The Golden Sparrow on Saturday 07/05/2016

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PUNE, MAY 7, 2016 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

55 years on, state to finally get dowry prohibition officers

Fighting fires without proper safety gear VISHAL KALE

The clanging of its bells as a scarlet red fire tender whizzes past, is when one is reminded of the immensely hazardous, life-saving duties that firefighters perform in the course of their routine working day. And the overwhelming handicaps regarding manpower, safety gear and equipment the Pune fire brigade is faced with, should make one appreciate the average fireman’s dayto-day heroics all the more See p08-09

Now, prohibition officers to keep a tab on dowry demand in all marriages

BY YOGESH SADHWANI @yogeshsadhwani The Maharashtra government has finally woken up and decided to appoint prohibition officers across the state to keep tabs on marriages involving dowry. The officers, with powers of police, will ensure that dowry is not involved in any marriages in their jurisdiction. The move comes 55 years after the Dowry Prohibition Act came into force in 1961. While the act specified the appointment of such officers, it was never done in Maharashtra. It is only now, after Mumbai based advocate Priscilla Samuel filed a Public Interest Litigation in Bombay High Court that the state government has finally conceded.

Other than appointing dowry prohibition officers, the state has also decided to appoint registrars to keep tabs on marriage bureaus.

Moreover, the state has promised to come down hard on newspapers and magazines that print matrimonial ads suggesting that a particular match would involve dowry.

The decisions would come as a huge relief to brides and their families who have no choice but to give in to demands from the grooms’ side. “In our society, the bride’s family does not speak up about dowry demands, because that would mean that the girl would probably not find a suitable match and the family would be outcast.

Continued on p2

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MAY 7, 2016

PUNE

MUMBAI

“Key irrigation projects in suicide- and drought-prone areas in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions, and projects under the Prime Minister Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) will be taken up on top priority.”

— Uma Bharti, Union water resources minister

US declines to pay for Pak’s F16s P 13

Investments by Indians in UK soar in 2015 P 14

Amrohis sold plot worth crores for mere Rs 6.5 lakh Tajdar, son of noted film producer and director Kamal Amrohi, sold a plot spread over 13,500 square feet in Andheri to a developer for a pittance

BY YOGESH SADHWANI AND BAPU DEEDWANIA @TGSWeekly

Not so long ago, 68-year-old Tajdar Amrohi turned up at the Department of Registration and Stamps to sign a deal pertaining to a land parcel owned

by Mahal Pictures Pvt Ltd, a company

Tajdar Amrohi

started by his father Kamal Amrohi way back in 1956. He sold a prime plot in Andheri East, which is currently valued at Rs 11 crore as per the government’s Ready Reckoner rate, for mere Rs 6.5 lakh. The plot spread over 13,500 square feet located near Bindra Complex in Andheri, was sold to one Accord Developers Pvt Ltd. The deal was registered with the Department of Registration and Stamps on January 20, 2016.

According to the registered documents available with TGS, the deal to sell the plot was struck in April 2007 and that Accord Developers had paid the full value of the plot way back in 2005. However, in 2007 the deal was not registered. It was in January this year that the two sides decided to register it.

Documents reveal that even in 2007 the Ready Reckoner value of the plot was Rs 2.68 crore, much higher than what the plot was sold for (Rs 6.5 lakh). It has now risen to Rs 11 crore.

Papers available with TGS reveal that

Tajdar signed as one of the directors of Mahal Pictures Pvt Ltd. However, since 2010-11, Mahal Pictures has been with Amit Bhosale (Pune based developer Avinash Bhosale’s son) and Salim Usman Balwa (of DB Realty).

Tajdar is no longer on the board of directors of the company. Moreover, while registering the deal in January 2016, Tajdar has attached an undated board resolution signed by his brother Shandar, authorising him (Tajdar) to sign on the documents on behalf of Mahal Pictures. Incidentally Shandar passed away in 2011.

When TGS contacted Tajdar about the January 2016 deal, he said that it was a mere confi rmation of a deal that had happened years ago. “I don’t even know the exact year when the deal was struck. My brother (Shandar) had struck this deal (with Accord Developers) and I was required to confi rm the same.

Simply put, I was to ascertain whether these were my brother’s signatures or not. At that point in time we were directors at Mahal Pictures Pvt Ltd. So there is nothing more to it than that.”

When asked about the throwaway price at which the deal was struck, he said

About Amrohis and disputes Kamal Amrohi, known for fi lms such as ‘Mahal’ (1949) and ‘Pakeezah’ (1972), died in 1993.

His three children — Shandar, eldest son Tajdar and daughter Rukhsar — were his legal heirs in Mahal Pictures Pvt Ltd, a company which controlled several assets including the sprawling Kamalistan Studio in Andheri East. The three siblings - Shandar, Tajdar and Rukhsar - had 3,600 shares each in the company to start with.

Shandar, now deceased, was at odds with Rukhsar and her son Waseem. He alleged that Waseem had fraudulently taken over his shares and eventually sold them to Sanchita Realty, a fi rm controlled by Pune’s real estate baron Avinash Bhosale.

Shandar moved the Bombay High Court against Waseem over dispute of shares in the company. He alleged that he had no clue how his shares were sold to Sanchita Realty Pvt Ltd. Waseem, with his mother on his side, maintained that the transfer of shares from Shandar was a genuine transaction. In this legal battle with Tajdar and Shandar on one side and Waseem and his mother Rukhsar on the other, actor Preity Zinta jumped in. The actor supported Shandar, who publicly announced that Zinta was like his daughter and that he wished to will everything to her. The legal dispute that is still raging in court has taken several twists and turns since 2009.

that his brother had struck it and that he had nothing to do with the money part of it. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Jet crew member injured in Brussels attack returns home Jet Airways crew member Nidhi Chaphekar, who was injured in the Brussels airport bombings in March this year and her picture became the face of the terror attack, returned to Mumbai this morning.

Forty-two-year-old Nidhi, who has not yet recovered from the injuries suffered in the terrorist attack, arrived on a Paris-Mumbai Jet airways flight and was driven to Breach Candy hospital from the airport. Airline officials said Nidhi has low immunity and doctors have advised her to avoid contact with people.

On March 22, three bombs went off - two at the Brussels airport and one at Mallbeek metro station - leaving 35 people dead, including three suicide bombers. Nidhi was on her way to board a Jet flight for Newark when the explosions took place. She suffered 15 per cent burns and fractured an ankle.

Her colleague, Amit Motwani, was also injured and is still recovering at a Brussels hospital.

Nidhi, who was treated at Grande Hospital de Chaleroi, about 40 km from Brussels, was discharged and

Nidhi Chaphekar with her daughter

taken to Paris where she boarded the flight to Mumbai.

She spent about 25 days in a medically induced coma at the Chaleroi hospital and underwent extensive skin grafting. Nidhi, who is still wheelchair-bound, was accompanied by her husband Rupesh Chaphekar, and brother-in-law Nilesh Chaphekar, besides the airline’s support staff and its chief medical officer. She has been with Jet Airways since August 1996.

PTI

55 years on, state to finally get dowry prohibition officers Continued from p1 But now the onus will be on the dowry prohibition officers to gather intelligence and act on it. Most importantly, officers do not have to wait for a complaint and can act suo moto,” said Samuel, who fi led the PIL in Bombay High Court in 2013 for strict enforcement of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.

Recently, the HC passed several orders and came down hard on the state government for not enforcing the Act in spirit. One of the major contentions of the PIL was that while the Act specified in section 8B about appointment of dowry prohibition officers, in Maharashtra this was never done. After Samuel fi led the PIL, the state told the court that they had indeed appointed prohibition officers and even issued a notification in 1998, appointing serving officers from all the police stations.

However, Samuel used the Right To Information to find that none of the police officials appointed by the state were even aware that they were to double as dowry protection officers. She sought details from the Mumbai police commissionerate about names of dowry prohibition officers at every police station. To her surprise, police stations responded stating that they were not aware of such powers conferred upon them, and that they did not have any such officers in their jurisdiction. “I produced the copies of RTI responses in court to nail the state’s lie. Moreover, the court was not too happy with police officers, who have other law and order problems to handle, to double as dowry prohibition officers. The state now has agreed to appoint special officers for the task,” said Samuel.

HC Division bench of Justice

AS Oka and Justice PD Naik, in a recent order, stated, “Before any officer or person is appointed as a Dowry Prohibition Officer, surely some application of mind is required on the question whether he is capable of discharging duties as a Dowry Prohibition Officer considering his educational qualifications, his experience, his status in the society, etc. If without any application of mind Dowry Prohibition Officers are appointed with reference to their designation in police service, they may not be able to effectively discharge their duties and functions.” The division bench also asked the state to appoint Advisory Boards to advise and assist the Dowry Prohibition Officers, as in mentioned in the Act. The court also ordered that the state must act immediately to curb matrimonial ads in publications, suggesting that dowry is involved in a particular match. “The state government may consider inviting attention of all the leading registered newspapers to the provisions of Section 4¬A of the said Act of 1961 which makes printing, publication and circulation of objectionable advertisements as an offence. If this step is taken, hopefully a large number of newspapers will desist from publishing advertisements which are prohibited,” the bench stated.

The court also ordered that the state must keep a check on marriage bureaus which fi x matches depending on financial capability of brides’ families and dowry they can pay. The bureaus are governed under the Maharashtra Regulation of Marriage Bureaus and Registration of Marriages Act, 1998.

Under the Act, the state has to appoint registrars who have to keep tabs on marriage bureaus. The state told the

court that they have appointed ward officers of the municipal corporations, chief officers of the municipal councils/ nagar panchayats and chief executive officers of the cantonments as the registrars of the marriage bureaus and marriages for the area within their respective jurisdiction. “The ward officers of the municipal corporations are now performing the duties as designated officers under the provisions of the municipal laws and they are responsible for discharging several duties including the issue of dealing with prevention and demolition of illegal structures. Same is the position with chief officers of municipal councils and the chief executive officers of the cantonment as they discharge very important functions.

Therefore, the state will have to seriously reconsider whether the said officers can be entrusted

with the additional duties of the Registrars,” the division bench ordered.

HC bench also added, “The state government cannot be silent spectator when it is pointed out that number of illegalities are being committed by registered marriage bureaus.”

Moreover, Advocate Samuel in her PIL, also pointed out that online matrimonial websites too were responsible for promoting dowry in our society. However, the Marriage Bureau Act, which came into effect in 1998, does not bring them under any regulator. Samuel sought that they should be also brought to book. The HC division bench asked the state to consider bringing them under the Marriage Bureau Act. yogesh.sadhwani@goldensparrow.com

‘I wanted to put an end to the plight of would be brides’ What made you fi le the PIL? From the time a girl is conceived in her mother’s womb, her struggle begins. While she is in the womb, chances are that she would be aborted. If she survives that, once she is born, she is treated differently from her brothers. Once she grows up, her match does not depend on how qualified she is and what kind of a person she is. It depends on how much her family can afford to spend on her marriage. Moreover, it is very common to hear about a particular girl not finding a suitable match because her family can’t afford to pay as much dowry. I wanted this to end and hence fi led the PIL. Did it involve a lot of ground work?

The PIL has been a team effort. Advocates Raymond Samuel, Sonali Samuel and I worked on it extensively before fi ling it. To begin with, we researched a lot on the Dowry Prohibition Act and found that it is not being implemented at all. Only when a woman comes forward that cognizance is taken, whereas the act states that a dowry prohibition officer must keep a tab on all the weddings in his jurisdiction. We found through RTI that the prohibition officers were only on paper. We also got profi les of grooms through marriage bureaus who blatantly asked for dowry. We thoroughly researched and found out how the Marriage Bureau Act was also not being enforced.

Do you think situation would change now?

Yes, certainly. The judiciary has passed some remarkable orders. Earlier, a case of dowry got reported only when the bride’s family came forward, which in itself is very rare. Moreover, most of these cases were reported after marriages failed. But now the dowry prohibition officer will have to check on all the weddings in his jurisdiction and find out if there is a demand for dowry. Now that designated officers will be appointed, anyone can get in touch with them and inform them about marriages, where dowry is being sought. The officer will be able to prosecute the offenders on his own and would not necessarily need a complainant.

Another problem is mushrooming of marriage bureaus, which fi x marriages and blatantly negotiate the dowry amount. There are those who get a percentage of the dowry as commission. These bureaus were not regulated earlier. But now the HC has ordered that state must keep a tab on them. All in all it seems like a win-win situation. The PIL is still being heard and I am expecting positive change in coming weeks.

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MAY 7, 2016

‘Red lines do not work in politics’ P12

PUNE

“The city residents are facing water cuts for the past eight months and have saved 2.5TMC water.We will not allow release of this saved water. The elected representatives should have been consulted before taking the decision.”

— Prashant Jagtap, Mayor

Sai Construction, Panchshil Premises Private Limited, Sinhagad Technical Institute, Marathwada Mitra Mandal, Zavaray Solee Poonawalla owe PMC crores

WARD DESC

PROPERTY ID

NAME

DUES AMOUNT

Dhole Patil Road

O/1/12/00054002

SAI CONST. C/O BALAN S

20,69,83,344

Ghole Road

O/4/12/00003001

HUGHES ISPAT LTD {TAX PAYER}

18,05,58,382

Aundh

P/4/09/03628000

WALCHANDNAGAR INDUSTRIES LTD

15,09,20,612

Sangam Wadi

P/G/04/00605000

VIDESH SANCHAR NIGAM LTD.T.P- TATA COMMUNICATIONS LTD

12,01,04,711

Nagar Road(Vadgaonsheri)

P/1/09/03355000

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE(ARMY)

10,79,39,486

Aundh

O/A/04/01124003

B.W HIGHWAY STAR PVT.LTD C/O VARDKANT SHRINIVAS KAMAT (TP)

10,61,70,851

Ghole Road

O/4/13/00556013

YASHODA CO-OP HSG. SOC.

9,56,04,632

Nagar Road(Vadgaonsheri)

7,61,20,542

O/1/12/01517006

KAMA N N & RUNWAL S S [PAH]

5,62,16,437

Kothrud

P/4/01/01686000

(TP) SINHAGAD TECHNICAL INSTITUTE belongs eminent educationist M N Navale

5,40,53,032

Warje

P/4/08/03128000

MARATHWADA MITRA MANDAL founded by former chief minister of Maharashtra late Vilasrao Deshmukh

5,07,69,924

Ghole Road

P/4/15/00461000

TRANSPORT MANAGER, SWARGATE, PMT, PUNE.

4,41,38,957

Nagar Road(Vadgaonsheri)

P/G/02/03787000

ZAVARAY SOLEE POONAWALLA & C/O V.K.M. DEEPAK POPATWALLA SHAHA belongs to serum institute Cyrus Poonawala

4,10,11,908

Tilak Road

O/2/08/00961001

EXECUTIVE ENGINEER M.S.E.B PUNE [PARVATI DIV]

3,78,09,561 3,61,06,188

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar It will be a big discouragement for common Puneites, who pay property tax regularly to the Pune Municipal Corporation, to know that top property tax defaulters are educational institutes belonging to politicians and corporate offices. TGS has found the names of top 20 property tax defaulters in Pune city. Sai Construction owes a due of Rs 20 crore 69 lakh, Panchshil Premises Private Limited of well-known real estate giant Atul Chordia has not paid property tax of Rs 7 crore 61 lakh, educationist MN Navale’s Sinhagad Technical Institute owes Rs 5 crore 40 lakh, Marathwada Mitra Mandal educational institute founded by former chief minister of Maharashtra late Vilasrao Deshmukh too has not paid Rs 5 crore 7 lakh property tax, and Zavaray Solee Poonawalla company of Cyrus Poonawala’s Serum Institute with a net worth of 6.6 billion

P/G/07/05573000 PANCHSHIL PREMISES PRIVATE LIMITED BELONGS TO WELL KNOWN REAL ESTATE GIANT ATUL CHORDIA

Dhole Patil Road

Dhole Patil Road

O/1/12/01537004

R K IRANI & OTHERS

Aundh

O/A/04/01124002

B.W HAWAY STAR PVT.LTD C/O VARDKANT SHRINIVAS KAMT (TP)

3,18,85,961

Ghole Road

O/4/13/01324002

SHIROLE ANAND TRIMBAKRAO & M/S . I C C REALITY PVT LTD ( PAH )

3,18,58,446

Tilak Road

O/2/08/00961003

EXECUTIVE ENGINEER M S E B

3,10,40,424

Dhole Patil Road

O/1/12/01337009

CAPA INDIA LTD

3,07,83,636

Bhavani Peth

P/2/14/00990000

OSWAL BANDHU SAMAJ

3,00,32,713 TOTAL

US dollar has not paid property tax of Rs 4 crore 10 lakh.

On January 1, 2016, there were a total of 2.84 lakh property tax defaulters in PMC with dues running to Rs 1,919 crore, including a penalty of Rs 806 crore. Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) standing committee had approved the amnesty scheme for property tax defaulters on January 10. The civic administration implemented the scheme with 75 per cent discount in penalty for defaulters if they make a one-time settlement in the first month from January 11 to February 29, and 50 per cent discount in penalty for defaulters if they make a one-time settlement by March 31.

However, the committee decided

to allow the amnesty scheme for properties only with an annual rateable value (ARV) of less than Rs 25,000.

The scheme has fetched the civic body around Rs 240 crore from 1.4 lakh defaulters. But the above mentioned property owners did not pay as they do not fall under the amnesty scheme ARV criterion.

The PMC property tax department has made a list of defaulters in descending order of their property tax due. Sai Construction of Dhole Road tops the list with 20 crore 69 lakh followed by Hughes Ispat Ltd (Rs 18 crore 5 lakh), Walchandnagar Industries Ltd of Aundh (Rs 15 crore 9 lakh), Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (Rs 12 crore 1 lakh) and Ministry

Standard X student drowns during picnic

BY PRIYANKKA DESHPANDE @journopriyankka

Sarika Navale, 35, of Sangvi is unable to get over the loss of her son Omkar. A student of Chhatrapati Shivaji Vidyaniketan military school, Kolhapur, he had returned home from after appearing for a class X exam, on March 16. But he was summoned back to school for karate classes, on April 23.

After six days of karate Omkar Navale training, three teachers and 14 students of the school went to Kode dam at Gaganbawda for a picnic, and Omkar who did not know how to swim, drowned.

The family is holding the school administration responsible for Omkar’s death, as they had informed the school authorities that Omkar did not know how to swim.

Jayesh Gade of Pashan, Omkar’s maternal uncle, said, “We have told the

PICS BY VISHAL KALE AND TEJAS GAIKWAD

Institutes belonging to politicians, corporate honchos top tax defaulters

152,01,09,747

of Defence (Rs 10 crore 79 lakh).

The owners of these properties have not replied to any of the several notices issued by PMC property tax department.

PMC property tax department head Suhas Mapari said, “We have made a list of property tax defaulters, besides serving them many notices with no response. Now our department has started sealing the properties of defaulters. We recently sealed 14 properties in three days after their owners defaulted on tax payment to give a strong message to defaulters.

The department has formed 23 squads to recover the dues and have started playing brass bands outside the properties of tax defaulters.

There are around 8.5 lakh properties registered with PMC property tax collection department. Property tax is a levy by the government on real estate.

A property is assessed to give it a value and that value is taxed. The amount of tax owed is determined by multiplying the fair market value of the property by

the current tax rate. Property owner has to pay their property tax before March 31 of every year.

Failure to submit property tax on time attracts two per cent penalty on the amount every month by the civic body. tushar.rupanavar@goldensparrow.com

Samyak victims split into two groups Samyak victims split over course of action; some want scamster’s arrest, while others want to take over the foundation and revive the scheme TEJAS GAIKWAD

school authorities that Omkar did not know how to swim, and that he should not be allowed to get into water. But the school authorities ignored our warning.

The authorities informed us about Omkar’s death seven hours after the accident, and carried out his post mortem without letting us know.”

The incident happened at around 11 am on April 30, and the Gades reached the school in the evening. Now the Gades are running from pillar to post for legal help and justice. Omkar’s father Vikas is a driver, while his mother Sarika works as housemaid.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Vidyaniketan military school authorities have denied all the charges made by the Gades, and said that the camp was conducted by a private organisation which the school had nothing to do with this. “I had just given permission for the camp to be held on our school premises. I was not even aware that these students were taken to the dam for a picnic. I would have taken responsibility if the incident had taken place on the school campus,” said Rajendra Mane, founder and principal of the school. priyankka.deshpande@goldensparrow.com

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 The victims of Bhim Foundation’s Samyak Nivas Hakk Sangh scam are no longer united but have split.

Some of them are in Mumbai and want to change the body members of the Foundation (committee) and revive the scheme, and have urged the charity commissioner to change the body of Bhim Foundation.

Thereafter they plan to take charge of the property owned by Madhukar Suryavanshi, promoter and founder of Bhim Foundation. The next dates of hearing are May 13 and 14.

Meanwhile, another group in Pune is demanding the arrest of Madhukar Suryavanshi, as well as justice from law-enforcing agencies like the police and court. On May 4, the victims from Pune staged a rally from Swargate to Shaniwarwada over their demands.

“We want justice as per the law as we have been deceived by Suryavan-

shi. Our union has more than 300 members, which number is increasing by the day. We have filed cases against Madhukar Suryavanshi and want him to be arrested soon. Some victims from Mumbai are trying to take over the Bhim Foundation and its property by changing the 12 body members, which is not the

constitutional way. We are meeting the Pune police commissioner and will stage a protest at the house of the guardian minister,” said Ravishankar Dhavare.

There are more than 2000 victims of the Samyak scam in Pune. Of them, 1600 are united in Mumbai under the leadership of

Devanand Pawar, who is current committee member of Bhim Foundation. The rest are united under the leadership of Ravishankar Dhavare of Pune, who wants Suryavanshi to be arrested.

Sources from Pune said that a union from Mumbai victims has given a change of foundation application to the charity commissioner six months ago. But Madhukar Suryavanshi does not want it to happen and he sent the notice to them, asking why they are changing the body. “Suryavanshi issued a legal notice through the lawyer to the victims in Mumbai, asking why they are changing the body. The next hearings are on May 13 and 14 and the court would decide,” said a victim on condition of anonymity.

It is said that Madhukar Suryavanshi has purchased 100 acres of land in Ratnagiri, which the victims are looking for. dnyanehswar.bhonde@ goldensparrow.com

Excess baggage? Don’t trust the machines at Pune Airport LMO inspection brings to light discrepancies in readings of baggage weighing machines at Pune International Airport

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan Airlines personnel at Pune International Airport are not weighing passengers’ luggage correctly. Legal Metrology Organisation (LMO) of the Government of Maharashtra conducted a survey at Pune International Airport recently, and issued notices to Air India, Jet Airways and Indigo Airlines for improper maintenance of their weighing machines. LMO had received complaints from passengers regarding incorrect weighing of their luggage. LMO also found that

TEJAS GAIKWAD

certain items were not packaged as per its norms at the airport’s food and beverage outlets.

LMO controller Amitabh Gupta said, “During our inspection we found some issues with airlines’ weighing machine, as well as food packaging.

Four weighing machines used by Jet Airways and Indigo were not showing the exact weight.”

There are ten weighing machines at the airport which are shared by the airlines. A senior official said, “We found that the weighing machine was fluctuating, so we told them to stop using it. They were also not keeping 1/10th of weight for checking weighing scale as per the rules.”

Aviation expert and analyst Dhairyashil Vandekar said, “The LMO vigil and the checks carried out by them at airports has brought to light faulty weighing machines. Such checks will not only safeguard the interests of the air passengers, but will

Weighing of luggage at Pune Airport is not be relied on, given the faulty machines

also contribute to ensuring their safety.

Faulty weighing scales for recording weight of passengers’ baggage or cargo

at the airport are not just a matter of passengers/customers having to pay extra for excess baggage or cargo due to

wrong readings, but is primarily a very serious flight safety issue. The airport and airline authorities must ensure due vigilance and daily checks to ensure the correctness of weighing scales at all times, as they showing incorrect weights may lead to disastrous results.”

Airport Authority of India stipulates that for check-in baggage, passengers can carry no more than 15 kg for economy class, and seven kg for hand baggage with laptop. Passengers carrying more than these weights have to pay extra. Air India and Indigo charge Rs 250 per kg, while Jet Airways charges Rs 350 per kg.

“If the faulty baggage weighing machine shows more weight reading, then it may result in passengers requiring paying excess baggage charges if the weight is more than the free baggage limit. Similarly, if the faulty weighing scales showed less weight, it may result in loss of excess baggage revenue for the airlines as

the scale will show less weight. It is important that the passengers should have a fair idea of the baggage weight they are carrying and in case of any variations at the time of check-in at the airport they must bring it to the notice of the airlines immediately,” said Vandekar.

LMO found two food and beverage stalls violating packaging norms. They found that Rawal Lonavala chikki and Poona Bakery items with two stickers on one pack, while the rules demand one sticker or printed information per pack.

Pune International Airport officials said that the weighing machines belong to the airport authority and have been given to the airlines to use.

If the machines are faulty, they should lodge a complaint.

Air India, Jet Airways and Indigo Airlines personnel declined to comment on the issue. sushant.ranjan@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MAY 7, 2016

PUNE

“One of the main causes of congestion is bad timing of traffic signals. However, adaptive signals will change from red to yellow and green according to the traffic load. Since the system uses sensors, minimum human involvement is required.”

— Kunal Kumar, Civic Chief

An unmanned ship that can travel 10,000 miles

India in 5th place in fake goods trade

P10

P12

Pune now has a plan B for water No food for patients despite a govt scheme crisis TEJAS GAIKWAD

Patients and their kin have to buy canteen food as YCMH does not provide meals

If the city runs out of water, PMC is all set to take over wells and borewells

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar Guardian Minister Girish Bapat endorsed the release of one thousand million cubic feet (TMC) water to drought hit Daund and Indapur talukas from Khadakwasla dam, despite strong opposition from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).

After the release of water to Daund and Indapur, the 2.75 TMC of water in Khadakwasla dam will last till July 15 for Pune city’s water supply. But PMC is chalking out plan B in case the monsoon does not arrive on time.

The PMC water department survey showed 550 wells and 4500 borewells in the city, and the water is found to be potable. So if needed, PMC will take over these wells and borewells after July 15 to deal with the water crisis.

According to the irrigation department, there is 5.20 TMC of water in Khadakwasla, Panshet and Temghar dams catchment areas.

Of that, 0.75 TMC of water gets evaporated, 0.20 TMC of water is reserved for fringe villages, while one TMC of water will go to Daund and Indapur. So only 2.75 TMC of water will remain for Pune city use. PMC has resorted to alternate day water supply in the city since September 1.

In view of the PMC election at the end of this yea, no political party will impose more water cuts on Pune.

PMC water supply department head V G Kulkarni said, “We do not want to impose additional water cuts on Pune, besides the alternate day water supply. The 2.75 TMC of water will last till 15 July. In June, water has to be released for warkaris of the Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram palkhis.

We may have to use dead water stock of reservoirs, so a survey was conducted of the wells and borewells in PMC limits, which showed 550 wells and

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital, Pimpri-Chinchwad’s biggest public hospital, is not providing food to patients and as a result, patients and their kin are forced to buy high-priced canteen food.

The 750-bed hospital at Vallabhnagar, Pimpri, caters to the 21 lakh population of Pimpri-Chinchwad, and the adjoining areas and the migrant population of Marathwada too. The multi-specialty and tertiary care hospital has not been providing meals to patients for ten years, not even to the maternity ward, where mothers of neonatal children need a special diet during and after delivery. These patients are weak and prone to multiple diseases owing to low immunity.

YCMH medical director Dr Pawan Salwe said that maternity ward patients will be provided food after some months under Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK), a national health programme. He said that tenders have been floated for the same.

Reshma Pathan, 25, gave birth to a girl child two days ago. Her mother Malan Shaikh brings food from home.

“We go without food sometimes as our home in Krishnanagar, Chikhali is far, and outside food costs Rs 200 per day which we cannot afford,” she said. Malan hails from Hingoli district, where meals are provided by even primary health centres, so why not in this big hospital. Mothers of the neonatal babies are provided a healthy diet, like egg, milk and meals full of proteins.

Abhiman Shinde, 30, of Beed has brought his pregnant wife Sharada, 24, to the hospital last week. “We are living at my brother’s house at Rupinagar in Talawade, but it is difficult to bring food twice a day from there. People from Aurangabad, Solapur and Usmanabad

A well in the Sahakarnagar, Padmavati area

l Total wells in city – 550 l Total borewells in city - 4500

Water availabile in Khadakwasla, Temghar and Panshet dams Total water storage available Evaporation Sent to Daund/Indapur For adjacent villages Dead stock Water left for Pune city

5.20 TMC 0.75 TMC 1 TMC 0.20 TMC 1 TMC 2.75 TMC

(Source: - Irrigation Department of Pune)

4500 borewells in Pune city. In a bygone era, wadas used to have their own wells. The well water is found to be potable. If need be, PMC will take over these wells and borewells in July to supply water to the city. Pune has good ground water level with water available at a depth of 15-20 feet. Well water can be used in the kitchen and for sanitary purposes, which will save a lot of drinking water.”

Additional commissioner Prerna Deshbhratrar said, “Water from wells

and borewells in PMC limits could be used in case of a crisis. The water in dams will last till July 15. Pune city has a population of more than 35 lakh, and a severe water shortage will cause chaos. The government has granted rights to the district collector to take over natural resources of water during a crisis. The administration has the option of using well and borewell water, which will help in case of a delayed monsoon.” tushar.rupanavar@ goldensparrow.com

Group to help Social activist found dead intercaste marriages Cops say victim was anti-corruption crusader

Sairat group provides counseling and help to couple who face opposition to their marriage owing to caste or religion issues

BY SHAILESH JOSHI @TGSWeekly Sairat marriage group, a unit of social activists from across Maharashtra, extend a helping hand to couples entering intercaste and inter-religion marriages. Sairat is also communicating its message on WhatsApp and Facebook. It has received six calls on its helplines from couples seeking their help. The group provides counselling, as well as help in finding a place to stay, and even jobs to couples in need. They have contacts with human resource (HR) personnel in the corporate sector, who help in such matters.

Ashwini Gavade, 18, and Shubham Chavan, 21, of Shindevasti in Hadapsar committed suicide on the railway tracks on April 29, owing to the opposition to their marriage.

Activist and journalism student Harshal Lohkare said, “When it comes

BY YOGESH WAGH @YogeshWagh1857

to marriage, caste, religion, culture, or economical and social status should not create any barrier. We provide counselling to such couples and their families as well.

We are also urging youth, activists, politicians, women’s groups and citizens to help us in our endeavour.”

Sapna Kandle, 31, who is a member of the Sairat group, belongs to the Jain community, and underwent immense mental and even physical stress, owing to her liaison with a boy from the Maratha community, when they were students of the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Aurangabad University (BAMU). “My family tried their utmost to dissuade us, and even resorted to physical violence. But we got married in 2009 despite their opposition. My parents still do not speak to me, and my in-laws refuse to accept me. Having been through this struggle, I am able to help couples in similar situations,” she said. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

A social activist was found murdered in the Bavdhan-Chandni Chowk area on May 5. According to the Hinjawadi Police, the crime happened around 8 pm and the victim’s body bore head injuries and stab wounds in the stomach. The reason for the murder is unclear.

The victim was identified as Yogesh Suresh Naik, 35, of Sneha Apartment, Warje. According to the police, Naik was fatally attacked at an abandoned petrol

Yogesh Suresh Naik

pump near Bavdhan-Chandni Chowk area. The Hinjawadi Police reached the spot after receiving information and took Naik to Sahyadri Hospital in Kothrud but the doctors declared him brought dead.

According to the police, Naik was the president of Bhrashtachar Nirmulan Jan Shakti Sangh that runs campaigns against corruption. He used to hold campaigns against black marketing and

come here for treatment and they have to buy canteen food,” said Abhiman.

Patients at the Sassoon General Hospital are provided meals free of cost by the Dagdusheth Halwai trust. And even public and private hospitals in Pune and Pimpri- Chinchwad provides free meals to patients, so why doesn’t the YCMH? Amish Harishchandra Banwate, 33, of Gandhinagar, suffers from blood pressure and diabetes. A sweeper of Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), he was admitted 11 days ago is in the general ward for treatment. His mother Nathubai brings food for him from but spends Rs 80 on autotorickshaw fares to and from YCMH. The YCMH administration seems to not care about its patients and their diet. YCMH deputy superintendent Dr Kishor Gujar does not know why patients do not get meals, and if such a service will be started. Superintendent Dr Manoj Deshmukh said that only patients availing treatment under the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme get free food from the hospital. “We have not approached any social institution for providing free meals yet,” said Dr Deshmukh. PCMC chief health officer Dr Anil Roy said that meals are provided to Below Poverty Line (BPL) patients only. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com corrupt practices, besides alerting the police about illegal activities taking place in the neighbourhood. Police believe that the victim made enemies because of his social work. However, many local residents allege that Naik used to blackmail people and extort money under the guise of fighting corruption and many disapproved of his illegal practice. A Tempo owner-driver, Naik used to work as an activist in his spare time. He had even helped people in his locality whose had lost their huts in fire.

He is survived by his wife and mother, the police said.

“We have registered a case under Sections 302 (attempt to murder) and 34 (act by several persons for common intention) of Indian Penal Code against unidentified people and are trying to find the motive,” said a Hinjawadi Police Station inspector. yogesh.wagh@goldensparrow.com

Cantt member’s sons flex their muscles

RTI activist allegedly threatened by Dehu Road Cantonment member Tantarpale’s sons over defaulting on payment issue

BY PRIYANKKA DESHPANDE @journopriyankka

TEJAS GAIKWAD

Dehu Road resident and RTI activist Sreejit Rameshan was allegedly threatened twice

by Dehu Road Cantonment member and C o n g r e s s corporator G o p a l r a o Ta n t a r p a l e ’s sons Swapnil Sreejit Rameshan and Siddharth alias Pankaj on the night of May 4 and on May 5.

Rameshan had filed an RTI which exposed that Swapnil Tantarpale had

defaulted on payment of Rs 4.50 lakh to Dehu Road Cantonment.

On May 4, TGS had reported on corporator Tantarpale’s son Swapnil defaulting on payment of Rs 4.50 lakh to the DCB for running a gymnasium at the cantonment shopping complex.

Rameshan said, “On the night of May 4, I along with my brother had gone for a walk in the vicinity of Barlota Nagar. We were sitting on a bench, when a white Bolero car came towards us. Swapnil was driving the car, while his brother Siddharth came out of the car and started abusing us for reporting the incident in the media.”

Rameshan said that Siddharth not only verbally abused him and his brother, but also threatened him with dire consequences. “Siddharth was so

aggressive that we chose to flee from the spot out of fear. Later we approached Dehu Road police station, where Senior Police Inspector A m a r n a t h Siddharth Waghmode filed Tantarpale an NCR (Non Cognizable Report) against both of them,” Rameshan said.

He claimed that even after he reported the incident in the police station, the police did not provide him protection. “On the night of May 4, police patrolled near my residence for some time. On the afternoon of May 5,

me, my brother and a friend approached Dehu Road police station to inquire about this case. While coming out of the station, Siddharth and two others once again made threatening gestures at us. Why are the police not providing protection to me?” Rameshan said.

Meanwhile, Gopalrao Tantarpale denied all the charges made against his sons, and claimed that Rameshan was a blackmailer. “My sons did not threaten him. I am going to complain to the police against Rameshan who has been harassing us,” said Tantarpale.

Dehu Road police station senior police inspector Amarnath Waghmode said, “Suitable action would be taken against the culprits.” priyankka.deshpande@ goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MAY 7, 2016

Situation very complex in Bangladesh: US

Higher coal use may lead to less rainfall

“Newly-merged villages in the north such as Moshi, Chikhali and Rupinagar do not have proper roads, drainage system or drinking water. Infrastructure and amenities will be developed on a priority basis.”

— Dinesh Waghmare, PCMC chief

PUNE

P13

P11

PMPML staff forced to put their lives at risk RAHUL RAUT

Women staffers deposit large sums of cash at the depots but they are not provided any escorts or security

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan

PMPML Joint Managing Director D P More said that they have also received complaints about the lack of security for cash deposits. “We have received complaints from staff. We are looking for a better option. We also plan to appoint depot staff to ensure security, and will call for private security guards,” he said.

Smita Gaikwad (name changed), 26, works at Pune Mahangar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd’s (PMPML) Hadapsar pass centre. She personally carries collections of over two lakh rupees by bus on a daily basis to Hadapsar bus depot, and she is not provided any security. She is not the only one.

Some 102 employees at the 49 PMPML pass centres take such large sums of cash to depots daily. Average collection at pass centres is about six lakh rupees in the off season, going up to Rs 30 lakh when school and colleges are open.

With earnings of around Rs 30 lakh daily, the pass centres in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad contribute to 40 per cent of the unit’s income.

Each collects over a lakh rupees daily.

PMPML rules stipulate security personnel to escort the staff from the kiosks to the nearest depots where the cash is submitted at the end of the day.

But this is ignored, the staff carrying the cash to the depot at their own risk, the second shift ending as late as 8:30 pm..

Rashmi Gade (name changed) has been working at the centre for five years. She collects a lakh of rupees each day and takes it on her own scooter to Kothrud bus depot.

“Schools and colleges are closed now

NOT A PENNY MORE, NOT A PENNY LESS Sheela Rajmani’s (name changed), 26, day begins at 7.30 am, after commuting from Katraj to Kothrud bus stand.

Her cash collection clerk work involves mountainloads of patience and there is no margin for error.

She works till 2 pm. She deals with mostly school and college students at her counter, and since it involves cash, she has to make sure that there is not one penny more or less. And after the six and a half hour shift, she has to tally the accounts and take the cash to the Kothrud depot.

She has no escort or guard. “I take along two to three lakh rupees everyday, over the two kilometre distance to Kothrud depot. I could be the target of any miscreants or criminal, and were the cash to be stolen, they would deduct it from my salary.” she said.

Swapnali Manjule, 30, cash collection clerk at Swargate pass centre, has to cope with serpentine queues daily.

She works the second shift that lasts from 2 pm to 8 pm. She has to deal with pass renewals. Evenings are peak hours at the bus station, and she has to be wary of suspicious elements. At the end of the shift she counts the cash manually, making sure that the tally is right. She too has no escort or security to speak of. sushant.ranjan@goldensparrow.com

The PMPML cash collection clerks carry large sums of cash in their handbags to the depots

for summer vacations so the collection has dropped. But between July to September, when schools and colleges are open, the collection is over Rs 15 lakh a day,” she said.

“It is scary to carry such huge sums in my bag every day by myself. I am

always on my guard, and very nervous.

If someone snatches my bag, the sum would be deducted from my salary. We need help from the administration.

The daily cash must be collected from all pass centres,” she said.

“We have received many

complaints from workers at these pass centres who have demanded armed security personnel and a vehicle to collect cash from the centres,” said Ashok Jagtap, vice-president of the PMT Kamgar Sangh (INTUC).

A staff said on condition of

anonymity, “We deal with cash passes at our own risk. After the last shift, I lock the door and then count the cash.

I am always looking over my shoulder, as there are goons and drunk people at this bus station. It is a risk to carry so much cash without security.”

ROUTE

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Check out his fleet of miniature planes

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The long-delayed Ahmednagar Road Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) was inaugurated by former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on April 28.

Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) taken 2.5 acres of land from the state government for a BRTS terminal at Wagholi. Mayor Prashant Jagtap was in a rush to launch the new BRTS, and he decided to not even conduct a safety audit of the route, before Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) buses started running on the route. And five days after the new BRTS was inaugurated, five accidents occurred on the route, leaving a number of passengers and passersby injured.

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BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar

This is at cross purposes of the BRTS aim to provide faster, smoother and safer commuting to citizens. The Ahmednagar Road BRTS was delayed as the Wagholi gram panchayat refused to give land to the PMC for the terminal. PMC then asked the state government intermediate for land at Wagholi village for a BRTS terminal. The state government sanctioned 2.5 acres of land for Rs 3.88 crore. A BRTS terminal was built within fortnight after allotment.

The BRTS was started without

7, 2016

A

It was flagged off without safety audit

MAY PUNE,

FE

A pedestrian walks across the new BRTS route on Ahmednagar Road

trial runs for passengers. Only 22 per cent of the barricading has been completed. Traffic warden have to be deployed to keep private vehicles off the BRTS route initially.

PMPML data shows that PMPML buses operating on Ahmednagar Road on non-BRTS stretches of 26,244 km, and only on 7000 km on the BRTS route. Private vehicles encroaching on the BRTS route are a hazard for PMPML buses with the possibility of accidents. Commuters not aware of the new BRTS route wait at old bus stops, and then rush to the BRTS stops, which is a main cause of accidents.

About the five accidents in five days, PMPML Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mayura Shindekar said, “Five passengers have been injured on the Ahmednagar Road BRTS since its inauguration, but all of these were normal accidents.

Private vehicles are encroaching on the BRTS route, which disrupts PMPML operations.

We plan to appoint a traffic warden to keep private vehicles off the BRTS route. Confused commuters also stray on to the BRTS route, which is the main reason for the five accidents five days. We definitely ensure that the problems are resolved and that the Ahmednagar Road BRTS is comfortable and safe for commuters.”

About the safety audit issue, Shindekar said, “We had instructions from PMC top brass to start the new BRTS route urgently, as Wagholi residents were protesting against the terminal set up in their village. We had to build Wagholi bus terminal under police security. It was necessary to start the BRTS route, which we did.”

Ahmedagar Road BRTS routes and PMPML bus ferries on this road. tushar.rupanavar@goldensparrow.com

RAHUL

FEA

VISHAL KALE

New Nagar Road BRTS sees five accidents in five days

They believe in touching people’s lives

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MAY 7, 2016

PUNE

“The PMPML had said that there would be uninterrupted power supply on the corridor.

However, this aspect has not been settled so far. As a result, bus doors may not get closed automatically resulting in accidents.”

— Jugal Rathi of PMP Pravasi Manch

‘Europe can learn from India in tackling migrant crisis’ P 13

All set to make India proud at 2020 Olympics

PICS BY RAHUL RAUT

Army gymnast feels they are on track to put up a good show at the 2020 Olympics

BY ASHISH PHADNIS & SUSHANT RANJAN @tgsweekly The Indian army has always been known for its sporting traditions.

Army personnel have participated in and represented the country at all sporting events. Now army sportsmen have even stepped into the gymnastics arena, and their preparations for the 2020 Olympics are in full swing.

The Army Institute of Physical Training (AIPT), Wanowrie is the premier institute of physical training of the Indian Army, and it has incorporated modern fitness methods seamlessly over time. The army gymnastics module established at the AIPT in 2004, is bearing rich fruit now.

Under the guidance of coach Manoj Rana, gymnasts such as Chandan Pathak, Dhan Bahadur and Sanjay are making their mark at the national and international levels. They have not qualified for the Olympics yet, but they are aiming for berths in the 2020 games.

“The Indian gymnasts are doing a great job if you consider the results of the recent World Championships and Asian Championships. They are yet to impress as a team, but on an individual basis, we have some potential finalists.

They keep improving and given proper exposure, we are sure that at least four gymnasts from India will qualify for the Olympics,” said Rana, who is now busy with the Indian team’s conditioning camp ahead of the Rio Olympics.

Dhan Bahadur, 25, of the Bombay Engineering Group and Centre (BEG). joined Army node in 2010 and under Manoj Rana’s guidance, he excelled in gymnastics and represented the country in international events like the Asian Games, World Championship and Asian Championships.

“I knew nothing when I joined, but I worked hard.

We were spared from regular duties so we could focus on our training. The army node has a support system, and from diet to rehabilitation, everything is well planned and executed,” said Dhan Bahadur, who narrowly missed a bronze medal in the Asian Games at Hiroshima in 2014.

“I was a little nervous and made a slight error that cost me dear and I lost the medal. But I am determined to win a medal at the upcoming Challenger Cup in June,” he said.

‘We were confident about Deepa’s qualification’

Discipline matters The Services marksmen, pugilists and grapplers have always dominated domestic competitions, and icons like Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Jitu Rai and boxer Shiv Thapa have done remarkably well at the international level.

Eulogising army sportspersons, Rana said, “Other Indian sportspersons also train hard and are dedicated.

But where army sportspersons have the upper hand is their unwavering discipline. Our training is time bound and unlike civilians, we don’t permit ourselves to relax. Most importantly, our support system works better for sportspersons.”

Need larger base Though Indian sportsmen are excelling at the international level, we must build a larger base of athletes who can replace the elite players at any given time to maintain our reputation.

“China had two or three sets of players, some of them focusing on the Olympics, while others focused on World Games. This way, they get enough time to prepare and recover.

Our players don’t get enough time to recover. Sometimes, Asian and World Championships come one after another and due to lack of a recovery period, our performances slide. We have a limited number of elite players. If we could build a larger base, our medal prospects will automatically improve,” said Rana.

About AIPT AIPT was launched in 1923, when three physical training schools were established at Pune, Ambala, and Lucknow. In the same year, the Pune school was closed as a major physical training centre and the school at Ambala became the Central Army School of Physical Training for all of India with its summer headquarters at Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh. Indian and British students were taught in Ambala and only British students were taught in Kasuali from 1923 to 1940.

However, courses for Indian students were also organised at Kasuali from 1940.

After partition, the Central Army School of Physical Training moved from Ambala to Wanowrie, Pune.

Initially, Physical Training courses for all ranks, as well as Boxing and Athletics courses were conducted at the school.

Dhan Bahadur

The institute has produced elite sportsmen, including Arjuna and Dronacharya awardees who have done the Armed Forces and Nation proud by winning medals at international platforms with participation in the Olympics. Over the years, the institute has also trained Indian Navy and Indian Air Force personnel as well as Para Military Forces, Central Police Organisations and State Police Forces personnel.

AIPT Commandant Brig Sanjay Kumar said, “Gymnasts from five disciplines, including artistic, aerobic, acrobatic, tumbling and trampoline, trained at AIPT. The focus of the node now, is to solely concentrate on artistic gymnastics that form part of Olympic events and World Championships.

The artistic team of the Node won the Services Championship last year and the National championship in February this year after 27 years.”

Deepa Karmakar, 22, created history by becoming the first Indian gymnast to qualify for the Olympics. The 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, is now one of five women who have used the very difficult Produnova vault in competition, also holding the highest score amongst all (15.100) in her attempt.

Manoj Rana said that they were sure of Deepa’s qualification long before the event.

“Produnova is considered the hardest vault as it involves a high risk of spine or neck injury.

Therefore, very few athletes in the world go for it. So, we were sure that if Deepa landed correctly, she would be amongst them. We had analysed the points system, were tracking her performance and an Olympic qualification was a sure thing. The gold medal came as a pleasant surprise,” said Rana.

He said that the sports ministry’s support also came in handy for Deepa’s preparation.

“As it’s a risky sport, we needed an international quality foam pit immediately. Thankfully, the ministry approved our request and built a foam pit in Delhi. We then also added one more pit here in AIPT, which will help our gymnasts to train,” said Rana, a former gymnast and now an international certified coach.

Hal Chandan Pathak

Also from BEG, Hal Chandan Pathak, 24, started training with Nayab Subedar Sanjay More. After he was appointed to the Sports Authority of India, Pathak started training with Manoj Rana.

Pathak’s first success came in 2014, when he won a bronze medal at the Invitational Commonwealth Championship in Scotland.

“I missed the SAFF Games this year and also couldn’t qualify for the Asian Championship. I need to put in a lot of hard work. The upcoming Challenger Cup followed by World Championship will be real tests and I am putting in my best efforts,” said Pathak.

Sanjay Burman

Sanjay Burman, the 2013 national champion, joined the Army node in 2010.

A silver and a bronze (floor) medal earned him the championship and he was part of the Indian team that bagged a bronze in the Invitational Commonwealth Championship at Scotland. However, he was kept away from the arena for few months by an injury.

“I have recovered fully and the physio training along with rehabilitation process worked well,” he said.

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MAY 7, 2016

“India’s transgender community continues to face a plethora of problems. They suffer a whole lot of mental, physical and sexual oppression in society. ” — Anurag Thakur, Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha, President

“I don’t mind if I have to spend my entire life in jail to fight for the rights of Patel community. I feel that we need to improve our political understanding, as some people are trying to create rift among us.” — Hardik Patel, Political Activist

City gets a help group for middle class businesswomen

BY SALONEE MISTRY @SaloneeMistry

It was one single vision that got together five women who had never met before.

A cup of Irani chai and a few Kayani cupcakes later, they decided to start a business training and support group for women business owners, especially those that belong to the middle-class sections of society.

“What happens very often is that women belonging to this strata of society do not know who to go to when they face any problem and land up taking decisions based on their emotions. Such steps not always work in their favour. It is this problem that our social body Eternity Circles is hoping to solve,” said 45-year-old Priya Ramachandran, the brain behind the initiative.

When asked about her inspiration behind the idea, Priya, who runs a marketing and branding consultancy firm Cobblestones Consulting, said, “I know many women who have either left their work to take care of their families or have not succeeded in their ventures because of a Hiranmayi Ghate wrong decisions.

These women need support, guidance and effective business solutions. This was what I felt I could provide so I thought of starting something that would benefit these

From L to R: Priya Ramachandran, Ratna Kulkarni and Swati Shah get together to meet at Priya’s office preparing for their first Monday support group meet

women. It was great that when I reached out and asked women to partner me, Swati Shah, 54, who is the owner of the artifacts store Simply Life; Ratna Kulkarni, 52, a franchise owner of Four Fountains Spa; Dr Urjita Kulkarni, 35, a practicing homoeopathic doctor and Hiranmayi Ghate, 31, who is a freelance fashion designer and owner of the brand label Aristi, all decided to chip in and become partner.”

The mission of Eternity Circles is to run a support group for women who need business training and emotional support to run their ventures successfully. There is a scientific structure designed by Priya that looks into all aspects of a business and

provides guidelines for those that attend the session. The team also incorporates emotional support parameters designed

by Dr Urjita to deliver lasting solutions via their training programmes. Most of the training structure is designed around scientific, proven business principles that have been tried and tested by the five women, who are successful in own field.

“Women can naturally bring to the business an organic, inclusive approach which they tend not to use because they are scared to do so. Our initiative hopes to give them the space to explore this organic side of theirs and find innovative ways to use it in their businesses/start-ups,” Priya said. If you

Doing their bit to end water woes Green Energy Foundation is taking effective conservation programmes in urban and rural areas TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly With Maharashtra facing one of its worst droughts this season, the need to spread a w a r e n e s s about water conservation has become the need of the day. The idea of groundwater recharging Sharmila Oswal by harvesting rainwater is gaining importance in many cities and villages. Pune-based nongovernmental organisation (NGO) Green Energy Foundation (GEF) has been working towards water, energy environmental protection and combating climate change since its inception in 2009.

And the force behind GEF is its 41-year-old founder president Sharmila Jain Oswal. The environment and human rights specialist has been taking efforts to develop a movement that helps conserve environment and improve the quality of life.

“GEF is working on two models — urban and rural. With the help of likeminded organisations we have carried out various rainwater harvesting (RWH) projects in housing societies

in Pune and other cities. We have also developed a mobile model of RWH that has covered drought-hit Latur and Beed to encourage local residents to adopt the practice,” Sharmila.

The NGO is committed towards water, energy environmental protection and combating climate change. It holds several save water awareness programmes and campaigns and conducts trainings in rain water harvesting (RWH) from March to May every year in Maharashtra. Under its drought-free project, GEF aims at building community participation and awareness by reaching out to drought-affected areas and remote villages. The project aims to reach the villages of Latur, Beed, Jalna, Baramati, Ahmednagar, Maval, Pune district with a scientific plan of action. The villages selected by GEF in nearby Pune are Akole, Pimpale, Kalyan, Ghera Shinhgad, Adivasi Pada, Sathesai, Sangise, Pangloli, Ahirwade and Buchkewadi.

“We fi rst study the needs of the villages before carrying out watershed development, RWH and stop soil erosion works, besides digging trenches on hills. With the support of villagers, we build small dams /check dams / ponds / deepening of reservoirs and do well mapping. We also hold community awareness programmes to save water” she said.

Sharmila has started vocational schooling for waste pickers, and

through GEF has carried out recycling water projects, garbage management tools and techniques in schools of Pune. She was also instrumental in launching the Right to Pee campaign and constructed 14 women toilets in association with Pune Municipal Corporation in Pune in 2011.

GEF has provided solar lamps to 250 families of adopted tribal villages.

The NGO has also adopted Sathesai village in Kolvan Mulshi taluka and launched Udaan Project empowering women in village doing self-help groups, training them to start business and become economically independent.

GEF had also organised the fi rst energy efficient housing society contest ‘Switch 2 Green’ in 2013. Under the initiative, the most energy efficient housing society was identified.

“More people means increased water use and less available.

Demand for water is growing in most cities in India as every urban citizen requires almost double the amount of water that a rural citizen requires. With poor infrastructure to deliver quality water, all efforts should be made to conserve water. Water is a minimum human need but the depletion of this natural resource makes renewal and recycling paramount,” Sharmila said, adding that it is high time that cities implement technologies that take advantage of rainwater or recycled water in STPs. “A survey carried out by us found that more than five lakh people living within Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits were dependent on groundwater for their water needs.

Our study found that about 21 per cent of the total water demand in PMC can be met through RWH; and around 11 per cent of the total water demand in PMC can be met by harvesting rainwater through surface run off rainwater harvesting so in totality around 32 per cent of the total water demand in PMC can be met by RWH,” she said. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

“With poor infrastructure to deliver quality water, conservation is a must.”

PUNE

are a stay-at-home mum looking to get financially independent, restarting your career after a break, struggling to grow your business or just want to follow your own heart, the group is aimed to support all of them, she added.

Running their venture takes a lot of patience, time and planning. All Urjita Kulkarni five of them have taken up different aspects of the initiative to help make the process easier. Priya is responsible for the overall business training programme, especially its scientific aspects and business application. Swati is the treasurer and start-up trainer.

Dr Urjita is in-charge of Emotional Management Training and systems and process. Ratna looks after the publicity and logistics, and Hiranmayi is incharge of membership and on-ground activities.

Eternity Circles’ future plans include expanding it throughout the city through women’s participation and eventually to different parts of the country. The plan involves making women efficient enough to not only take care of their own businesses but also to become coordinators and facilitators in their own neighbourhoods. The group will meet every month with the first meet scheduled to be held on Monday, May 9, at Mitramandal Chowk from 2 to 5 pm.. salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

Dhangarwadi village gets water at doorstep TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly The villagers of Dhangarwadi, located atop one of the remotest hills in Maharashtra, have found a reason to smile. An unfamiliar team that visited their village has helped them provide water at their doorstep. Earlier, the women folk had to walk long distances to fetch watch. This daily chore kept girls out of school and women from more productive economic activities.

Under the CSR initiative, Courtyard

by Marriott Pune Chakan General Manager Nasir Shaikh along with his team identified Dhangarwadi and after interaction with villagers facilitated the installation of solar-powered water pumps in this parched village that enabled water to be pumped from the well directly into their houses.

For years, the women of the village daily walked 1,200 metres to fetch water from a well. During monsoons, the long trek carrying containers to fetch water for their families becomes more difficult as the women have to walk knee deep in wet mud. This daily wearisome ritual has led to the women suffering from severe back and spinal ailments.

After identifying the village, the

team set up solarpowered pumps within one week.

The installation of solar pumps has also helped in checking water wastage as the women carting water often spilled Nasir Shaikh the liquid while treading the uneven path back from the well.

Nasir and the team visited the village to ensure proper execution of the plan and supervised the activity. “These people also ate lunch with us. We are obliged to the entire team,” said one of the villagers.

Nitin of Atom Solar, the firm that assisted in installing the solar pumps, said, “We planted solar panels which are of 50 volts and collectively 600 volts. This is the input required to convert DC power into three phases.”

Nasir said, “With the support of Atom Solar, we made the well water easily accessible to the village using renewable energy, once the power is converted it goes to the submersible pump underneath the well and that powers the water through the pipe and reaches the villagers.” tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MAY 7, 2016

BY ETKA KATTI @Ektaak he word fi refighter has been in use since 1903.

A fi refighter or fi reman is a person trained to extinguish fi res that threaten property and humans, to rescue people from fallen or burning buildings. The service is also known as the fi re brigade or fi re department. In some countries, fi refighters are volunteers, but they may also be full-time workers who are paid a salary. The very nature of the work makes fi refighting

T

an extremely hazardous occupation. And one would expect that today’s fi refighters are therefore, provided adequate protective safeguards, including apparel and equipment. The reality though is far removed from the ideal.

Pune’s fi re brigade works with one-third of the required number of fi re stations and personnel who are not provided adequate fi re suits, helmets or walkie-talkie sets either.

With a 350 square kilometre area, and a 50 lakh population, Pune city needs 32 fi re stations, but has only 11. And instead of the required 1,500 fi refighters, it has just

PUNE

480. Firemen work three shifts in a day, with four fi remen on a shift.

There are just four mechanics to tend to the fi re brigade fleet of over 70 vehicles, including fi re tenders, tankers, ambulances etc. The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation fi re brigade has a population of over 20 lakh and an area of over 100 square kilometers to contend with, but operates with just four fi re stations instead of the required 15, and 150 fi refighters instead of 400. ektaakatti@gmail.com

Helmets that do not fit...

The Katraj Fire Station resembles a vehicle scrap yard and the PMC garbage dump only adds to the dismal aura

We need a diversion from waiting around for emergency calls Katraj Fire Station, on the outskirts of Pune, is a picture of desolation and neglect, with defunct fi re tenders and trucks, a ramshackle building with shattered window panes. The station has nine fi remen, who have one truck and one fi re tender to work with.

The station is sandwiched between a plastic company and a PMC garbage dump, and one can only imagine the stinking malodorous environment the fi re fighter must endure daily. Fireman Dattaray Thorat, 56, has coped with the situation for over a decade.

“The smells of garbage and gas are unavoidable as the panes from some of the windows of our building are broken. Such unhealthy conditions were responsible for a colleague’s death a couple of years ago,” said Thorat. The broken window panes is an issue brought to the notice of their seniors but to no avail, while their one washroom is in a rather unhygienic state as it is never maintained or cleaned regularly.

A fi re station without an incoming call line, the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) phone line is down, and the fi remen receive

fi re related calls on their personal cell phones. “We receive calls regarding fi res in Katraj and nearby areas on our mobile phones,” said Thorat.

Eight fi remen and a driver work on a shift, and they have a TV set to while away the time with. But veteran fi reman Jayant Tulekar, 52, who has put in 28 years of service, feels the need for recreation from time to time. “We have been told to focus on our work, but we manage to squeeze in a game of volleyball on a nearby ground during a lull. We need a diversion from just waiting around for emergency calls,” he said.

The firefighters pay for their gumboots from their own pockets

The broken window panes are another aspect of the general air of neglect

The Katraj Fire Station seems like a burial ground for obsolete fire tenders

Need of the hour Number of firefighters

300-350 (Required 1,350)

Number of fire station

12 (Required 23)

Number of fire tenders

25-30

Flooded with calls

The Control Room at Bhawani Peth is flooded with over 3,000 calls per day

Even a little delay can mean the difference between life and death The Pune fi re department has just one control room at to get through to us. The number of prank calls go up Bhawani Peth Fire Station, which on average, gets 150during summer vacations,” he said.

Six months ago they received a call but the caller 175 calls per hour and 3,500 calls per day. Pune with a refused to speak. And this continued for 12 hours. Some population of around 50 lakh, has just four incoming calls were traced to Rajasthan and other cities, but since call lines.

Chief Control Officer Samir Sheikh underlined the tracking down the caller involved a long procedure, they crying need for more incoming call lines. “Pune, with its did not pursue the matter. huge population, needs at least eight lines, The department also gets 10-15 while we have just four. As a consequence, calls from Mumbai, Goa, Kolhapur and our phone lines ring non-stop. The Ahmednagar. They have raised the issue inadequacy of call lines also means that we of out station calls with the authorities may not be called about a fi re accident in and even the Pune Municipal Corporation time, and even a little delay can mean the (PMC), as such calls are an unwanted difference between life and death,” he said. nuisance. And such callers have to be The station personnel also have to informed them that they should call the fi re deal with the nuisance of prank calls, department under whose jurisdiction they as well as with calls that are in no way come under. The reason for the frequency related to fi refighting, such as phone of such calls is that the fi re emergency recharging, or regarding water supply, not number and some mobile customer care to mention the downright nasty, abusive numbers are identical. The solution is that - Anant Gore callers. Control Officer Anant Gore, the mobile service providers should be told 36. (name changed), has worked at the to change their customer care numbers.

Bhawani Peth station for nine years. “We Over the 45 minutes Team TGS was at have become used to dealing with prank calls daily. But the control room, they received 90 calls, of which 60 were these pranksters don’t realise that while they are on the prank calls, five were out station calls, and just three calls line, somewhere facing an emergency may not be able were related to fi res.

“We have become used to dealing with prank calls daily.”

Figh FIR without SAFETY

Time

Number Important of calls calls

Prank calls

Out of station calls

Per hour

150-175

8-9

135

10

Per day

3,500

50

2,000

10

The clanging of its bel tender whizzes past, is of the immensely hazard that firefighters perform routine working day. A handicaps regarding m and equipment the Pun with, should make one fireman’s day-to-day

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MAY 7, 2016

PUNE

No one thinks of the firemen’s safety as we stand at the back of a speeding truck Time is of the essence when it comes to putting out a fi re, and therefore, reaching the spot as quickly as possible is of utmost importance.

Fire tenders must be in premium working condition if they are to function faultlessly and speedily.

But Pune’s fi remen say that the 30 fi re tenders are far from being in the kind of condition they should be ideally in. The lack of maintenance is a key reason for this.

Anant Jedhe, 52, has been driving fi re tenders for nearly 20 years, and the same fi re tender since 2008. “The pick-up of the fi re tender is now what it should be but the repair people keep telling me that they do not have the tools to repair it,” he said.

Even the tyres are underinflated, and the meter is faulty, which means that they have to

inflate the tyres before attending to a fire call, and the faulty meter leads to the underinflated state. And inflating the tyres in advance is no use as the pressure falls as the air leaks out. “We have urged the PMC to provide us fire tenders that are in faultless working condition. And when we send fire tenders for servicing, almost nothing is done and they are returned in the same condition. Considering the work we do, and that we have to deal with emergencies, fire tender must be maintained in a spic and span shape at all times,” Jedhe said.

A fire tender must be in optimum working condition if it is to reach the fire location in the quickest possible time. But ill-maintained or slow-moving vehicles are a real drawback, as there is no telling what terrain they are required to cover. Fire tenders in less than

perfect working condition may have trouble going up a steep ghat, whereby precious time is lost. Two fi remen are stationed stand at the back of the tender, to protect the fi refighting equipment and ensure that it stays in place. But it a precarious perch at best, and the fi remen are at great risk as they cling on, aboard a fastmoving fi re tender. “No one seems to have given a thought to the fi remen’s safety as we stand at the back of the truck. And if we fall and injure ourselves, whose fault will it be?” said a fi reman.

Bronto Skylift is a hydraulic platform used in extreme rescue operations. Pune has four Bronto trucks, but there are just a handful of fi remen trained to operate the machine. In fact, fi remen say that they are prohibited from even going near a Bronto. A control officer

was issued a memo for just getting too close to the Bronto. “Every fi remen must know how to operate the Bronto, which may be necessary in an emergency. But I don’t know why our superiors are averse to train more fi remen in how to operate the Bronto,” said Gore. Avinash Mane, 38, (name changed) was unable to operate the Bronto during an emergency. His superior went up to the fi fth floor of a building to rescue some people, and when he asked Mane to send up the hydraulic ladder platform to the fi fth floor, Mane was unable to, as he did not know how to operate the Bronto.

Chief Fire Officer Prashant Ranpise said that he is now aware of any mechanical issues with the fi re tenders, and that new fi re tenders had been added to the fleet recently. About outstation calls, he said that they will install equipment to control or bar such calls. He said that the fi remen had shown no interest in learning how to operate the Bronto. “We can’t force them to learn something,” he said.

hting RES t proper Y GEAR

lls as a scarlet red fire s when one is reminded dous, life-saving duties m in the course of their And the overwhelming manpower, safety gear ne fire brigade is faced appreciate the average y heroics all the more

Fire tender drivers have to deal with faulty meters and underinflated tyres all the time

It’s a rocky ride for the firefighters who are perched at the back of fire tenders

What if one fireman is on leave and another takes ill?

There are 300-350 fi remen deployed at the 12 fi re stations across Pune.

Neelam Shahane, 58, stationed at Erandwane Fire Station for 18 years, feels strongly about the acute shortage of fi remen. “What if one fi reman is on leave and another takes ill? That will leave us with four fi remen and a driver, which could be a problem during an emergency,” he said. Th is shortage makes it difficult for their leave applications to get sanctioned.

Chief Control Officer Samir Sheikh says that Pune needs at least 1,350 fi remen, and more than 30 fi re stations.

And for doing a job where they are asked to put their lives on the line, fi remen are not paid much. A fresher fi reman earns Rs 17,000 per month, which goes

up to Rs 25,000 monthly after 12 years of service. Moreover, fi remen do not get their salaries on time.

Prabhu Ranade (name changed), 35, has no complaints regarding his salary, but he is perturbed that instead of the fi rst day of the month, he gets his salary on the 10th.

Promotions and appreciation too are not easy to come by. After 12 years, a fi reman is promoted to the post of leading fi reman. A fi reman has not been promoted after 18 years. “Our station does not have a senior fi re officer. Technically, I am the senior-most fi reman here. We handle all the operations but under the designation of fi reman, which is unfair,” said a fi reman.

PICS BY VISHAL KALE

Acute shortage of manpower means that firefighters cannot avail of leave as and when they want it

Forced to make do with uniforms made out of substandard material The protective gear so essential for a fireman is a vital issue that has been completely ignored by the Pune fire brigade. The firemen have to make do with fire jackets, helmets, gumboots and uniforms that are nearly ten years old. Bhawani Peth Control Officer Anant Gore says that they had not been provided new uniforms since 2007, and after constant requests, they received new uniforms in 2016.

It was the same for the Katraj Fire Station firemen, who had not

These boots are not even fit for walking...

been given new uniforms since 2007.

The new uniforms they received in 2016 turned out to be of substandard quality, but all their complaints have fallen on deaf ears, and they are now resigned to wearing what they have been given. Even their jackets are five years old, and the ill-fitting helmets are a real hazard. But they have no option but to make do with the illfitting, substandard quality helmets.

Gumboots are an essential part of a fireman’s gear. But the gumboots

that they had been given a couple of years ago were so shabby, that the firemen have bought their own gumboots, with their own money.

But PMC Fire Officer Sunil Gilbile refutes all these allegations.

“We take the utmost care of our firemen, who have been new uniforms recently. We had issued the contract for foremen’s uniforms to the best company in Pune, and also ensured that the best quality material was used in the making of the uniforms.”

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MAY 7, 2016

TECH/START-UP

PUNE

Religious freedom in India downslides

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

— http://blog.varnion.com/

Bengaluru tops online learning in India: Coursera India is the third largest online learning market globally after the US and China, according to online learning site Coursera, whose recent analysis found hi-tech city Bengaluru with the maximum number of registered learners in the country Out of Coursera’s 18 million registered learners, 1.3 million are from India with top registered learners hailing from Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad, the website said.

Driven by the vast interest coming from Bengaluru, technology hub, nearly half of enrollments in the country are in technology courses such as computer science (25 per cent) and data science (18 per cent).

Computer science and data science courses are more popular in the country than in any of the other ten highest enrollment countries on the website.

The data reveals that an increasing interest in flexible, careerrelevant online courses resulted in a considerable spike in new registrations of 70 per cent over the past 12 months in the country.

“The most active online learners in India are entrepreneurial, young professionals in their 20s and 30s who are laser focused on gaining the technical skills that are sought after

by India’s top employers,” Rick Levin, CEO, Coursera said in a statement.

The analysis has revealed that 21 per cent of learners access their course material on their mobile phones and the proportion of male learners are 76 per cent while female learners comprise 24 per cent. The peak time for learning has been shown to be around 4 pm.

PTI

P 12

An unmanned ship that can travel 10,000 miles The Pentagon showed off the world’s largest unmanned surface vessel, a self-driving 132-foot ship

ARTIST CONCEPT / DARPA

It’s not only drones and driverless cars that may become the norm. Some day oceanfaring ships might also run without captains or crews.

The Pentagon showed off the world’s largest unmanned surface vessel, a selfdriving 132-foot ship able to travel up to 10,000 nautical miles on its own to hunt for stealthy submarines and underwater mines.

The military’s research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, in conjunction with the Navy will be testing the ship off the San Diego coast over the next two years to observe how it interacts with other vessels and avoids collisions. Unlike smaller, remote-controlled craft launched from ships, the so-called “Sea Hunter” is built to operate on its own.

“It’s not a joy-stick ship,” said DARPA spokesman Jared B. Adams, standing in front of the sleek, futuristic-looking steel-gray vessel docked at a maritime terminal in the heart of San Diego’s shipbuilding district, where TV crews fi lmed the robotic craft.

“Sea Hunter” relies on radar, sonar, cameras and a global positioning system.

Unmanned ships will supplement missions to help keep service members out of harm’s way, Adams said.

Besides military leaders, the commercial shipping industry will be watching the ship’s performance during the trial period.

Maritime companies from Europe to Asia have been looking into developing fleets of unmanned ships to cut down on operating costs and get through areas plagued by pirates.

During the testing phase, the ship will have human operators as a safety net. But once it proves to be reliable, it will maneuver itself able to go out at sea for months at a time.

With its twin diesel engines, it could go as far as Guam from San Diego on a mission, developers say. There are no plans at this point to arm it.

“There are a lot of advantages that we’re still trying to learn about,” program manager Scott Littlefield said.

The idea in the commercial sector has sparked debate over whether it’s possible

to make robotic boats safe enough. The International Transport Workers’ Federation, the union representing more than half of the world’s more than 1 million seafarers, has said it does not believe technology will ever be able to replace the ability of humans to foresee and react to the various dangers at sea.

Others have expressed concern about hackers taking control. Military officials have been working on hacker-proof protections and say it’s possible to make ships cybersecure.

(AP)

US and India topped the list of countries which sought Facebook account details during July-December 2015.

“We respond to valid requests relating to criminal cases.

Each and every request we receive is checked for legal sufficiency and we reject or require greater specificity on requests that are overly broad or vague,” Facebook said in a report.

While the US made 19,235 requests seeking details of 30,041 accounts, India forwarded 5,561 requests refering to 7,018 accounts.

In case of the US, Facebook provided details of 81.41 per cent requests, while it rejected half of the requests made by Indian authorities.

The social media giant also restricted access to 14,971 content in India.

“We restricted access in India to categories of content in response to legal requests from government agencies, including law enforcement agencies,” Facebook Head of Global Policy Management Monica Bickert told PTI. Facebook also restricted access to content in categories these agencies have identified as illegal that have been brought to attention by nongovernment entities like NGOs and members of the Facebook community.

India ranked second globally in restricting content on social networking platform Facebook, with 14,971 pieces of content restricted in the second half of 2015.

PTI

3D ‘brain dictionary’ to decode thoughts

New age firms use novel methods

‘Zero-energy’ buildings - which generate as much power as they consume - are now closer to reality, as scientists have achieved the world’s highest efficiency using flexible solar cells that are non-toxic and cheaper to make.

Until now, the promise of ‘zero-energy’ buildings been held back by two hurdles: the cost of the thin-fi lm solar cells (used in facades, roofs and windows), and the fact they are made from scarce, and highly toxic, materials.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales in Australia achieved the world’s highest efficiency rating for a full-sized thin-fi lm solar cell using a competing thin-fi lm technology, known as CZTS. The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has confi rmed this world leading 7.6 per cent efficiency in a one square centimetre area CZTS cell.

Unlike its thin-fi lm competitors, CZTS cells are made from abundant materials, such as copper, zinc, tin and sulphur.

Unlike its thin-film competitors, CZTS cells are made from abundant materials, such as copper, zinc, tin and sulphur CZTS has none of the toxicity problems of its two thin-fi lm rivals, known as CdTe (cadmium-telluride) and CIGS (copper-indiumgallium-selenide).

Cadmium and selenium are toxic at even tiny doses, while tellurium and indium are extremely rare.

“Th is is the fi rst step on CZTS’s road to beyond 20 per cent efficiency, and marks a milestone in its journey from the lab to commercial product,” said Xiaojing Hao, from UNSW. PTI

Fifty per cent of the CIOs are open to working with start-ups, while the other half is still sceptical A half of Indian executives polled are open to work with start-ups as partnering with newage companies bring in agile and innovative methods, says a survey.

However, the other half is still sceptical about working with a start-up, according to annual EY-CIO Klub’s Enterprise IT trends and investment survey titled ‘the startup gene: a way forward’.

The survey, which revolves around the idea of the startup gene, noted that the CIOs of the country can benefit from partnerships with start-ups and by imbibing the attitude of start-up entrepreneurs.

About a half of 294 Chief Information Officers (CIOs) polled have shown faith in implementing start-up practices to get their work done.

Th is was supplemented by the fact that 30 per cent of the respondents were aligned towards ‘Do It For Me’ approach, wherein the company would want to bring in external expertise to perform certain specific tasks, rather than doing it in-house.

“Partnering with start-ups ensures that work is done in an agile and innovative manner. This can save cost, help adopt the

For comic lovers Panchatantra Stories Book

IOS/Android: Free This is a Panchatantra Story Book application containing 101 stories from Panchatantra. Panchatantra story book is the best guide to en-root moral values in children since its each tale has a moral lesson in its end.

The Panchatantra is a great story book where plants and animals can speak and converse with human beings too. The Panchatantra is an ancient Sanskrit collection of stories, probably first composed around 300 CE ,though some of its component stories may be much older.

Mighty Raju

US, India top chart ‘Zero-energy’ buildings, seeking FB details a step closer to reality

Scientists have developed a 3D ‘brain dictionary’ that may help decode our inner thoughts and give voice to people who cannot speak, such as those who have had a stroke, brain damage or motor neuron diseases.

Researchers built a “semantic atlas” that shows in vivid colours and multiple dimensions how the human brain organises language. The atlas identifies brain areas that respond to words that have similar meanings.

The thesaurus-like map could eventually help give voice to those who cannot speak, such as people who have had a stroke, brain damage or motor neuron diseases such as ALS. At least one-third of the brain’s cerebral cortex - including areas dedicated to high-level cognition - is involved in language processing. Different people share similar language maps.

“The similarity in semantic topography across different subjects is really surprising,” said study lead author Alex Huth, from the University of California, Berkeley.

PTI

APP WORLD

IOS/Android: Free Mighty Raju is a story of a small boy Raju, who lives with his parents and his dog Moby in the city on small island. Raju’s father, is a very famous scientist. He along with his friend turned villain Karaati, has created a very powerful compound called Neutrino. Raju’s mother when pregnant, accidentally drank the potion mistaking it for a beverage. Neutrino is active after 5 years, and so is Raju with his super powers! Watch him having fun with his newly discovered powers and beat the daylights out of Karaati. You will love this story of lovable Raju which is filled with fun and adventure.

ComiCat

IOS/Android: Free ComiCat is a fast and slick comic reader and catalog manager. It just takes a tap of button to have your device scanned and all your comics nicely arranged in the virtual bookshelf. So it doesn’t matter whether your comics are on device storage, download folder, SD Card, cloud or everywhere. You can manage and read your entire comic collection right from your bookshelf. You get lots of options to make the most of your reading experience. Native code base written and optimized for android devices with best experience on both phones and tablets. Extremely fast and stable with no battery drain. ComiCat comes with lifelong free updates that bring in new exciting features and usability improvements.

The Avengers-Iron Man Mark VII

IOS/Android: Free Set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ‘Marvel’s The Avengers: Iron Man - Mark VII’ is an epic interactive comic book experience through the design logs of super hero Tony Stark as he journeys from his Mark I armor, used to escape from captivity in the Ten Rings insurgents’ cave, to the high-powered Mark VI armor, used to vanquish Ivan Vanko and his army of Hammer Drones. A war has started and we are hopelessly outgunned. Immerse yourself in the genius, grit and humour of Stark and team up with all your favourite Iron Man characters, including Pepper Potts, J.A.R.V.I.S., and James Rhodes, as Stark finds inspiration for his latest innovation, the Mark VII.

Garfield Daily

latest in technology and become a disruptive force in the industry. However, the report claims that to be more effective, CIOs should promote these values in their own firms. The only way to adapt to change is to take the risk of adopting it,” the survey noted.

The survey said, “50 per cent of the CIOs are open to working with start-ups, while the other half is still sceptical.”

Besides, 81 per cent of the CIOs consider

that Internet-of-Th ings is the most imminent technology. Other trending technologies are high speed data transfer, wearable technologies and 3D printing. Cyber threat tops the list of key issues.

While half the companies have in-house analytics functions, the other half believe that there is greater value in engaging with outside, specialised talent, as per the survey.

PTI

IOS/Android: Free Feed your Garfield need with a daily dose of the classic comic! The Garfield Daily Comic Android app allows you to view every Garfield daily comic strip ever produced – that’s over 12,300 strips! This awesome app has tons of features that allow you to search and share your favorite comic strips. You can browse through the comic strips by touching the Previous or Next navigation buttons or by touching either side of the comic strip. Resize the comic strip by tapping or pinching. Like Garfield, this app is prone to nap attacks.

After about 10 seconds of inactivity, the navigation, title, and toolbar will fade away.

ENVIRONMENT ‘‘Dust content is high during summer as there is no moisture in the air. Compared with Pune, Ahmednagar has more asthma patients, whose condition worsens during summer.”

— Nitin Abhyankar, Chest Physician

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

H EALTH

MAY 7, 2016

PUNE

“We suspect that the tree census would inflate the number of trees as the payment is for every tree counted. This is a clear waste of public money and needs to be stopped immediately.”

— Major Gen (Retd) SCN Jatar, President, Nagrik Chetna Manch

Higher coal use may lead to less rainfall

Rapid increase of coal use in fast-growing Asian countries such as India and China may weaken monsoon systems and reduce the amount of rainfall in future, a new MIT study has found

According to the study, a high coal-use future would entail significant local and global climate impacts

A study of the diets of boys and girls living in two Indian states has found that by the age of 15, boys are likely to be eating a wider variety of foods than girls.

The study done by the University of Oxford and Imperial College London in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, says adolescent girls are less likely than boys to consume costlier foods that are rich in proteins, vitamins and micronutrients necessary for their healthy development.

The gender gap in diet appears to be particularly marked in families that have high aspirations for their children’s

education. By the age of 15, a gender gap appears with the boys likely to eat half a food group more than the girls of the same age. The results showed a gap even after controlling other factors such as the onset of puberty, time spent working or at school, or dietary behaviours such as number of meals.

The gender gap in diet is linked with the parents’ educational aspirations, and not with other potential factors such as household income or the mother’s educational background.

The gender gap in diet was found to be not as strong in families with low

Wealth from waste: A novel Indian biotech solution The black carbon released by this crop waste burning is leading to the wasting of Himalayan glaciers

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

TGS LIFE

Run for... yourself

NATION

CITY

Get your voice heard on NetaG P6

No damaged goods please P3

GRANDCHILDREN SUE THE COMPLETE MAN

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PUNE, MARCH 21, 2015 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

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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

Scientists have for the fi rst time found that a gene known for producing red hair and pale skin may explain why some people appear more youthful than others.

It appears that variation in the gene, known as MC1R, is also related to differences in how old people look to other people - their perceived age, researchers said.

People carrying particular MC1R variants in their DNA look, on average, almost two years older than they are, researchers said.

“For the fi rst time, a gene has been found that explains in part why some people look older and others younger for their age,” said Manfred Kayser from Erasmus MC University Medical Centre Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Earlier studies had shown that a person’s perceived age is influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors in roughly equal parts, researchers said.

Perceived age has also been shown to predict a person’s health and mortality, suggesting that the age we perceive a person to be from the appearance of their face might also be related in important ways to a person’s biological age and health, they said.

Researchers searched the genomes of more than 2,600 elderly Dutch Europeans for DNA variants associated with differences in perceived facial age and wrinkling as estimated from digital facial images.

The strongest hits for perceived facial age were for DNA variants in the MC1R gene. Th is finding was confi rmed in two other large European studies, researchers said.

Individuals carrying particular MC1R variants looked almost two years older for their age. The association between these DNA variants and perceived age was not influenced by age, sex, skin colour, or sun damage, they said. In addition to its role in skin colour, MC1R is also known to play a role in other biological processes, such as inflammation and DNA damage repair, researchers said.

The gene’s influence on these processes might be the reason it links to youthful looks, they said.

The findings were published in the journal Current Biology.

PTI

THANK GOD IT’S S AT U R D AY

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Agricultural waste is becoming a mammoth problem for India, not knowing what to do with the stubble many Indian farmers especially in granary of the country simply burn it after harvest.

This not only causes air pollution but also even causes a huge plume of air pollution over many cities a little after the harvest season.

Now Indian scientists supported by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) have come up with a nifty solution that using a bio-refinery converts this waste into value added alcohol, which, can then be used as clean biofuel or blended to make spirits.

NASA has recorded this burning of biomass from its satellites and American scientists say the black carbon released by this crop waste burning is leading to the wasting of Himalayan glaciers. This can easily be mitigated if agri- waste can be converted into clean biofuel.

Science Minister Harsh Vardhan recently inaugurated the first demonstration plant located within the premises of India Glycol Limited in Kashipur that converts almost any kind of agricultural organic waste into alcohol.

The technology for this plant has

been made by the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai at a cost of Rs 40 crore and thereafter the demonstration plant has been made at a cost of Rs 35 crore with support from the Department of Biotechnology.

Making alcohol from biological material is not new, but till date most of the ethanol is made using sugar cane, corn or some such food material and is called first generation ethanol.

Since the Kashipur, plant utilises purely agricultural waste it is referred to as second-generation (2G) ethanol.

K VijayRaghavan, secretary of the Department of Biotechnology, says “This is the most suited technology for India since to make the biofuel the feedstock does not compete with food.”

According to the DBT, “this Kashipur plant comes at a time when the country struggles to meet the mandate of 5 per cent blending of renewable biofuel in both ethanol and diesel.

While diesel biofuel blending is near zero, the petrol blending today stands at an overall of about 3 per cent in the form of first generation or molasses based 1GEthanol. With an annual requirement of about 5000 million litres, the oil companies will starve for ethanol as the current total installed capacity of 1G-ethanol stands at about 2650 million litres.

PTI

‘Ginger’ gene may help you look younger: study

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

BY PALLAVA BAGLA

The burnt dense weed growth in Bhima river near Rajgurunagar. Experts say burning may be used to control weeds in water bodies

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Making alcohol from biological material is not new, but most of the ethanol is made using sugar cane, corn or some such food material and is called first generation ethanol

academic aspirations for their children.

It highlights the fact that India has the highest population of 10-24 year-olds in the world, and the world’s highest burden of malnutrition, with children and young women being the most malnourished groups.

It notes that women in India tend to have children at a young age, and concludes that policies that focus on the nutrition of adolescent girls may be needed to break the cycle of malnutrition from young mothers to their children.

PTI

RIVER CONSERVATION

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

Boys eat better diet than girls

surface temperatures by reflecting sunlight skyward.

However, as they help offset warming, the aerosols would also weaken several major monsoon systems, suppressing precipitation over vast land masses.

“For the high-emissions scenario, we found reductions in rainfall across much of Asia, especially East Asia (including China) and South Asia (including India), and a remote effect leading to a possible increase in rainfall in Australia as well as a suppression of rainfall in the Sahel region of Africa,” said Benjamin Grandey from MIT. “We see more reductions in rainfall than increases, especially in regions already struggling with water resources,” said Grandey.

The study was published in the Journal of Climate.

PTI

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

years and decades to come, researchers said. At one extreme, economic growth and energy demand in China, India and other fast-growing Asian nations would lead to rapid increases in coal use, resulting in more significant climate impacts; at the other, Asia would gradually lessen these impacts by shifting from coal to cleaner burning fuels such as natural gas, and lowcarbon energy technologies such as wind turbines and photovoltaics.

The new study assessed the climate’s likely response to aerosol emissions at both extremes, resulting in likely lower and upper bounds for the impact

RAHUL RAUT

Coal burning, despite recent signs of having peaked in China and pledges made at the Paris Climate talks in December last year, remains the primary source of electric power in Asia.

In both China and India, it is responsible for the lion’s share of humanmade sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions, which drive up concentrations of sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere.

These aerosols not only endanger public health in the region but also contribute to local and global climate change.

How much climate change will depend on Asia’s energy choices in the

of Asian aerosols on regional surface temperature and rainfall.

According to the study, a high coaluse future would entail significant local and global climate impacts.

The increased aerosol levels would have a large cooling effect throughout the Northern Hemisphere, partially offsetting warming from greenhouse gas emissions (including increased carbon dioxide emissions associated with coal burning, which the study did not model).

Significant cooling would also be felt especially in South and East Asia, researchers said.

“Much of these results are related to the impact of sulfates on clouds, which lowers surface temperatures indirectly by increasing the clouds’ reflectivity,” said Chien Wang, from MIT. These aerosols may also lower

PUNE, MARCH 21, 2015 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

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

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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PUNE

“It will be better if you put on the university website all the documents related to the prime minister’s degree. The people of this country have a right to know how educated their prime minister is.”

— Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister

India in 5th place in fake goods trade

The study puts the value of imported fake goods worldwide at USD 461 billion in 2013 LONDON: India is the fifth biggest exporter of fake goods globally, while China is on the top with a huge 63 per cent share in the estimated halfa-trillion dollar worldwide imports of counterfeit and pirated goods.

China is followed by Turkey, Singapore, Thailand and India among the top-five countries from where most fake goods originate, as per a new study by the OECD (Organisation Economic Cooperation and Development) and the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office.

China-made products accounted for 63.2 per cent of total seizures of fake imported goods globally, while the second- ranked Turkey’s share was just 3.3 per cent.

The same for Singapore, Thailand and India stood at 1.9 per cent, 1.6 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively.

Among the countries hit hardest by the global trade in fake foods, the US comes on the top and is followed

by Italy, France, Switzerland and Japan in the top-five.

“Imports of counterfeit and pirated goods are worth nearly half a trillion dollars a year, or around 2.5 per cent of global imports, with US, Italian and French brands the hardest hit and many of the proceeds going to organised crime,” OECD said about the new study that takes into account

US tops the list of countries hit hardest by the global trade in fake foods

the latest available figures till the year 2013.

The study puts the value of imported fake goods worldwide at USD 461 billion in 2013, compared with total imports in world trade of USD 17.9 trillion.

“Up to five per cent of goods imported into the European Union are fakes. Most originate in middle income or emerging countries, with China the top producer,” it added.

The report, which analysed nearly half a million customs seizures around

‘Red lines do not work in politics’

Ailing Chairman of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani addressing a press conference at his residence in Srinagar

SRINAGAR: Union minister V K Singh’s statement that separatist leaders can talk to Pakistan High Commissioner was welcomed by the moderate Hurriyat Conference while the hardline faction said peace will not be restored until promises made by the Centre to Kashmiri people were fulfilled.

While welcoming Singh’s statement, Chairman of moderate Hurriyat Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said the Centre has realised that red lines do not work in politics or diplomacy, the chief of hardline faction, Syed Ali Shah Geelani said peace cannot be achieved till promises made by India to the people of Kashmir at the national and global level are fulfilled.

“It (Singh’s statement) is better late than never. Perhaps the government of India has realised the red lines which

they had drawn do not work either in politics or diplomacy,” Chairman of moderate Hurriyat Mirwaiz Umar Farooq told reporters here.

Terming it as a “welcome change” and an “acceptance of the reality”, he said there is no other option for India and Pakistan but to engage with each other and take along the people of Kashmir. He suggested that the Centre needs to revisit the policies of “shedding the beaten track and take new initiatives” of former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee to address the Kashmir issue. Singh had said that since the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the Union of India and these so-called Kashmiri ‘leaders’ are Indian citizens, there is no bar on their meetings with representatives of any country in India.

PTI

the world over 2011-13, further said that its findings contradict the image that counterfeiters only hurt big companies and luxury goods manufacturers.

Fake products crop up in everything from handbags and perfumes to machine parts and chemicals, while footwear is the most-copied item though trademarks are infringed even on strawberries and bananas.

Postal parcels are the top method of shipping bogus goods.

PTI

Charge can be framed on the basis of grave suspicion: Court NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has refused to discharge a man accused in a sexual harassment case, saying charge can be framed even on the basis of grave suspicion.

Additional Sessions Judge Vrinda Kumari dismissed the appeal of the man, a south Delhi resident, saying, “The complaint is very specific regarding the incident and the offence committed cannot be ignored. It is well settled that charge can be framed even on the basis of grave suspicion.”

The court said, “The veracity of the allegations of the complainant can only be tested on the touch stone of trial and at this stage only a prima facie case against the accused is to be seen.”

The accused had challenged a magisterial court’s order that had framed charges against him under sections 354 (outraging modesty of woman), 354A (sexual harassment), 354 D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) under the IPC.

PTI

Govt rapped over Pathankot attack NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary panel has rapped the government for its failure to prevent the Pathankot terror attack, saying “something is seriously wrong” in the country’s counter-terror establishment and the airbase’s security was not robust.

In its 197th report, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs also observed that the role of Punjab Police is also very “questionable and suspicious” during the January 2 terror attack.

The panel said it has failed to understand that in spite of terror alert sounded well in advance, how terrorists managed to breach the high-security airbase and subsequently carried out the strike.

The committee said it is constrained to note that despite concrete and credible intelligence inputs received from abducted and released SP of Pathankot and his friend and through

interception of communication between terrorists and their handlers by the terrorists disclosing that they were planning an attack on a defence establishment, the security agencies were so ill-prepared to anticipate threats in time and counter them swiftly and decisively.

The committee said it “feels that something is seriously wrong with our counter-terror security establishment.”

During its visit to the airbase, the panel found that there was no roads around the perimeter wall of the strategic airbase. There were growth of long shrubs and trees on the premises which have helped terrorists in hiding and making difficult for security forces in flushing out the terrorists.

“The committee during its visit found that airbase’s security cover was not robust and it had a poorly guarded perimeter wall,” the report said.

PTI

Panel asks why India sought Pak help to probe Pathankot case NEW DELHI: A parliamentary panel asked the government the reason behind seeking the help of Pakistan to investigate the terror attack on Pathankot air base as it was found that terrorists belonging to JeM based in that country were involved in the strike. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs noted the submission of the Home Ministry that NIA is handling the investigation of the January 2 terror attack in the strategic air base in Punjab. “...terrorists belong to Jaish-e-Mohammad, based in Pakistan, have been found to be behind this attack but the Committee would like to be apprised what made the government of India to seek the help of Pakistan into investigation of this terror attack and invite a Joint Investigation Team from Pakistan to India,” the Committee noted.

Reservation for differently-abled not implemented NEW DELHI: The government admitted in Lok Sabha that it has not been able to provide the three per cent reservation to differentlyabled people in government services as per law. “ T h e provision is for three per cent Thaawar Chand reservation, but it Gehlot is far less,” Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot said during Question Hour.

But at the same time, between May 2015 and April this year, a special drive was launched to fill up the vacancies which had resulted in filling up of 10,000 posts, he said.

Following the special drive, the figures have risen to over one per cent as against the stipulated three per cent.

In his written response, he said as per the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, reservation of one per cent each will be made for people with blindness or low vision, hearing impairment and locomotor disability or cerebral palsy in posts identified for each disability.

The national action plan for skill development of persons with disabilities was announced in March last with a view to impart skill training for such people to enhance their scope of employability in public and private sector, he said.

PTI

MARITIME SEARCH AND RESCUE

Coast Guard personnel perform at the 7th National Maritime Search and Rescue Workshop and Exercise SAREX-16 in the Arabian Sea in Mumbai

Religious freedom in India downslides Indian government told to publicly rebuke officials and religious leaders who make derogatory statements about religious communities

BY LALIT K JHA

Vol-II* lssue No.: 47 Editor: Yogesh Sadhwani (Responsible for the selection of news under the PRB Act, 1867) Printed and Published by: Shrikant Honnavarkar on behalf of Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. CIN:U22200PN2014PTC151382 and printed at PRI – Media Services Private Limited CIN: U22222MH2012PTC232006 at Plot No. EL-201, TTC Industrial Area, MIDC, Mahape, Navi Mumbai.

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

RBI aims to curb e-transaction frauds P 14

WASHINGTON: Religious freedom in India was on a “negative trajectory” in 2015 as religious tolerance “deteriorated” and religious freedom violations “increased”, a US report on international religious freedom stated recently.

In its annual report, the Congressmandated US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) asked the Indian government to publicly rebuke officials and religious leaders that make derogatory statements about religious communities.

“In 2015, religious tolerance deteriorated and religious freedom violations increased in India,” the report said.

Members of USCIRF were denied visas by Indian government early this year on the argument that religious freedom is enshrined in the constitution and any foreign third party has no locus standi to comment or investigate on it.

“Minority communities, especially Christians, Muslims, and Sikhs, experienced numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment, and violence, largely at the hands of Hindu

nationalist groups,” the report alleged.

USCIRF alleged that members of the ruling BJP tacitly supported these groups and used religiously-divisive language to further inflame tensions.

“These issues, combined with longstanding problems of police bias and judicial inadequacies, have created a pervasive climate of impunity, where religious minority communities feel increasingly insecure.”

PTI

Muslim children paying obeisance at the Golden Temple on the occasion of 463rd Birth Anniversary of the fifth Guru Arjan Dev Ji in Amritsar

India reacts sharply

NEW DELHI: Reacting strongly to a US report which said religious freedom in India was on a “negative trajectory” in 2015, India said it “fails to show proper understanding of India, its constitution and its society”.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said government does not see the locus standi of a foreign entity like USCIRF to pronounce on the state of Indian citizens’ constitutionally protected rights. “Our attention has been drawn to the recent report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). “India is a vibrant pluralistic society founded on strong democratic principles. The Indian Constitution guarantees fundamental rights to all its citizens including the right to freedom of religion.”

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MAY 7, 2016

I try not to be critical: Narang P 16

PUNE

“America should write the rules. America should call the shots. Other countries should play by the rules that America and our partners set, and not the other way around.”

— Barack Obama, US President

Asian nations worried about China’s military buildup: US

US declines to pay for Pak’s F16s

Certain aspects of China’s behaviour described as very disturbing, and could lead to self-isolation

BY LALIT K JHA WASHINGTON: China is challenging respect for international law, freedom of navigation and the peaceful resolution of disputes which is a cause of concern for many Asian countries, forcing them to reach out to the US, top American officials have said.

“There are certain aspects of Chinese behaviour that are very disturbing to us. They’re deeply disturbing to countries in the region, which has them all coming to us and is having the effect of causing self-isolation by China,” Defence Secretary Ashton Carter told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during a Congressional hearing.

Carter has just returned from a trip to India and the Philippines.

“We are reacting ourselves and we’re being increasingly invited to work with countries, long-standing allies and strong allies like the Philippines, and that’s where the sites you see and correctly have on the map here come in, but also new partners like Vietnam. I was in India a week-and-a-half ago. Many of them concerned about Chinese

No power struggle within Party: Xi

BY KJM VARMA BEIJING: China’s President Xi Jinping dismissed a “House of Cards’ power struggle” within the ruling Communist Party, but admitted presence of “careerists and conspirators” within its ranks and warned officials to refrain from conspiring against the leadership.

Xi, 62, has warned of “cabals (factions) and cliques” in the Communist Party of China (CPC), while denying that the ousting of officials in his sweeping anti-corruption campaign pointed a “’House of Cards’ power struggle.”

“There are careerists and conspirators existing in our Party and undermining the party’s governance.

We should not bury our heads in the sand and spare these members but must make a resolute response to eliminate the problem and deter further violations,” he said in a rare public speech denying that his anticorruption campaign aimed at purging out opponents in the ruling party.

PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China

behaviour,” Carter said.

At another Congressional hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the US is intensely focused on maritime issues especially China’s assertive and provocative behaviour in the South China Sea. China is challenging respect for international law, freedom

of navigation and the peaceful resolution of disputes, he alleged.

“We’ve also deepened our commitment to the US-AustraliaJapan trilateral strategic dialogue, hosted the inaugural US-JapanIndian trilateral ministerial dialogue,” he said.

“These bilateral, trilateral and multilateral relationships are not aimed at any particular country.

Situation very complex in Bangladesh: US

BY LALIT K JHA WASHINGTON: The situation is “very complex” and there is a threat “on the ground” in Bangladesh, the US has said after a series of bloody attacks on secular writers and minorities in the Muslim-majority country were claimed by ISIS and alQaeda.

“It is a very complex situation on the ground,” State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner told reporters when asked about the series of killings of activists in Bangladesh.

“What we’re asking for is that the government conduct an investigation into these attacks, these brutal attacks and these brutal murders, that identifies who the perpetrators are,” Toner said.

There have been systematic assaults on minorities, secular bloggers, intellectuals and foreigners in Bangladesh in recent months. A USAID employee and gay rights activist Xulhaz Mannan was slayed

Bangladeshi blogger and social activist Ashif Entaz Rabi stands outside the White House in Washington

in Bangladesh recently.

A Hindu head priest was on February 21 hacked to death by gunand-cleaver wielding Islamists. In September last, Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella was murdered by unidentified assailants in Dhaka, and within five days of that incident Japanese farmer Kunio Hoshi was killed. al-Qaeda and Islamic State

‘Europe can learn from India in tackling migrant crisis’ India has experience in dealing with migrants and integrating them

BY ASIM KAMAL VIENNA: Europe can learn from India in tackling the migrant crisis as the country has experience in dealing with migrants and integrating them, a top Austrian official said.

As Europe grapples with an unprecedented influx of migrants, there is definitely a strategic partnership between India and the EU, said Herbert Krauss, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Austria, Head of the Department for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (EU).

“Though I am not dealing with our bilateral relations but I was just reading through what our (Austrian)

They are not exclusive. We welcome any kind of f lexible geometry of collaboration among countries that share important goals including steps towards greater China- KoreaJapan cooperation and the growing unity of the ASEAN community,” Blinken said.

At the same time, Blinken said the US is not looking for conf lict with China in South China Sea. “We’re looking to prevent conf lict. What’s at stake here is not just the transit of oil, energy, goods, as important as -- there are larger principles at stake. These principles go to the entire foundation of the international order. If we don’t defend those principles everywhere where they’re being challenged the entire order that we’ve invested so much in building over seven years is at risk,” he said.

Blinken said there has been a significant buildup in China’s military capacity.

“Some of that I guess on one level is not surprising. As China grows and is more engaged in the region it wants to protect those expanding interests, and what we’ve seen though are two things,” he said.

PTI

Migrants clash with Greek police during a protest against the closed border with Macedonia, at the northern Greek border

Embassy wrote about the visit of our Foreign Minister and it tells there is lot of potential in India. I think India is definitely up and coming so it is definitely one of our important strategic partners, speaking as a European,” he told a group of visiting Indian journalists here.

“Also for instance in the migration issue because India has experience with migration. I think they had refugees from Bangladesh. So you know how to integrate them, how to deal with them. I think the EU is also tapping into your experience because there is a plan to conclude a common agenda for migration and mobility between India and the EU,” he said, adding it is a good project and will be mutually beneficial.

Krauss asserted that “Europe as a whole” can learn from the Indian experience in dealing with the migrants crisis.

Official sources said the migrant crisis was something the EU had never seen before in these dimensions and is something where the EU is “slowly but gradually developing a common line” which is absolutely indispensible.

PTI

have claimed responsibilities for the killings. But Bangladesh’s government denies that jihadist groups have been behind the spate of bloody attacks.

“There’s been various claims of responsibility. We have no reason not to believe those claims of responsibility. But what is clear is that there is a threat on the ground,” he said.

“I mean, we’ve seen several now murders, brutal murders, over the past several weeks. We want to see the government there take every step possible to protect its citizens.”

Secretary of State John Kerry called the Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

“He offered US support for the ongoing investigation into these recent attacks, certainly the one that killed our own employee and human rights advocate, as well as his friend and colleague earlier this week,” Toner said.

PTI

American lawmakers fear Pakistan would be using F-16 fighter jets against India and not against terrorists

The US asked Pakistan to ‘put forward’ its ‘national funds’ to buy F-16s

BY LALIT K JHA WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s efforts to get eight F-16 fighter jets from the US hit a fresh snag after the State Department expressed its inability to fund the USD 700 million deal with American tax payers’ money.

The US asked Pakistan to “put forward” its “national funds” to buy F-16s after some top Senators put a hold on the use of American taxpayers’ money to partially finance them.

“While Congress has approved the sale, key members have made clear that they object to using FMF (foreign military financing) to support it. Given Congressional objections, we have told the Pakistanis that they should put forward national funds for that purpose,” US State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference recently.

Kirby, however, did not say when this decision was taken and when it was communicated to Pakistan.

On February 11, the State Department had informed the Congress about its determination for selling eight F-16s to Pakistan at an estimated cost of USD 700 million.

The move was opposed by the Indian government which summoned the US Ambassador to India Richard Verma to lodge its protest.

Top American lawmakers led

by Senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, put a hold on the sale arguing that it would not let the Obama administration use tax payers’ money for sale of the fighter jets to Pakistan given that Islamabad

was not taking enough action against terrorist organisations, in particular the Haqqani network and there was continued existence of terrorist safe havens inside its territory.

Last week, American lawmakers during a Congressional hearing openly told the Obama administration that they feared Pakistan would be using these F-16 fighter jets against India and not against terrorists.

However, both the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Pakistan government insisted that F-16 is an important tool in the fight against terrorism and urged the Congress to remove the hold. The lawmakers stood their ground and told the Obama administration that it will not remove the hold till Pakistan takes tangible action against the Haqqani network.

Now Pakistan has time till May end to avail the American offer to procure F-16s.

Sources here told PTI that the May deadline for Pakistan to respond to the new development from the US is based on “offer validity and (Lockheed’s) production process” point of view.

Any delay in the acceptance of the offer, would result in increase in cost of F-16s. However, a senior Pakistani official said that Pakistan is unlikely to buy F-16s at its full price as being told by the US now. Earlier, Pakistan was to pay only USD 270 million for the jets. The US offer of eight F-16s, officials said, might still be there in paper, but it might go in for a long pause and price escalation if Pakistan decides against buying it, sources said.

PTI

Pak will buy F-16s from others if US fails to deliver: Aziz ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said it will buy F-16 jets from other countries if the US failed to provide agreed funds, amid reports that the State Department expressed inability to fund the USD 700 million deal with American tax payers’ money.

Prime Minister’s advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said that the Congressional blockade may force it to turn to other countries.

“Pakistan will buy F-16s from some other country if funding (from US) is not arranged,” Aziz said at a seminar.

PLEASURE CRUISE TO CUBA

People take photos as Adonia leaves port in Miami en route to Cuba. After a half century of waiting, passengers finally set sail on from Miami on an historic cruise to Cuba

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MAY 7, 2016

PUNE

MONEY MATT ER S

“By cutting its operational expenses by almost 11 per cent, Air India has turned from a Rs 2,636 crore loss-making unit in 2014-15 to a Rs 8 crore operational profit unit in 2015-16.”

— Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Civil Aviation Minister

Signpost Australian claims to be Bitcoin founder An Australian IT entrepreneur identified himself as the creator of digital cash system Bitcoin, ending years of speculation behind the identity of the crypto-currency founder. 45-year-old Craig Wright has revealed his identity to three media organisations - the BBC, the Economist and GQ. Wright identified himself as Satoshi Nakamato, the pseudonym he says he created when launching the currency in 2009.

“Leveraging the strategic partnership with Ant Financial, we look forward to working closely with more global partners like Uber to grow our influence in order to benefit our 126 million users.”

— Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Chief Executive and Founder, Paytm

GST, land reforms key to boost India’s economic growth: IMF

As a result of several steps to liberalise and simplify the FDI regime by the Indian government, the FDI inflows to India are picking up

BY KJM VARMA Structural reforms, including GST and in areas like land and labour, will be key to boost India’s economic growth potential going forward, IMF said.

“India’s growth outlook is favourable, with GDP growth projected to strengthen to 7.5 per cent in the current fiscal year, even in the absence of major structural reforms,” said Ranil Manohara Salgado, Chief of Regional Studies Division, Asia and Pacific Department of IMF. IMF released its Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific in Hong Kong in which it forecast that economies of China and Japan were expected to further slowdown sharply over the next two years but Asian growth will remain strong due to domestic demand despite weak global trade.

While the growth outlook looked favourable for the Indian economy, implementation of further structural reforms like Goods and Services Tax, (GST), which are stuck in the Parliament is a priority, Salgado told PTI in reply to emailed questions.

“Nonetheless, implementation of GST is a priority, as it would create a single national market, enhance the efficiency of intra-Indian movement of goods and services, and boost GDP growth further,” he said.

Other major reforms, those in the power sector, on land acquisition, in labour markets, and in general to strengthen the business climate, will also be important to increasing India s growth potential, he said.

On the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) shifting to India in view of its growth potential, Salgado said as a result of several steps taken by the Indian government, the FDI inflows to India are picking up.

“Several steps have been taken in recent years by the Government of India to liberalise and simplify the

FDI regime, including raising the ceilings on FDI in many sectors of the Indian economy,” he said.

Indeed, partly as a result of these and other reforms, total FDI inflows to India increased to USD 44 billion in 2015, or 2.1 per cent of GDP, up from USD 34 billion in 2014, or 1.7 per cent of GDP, which is an encouraging sign, he said.

“Nonetheless, a more conducive business environment is necessary to attract greater FDI into the manufacturing sector and help the success of Make in India initiative,” he said.

On China s economic slowdown, Salgado said Chinese economy which slipped to 6.9 per cent last year will further weaken to around six per cent in the next three years.

IMF forecast said Chinese economy is expected to grow at 6.5 per cent this year, the lower end of Beijing’s official target and 6.2 per cent in 2017.

The Chinese government has fi xed 6.5 to seven per cent as target for the GDP this year.

“We project growth to slow to around 6 per cent in the next three years. Such a slowdown in

our view is necessary to address the vulnerabilities in the economy, such as debt overhang, excess housing inventory, and overcapacity in heavy industries,” he said.

These adjustments will have shortterm costs, but deliver long-term gains in terms of more efficient resource allocation and put the economy on a more-sustainable footing, he said.

“For the medium-term, it is important that the government continues to progress on structural reforms and boost productivity growth.

Th is will help China maintain its high growth despite the ageing population and needed slowdown in investment, and ensure its continued convergence to high-income status,” he said.

About the impact of the economic slowdown on China s job market, he said “the degree of job loss in the industrial sector depends on how forceful the authorities implement the supply-side reform, entailing the exit of non-viable fi rms in overcapacity sectors”, he said. The current government plan is to lay off 1.8 million workers in the coal and steel sector in the next 3-5 years, he said.

Unofficial projections of job losses in China were stated to be about five to six million.

PTI

No official estimate RBI aims to curb e-transaction frauds of black money: Govt There is no official estimation of amount of black money that has been sent to foreign countries by India persons, government said.

“Determination of black money sent to foreign countries by Indian persons is subject matter of investigation and other follow-up actions by relevant law enforcement agencies, including Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate, CBI etc, which is ongoing.

“However, details regarding the amount of money involved in such cases are not maintained centrally,” Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

Asked whether Indian share in

black money stashed in tax havens across the world is at USD 152-181 billion, as per the recent estimate by economists from Bank of Italy, he said there seems to be no empirical evidence to suggest that the figures arrived at on the basis of certain assumptions and presumptions, necessarily represent Indian’s share in black money stashed in tax havens.

These economists have reportedly analysed data from IMF and the Bank of International Settlement (BIS) and applied certain assumptions to arrive at the estimation, he added. The same economists have reportedly estimated Indian share in black assets at USD 4-5 billion.

PTI

The RBI is working to put in place a regulatory framework to address customer grievance and liability issues arising out of frauds in electronic transactions, Government said.

“The matter is being further examined by the RBI to put in place a regulatory framework for addressing customer grievance and liability issues arising out of such frauds,” Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha. He said the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI) had in 2014 come out with a recommendation of limiting the customer liabilities in case of frauds taking place through electronic channels.

Replying to supplementaries, Sinha said there was too much of cash transaction in the Indian economy.

“87 per cent transaction happens

in India in cash, which is not the case in other countries. So much use of cash transaction is not good... this increases cost of handling besides inconvenience,” he said and underlined government’s commitment to encourage cashless financial transactions.

The RBI in its ‘Payment System Vision Document 2012-15’ for

ushering in a less cash economy suggested drawing up of a policy framework establishing roles and responsibilities of banks and customers in electronic transactions to minimise frauds, fi x responsibilities and zero liability protection to increase customer confidence.

The Document had also suggested drawing up a strategy for disincentivising usage of cheques above a certain threshold limit by customers and corporate which may include prescribing a cut off limit for cheques cleared through clearing house arrangements.

Sinha said a white paper was placed by the department for public comments in 2013. “Based on the response from the public, the department has not initiated any further action”.

The government had come out with a white paper on disincentivising paper

Muppets help children pick up financial skills The initiative aims to reach 30,000 children via touchpoints in the city through MCVs, workshops

Muppets and other fun-fi lled activities are now being used to help children acquire healthy financial skills and behaviour under a new multimedia initiative in the city.

The ‘Sapna, Bachat, Udaan: Aarthik Bal, Har Parivar ka Haq’ initiative is the Indian adaptation of a global programme - Dream, Save, Do: Financial Empowerment for Families begun by ‘Sesame

Workshop’ a non-profit organisation behind ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim’ - the Indian adaptation of American TV series ‘Sesame Street’ Along with MetLife Foundation, the initiative is set to provide engaging content featuring ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim Muppets’, language for discussion, and effective strategies for spending, saving, sharing and donating.

The workshops and mobile community viewings (MCV) are being held in Najafgarh area of Delhi.

The initiative aims to reach 30,000 children via multiple touchpoints in the city through MCVs and workshops conducted over a period of 3 years in collaboration with implementation partners.

A core set of audio-visual, print and digital resources have been created for the initiative in Hindi language.

“The MCVs and workshops aim to improve the knowledge, language and strategies on financial empowerment, to increase the dialogue between parents and children towards making informed choices around spending, saving, sharing and to help them realize their financial and non-financial goals,” says Sashwati Banerjee, Managing Director, Sesame Workshop in India.

A vegetable car converted into a mobile TV, travels to each street of the selected area calling out for children to watch educational and entertaining videos on financial literacy. All children gather around the TV for the MCV which is followed by workshops.

During the workshops, facilitators engage children in activities like making their own piggy bank or activities related to saving and sharing.

“Being a fun and entertaining activity for the community, the MCVs and workshops are enjoyed thoroughly by children and even adults. These activities provide parents the right vocabulary to talk to their

children about financial literacy.

“It is important that young children understand the concepts of sharing, saving, delayed gratification so that they become informed and better decision makers as they grow,” says Banerjee. .

The workshops which used to be held in Jharkhand earlier have now started in Delhi.

“We are spreading messages of financial empowerment to children and caregivers in Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Delhi. In Jharkhand and Rajasthan we are reaching through the Self Help Groups where we are directly able to impact women along with their children.

“In Delhi we are reaching out to children via Mobile Community Viewings (MCV). In a cluttered environment MCVs have always proven to be a great mechanism to catch eyes and engage children,” says Anuragini Nagar, Project Manager.

The muppets play an important role in the project educating children in a fun-fi lled and easy to go manner.

“Young children associate with cartoon characters and muppets.

They are elated to watch their beloved muppets - Chamki, Grover, Googly come into their local street TV. They feel connected to the muppets who are also the positive role models for them.

They often emulate the muppets, hence when Chamki talks about savings and planning, they emulate her and practice the same good habits in their life,” says Nagar.

Seven-year-old Nandini Kumari from Najafgarh, Delhi regularly participates in all the MCVs and workshops organised under the Sapna Bachat Udaan initiative, with her two younger brothers Badal (6 years) and Pratik (3 years).

Nandini has started saving money in the ‘Gullak’ (piggy bank).

She has already saved Rs 100 and gives it to her mother to keep it safe. “I used to give some pocket money to my children, but earlier they never valued money.

Now my elder daughter has started saving money,” says Nandini’s father.

PTI

Children feel connected to muppets who are also the positive role models

cheques and sought public comments on it. “However, the comments were not very encouraging. The charges levied for electronic transactions operated by the bank are low and transparent,” he added.

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has been given inprinciple approval to be the Bharat Bill Payment Central Unit (BBPCU) under Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), an integrated bill payment system. BBPS is an integrated bill payment system to function as a tiered structure for operating bill payment system in India with a single brand image, providing convenience of ‘anytime anywhere’ bill payment to customers. The present scope of BBPS will include utility bill payments such as electricity, water, gas, telephone and Direct-to-Home (DTH).

PTI

Investments by Indians in UK soar in 2015

BY ADITI KHANNA India’s investments in the UK zoomed nearly 65 per cent in 2015, establishing it as the third largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Britain after the US and France.

A new report released here also found that the number of Indian companies in the UK, growing at more than 10 per cent, has nearly doubled from 36 to 62 fi rms in a year.

‘India meets Britain 2016: Tracking the UK’s top Indian companies’, published by Grant Thornton UK LLP in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said the combined turnover of these businesses has increased by 4 billion pounds last year, up from 22 billion pounds in 2014 to 26 billion pounds in 2015.

Anuj Chande, head of the South Asia Group at Grant Thornton UK LLP, said: “In 2015, investments from India rose by 65 per cent, making it the third-largest source of FDI in the UK.” The top five Indian fi rms operating in the UK include Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, Emcure Pharma, Apollo Tyres and Wockhardt.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MAY 7, 2016

PUNE

VOX POPULI The US presidential race isn’t only drawing attention in the homeland, but it is being closely watched across the globe. We caught up with Puneites to gauge what they think about a campaign that has already thrown up one controversy after another.

period of the 60’s, Blues rock of the 70’s, jazz swing and many more.

When: May 7, 9 pm onwards Where: The Beer Cafe, Ground Floor, Kapila Matrix, Koregaon Park

Vardhan Pandhare IT Professional The US Presidential election in all probability and through the support of intellectual voters will be secured by the Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton.

The face of the Republicans is Donald Trump, and as the whole of America and the world knows, this guy is a controversial multi-millionaire, TV show artist, who’s still marrying ladies half his age. With zero experience in politics, and his policies and promises of banning Muslims and Mexicans in the US, this man is certainly not my fit to become the next US President. Hillary and her party have clear cut foundations and steps to resolve the current world and US scenario, and people of America will definitely give the Democratic Party a third chance to rule the nation.

BEER AND WINE FESTIVAL

us up. To give an endearing twist to this special day, Mother’s Recipe presents ‘#MotherForAll’, inviting mothers from across the city to participate in a noble cause. This unique initiative will witness mothers spending a fun-filled day at several orphanages, spreading love and affection amongst the children deprived of this priceless emotion. Activities will be conducted, games will be played and meals will be cooked and served.

When: May 8, 9.30 am onwards Where: Apalaghar, Warje |Shree Vatsa–Sofosh, Pune Station

THE ART CIRCLE WORKSHOP

Imagination Roof, an art studio located at Bhosale Nagar, in association with The Art Circle presents Artscapes Summer Workshop for Children.

Each day, the kids will learn a new form of art, its techniques and different ways to put them to use by artist and facilitator, Nachiket Prakash. The workshop includes various art forms like origami, painting, print making, typography, clay modelling and much more.

When: May 9 to May 20 Where: A1 Patil Heritage, Bhosale Nagar, Ganeshkhind Road

KARAOKE SINGING CHALLENGE

The HomeSukh is all set to host “Karaoke Singing Challenge” this Mother’s Day. This unique competition gives you a chance to compete with some of the best talents as well as mastering the finer nuances of Karaoke singing. The fun-filled evening will also allow you and your mother to bond over music by singing and dedicating songs for her peerless love.

When: May 8, 2016, 6 pm to 8 pm Where: The Home Sukh, Aracade 4, Ishanya, Off Airport Road.

Shireen Jamooji Student I’m still holding out hope for Bernie Sanders as the Democratic candidate. If it ends with Hillary and Trump coming head to head, the US will have hit an all time low. While Hillary winning would mean having the first female president, I think she’s so caught up in the publicity side of politics that she won’t do justice to the country as a leader. As for Trump, where do I start? That dictatorial little neo-Hitler will probably start WW3. Hillary would be the lesser of two evils but the ideal candidate is Sanders. He is smart, experienced and genuinely cares to improve the lives of American citizens.

PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP

AN EVENING OF ORIGINAL MUSIC

WEEK THAT WAS PUNE COUPLE ENDS LIFE

EDITOR

Dhaheem Habib CA Clinton should win, because she might not be able to bring a revolution and change the status quo or even drastically improve things; however she knows world politics well since she has been the secretary since decades. From the bunch, Clinton seems to be the only one who’s practical, understands the global diplomatic circle and she will not experiment with radical changes which can lead to massive devastation of economies, and perhaps people.

FOUR BOOKED AFTER FRACAS AT COUNCIL HALL Furious after losing ownership rights over a one-acre plot of land in Dhayari, Ravindra Laigude, Vinod Subhash Javalkar and Krushna Madhukar Gaikwad entered Additional Collector Pradip Patil’s chamber at Council Hall, attempted to smear ink on head clerk Milind Patil’s face and assaulted him on Monday afternoon. The trio was immediately taken into custody by Bund Garden Police. Ravindra and his cousin Balasaheb Laigude had approached the district collector’s office regarding ownership rights to 40 gunthas (one acre) of land at Dhayari. Ravindra had

allegedly given power of attorney and signed a memorandum of understanding with Javalkar and Gaikwad. After the decision went in favour of Balasaheb, the three got irked, and approached Resident Deputy Collector Rajendra Muthe, who advised them to file an application against the order at the Divisional Commissionerate.

RAHUL RAUT

LETTERS TO THE

THE TAPI PROJECT

Experience a melodious evening of eclectic music with The Tapi Project. Focusing more on tones and soundscapes, they are now on the verge of releasing a new album and going on a nationwide tour. The evening will have Yogi and Swati on the vocals and accompanying the band is the 19 year old drummer prodigy Kartik Sakaria.

When: 7th May 2016, Saturday Where : Gyaan Adab, Kalyani Nagar

WOMAN DROWNS THREE-MONTH-OLD GRANDDAUGHTER IN WATER BARREL

Misguided wisdom Wisdom World School’s order for its students to wear only Adidas shoes makes no sense. In fact, schools have uniforms to make sure that the economic class differences between students are downplayed and everyone seems equal. If a school is going to highlight how upmarket it is and how affluent are the students who enter its portals, I am afraid of what message it is delivering. The prime focus of a school should be to impart the best quality of education to its students, not how much richer they are than others. At a schoolgoing age, children are impressionable and should be imparted wholesome and human values. The education department should make sure that such absurd rules are not part of a school curriculum.

-Bhakti Godbole

In a shocking incident, financial distress led a 50-year-old woman to murder her three-month-old granddaughter. Living in a joint family, the victim’s medical treatment was draining their income. The Kondhwa Police have arrested Sushila Sanjay Taru residing at Atur Nagar Society Building No B1, Undri, Pune on May 3. Investigation officer Assistant Police Inspector Vishal Valvi said that the accused lives with her husband, their two married sons, their wives and grandchildren. The deceased was her younger son’s daughter. The victim was ill since her birth and required constant medical care. Adding to the financial pressure, the maid who massages the baby girl fractured the latter’s leg and the child had to be taken to the hospital. These expenses allegedly disturbed the accused. Kondhwa Police have registered a case under Section 302 (attempt to murder) of Indian Penal Code.

Preserve Maharashtra’s culture

PIC

OF

Shubham Chavan (19) and Ashvini Gavade (18) ended their lives in the wee hours of Saturday. Their bodies were found lying on the railway track in Hadapsar, barely 100 metres from their homes in Shindevasti.

The couple, according to railway police, lied down on tracks minutes before an oil rake was to pass. While the couple did not leave behind suicide notes, their families believe Shubham could not muster the guts to tell his family about their affair and call off his wedding. Vinod Chavan, Shubham’s uncle said that nobody in the family was aware about his affair with Ashvini. “We have no any idea as to why he took this extreme step. He was to marry a week from now. We had done all the shopping for his wedding. Had he given us an idea that he was in love with someone else, we would have called off the wedding,” Shubham’s uncle told TGS. Railway police has registered a case of accidental death and would investigate if there is more to the incident.

Soumyanshu Behera Independent film maker and Photographer I think either Hillary or Sanders is going to win.

Trump will destroy the country with his irrational and imprudent outlook towards national issues.

After a long run of having someone like Obama, the country definitely doesn’t need anyone whose idea of winning people is by inculcating political propaganda and repetitive adulterated promises.

There’s no one who comes close to Obama, but Bernie is the only sensible one among the lot who should be able to handle the power of the seat well.

E WE K

MOTHER FOR ALL

Mother’s Day is an occasion to appreciate mothers for the endless and selfless efforts they put while bringing

This Saturday, enjoy an unparalleled beering experience with The Flying Sticks. A newly-formed Blues ‘roots’ band it was formed by Rahul Chatz.

The speciality of the band is that it has its own signature feelings and cannot be mimicked. TFS is a three-piece band which cover and make original music from some of the blues based styles from the 50’s and early 60’s onward, electric period, psychedelic

Imagination Roof, an Art Studio at Bhosale Nagar is hosting a three hour photography workshop conducted by the brilliant photographer Gagan Prakash. He is currently a photography professor at Symbiosis University. He has worked as a wildlife photographer and photojournalist, and would bring to the workshop years of experience and would make the teaching a fun and interactive experience. This is a great way to master the basics and learn how to shoot like a pro!

When: 7th May 2016 Where: Imagination Roof, A1 Patil Heritage, Bhosale Nagar, Ganeshkhind Road

THE

FUSION MUSIC LIVE

The HomeSukh brings to you another power-packed evening with electrifying fusion music performance

by Angel Music Academy. The funfilled evening will witness both students and trainers of the academy performing together on Tabla, Casio and Guitar to enthrall the audience.

The customers and spectators will be engaged and encouraged to perform under the guidance of these trained artists who will teach them the finer nuances of musical art form.

When: May 7, 6 pm to 8 pm Where: The Home Sukh, Aracade 4, Ishanya, Off Airport Road

Come and enjoy the heavenly combination of Fahrenheit’s Custom Pizza’s with alcohol as they kick-off their Beer and Wine Festival. With a lip-smacking range of beverages being served, the joint guarantees good times with their menu.

When: May 7 & 8, 5 pm to 7 pm Where: Fahrenheit Custom, Baner

SUMMER HOLIDAYS ARE HERE AGAIN: Children have used a display board under a tree at DP Road, Karve Nagar to hang a swing

The spotlight feature on the vanishing traditions of Maharashtra made me feel nostalgic, on the eve of Maharashtra Day, and the stunning photographs made the story come alive. The street singers, fortune tellers and others who were a part of every day life in the villages and cities of Maharashtra are teetering on the verge of extinction, and the sad part is that no one really cares.

Our headlong rush to progress and the modern way of life is making things obsolete in a rather roughshod and brutal manner. Every society is identified by its culture, heritage and traditions and if we care so little about ours, I dread to think what Maharashtra will be like 50 years into the future. TGS must be lauded for making people like me sit up and think, and I look forward to your weekly doing more of the same, week after week.

-Moupia Basu

The forgotten good deeds Ambulance drivers Balasaheb Hingane, Rafique Mulla and Asif Shaikh’s help to the injured and victims of the Germany Bakery blast has been forgotten, as have the promises of the Bund Garden police for a certificate of merit and appreciation. And the reasons that the police extend for the oversight are plain lame. What will it cost the police to do the men a little courtesy? In fact, acts like these should be highlighted so that others in society will be inspired to help people in need. The Bund Garden police should immediately do what they can and give these ambulance the tokens of appreciation that they have waited for, for six years.

-Pooja Shergill

The impossible dream

Michelle Kakade’s running odyssey is inspiring. Imagine taking up running at the age of 35, and then going on to achieve so much, including a Limca Book record. Her latest marathon 1.2 million step feat across 56 cities of India, is even more inspiring. And her message about daring to dream, and having the will to attain the dream is truly a lesson for ordinary humans like me. Michelle embodies the fortitude and grit of the human spirit, that enables us to battle against seemingly insurmountable odds, in the quest to achieve a goal. Kudos to Ashish Phadnis for highlighting such an inspiring person.

-John Goode

Write to Us

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

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MAY 7, 2016

PUNE

SPORTS

“Aggression is what helps me be at top of of my game. I would not change or trade that for anything. Every sportsperson should have that aggression in a good way and not in an arrogant way.”

— Virat Kohli, Indian Test Captain

Signposts Siddhi Hire wins gold medal Pune Siddhi Hire won a gold medal in the 14th Federation Cup Junior Athletic Meet held at Bangalore recently. In the 100m event, Siddhi finished first with a time of 12.19s. With this performance, she has also qualified for the Asian Junior Athletic Meet to be held later this month.

Lalbam Puyya nets eight goals for PFC Lalbam Puyya’s eight goals helped Pune FC U-17 thrash AIYFA Sky Hawks 9-0 in their super division league encounter at the DSK Toyota Pune Football League at the DSK Football grounds, Loni. Puyya scored in the 15th, 28th, 31st, 42nd, 56th, 72nd, 78th and 89th minutes.

Meanwhile, in another match, Bishop’s FC registered a 7-2 win over Aryans Social Foundation.

Pune girls enter final in state football Pune girls entered final with a 6-4 tie-breaker win over Nagpur in the Maharashtra State Inter-District Senior Women’s Football Championship, organised by Mumbai District Football Association at Karnatak Sporting Association grounds, Cross Maidan.

“Zidane is doing a great job. We’ve always been behind Zidane because he is a humble person who likes to listen, and that always makes things easier.”

— Cristiano Ronaldo, Football player

I try not to be critical: Narang The ace shooter is all set for medal hunt in Rio Olympics. Says he is focused on game ignoring all controversies and issues

BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis_ashish Rio Olympics 2016, the world’s biggest sports extravaganza, is just two months away. Every elite sportsperson in the world is preparing for the big show, even while there are concerns over Rio’s incomplete infrastructure.

Gagan Narang, India’s ace shooter and 2012 Olympics bronze medalist, feels that infrastructure is not an issue for athletes to be concerned about. It just the sport and performance athletes should focus on, he believes.

“I try not to be critical. The moment you start complaining, the negativity builds up inside. So my policy is to enjoy whatever facilities are available and make the most of them.

The shooting ranges have to be built according to ISSF standards, so I am sure there won’t be any compromise on that front,” said the shooter.

He visited Brazil recently, and about the experience, he said, “We participated in the World Cup held last month in Rio. There were some issues of travelling and other facilities.

The weather was hot and humid. We had to travel all the way to the range, which took two and half hours. But I believe that the conditions during the Olympics will be much better. We will

Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma (L) presented an autographed bat with the inscription, ‘Go for the Gold’ to Gagan Narang. (inset) The shooter has his own fan following in this cricket-loving country.

be staying in the Games Village and I am sure there will be separate lanes for the players to travel.”

Gagan is now heading to Moscow, where he and Indian shooters Chain Singh and Apoorvi Chandela will undergo a preparatory camp for the Olympics.

“I am also participating in a couple of competitions there. It will help me to get into the rhythm,” he said.

During the inauguration ceremony of the Pune International Sports Expo (PISE) at the College of Agriculture Grounds, Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma presented an autographed bat with the inscription, ‘Go for the Gold’ to Narang.

“Winning medals for India is my job, but while I pursue my dream of yet another Olympic medal this time in Rio, I want to reflect on the challenges

that we face,” said Narang.

“We often talk about a level playing field. While in corporate boardrooms this still is an utopia, in sports this is what we strive for. However, in a country like ours, democracy or level can only come once we think of ‘opportunity’ or ‘playing fields,” he said.

About the number of medals the Government is expecting from the Olympic athletes, Narang said maybe

that figure is achievable or maybe not, but what is more important is what has gone into the effort.

Recently, the Parliament was told by the Sports Ministry that the Government expects ten medals from Rio, while the target is 25 for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“Surely that is a number that the Government wants to achieve given the grants they give. But is it practical?

It can become practical if there is democratisation of sports and if Indian sports had many more stake holders,” said Narang.

“In that backdrop, I see there is a great initiative here to give a shot in the arm to Indian sports at this sports exhibition, as we need people like these to partner sporting needs of people who are not only at the top, the elite athletes, but the ones starting out as well,” he said. In his speech, Rohit Sharma pointed out that Pune has a special place in his career as after playing his Under-14 and Under-17 cricket in the city, it was here that he was selected for the India Under-17 team. ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com