The Golden Sparrow on Saturday 18/06/2016

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Yerawada school kids wait hours for CM Several kids and their parents attended a function, which they were told was to be graced by the Chief Minister. They waited for hours, only to be told much later, that the CM had changed his plans See p05

No vacancies for African guests at Pune hotels

The battle tank is an indispensable, vital ingredient of warfare, with its impenetrable armour, deadly weaponry with immense firepower, and ability to transport its occupants over the most inhospitable of terrain.

Dating back to the tumultuous times of the World War I, tracing the evolution of the battle tank is a testimony to the ingenuity of its creators, not to mention the braveheart soldiers who manned the vehicles, and scripted See p08-09 stirring tales of heroism and glory

See p03

MUMBAI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 18, 2016

PUNE

New method to fight virtual reality illness P 11

‘‘There will be a discussion on various coastal security issues. We review the coastal security every three months with officials from the Coast Guard, Marine Police and Indian Navy at state-level meetings.’’

- Swadheen Kshatriya, Chief Secretary, Maharashtra

US on measures to prevent H-1B visa misuse P 14

60-member team unable to crack murder Body of senior citizen with throat slit was found by her family doctor

THE CASE

BY SANTOSHEE MISHRA @santosheemishra Two eyewitnesses, three CCTV footages and over sixty police officials are part of a murder investigation. Yet, the conclusion is ‘no lead’ in the case.

Even after ten days have passed since the body of 77-year-old Manjula Vora was found with her throat slit at her Pranav Residency, Matunga, the police have failed to arrest anyone.

Manjula was found lying in a pool of blood in the kitchen of her flat number 502 on the fi fth floor of the building by her family doctor Dilip Shah who also saw the suspect leaving the house when he had arrived to check the victim’s wheelchair-bound brother Ravi Lal, who cannot speak, on June 6.

According to the police, Shah arrived at the flat around 7.40 pm and rang the bell, but there was no response. He asked the watchman to call Vora through the intercom and a man answered the call. The male voice told the watchman that the victim was at home. Shah visited the flat gain and found the suspect, wearing a cap, opening the door. Shah asked him about Manjula and the suspect answered that she was inside. When the doctor entered the flat, the suspect left. Shah found Manjula in the kitchen, lying on the floor in a pool of blood, since her throat was slit with a sharp weapon. Ravi Lal was home at the time of the incident. However, due to his medical condition, he could not do anything. Dr Shah alerted the neighbourhood and the police arrived

Manjula Vora

at the spot.

“Over sixty police officials from four police stations and two crime branch cells are exploring all possible angles of the senior citizen’s murder but have failed in getting any lead in the murder case,” said Matunga Police

Station Senior Inspector Balasaheb Kakkad.

Alerted by the residents of Pranav building, Matunga police reached the crime scene followed by visits of senior officials. CCTV footage showed the suspect aged 30-35 years wearing a

blue cap and carrying a plastic bag in his hand leaving the spot.

“We made the suspect’s sketch with the help of two eye-witnesses, Dr Shah and watchman S Tiwari but the CCTV footages does not have a clear picture of the suspect as he is wearing a cap. We also collected other CCTV footages available in the lane of Nappoo Garden but it has not helped the probe,” a senior officer part of investigating team from Matunga police station said.

Police officials from Matunga, Sion, Antop Hill and Kalachowkie police stations, officials of Crime Branch (Unit IV) and Anti-Robbery Cell of the crime branch have visited the crime spot but have failed to conclude the motive behind the murder.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone -IV) N Ambika, who is monitoring the probe said, “The officials are yet to get any clue in the case. We have not yet detained or arrested anyone. The domestic help working at the victim’s house in the past was one of the suspects, but he admitted to have left the job citing severe foot infection.”

Police probe found that the accused was captured in two more CCTVs

City biggest consumer of wellness services

Study surveyed over 2,000 people across several cities to reveal that Mumbai is the “Most Pampered City” in the country

HC sets July 31 deadline for govt on beach safety measures The Bombay High Court directed Maharashtra government to make all the beaches in the state safe by July 31 by posting life guards and providing warning signals and watchtowers, while observing that many lives have been lost in the past.

These measures might help in preventing cases of drowning and saving precious lives of people, said a bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka. The court was hearing a public interest litigation fi led

by Janhit Manch, an NGO, on the issue of beach safety in the wake of an incident off Murud Janjira beach near Alibaug, in which 14 students, of whom ten were girls, had drowned earlier this year.

The bench had earlier reprimanded the state government and Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) for failing to implement a Government Resolution passed in 2006 on measures to be taken to keep the beaches secure so as to avoid any untoward incident.

The judges said that during the period (from 2006 till date) several people drowned at various beaches due to lack of adequate safety measures by the authorities concerned.

The high court had opined during last hearing that Goa had deployed beach police, also known as coastal police, on their beaches and asked the Maharashtra government to also consider the same.

PTI

Mumbai has topped the list of the Indian cities where “people look and feel their best,” according to a new study.

The study conducted by nearbuy, sheds light on the blossoming wellness industry in the country and how different cities are reacting to the same.

It surveyed over 2000 people across several cities to reveal that Mumbai is the “Most Pampered City” in the country. “nearbuy customers in Mumbai bought more full body massages, foot reflexology, haircuts, facials, manicures, pedicures, hair straightening and other indulgent offers than any other place in the country,” the survey said.

It showed that while over 42 per cent Mumbaikars visited spas and salons at least once a month, only 20 per cent and 35 per cent people in Bangalore and Delhi respectively spoilt themselves with monthly beauty services.

The study showed that 58 per cent of the respondents liked to explore various salons, contrary to the 22 per cent who preferred the one they have been visiting for years.

35 per cent of the people haven’t known their beauticians for long enough and 25 per cent have known them only for a couple of years, it said.

The frequency of visiting salons was also determined by their locations and the offers they provided.

“A whopping 70 per cent of the consumers visit spas on the basis of their location or the offers they get,” the study said.

Consumers of wellness services in Delhi showed a higher degree of loyalty towards their beauticians as compared to their counterparts in Bengaluru and Mumbai, who prefer exploring more options.

“36 per cent Delhiites go to the same beautician whereas 40 per cent Bangaloreans and 44 per cent Mumbaikars respectively prefer to explore,” the study said.

However, most customers refrain from switching their hair dressers as, “40 per cent Delhiites, 33 per cent Bangaloreans and 36 per cent Mumbaikars trust their own hairdressers with their treasured locks.”

PTI

On the evening of June 6, Manjula was found dead on her kitchen floor, her throat slit and her body in a pool of blood. Manjula lived with her brother, who is mentally challenged, and a family doctor visited the house frequently to check him. Her brother Ravi Lal was also in the fl at at the time of the murder but is wheelchair-bound and cannot speak properly. The sole witness, who is also the complainant in the case, is Manjula’s family doctor Dilip Shah. Dr Shah went to check on Manjula’s brother, who had complained of swollen legs. When there was no response to the doorbell, he asked the watchman if Manjula was not at home. The watchman then called on the intercom the suspect answered the call. Dr Shah went back upstairs to the apartment and the suspect then opened the door and told the doctor that Manjula was in the bathroom. As Dr Shah looked for her, the stranger used this chance to escape. Shah fi nally found Manjula dead in the kitchen with a three-inch cut on her throat, and alerted the neighbours and police. Manjula was a spiritual woman and visited a nearby temple in the mornings, she was kind hearted and spent most of her time in the house and took care of her brother, said a resident of the building. while fleeing and walking towards Matunga Railway Station, one of the CCTV was in the adjacent building facing towards the street at Nappoo Garden and the other at a jewellery store close to Matunga railway station.

“On the night of the murder, it is suspected that the killer in the footage may have boarded a train as sniffer dogs picked up the scent from Manjula’s house to the elevator and led towards the railway station from the gate which opens opposite the Nappoo Garden before the dogs stopped at a distance of about half kilometre,” an investigator said.

An official from the crime branch, which is conducting parallel investigations said, “The motive behind the murder may not be robbery as gold jewellery (gold bangles and rings) were found on the body and things in the house were not found shattered. The possibility of a fi nancial dispute cannot be ruled out but we are yet to get any concrete clue.”

Suspected ISIS sympathiser in custody till June 23 A special court remanded to NIA custody till June 23, Mohsin Sheikh, who had left him his home in suburban Malwani here, allegedly to join ISIS. Sheikh and two others had gone missing in December last year after another youth Ayaz Sultan’s disappearance in October. Sultan had reportedly reached Syria and joined ISIS. Sheikh was arrested from Delhi in February by the local police and the case was transferred to NIA. A case was registered in Mumbai NIA against Sheikh and the local court issued production warrant against him, after which he was brought from Delhi.

In the court, NIA said that Sheik was

10 auditors held for road scam Ten auditors of private fi rms have been arrested in connection with the alleged over Rs 350 crore road scam in the city, said police.

The accused are employees of two private engineering audit fi rms which were appointed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to inspect the road works by contractors.

The 10 accused had allegedly prepared

and submitted the reports in favour of the contractors, police said.

Last year, Mumbai Mayor Snehal Ambekar had written to BMC chief Ajoy Mehta complaining about the poor quality of newly constructed roads in the city, police said.

In this regard, a case was lodged at Azad Maidan police station on April 27 last year, after the BMC’s internal

The police have questioned over 200 people in connection with the case and recorded the statement of 45 people. The statements recorded include the doctor, the watchman, residents of the building and the relatives of the deceased, her former cook who had quit the job about six months ago and his son. The police teams are visiting the building in search of evidence even after 10 days of the crime but have remained clueless.

Another official from the Matunga police said that the suspect’s sketch does not exactly match with the description given by Dr Shah as he saw the suspect only for a fraction of seconds.

“One of the CCTV footages show the suspect removing his cap where it can be seen that he has a bald patch and he is middle-aged. It is the only valuable information that we have of the suspect,” a police official said. santoshee.mishra@goldensparrow.com

inquiry found that over two dozen roads in the city were of poor quality, police said.

The investigators found that the arrested accused were allegedly hand-in-glove with the contractors concerned in the roads scam, they said.

DCP (Operations) Ashok Dudhe confi rmed the arrests which were made on Wednesday. “More arrests in the case are possible and further probe by the police is on,” he said.

The accused, identified as Santosh Kadam (42), Pavankumar Shukla (26), Ashfaque Sayyed (26), Milind Kumavat (26), Premanand Dhanawade (37), Rakesh Merwade (34), Mangesh Talekar (33), Dheeraj Phooljhele (40), Rahul Shinde (29) and Dhauryashil Patil (33), were arrested by a Special Investigating Team (SIT) formed under Assistant Commissioner of Police, Colaba Division, Rajendra Chavan.

All the 10 accused were produced in a local court which remanded them in police custody till June 21, police added.

PTI

involved in instigating and influencing Muslim youths in suburban Malwani in Mumbai on the instructions of a Syriabased handler.

NIA also said that he provided logistical support to another accused Rizwan during his Mumbai visit, arranged accommodation and SIM card. The remand application said that Moshin visited Hubli in Karnataka, Hyderabad and Chennai.

He also took two persons with intention to make them join jihadi organisations in India having affiliations to ISIS. The court accepting the NIA’s request remanded him to the agency custody for eight days.

PTI

Private trust helps ailing singer Mubarak Begum A city-based trust has contributed Rs 80,000 for the medical treatment of ailing Bollywood playback singer Mubarak Begum.

Begum, 76, has been hospitalised twice in the last two months after complaining of weakness and stomach pains.

Dr Ravindra Joshi Medical Foundation handed the aid to her family members, upon Maharashtra Cultural Affairs Minister Vinod Tawde’s request, an official in the minister’s office said.

Begum, who sang the evergreen song “Kabhi tanhaiyon mein hamari yaad ayegi” from the 1961 movie “Hamari Yaad Aayegi”, has not been keeping well for the last few years.

She lives in a one-bedroom house in the Mumbai suburb of Jogeshwari. Her health deteriorated after the demise of her daughter last year. Her son, who works as a driver, and his wife live with her.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 18, 2016

‘‘There was drought in most of the parts of the country last year and there is anger against the BJP government for doing little to tackle it. In this background, the Central government has forced the IMD scientists to predict timely and good monsoon this year.’

— Ajay Shinde, MNS city unit President

MP Tendulkar comes in aid of school in Bengal tribal village P12

No vacancies for African guests at Pune hotels

Lady jogger molested by a masked biker VISHAL KALE

Pune’s hospitality sector shows distinct prejudice against African students, refusing accommodation for their guests

BY ROMIL KOTHARI @romil_kothari

Not so long ago, in separate incidents, two joggers were sexually harassed

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma Five months after two joggers got molested in the early hours of morning on the roads, another woman has complained of a similar incident, this time at a busy junction in the morning.

While an FIR has been lodged, the culprit is still at large.

A 36-year-old counselling psychologist, who resides at Kothrud, was molested and groped at on June 15, around 7:10 am at the busy junction of SNDT College Road and Law College Road. “I am a regular when it comes to morning walks. In fact, I even head a few walking groups and walk early in the morning,” said the woman. At the day of incident, she delayed her morning walk as it was her daughters’ school reopening day. “It was my daughters’ first day at school and it got hectic. So, I dropped my girls to the bus stop and then went to walk,” she said.

She had just reached the busy junction on the Law College Road where the SNDT College Road culminates at a signal when the incident happened.

“I could hear and sense a two-wheeler come right behind me. I was walking towards the Law College Road and thus the vehicle was coming from the wrong direction in the one-way stretch.

It suddenly came very close and the rider groped my backside and felt me up,” she recounted. The victim was not expecting such an act to happen on the busy street.

Even though the incident happened in seconds, she did not lose her calm and snapped back, trying to misbalance the two-wheeler. She said, “It was a red scooter, either Activa or Access. The man had however tied a scarf to his

PUNE

The citizens of Pune have been used to seeing African nationals living in Pune, a majority of them students, for many decades. Their numbers have only grown in recent times, and these young Africans seem to be accepted reasonably well, and settled into a comfortable and harmonious existence in the city.

But the recent experience of some African students in Pune, shows up a distinct bias of the hospitality industry in Pune towards the African students’ community, as quite a few reputed hotels refused accommodation for student representatives coming in from Delhi.

The Pune chapter of the Association of African Students in India (AASI) was

face. I managed to snatch his shirt but he whizzed past, leaving me with his shirt buttons and some phone cords.”

The woman tried to note down the registration number of the scooter but it was illegible and soon the guy sped off.

“I have never faced such an incident even as I go for walks when it is dark and deserted, around 4 am. It was so sudden and ugly, it jarred me for quite some time,” the woman said, adding, “I am a very firm believer of how women need to stand up for their own safety. I have two daughters whom I teach every day how to be aware of sexual predators lurking everywhere. I take multiple precautions like walking in the opposite direction of the traffic, not using headphones while walking and generally being aware of my surroundings. For something like this to happen to me, is very shocking, personally,” she said.

On June 16, she lodged an FIR at the Deccan Gymkhana Police Station.

“The police are very co-operative and they have assured me that they will do everything to catch the culprit,” she said.

The 36-year-old believes that the incident has just made her stronger.

“It was obviously jarring for me. But it would never stop me. I will continue to step out at all hours,” she said. Her only regret, according to her, was that she couldn’t hurt the offender more seriously.

“I wish I had injured or at least identified him. However, all I want is that women who face similar instances shouldn’t limit themselves because of it. Go out, report such hooligans. Stand tall and strong and never give up on your freedom, rights and independence because of a few miscreants,” she said.

In January, two long distance runners had faced similar issues where two-wheeler riders approached them from behind, groped and manhandled them and fled the scene on Baner Road and University Road. However, neither of the culprits had been caught. gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

African students who attended the dinner hosted by Ruby Hall Clinic

founded in March 2016. The Ruby Hall Clinic was hosting a dinner for African students on June 11, 2016, where the newly founded organisation was to be introduced. As African representatives of the Delhi chapter of AASI were to be present in Pune for the occasion, President of AASI, Pune, Omegere John Patrick, was making the arrangements for their stay here in the city. Imagine his dismay, when the hotels he went to, to book rooms

for the guests from Delhi, refused to provide them accommodation.

“At all the hotels I went to, I was told that there were no rooms available.

Whether it was for the same day, next day or the week after, they told me that all the rooms were occupied. One of the hotel managers said that they needed a special license from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) to accommodate foreigners,” Patrick said.

The rules state that hotels have to submit a C-Form to the FRRO for security reasons within 24 hours of the arrival of a foreign guest. The form is verified by the respective police station. To confirm the situation, TGS embarked on an endeavour.

When we first called the hotels in question and identified ourselves as Nigerian and requested accommodation, their answer was an abrupt and final ‘no’. Then we called the hotels, identified ourselves as Indian, and requested accommodation, and they readily agreed. When we called them and put on an American accent and asked for accommodation, the hotels again had vacancies which they offered us.

Most African students said that this is a common problem and that the prejudice against them is all evident. In fact, if their parents happen to visit Pune, they face a hard time in finding them accommodation in hotels. The hotels that we contaced, included Hotel Radhika, Nana Peth, The Grand Hotel, Camp, Hotel Arman, Rasta Peth, Hotel Parag, Nana Peth, Hotel Shantai, Quarter Gate, and Hotel Krish Residency, Rasta Peth. romil.kothari@goldensparrow.com

PMC turns blind eye towards eye donation State government initiative for eyeball and cornea donation falls on deaf ears

BY VICKY PATHARE @Vickypathare2 In the wake of the rising demand for eyeballs and corneas from the blind, the Maharashtra State Government on June 26, 2013 had issued a directive to all 26 corporations and 202 municipalities, in the state, to include a column in death certificates and application forms, which would help people consider giving consent to donating their eyes to eye banks.

When information was sought about the same, through an RTI filed by CA Makhan Agarwal, it was revealed that apart from Pune Municipal Corporation, most of the municipal corporations have implemented the government rules. It was made mandatory by the state government to include consent column for eye donation in cause of death certificate to be issued by doctors in ‘Form 4 and 4A’ which was tossed by PMC.

Interestingly, a letter written by Dr Somnath Pardeshi, Health Officer, Pune Municipal Corporation to the state health department on February 10, 2015 stated, ‘As per the directives of State Government forms containing eye donation consent column will be distributed to all hospitals in eight days.’

However, 16 months later, none of the hospitals in Pune have received such amended form till date. Most of the hospital authorities are even unaware about the mandatory rule. All the hospitals have old form 4 and 4A which do not contain the column of eye donation consent. Sassoon Hospital which has asked for the forms even after April 2016 has received the same old forms.

Turning a blind eye to the initiative of the government, PMC has not implemented the rule but has been a hurdle, thereby defeating the very purpose of the orders.

At a time when the state government is struggling to curb the gap between demand and supply for eyeballs and corneas, PMC has been caught on the wrong side.

There are around 4.5 crore visuallyimpaired persons in the world, of whom

one-third are in India. There are 1.5 crore corneal blindness cases in the world, of which 46 lakh cases are in India and 35,000 cases are added every year.

The annual need of corneal transplantation to remove the backlog is 2,50,000, but in India only around 50,000 eye donations take place annually, of which around 60 per cent can be used for corneal transplant. Only 25,000 people or 0.3-0.4 per cent of the total deaths in India, actually donate their eyes every year, from where only 50,000 donated eyes are collected. In Maharashtra, target of collecting 7,000 corneas was set in 2015-16, of which only 43 per cent, or 3,015 was achieved.

PMC health officer Somnath Pardeshi said, “The amended ‘Form 4 and 4A are already available in all the hospitals and PMC has distributed it in all hospitals. The decision of donating eyes lies with the donor and the consent of kin makes no major difference. Most of the kin don’t come forward for such consent. However, PMC has 615 medical establishments registered with it under the Bombay Nursing Home Registration Act 1949, which can give one an idea that if the forms are amended, what significant boost it would give to the eye

donations.”

Dr V N Shirshikar, district programme manager, National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB) said, “It is a very good move taken by the state health department to give a boost to the NPCB. It is true that the state lacks in terms of eyeball collection as most of the eye banks are not informed about the brain dead person. The Aundh District Hospital has amended Form 4 and 4A but the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation provides us the forms.

“I will enquire into the matter and get it confirmed and try to make amended forms available at least at Sassoon General Hospital,” she added.

Aarti Gokhale, ZTCC district coordinator, said, “Relatives are the ones who give the consent for organs to be donated. We, most of the time, try to create awareness about the organ donation, but if it’s already printed in the form about the consent of the kin for eye donation, half of the work is already done. The government has taken a good decision and I think that everyone should come forward and do their bit towards a noble cause.” vicky.pathare@goldensparrow.com

Around 125 armed forces personnel and 40 civilians booked plots in a bungalow scheme promoted by a Colonel and being developed by a private developer. Eight years later, there is no sign of development on the project site located on Lohegaon Road

VISHAL KALE

Armed forces personnel ‘duped’ of their dream bungalows

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan Around 125 armed forces personnel claim to have been duped by a developer in Pune. For the last eight years, they have been waiting for their dream bungalows to be built in Bawadi, Lohegaon Road. All that one gets to see at the 226-acre project site is barren land, and a road leading to nowhere. The personnel and some civilians, who also booked houses and plots in the project, are now fighting their individual battles with the developer.

It started in 2008 when the armed forces personnel got pamphlets about a housing scheme in the name of Defence City, a project that was to come up on 226 acres of land on Lohegaon Road.

Sources reveal that the pamphlet was circulated among several armed forces units across India by one Colonel Ajay Pathak. Since it was one among them promoting the project, the personnel booked plots on which bungalows were to be constructed. Years later, there is no headway in the project.

Take the case of retired Col

The Defence City project site on Lohegaon Road wears a barren look; Corroding direction board of the project (Inset)

Pari Humdule, one of the investors

ArunAhuja, 60, who invested Rs 29.40 lakh for a 4,000 sq ft plot and Rs 37.10 lakh for another 5,000 sq ft plot in the project. According to Col Ahuja, he made the first payment on January 6, 2011, and paid the last installment of Rs6.05 lakh on March 4, 2014. “When I got to know about Defence City in 2011, I was impressed with the plan.

I agreed to book a plot. I paid the full

amount as per the agreement. In fact I got a certificate from the developers for final payment of both the plots,” he said.

Similarly, retired Lt Commander AnkurGargfrom Indian Navy, booked a 3,000 sq ft plot and paid Rs one lakh on November 11, 2008. Later, he got a letter from Defence City Developers Pvt Ltd, stating that his payment was due and was asked to pay Rs 12,50,000 more. Garg told the developers that he would pay the balance amount once his plot was demarcated, non-agricultural (NA) approvals obtained, and the project approvedby director town planning.

Garg is still waiting for a reply. Retired Commander Sharad Deshpande from the Indian Navy also booked his plot on January 11, 2011 and paid Rs 12 lakh.

Other than armed forces personnel, around 40 civilians too bought plots in the project. PariHamdule, 40, was one of them who bought a plot in January 2010at the rate of Rs 700 per square foot. “It’s been years, and I am waiting to get some clarity on the project.Three of my family friends have also booked land which together comes to 19 gunthas. Till date there is nothing that has come up over there,” she said.Hamdule added, “I

made several visits to the project site and to developers’ office and they promised that they were going to get all clearances soon. We were promised amenities like golf course, Zen garden, hospital, school, shopping mall, among others.

Buttill date nothing has come up.”

Many like Hamdule believe that the project is nothing but a sham to loot people of their hard earned money.

“When I look back it is obvious that the project was floated only to lure people, and to con them. Those in service duped their own, which is a shame to humanity.

Most of us now in touch and fighting it

out individually with the developer, who continues to sell plots in the project,” saidHamdule.

When TGS contacted Vinay Tiwari, who along with his son Vivek Tiwari runs Defence City Developers Pvt Ltd, he said that the project had been stalled because most of the buyers had defaulted on their payments. He claimed that the project was originally floated by Col Ajay Pathak. “This project was started

by Col Ajay Pathak. His group occupied 226 acres of land. When they got to know that the land belonged to me, they approached me for a solution. It is then that I came into the picture. Col Pathak convinced armed forces personnel including ex-servicemen. They invested in this project. A total of 166 persons have booked in this project. Almost 90 to 95 buyers have defaulted on their scheduled payments, which has resulted in this mess. Over Rs 40 crore is blocked.

I have already sent them notice to pay up. In 2012, we started building roads andalso installed street lamps. As soon as the buyers pay up their share, I will be able to start the work and complete the project,” said VinayTiwari.

Col Pathak, who is no longer posted in Pune, denied having any connection with Defence City project. He said, “I personally know Tiwari and he told me about the project. When I was in Pune, I spoke to some servicemen about the project. I was never attached with the company.” sushant.ranjan@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 18, 2016

PUNE

‘‘I am worried about street crimes, which are happening at different places in the city. These crimes mostly later convert into big clashes and terrorise locals. Trivial issues turn ugly and groups involved in quarrel go on a rampage, terrorising localities.”

—Rashmi Shukla, Police Commissioner of Pune

Computers, Cloud will enhance Wimbledon fan experience

Karnataka bans e-cigarettes

P10

P12

Thieves rule the roost at station in lax hours The 10.30 am to 2.30 pm hours are when Pune railway station is less crowded, and there are fewer trains, a situation thieves are taking advantage of

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan The Pune Railway Station between the hours of 10:30 am to 2.30 pm is not a safe place, as most notorious activities such as thefts and pick-pocketing occur at these times. There are fewer Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police personnel on the station premises at such times.

The station is less crowded during the afternoon hours, and even the frequency of trains is low. The public present at the station during this time are either relaxing, reading or chatting.

TEJAS GAIKWAD

Therefore the security personnel too are relaxed. Taking advantage of the situation, the thieves robbed a woman’s baggage when she having lunch at a food court on platform one.

On Tuesday, Krishna Patel, 42, (name changed) had a reservation on the Pune-Indore Express. She came to the station at 11.30 am and was waiting for her train. In between she went to Krishna food court and ordered a meal.

While she was ordering her food, her bag was stolen from where it was kept, by unknown people. When she looked, her bag was missing. She ran to the entry gate of the food court but she did not find the person who stole her bag.

She went to the RPF jawan who was on duty at the scanning machine.

The jawan told her to go and search from CCTV camera. She went there and did not find any thing. After that she went to the GRP police station and filed a complaint.

Talking with TGS, she said, “I thought there would be police on the platform, but I did not find any RPF or GRP jawans nearby. I was in Pune to

look after my children who are studying in colleges. I was going back to my home town Indore. I came early and went to the food court. Someone stole my bag.

There are no police on the platform or the premises.”

A RPF constable said on condition

of anonymity that most of the police jawans are not alert. “We informed our staff who are monitoring CCTV, but they did not find anything. We told her to file a complaint with GRP, and they will resolve the issue,” said the jawan.

Another constable said that at this

time there are few express trains and the platforms are not crowded. He said, “Most of the constables are deputed for night duty. We do 12 hours job and we also need some relaxation. Passengers should take care of their belongings.”

This is not the only incident this week. Another passenger who was waiting for his train for Kolhapur, lost his bag while he was sleeping in the general waiting room. TGS found that there are few police constables and RPF jawans on duty between 10.30 am and 2.30 pm.

Divisional Security Commissioner of Pune Rail Division D Vikas said that RPF jawans are doing their job. “We haven’t received any complaints that our jawans are not at platform and if there is such an instance when jawans are not present at platforms, I will take strong action against them,” he said.

In the past six months 59 complaints have been registered regarding stolen bags and belongings from the platforms.

Total amount of stolen goods so far is to the tune of Rs 21,50, 656. Of the 59 complaints, 38 incidents happened

in daylight, and 15 were registered between 10:30 am and 2:30 pm. GRP has solved only nine cases and recovered Rs 1,09,085.

The official said that negligence on the part of passengers has also led to an increase in crimes, especially drugging cases, which involve administration of drugs to the victims and robbing them of their belongings.

Senior Police Inspector of GRP Abhay Parmar said, “We are doing our duty. We provide escort in trains.

We are already facing staff crunch.

Frequent mock drills also use up many GRP personnel.”

Railway Pravasi Group President Harsha Shah said, “The CCTV cameras cannot focus on all the directions. There are thousands of people on the platforms doing various things. It is practically impossible to keep a check on all of them. The recent spurt in crime can be attributed to the onset of the holiday and marriage season when people travel and carry valuable jewellery. Thieves know whom to target and when.” sushant.ranjan@goldensparrow.com

Illegal shrines face demolition NH 9 road mishap death toll is double that of Expressway Pune district administration has identified 905 illegal religious shrines, and is finalising the list of those that will be demolished PIC FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY

The Shree Hanuman Mandir at Nagnath Par

BY VICKY PATHARE @Vickypathare2 The issue of the shifting and demolition of illegal religious structures in Maharashtra, is likely to come to the fore again. The Pune district administration has identified around 905 such structures and finalised the list for action. The state town planning department in the past had issued an order, seeking fixing of responsibility against the government officials concerned, and initiating disciplinary action, if needed, for failing to accomplish the tasks as per schedule.

During the meeting held on May 16, 2016, the district administration had finalised the list, and 29 religious structures out of 905 would be demolished, which had come up before September 29, 2009. And 876

structures will be regularised and not a single structure from all the 14 tehsils will be relocated.

Deputy resident collector Rajendra Muthe said, “In Haveli, there are nine illegal religious structures which were constructed before the 1960 decision against which the district administration can take any action.

We had sought the consent from the state government committee headed by the chief secretary home. The decision regarding the shrines will be received soon.”

The action against religious structures is on the basis of a government resolution issued on November 18, 2015, that spells out the schedule of activities as per the existence of these structures.

Accordingly, respective civic bodies and district administration

were expected to prepare a list of religious structures that have come up before September 29, 2009 and then categorise them further as those either to be relocated, regularised or demolished. The regularisation work was expected to be completed within six months of issuing said GR, by May 18, while the relocation has to be completed within nine months in August.

The action against structures that have come up after September 29, 2009 and need to be demolished, was supposed to be over by August. While action against those that came up before said specific date and need to be erased, has to be over by November 2017.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had identified as many as 637 illegal religious structures in the city limits, and sought suggestions and objections from public before action begins. PMC has considered 110 religious structure for regularisation, 474 religious structures to be demolished, and 53 religious structures to be relocated.

PMC deputy municipal commissioner Prakash Boarse said, “The action against such religious structures in Pune has been vehemently opposed by various political parties.

PMC has asked for police protection while conducting the demolition drive.

The list will be finalised by the end of next week.”

The Bombay High Court, on February 18, 2016, had not only expressed disappointment over the action against the illegal religious structures, but also asked the state government to issue directions to the municipal corporations, that such structures were constructed without obtaining permission. vicky.pathare@goldensparrow.com

Drivers flouting traffic rules is the main cause for accidents

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar

Even as Yashwantrao Chavan Mumbai Pune Expressway is in news for road accidents and people losing their lives in such mishaps, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) data shows that the number of people dying on National Highway (NH) Number 9 (Pune Machilipatnam) is double as compared to expressway figure in the past six months. The road mishap death figure on NH 9 stands at 66 against 35 on expressway in the past six months.

NHAI widened NH 9 to sixlane in 2015 for smooth traffic movements. However, drivers are found overspeeding their vehicles on this stretch and officials cite it as one of the major factors for road accidents on NH 9. Over 400 accidents claiming 130 lives have taken place on Mumbai-Pune Expressway since 2014. The last six months’ road mishap figure on expressway is 64 road accidents and 35 deaths. However, the numbers on NH 9 during the same period is 155 road accidents and 66 deaths.

Pune-Machilipatnam NH 9 is one of the main roads that connects Marathwada region to Pune city.

People from cities like Solapur, Osmanabad, Latur, Umarga, Indapur, Madha and Barshi use this stretch for transport. The road also connects southern states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to Maharashtra. Goods of southwest regions of the country are transported through NH 9. Rapid

RTO makes school bus safety issue a priority Regional Transport Office to conduct surprise checks on buses to ensure their fitness and safety of students

BY VICKY PATHARE @Vickypathare2 As most city schools re-opened on Wednesday, the issues of students’ safety is again at the forefront.

Keeping this in mind, the Regional Transport Office (RTO) will conduct special drives to ensure strict monitoring of safety and fitness aspects on all school buses.

There are certain specifications for school buses that are to be followed

for maximum safety of the students.

Things like, speed governors, wipers, brakes, emergency exits and first aid boxes are inspected by the Regional Transport Office. Boards have also been put up at all schools to appeal to the schools and owners of private buses to get the vehicles re-inspected, However as many as 1,684 buses have not yet got the fitness re-inspection done.

Those who own school buses and vans that have not turned up for the necessary fitness re-inspection ahead of the academic year, are likely to face strict action from the RTO. Apart from this, a meeting of officials from the RTO, the education board and the traffic police will be held to finalise an action plan for school

bus safety policy, said a senior RTO official on condition of anonymity.

Pune deputy RTO Anil Patil said, “School buses or vans have not turned up for re-inspection and if they do not comply soon, their permits will be suspended automatically. The original deadline set by the RTO to get the fitness test done was May 31, but it has been extended till end of this month. Now with less than 13 days for the deadline, the RTO is still awaiting 1684 school transport vehicles to appear for the re-inspection of their fitness.”

There are around 2858 school buses registered with the Pune RTO, and barely 1174 schools buses have completed their inspection in the specified time limit. Out of this, 1086

buses are owned by schools and 1772 school buses and vans are owned by private owners. Vehicles less than two years old are exempted from the inspection.

“We will conduct random checks on buses and bus permits will be suspended if safety norms specified in the school bus safety policy are found void. These tests have been put into place to ensure the safety of school students while travelling by school buses. There are certain specifications for school buses that are to be followed for maximum safety of the students. All school bus owners should get their vehicles reinspected during the special drive till June 30,” he said. vicky.pathare@goldensparrow.com

December 2015 to May 2016 Road

Accidents

Dead

Injured

Mumbai Pune Expressway

64

35

44

Pune Machilipatnam (NH9)

155

66

95

industrialisation in villages like Hadpasar, Uruli Kanchan, Manjari, Kurkumbha and Indapur through which NH 9 passes also causes traffic snails on the highway.

As the national highway also passes through many villages, bullock carts, cycles, local passenger vehicles and small goods vehicles also use this road, affecting the main traffic and causing road accidents.

Speaking to TGS, NHAI Joint Director Suhas Chitnis said, “It is true that despite widening of NH 9, road accidents continue to happen. We have found that drivers do not follow safety norms.

The main reasons for mishaps

are overspeeding, drunk driving, distractions to driver, red light jumping, and avoiding safety gears like seat belts and helmets, nonadherence to lane driving and overtaking in a wrong manner.

Many accidents occurred due to tyre bursts. We have put up speed limit 80 km/hr signboards along the road but drivers continue to overspeed. As highway police have low manpower, we are unable to take action against the offenders. We have identified accidents-prone areas (killer spots) on NH 9 and steps will be taken to make engineering (geometrical corrections) at these spots.” tushar.rupanavar@goldensparrow.com VISHAL KALE

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 18, 2016

Students beaten up over classmates’ visit to flat

BY ROMIL KOTHARI @romil_kothari

Ban on cow, bull and bullock slaughter since 2015 results in buffalos being slaughtered for beef

FIGURES

Cow

1 crore 54 lakh

Buffalos

53 lakh

Goats

84 lakh

Sheep

25.80 lakh

Pig

2.2 thousand

(Source : State animal husbandry dept.)

CM Devendra Fadnavis

coming to Pune. “We got to know that the chief minister would be in Pune on June 15, so we invited him to the Yerawada School,” officials at the education department said. According to sources, the school was told two days prior to the event, that it would be the venue for the CM, sending the school administration into a frenzy of upkeep.

On June 15, the Chief Minister arrived in the city and attended the Bharatiya Jain Sangathana’s event organised for the children of farmers who had committed suicide, organised at Wagholi. He then went to a PMC run school in the same area and

Students waited for hours at the event but the CM did not turn up

attended the Shaala Praveshotsav and even spoke to kids from other schools through video conference. His office had decided to skip Krantiveer Lahuji Vastad Salve e-learning school in Yerawada and even communicated it to PMC. The civic officials conveniently forgot to alert the authorities at Yerawada school.

As a result, students, parents and teachers kept waiting for the CM since 9:30 am. The function went on in presence of Mayor Prashant Jagtap, Dileep Kamble, Minister of State for Social Justice and Special Assistance, and other dignitaries.

“We have been waiting since morning. We were told around 1:00pm about the CM cancelling his plans. It was really disappointing,” said Geeta Doiphode, mother of two and a resident of Yerawada. It was more disappointing for parents and students who had come from other, far-off schools. “We have been preparing for the past three days. Our students had even prepared dance recitals. It was all rather hurriedly done, once the guests turned up around 1:30 pm,” said a teacher from a different PMC school, requesting anonymity.

The education department had, however, been intimated by the CM’s staff about the change of plans.

According to Vasanti Kakade, head of PMC School Board, “We were told in the early hours of morning that the CM wished to attend the Shaala Praveshotsav in Wagholi itself. Till then, we had no idea of his plans.

When we realised that he was going to be at Wagholi already for an event, we decided to call off the Yerawada visit.

The event, however, is conducted by us every year and thus we went ahead even this year. There was no need to tell the school about the change in plan, as the event is an annual thing and dignitaries were anyway going to be present.”

However, this decision of not telling the school authorities about the CM’s cancellation led to many parents losing their one day’s wage.

“We came to see him. If he was not going to come, we would have just sent our child,” said Prashant Naik, an auto driver by profession and father of two students, who waited nearly five hours for the CM and the festivities.

“On the first day itself, the school was boring,” said a little child, only to be shushed by his teacher. The little kids, however, were quite happy to do nothing while their parents felt the pinch of wasting a day due to the CM’s no-show. gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

Mazeen Kazi and Armaan Sikilkar

“We tried to explain the situation of Bhosale, and even showed him our IDs as well as the girls’ college IDs, but the enraged Bhosale didnot stop his beating and abuses. Then Shinkar called up Nilesh Jagannath Suryawanshi,who was supposed to be the owner of the flat, but we found that Suryawanshi didn’t have the possession of the flat he had rented out to us.

Suryawanshi told us to vacate the flat by 10:30 am on June 14.,” said Sikilkar.

Both Suryawanshi and Bhosale,who is an Indian Railwaysticket collector, refused to comment on the incident,which was not reported to the police. romil.kothari@goldensparrow.com

18, JUNE PUNE,

With this issue

w.com nsparro egolde www.th 2016 |

E H T T MEE OOKIES C T R A SM d to ds decide These ki words ‘it ’s never e topple th their quest to in too late’ eir lofty goals th achieve

UR

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Unforgettable expressions

R TU

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Turn on your yoga mode

In the issue NG I P SHO P

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma

bulls and bullocks slaughter is banned by the law. So now buffalos are being slaughtered for beef, and there is huge demand for beef as it is one of the cheapest meats fir poor people.

“Because of the drought situation, lack of fodder availability and huge demand of buffalos from butchers for slaughter, farmers have sold buffalos to the butchers, as they are getting the prices they expect. It seems that buffalos are no longer kept for milk production, but for beef. There were 1.2 lakh buffalos slaughtered in the last year for beef.

The animal husbandry department takes data from local bodies, which gives permission and licences to slaughtering houses in their respective limits. Since the last four years, our state has registered an 18 per cent decrease in population of goats as well. But we have registered an increase in the population of cows and sheep,” said Umap. tushar.rupanavar@goldensparrow.com

Life can be difficult if you are a student living in a rented apartment in a city.

Second year architecture students Mazeen Kazi, Armaan Sikilkar, Aditya Ghorpade and Jay Wankhede have been living in a fourth floor flat at Prathamesh Exotica, Akurdi, since June 5.

But Kazi and Sikilkar had to face the wrath of their neighbour, when four female classmates visited their apartment, in the context of a college assignment, on June 13. When the girls wanted to leave, after discussing the assignment after 20 minutes or so, at 12.00 pm, Kazi and Sikilkarfound that the society gate was locked. They told the girls about the gate and went down to look for the security guard to unlock the gate,but they saw their neighbour Balasaheb Bhosale, builder Arun R Shinkar and Supervisor Shyam Tambve at the main gate.

Bhosale questioned the boys about the girls having come to their flat, and then immediately started beating them with a bamboo stick. Meanwhile, the girls had also come down, and Bhosale was abusive to them, and said some nasty things about themvisiting the apartment at night. Bhosale was also ready to beat the girls with the stick, but was stopped by Shinkar.

The beating with the stick left the two students shaken, and with minor bruises and cuts.

FE A

goats, 25.80 lakh sheep and 2,200 pigs. In 2012 there were 60 lakh buffalos in the state of Maharashtra, but in the last four years, this figure has decreased to 53 lakh. Buffalo slaughter is said to be one of the reasons behind the decreasing buffalo population, but there are other reasons as well, such as buffalos yielding less milk compared to the Jersey cows, and even indigenous cows give more milk compared to buffalos. Buffalos give milk for a short period of time, and they remain unproductive (not giving milk) for long periods of time. Due to scanty rainfall in the last few years, fodder prices have been increasing and it is getting difficult for farmers to maintain buffalos. Grasslands too have been decreasing rapidly due to urbanisation, which too has impacted the livestock population in the state.

Since Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 1995, which was passed by the state government in February 2015, cows,

Yerawada school kids wait hours for CM Over 300 students waited for hours at Krantiveer Lahuji Vastad Salve e-learning school in Yerawada hoping to meet the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was in town on June 15.

The occasion was first day of the school and Pune Municipal Corporation had organised Shaala Praveshotsav.

The kids and their parents were told that the function would be graced by the Chief Minister, which got them excited. After several hours of wait, they were told that there was a change in CM’s plans and that he would not be coming.

June 15 was the school reopening day for most city schools. The government schools, throughout the state celebrate Shaala Praveshotsav on the first day of school. On this day, children are welcomed to the school and are presented with gifts. The school invites the parents as well and several cultural events take place.

This year, however, the Shaala Praveshotsav was meant to be an even bigger affair for the Krantiveer Lahuji Vastad Salve e-learning school.

To celebrate the Praveshotsav, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was

ANIMAL

F EA T

The slaughter of cows, bulls and bullocks is prohibited in the state under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act, which was passed in the assembly, in 2015. Buffalos are slaughtered for beef, since the act has been in force for a year, as a result of which the buffalo population has been decreasing in the state. State animal husbandry department data shows that the population of buffalos has decreased by seven lakh over the past four years. The state livestock census in 2012 showed a population of 60 lakh buffalos in the state, which has fallen to 53 lakh. The data also shows that 1.2 lakh buffalos have been slaughtered in the past year.

The Central Government conducts livestock census once every five years. The state animal husbandry department is gathering livestock population statistics from every district.

Commissioner of state animal husbandry department Kantilal Umap said, “As per guidelines received from the central government regarding livestock census, our department has started work of census. They have given us standard modus operandi of livestock census procedure. Our department already keeps continuous watch on livestock figures, its increasing/decreasing figures, makes plans for livestock conservation and implements various schemes for livestock conservation. Till date our department shows we have 1.54 crore cows (both indigenous and crossbred), 53 lakh buffalos, 84 lakh

P13

P11

Buffalo population falls with rising beef demand

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar

India, Singapore to enhance defence ties

Melancholic music has different effects on people

‘‘Ideally, every year some number of buses should be added. More than 300 buses are over 12 years old in the fleet and these buses need to be scrapped. Ideally there should be 4,000 buses in the PMPML fleet as against only 2,400 at present.’’

— Girish Bapat, District Guardian Minister

PUNE

A CASUAL DAY OUT

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 18, 2016

PUNE

‘‘If any leader or worker of the party is feeling suffocated in the organisation, they are free to go anywhere they wish to. The party leadership is not bothered about them. The NCP will win civic elections with the support of its existing cadres and leaders.’’

— Ajit Pawar, NCP Leader

Asia buying spree boosts arms trade P 13

The stigma of mental illness has left them with no family or home to return to Even his wife of ten years does not want to have anything to do with him

There are 150 patients who have recovered after treatment at Yerawada mental hospital, but their tragedy is that their families refuse to take them back into the family fold

Umesh Pardeshi (name changed), 44,from Dhondipura in Beed district, came to Pimpri-Chinchwad with his younger brother, mother and sister seven years ago. Umesh happened to be suffering from a mental disorder, and he was admitted to the mental hospital by his brother, whomhe has not seen for six years. “My brother is a software engineer and I havea sister who is married and livesat Pashan, but both of them avoid me. I have recovered from my illness and desperately want to go back home,” said Umesh.

What’s more, even his wife of ten years does not want to have anything to do with Umesh. And a social worker tried to contact his family but they have shifted from their home in PimpriChinchwad.

“Umesh recovered within six monthsafter being admitted to the

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 About150 male and female patients ofthe regional mental hospital in Yerawada have fully recovered from their mental illnessesafter treatment.

But they are unable to resume their normal lives, since their families or kin are not willing to take them back into the family fold. Some of these patients have been at the mental hospital for more than 25 years,as their families have disowned them, whileothers do not have any kin or family to speak of, and in consequence, they have no place to go. There are 170 patients awaiting a dischargefrom the hospital.

TGS visited the mental hospital and spoke to some of thesepatients, to get glimpse into their interminable ordeal.

‘I pleaded with my brother, but he has refused to take me home’

Unable to complete his doctorate, the stress drove him to a suicide attempt Bhaskar Shinde (name changed), 62,of Jalgaon district, is a brilliant scholar,who was unable to complete his doctorate, as he did not have the money to type out his hand-written thesis and xerox the documents. He was unable to submit the PhD thesis to Pune University, and the resulting distress led to a suicide attempt,after which he was admitted to Yerawada mental hospital in 1984. He has nofamily or kin.His mother passed away when he was five, andhis father didnot look after him. When local police found Bhaskar wandering around, they put him in a remand home,from where was transferred to Balakashram, and Chhatralaya orphanages,and adult homeswhen he turned 18. His father had passed away when he was in standard VII. Bhaskar was keen on education, and even with his turbulent life, he passed the standard XII exam.

After this he was released from the home, and then found a job as a drawing teacher in Nashik. “I was struggling to support myself and completed my BA in Geography. Then I came to Pune to pursue post graduate education and got admission for PhD (geography) in 1980,” said Bhaskar. Hehowever, was in dire financial straits as his money had run out while pursuing his PhD.“With no money to type out the thesis and

mental hospital six years ago, but no one from his family is willing to take him back. We tried to put him in the care of his relatives at Beed, but the home has been sold.We returned from there and now weare left with no option. There is no trace of his brother and other relatives either,” said PSW Mohan Bansode.

xerox the documents, the stress and the situation affected my mental state adversely, which is what led to my suicide attempt at the Pune University hostel by consuming pesticide, but thanks to timely treatment, my life was saved,” recalled Bhaskar.

But the incident changed his life completely. The police filed a case of suicide attempt against him and arrested him. Then court orderedhim to be admittedto the mental hospital in 1984, where he has been ever since.

Actually Bhaskar had recovered after a couple of years of treatment in hospital, but with no family and nowhere to go, he was forced to continue livingat the hospital. He had run away from the hospital five times,but every time he was forced to return, as there was no family or relatives or home where he could find shelter. “During oneof the escapes, I reached Ahmednagar, and even found a job in a canteen, but the police traced me there, and brought me back to the hospital. Now I feel secure here and do not want to leave this place. I would have liked to have a family, but that’s not possible now,” he saidin despair. With all his experience, Bhaskar even counsels fellow patients.

The hospital is now like an old agehome for him.

Her daughter left her in the palkhi procession so that she would get lost Varsha Kale (name changed), 50,was admitted to the mental hospital by the city police five years ago, when she was lost among the throngs of warkaris during the Sant Dnyaneshwar and Sant Tukaram maharaj palkhi procession, while returning to the home of her married daughter in Dhanori. Varsha has studied up to standard IV, and has astepmother, a brother who is a farmer in Tuljapur.Her husband passed away in Usmanabad when she was living with her daughter in Dhanori.

“Her daughter deliberately left her in the palkhi procession, as she knew that Varsha wouldget lost. We tried to trace her daughter at her home in Dhanori,but she has moved house, and even changed her mobile number to avoid us,” said PSW Geeta Karanjakar. Karanjkar and her team visited her stepmother’s house in Tuljapur, but she has refused to take Varsha back, as she had eloped to get married. Varsha wants to go home but she has no family or relatives who will take her home.

About Yerawada mental hospital Yerawada mental hospital, Pune, is a 2500-bed hospital,which includes 17 wards catering to mental patients. It’s the biggest mental hospital in Asia. It is also known as Regional Mental Hospital, state of Maharashtra. There are also regional mental hospitals in Thane, Ratnagiri and Nagpur. Currently there are round 1800 male and female patients under treatment at the hospital. The hospital has an Out Patient Department (OPD), where around 300 patients avail of treatment, and eight to ten of them are admitted every day.

Vijay Munde (name changed), 45,from Nashik district, was admitted to the mental hospital in 2007 as he was suffering from schizophrenia. With treatment, hehad recovered in 2013, but his family refused to accept him back into the family home. He has his father, two brothers and two sisters. His elder brother,who is in the police service at Nashik, met him just twice in the nine years he has been at the hospital. The brother had come to Wanowrie police station for some work three months ago, and met Vijay before returning home.

“I pleaded with my brother, but he has refused to take me home,” said Vijay.He has no option to continue living at the mental hospital despite being cured. Vijay has passed standard X, and had never married. He was working at a suitcase factory in Jalna,when he suffered the schizophrenia attack, which landed him in the mental hospital. The Psychiatrist Medical Workers (PSWs) are trying their best to rehabilitate Vijay at the earliest.

If handled with care, these patients can lead a normal life Mandakini Mane (name changed), 60, from Shikrapur tehsil of Pune district had nowhere to go, as her two daughters who live in Dhanori, refuse to take her back. She was admitted to the mental hospital by her husband’s brother in 2000, as she was suffering from schizophrenia.

After she recovered,the PSWs tried to trace her home address, and they found that her two daughters were living in Dhanori. “When we took Mandakini to the home of one of her daughters, her son-in-law evicted them from the house, while even her own daughter refused to recognise her own mother,” said PSW Geeta Karanjkar, who is following up her case. Mandakini believes that her son died when he was a child, but the social workers have come to know that he is alive and drives an autorickshaw.

“He had come to meet his mother five

years ago, but refuse to take her back,” said Karanjakar.

Yerawada mental hospital medical superintendent Dr Madhumita Bahale said that they try their best to rehabilitate patients who have recovered from mental illness. “Every recovered patient has the right to live in society. The team of our 12 PSWs constantly communicates with the families of the recovered patients. We have reunited hundreds of patients this way, but rarely do we get any acknowledgement for this as society regards us from a negative perspective,” said Dr Bahale. “The relatives of these patients should try to adjust with them instead of refusing to accept them and avoiding them completely. If handled with care, these patients can lead a normal life,” she said dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com

DPS denies RTE admission, says child’s home far from school Education department warns of strict action

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma Getting admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act is proving to be a never-ending hassle for parents and authorities alike. While the second round of lottery for admission under the Act has also finished, students from the first round have not yet got admissions. The private schools, at loggerheads with the Education Department and the state government over RTE admissions and payment of fee, seem to find loopholes to evade admissions. The Education Department also seems to be use technology to battle it out with private schools.

Recently, the Delhi Public School at Mohammadwadi has rejected multiple students’ admissions. The reason, according to what the school told the parents, is the distance between the school and the child’s home. Multiple parents have flocked to the Pune Municipal Corporation’s Education Department to sought

help. However, the school is not ready to budge even though the education department has tried sending them multiple warning letters.

According to one parent, who runs a shop in Wanowrie, the family had received Delhi Public School for their child’s admission at the lottery in the first round. While the parents tried to admit their four-year-old son in the lower Kindergarten of the school, they were asked to bring a lot of documents. “We ran around and did whatever we could. However, one day, a representative from the school came to our house in the afternoon.

Only my wife was at home at that time along with our son,” he said.

The school representative, allegedly, confirmed that the house was indeed the address of the child seeking admission. “The next day, when we went to finish the admission process, we were told our application had been rejected. The school wrote on the backside of our application that rejection is because the school is out of limits for the child,” he said. Soon thereafter, the parent rushed to the education department’s office.

At the education department, the officer first tried to talk to the school

authorities on phone. When that did not work, the department, sent screenshots of Google map explaining

that the distance needs to be computed aerially and not actually. However, the school refused to listen. “We even

told the authorities that we are ready to drop our children and pick them up every day, but the school still refused,” said the harrowed parent, who is a part of the group of parents who has approached the education department.

The education department has received several such complaints and has even taken actions, but all in vain. “We have tried everything, right from our senior officials calling them to sending them emails with Google Maps attached. However, the school is not relenting and is complaining about the distance still being too much in certain cases,” said Assistant Education Officer Vaishali Pandhare, adding, “We are currently trying to solve this leniently. However, if the school still denies admission, we shall take action.”

According to the RTE regulations, a child can only be allotted a school which is within 3 km radius to his or her home. The distance, however, has to be measured aerially and not on roads. In case there is no school available in the 3 km radii, the child can be allotted a school within 6 km. “For NIBM, Mohammadwadi, Wanowrie and Hadapsar areas, we don’t have many

schools. So, some students do need to go to DPS, which might be 4 km aerially away from the child’s house.

This can’t be used as a reason to reject admissions,” Pandhare said.

As for the parents, they are making constant rounds of the school and the education department office. “The school refuses to do any communication over phone with us, so it’s like shuttling between two ends (school and education department) of the city. I have to do it for the sake of my child even though that means my shop suffers on a daily basis,” said a parent. For many others, it means taking offs from their jobs. “Now, even after so much running around, even if the school accepts our child they would have missed out on at least the first week of school. Since we have gotten a school, we are not even eligible to try a different school in the second round. Our child’s education is at stake in all this,” said another parent, who works as a peon at a private college.

Despite repeated calls, emails, messages and even a visit, Delhi Public School authorities did not respond. gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 18, 2016

“The Orlando tragedy hurts me as a man, as a human being, and as a gay person, because so many of the victims were brothers and sisters of the LGBT community.”

— Ricky Martin, Singer

PUNE

‘‘The government must ‘create awareness about rights of older persons, advocacy of old age issues at all level of governance and ensure implementation of policies pertaining to their interests.’

— Himanshu Rath, Founder Chairman, Agewell Foundation

Teens earn Rs 15k, Puneites reach out to save donate it to 18-year-old battling leukaemia drought-hit farmers 321 people undergo test to help Shaurya Hukku get a blood stem cell transplant

BY SALONEE MISTRY @SaloneeMistry The desire to save the life of a person suffering from leukaemia encouraged Puneites to take part in a public drive arranged by a non-profit organisation at a city hospital recently. The members of Pune Chapter of Datri, the non-profit organisation with a mission to save lives of those suffering from life threatening blood disorders, i n c l u d i n g blood cancer, thalassemia and aplastic anaemia, were overwhelmed Shaurya Hukku to see 321 citizens show up for the required test at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital on June 12. They all want to give 18-year-old Shaurya Hukku a healthy future.

For Shaurya, life came to a standstill when he came to know that he suffered from leukaemia. After vomiting blood a few times, he went for a medical check-up and was informed that he was suffering from the dreaded blood cancer. With family and relatives being the first choice for blood stem cell transplant, his parents Col Uttam Hukku and Rashmi Hukku underwent the necessary tests only to be told that theirs did not completely match.

Many citizens volunteered to take the blood stem cell test across nine cities in India and more than 2,300 donors registered to help save the young boy

It has been six months since Shaurya was diagnosed and the hospital has almost become his home.

Through the help of his father’s friend, Seema, a countrywide campaign was arranged by Datri to find a perfect match for Shaurya.

There were a total of 15 drives conducted across nine cities in India between June 5 and 12. More than 2,300 donors got registered out of which 321 are from Pune. While some of them would possibly have worked with Col Hukku in the Indian Army, most of the people who were present at the drive did not even know Shaurya or his family.

“All these registered donors will be added to our registry to see if they are

a match for the young boy and patients like him who are in an urgent need of a blood stem cell transplant,” said Hinduja Raj, the marketing and communications head at Datri. Shaurya is currently undergoing a mud chemo therapy treatment to help keep the cancer under control as much as possible, till a donor is found. Getting a transplant done is his last chance of survival.

While the chance to find a match is extremely difficult, the innumerable challenges that the organisers of such drives face is endless. Anirudha Jewalikar, in-charge of donor drives conducted in Pune, said that lack of awareness is a big issue.

“Awareness is the key to building

Inspiring way to save strays Members of Deccan Gymkhana Animal Welfare Society are going all out to ensure better lives for the stray animals

BY ABHA PANDIT @abha_pandit Even as members of every residential complex forms a society to manage its day-to-day working, seldom does any housing unit looks beyond its boundary walls. The Deccan Gymkhana Parisar Samiti (DGPS) whose members come from various walks of life and a variety of professions has set an example of transforming their neighbourhood of Ward 36. Formed in 2011, DGPD covers the localities of Bhandarkar, Prabhat, Law College, Karve and Agarkar. Apart from having a dedicated a website (www.dgpspune. com) and a Facebook page, the community group regularly carries out various social initiatives.

Gone A-Stray is an initiative of Deccan Gymkhana Animal Welfare Society, which is a part of the Deccan Gymkhana Parisar Samiti (DGPS), that works towards sterilisation and vaccination of stray cats and dogs.

With their team of volunteers and veterinarians, they conduct sterilisation and vaccination camps around the city, at various colleges and institutions. Sterilisation has been proven to be the only effective and scientific way to bring down the

stray dog population of an area. The surgery helps in keeping the animals healthy, besides making them less aggressive and pack infi ghting and few dog-human confl icts in the area.

Vaccination also reduces the chances of rabies.

The motive of Gone A-Stray is to raise awareness and funds for these drives that they had so far been paying out of their own pockets.

“Even if the vets are ready to perform the procedure for free, we need funds for post-operative foster care of the dogs,” said Avanti Gadgil, 42, an architect by profession and one of the members of the founding team.

In order to raise funds for this cause, the members decided to make and sell products at reasonable price.

Their mission is to use the money solely for the purpose of helping stray animals lead a better life, and in turn reduce the nuisance caused by strays to people on the roads. The members make a variety of screen

and block printed canvas bags, boxes, mobile pouches and pencil holders.

These products are available for sale in exhibitions and by contacting their team. Bulk orders can even be customised. All proceedings from the sale of these items will go towards sterilisation, rescue and treatment of stray dogs and cats.

The team itself does most of the production work, with some involved in the designing while some work with the printing. “We have a large network of volunteers who have helped a great deal in increasing the sale of these products,” said Gadgil, adding that the response to these products has been phenomenal.

With many people coming to buy these products after knowing the worthy cause behind the initiative, the members of Deccan Gymkhana Animal Welfare Society have been flooded with orders. “We have to sometimes turn away customers for lack of stock. Th is support of the people is an important aspect in measuring the success of our work,” she said.

The DGPS website claims that the animal welfare society has sterilised more than 700 dogs, both male and female, from the streets of Pune. They have vaccinated more than 200 animals per year for rabies and also conducted adoption camps for stray puppies and kittens, along with rehoming abandoned pets.

“We are humbled by the success of Gone A-Stray initiative and want to continue with this fulfi lling work,” Avanti said. abha.pandit@goldensparrow.com

such a registry. Not many people know that they could be the only hope for a patient’s survival. People do not know that a blood stem cell donation is a simple, harmless and short procedure.

In a society like ours, it is a challenge to educate and earn trust because people have many irrelevant issues regarding this treatment,” Jewalikar said.

According to the Datri representative, when looking for a match first siblings and family members are tested. Next comes the extended family and then people from the same community. The chances of a complete stranger being a perfect match are extremely low. Every time a drive is held the set of challenges that Datri faces are different.

“When we conduct the drives in colleges, we get a lot of people that come and do the test, but when they find out that they are a match they tend to back out. With corporates, adding them to the registry is a task because they do not have the time,” he said.

“The need of the hour is more awareness. People need to understand that it is like blood donation and this deed can give the hope of life to many.

There are 1,34,034 donors in the registry, which is not even close to 1 per cent of our population. Ethnicity plays a major role. The current probability of finding a match is 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 2 million. Hence more the registered donors, more the chance to save a life,” the Datri representative said, adding that more joint awareness drives along with healthcare institutions and other registries to enroll more people for the cause is on the cards.. salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly

At a time when children look forward to summer to enjoy different indoor and outdoor activities, besides making the most of the school break, a group of 13 kids staying at Orion Complex on Aundh Road decided to make their vacation memorable with a difference.

These 14-15-year-olds organised a seven-day summer camp for 26 children in their neighbourhood. Shweta Mujumdar, Akanksha Pange, Aryan Bansal, Kashish Garg, Shweta Mujumdar, Mandar More, Kaushal Jani, Nikhil Varghese, Smridhi Dhingra, Shravani Kshirsagar, Isha Bapat, Vansh Garg and Michelle Thomas chalked out the activities to be held at the summer camp. The games conducted at the camp included Pirates, Balloon Bash, Star Game, Leg Cricket, Drills, Minesweeper, Caterpillar Race, Art and Craft, Family Calendar, Trophy

Making, Making Crab, Angry Bird n Turtle using paper plates, Ice cream and Stick Bookmarks and Bollywood Dance.

It was Shweta’s grandfather Prabhakar Mujumdar who inspired the kids to do something for the drought-hit farmers of the state.

The kids organised the summer camp on their own and Prabhakar helped in getting Nana Patekar’s appointment.

Actors Patekar and Makrand Anaspure have set up an NGO Naam Foundation to support Maharashtra’s drought affected farmers and their families.

The kids donated the amount raised at the camp to Naam Foundation and handed over Rs 15,000 to Patekar at his residence in Pune. The actor appreciated the kids’ initiative and advised them to have a focused approach towards planning their future.

Kids have decided to conduct such activities every year. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

(From left) Akanksha Pange, Aryan Bansal, Kashish Garg, Shweta Mujumdar, Mandar More, Kaushal Jani, Nana Patekar, Nikhil Varghese, Smridhi Dhingra, Shravani Kshirsagar, Isha Bapat and Michelle Thomas

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 18, 2016

BY GARGI VERMA AND SUSHANT RANJAN @tgsweekly War has been as much a part of human civilisation as evolution. While wars were fought on the basis of personal combat earlier, with the advance of technology and the dawn of the industrial revolution, the ways of fighting have changed as well. The idea of a destructive machine that could carry people, traverse and also be used in battle was developed as early as the late 1800s. However, it was only towards the end of World War I, that the idea of battle cars or tanks emerged. But like everything the myriad hands of

technology have touched, once they were conceptualised, the tanks kept coming. A few hours journey from Pune, in Ahmednagar, is the Asia’s largest and world’s second largest tank museum. The Cavalry Tank Museum, houses 45 tanks currently. These tanks include two of the tanks that India won from Pakistan, and others that the Royal Imperial and Indian armies used over the course of decades. The collection ranges from the oldest tanks that don’t even resemble a tank, to the high class recent ones that have been in use till just a decade ago.

TGS team paid a visit to the Tank Museum and decided to delve into the saga of tanks and their history.

ROLLS-ROYCE TANK The mother of all war tanks kept at the museum, by virtue of its age, the Rolls-Royce was known as an armoured car, and not even a tank. However, this is what the world’s fi rst tanks were known as. These heavy vehicles were the fi rst genesis of the armoured vehicles being used till now, that had the brilliance of the technology evolved at that point. Fashioned out of the Silver Ghost, the existing armoured vehicle, by attaching the base body and engineering technique of Rolls-Royce, in 1914, the vehicle looked like the early Rolls-Royce cars, just sans the luxury, and made of a sturdier metal. These were not the fi rst battle tanks in the world, but these were the fi rst that India had seen as the British got the cars along with their cavalry. The vehicle was also the fastest of its time, with a top speed limitedto 45km/hr.

These cars were used majorly by the second Duke of Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor, who brought them

on to the battlefield after requisitioning and replacing the engineering in all the Silver Ghost vehicles in his battalion. After their success in the battle of Ypres,in the First World War, where the crew was safe even though the Germans used poison gas, the vehicles were deemed a hit and sent to other deputations.

However, they were so un-battle like, according to the current standards and thus far from intimidating, that the British government used them for the internal police and security work, and no one batted an eyelid.

They were then used in World War II, with several changes however.

In 1920, the wheels of the vehicle were changed from spokes to disc. In 1921, the vehicle was affi xed with a turret that had a 203-inch Vickers gun and fitted with a six-cylinder petrol engine.

With further developments in the engineering, the cars went obsolete after World War II.

WALKER BULL DOG TANK It was war between India and Pakistan in 1965, when Pakistan was trying to hamper the Indian Army with its tanks. During this war,the Pakistan Army used Chafee, Walker-Bulldog and Patton tanks.

The M 41 Walker Bulldog Light Tank was powered by a continental six-cylinder petrol engine developing 500 BHP. The tank had a crew of four. Its armament included one 76 mmgun with a ‘T’ type blast deflector. The tank has a coaxially mounted .3-inch machine gun, and a .5-inch antiaircraft machine gun.

The tank usedby the United States Army at the end of World War II was the M24 Chafee, a replacement of the Chafee. The M41 was authorised for production in 1950 and was named Walker Bulldog after General WW Walker. The US Army had given this tank to Pakistan, and this tank also saw service with other countries. The M41 was one of the three main tanks developed by the US in 1950, the others being M47 and M103 heavy tanks. The M41 was an agile and well-armed

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vehicle. But it was noisy, guzzled fuel and heavy enough to cause problems with air transport.

At Chamb, a courageous EME (Electrical & Mechanical Engineers) officer braved Pakistani artillery fire to retrieve an abandoned Walker Bulldog reconnaissance tank,from right under the noses of the Pakistani troops. On September 1, 1965, the entire Chamb area came under massive artillery bombardment. Pakistan had launched Operation Grand Slam and India’s Army Headquarters was taken by surprise. Attacking with an overwhelming ratio of troops and technically superior tanks, Pakistan made gains against the Indian forces, were caught unprepared and suffered heavy losses.

By the end of the war, it was estimated that Pakistan had lost nearly 300 tanks. India had captured more than 150 tanks as war trophies, and it is not unsafe to assume that more tanks were destroyed in Pakistani territory, both by the army as well as air force. Indian losses were less than half, at 128 tanks destroyed. About 40 tanks would have fallen into Pakistani hands.

PATTON TANK One of the most historical tanks for the Indian Army, the Patton Tank is one of the two war tanks the Indians won. Earned from the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, these tanks can be seen put on display differently from the others. Kept with their turrets down, to show their defeat and marked with a white binding line across the hull to show that they were captured, the tanks are a pride for all army men deployed or visiting alike. The Patton tanks were US-built tanks that did not, for the longest time, have a weak point. Named after the celebrated US general, George S Patton, these tanks were used in the Vietnam wars and even against the USSR by the American army and Marine Corps. These tanks were then gifted to Pakistan by the United States of America.

However, in the war of 1965, the Pakistani forces used the Patton tanks to invade the border area of Punjab. These tanks, stronger than what any artillery could penetrate at that point of time, were made from metal sheets that were bent and not fabricated together, making them indestructible from any line of fi re. The tanks helped the Pakistani forces gain significantly on the Indian army and artillery. By sheer brute force, the Pakistani forces were emerging victorious.

It all turned around in the famed Battle of Asal Uttar, due to a crucial tactic used by the Indian Army, celebrating and enunciating the saying that ‘the war of the mind is as important as the war on the field’. The reason the Patton tanks worked in Vietnam and Punjab was because these lands were plains with dry soil. Overnight, the plain fields of Khem-Karan were flooded and the soil became mushy and sticky. Th is made it easy for the Indian tanks to approach and bash the tanks up from close quarters or burn the tanks using heavy fi re and grenades. The Pakistani Army, panic struck, left the tanks stuck in the mud and fled, overnight. Nearly 100 tanks were captured by the Indian Army in one particular area, now known as Patton Sheher.

Th is defeat turned the 1965 war upside down, as the Indian side emerged victorious. The tank also led to the belief that tank wars were not always feasible, unless it was on dry and plain terrain. The Patton tanks now are put, encased in imaginary chains and with their heads bowed in defeat, on display to glorify the Indian Army.

The im WAR M

The battle tank is an indispensable, vital deadly weaponry with immense firepowe inhospitable of terrain. Dating back to t evolution of the battle tank is a testimon braveheart soldiers who manned the veh

VIJAYANTA TANK Vijayanta tanks are the most seen among Indian tanks, though many people do not know its name. The Vijayanta was the first indigenous tank produced in India. The prototype was developed by the British firm, Vickers Ltd, and presented to India in 1963. In the following two years, the firm helped setup a tank factory at Avadi, a suburb of Chennai, and supplied it with raw materials. The full-fledged, indigenously produced Vijayanta rolled out of the factory in January 1965, albeit too late for the 1965 wars.

On August 10, 1966, after multiple trials, security and performance checks, 2 Lancer became the first regiment to be equipped with the Vijayanta. It was in the 1971 war that the tanks really were put to the fore. The tanks, working alongside the Bangladesh Liberation Front, won many a battle due to the indomitable force, strong exterior and accuracy of its mark that helped in long distance combat. It proved its mettle in that war, although, by the turn of the

VALENTINE

How poetic that a name as a saint who Valentine tanks were British weaponry. Mo 11 series, each with an The two Valentine Bridge version and the during World War II behind its name. Wh dealt out on Valentine originated on Valentin more prosaic, including middle name of the tan who had contributed s technologies. However Valentine is an acrony & (Newcastle-upon) T name and the location

BAKHTAWAR TANK

A9 CRUISER TANK

HUMBER TANK

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 18, 2016

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PICS BY VISHAL KALE

THESE ARE THE UNIQUE ONES CHURCHILL TANK Named after Winston Churchill, these tanks were a rage in World War II, when the Matilda tanks were phased out. For once, the new additions in the Churchill Tanks were for the ease, safety and comfort of those inside the tank. Tanks, made out of metal sheets used to get extremely hot inside quickly. The tanks had redesigned air-cooling systems along with longer and thicker guards. The focus was also on the driver’s seat where the visor was added and circular doors were introduced to minimise the area, while ensuring the comfort.

Slowly, however, the lack of heavy artillery and development of technology even forced the Churchill to go out of use.

SHERMAN CRAB TANK

mmaculate MACHINE

ingredient of warfare, with its impenetrable armour, er, and ability to transport its occupants over the most the tumultuous times of the World War I, tracing the ny to the ingenuity of its creators, not to mention the hicles, and scripted stirring tales of heroism and glory millennium, the tanks were getting out of the race. Even though money was invested to update the Vijayanta, it was all for nothing as the tank just kept developing one problem after the other, so much so that it became the white elephant of the Indian cavalry. So, the top brass took the decision to put the Vijayanta to rest, fashioning guns and other weapons out of the metal. A few tanks were kept as monuments and specimens. The tank was what put India on an equal pedestal with the world armies, and it was known to be a “first amongst equals”. It was with fond memories and great respect that the Indian Army phased it out by 2004. The last shot by the tank was fired on January 10, 2004, after which the great pride of the Indian Army was put to a well-deserved and respectful rest.

E TANK

a weapon of destruction has the same o preached the message of love! The e one of the mass produced items of ore than 8000 tanks were produced in n addition or a better technology. e tanks on display at the museum, are the e early designs. Brought in by the British I, these tanks have interesting theories hile some believe that these tanks were e’s Day, some believe that their concept ne’s Day 1940. The other theories are g the idea that they were named after the nk designer, Sir John Valentine Carden, significantly to the advancement of tank r, the most battle-like theory states that ym for Vickers-ArmstrongLtd Elswick Tyne, an amalgamation of the designers’ where they were made.

The tanks were made at a time when warfare had changed drastically from the Rolls-Royce era, and it was extremely visible in its design. This tank had a three-man crew and was equipped with two PDR guns and one 7.92 MM BESA machine gun. The tank was powered by 131 HP ace diesel engines. The tank was produced by Britain and Canada both.

This tank was also used by France and the Soviet Union.

It was first employed by the British Army in the western desert in 1941, and successive models continued till 1944.

Valentine was also used in Madagascar, the Arakan Burma and Gibraltar in 1944.

The Valentine was extensively used in the North African Campaign, earning a reputation as a reliable and wellprotected vehicle. The first tanks in action were with the 8th Royal Tank Regiment in Operation Crusader.

Until May 1945, the tank was employed in limited numbers by the 3rd New Zealand Division in the south-west Pacific campaign.

CHURCHILL BRIDGE LAYER TANK

Another anomaly in the museum is the Sherman Crab Tank. On one side of the tank is a barrel on display. What seem to be sprouting out of the barrel are multiple tentacles. In military jargon, these are known as flails. The Sherman Crab was one of the first few Mine Flail tanks. Landmines have been a constant hazard since their inception.

Before the insurgents started using them in the hinterlands of the country, they were used on the battlefield. A minefield could demolish entire fleets of armour and men, causing serious damage to the forces. Thus, the need for something that could uproot the mines and save the vehicles in the wake was felt. Multiple prototypes were developed, culminating in flail vehicles.

Like a Sherman Crab, the flail vehicles used to have an attachment of a drum rotor that used to propel the tentacles or the flails, which were long barbed wires ending in fist-sized metal balls. The rotor was rotated with full force resulting in the flails going in a rotational swing and hit the ground forcefully,

causing the mine to blast but not damaging anything. Some of the mines even used to get uprooted and thrown away.

However, this failed as it wasn’t a foolproof method. In fact, in many cases and with advanced technology, the flail used to activate

One of the tanks, looking more like a racing truck from one of the video games, has a big skewed Swastika on its bonnet, making it stand out from the others. Th is is an 8Rad tank, developed by Germany during World War II. The huge but lightly armoured tank was an early and slightly crude device and thus has more visual similarities with a Rolls-Royce than a Sherman. These vehicles were used throughout the war in various guises and fi rst saw combat in the campaign against Poland and in the Battle of France. Later, they saw use in both the USSR and North Africa. Extreme climatic conditions in both these areas proved too severe for the vehicle. The speed of the eight-wheeled cars made them the best scouting vehicles that Rommel had for long range reconnaissance across the wide desert territory.

It was also the fi rst tank to fail due to terrain constraints, making the designers contemplate an amphibious tank that could work on multiple terrains and even water.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM Pune and its neighbouring areas have always been a chosen cluster for the army to conduct its various activities.

In Ahmednagar, the army had an armament and ordinance unit on the outskirts of the city precincts. As the population started growing and coming closer to the unit, it started being a very vulnerable and dangerous spot. Thus, it was decided that in general civil interest, the unit would be moved elsewhere and the location would be used to set up a museum where the army personnel could showcase their gallantry over the years, and the civilians would feel proud of the country’s defence forces. Th is is how the Cavalry Tank Museum came into existence. Established at Armoured Corps Centre and School (ACCS), Ahmednagar, the museum was inaugurated by former Army Chief (late) Gen B C Joshi in 1994, and the ACCS continues to maintain it.

The museum, the largest in Asia and second largest in the world, also houses a memory room that holds the insignia and memorabilia of the various armoured corps. The museum shares the glorious history and interesting information about war tanks, including some of the rare tanks used in world wars.

The 45 tanks, self-propelled guns, specialist vehicles and armoured cars standing amid the scenic beauty, silently narrate the tales of battles and wars. All the vehicles still carry distinguishing insignia, formation signs and names, preserving their character.

the mines, causing damage to the vehicle behind.

Thus, the Anti-Mine Vehicles or AMVs were built and the flail tanks became obsolete.

But the museum houses the Sherman Crab along with its flails, as a relic to the mine-war.

8 RAD TANK

EVOLUTION OF THE TANK The world saw a great shift in all walks of life since the industrial revolution, and soon after the horrendous loss of lives in hand-to-hand combat, the need for advanced warfare was felt, leading to development of the fi rst tanks, which were nothing more than lumbering vehicles with minimal facilities.

However, as technology advanced and warfare progressed, the need for more potent weapons emerged. When the weapons were affi xed, need for more security and some comfort for those living in the tanks for days altogether arose.

A walk down the museum actually helps one understand how, with time, the tank progressed and rather than being a defensive machine, it became a destructor with each machine being bigger and better. However, in the later years of World War II, the need for constructive tanks arose, those that could carry heavy stuff, could lay bridges and other temporary bunker-like spaces, and one can see how the designers functioned and ideated in changing the

WHEELED IP

designs. Destruction was changed to construction, by replacing the turret with trays or dozers.

Current day warfare has evolved way beyond, with the wars actually happening on a remote control basis.

At such times, a tank seems to be a clumsy machine.

But one can still not remain untouched by the size, grandeur and force of these mean machines.

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 18, 2016

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TECH/START-UP

‘‘MIT is making wallets that will vibrate when your bank account makes a transaction, will make it harder to open when money is tight, and will expand and shrink when you have more and less money respectively.’’

— http://crazyfacts.com/

More women in armed forces soon P 12

High-tech tools are being deployed for...

Product Review

SOLVING THE MONSOON RIDDLE Indo-UK programme will harness aircraft, ships, supercomputers - and 7 underwater robot gliders

BY ANAND PARTHASARATHY If forecasters in the India Meteorological Department have got it right, the south west monsoon is due to hit Pune even as you read this today (June 18). But as we know predictions have gone awry in the past and there is always uncertainty whether any year’s monsoon rains will be normal, above normal or below normal. Since India’s food security is so much dependent on the monsoon, making an accurate forecast has become crucial —and high-tech tools are increasingly deployed to better understand the monsoon riddle.

Efforts of the Met department — and the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) in Noida, have largely been based on a numerical modelling of weather and climate, backed by weather statistics going back a century and more. Since the mid 1980s this has been supported by high performance computers, which have been beefed up over the years. Today, the most powerful supercomputer in the weatherman’s arsenal is based in Pune — a 719 teraflop (one flop is floating point or computer operation.

A teraflop is a million x million flops) IBM machine at the Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pashan. NCMRWF, has another IBM supercomputer, albeit of lower power — 318 TF. With such computing muscle — and the even zippier Cray XC40 901 TF machine in the Supercomputing Education Research Centre in Bengaluru — India has the ability to graduate to a more dynamic 3-D model of the monsoon. It has also committed Rs 4,500 crores to build or acquire even more powerful computers within five years. But to create more accurate models of the monsoon, you need a better understanding of the phenomenon.

Which is why India has embarked this year on a mammoth exercise of observations during this year’s monsoon. This includes

Research Vessel ‘Sindhu Sadhana’ will sail from Chennai on June 24 on a month-long cruise as part of the Indo-UK monsoon study

three projects: l The South West Asian Aerosol-Monsoon Interactions (SWAAMI) project has been measuring aerosols (mixture of solid and liquid particles in the air) across northern India and the Bay of Bengal during the premonsoon which will then be correlated with ground based observations. l The Interaction of Convective Organization and Monsoon Precipitation, Atmosphere, Surface and Sea (INCOMPASS) project will capture the key surface-atmosphere feedback processes in models. l BoBBLE or Bay of Bengal Boundary Layer Experiment, will help create a model of ocean-atmosphere interactions that make the monsoon so variable.

BoBBLE gets underway next week as an Indo-UK joint effort. Researchers from British universities of East Anglia and Reading — and from four Indian institutions: the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (CAOS) Bengaluru, the Indian National Centre for Climate Information Services (INCOIS) Hyderabad, the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) NOIDA NCR and the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) Chennai, will embark on June 24 from Chennai on the Indian research vessel ORV Sindhu Sadhana.

Simultaneously other researchers from India and the University of Reading will fly in

From Pune’s Wakadewadi to VMware!

Last week saw the surprise announcement that global leader in virtualised networks and systems — VMware — plans to acquire a Pune-based software solutions company, Arkin Net. With its development team in Wakadewadi, on the old Pune-Mumbai Road, and an office in Santa Clara, California (US), Arkin Net has made Shiv Agarwal Mukul Gupta a name for itself (and acquired an enviable roster of clients) in a niche that it has made its own: Soft ware-Def ined Data Centres (SDDC).

This technology Rohit Toshniwal Abhijit Sharma helps enterprises achieve significant economies by breaking down the rigid walls that traditionally separate three disparate in-house activities: computing, networking and storage. With Arkin’s solution, what look like three silos are replaced by a single entity whose resources can be deployed with maximum efficiency — by software rather than screwdriver.

In a broad sense this means virtualising one’s IT assets — and since this is precisely the ruling mantra at VMware, it is clear that the two companies were ‘made for each other’ —specifically by integrating Arkin’s SDDC with VMware’s vRealize Suite for Cloud management.

VMware and Arkin are already collaborating to meet the needs of mutual customers such as Columbia Sportswear, California Department of Water Resources (CDWR) and Nebraska Medicine. But the linkages go deeper than that: Prior to co-founding Arkin, CEO Shiv Agarwal, an IIT Kanpur alumnus, was leading product management at VMware and Vice President (engineering) Rohit Toshniwal, a fellow IITian from Kanpur was also with VMware where he held multiple roles in networking and security teams, before moving to Pune, as R&D head for VMware.

(The other co-founders are CTO Mukul Gupta who brought vast experience in Social gaming and analytics and Abhijit Sharma, a Big Data specialist.)

IndiaTechOnline

a BAe-146 British research aircraft, to make observations in the atmosphere. The scientists will combine oceanic and atmospheric measurements to monitor weather systems as they are generated, in what is a Rs 800 million project.

Professor PN Vinayachandran, of the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore who will lead the field experiment on board ORV Sindhu Sadhana told IndiaTechOnline: “The main objective of this project is to study the contrasting coupled ocean atmosphere system in the southern Bay of Bengal. The western part of the southern Bay of Bengal falls under the rain-shadow region whereas the easter part receives large amount rainfall. In two previous expeditions carried out my India during 2009 and 2012, the western part was investigated in detail.

Scientific objectives of BoBBLE have been drawn from the Continental Tropical Convergence Zone (CTCZ) programme conducted during 2009 and 2012 with support from Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of Environment and Forests .

The focus of this year’s experiment will be on the eastern part of the Bay of Bengal. Earlier, India had conducted Bay Of Bengal Monsoon Experiment (BOBMEX) in the northern Bay of Bengal during 1999 and Arabian Sea

Monsoon Experiment (ARMEX) in 2002 to understand the role of these respective regions on monsoon rainfall over India.”

“The complete suite physical, chemical and biological parameters will be measured during BoBBLE from east of Sri Lanka into the eastern Bay of Bengal. The data set will be used to understand features of the ocean and the overlying atmosphere lying under contrasting monsoonal regions, marked by a rain shadow zone to the east of Sri Lanka in the west and rainy regions in the eastern Bay of Bengal. The results will also be used to enhance the performance of ocean models in India.”

Says lead researcher Prof Adrian Matthews of the University of East Anglia’s School of Environmental Sciences: “The Indian monsoon is notoriously hard to predict. It is a very complicated weather system and the processes are not understood or recorded in science. We are aiming for a better understanding of the actual physical processes. What we have now are imperfect models for predicting monsoon rainfall when it hits land, so this will create better forecasts.”

He adds “Ultimately, the goal is to improve the prediction of monsoon rainfall over India... Nobody has ever made observations on this scale during the monsoon season itself so this is a truly ground-breaking project.”

In addition to the two universities, the UK participants include the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Southampton. Scientists from the University of East Anglia (UEA) will release seven underwater glider robots which will go down to a 1,000 metres, to monitor how ocean conditions influence monsoon rainfall. The project is funded by the Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), the (UK) Natural Environment Research Council, the Newton Fund, and the UK’s Met Office.

Hopefully at the end of the experiments, Indian and British scientists will arrive at a better understanding of the vagaries of the monsoon and help refine a computer model that will help predict the seasonal rains over India, more locally and accurately. The payback will be enormous.

IndiaTechOnline

Computers, Cloud will enhance Wimbledon fan experience IBM deploys Watson computer to fuel mobile apps

The qualifying rounds of this year’s Wimbledon tennis begin on Monday and the championship games will be played from June 27 to July 10.

Organisers, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) have entrusted IBM — for the 25th year running — with providing the technology to fuel the conduct of the games.

This year, for the first time, IBM is deploying its question-answering Cloud computer, “Watson” to provide fans and viewers, with an enhanced interactive experience, in the stands or in their homes.

The main vehicle to deliver this will be a new Android and iOS app which will provide multi-content personalised feeds for fans at home

and on the move. For visitors on site, the new apps will enable personalised messaging, and the opportunity to create their own Wimbledon Story and share their unforgettable Wimbledon experiences with others.

The app will be available shortly at http://www.wimbledon.com.

Look under “news”.

To make all this happen, in the way that will appeal to millions, IBM has set up a Cognitive Command Centre backed by its Watson supercomputing cloud. The solution will ingest feeds across multiple social media channels to automatically understand, reason and learn the most relevant and emerging topics of conversation as they relate to Wimbledon, as well as other major sporting events, providing those insights to the digital editorial team.

Says Mick Desmond, Commercial & Media Director at the AELTC: “IBM’s technology innovations are key

to maintaining our prominence in the collective mind of our global fan base.

With help from IBM, we are providing new on-site features in the Smartphone apps allowing fans to plan their trip to The Championships in advance and share their moments on the day. In the home we are also taking the best and most relevant real time content, and delivering it to fans in the form of an Apple TV app.”

IBM typically captures 3.2 million data points from 19 courts across 13 days of the Wimbledon games. It transforms that data in near real time to provide insights to commentators and media helping to bring The Championships to life for TV fans globally. In under four seconds, the match insights IBM captures are also used to update millions of digital devices around the world.

IndiaTechOnline ( with inputs from IBM)

Digital volleys: Tech to enhance tennis viewing The tennis at Wimbledon 2016 will deploy these technologies: Real-time content delivery: Providing real time insights around breaking match records faster than anyone else. This summer there will be even more context than ever before, with leader boards of all-time greats and alerts in advance of newsworthy milestones being hit.

Hill vs. World vs. Queue: Questions are posed to those on The Hill (popular area for Grounds Pass Ticket Holders) via a large screen, to those in the Queue, and to “the world” via Wimbledon’s social channels.

The responses are analyzed and presented back to both communities. If you can’t attend, you can get a sense of connection with those who can.

SlamTracker: Find it in the mobile Web, Wimbledon.com. This allows fans to go beyond scores to analyze real time and historical player, match and tournament data. Additionally, SlamTracker enables fans to share insights on their social media accounts with the push of a button.

‘Outlook cloudy’, for this Windows 10 laptop!

iBall CompBook has an attractive price tag, — but you have to do most of your work on the Cloud.

BY VISHNU ANAND When tablet PCs first appeared, positioning themselves somewhere between a small notebook and a large smart phone, industry pundits rushed to pronounce: “RIP PC!” These same pundits in recent months have been forced by hard numbers, to concede that they were hasty in writing obituaries for laptops and notebooks. Their sales might not be spectacular — tablets are doing even worse. Indian PC and peripherals maker iBall, seems to believe there’s still life in laptops — provided one can make them thin-nlight. The company has just launched a compellingly priced Windows laptop, whose weight — a few grams over 1 kg for the 11.6 inch screen model and just under 1.5 kg for the 14-inch model — challenges the overpriced, overhyped Ultrabooks that Intel touted a few years ago.

The 11.6 inch iBall CompBook Excelence, comes with Windows 10 Home edition. The quadcore Intel Atom processor is just about adequate for what one can do with this machine. Costs are kept down by eliminating such things as DVD drives and magnetic hard drives. It comes with 2 GB RAM and 32 GB of solid state storage expandable to 64 GB with microSD. The audio port is the 3.5 mm combo and there are 2 Type A USB ports plus a and mini HDMI port. With such minimal board storage, you can’t install any serious application software; the Windows OS gobbles up most of the space . Even an Office suite is not installable.

One has to go in the direction that Microsoft is shoving us — and subscribe to a Cloud based version like Office 360, which will set you back a few hundred rupees every month.

We’re guessing the archetypal user of this machine would be ‘always on’ with Internet and mostly work with Cloudbased tools and apps. The built-in camera seems under powered at 0.3 MP even if one were to use it only for making Skype-type video calls. We would have liked to see at least one port with the newer Type C USB connector to future-proof the laptop — but the attractive asking price of Rs 9,999 probably explains the Spartan specs. The 14 inch model, CompBook Exemplaire costs Rs 13,999 and weighs an extra half kg.

A few caveats: Provided your working style has already embraced the Cloud; provided you carry a dongle or a pocket router to keep you always connected to the Internet ; provided you don’t need to do serious image or video editing — and if you crave the familiar feel of a Windows platform for work or play, the CompBook will seem like great value in either of its two form factors.

Made for Yu!

The Micromax Yunicorn sports a new and useful user interface

BY V SUDHAKSHINA The mythical Yunicorn is a strange creature: a flying horse with wings and horns. Looks like Micromax has been inspired to do something different — smartphone-wise.

From its build to the software features, Yunicorn looks and feels quite different from its predecessors. This 4G dual SIM phone is the first device from YU’s kitty to have a full metal body with curved edges with matte finish.. Weighing 173 grams, it is no light weight but we award it full marks for its sturdy yet chic design.

The 5.5 inch Full HD screen (1920x1080 resolution) is sharp and vibrant. YU has added a useful monochrome feature to its display, which goes easy on eyes and is helpful for those who like to read long text or e-books, on their smart phones.

YU has dropped its proprietary Cynogen OS for Android Lollipop 5.1.1 and released a new launcher called ‘Android on Steroids’, which offers a few customization options.

The ‘Around YU’ service has been upgraded with new tie-ups with Lybrate for health services and the native wallet, Udio. With these additions the Yunicorn gets an all new UI, which is both intuitive and user friendly.

Yunicorn runs on MediaTek’s new Helio P10 octa-core processor with 4GB of RAM. The 32 GB internal storage is expandable upto 128 GB via its hybrid slot for SD card. With 4000 mAh, Yunicorn offers a good battery life to support its powerful performance. It offers a 13 megapixels rear camera and a 5 megapixels front camera which is almost a standard spec these days. The phone is available on Flipkart and costs Rs. 12,999, which sounds to us like good value.

IndiaTechOnline

ENVIRONMENT

Scientists, including one of Indianorigin, have developed a method of combating motion sicknesslike symptoms experienced by some people when they use popular virtual reality headsets.

Their approach dynamically, yet subtly, changes the Steven K Feiner user’s field of view (FOV) in response to visually perceived motion, as the user virtually traverses an environment while remaining physically stationary.

The method can be applied to consumer head-worn virtual reality (VR) displays, such as the Oculus Rift and Google Cardboard.

The study showed that by strategically and automatically manipulating FOV, the degree of VR sickness experienced by participants can be significantly reduced.

The researchers accomplished this without decreasing the participants’ sense of presence in the virtual environment, and without the majority of the participants even being aware of the intervention.

“2016 is the year of VR and it’s estimated that over 200 million VR headsets will be sold by 2020,” said Steven K Feiner, who directs the Computer Graphics and User

Interfaces Lab at the Columbia University.

“But VR sickness, which has symptoms similar to motion sickness, poses a barrier for many users of Ajoy Fernandes this immersive technology,” said Feiner.

“People who experience VR sickness will often stop using their headsets, as they feel nauseated and uncomfortable,” he said.

The researchers developed an approach that focused on the VR user’s FOV, changing it in a way that many participants found imperceptible.

“I was aware of work on change blindness - a concept in perceptual psychology that explains why people sometimes do not notice what would seem to be an obvious change in a scene,” said Ajoy Fernandes, from Columbia University.

“So I wondered if this could be applied to VR: could we change a participant’s FOV without them noticing?” he said.

Researchers focused on subtly decreasing FOV in situations when a larger FOV would be likely to cause VR sickness.

PTI

Helping co-workers can tire you: Study Office-goers, take note! Helping your co-workers too often may lead to mental and emotional exhaustion and hurt your job performance, a new study has warned.

The effects were especially strong for employees with high “pro-social motivation” - or those who care deeply about the welfare of others, researchers said.

While previous studies on helping has focused largely on the effects of the beneficiaries, this is one of the first studies to focus on the helpers, they said.

“Helping co-workers can be draining for the helpers, especially for employees who help a lot. Somewhat ironically, the draining effects of helping are worse for employees who have high pro-social motivation,” said Russell Johnson from Michigan State University in the US. “When these folks are asked for help, they feel a strong obligation to provide help, which can be especially taxing,” said Johnson.

Sixty-eight employees in a variety of industries, including finance, engineering and health care, participated in the study by fi lling out surveys in the morning and afternoon for 15 consecutive workdays.

The surveys measured depletion using a previously established scientific scale and helping through another scale

that asks questions such as “today, I went out of my way to help co-workers who asked for my help with workrelated problems.”

The findings suggest employees should exercise caution when agreeing to help because helping may leave them depleted and less effective at work and cause mental and emotional exhaustion.

On days when employees find themselves engaging in unusually high amounts of helping, they can attempt to bolster their energy by the strategic use of breaks, naps and stimulants like caffeine, the researchers said.

Help-seekers, on the other hand, should realise that asking for help, especially multiples times a day, has detrimental effects on the employees who are helping, they said.

“This is not to say that co-workers should avoid seeking help, but that they ought to

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

When hunger strikes past midnight

NATION

CITY

Bakery worker’s daughter gets her wings P 12

Why are traffic cops taking selfies these days?

P3

AUTO,

HAIL A

CAB

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

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

Five members of the team tried hiring rickshaws for distances

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

DEHU

6

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

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

See Spotlight on p8&9

Precious man hours are lost every day at Hinjewadi just because planners forgot to make more entry and exit points. Over a decade after Hinjewadi was planned to house country’s best IT firms and saying is true. But what they are not telling us or willing to talent, planners have finally woken up to the plight of citizens. concede is that their enemy lies within. Their enemy number one They have now planned five alternative roads. But the authorities is not private cabs but members of their own ilk – many of whom are in no hurry to complete them. See spotlight on p8 & 9 are rude, refuse to ply short

RITU GOYAL HARISH

CHINCHWAD BHOSARI

4 THERGAON HINJEWADI VILLAGE

KALEWADI FATA

WAKAD

DIGHI

NASHIK PHATA

5

LOHEGAON

DAPODI 50

PIMPLE GURAV

WAGHOLI

3 4 BANER

VISHRANT VIMAN WADI NAGAR YERWADA

AUNDH

2

SANGAMWADI PASHAN

AH47

WADGAON SHERI

MUNDHWA

SHIVAJI NAGAR

GHORPADI

9

BAVDHAN

CAMP

HADAPSAR

KOTHRUD

SWARGATE PARVATI

WANOWRIE

1

NANDED AMBEGAON BUDRUK

KONDHWA

UNDRI

KATRAJ

4

Had it not been for a Pune-based activist everybody had forgotten about a film on Lokmanya Tilak commissioned in 2001 by Central Government at the cost of 2.5 crores. Three years after Vishnu Kamalapurkar raised questions about the film,

said director of the school, who

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

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

The investigation was carried out by statements.”

DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL

ALANDI

AKURDI

RAVET

Sab golmal hai...

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

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

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

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

We believe we were on the right,”

CHIKHALI

KIWALENIGDI

~ Suit filed by the siblings

What a mess!

Teacher booked for sexually abusing 22 students acquitted

Parents teach them more than exams do P 10

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

~ Suit filed by the siblings

And yet no respite for commuters

DR VIJAYPAT SINGHANIA

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

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

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

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS

CITY

Truly, a tree lady P4

PICS ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

DITCH THE

GAUTAM SINGHANIA

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

RAHUL RAUT

Three types of experience associated with listening to sad music (pleasure, comfort and pain) were found across the different surveys

invariably related to personal loss such as the death of a loved one, divorce, breakup, or other significant adversity in life, researchers said.

“The results help us to pinpoint the ways people regulate their mood with the help of music, as well as how music rehabilitation and music therapy might tap into these processes of comfort, relief, and enjoyment,” said Tuomas Eerola from Durham University.

“The findings also have implications for understanding the paradoxical nature of enjoyment of negative emotions within the arts and fiction,” said Eerola.

The three types of experience associated with listening to sad music (pleasure, comfort and pain) were found across the different surveys.

Experiences of enjoyable sadness were not affected by gender or age, although musical expertise and interest in music seemed to amplify these feelings, researchers said. Older people reported stronger experiences of comforting sadness, while strong negative feelings when listening to sad music were more pronounced for younger people and women, they said.

The findings were published in the journal PLOS ONE. PTI

Video gamers are likely to delay their bedtime by about 100 minutes to continue playing, according to a new US study that strongly supports the inclusion of gaming as an addictive behaviour.

The study shows that on an average, gamers delayed going to bed 36 per cent of the nights they played video games.

Average game playing was 4.6 nights per week.

The average delay in bedtime on the nights spent gaming was 101 minutes.

“These finding provide further insight into factors that influence individuals’ decision making when determining if they should get sufficient sleep,” said Brandy M Roane, assistant professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Centre in the US. “Our data shows that video gaming is quite an important factor that frequently leads to missed sleep for 67 per cent of gamers,” said Roane.

“Additionally, the reasons provided by gamers for their choice to delay their bedtime strongly supports the inclusion of video gaming as an addictive behaviour,” he said.

The study included online surveys from 963 gamers.

Participants were from the US with an average age of 28.7 years, who played video games at least once the previous week.

Questions asked about demographics, gaming consoles, game genres, gaming frequency and duration.

The study was published in the journal Sleep.

PTI

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

the reasons for listening to sad music, and emotions involved in memorable experiences related to listening to sad music. Majority of people surveyed highlighted the enjoyable nature of such experiences, which in general lead to clear improvement of mood, researchers said.

Listening to sad music led to feelings of pleasure related to enjoyment of the music in some people, or feelings of comfort where sad music evoked memories in others, they said.

A significant portion of people also reported painful experiences associated with listening to sad music, which

consider the magnitude and solvability of the issue before doing so and avoid continually seeking help from the same person,” researchers said.

However, when helpers are thanked or made aware of the positive results of their actions, this can minimise and may even reverse the effects of depletion.

“Thus, help-seekers can reduce the burden they place on helpers by clearly expressing the positive impact that helping had on them,” said researchers.

The findings were published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

PTI

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

she said.

Researchers are now including a cartilage layer in the bio-engineered living bone tissue to study bone regeneration in complex defects of the head and face.

“Today, tissue engineering is truly changing the way we approach tissue repair, drug testing, disease modelling,” Vunjak-Novakovic said.

“In all these diverse areas, we now can put the cells to work for us and make tissues, by providing bio-engineered environments that mimic their native milieu,” she added.

PTI

Melancholic music has different effects on people

Sad music can provide enjoyment, comfort or pain to different people, according to a new study which looked at the effects of melancholy songs on the emotions of people.

The findings could have implications for how music therapy and rehabilitation could help people’s moods, according to researchers from Durham University in the UK and University of Jyvaskyla in Finland.

They looked at the emotional experiences associated with sad music of 2,436 people across three largescale surveys. Researchers identified

Video gamers delay bedtime by 100 minutes

Findings suggest staff should exercise caution when agreeing to help because helping may leave them depleted, less effective at work and cause mental or emotional exhaustion

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

function,” said Vunjak-Novakovic.

“The quality of the regenerated tissue, including vascularisation with blood perfusion, exceeds what has been achieved using other approaches,” she said. This is step forward in improving regenerative medicine options for patients with craniofacial defects, she added. “Our lab-grown living bone serves as an ‘instructive’ template for active bone remodelling rather than as a definitive implant,” said Vunjak-Novakovic.

“This feature is what makes our implant an integral part of the patient’s own bone, allowing it to actively adapt to changes in the body throughout its life,”

PUNE

“Environment ministry is writing to every state, asking which animal should be killed and that they will give permission for it... I don’t understand their lust for killing animals.”

— Maneka Gandhi, Union Women and Child Development Minister

Living bone grown in lab for first time at Columbia University In a first, scientists have grown a living bone in the lab to repair large defects in the head and face of patient, taking a step forward in improving treatments for people with craniofacial defects.

A new technique developed by Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, professor at Columbia University, uses autologous stem cells derived from a small sample of the recipient’s fat and precisely replicates the original anatomical structure of the bone. “We’ve been able to show, in a clinical-size porcine model of jaw repair, that this bone, grown in vitro and then implanted, can seamlessly regenerate a large defect while providing mechanical

JUNE 18, 2016

Supriya Bhoite from Chaturshrungi police station.

Contd on p4

advance, and second instalment was to be released after completion of certain formalities. The very next year second instalment was also disbursed.

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

The CPIO was clueless about the project and sought information from

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

New method to fight virtual reality illness

H EALTH

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

“The vast sums of money generated from environmental crimes keep sophisticated international criminal gangs in business, fuels insecurity and devastates ecosystems and local economies.”

— Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UNEP

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Hum

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

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

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

light only after receiving his RTI finally been traced by the government with the help of police and claims that the fi lm will be released in “next two to four months”. He still hasn’t answered several questions raised by the government about the script and the star cast.

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

Saath Saath

When

HUNGER STRIKES past midnight

A family that prays together stays together. Pune’s joint families on why they agree to disagree

TGS takes a night trail around the city to look for places that will silence a grumbling tummy in the dark of night

The Kamdars

Run for…

yourself

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

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‘‘Our Parliamentary Secretaries don’t get a penny, still everyone is after them and Modiji wants to disqualify them. If he wants to disqualify, then all the Parliamentary Secretaries in the country should be disqualified.’’

— Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister

All states, barring Tamil Nadu, on board for GST P 14

Nehru rejected US offer to join N-Club Ex-Foreign Secy’s book says Kennedy had offered India the chance to detonate a nuclear device before China’s test in 1964

NEW DELHI: India need not have had to make desperate efforts now to get membership of elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) had Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru accepted the then US President John F Kennedy’s offer of helping the country detonate a nuclear device

much before China did in 1964, according to former Foreign Secretary Maharajakrishna Rasgotra.

He also said that if Nehru had accepted the offer, not only would have India tested the nuclear device first in Asia, before China, but it also “would have deterred China from launching its war of 1962 and even imparted a note of caution to (Pakistan’s) Field Marshal Ayub Khan’s plans for war in 1965,” according to a Observer Research Foundation (ORF) release.

Rasgotra was speaking at the release of his new book “A Life in Diplomacy” at ORF.

“Kennedy, who was an admirer of India’s democracy and held its leader Jawaharlal Nehru in very high esteem, felt that democratic India, not Communist China, should be the first Asian country to conduct a nuclear test,” he said.

Kennedy’s handwritten letter was accompanied by a technical note from

If Nehru had accepted the offer, India would not have to make attempts to join NSG

More women in armed forces soon

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said more girls will undertake NCC Girls Mount Everest Expeditions NEW DELHI: In the coming years, the armed forces will see larger participation of women, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said.

“This is just the beginning. Slowly, women in large numbers will be part of the armed forces,” Parrikar told reporters here when asked whether more women would be encouraged to join the armed forces.

He was speaking at an event where he felicitated the first ever all-girls National Cadet Corps (NCC) team which had climbed the Mount Everest.

Flying Cadet Avani Chaturvedi, along with Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh, is on the threshold of entering history books in the country by being the first three women cadets to be inducted for flying fighter aircraft.

Thereafter, they would undergo advanced training for one year on Hawk aircraft in Bidar in Karnataka

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar shakes hands with NCC cadets who successfully scale Mt Everest, during a meeting in South Block, New Delhi

and would enter a fighter cockpit by June 2017.

They will go to Bidar this month for their stage-III training for a year on Hawk advanced jet trainers, before they get to fly supersonic warplanes.

VALOUR IN GALLOP

A Sikh warrior shows his skills during the ‘’Khalsai Sports’’ (Sports belongs to Sikh Community) organised by Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) in New Delhi

Vol-III* lssue No.: 01 Editor: Yogesh Sadhwani (Responsible for the selection of news under the PRB Act, 1867) Printed and Published by: Shrikant Honnavarkar on behalf of Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. CIN:U22200PN2014PTC151382 and printed at PRI – Media Services Private Limited CIN: U22222MH2012PTC232006 at Plot No. EL-201, TTC Industrial Area, MIDC, Mahape, Navi Mumbai.

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Six women cadets were competing to become fighter pilots after the government, in a landmark move, approved an IAF plan in October to induct them as fighter pilots.

However, only three trainees were

selected for the fighter stream.

The NCC Girls Mount Everest Expedition Team had scaled the world’s highest peak on May 21 and 22. Parrikar said the NCC has been asked to encourage the girl cadets to take up such activities.

“This is just the beginning.

Many more girls will undertake such expeditions,” he said.

They scaled the peak after dividing themselves into two teams, where the first team led by the Expedition Team Leader Col Gaurav Karki, reached the summit on May 21 and the second team led by Lt Col Vishal Alhawat reached the top on May 22.

This is the first ever successful expedition by the NCC Girls Team.

All ten girl cadets of the expedition team are between the age group of 17 and 21 years.

PTI

the chairman of the US Atomic Energy Commission, setting out the assistance his organisation would provide to Indian atomic scientists to detonate an American device from atop a tower in Rajasthan desert, the release said.

In the letter, Kennedy had said he and the American establishment were aware of Nehru’s strong views against nuclear tests and nuclear

weapons, but emphasised the political and security threat China’s test would spell for Nehru’s government and India’s security, it said, adding the American leader’s letter emphasised that “nothing is more important than national security”.

Had India’s first Prime Minister Nehru accepted Kennedy’s offer of helping India detonate a nuclear device much before China did in 1964, India need not have had to make desperate efforts to enter the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) now, he said.

PTI

When Fernandes became ‘Khushwant’

BY KUNAL DUTT

NEW DELHI: Sporting a turban and a beard, George Fernandes had assumed the guise of a Sikh man to evade arrest during Emergency days and recited the Gita to inmates while being imprisoned in Tihar Jail in that era, according to a colleague of the veteran socialist leader, who was arrested along with him.

“Police were on the lookout for us.

But, we not only went into hiding, but continued to operate. To escape arrest, George had assumed the avatar of a Sikh man, with a turban and a beard, and had grown long hair. He used to call himself ‘Khushwant Singh’ after the noted author,” 76-year-old Vijay Narain told PTI here.

Narain and others along with Fernandes were arrested on June 10, 1976 in Kolkata and tried in the infamous Baroda Dynamite case,

MP Tendulkar comes in aid of school in Bengal tribal village KOLKATA: To his die-hard cricket fans, Sachin Tendulkar is ‘God’, something a tribal village in West Bengal swears by after the Rajya Sabha MP intervened to fund the reconstruction of a 51-year-old neglected school.

Moved by a headmaster’s request, Tendulkar agreed to release Rs 76,21,050 for the “Gobindapur Makrampur Swarnamoyee Sasmal Siksha Niketan” from his MPLAD fund.

The school is located on NH-6 under Narayangadh police station about 140 kilometres southwest of Kolkata in the Midnapore (West) district.

Tendulkar has already released 75 per cent of the amount, which was paid in three installments, while the remaining amount would be given on production of the utilisation certificate, which was recently submitted.

It was nothing but a “miracle” for headmaster Uttam Kumar Mohanty who was left “frustrated and endured sleepless nights after making door to door” pleas to the local MPs and MLAs for financial assistance to the school which was on the verge of collapse.

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar posted a picture of him along with the statue of Charlie Chaplin on his Instagram account in Leicester Square, London

Ten years after his struggle, one fine day in 2013, the idea of writing to Tendulkar occurred to him. The iconic cricketer, at that time, was one year into his new profile and was criticised for his rare appearances in the Upper House.

Mohanty searched the Internet for Tendulkar’s official email address and he finally wrote to him on March 13, 2013, requesting for assistance for the school building. “I had little hope after being ignored by Suryakanta Mishra (a fivetime MLA) and Prabodh Panda (who was in the House from 2001-14). It was out of sheer frustration,” Mohanty told PTI from his residence in Kharagpur.

More than a year passed by and when Mohanty had almost forgotten, the “miracle” happened on August 7, 2014 when Tendulkar replied assuring him of all the assistance for the school with more than 1000 students.

“This is with reference to your proposal of construction of library, laboratory and girls’ common room and seeking funds... I’ve recommended to the honourable district collector Bandra that funds be released to you...

You’re requested to please contact the honourable collector in your area and submit to him the details of the project with an estimate,” wrote the iconic Indian cricketer.

PTI

in which they were also charged with waging war against the state to overthrow the government.

Fernandes in handcuffs raising his hand in defiance became one of the most enduring images of the Emergency era. Emergency was in effect from June 25, 1975 until its withdrawal in March 1977. Narain says, “Despite his political accomplishments, he was a man of simplicity and still is. He was born a Christian but never spoke in English in Parliament and is fluent in Hindi, Marathi and Kanada.”

Recalling one of his slogans — ‘Jab tak bhukha insan rahega; tab tak dharti par toofan rahega — Narain says, “He was a champion of civil rights, and struggled for the poor, the weak, the downtrodden and the farmers. And, we think he deserves to be given Bharat Ratna.”

PTI

Karnataka bans e-cigarettes BENGALURU: Karnataka government has banned electronic cigarettes in the state.

“We have banned e-cigarettes.

The decision has been taken on the recommendation of the committee on cancer prevention,” Minister for Health and Family Welfare UT Khader told PTI. He said a study was conducted by the committee with an NGO on e-cigarettes, which said large number of youngsters was getting addicted to it.

“2mg and 4 mg nicotine is allowed in chewables like nicotine gum for deaddiction purpose, but these e-cigarettes usage is leading to addiction towards it,” he said.

E-cigarettes mimic the size and shape of cigarettes and contain a cartridge containing liquid, which includes nicotine (up to 36 mg/ ML) among other chemicals (usually propylene glycol or glycerol).

The government, in a circular, said the state has knowledge that Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems or e-cigarette and other similar products have been sold illegally (including online sale), without a obtaining valid license from appropriate authority specified by law.

PTI

Writings of Dabholkar, Pansare in book NEW DELHI: Eminent authors and activists who have previously voiced their opinions against the curbing of freedom of expression and inhuman killing of rationalists and thinkers, have now come together to pen a new book advocating critical thinking against all forms of discrimination.

Titled “Words Matter: Writings Against Silence” (Penguin Random House India), the book has been edited by award-winning poet and scholar K Satchidanandan.

It contains essays written by scholars and writers including Romila Thapar, Githa Hariharan, Pankaj Mishra, Salil Tripathi and Ananya Vajpeyi among others.

“In their perceptive and insightful essays, the contributors argue that we must nurture critical thinking to fight all kinds of discrimination and insularity,” publishers said.

The book includes excerpts of writings of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare and scholar M M Kalburgi, who were killed by fundamentalists, besides articles and speeches by eminent public figures like Markandey Katju, Shyam Saran, Nayantara Sahgal

and Keki Daruwalla.

In the past, some of them were also part of the ‘Award Wapsi’ campaign that took the country by storm late last year, where over 40 artists and writers returned their Sahitya Akademi awards protesting against the killings of Kalburgi, Dabholkar and Pansare.

The book emphasises the need for intellectuals to take the responsibility of safeguarding the democratic nature of the

Book urges intellectuals to take efforts to safeguard democratic nature of nation

nation and advocates free speech.

It also highlights that change is imperative and inevitable and that the status quo (of traditions) must be challenged to enrich the diversity India has perpetually cherished.

“Myths, texts and systems of faith and thought have been cherished, revisited and also challenged. It lies in our interest as a modern nation to preserve our cultural strength and help democracy flourish. They have often inspired imaginative versions through oral retellings and local adaptations. The dynamism of Indian culture has kept it open to influences and has stood the test of time,” the book says.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 18, 2016

Debutants Pune Sangli Navigators win MCL P 16

Chinese spy ship entered Japan waters: Tokyo TOKYO: A Chinese spy ship entered Japan’s territorial waters, Tokyo officials said, less than a week after another of the rival’s naval vessels sailed near islands at the centre of a sovereignty dispute.

Concerns over China’s rising military presence in Asian waters have sparked concerns in Japan, which administers islands in the East China Sea also claimed by Beijing and where tensions between the two powers have festered.

A Japanese navy P-3C surveillance aircraft spotted the 6,096-ton Dongdiao-class “information gathering” Chinese vessel around 3:30 am (local time) in territorial waters near Kuchinoerabu island in southern Japan, Hiroshige Seko, a government spokesman, told reporters.

Territorial waters are a 12-nauticalmile band, though Japan did not immediately say by how much the Chinese ship breached them.

The area is part of a Japanese island chain that divides the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, and is not subject to the territorial dispute.

The Chinese ship sailed southeast and exited Japanese waters around 5 am heading into the Pacific, Seko told a regular press briefing.

The reported incursion came less than a week after another Chinese naval ship sailed close to the disputed islands, though did not enter what Japan sees as territorial waters.

Japan said last week that a Jiangkai class Chinese frigate sailed into “contiguous waters” surrounding the contested East China Sea islands.

PTI

‘‘Reinstate the assault weapons ban (and) make it harder for terrorists to use these weapons to kill us. Without such a ban, “these kinds of events are going to keep on happening.”

— Barack Obama, US President

‘Terrorists perverting Asia buying spree boosts arms trade Islam to justify agenda’ The White House comments came a day after a self-radicalised Afghan-origin youth killed 49 people in Orlando at a gay nightclub

BY LALIT K JHA WASHINGTON: Terror outfits like the ISIS are “perverting” Islam to justify their “murderous, false agenda” as part of which they claim the mantle of the religion to describe themselves as “holy warriors” fighting with the US, the White House has said.

“What is true that many of those organisations pervert the religion of Islam to justify their murderous, nihilistic agenda. The President has said that on many occasions. He’s been very blunt about what those organisations are trying to do,” White House Press

Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference.

“What they’re also trying to do is to claim the mantle of Islam to describe themselves as holy warriors, or religious leaders, engaged in a confl ict with the US. “They’re wrong about that. That is a false agenda. That is a myth. That is not true. And this administration and the previous administration have gone to great lengths to debunk that myth and make clear that these organisations are seeking to perpetuate a perverted form of Islam,” Earnest said.

His comments came a day after a

Family members of victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting are escorted out by volunteers from a family reunification centre in Orlando

Bill seeking special status for India fails in US Senate

BY LALIT K JHA WASHINGTON: The Senate has failed to recognise India as a “global strategic and defence partner” of the US after a key amendment necessary to modify its export control regulations could not be passed.

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent address to a joint session of Congress, top Republican senator John McCain had moved an amendment to the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA17) which if passed would have recognised India as a global strategic and defence partner.

The US had recognised India as a “major defence partner” in a joint statement issued after Modi held talks with President Barack Obama which supported defence-related trade and technology transfer to the country

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which would now be treated on par with America’s closest allies.

NDAA was passed by the Senate with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 85-13. But some of the key amendments including the (SA 4618) though they had bipartisan support could not be passed by the Senate.

“The (Senate) amendment (No 4618) was not adopted to the NDAA,” a Congressional aide told PTI. Without specifically mentioning this particular legislative move on India, McCain expressed disappointment that many key amendments could not see the light of day.

“I regret that the Senate was unable to debate and vote on several matters critical to our national security, many of which enjoyed broad bipartisan support,” McCain said in a statement.

“In particular, I am deeply disappointed the Senate was not able

to increase the number of special immigrant visas for Afghans who risked their lives to help America in a time of war, and whose lives are still at risk today,” he said.

“Too often throughout this process, a single senator was able to bring the Senate’s work on our national defence to a halt. Th is was a breakdown in the decorum of the Senate, and one that will have serious consequences,” McCain said.

The McCain amendment said that the relationship between the United States and India has developed over the past two decades to become a multifaceted, global strategic and defence partnership rooted in shared democratic values and the promotion of mutual prosperity, greater economic cooperation, regional peace, security, and stability.

PTI

self-radicalised Afghan-origin youth killed 49 people in Orlando at a gay nightclub.

He added that America’s “partners in the Muslim world are critical to our success in degrading and ultimately destroying ISIL”.

“And the fact of the matter is, most of the victims of terror attacks carried out by ISIL are, in fact, innocent Muslim men, women and children,” he said, using the alternate acronym for the ISIS. Earnest said there are American Muslims who serve the country loyally, patriotically in armed forces and in the intelligence community to combat this threat and to protect the nation.

“In fact, the United States of America was founded on the principle of religious freedom, where people of all religions are welcome here, which makes it impossible that the United States could be at war with any one religion,” he asserted.

Obama Administration, he argued, has gone to great lengths to debunk that myth, because to perpetuate that myth only gives the terrorists what they want, which is legitimacy.

“It’s only going to make it harder for us to mobilise the Muslim world to fight this threat,” he said.

PTI

The global arms market soared to a record 65 billion dollars in 2015

LONDON: A buying spree in the Asia-Pacific region propelled doubledigit growth in the global arms market last year to a record USD 65 billion, defence analysts IHS Jane’s said.

Defence imports by Asia-Pacific nations soared 71 per cent in a “spend surge” between 2009 and 2016, the analysts said, helping the global arms market jump 11.3 per cent or USD 6.6 billion last year.

“The global defence trade market has never seen an increase as large as the one we saw between 2014 and 2015,” said Ben Moores, a senior analyst at IHS Jane’s.

“2015 was a record-breaking year,” he added.

It said there had been an acceleration in particular in “states bordering the South China Sea”.

Beijing has stirred regional opposition by rapidly building artificial

islands capable of hosting military hardware, despite partial counterclaims by several Southeast Asian states.

An IHS Jane’s report said three of the top 10 countries with the fastest growing opportunities were in Asia-Pacific: Vietnam, Philippines, Bangladesh.

South Korea rose from being the seventh biggest defence importer in the world in 2014 to fi fth largest last year, purchasing arms worth USD 2.2 billion.

The report predicted it would rise to fourth place in 2016.

Australia’s defence imports also rose from sixth to third place with USD 2.3 billion, after top importer Saudi Arabia and second-placed India which did not change positions from the previous year.

AFP

KITE SURFING IN DUBAI

A man goes kite surfing at Kite Beach in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. As observant Muslims fast during a windy hot day during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, westerners practice kite surfing

Superman, the best-equipped superhero? India, Singapore to enhance defence ties Superman could exhibit a calculated stored solar energy output of over 700 thousand Joules per second

LONDON: The best-equipped superhero of all could be DC’s Superman, followed closely by Marvel’s Wolverine, Mystique and Thor, according to a new research that also suggests that Batman may be the most disadvantaged in terms of special powers.

Students at the University of Leicester in the UK have been using simple calculations to explain the feasibility of the powers behind of some of the most prominent comic book superheroes known around the world.

The student research determined whether or not the seemingly superhuman abilities used by the famous characters in films and comic books are in fact possible.

Whilst Black Bolt, ruler of the

‘Inhumans’, may be the most destructive of the superheroes (capable of planetary annihilation), the study suggests that the ‘Last Son of Krypton’ Superman is likely to be the best equipped to win in an epic clash between all of the studied superheroes.

Boasting a super-powered array of skills, Superman, if obeying the ‘Law of Energy Conservation’, could exhibit a calculated stored solar energy output of over 700 thousand Joules per second for his ‘Super Flare’ attack.

It is also shown that the ‘Man of Steel’, in theory, could have higher density muscle tissue than the average human which could aid in several of his superhuman abilities.

This incredible display of power makes Superman the number one candidate for most powerful superhero.

Honourable mentions go out to X-Men duo Wolverine and Mystique who were close contenders for the title of world’s finest with their multitude of mutant abilities including increased regenerative capacity and, in the case of Mystique, a mastery of gene manipulation to aid in disguise.

The superhero Thor, based off of

the Norse god of the same name, would also be one of the most formidable superheroes, having high energy efficiency and explosive powers.

With strongest superhero determined, the study also shed light on who the most ill-equipped superhero might be with a seemingly grim end result for Gotham’s ‘Caped Crusader’, Batman.

Though his cape proves to be a vital utility when gliding in comic and media depictions, the student-led research suggests that when gliding Batman reaches velocities of around 80kilometres per hour - which could be fatal upon landing.

This inability to perform even the simplest of superhero feats suggest Batman would struggle to get off the ground.

The research was published in the University of Leicester’s Journal of Physics Special Topics and Journal of Interdisciplinary Science Topics student-run journals designed to give practical experience of writing, editing, publishing and reviewing scientific papers.

PTI

The fi rst dialogue between Defence Ministers of India and Singapore has come at a time when freedom of navigation in international waterways has emerged as a major concern, particularly in the light of China flexing its muscles in the area to advance its maritime claims against its Asian neighbours.

Against this backdrop, both sides agreed to enhance the scale and complexity of existing bilateral military interaction.

Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his Singaporean counterpart Ng Eng Hen marked raising of bilateral defence cooperation to the highest level.

In the words of Parrikar, both sides had “very detailed” discussions.

“We have agreed on expanding the interaction between the armed forces and defence R&D and industry participation,” the Defence Minister told journalists.

The inaugural Singapore-

India Defence Ministers’ Dialogue (DMD) in a way took forward the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment in Singapore last year for furthering defence cooperation between the two sides.

“The DMD would take the relationship to new heights,” officials said.

Last month, the two countries convened the fi rst meeting of their Defence Industry Working Group in which both sides agreed to set up industry level working mechanisms to foster cooperation in aerospace, electronics and other areas of mutual interest.

Both ministers noted that new opportunities for industrial collaboration, including through Joint Ventures, have opened up due to India’s Make in India initiative. Both countries significantly scaled up their military to military engagement with bilateral visits and joint exercises.

PTI

MONEY MATT ER S

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 18, 2016

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‘‘We are currently focused on ICVs and new light commercial Vehicles (LCVs). We will take a relook on bus business in a year or two after the rollout of ICV is complete.’’

— Nalin Mehta, MD & CEO, Mahindra Trucks & Buses

Signpost Bill okayed for speedy recovery of bad loans Cabinet approved a bill seeking to amend the debt recovery laws with the objective of improving the ease of doing business. “Cabinet approves exfacto ‘The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, 2016,” an official statement said. The bill aims to improve ease of doing business, facilitate investment leading to higher economic growth and development.

All states, barring Tamil Nadu, on board for GST

Stop recruitment of daily wagers or face action: Govt to depts

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said there is “no deadline as such” for the implementation of tax

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said virtually all states, barring the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, have come on board on the long-pending Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill and expressed hopes of pushing the legislation in the upcoming monsoon session.

After a meeting of Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers here on the proposed nationwide common indirect tax, Jaitley also said the states’ fear of any revenue loss in the first five years has been addressed and the Centre would compensate for these losses.

“Virtually all the states have supported the idea of GST, barring Tamil Nadu which has expressed some reservations. Tamil Nadu has offered a few suggestions which have been noted by the committee,” Jaitley told reporters on the first day of the two-day meet.

At their meeting, the state finance ministers also approved a model GST law, which said that sale of goods and services and all online purchases will attract GST at the first point of transaction and pegged threshold annual turnover for levy of the tax at INR 10 lakh. The limit will be INR 5

Union Minister Arun Jaitley briefing the media with West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra (right), and the Revenue Secretary, Hasmukh Adhia in the meeting of the Empowered Committee on GST, in Kolkata

lakh in North East and Sikkim.

Jaitley said there is “no deadline as such” for the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax which aims to subsume a string of state and central level levies.

The government had earlier targeted to roll out the nationwide single tax regime from April 1, 2016 but the Constitutional Amendment Bill on GST has been stuck in the Rajya Sabha due to opposition by the Congress party.

Jaitley, however, rejected Congress’ demand for capping the GST rate, which has been the main issue of contention.

“There is a complete consensus on that, there should not be any such ceiling as exigencies may arise in future. Now it is left to the GST council,” he said.

India records 10-year low in public private investments

BY LALIT K JHA India recorded a 10-year low in investments in public-private sector in the year 2015, adding to contraction that pulled down the global investment to below its five-year average of USD 124.1 billion, the World Bank has said.

In its latest annual report, the World Bank said global investment in 2015 decreased to USD 111.6 billion, below the five-year average of USD 124.1 billion from 2010 to 2014.

“This contraction resulted from lower investments in Brazil, China and India,” the Bank said in its latest report on Private Participation in Infrastructure Database.

“India recorded a 10-year low in investments, as only six road projects usually a rich source of PPI over the past 10 years reached financial closure,” the World Bank said.

In South Asia, there were 43 deals for a combined total of USD 5.6 billion that closed in the region, representing 5 per cent of the total investment a decline of 82 per cent from the five-year average of USD 30.5 billion.

“Consistent with historical trends,

‘‘The latest line of MFP series comes with cutting-edge Japanese technology and has Panasonic System sales division ambitiously aiming to acquire 15 per cent of market share in the 4-in-1 category.”

— Ajay Madan, Senior General Manager, Panasonic India

India generated a majority of the projects (36 out of 43); Pakistan had four; Nepal, two; and Bangladesh, one. Notably, 26 of the 36 projects in India, amounting to USD 2.0 billion, targeted renewable energy, while all of Pakistan’s projects, totalling USD 749.9 million, solely focussed on renewables,” the Bank said.

Solar energy investments climbed 72 per cent higher than the last five year average, while renewables attracted nearly two-thirds of investments with private participation, it said.

Global private infrastructure investment in 2015 mostly remained steady at USD 111.6 billion when compared to the previous year, it said.

Among the most notable, commitments in Brazil were only USD 4.5 billion in 2015 a sharp decline from USD 47.2 billion the previous year, reversing a trend of growing investments, it said.

“Investment in China also fell significantly below its 5-, 10-, and 20year averages, as the average transaction dropped to USD63 million,” it said.

“The data finds that investments in other emerging economies increased rapidly to USD 99.9 billion, representing a 92 per cent year-over-year increase,” said Clive Harris, Practice Manager, PublicPrivate Partnerships, World Bank Group.

PTI

Congress Leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is also Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, however said in the national capital that there is no change in Congress’ stand as of now.

“If government satisfies the Congress and other parties which have sought amendments, then there is no problem. To speak about it now is premature as the Monsoon session is one and a half months away”, he said.

The meeting was attended by Finance Ministers of 22 states, including West Bengal’s Amit Mitra as well as Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, deputy CM of Delhi and senior officials of seven others.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa met Prime Minister

US on measures to prevent H-1B visa misuse Several US lawmakers have proposed revisions to visa laws to include measures allowing former employees to contest their layoffs after many American workers lost their jobs to immigrants from countries like India on H-1B and other work visas, a media report said.

The New York Times report said while corporate executives have been outspoken in defending their labour practices, the American workers who lost jobs to global outsourcing companies have been largely silent.

“Now some of the workers who were displaced are starting to speak out, despite severance agreements prohibiting them from criticising their former employers,” the report said.

It cited the example of former Abbott Laboratories employee Marco Pena, who was among about 150 technology workers laid off in April by the global health care conglomerate.

Pena and other laid-off staff “handed in their badges and computer passwords, and turned over their work to a company based in India.” Pena said he had decided not to sign the agreement that was given to all departing employees, which included a nondisparagement clause.

Pena said his choice cost him at least USD 10,000 in severance pay.

PTI

Narendra Modi in Delhi and told him that her state was “concerned about the impact the proposed GST will have on the fiscal autonomy of states and the huge permanent revenue loss it is likely to cause to a manufacturing and netexporting state like Tamil Nadu”.

Regarding the future roadmap, Jaitley said: “We will try our best to bring the Constitutional amendment in the monsoon session of Parliament.

Then the CGST and SGST legislations will be put in place.” About dual control on tax rates by the Centre and states, he said it was again up to the committee to see that it was harmonious and there was no conflict. “It will be again discussed in the next meeting.”

PTI

All central government ministries were asked to stop recruitment of daily wagers failing which disciplinary action would be taken against officials concerned. They have been asked to assess the work being done by regular employees for output and productivity so that the work of casual employees could be given to them.

The move comes after it was observed that in spite of strict guidelines on engagement of casual labour, various ministries continued to engage casual workers for work of regular nature against the government’s policies. “It is, therefore, reiterated that all ministries or departments may ensure strict compliance of the guidelines on engagement of casual labourers. “Negligence in the matter of implementing these guidelines should be viewed seriously and brought to the notice of the appropriate authorities for taking prompt and suitable action against the defaulters,” the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said in a directive issued to secretaries of all central government ministries.

“The departments may also review the norms of staff for regular work and take steps to get them revised. If considered necessary,” DoPT said, referring to its earlier instructions issued on the matter.

In a related development, the central government has proposed to give one-day paid off to a casual worker in a week. All concerned have been asked to give their feedback on this proposed change to the DoPT by June 18.

PTI

Cabinet approves civil aviation policy The much-awaited national civil aviation policy that seeks to strengthen regional connectivity and tap the sector’s high growth potential was cleared by the Union Cabinet.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said the policy is a “game changer” and that the country’s aviation sector is poised to become the world’s third largest by 2022.

The policy has been finalised after nearly eight months since the Ministry came out with the revised draft in October 2015 and follows many rounds of deliberations with stakeholders. The NDA government had for the fi rst time unveiled the policy draft in November 2014.

“NDA government clears India’s fi rst ever integrated National Civil Aviation Policy. Th is will be a game-changer for the sector,” Raju said in a tweet.

In another tweet, the Minister said

India would be the third largest civil aviation market by 2022. “To achieve this, we need right intentions, vision, planning and execution,” he added.

Significantly, India’s domestic air traffic market logged the fastest growth in the world for the 13th consecutive month in April. The market grew at nearly 22 per cent during the month.

“India’s domestic traffic soared 21.8 per cent, marking the 20th month of double-digit traffic growth and the 13th consecutive month it has led the domestic markets,” global airlines body, International Air Transport Association (IATA) had said last month.

Raju said the objectives of the policy is to “make flying affordable, safe, convenient”, promote balanced regional growth, tourism, infrastructure and help improve the ease of doing business.

PTI

Raju said India would be the third largest civil aviation market by 2022

Less than 8 per cent Indian engineers fit for core engg roles

Aspiring Minds’ report states that students are still taught outdated concepts Significant efforts need to be made to improve employability in the engineering sector as less than 8 per cent of Indian engineers are employable in core engineering roles, reveals an Aspiring Minds’ report.

The National Employability Report for the first time this year looked into the employability of specialised and new careers, which are available to engineers, other than core IT and software roles.

The nationwide analysis based on a sample of 1,50,000 engineers showed there was a huge gap in skills of engineers, as needed, to work in the large industry.

“There are several problems with regard to employability in core engineering roles. We need to excite

students about these jobs. Everyone’s focus today is on IT. We want students to design and build things. We need emphasis on the basics, for instance, basic electrical engineering, basic concepts of mechanics and so on,” Varun Aggarwal CTO Aspiring Minds said.

The government’s Make in India initiative aspires to create manufacturing capacity in India and generate 100 million jobs by 2022.

Low employability of engineers, however, will impede the growth

of manufacturing in India in a big way and requires immediate intervention, the employability assessment firm said.

Aggarwal noted that students do not have these basic concepts right. There is a huge need of a curriculum revamp and to bring in new teaching methods and technology.

“The science of manufacturing has moved way ahead but we continue to teach outdated concepts to students. For India to become the world’s manufacturing hub, we need to lead from the front in our understanding of cutting edge methods, knowledgedriven management and implementation capability,” he added.

Report noted that students do not have basic concepts right

Employability for roles like mechanical design engineer and civil engineer stand at a meagre 5.55 per cent and 6.48 per cent respectively.

The lowest employability percentage was recorded for the Chemical D e s i g n Engineer role at 1.64 per cent.

Employability in the domain specific roles is the highest for Electronics engineers at 7.07 per cent.

Th is percentage is considerably lower compared to employability in IT roles like Software Engineer - IT services and Associate I T e S O p e r at ion s (Hardware Networking) which stood at 17.91 per cent and 37.06 per cent respectively.

The study on employability across metros reveals higher employability in Delhi and Mumbai

with employability for the electronics design engineer role as high as 19 per cent followed by cities like Bengaluru, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

The lowest employability figures across roles are observed in Chennai with employability for the Civil Design Engineer role as low as 1 per cent.

The study of employability by gender reveals relatively equal employability amongst males and females in core engineering roles. In spite of equal employability the ratio of males to females employed in the industry is very low.

Th is breaks the general stereotype that girls aren’t good at core engineering roles. Employability for roles like Civil Design Engineer and Mechanical Design Engineer is higher for females than males standing at 6.53 per cent and 6.19 per cent respectively.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 18, 2016

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SHERRIN VARGHESE LIVE

Where: Spice Kitchen and Shakahari, JW Marriott, SB Road

Sherrin Varghese will back in Pune to make the dance floor thump at F Beach House. Sherrin produces and performs live vocal electronica on all sub-genres of Electronic Dance Music.

With his rock-led voice, he curates his own brand of Electro Pop, Complextro, Downtempo, Glitch Hop, Tech House, and Deep House.

When: June 18 Where: F Beach House, Mundhwa

SWAR PANCHAM – STRINGS OF SOUL

‘Swar Pancham – Strings of Soul’ concert will be held to celebrate the 77th birth anniversary of the maverick Bollywood composer R D Burman.

Pancham Smriti in association with Hemant kumar Musical Group has organized the most entertaining & enchanting musical tribute with fully loaded mega blockbuster symphony by 50 musicians. Ivan Muns, one of the team member of R D Burman and the famous celebrity singer Jolly Mukherjee will be joined with melodious voices from Pune and Mumbai under music arranger, Arvind Hasabnis.

When: June 24th June Where: Yashvantrao Chavan Auditorium, Kothrud

monsoons on a spicy note. Devour the best of both worlds as you team up succulent Kebabs with robust Whiskies at Fishbowl all this month. The talented chefs have come up with some new as well as some old time favourite kebabs to be indulged into. Luscious kebabs like the Achari Mahi Tikka, Murg Angara Kebab, Hara Bhara Kebab and many more feature in the menu along with Single Malts and Scotch blends.

When: Till June 30 Where: Fishbowl, Hyatt Pune, Kalyani Nagar

15-day long exhibition, supported by Nav Siddhartha Art Group, aims to demystify art for fi rst time buyers, providing them the information and guidance they need to explore the fascinating world of art.

When: June 30 Where: Tilting Art Gallery, Ishanya, Yerawada

SPIRITED SATURDAYS WITH ROCKY

A massive party is coming your way at Hard Rock Cafe with DJ Aqeel, one of the most popular and recognised DJs in the country spinning some crazy tunes. Credited with bringing a wave of remixes to the Indian music industry, he has hits like Shake It Daddy and Tu Hai Wahi to his name. He began his career in 2000 and since then has released seven albums and played hundreds of international gigs.

When: June 18 Where: Hard Rock Cafe, Koregaon Park

Th is Saturday, enjoy an unparalleled beering experience with a performance

by Rocky. He is one man army who has performed in many states including Goa, Bangalore, Mumbai etc. His power packed performance with amazing song collection from oldies right up to modern day is the unique thing about this performer.

When: June 18 Where: The Beer Café, Koregaon Park

CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION

INDULGE IN KEBABS PAIRED WITH WHISKIES

After the stifl ing heat, bring in the

WEEK THAT WAS

Bhushan Sawant Artist The hate bred by homophobia arises out of intolerance more than anything else. Dogma of any kind is unacceptable, and it’s about time the world came to terms with this. In Indian society, the existence of homosexuality is simply not acknowledged, so it all goes unseen.

was present as a party worker.

“I was standing at the back.

In order to get me forward, he held my hand like a father would, and asked me to come ahead. It is then that photographers clicked some photographs of us with the chief minister. These photographs were circulated by our party workers on various social media platforms including WhatsApp, like any political event,” she said. It was only on Thursday morning

The 10th grade board exams are an important milestone in everyone’s life, no doubt. But Priyanka Wagre, who underwent surgery for congenital heart disease, has proved that there are things which are more important. Although she failed her exams, she has been given a new lease of life. My heart goes out to her and her family, for what they have had to suffer. Despite all odds, they have managed to seek treatment for Priyanka, and allowed her to lead a normal life. And even though she will have to retake her exams, I am sure she will have a much better quality of life. Kudos to the medical superintendents at Sassoon Hospital, who facilitated her surgery free of cost.

- Avanti Deshpande THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 11, 2016

PUNE

‘‘We have scant regard for road safety . As a result, the expressway has become a death trap.

People are dying for no fault of theirs. Lives have been lost due to vehicles jumping the median and also because of landslides. Road safety measures are lacking due to red tape.’’

— D S Kulkarni, Prominent land developer

Chinese media names LeT in 26/11 attacks P 13

Success tastes sweeter after struggles

HAPPY TRANSIT: A labourer uses a trolley to give her daughter a ride at the parking lot of Renuka Residency Society at Mauli Nagar on Katraj-Kodhwa Road

TGS MoveIt Marathon

The have finally found their real calling

I really enjoyed reading the story about the second edition of the TGS MoveIt Marathon. The stories of the THEY ALL LIKED TO participants and the winners were very moving, and have inspired many people to start running, I am sure.

All of them came from different walks of life, and yet came together for their one common passion.

T Aarav’s story particularly moved me. At such a young age, having to endure so much, and still to come out on the other side smiling, shows what a strong child he is. Even the runners, who began with the sport later on in their life, prove that age is just a number and if you really want to start with something, you mustn’t let anything stop you. I look forward to the next instalment of the marathon.

- Ronit Pansare THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 11, 2016

PUNE

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 11, 2016

PUNE

Combining fun with fitness, the second installment of TGS MoveIt Marathon turned out to be a resounding success, and the diverse range of almost 3,000 participants was the icing on the cake

These Spanish marathoners run for social causes

Daniel Clavero, 38, and his wife Dola Mbobda, 36, shifted to Pune from Spain four years ago. Daniel ran the 10 km and finished the run in 54 minutes, while Dola did the 5 km run, and finished the run in 35 minutes. Daniel is an engineer working for FTI industries in Chakan, a pipes and accessories manufacturing company. Dola is a housewife and is currently learning English in Aundh.

The couple used to take part in marathons back in Spain.

They have been in the city for some time, but TGS MoveIt Marathon was their first. They did not come to the venue with a load of expectations, but were pleasantly surprised with how well everything was planned. They also found that the early Sunday morning schedule was perfect for a marathon run, evading the sun, and the food on offer and the Zumba session only spiced up the run even more.

Daniel and Dola like to take part in different marathons, for social causes mostly, that revolve around poor children and cancer societies. “I appreciate the efforts put in by The Golden Sparrow and MoveIt Marathon team for a well organised marathon. We enjoyed it and look forward to participating in the next one too,” said Daniel, with a big smile on his face.

The couple loves travelling around India, and they have grown quite fond of Pune with its surroundings and cosmopolitan air.

They have so far been to Mumbai, Agra, Jaipur, Karnataka and Goa, and are looking forward to more discoveries in India.

For Spaniard Fernando Ullate, 34, just like for his friends Daniel and Dola, this was the first marathon in India, and he revelled in the ambience at TGS MoveIt Marathon, including the Zumba session. A finance manager, he finished the 10 km run in 54 minutes.

Fernando has taken part in quite a few marathons in Europe, the last one at Madrid, featuring 25,000 participants.

“The one thing that struck me here was the volunteers’ coordination, which the participants truly appreciated. I have never seen anything like this in the marathons abroad,” he said.

“Running helps me keep fit, healthy, and at events like this, I also get to meet and make friends with people who share a passion for running,” said Fernando. A member of a group in Spain called ‘Amigos Del Running’, Fernando also loves cycling, swimming and trekking, which he has been able to do, thanks to the profusion of such spots around Pune.

“I like Pune, its people, food and culture, and am looking forward to more memorable experiences here,” he said.

This five-year-old is inspired by his doctor to run

Aarav Shewale is just five years old, and he was one of the youngest runners at TGS MoveIt Marathon.

He participated in the 3 km run, and was overjoyed when he crossed the finish line along with his mother Jui. A standard I student of Karnatak High School, Aarav has been running since he was three. When he was one-and-a-half-years old, he was diagnosed with bilateral profound hearing loss, which was a devastating experience for his parents.

But they faced the adversity with fortitude, and Aarav underwent surgery to get cochlear implants, which brought his hearing back.

But then the parents had to teach him to speak.

Dr Neelam Vaid, the doctor who performed the surgery on Aarav, is an avid runner herself, and she has also motivated Aarav to take up running.

“We are deeply indebted to Dr Neelam for encouraging our son to take up running,” said his mother Jui. Now Aarav runs thrice a week with his father Kaustubh. “Running is Aarav’s favourite way to spend time with his dad, which is their regular father-son time,” she says.

After experiencing the emotional rollercoaster owing to Aarav’s disorder, it is a joy for his parents to see how he has progressed in the last three years. Energetic and fun-loving, besides running, Aarav also loves badminton. When he crossed the finish line, he shouted, “I won! I won,” which was like music to his parents’ ears.

This family believes in running together

The people of Pune were more than enthusiastic to participate in the second TGS MoveIt Marathon held on Sunday

BY ABHA PANDIT AND ROMIL KOTHARI

he second edition of The Golden Sparrow MoveIt Marathon was held on June 5, and almost 3000 participants turned up for the event. With four categories of 3 km, 5 km, 10 km and 21 km, this time the run was an even bigger success than the last.

Besides the seasoned long distance runners, fitness freaks and running enthusiasts, there was a large contingent of amateurs and first-timers too. From toddlers to students, working professionals to senior citizens, they were all eagerly waiting for the event to begin. Apart from the

‘Running has become an outlet for me’

participants, their family and friends had turned up to cheer them on too. Everyone had a gala time on Sunday morning, and the passing drizzle was refreshing, and did nothing to dampen the spirits of the runners. It all started off with a super energetic Zumba session, which was held before every run started, and was the ideal way for the participants to get warmed up. And the energy levels hit peak intensity, even at 5 o’clock in the morning.

The runners were on an adrenaline rush and gave it their all for another round of Zumba even after they had completed their marathons. The bonus for TGS was all the stories the participants had to tell, each with their personal, individual perspective on the happening.

TANMAYA KARMARKAR,

WOMEN’S 21 KM WINNER

Tanmaya Karmarkar, 38, is a computer sciences research professional, who grabbed top spot in the women’s 21 km run, with a time of 1 hour, 57 minutes, which was almost 10 minutes faster than the first runner-up. She has been running for the past two years, after her friend convinced her to take up the sport.

“At the age of 36, I didn’t know I had it in me to run such long distances,” she says. Tanmaya has run a 42 km full marathon before, and is currently training three times a week with Dr Kaustubh Radkar.

While she enjoys running, as a working woman and mother she has to pull off quite a balancing act. “With a full time career and a family to look after, it becomes difficult to take time out for yourself. Running has become an outlet for me to do that, and I prefer to run by myself, without anyone for company,” she says.

Tanmaya has some advice for people who are just beginning to run, or are a little hesitant to start. “It doesn’t matter at what age you start.

If you have the urge to run, go for it. Start out slow, and don’t bother about winning or speed.

The flow will automatically come,” she says.

‘I was never really interested in running’ SURAJ KUMAR MEN’S 21 KM WINNER

Suraj Kumar emerged the winner in the 21 km segment, crossing the finish line with a time of 1 hour, 25 minutes. The 21-year-old medical student took up running three years ago, after participating in a cross country run.

A student at the Armed Forced Medical College, Suraj hails from Mysore. “I was never really interested in running until I came to Pune. After running my first cross country, I realised that I had enjoyed myself immensely, and that is where my journey began.” Since then, Suraj has been practicing regularly and has participated in a number of half marathons. Currently, he trains with Iron Man winner Dr Kaustubh Radkar. He plans to run a full marathon after he has trained enough.

Apart from running, this youngster loves to cook and is keen on learning different languages. He also enjoys cycling and has participated in two duathlons.

‘I want to train for longer distances’ SAVANI BARVE

WOMEN’S 3 KM WINNER

For 11-year-old Savani Barve, her parents are the inspiration. She was the first female to cross the finish line in the 3 km race. Having achieved a time of 18 minutes and 3 seconds at the TGS MoveIt Marathon, she attributes the success to her father who encouraged her to participate. Her parents Rakhee and Pushkar Barve, both of whom are kho-kho players, also joined her in the run.

Growing up in a household which gave immense importance to sports, Savani took to athletics like a fish to water. Being a school student, she has just started running longer distances.

With daily training sessions, she is working towards improving her timing and preparing for longer distance runs. Not just training right, but eating right too is equally important for a runner. They all follow a strict home food diet plan. “I have just begun with 3 km and 5 km runs. I want to train for and run longer distances like 10 km and 21 km. I am working hard to improve my timings too,” says the enthusiastic youngster. For the Barve family, spending quality family time is to run together.

Members of Pune Newspaper Vendors Association

Priyanka Pai, housewife and her husband Ravindra are both avid runners. Inspired by her fitness enthusiast husband, Priyanka took up long distance running. Her routine included workouts and a healthy diet. But then running took a backseat when she conceived her first child. She though, missed her regimen so much that she was determined to get back to it as soon as possible.

Just as she had decided, she continued with her daily log and participated in 5 km run at the TGS MoveIt Marathon, held in March this year. “I was running again after almost a year, and my husband was supportive enough to look after our son while I ran,” she said.

This time they had a tough time deciding on who would sit on the sidelines looking after the toddler. And they came up with a plan which would let both of them in on the fun. Priyanka participated in the 10 km run and took her son along with her! She completed the marathon in a time of 1 hour and 2 minutes while pushing the stroller in which her son was asleep, while her husband Ravindra went on to complete the 21 km run. “I was lucky that Sharv was fast asleep the entire time, and so I could finish the marathon,” she said with a smile.

This go-getter couple enjoys running together and recommends that everyone try it out. “It is a wonderful stress buster, and helps us bond better. Once my son is old enough, I will encourage him to accompany us, so we can run as a family,” said Priyanka.

He wants to represent India at the Olympics

Sachin Kumar, 18, in a repeat of the last TGS MoveIt Marathon, won the 10 km run with a time a little over 37 minutes. This Haryana resident lives on the Bombay Engineering Group (BEG) campus in Khadki, where his father is posted. His tall, athletic build is ideal for the rigorous training he undergoes.

An ardent footballer, Sachin is determined to make a career in sports, and considers himself lucky to have the unstinting support of his family.

His goal is to represent India at the Olympics, and he is constantly working on improving his timing. “This time I slipped up a minute or so from my last timing, but I will train harder to improve it,” he says.

‘There is no particular age at which one can start running’

Himangi Godbole emerged victorious in the 10 km run in the open women’s category.

The software developer from Pune began running in 2013, after her husband persuaded her to accompany him on his runs. Her husband Atul is a trainer and founder of Motiv8 Coaching in Pune.

Since she began running, Himangi has completed a full marathon as well as a few half marathons. “This time, before TGS marathon, I did not have enough time to practice, which is why I chose to run in the 10 km category instead of the 21 km one,” she says.

A mother of two, Himangi has encouraged her children to pick up the sport as well.

“There is no particular age at which one can start running.

I started after I gave birth to my second child. As long as you are determined to achieve your goal, nothing can stop you,” she feels.

The landmark Secondary School Certificate exam is a turning point in one’s life, and it is even more so for students who have to battle untold adversity in their quest for success

Farm labourer’s disabled son scores 92% in SSC

Nurses are not inferior to doctors

Disabled boy from Bihar has made the most of his opportunity to study, despite the hurdles of coping with his disability and family’s impoverished state

BY VICKY PATHARE @Vickypathare2 A student who is determined and willing to work hard, can achieve his goals by overcoming every hurdle that comes across his path, and make use of every opportunity that comes knocking at his door.

This was personified by a 16-yearold son of a daily wage labourer, who, despite being disabled, secured 92.40 per cent marks in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination, the results of which were declared on June 6, 2016.

An only child, Jaynarayan Mallu Mahato has been affected

by Polio since birth which left him with more than 80 per cent disability, since he was deprived of vaccination. Born in a labourer’s family in Mahadeva village of West Champaran district, Bihar, he wanted to attend school like any other child. But the big hurdles in his path were caused by his disability and that he belonged to a poor family.

Destiny brought him to Pune, where his parents admitted him to ‘The Society for the Welfare of the Differently Abled Persons (Physically Handicapped) Education And Research Centre’ Wanowrie. Jaynarayan emerged as a topper in studies at the institute and even at S M Joshi High School, Golibar Maidan.

Jaynarayan stayed at the welfare institute since standard I, where all his expenses are borne by the organisation. The institute has also paid for a couple of surgeries to reduce his deformity.

Jaynarayan has surprised everyone by securing the top most position in matriculation examinations in his school.

Jaynarayan scored 92.40 per cent,

with 93 marks in Mathematics and 97 marks in Science & Technology and Social Science.

Jaynarayan has not let his disability hold him back when it comes to pursuing his goals. He wants to be a Mechanical Engineer. “I am fond of cars and bikes and admire the new models. I would like to drive a vehicle but unfortunately I don’t have any,” he said.

Telling about his preparations for the exams, he said, “I studied in morning from 7.00 am to 8.00am, went to school, returned at 5.00 pm. I never skipped classes. In the evening we have coaching classes at the institute, where we are taught English, Maths and Science, which helped me a lot. M N Kachare, chairman of the institute, who had seen the spark in me, has a lion’s share in my achievement, for guiding me every time. At night, I studied only for till 12.00,” he said.

“I wish he succeeds in life and becomes a Babu (officer) than becoming a labourer like us” - BHAGWANI DEVI

Despite topping the exams, his prospects of becoming a Mechanical Engineer seem bleak. Unfortunately, he may even have to give up studies as his father, who earns Rs 150-200 a day, cannot afford to pay for Jaynarayan’s education any further. He may have to look for odd jobs.

Gardener’s daughter scores 96.4% Despite moving house 15 times in 10 years, she managed to score 99 per cent in maths and Sanskrit

‘Today I can breathe free’

Single mother who cleared SSC at 36 is an inspiration to everyone around her

BY ABHA PANDIT @abha_pandit Jyoti Pandit was inspired by the words ‘Nothing is impossible’ written on one of her walls. She cleared SSC exam at the age of 36.

Working as a peon at the Government Sales Tax department in Mumbai that she got on compassionate grounds after the death of her husband at the same post, Jyoti brought up their two kids on her own.

Jyoti was married off as a teenager when she had just cleared her seventh grade. Her husband turned out to be an alcoholic and soon passed away leaving her with two sons and a bleak future.

As a single mother, she faced a gruelling journey to get to where she is. After her husband took to drinking heavily, she knew she had to take matters into her own hands for the sake of her family.

“While dropping my children off at one of their classes, I saw some graffiti on a nearby building which said “Nothing is impossible”. That was the day I realised that I had to find a way to support myself and my two children,” she said.

studied from 7 to 11 pm.

“My parents are my inspiration. They have

Jyoti appeared for SSC board exams in 2015 and secured 45 per cent.

“I got the job that my husband was doing before he passed away in 2010. Although the post gave me enough to lead a respectable life, the menial nature of work always bothered me. My boss encouraged me to appear for the SSC boards and continue with my education. After a year of sleepless nights, my hard work finally paid off when I received the results today. I was overjoyed when I found out that I had passed. Today I can breathe free,” she said with a smile, adding that her in-laws did not support her decision to study.

Now Jyoti plans to prepare for HSC (12th board) so she can get promotion at work.

Her two sons, Nihal (17) and Sahil (14), are proud of their mother.

“She is a strong woman and our inspiration,” they said.

“I have spent the last six years telling myself that ‘Nothing is Impossible’ and that is what I want to tell everyone. Whenever you stumble, don’t give up, hold your head high and carry on. Everything will turn out okay,” she said. abha.pandit@goldensparrow.com

Masters of the board and the books Pune chess player IM Abhimanyu scores 93 per cent, while national champion Akanksha garners 87 per cent in SSC exam

BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis_ashish

BY ROMIL KOTHARI @romil_kothari Monica Pawar scored 96.4 per cent marks in the SSC board exam, including 99 per cent marks in Maths and Sanskrit. What is laudable about Monica’s success in the exam, is that she did not let the problems of moving from one house to another come in the way of her studies, and maintained her focus on her academic goals to achieve outstanding marks.

Monica’s father Ram Pawar is a farmer in Solapur, but owing to the drought, he shifted

Bhagwani Devi, 44, mother of Jaynarayan, was very happy that her son has scored such high marks in the Board Exam. She said, “He is our only son but since standard I, he has been living in Pune for completing his studies. If he would have being staying with us, would never have studied till standard X, due to our financial problem. I miss him a lot but my pain is compensated for by his achievement. He has a disabled leg due to Polio since birth, as we couldn’t even afford his medical expenses. I wish he succeeds in life and becomes a Babu (officer) than becoming a labourer like us, is what I pray to God every time.”

Mallu Mahato, 46, is worried about the future of his son. “I am uneducated but am happy that my son has succeeded in scoring such good marks. I am a farm labourer and earn only a small amount, which can only keep us alive, and there is nothing else we can do for him with the money we earn. I don’t even have a piece of land that could be sold to meet the expenses for my son’s further studies,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jaynarayan, in spite of being clever in studies, faces a future which seems to be dark, due to his family’s poor financial condition. He could complete his SSC thanks to the expenses being borne by his institute Apang Kalyankari Shikshan. Students like Jaynarayan should not have to give up studies and get a job due to lack of funds, like most children from poor families.

Jaynarayan wants to become a Mechanical Engineer. “I will try my best to pay for his studies but if I can’t, then I would suggest that he pick up a small job for his livelihood,” his father said. vicky.pathare@goldensparrow.com

Pune’s Abhimanyu Puranik and Akanksha Hagawane are the future of Indian chess.

Abhimanyu has already attained an International Master title and also earned first norm of Grandmaster title. He is the 6th ranked player in the under-16 category in Asia, whereas Akanksha is a National Subjunior champion and is fifth ranked in Asia (girls U-16).

Both players have a bright career ahead in chess, and simultaneously they have shown their affinity for academics too. Abhimanyu, a student of Symbiosis Secondary School,

Abhimanyu Puranik

Akanksha Hagawane

single match after that,” said Akanksha, who faced difficulties in dealing with maths and language papers.

“Science was comparatively easy and I enjoyed studying it. But I want to pursue my career in sport, hence will go for commerce,” she said.

“We were sure that he will make the best of the remaining time. He is good in science and also likes to read a lot. So, the only issue was about maths. But, he managed it somehow and it was a pleasant surprise for us too,” he said.

He also praised the school management for their support.

“Both schools, DES and Symbiosis, helped these two a lot. They adjusted unit tests, practicals and even attendance. Abhimanyu didn’t go to school for a single day, yet they convinced the board for the exam. Without the school’s support, it wouldn’t have been possible,” said Puranik.

Abhimanyu said, “I came back from Qatar on December 31 and gave my prelims on January 4. Naturally, I scored much less and felt nervous when I saw my other friends, who were busy studying throughout the year, taking help from various tuitions, classes, and scoring good marks. I was under pressure and I feel that was the driving force that enabled

PIC THE

There are more important things than exams

E WE K

WOMAN TECHIE ENDS LIFE, HUSBAND BOOKED

Fed up with her husband suspecting her fidelity and harassing her for dowry, a 28-year-old software engineer ended her life on Saturday (June 11). Chameli Amit Gutal committed suicide by hanging herself from the fan with the help of her dupatta at her in-laws’ residence at Balaji Nagar. Her husband, Amit Gutal, 32, is also a software engineer and pursuing higher studies at the US. According to complainant and Chameli’s brother Mahesh Nawale, Gutal and Chamaeli got married on May 11, 2015 and the accused started harassing Chameli after two months of their marriage. Gutal used to suspect his wife’s character. After moving to the US for further studies, he started demanding money from her.

He was also very suspicious and forced the victim to give him the details of online social networking accounts, including password, and put her mobile on tracker. “We received a call from her mother-in-law around 9 am on June 11 that she has locked herself in her room and she is not responding to their calls. We opened the window of the room with the help of neighbours and saw my sister hanging from the fan,” Nawale said.

OF

EDITOR

Tilting Art Gallery at Ishanya offers art lovers an opportunity to view and purchase contemporary Indian art from across India by hosting unique Contemporary Art Exhibition. The gallery’s wide selection of paintings, sculptures and drawings provide a glimpse into the inspirations of leading and upcoming Indian artists. Th is

Swati Jindal Entrepreneur The Orlando shooting incident is a reflection of what is wrong with our societies across the world. A fanatic who had access to guns, friends and family, didn’t pay attention to the symptoms of his illness. And is now media trying to dissect his personality on the basis of his religious beliefs or his sexual choices. I believe it’s a ticking time bomb and it’s time for us to start taking notice before we all become the next fatality.

Shizusan is celebrating with an 18-day festival titled, Around The World With 9 Sushi. As the name suggests, on offer are nine types of sushi – four vegetarian, four non-vegetarian options and a special dessert roll – all inspired from different parts of the world. The vegetarian Monsieur Maki is an ode to France, stuffed with enoki mushroom tempura, brie and a hint of truffle oil, whereas the ‘No’ri Maki is rolled with blanched spinach instead of nori is spot-on for those keen on trying the rolls sans the seaweed. However, the standouts were the stunning smoked salmon marinated in dill roll called The Norwegian and The Alaskan made with crabmeat salad, avocado with a crunchy fish roe.

When: Till July 3 Where: Shizusan, Phoenix Marketcity, Viman Nagar

PICS BY RAHUL RAUT, VISHAL KALE AND TEJAS GAIKWAD

LETTERS TO THE

Muskaan Mehta Graphologist It’s horrifying to see such beliefs existing even in the 21st century. Genders whether male, female, gay or lesbian, it’s not a human’s own choice! It’s a matter of acceptance in the society. In India the females are targeted, in Orlando the gays! But why can’t we look into a broader aspect of acceptance? What would you do if you were in their place? It wouldn’t be your choice right? So the ability to accept without any discrimination based on race, sex, gender etc is the need of an hour.

PUNE GUARDIAN MINISTER GIRISH BAPAT IS LIKE MY FATHER

Images of Pune Guardian Minister Girish Bapat holding a woman’s hand went viral on Wednesday. Most of them were accompanied by lewd comments.

A day later, the lady in question, who happens to be sarpanch of a village and a BJP leader, filed a complaint with Loni Kalbhor police station alleging that her modesty had been outraged.

In her complaint she has named one Satish Jagtap, a member of WhatsApp group ‘Satish Lipane Mitra Pariwar’, on which the photos were shared.

The pictures were clicked when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited Wagholi on June 15 morning, where she

The 24-hour strike undertaken by nurses disrupted services in government hospitals on June 15.

Approximately 23,000 nurses from government hospitals across the state are on strike from 7:30 am on Wednesday till Thursday 7.30 am, over the issue of their pending demands.

Patients at the state-run Sassoon General Hospital, Yerawada Mental Hospital, Aundh District Hospital and Chest Hospital had to undergo hardships owing to the strike. Their demands included transfers from one hospital to another in different districts without following guidelines, for nurses’ services to continue even after the bonded service period is over, nurses being assigned clerical work which is not part of their duty, and that their uniform should be of camel colour. The Sassoon General Hospital was adversely affected by the strike, as major surgeries had to be postponed.

Doctors were seen doing duties of the nurses such as administering medicines and injections to patients. Professors and Heads of Departments (HOD) of BJ Medical College were supervising as well as assisting the doctors. Doctors were telling patients why they had been pressed into service with nurses’ work.

DJ AQEEL LIVE

TEJAS GAIKWAD

MAJOR SURGERIES HELD BACK AT SASSOON HOSPITAL

Nikita Mittal Dance therapist Humanity as a whole is a threat to humanity. We need to stabilise the social fabric of the society. I don’t think this so only about the LGBT issue. Human beings are becoming intolerant, individualistic and unstable. It’s truly the time to say heal the world.

SUSHI FESTIVAL

MONSOON FOOD FESTIVAL

Re-creating the nostalgia of the rains, JW Marriott Pune is bringing a ‘Monsoon Food Festival’ to its patrons.

Offering steaming fritters and savouries like bhajiyas, mouth-watering chats, corn pakoras and more, the festival will also include monsoon must-haves such as ginger tea, special masala chai, mulled wines and toddy. These monsoon specials will be accompanied by a wide spread of delicacies in the Spice Kitchen and Shakahari dinner buffets.

When: Till June 30

Fifty people died after a man opened fire early Sunday inside a gay nightclub in Orlando, and dozens more were left wounded. This raises a serious question about the discrimination against the LGBT community world over. We ask Puneites their opinion on the subject

It is shocking to see how badly treated the nursing students are at BJ Medical College. One of the most prestigious institutions for learning medicine in the city, one does not expect this kind of discrimination. Nurses and doctors are equally important, as one cannot do without the other when it comes to patient treatment and care. There is no reason why the facilities for students of nursing should be inferior in comparison to those provided to MBBS and MD students. The college authorities need to make a note of this and ensure change in the fastest possible way.

- Dr Sameer Gupta

The cover story of the lifestyle supplement which spoke about college dropouts, was truly inspiring. All five of them have managed to resist pressure from society, which tells them to finish what they started, in favour of taking up their real passions as their professions. Completing one’s education is considered to be the stepping stone to success, but these people have proved otherwise. It takes a lot of courage to do what they have done. Even after dropping out more than once, they have become successful, and more importantly, are happy with their - Vikram Shah current professions in life.

The importance of organic produce

The story about including organic produce in our everyday lives was eye-opening. So far, I, along with most people I know, had been buying organically grown fruits and vegetables from big supermarkets.

After reading this article, I did some more research and found that they do actually exploit farmers, and buy produce off them at meagre prices. This concept of farm-to-kitchen is much more to my liking, since along with healthy options for customers, the farmers benefit too.

It is a win-win situation and I hope this trend picks up and grows to - Sutrishna Dasgupta encompass many more farmers.

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THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 18, 2016

PUNE

SPORTS

“ Wind matters a lot for Indian shooters and technically it’s difficult for us as we don’t have that much of advantage to get quality of ammunition unlike Europeans.”

— Anjali Bhagwat , Indian Shooter

Signposts FC Pune City sign up Rahul Bheke

‘I never felt dejected or disappointed’ Asian bronze medallist WGM Soumya Swaminathan says the love for chess keeps her going through the ups and downs in her career

The Rajesh Wadhawan Group and Hrithik Roshan co-owned Indian Super League club FC Pune City signed up Rahul Bheke on loan from Kingfisher East Bengal Football Club for the 2016 edition. Rahul, a defender, will become FC Pune City’s first signing from their region. He represented Kerala Blasters in the 2015 season of ISL. The 25-year-old started his professional career with Air India in 2011 after a stint with the U-19 squad of Mahindra United. The Mumbai lad signed up with Mumbai Tigers in January 2014.

BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis_ashish City’s Women Grandmaster Soumya Swaminathan has experienced ups and downs galore in her chess career. But the former World Junior Champion has been doing well this year. After a title at the Moscow Open, she recently won a bronze medal in the Asian Continental Women’s and open chess championship that concluded in Tashkent.

However, this success came after a long wait, and the 27-year-old says that it was her love and passion for the sport which kept her motivated through the low phase.

“Every player goes through ups and downs in their career. But I have always believed myself. It’s natural to feel sad when you lose or you don’t perform as expected. But I never felt dejected or disappointed.

Whenever I felt that I was lacking, I worked really hard to overcome the obstacle, and that instinct has helped me look forward positively,” said Soumya on the sidelines of the Maharashtra Chess League.

Soumya, who was the Indian

Darshan wins double crown Pune’s Darshan Pujari won titles in the boys under-13 singles and doubles in the 1st Maharashtra sub-junior state selection badminton tournament held in Mumbai.

The 11-year-old secured a convincing 21-15, 21-11 win over Sangli’s Tejas Shinde in the singles final, and then he teamed up with Raigad’s Shailesh Singh to defeat Pune’s duo of Aravind Rao and Vivek Habbu 21-18, 21-17. Meanwhile, Tara Shah stunned top seed Hrissha Dubey of Greater Mumbai in girls’ under-13 final.

Bharat FC wins Super division title Bharat FC A claimed the Super Division title in the 12th edition of the Hutatma Shrikant Lingayat football tournament, at Dhobarwadi recently. Parag Shriniwas (36th minute) and Mehta Mundari (54th minute) helped Bharat FC edge out Bishop’s FC A 2-1 in the final. In the second division, Diego Junior rode on a solitary goal by Alfred Negal (26th minute) to script a close win over NDA Youth Club.

MOA Olympic Day run on June 23

Debutants Pune Sangli Navigators win MCL A thrilling tie-break, masterful demonstration by super GM B Adhiban in the Armageddon had debutants Pune Sangli Navigators defeating Sunilduth Narayanan of Jalgaon Battlers in the finals of the fourth edition of the Persistent 4th Maharashtra Chess League (MCL) at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana.

The two teams, Jalgaon Battlers and

Pune Sangli Navigators, were evenly matched and just like their encounter in the Qualifier 1, the rapid encounter ended in a 3-3 deadlock, forcing once again an Armageddon tie-breaker.

Mary Ann Gomes (Pune Sangli Navigators) and Abhijeet Gupta (Mumbai Movers) were awarded with the titles of best players of the tournament.

Maharashtra Olympic Association (MOA) will conduct Olympic Day run on June 23. The run will be flagged off from Shaniwar Wada and will culminate at Ganesh Kala Krida Rangmanch, near Nehru stadium. The run will be followed by felicitation of sports persons.

Father-son duo create history Jayant Kadhe to represent India after his son Arjun was part of national squad in Davis Cup TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly There are plenty of examples, where a son has followed in his sportsman father’s footsteps. However, for Kadhe family, it’s literally the opposite.

After Arjun Kadhe, who was in the Indian team for the Davis Cup in 2013, his father Jayant has achieved a rare feat to become city’s first fatherson duo to represent India. Jayant will represent the Indian 50+ and 55+ teams at the Veterans World Tennis Team Championships, that will be played at

“With the pink ball it would be an even contest. I would like to see the defensive skills of the batsmen. I think it will be a better game to watch. Pink ball is here to stay.”

— Dean Jones, Former Australian Batsman

Helsinki, Finland from June 19.

“It’s like a dream come true feeling for me. I had played several national tournaments during my playing days in the men’s category, but never got a chance to represent India. Even after shifting in the veteran section, it was tough to play an international tournament,” said Jayant, who will be playing his first international tournament.

“It was a proud moment for us, when Arjun was part of Indian team. I never had thought, I would be doing the same in future. For us, tennis is not just

Jayant Kadhe during a practice session at PYC Hindu Gymkhana. (inset) Father son enjoy a quality time together

a sport, but it’s a lifestyle,” he added.

Kadhe and Mayur Vasant of Mumbai came through selection trials which were held at Shiv Chhatrapati sports complex in Balewadi recently. Mayur Vasant will be the third generation in the Vasant family to represent India, after his father G Vasant, sister Nirupama Mankad and nephew Harsh Mankad have represented India.

About the preparations, Jayant said, “Our focus mainly remains on fitness rather than skills. At this age, you need to be super fit and able to recover quickly after a tiring match. Currently I am working with my friend and tennis coach Hemant Bendrey at PYC Gymkhana. I am sure the rigorous fitness training I had will surely help me during the tournament.”

The teams that will represent Indian Team for 50+ category will include KG Ramesh (Tamil Nadu) and R Nagraj (Karnataka) apart from Kadhe. The Indian team for the 55+ category will include Sudarshan Rao (Telangana), Yogesh Shah (Gujarat) apart from Mayur Vasant, who has been named as the skipper of the Indian squad. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

junior girls’ champion in 2005 and 2006, tasted her big success when she won the World Junior Girls’ Championship in 2009 held in Puerto Madryn, Argentina.

Then she won the Indian women’s championship in 2011, and became the Commonwealth women’s champion in 2012 at Chennai. She put another feather in her cap by winning an individual bronze medal during the World Chess Championship in 2013 held at Astan, Kazakhstan.

However, she says she would have loved if her performance would have helped team India win a medal.

“It was great to win an individual medal, but I would have been more than happy if India had won a medal,” she said.

About the bronze medal in the Asian tournament, she said, “Th is is the fi rst senior medal I have got at the Asian level. I was aiming for a gold medal though as the winner gets qualified for the World Chess Championship.”

For the record, Goa’s Bhakti Kulkarni won the title and she was just half a point ahead of Soumya and Dinara Saduakassova of Kazakhstan. Tied for the second spot, Soumya eventually ended with a bronze medal.

“During the tournament I was pretty confident. Even after losing to Bhakti in the initial round, I kept my positive approach and worked hard in the second half of this Swiss-league tournament.

I focused on my game and didn’t bother about the standing. Though that defeat against Bhakti and some bad opening choices cost me dearly, it was a good experience for me,” she said.

Soumya, who had rating of 2321 in August last year, improved considerably and attained her personal best rating of 2383 this March.

“I believe in working hard on my game. Sometimes it takes time to get the results and right now I am happy that the results are coming,” she said.

Soumya became Women International Master (WIM) in 2007 and next year became WGM. She already had enough norms to become International Master but needs to go beyond the 2400 rating.

“I am not aiming for any titles.

My focus is to keep improving the rating and titles will come eventually. My aim is to get into the top 20 in the world. Th at’s something which means you are really good and you have that inside you,” said Soumya, who is now preparing for the National B tournament and to qualify for the Chess Olympiad.

“I am working with GM Abhijeet Kunte. Also I get help from IM Eesha Karavade. We often train together. Our playing styles are different so we get a different type of perceptive and it really helps,” she said. ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com