently not considered as favourites for medal winners in the upcoming Rio Olympics, India no 1 Soumyajit Ghosh is confident that they have the ability to create some upsets in Brazil next month.

“For the fi rst time four table tennis players have qualified for Olympics and we all are capable of beating any strong player in the world. Monika (Batra) has beaten world no nine recently. I have defeated world No. 14, Jung Youngsik of Korea. Sharath Kamal and Mouma Das have also beaten several top ranked players.

So, I won’t be surprised to see some good results in Rio,” said Soumyajit, who was in city for a meet with Lakshya members. Renowned real estate player VTP Realty and leading sports NGO, Lakshya Foundation have joined hands to sponsor world number 68 Soumyajit.

However, Soumyajit also stated that the fi ght in Rio will be for silver and bronze medals as China has super command over the sport and will not let the gold slipping away.

The Siliguri paddler will be playing his second Olympics after London. He was youngest to get qualified for 2012 Games and made a second-round exit.

“My qualification for London came quite surprisingly. Like everyone I was also shocked. Though, I had made it to national team, we

Teen scales Europe’s highest mountain

The 13-year-old from Pune claims to be the youngest Asian to achieve the feat of scaling Mount Elbrus TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly Tanish Khot, a 13-year-old climber from Pune recently scaled Mt Elbrus, Europe’s highest mountain. Mt Elbrus (5,642m, 18,510 ft) in Georgia, is the tenth most prominent peak in the world, and Tanish claims to be the youngest Asian to achieve this feat.

Eleven-year-old Tyler Armstrong of Yorba Linda, California is the youngest climber in the world, and Tanish is following in his tracks. A standard VIII student of Sinhagad Springdale High School, Tanish was accompanied

by Rutuja Shah of Nigdi, under the guidance of Chetan Ketakar.

The team left Pune on July 2, and spent a week for acclimatisation.

Heavy snowfall on July 9 restricted their movement, and delayed their deadline by two days.

“Along with heavy snowfall, we experienced strong winds gusting

“ I have put forward my side of the story in front of the panel. I have told them the truth. Now I will have to wait for the panel’s decision. I am hopeful that the panel will give a right decision.”

— Narsingh Yadav, Indian Wrestler

at over 100 miles per hour. So we decided to change our route from north to south. Even that wasn’t an easy option as we faced deep crevasses, snowfall and strong winds en route,” said Tanish.

In this five-day expedition, the mountaineers reached base camp on Day 2, and Day 3 was spent for acclimatisation up to 3,760 m. On the fourth day, the team reached summit camp and on the fi fth day they reached the top (Lenz rock) and returned to base camp on July 12.

“We experienced almost one foot of snowfall in five hours, and the weather forecast was the same for the next two days. Even the winds were more like we experience on camp 4 at Mount Everest,” said Ketakar.

Tanish has earlier done the Mani Mahesh trek, and has also scaled Stoke Kangri (elevation 6,153 m (20,182 feet) when he was just 12 years old. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

About Mt Elbrus

FC Pune city ropes in Bruno, Andre Bikey

The technical confusion will be short-lived: Ghosh Soumyajit Ghosh’s decision to give a walkover at a domestic event after refusing to play with a certain kind of ball has left chief national coach Bhawani Mukherjee and TTFI top brass fuming.

The incident happened on Thursday at the InterInstitutional TT Championship in Jaipur, where Soumyajit turned up for his employers Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) and gave a walk over in the individual event after playing the team event.

The reason being the use of GKI balls (used in domestic tourneys) and not the DHS balls which will be used in Rio. Th is left the TTFI bigwigs and national

coach Mukherjee angry as it means of loss crucial match practice ahead of team’s departure to Rio in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Interestingly Soumyajit has spoken about the confusion when he was in Pune, a few days back.

“There are three types of balls. So there is some issue as every tournament use different type of balls and it makes it hard for players to find a rhythm. It also hampers their preparation. However, I feel that this technical confusion is for a short while and association will find out a solution soon,” he had said. (with inputs from agencies)

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TGS NEWS SERVICES The Rajesh Wadhawan Group and Hrithik Roshan co-owned Indian Super League club FC Pune City has snapped up Bruno Arias and Andre Bikey to strengthen their midfield options for the 2016 edition of the league. Both Bruno and Andre represented North East United FC in the 2015 ISL season.

FC Pune City CEO Gaurav Modwel was excited with the two new recruits. “Bruno is one of the finest passers in ISL. His experience in anchoring the centre will be of great value to the team. Andre, on the other hand, is a strong character and has allround abilities to play according to the team’s needs. I’m sure all our young players will have a lot to learn from Bruno and Andre both,” he said.

A product of Spanish club Sevilla FC youth system, Bruno made fi rstteam appearances before joining Real Murcia which earned promotion to the La Liga. In 2013, he represented Buriram United in the Thai Premier League, where he won both league and cup with the side.

Bikey represented Cameroon in the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The centrehalf, who can also play in midfield, started his career with Spanish side Espanyol, moved to Shinnik Yaroslavl in Russia before signing for Lokomotiv Moscow in 2005. He joined Reading on loan in 2006 before completing a permanent transfer a year later for £1m, making over 70 appearances for the Berkshire side.

Head coach Antonio Habas said, “Bruno always has had a powerful presence, competing for every ball, and putting his opponents under constant pressure. His ability with the ball to navigate it away from the opposition and feed it to the forwards is impeccable. Bikey adds depth to our defensive unit and as and when team needs, he is more than capable of slipping into the role of a midfielder too.”

Representing his third club in third ISL season, Bruno said. “I am thankful to FC Pune City for providing me a new challenge. Can’t wait to join Spanish manager (Antonio) Habas and others at FC Pune City. Fans can expect nothing less than 100 per cent from me.” tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

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Mount Elbrus has two summits, both of which are dormant volcanic domes. With its slightly taller west summit, the mountain stands 5,621 m tall at the east summit is. The lower east summit was fi rst ascended on July 10, 1829 by Khillar Khachirov, a Karachay guide for an Imperial Russian army scientific expedition led by General Emmanuel, and the higher in 1874 by an British expedition led by F Crauford Grove, including Frederick Gardner, Horace Walker, and the Swiss guide Peter Knubel of St Niklaus in the canton Valais.

had top players like Sharath Kamal and Amal Raj ahead of me. However the experience in London changed my perspective it ignited my aim to be India no 1. And I am glad I made it happen,” said Soumyajit.

After London Olympics, Soumyajit participated in his fi rst Commonwealth Games and Asian Games at Glasgow and Incheon respectively in 2014. He lost in the quarter-fi nals in the Glasgow Games, while a pre-quarters defeat ended his campaign in Incheon.

“The beauty of the game is you can’t guarantee result despite putting hard work. It all depends on that particular day. Th at’s why I am not putting pressure on myself thinking about results in Rio. I am just going to focus on each point and each match. Th at’s my target,” he says.

Soumyajit created history by becoming the youngest national champion ever by beating six time champion Sharath Kamal in the fi nals of the 74th National Table Tennis Championship. He currently trains with Swedish coach Peter Karlsson. However, he is been trying to adopt Chinese style of getting close to table.

Speaking about it, he said, “The game is getting quick paced every day.

So everyone is trying to adopt that style which gives you edge over your opponent. And even Europeans are playing like Chinese. I normally alter my game during matches and this Chinese-European fusion helps me.” ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com

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