The Golden Sparrow on Saturday 10/09/2016

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PUNE, SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2016 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

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TGS LIFE

Old age home sans food and electricity

Every once in a while, especially during the monsoons, there is news about old houses collapsing. From the real estate perspective, such structures pose a complex situation, where the rights of tenants and landlords come into play, and then there are the more tragic kind of situations where the occupants of old, dilapidated buildings have no option, as they neither have the money to repair the structure or invest in new homes See p08-09

Ajay Bhute started an old age home at Khed Shivapur after taking Rs 17-25 lakh from every occupant. Five See p03 years later, he has fled with their money

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2016

PUNE

MUMBAI

‘‘An acid attacker is a sadist who gets perverse pleasure in torturing others. Such a person gets pleasure if a victim dies in agony. The tendency of such an accused in the future may cost the lives of many young girls if he is not awarded the death penalty.’’

-Ujjwal Nikam, Special Public Prosecutor

Terrorists getting public support in parts of country P 12

Arrested developer sought help from Abu Salem Pujit Aggarwal met gangster in Dubai

BY SANTOSHEE MISHRA @TGS WEEKLY Although the Mumbai Police arrested Orbit Corporation Managing Director Pujit Aggarwal in a cheating case, the realtor’s name had cropped up in 2005 after gangster Abu Salem named him in his statement to the state AntiTerrorism Squad (ATS). Salem, an alleged accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, was extradited from Portugal on November 11, 2005.

The ATS officials who had interrogated Salem suspect that Aggarwal had links with the underworld, a possibility that they failed to probe. Post-extradition, Salem in a statement to the State ATS confessed to his connection with builders and Bollywood.

“Salem admitted that Aggarwal is one of the builders who met him in Dubai. The builder sought his help to settle a land row on Nepean Sea Road.

The said property was near Mahalaxmi Temple,” said an ATS official now deputed as an assistant commissioner of police in Western region of Mumbai Police, adding that Aggarwal along with a person attached with a minority cell in Dubai had long discussion about the alleged land dispute.

“After Salem’s statement was

recorded in December 2005, Aggarwal was called for questioning by the ATS but he never visited the ATS headquarters,” the officer said. The ATS officials claimed that since Salem’s case was on a different track, they did not

bother to question the builder.

On September 8, the Azad Maidan Police Station had arrested Aggarwal after an FIR was filed

by Capri Global Capital Limited Senior Vice President Ashok Ratanlal

Agrawal against Orbit Corporation and its two promoters Pujit and Ravi Kiran Aggarwal for allegedly cheating to the tune of Rs.2.53 crore over three flats at Orbit Residency Park in Saki Naka, Andheri. The Aggarwals and Orbit grp are booked under Sections 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) r/w Section 3,4,5 of Maharashtra Ownership of Flats Act (MOFA).

Capri Global Capital Limited, the complainant, had paid Rs 2.53 crore for three flats at Orbit Residency Park in Sakinaka, a project of Aggarwal and his father Ravikiran Aggarwal.

The Aggarwals had mortgaged the project with LIC Housing Finance Limited (LICHFL) for a loan and were supposed to deposit sale proceeds of all the flats in an escrow account with HDFC bank.

However, the money was not deposited in the escrow account, and when LICHFL took over the possession as Aggarwals defaulted on loan repayment, the finance company did not recognise the claims of Capri Global Capital on the flats in the project, the complaint said.

Police said Aggarwal had allegedly duped several investors/buyers and lenders like SBI, LICHFL, etc, and is facing cases at several police stations in the city.

Aggarwal is remanded in police custody till September 12.

With agency inputs tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Maha govt in dilemma over parole guidelines

A week after formulating stringent guidelines for granting parole to the convicts, Maharashtra government appears to be in a dilemma with reports of some convicts at Yerawada central prison near Pune threatening to launch a protest.

After Sajjad Moghul, convicted for murder of Mumbai-based lawyer Pallavi Purkayastha, jumped parole, the government came up with new guidelines based on the Centre’s ‘model prison manual’. Under the new rules, convicts, in the cases of extreme emergency, can apply for parole of 45 days without any further extension.

Speaking to reporters, Principal Secretary (Appeals and Security, Home) Vijay Satbir Singh said the new rules are applicable to only two per cent of the convicts, those who are convicted for serious crimes like rape and murder.

“There is a reddressal mechanism in the form of a high-powered committee set up by the Bombay High Court to deal with practical difficulties,” he said.

“If the problems are genuine, required action can be taken.”

Justifying the stringent rules, he said the government could not imperil the safety of ordinary citizens. “The government needs to ensure that the convicts, while out on parole, do not disturb the peace in the society,” he said.

Singh also clarified that the new guidelines were not applicable to undertrials.

“The guidelines were made stringent so as to prevent convicts like Moghul from jumping the parole,”

Rural households still Travel firm staffer held for fraud bereft of electricity Nearly 35 per cent of rural households across the country are still bereft of electricity mainly due to lack of effective monitoring and co-ordination between the Centre and state governments, a recent report has said.

“Access to electricity is a key socioeconomic development indicator - an area where there is still a significant gap in India. As of May 2016, 35 per cent of rural households are bereft of electricity with sharp variation across the country,” as per a study by financial services firm JM Financial.

While 87 and 71 per cent household in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, respectively, have no reported access, there is universal electricity access in states such as Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, it added.

“As electricity is a concurrent subject, lack of effective monitoring and co-ordination can be attributed to the wide variance across states,” the brokerage firm noted.

It pointed out that there has been a delay in execution of projects and was evident from the low actual spend in past programmes.

By May 2016, only 25 per cent of the 12th Plan’s amount allocated to

rural electrification programme has been spent and 81 per cent for the 10th-11th Plan has been spent.

The Narendra Modi government has launched the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) as the flagship rural electrification programme.

“DDUGJY incorporates realtime monitoring of work progress, independent verifications through Gram Vidyut Abhiyanta (GVA) engineers and is likely to see improved execution,” the firm said. As per the report, rural electrification, along with the urban T&D development plan, is expected to drive massive spending of Rs 1.6 trillion (USD 24 billion) over FY1622; benefiting companies across the electricity chain.

According to the study, five states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Assam, account for 80 per cent of un-electrified households.

JM Financial, therefore, noted that the criteria for declaring a village as electrified should be relooked and focus should be on monitoring household electrification more than village electrification.

PTI

Employee misappropriates clients’ fees, to raise money for his older brother’s lavish wedding plans

BY SANTOSHEE MISHRA @santosheemishra

The Azad Maidan police have arrested a 23-year-old youth for duping at least 20 people, to raise money for his older brother’s marriage. The arrested youth has been named and identified as Saleem Shaikh. He was caught after the company he worked for discovered the fraud, and handed him over to the police.

The company,Creative Tours and Travels is based in South Mumbai, and assists clients in procuring visas and passports for different countries.

According to the Azad Maidan police officials, Shaikh, a resident of South Mumbai, had been working with Creative Tours and Travels for the past one and a half years, in the visa department. His job was to deal with clients seeking visas for foreign travel.

“He also took the initial processing fees from the clients. It was this authority which he misused, on

Saleem Shaikh

learning that his brother was getting married, and wanted to spend a huge sum of money on the marriage.

Shaikh took processing fees from the clients, but neither gave them visas nor deposited the money in the company’s bank account,” said an official.

“On September 2, while going through the records, the company’s owner found that a payment of their regular client had been pending and

RBI should share black money data P 14

issued a notice to it. But a day later a reply from them stated that the visa job was not done in spite of advance payment. An inquiry was then conducted within the company, which revealed that Shaikh had taken Rs 6,500 but did not deposit the cash in the bank account,” the official said.

“He was then questioned by the owner of the company,after which he confessed to having kept the money. He returned the amount and apologised.

Later, the 28-year-old son of the owner of Creative Tours and Travels started scanning the records of the visa department, and found about 20 more such cases,” said a police officer.

Shaikh was questioned about these 20 cases, to which he confessed. He told the owners that he had been taking the money from the clients and depositing it in the bank account of his brother, who was to get married this year. To splurge on his marriage, Shaikh had duped the company for over Rs 2.63 lakh,” claimed the official.

“An FIR was registered in the matter at the Azad Maidan police station, under sections 420(cheating) and 408(criminal breach of trust) of the IPC. The process of recovery of the amount is underway,” the officer said. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Singh said.

Attempts to dilute the guidelines will be counter-productive, he said, adding that “basic architecture” of the new policy and its “core” will remain the same, even if there is some tinkering.

Tracing Moghul was becoming difficult due to the current unrest in Jammu and Kashmir from where he hails, Singh said.

Earlier parole was granted for 30 days with provision of further extensions.

“If the convicts face any problems these can be looked into by the grievance redressal mechanism set up by the HC,” Singh said.

He said there are 54 prisons in Maharashtra which have about 30,000 inmates. Of these, 70 per cent are undertrials.

Nashik central jail, where Moghul was lodged, is the largest one and can accommodate 2,000 convicts. Singh said 41 convicts lodged in this prison have jumped parole since 2014.

PTI

Employers see steady hiring activity in India in 2017: Survey The global economic slowdown witnessed in 2016 so far could not affect on India’s employment market, according to a survey.

Instead, the country’s 80 per cent employers are confident that hiring activity would remain steady in 2017, the latest ‘Salary and Employment Outlook’ by global recruitment specialists Michael Page said.

“India’s employment market enjoyed a good year largely remaining unaffected by the global economic slowdown in 2016, and 80 per cent of employers in India are confident that hiring activity will remain steady in 2017,” it said.

It further said that 3 in 5 employers or 60 per cent of Indian companies will be adding new head count in 2017.

“We have observed a positive outlook on firms’ employment forecast in India.

With new orders coming in from overseas firms seeking to utilise India’s vast resources and labour pool, more foreign firms are investing in the manufacturing, infrastructure and renewable energy sectors,” Page Group Singapore and India Senior Managing Director Sebastien Hampartzoumian said.

PTI

Cyber world’s dark side where sexual predators are on the prowl

Young woman found lying in pool of blood in her bedroom, is said to be a victim of cyber hypnotism

BY SANTOSHEE MISHRA @santosheemishra In one of the rarest of rare cases, a girl who suffered an ‘online rape’ and was lying in a pool of blood in her apartment, has now been admitted to a private hospital in a critical condition, with severe injuries on her private parts. The alleged ‘wire rape’ took place between India and the United States of America.

The victim, Pragya Chavan (name changed to protect the identity of the victim) was found in her bedroom lying in a pool of blood, by her parents on September 3, at around 7.15 pm. She was immediately taken to the nearest hospital, where the authorities insisted on registering a case of attempted suicide.

The parents then approached a family friend and advocate Pankaj Bafna, an expert in cyber crime and forensics.

Bafna said, “At present I am going through the laws in USA so as we can approach them to register the case that has happened in India, but the suspect is based in Florida , USA. As the data of transaction of communication should have been stored in the server, it is an electronic evidence and should be submitted in the court as a concrete proof of the personal attack on the body following the orders of the suspect. Even in the ‘live chats’, the data is always stored on the server and from the server it is transmitted on the screen differing by a gap of fraction of seconds,” Bafna explained.

What happened?

The victim is 28 years old and has a Master’s degree in Business

Administration. She works in a multinational company in a senior position.

She lives in an upmarket area with her

parents. Pragya came in contact with the ‘suspect’ based in Florida, USA through a social networking site. They were friends for about three years.

Pragya and the suspect talked with each other online and later started interacting through a ‘web cam’.

On September 3, Pragya’s room was locked for a few hours. The parents failed to get any response, and broke open the door to enter her room. They found that she was in deep pain, lying in a pool of blood, with a screwdriver inside her body.

Pragya’s family is in a state of shock and have decided to take stringent action against the suspect.

“As the parents barged into her bedroom, the web cam turned off in a fraction of second. They rushed to hospital but the authorities claimed that it was a case of personal assault.

They approached me and I have

started the investigation,” said Bafna.

“The suspect hypnotised the girl.

It is known as ‘cyber hypnotism’, and ordered her to do sexual acts on live web cam with various tools, like a screwdriver. The victim followed the orders and inserted the tools in her body as per the instructions by the suspect,” said Bafna.

“We are at present discussing the jurisdiction where to register the case, and assessing if it was a personal attack on self through cyber hypnotism, or online rape,” he said.

Tips to avoid cyber hypnotism *Do not remain continuously online, take a break after every 30 minutes *Do not believe in whatever you see on opposite side *Do not reveal your data as it gets passed on the other side tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2016

PUNE

‘‘Land owners must be allowed to construct in the BDP and then only the greenery can be protected. If hilltops and hill slopes are reserved as BDP , slums are certain to come up. If we want to protect our hills from slum encroachments, we have to give construction permission.”

— Ajit Pawar, NCP Leader

A rising China needs to restrain itself P13

Old age home sans food and electricity Ajay Bhute started an old age home at Khed Shivapur after taking Rs 17-25 lakh from every occupant. Five years later, he has fled with their money

BY VICKY PATHARE @Vickypathare2 His plan was simple, his target was innocent, and he made away with Rs 2.30 crore. By promising all the amenities required at an old age home, Ajay Govind Bhute of Sahakarnagar opened ‘Shantiniketan’ at Khed Shivapur in 2010 under the Shanti Charitable Trust Foundation. He vanishes from the scene after collecting money from 16 senior citizens and they have now lodged a complaint against him with the Khed Shivapur Police under the Rajgad Police Station.

According to the elderly complainants, Bhute had put up an attractive newspaper advertisement about ‘Shantiniketan’ being located at a calm, pollution free

environment with 500 sq ft fully furnished accommodation with recreation rooms and rooms for medical care, besides two times meal and breakfast with tea. It also promised an administrator who will be responsible for the running of the home and supporting staff such as clerks, cashier cum accountant, nursing staff, attenders, maids and a cook. A medical officer to attend to the health needs of the inmates and medicines and medical accessories.

The housing project also had recreational and reading facilities such as televisions, newspapers and books. The other facilities included a bus to travel, picnic and tours every month, and Rs 500 per month as pension to the residents.

Many senior citizens fell for the advertisement and gave Rs 17-25

lakh each as Bhute assured lifetime care of the occupants. The conman ran the house for five years and f led on June 30 with their hard-earned money, leaving the 10 elderly citizens to fend for themselves with no food, electricity or any other facility. With no sign of the ‘ever-smiling’ Bhute, the aged dwellers lodged a complaint with the Khed Shivapur Police after waiting for one and half month.

According to the complainants, 16 senior citizens had paid their hard-earned money to buy their place at ‘Shantiniketan’ and the total money paid to Bhute was Rs 4 crore.

Three of the inmates died due to lack of medication and some moved

PMC on a lookout for mosquito breeding spots around your house PMC conducts door-to-door drive to identify and destroy mosquito breeding spots in the city, and guilty parties are made to pay fines

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 To curb mosquito breeding and the spread of dengue, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) health department has launched a house-to-house drive in the city to detect such spots. No less than 207 owners of properties or societies, bungalows, offices and constructions sites, with stagnant water or garbage, which is conducivefor mosquito breeding,havebeen fined, and Rs 1.75 lakh was collected from them in 20 days.

There was an alarming upsurge of dengue cases in the city,in August. To tackle the denguemenace, the PMC health department of vector-borne diseases, formed 79 teams comprising 300 workers, and assigned them to the door-to-door vector programme in the city, since August 16. These squads go

from house to house, identify mosquito breeding sites, and also fine the owners, with amountsranging from Rs 200 to Rs 500. If such breeding sites are found indoors, the residents are fined.If the spots are on society premises,the chairman or secretary is held responsible. These teams are also scrutinising construction sitesand offices,and bringing them to book, if found guilty.

These 79 teams conducted searches at5.65 lakh establishments in the area of 15 ward offices,from August 16 to September 6.In the drive, 5785 establishments were identified as being conducivefor mosquito breeding. Of them, 204 establishments were fined Rs 1.75 lakh, and were also issued notices.

These teams are conducting indoor searches in 15 wards of the city, including Aundh, Ghole Road, Warje, Kothrud, Dhole Patil Road, Ahmednagar Road, Sangamwadi, Tilak Road, Bhavani Peth, Vishrambaugwada, Bibwewadi, Sahakarnagar, Hadapsar, Dhankawadi, Kondhwa and Wanowrie.

The largest number fines, 50, were levied in the Ahmednagar Road ward office. Only one establishment

was fined in the jurisdiction of Tilak Road, the lowest among all ward offices. In the Kondhwa-Wanowrie ward offices, 2.34 lakh house searches were conducted, 2572 establishments were found conducive for mosquito breeding, and seven were fined.

Dr Kalpana Balivant, PMC chief of vector-borne control diseases, said that they are trying to curb the breeding spots on a war footing.

“Our teams are going door-to-door to find the breeding spots. We have eradicated the breeding spots we have found and fined the owners of such establishments. Along with homes, we also visited schools and found breeding spots at four of them,.” said Dr Balivant. If breeding spots are found at homes, PMC will fine the owner Rs 200, and if 4-5 or more houses in a society are involved, the amount can go up to Rs 6,000 , she said. “Collecting fines is not our object but making people aware is the main purpose behind it. Many of them hesitate to pay the fine and call local representatives, but we don’t spare them. People should keep their area clean so that breeding spots are not created,” said Dr Balivant. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@ goldensparrow.com

out due to the grim situation at the home. The situation changed for the worse when Bhute collected Rs 1 lakh from each senior citizen in 2015 citing that he is in debt and cannot manage their food and electricity bill. He also passed a message through the manager that he cannot provide them with any facility, even food, from August 30.

THE VICTIMS Vidhyadhar Bharadwaj, 95, was a loner as he didn’t want to burden his relatives. The newspaper advertisement describing the government recognised safe old age home ‘Shanti Niketan’ at Khed

Shivapur became the ideal place to spend the rest of his life. He disposed of all his belongings and collected his savings to raise Rs 25 lakh to get his accommodation at the old age home. He was not made to sign any agreement before paying Rs 25 lakh.

“I have sold all I had to pay for the ashram. We all are under depression due to the lackadaisical approach of the ashram owner. Even if I get my money back, what will I do with it? Where should I go now? I don’t have any option and I can’t even go and look for other accommodation because of my advanced age,” he said.

Shivaji Kudale, 78, and his wife Sulochana Kudale, 70, both have no

children and relatives to take care of them. The couple had sold their jewellery and savings to pay Rs 17 lakh to Bhute. Shivaji had retired as a driver and their savings were all they had. “There is no one to take care of us. We have foodgrain stock for three days that we have managed from our own money. We fear of starvation now,” said Sulochana.

Janardhan Surve, 71, who retired from Central Railway, and Vatsala Surve, 63, fell for the advertisement and its promised amenities. They sold their house and paid Rs 21 lakh to Bhute after the couple was assured of lifetime care. “We don’t have a child to take care of us so we decided to sell our house and spend our remaining time of life in the old age home. We thought that at least here we will have someone to take care of us. How can people be so inhuman?” questions Vatsala.

The police said that the accused has already two pending cases against him. “We have filed a case of cheating as per Section 420 of IPC against the accused who is at large,” said Dnyaneshwar Bajgire, Police Sub Inspector of Khed Shivapur Police Chowky. The police visited his father-in-law’s home at Sahakarnagar and his office located at Kumtekar Road, Pune.

“We have recorded the statement of the ashram’s manager and directed him to take care of the elderly dwellers in the absence of the owner. Even the manager said that he has not received his salary for the past three months and most of the workers have left the job at the ashram for non-payment of wages,” Bajgire said. vicky.pathare@goldensparrow.com

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PMC health department’s officials during a visit to society on Prabhat Road (Left); The officials didn’t stop at merely fining those who had breeding spots in their houses but told them how to keep their surroundings clean

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THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2016

PUNE

‘‘We have been thinking of ways to fight drug abuse and have repeatedly wrote to colleges telling them CHE to have regular counselling sessions for students. But we understand that the counselling system needs to be strengthened.”

- W N Gade, vice chancellor of SPPU

TomTom chooses Pune for global innovation hub P10

IT cos shying away from Pune Higher property taxes in Pune are driving away IT firms to other Indian cities with lower tax rates

• Total IT companies in Pune city – 922 • Number of IT companies came before the year 2010 - 695 • Number of IT companies came between years 2011-2013 – 229

P12

WCD wants to shut down 147 shelters

BY VICKY PATHARE @Vickypathare2

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar Pune city is regarded as one of India’s prime information technology (IT) hubs. But it is in danger of losing IT hub status as no new IT company has registered in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)’s limit in the last three years. IT industries are shifting to cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Gurgaon which have lower property tax compared to Pune. Not a single IT company was registered with the construction department of PMC since 2013, shows PMC construction department data.

There were 693 IT companies registered in PMC limits before 2010.

From 2010 to 2013, there were 229 more IT companies registered. But since 2013, not a single IT company has set up shop in PMC limits.

One of the major reasons behind IT companies not coming to Pune, is its higher rate of property tax compared to cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Gurgaon.

Pune has a ten per cent share of IT companies in India. Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park in Hinjawadi provides job to three lakh people, and indirectly to ten lakh people. PMC gets Rs 300 crore as revenue from these IT companies in the form of property tax every year.

Maharashtra government has made its IT policy in the year of 2003 to attract more investment from this industry. The government has given various exemptions to IT companies like equal property tax rates with residential rates, and land at low rates, concessions in water and electricity bills as well. The government has been giving these concessions to IT industries constantly by giving

‘Married son’ can get compassionate jobs

PROPERTY TAX TO IT COMPANIES IN CITIES City

Property tax (Rs per square feet)

Bengaluru

1.20

Hyderabad

1

Chennai

2

Gurgaon

1.80

Pune extension to its 2003 IT policy in 2008, 2009 and in 2014-15 as well.

But despite this state government initiatives, Pune is losing its IT hub tag and IT companies are shifting or setting up their plants in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai.

About why IT companies are not coming to Pune city which was once their favourite destination, commissioner Kunal Kumar said, “IT industry is one of the major industries in Pune, which provides directly and indirectly jobs to nearly 13 lakh people in the city. It gives Rs 300 crore revenue to PMC in the form of property tax. PMC applies property tax rate equal to residential to these IT companies. Even for this year PMC has taken property tax from these IT companies equal to rates for residential as per state government IT policy. Recently we have done a survey of declining investment of IT industry

5.40 in Pune city from CB Richard Ellis private company. Through it we came to know that we have higher property tax rates compared to other cities. So we will have to communicate with the state government regarding IT investments going to other states in the coming days, and review and make an IT industry-friendly policy again.

What are the additional facilities these companies get from other states? We have to design IT policy more friendly compared to others in the coming days and will have to act to overcome these lacunae.”

Mayor Prashant Jagtap said, “It’s an alarming situation for all of us that IT companies are not investing in Pune city, and shifting to other cities.

So there is a need to make new IT industry-friendly policy of PMC, and we will surely do it in the coming days.”

Corporator Avinash Bagwe said, “Giving exemption in property tax to

these IT companies is wrong. They are not doing any charity but are fully professional, profit-making private companies. It is injustice to Pune people that these IT companies have property tax rates equal to residential.

Some companies are taking facilities from government by posing as IT companies, but they are indulging in some other businesses. So instated of giving them exemptions to these IT companies, PMC need to take action against such firms.”

PMC’s standing committee chairman Balasaheb Bodke said, “Recently as of state government IT policy, standing committee has given permission to charge these IT companies property tax equal to tax from residential property holders. Some days ago property tax department gave presentation to the mayor and me that the main reason behind IT companies not coming to Pune now is that we have higher rates of property tax compared to other cities. Earlier PMC had lower property tax rates compared to others.

So there is a need of reviewing it and make rates flexible. But on the part of PMC revenue decrease, state government has to give assistance to local bodies. Because this industry not only provides jobs to our youths but acts as growth engine in the economy of our state.” tushar.rupanavar@ goldensparrow.com

As many as 147 children’s homes under the names of Balsadan, Balgruha and Balak Ashram, operating under the Women and Child Development department, are facing closure. The state Women and Child Welfare Department (WCD) will now seek permission from the Aurangabad High Court bench to cancel registrations of the 147 children’s homes for reasons of overall mismanagement. A couple of months ago, WCD had even requested the deputy Divisional Commissioner to look into the issue for swift action.

The WCD has marked the children’s homes in A, B, C and D categories, as per the marks allotted by the committee during a surprise survey, where the children’s home were graded, A – above 90 per cent, B - 80 to 89 per cent, C- 70 to 79 per cent, and D below 79 per cent (not acceptable). The survey found that 147 children’s homes were not following the prescribed norms as per the WCD and Child Welfare Committee, and were functioning just to siphon money from the government. Thirty-three children’s homes were closed as there were no inmates.

The Aurangabad High Court bench had issued a stay order on closure of the homes on June 3, 2015, on the grounds that “the conditions laid down were impossible and even if one mark is less, grants would not be provided or closure action to be initiated. The order also focused on ‘whether the inspection committee was properly constituted or not, and if reasonableness of the

135 vendors booked Two bus stops where for selling at more none are needed than MRP LMO holds special drive on Ganeshotsav

BY TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly In a drive to check overcharging, the Legal Metrology Organisation (LMO) raided departmental stores and shops across the state. In the campaign conducted during the Ganeshotsav, the LMO Pune Region filed 135 cases and penalised the offenders. The authorities found that overcharging was done on fancy electrical items, sweets and gift articles. The offenders

also include five renowned sweet home vendors in Pune.

According to LMO (Pune region) Deputy Controller DL Kove, the organisation received complaints about overcharging on products at wellknown sweet marts, supermarkets, departmental stores and retailers. The raids were conducted at Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Sholapur.

“We carried out a special drive all over the state on September 3 and 4. We booked 57 vendors for selling commodities having no maximum retail price (MRP) on it, 20 for overcharging, 13 for selling underweight products, five for tampering MRP on goods and 40 vendors for other violations. Most of the violations were found on sweets,” Kove said.

“If the consumer is not getting the product as per the weight, then the consumer is cheated. The weight of box is not included in the total weight of the goods before finalising the purchase. To avoid being cheated, the consumer should be alert. Consumers can always contact LMO if they feel cheated,” he said.

The vendors were booked for violating the Legal Metrological Act 2009, (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011. “In Pune district, 19 vendors were booked for selling goods having no MRP on it. It’s a clear violation of the rule, the vendors earn large amount of profit by selling such goods that carry no price tag,” said LMO (Pune district) Assistant Controller DG Mahajan. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

A PMPML bus stop comes up within a few feet from an old, existing stop on Nagar Raod corridor

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma Pune’s public transport system has been in the line of fire almost always.

But the situation has never improved.

From the disputed mid-road corridors meant for BRTS, to the rickety condition of the buses, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has always been unreeling under some problem or the other. Now, curiously, the PMPML is wasting public money on setting up two bus shelters where even one is not needed.

The Nagar Road corridor was the earliest BRTS route. One would expect that the phasing out of PMPML buses would start from the same route. But in the last fortnight, a new bus stop was created, a few feet away from the old existing one

on the left side of the road. This was in addition to the bus shelters in the BRTS corridors. Clearly, there is an excess of bus stops on that route.

A couple of days ago, the bus stop recently installed was uprooted and transported to an unknown location.

This was done in accordance with the PMPML department’s decision that the said route did not need an extra bus stop. But the PMPML department is unaware that the said route still has a bus stop.

The bus stops are supposed to generate advertisement revenue for the corporation. Thus, the placement of the bus stop and its installation is done by the advertisement department. While the advertisement department is going around putting up not needed bus stops across the city, the PMPML remains blissfully unaware about the usage of tax

money.

City based activist Qaneez Sukhrani, who has written countless emails and letters to the authorities about the condition of the existing bus stops, was appalled to see two bus stops right next to each other. “These are anyway not used as bus stops since very few people travel by buses.

These are used as shelters by beggars, vendors and other illegal miscreants.

This is just wastage of public money,” she said.

According to D P More, the joint Managing Director of PMPML, the route doesn’t need a single stop. “We had ordered that the existing bus stop be removed. We have no information about any other bus stop in the area,” he said. When the situation was described to him, he said that for this an entire investigation will have to be set up with the advertisement department.

The advertisement department, however, was unavailable for comment on this issue. gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

methodology could be tested.”

“The survey was conducted on random basis by the district collector with revenue department and other state government officials. It was a third party survey and not conducted

by WCD officials as per the rules of the general resolution,” said Ravindra Patil, Deputy Commissioner of WCD. “Within a couple of days, we will write to the Aurangabad High Court bench to look into the pending issue, as it may be a loss to the children living in poorly graded children’s homes, and they could be shifted to a children’s home where they have better prospects of development and growth. The decision will also curb the unnecessary amount of money spend by the government on the D grade children’s homes,” said Patil.

“The points to these children’s homes were given on aspects of education, food, clothes, hygiene, living facilities and infrastructure for the children. After getting permission from the court, the children will be immediately sent to other homes run by the WCD. Cancellation of show cause notice will be initially issued. The order mainly highlighted the issues of administration, revolving around corruption, negligence, education, food, clothes and hygiene,” said Suresh Tele, assistant commissioner, WCD. “The delay in the action had needlessly given concession to these spurious institutes. The homes in D category will be given a chance for improvement, and they would function according to norms spelt out to them,” he said. vicky.pathare@goldensparrow.com

32 per cent Puneites paid their property tax online

BY TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly The growing response to paying property tax online could be gauged from the fact that over 32 per cent of citizens have used the facility this year. According to the figures released by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), as many as 32 per cent citizens paid property tax online in 2015-16 as compared to 16 per cent in 2014-15. PMC property tax department not only encourages citizens for going cashless but also provides options.

Property tax is the second most revenue generating department after the Local Body Tax (LBT) department.

There are as many as 8.50 lakh properties registered with PMC. More than six lakh property holders have paid their property tax till date, including 1.84 lakh online transitions, amounting to Rs 155 crore property tax collection till date.

Property Tax Department Head Suhas Mapari has launched many online platforms to facilitate citizens to pay their property tax.

Speaking to TGS, Mapari said, “Citizens have taken to online transactions as it saves time. From cashless options like online applications InstaPay, property holders can pay their property tax. Property tax department has also tied up with 67 public and private banks. For 2015-16 till date, property tax department has received Rs 155 crore though these cashless options. We plan to open platforms like Paytm soon. Even we are working on online platform where property holder can directly connect their bank accounts and department will get property tax every year automatically through online.”

The PMC has appointed two agencies to carry out the GIS mapping of all properties within the civic jurisdiction. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2016

Kishore Mansukhani’s love for the city motivated him to file PIL

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma

decided to file a PIL at the high court.

“We realised that the system in place to check traffic violations was non-existent and flawed. The Regional Traffic Office is applauding itself over digitising the process, which doesn’t work. What is digitising worth if it doesn’t show me the history of the licence holder?” he asked. When they realised that it was the system, they decided to approach the high court. “The fatality rate in Pune for road accidents is very high.

Places like Mumbai, Delhi and Kochi come far behind. This made us look into the road monitoring system, only to realise that the cameras installed across the city are actually manned by personnel and thus are not very effective,” he said.

The PIL brought into the notice of

the court the high fatality rate along with the ineffectiveness of the present fines and punishments levied on traffic violations.

“Why do the youngsters whiz past overspeeding even when the signal is red? They know that the most that will happen is a Rs 100 fine if they are caught,” he said, adding, “clearly, the fines need to be modified and increased.”

The PIL filed by them in June 2015 is still subjudice. However, the court has taken cognisance of the matter. For the petitioners, senior counsel Anil Anturkar and advocate Abhay Anturkar have represented in the court.

“The bandobast has become better over the years we have been fighting the case. Clearly, the cops wish to help, but even their hands are tied,” he said, adding that it is however, too

He has brought home a living Gauri instead of an idol

Kalewadi youth shows the way by bringing home a living Gauri, a teenage girl from Yerwada mental hospital, instead of a Gauri idol

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar

Pune city is infused with a festive spirit and citizens are installing idols of GoddessGauri in their homes.

Gauri is worshipped in the state of Maharashtra forthree days during the ten-day Ganesh festival. Gauri idols are installed in homes, and fruits and sweets are offered to the deity.

But Kalewadi youth Yogesh Malkhare, instead of a Gauri idol, has brought home a 15-year-oldgirl from the Yerwada mental hospital.

Malkhare said, “I am a spiritual person, and I believe in God. People bring home Gauri idols, and decorate the idol with sari, ornaments, and

even decorate their homes. People offer fruits and sweets to the Gauri idols. I just feel thata living person is more important than an idol. So instead of bringing home a Gauri idol, I thought that I would bring home a girl from mental hospital for three days. It will provide a change for an inmate of the mental hospital.

Instead of spending money on an idol, I broughthome a real living Gauri. The name of the girl is Pooja Jadhav, and she has been an inmate of the mental hospital at Yerwada. I went through the required procedure of the mental hospital,and they gave me custody of Pooja for next three days,on the occasion of the Gauri festival. Pooja hails from Latur.She, her mother Meena Jadhav, a sister and two brothers were living on the streets for one and a half months. Pooja did not even have clothes to wear. A friend from Latur called me and told me about the girl.My friends and I immediately went to Latur and bring Pooja to Pune. We went through the police and court procedure, and the court ordered that Pooja be admitted

to the mental hospital at Yerwada.

Pooja has been at the mental hospital since then. For the Gauri festival, I decided to bring Pooja to my Kalewadi home. I have followed the hospital norms, completed them, and brought Pooja home for three days. Pooja is now like Gauri for me. I brought her a new dress, and sweets. I believe that God lives in underprivileged people.

Instead of spending money on an idol, I spend the money on Pooja. I also brought Pooja’s mother Meena Jadhav from Latru to Pune to meet Pooja at my home. It gives me immense happiness, that I am able to bring happiness to such underprivileged people. Today Ganesh mandals have drifted from Bal Gangadhar Tilak’saim of sarvajanic Ganesh Utsav. It seems like a waste of money.

Ganesh mandals spend crores of rupees on sound systems and pandal decorations.If they instead spend this money to help poor people, India will become a beggar-free country.”

Yogesh’s mother Anjali Malkhare said, “Yogesh has been very sensitive person and has shown love and affection for underprivileged people since childhood. He has now brought home Pooja Jadhav in the form of Gauri. We put kunku-haldi on her forehead, and gave her new clothes to wear. During thesethree days,we will look after Pooja.

It will give her a breakfrom the life she I used to at the mental hospital.”

Meena Jadhav was overjoyed to meet her daughter Pooja at Yogesh’s home. Pooja hugged her mother joyfully, their first meeting after she was sent to the mental hospital. The mother and daughter reunion brought tears to the eyes of Yogesh’s family and the others present there.

Meena Jadhav said, “My husband deserted us, and left me four children to take care of. We were living on the streets of Latur. Pooja has been mentally unstable, and it was even more dangerous for her to be living on the streets, a potential victim of rape or attack. I was always concerned and fearful of what might happen to her.

Yogesh has been like an angel sent by God. What he has done for Pooja, by admitting her to the mental hospital, has relieved me of a great burden.” tushar.rupanavar@ goldensparrow.com

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P11

Puneites knock on court’s door to clean city’s traffic mess Five Puneites have taken upon themselves the mammoth task to question the traffic mismanagement of the city. They have filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court and have raised multiple loopholes in the system of traffic maintenance.

Pune has come a long way from being the sleepy town that it once was. According to a state economic survey, the percentage of vehicles owned by families in Pune district is higher than any other district in the state. The city’s roads are so prone to traffic violations that it has become a norm for city dwellers.

Team TGS decided to speak to the main petitioner, Kishore Mansukhani.

Mansukhani, 59, belongs to an era when Pune had very few cars. “Just think of this, when I got my licence some 40 years ago, there were hardly any cars on a Sunday afternoon on the busiest of streets,” he said reminiscing about the days gone past. However, in the recent years, when he couldn’t drive through a road without having at least one outburst, he knew it was high time. “I am a proud Punekar.

I have lived all my life here. However, when I realised that the city was becoming unlikeable due to its traffic issues not just for outsiders but even for people like me, I knew that we have gone from bad to worse,” he said. Mansukhani and five others, including Ashwini Malhotra, Suvir Mirchandani and Vivek Seth, then

US varsity to study Pokemon Go

Many animals may be extinct by 2100

‘‘Road safety has always been a neglected subject. Road safety fund is, hence, a very welcome step. The fund needs to be used comprehensively to cover all related aspects if a positive transformation in road safety conditions has to be achieved.”

- Prashant Inamdar, convener of Pedestrians First

PUNE

Tribal museum or a garbage dump?

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma

little and too late. “Cops monitoring traffic movement should have begun earlier. Now no one fears them at all,” he said.

The court in its last interim order has asked the city authorities to respond if the system of recording could be automated.

“In many countries and even in a few cities in the country, the cameras installed near traffic signals are fully automated. The software is thus programmed that if there’s a traffic violation, the cameras click pictures automatically. That way, there’s definitive proof of a violation and then the punishment process also gets very transparent,” he said.

The court has also asked the possibility of the traffic police monitored WhatsApp number, akin to Mumbai traffic police’s initiative, in Pune, where citizens could send pictures of traffic violations and then follow up on their reported cases.

The traffic situation in the city has become a woe for many. However, the PIL is an attempt to right this massive wrong.

“When we were young, we did our share of foolhardy stunts. But we were always scared of the police and never ever did we endanger anyone’s life. Nowadays, however, accidents have become commonplace and it is marring the image of this city. Rather than sit in my own car and grumble about this, I along with the others, wanted to correct the flaws.

That was the only motivation I had behind filing the PIL, which I am hoping is going to get us some results,” he said. The last date of the hearing was on September 7, however, it couldn’t take place. The next date of the hearing is expected later this month. gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

The Government of India isn’t leaving any stone unturned to accomplish the Swachh Bharat mission. But the reality is quite different, in Pune city. In a posh locality frequented by tourists, an open land plot has become a garbage dumping ground for resident of housing societies in the vicinity. The concerned authorities know about the situation, but they seem to be turning the proverbial blind eye.

The tribal museum at Koregaon Park is part of the government-run Tribal Training and Research Organisation.

The museum is a great tourist attraction as the Sahyadri, Marai, Gondwana and othertribes from the state are duly represented along with their culture. However, right outside the building, there is a garbage dumps with various levels of decomposing material.

City based activist Qaneez Sukhrani was shocked to see the dumped garbage. “I wondered if the plot was a designated dump. How can the area around the museum, which is an international tourist spot, be so appalling?” she said. However, she was told that it was just an open plot, which was being used as a garbage landfill. A member of the Solid Waste Management (SWM) department of PMC, first said that they would get the garbage cleared soon. When Team TGS spoke to Suresh Jagtap, head of the SWM department, he said, “The area in question lies outside the PMC’s jurisdiction. It is PCB land. We have told the PCB to get it cleared.” PCB officials said that they were unaware of any such complaints.

Gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

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THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2016

PUNE

‘‘Most parents are construction workers, migrants, security persons among others who are illiterate about the online process. This was pointed out to the education officers, but they insisted on continuing with the online process. The results were on expected lines.’’

- Matin Mujawar, Activist

Soon, you may ‘touch’ objects in videos!

P 11

Hospital staff struggle to cope with the aftermath of violence

The hospital staff who are victims of assaults by the public, are finding it hard to come to terms with the trauma

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 The assaults on government hospitaldoctors,staff and security guards by irate members of the public, seem to be on the rise.And the 1296bed government-run Sassoon General Hospital, Pune is no exception. In the past year, there have been three incidents of assaults on doctors, and five assaults on security guards at the hospital.

TGS found that the victimsare finding it hard to resume their way of life,before the attacks. They seem unable to erase it and the associated trauma from their memory. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@ goldensparrow.com

‘Now, I feel insecure when I have to deal with the patients’ relatives’ Pawan Suresh Musale, 25, of Kedgaon,a Sassoon Hospitalsecurity guardwas going to have dinner on the night of February 19, 2016, when he was told about a woman selling clothes in from of ward number 24. He and his two colleagues Avinash Jadhav and Joseph Ratan Jadhav, rushed to the spot and tried to evict the woman. The woman refused to go away, and then Rajesh Chavan,who claimedto be her brother, confronted the guards. Musale and his colleagues took Rajesh to the Jamadar’s office, but then he called up some people on his cellphone.

“Within minutes, around 30 people armed with sticks came there and started beating us three guards.Somehow we managed to escape from the clutches of the mob and got

admitted,” said Pawan. He and the other two filed a complaint against Rajesh Chavan and the woman under sections 353 (prevent a government employee from discharging his duty) and 332 (causing hurt) of the IPC. “After the incident, my colleague Avinash quit the job here and joined a company at Daund,as he was afraid of being subjected to such attacks in the future.Now, even I feel insecure when I have to deal with the patients’ relatives, as it is possible that someone else may also raise their hands on me. So I am also waiting for a transfer,as the incident has created a fear psychosis in my mind,’’ he said.

Eight months after registering a complaint against Rajesh Chavan, the Bund garden police have not arrestedhim.

‘It was heart-breaking to lose my child because of a drunken man’

‘We are responsible for others’ security, but who will ensure our safety?’

Poonam Zirpe, 27,a woman security guard of Sassoon Hospital, sustained a fracture in her hand, when two drunk men beat her with a stick. The incident happened on September 5 at around 8:30 pm, when a man came to the ward, and asked to meet his wife admitted to ward number 19.

Sushma Gajbhiye, a woman security guard,refused him entry and told him to come the next day, as men were not allowed in the women’s ward at night. The man then started abusing her. Zirpe, who was on duty at an adjacent ward, rushed to help Sushma.The mancaught her by the hand and slapped her. Then his accomplice arrived and beat both of them with a stick,which was when Poonam’s left elbow was fractured.

The incident has left Poonam in a depressed state. Shehas been working at the hospital for three years,but she has now availed of a week’s leave,to overcome the trauma.

“Some patients’ relatives are downright rude.They don’t bother about the hospital rules

and regulations, and if we try to stop them they are quick to argue and resort to violence. We are responsiblefor the security of others, but who will ensure our safety?” she said.She filed a complaint against the culprits but the police have not made any arrests.Her husband works in a company and earns Rs 15,000 a month.

Beaten up by a cop

Kavita Gaikwad, 26,resident of Padmavati in Indiranagar,has been working as a security guard in Sassoon Hospital for two years. She happened to be on night duty in March this year,atthe women’s ward number 24, on the third floor of the main building.

At around 9pm an inebriated man came to the door of the ward and asked to meet his wife who was admitted to the ward.

“Male visitors are not allowed at night in the women’s ward, so I refused. The man grabbed me by my throat, and he punched me in my stomach also. Fortunately, some of my colleagues arrived in time and stopped him from beating me further. Iwas petrified, and moreover I was two months pregnant at the time.

After being punched in the stomach, I suffered intense painin my stomach. Then the unthinkable happened, and when the pain did not subside, I was advised to abort the embryo. Itwas heartbreaking to lose my child because of a drunken man. I am still disturbed when I think about it, but I have to carry on working.

I earn Rs 8,000 a month. I did not lodge a complaint with the police, because had I done so, I would have to make frequent visits to the court. I just don’t have the time, as I have domestic responsibilities and my job as well,” she said.

Dr Karmazimba Bhutia, an MS orthopedic doctor from Sikkim, shared his experience with us. Dr Bhutia, then a final year student of BJ Medical College, was on emergency call on Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at around 8:30pm. He was going to the Operation Theatre (OT) on the second floor of the orthopedic ward to see an emergency patient. In the passage in front of ward number 14, Bhutia dashed against Samarth police station constable Shrikrishna Khokle.

As per the police record, the cop beat Bhutia with a wooden stick.

Both of them registered cross complaints against each other at

Sassoon Hospital owes Rs 38 lakh to security

Kids of sex workers beat the odds to succeed in life

Security guard agency has asked the collector to intervene and ensure the payment of Rs 37.97 lakh arrears of guards’ salaries

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 On one hand they are wary of attacks by the public. But the 125 security guardsat Sassoon General Hospital are waiting to receive Rs 37.97 lakh in pay for 2013-14, for four years.

Pune District SecurityGuard Board (PDSGB) has sentnumerous notices to the hospital but to no avail.The agency has now written aletter to the collector,requesting him to senda notice to the hospitaland recoverthe money.

“We are taking a follow-up for last one year with the hospital, but thehospital administration has not paid the amount of levy and payment for 2013-14,” said Suresh Salunke, secretary of PDSGB. “Wehave sent numerous notices to the hospital and reminders under section14 of the Maharashtra Private Security Guards (Regulation andemployment and Welfare) Act, 1981. Last time we had sent a notice

on May 30, 2015 to the hospital, and asked them to deposit the money within 15 days. But they didn’t, so we sent a notice to the Pune collectorand asked him to recover the money,” he said.

After this, PDSGB sent a letter to the Pune collectorate for recoveryof the amount, on June 18, 2016 with several reminders. But there isno response form collectorate office yet. “Despite sending the notice to the collectorate, we neither got a response from the collectorate nor hospital.

Security guards keep demanding their arrears and we are unable toprovide the amount till they deposit it in our account,” he said.

Deputy Dean Murlidhar Tambe has assured that the pending amount will bedistributed soon. “The said amount is pending and we havecompleted all the clerical process and amount will be deposited with PDSGB within 15 days.” dnyaneshwar.bhonde@ goldensparrow.com

Bund Garden police station the same night.

“I was shocked to see a law enforcer responsible forcitizens’ security turn into alaw-breaker.

The incident left me in the kind of traumatised state I never imagined I’d be. I could not concentrate on my studies and practice after the incident.

In all, the unpleasant incident just disrupted my schedule and quality of life,” he said.

Dr Bhutia completed his MBBS degree from a Sikkim based university. He then got admission toa Master of Surgery (MS) a post graduate course at BJ Medical College, Pune three

years ago.

Another fallout of the incident is that he has had to makethe rounds ofthe court.

He has already attended four hearings, and there is another one he has to attend at the end of September.He does not know how many more he will have to attend.

“I have complete faith in our judicial system, but the court hearings have affected my studies. Thanks to the unstinting support from Dean Dr Ajay Chandanwale and my MARD team colleagues,I have been able to cope with the situation,” he said.

NGO Vanchit Vikas has helped chart bright future for children

BY GUNWANTI PARASTE @gunwantiparaste

Their childhood days were spent at traffic signals, some as young as five years old, begging customers. Now it is all past as these children of commercial sex workers no longer stand on the street soliciting customers.

NGO Vanchit Vikas has changed their lives for the better. The social organisation was founded by social activist Vilas Chaphekar who started social work at the age of 17 and worked extensively among students, street children, children of sex workers, and gave non-formal education in slums. These children have now become role models for other children.

Speaking to TGS, Shrikant Gabale said, “When I was in standard VII, I came to know that my mother is a sex worker. I never asked her about how she landed in the red-light area. It was Vanchit Vikas that supported me for studies. Kids like us are shifted to Nihar Hotel in Lohegaon when we reach 12 years old, and I joined a private hostel after completing my standard X exams. During my graduation at Modern College, I had to do odd jobs like rag picker, delivery boy, sweeper to pay for college and hostel fees as I had to move out of the hostel after Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Examination. My mother always supported me but never stayed with me.”

Gabale credits Vanchit Vikas for allowing him to stay at the organisation’s kitchen as he cannot afford the hostel fees.

“My mother was staying alone in slums, working as a maid after leaving the red-light area. With the NGO’s help and mother’s blessings, I completed my doctorate and am working as a manager with a private firm. I helped my sister get married and bought a home for my mother. The joy on my mother’s face and her happiness after seeing the house cannot be expressed in words.

Kiren Hiremath (30) has never seen her mother as people around him said that I am an orphan and staying with Vanchit Vikas. “I never asked about my parents but wanted to become successful in life. Till I was 12, I was staying with the NGO before I was shifted to Nihar Hotel. I always requested teachers and guardian to help me run a business. It was while working at a hotel in Pune that the owner got impressed with my hard work and helped me start my small hotel. Soon, I married Laxmi Hiremath (27) who also stayed at the Lohegaon hotel and she helps me manage the hotel,” said Hiremath. The couple has two children and they have big plans for their future. “We will try our best to provide a better environment for our kids,” he said.

Shrikant Milinmani and Shridevi Shikle are siblings. “My mother hails from Karnataka and I did not know how she ended up in red-light area. My sister Shridevi and

I stay at the NGO that took care of our education. My sister now works as a nurse at Bharati Hospital and I am pursuing my final year BCom, besides working part-time.”

Vanchit Vikas NGO Director Sunita Joglekar said that the body has helped 93 kids of sex workers enter mainstream.

“Society accepts orphans but the future of children of sex workers is bleaks. Our aim is to development of these children. We are dedicated to educating and empowering children from red-light areas and ensure that they continue studies. We have several success stories to share as many such children have excelled in higher studies, securing top posts in government and private sector jobs,” she said, adding, “we encourage mothers to drop their children at our school. We convince the CSWs that their children have no future without education. We counsel these women as well as their children.” gunwanti.paraste@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2016

“Merely strong condemnation of such terrorist attacks is not enough. We must harden our resolve to eradicate this menace and also take serious steps to this end.”

— Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister

“We need to target not only the terrorists, but also their entire supporting ecosystem. And, our strongest action should be reserved for those state actors who employ terrorism as an instrument of state policy.”

— Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

WhatsApp group to collect funds for cancer patient Zarin

Seagull soars in brand consultancy

Pune-based brand consultancy bags Brand Consultancy for Innovative Businesses award at Entrepreneur India Congress

WhatsApp group People s Power is helping a four-year-old girl fight cancer by raising funds for her treatment

TGS NEWS SERV CE @TGSWeek y C y s brand consu ancy Seagu Brand Launch Cen re w ns he Brand Consu ancy or Innova ve Bus nesses award a he 6 h Annua En repreneur Awards hos ed a Ho e Pu man n De h The awards br ng oge her en repreneurs and nves ors w h an a m o crea e oppor un es or nves men bu d par nersh ps and co abora on avenues and h gh gh en repreneursh p as means o address some o he mos n rac ab e soc e a cha enges The award s presen ed o an en erpr se ha s r ves o so ve he brand ng ssues o nnova ve and fledg ng bus nesses Seagu Brand Launch Cen re Ch e S ra egy Officer Sameer Desa accep ed he award on beha o he company Speak ng a he even he addressed var ous po n s re a ed o ear y-s age compan es “Marke ng and brand ng s a ways abou mprov ng consumer s e Wh e work ng n ens ve y w h ear y-s age compan es or he pas coup e o years we have no ced ha compan es a o per orm desp e hav ng grea produc s and grea deas And hey don a because o he produc bu because o non-unders and ng or non- nc us on o he consumer n he d scuss on much ear er on ” he sa d Seagu has been n he ndus ry o brand co-crea on or he pas 22 years g eedba k@go den parrow om

BY SALONEE M STRY @Sa oneeM ry Irrespec ve o how busy h s day s he on y hough runn ng hrough h s head s ha o h s e daugh er Zar n Sha kh Wh e she w ce ebra e her fi h b r hday on Sep ember 21 he e babe has been ba ng w h cancer s nce she was hree and a ha years o d A dr ver or he as ew years 26-year-o d Za ar Sha kh s he on y earn ng member or h s am y o s x L v ng on a dr ver s sa ary s no easy ask and manag ng he expenses o h s daugh er s rea men s on y an added burden Wh e here has been no s gn o mprovemen n Zar n s hea h n he pas hree mon hs he on y regu ar happen ng n he house s he hosp a v s s every wo days or her check-ups Zar n has been de ec ed w h ch dhood acu e ymphob as c eukem a ALL ALL s a cancer ha s ar s rom Za n Sha kh he ear y vers on o wh e b ood ce s ca ed ymphocy es n he bone marrow he so nner par o he bones where new b ood ce s are made The bone marrow makes nnumerab e mma ure ymphocy es The eukem a may affec red b ood ce s wh e b ood ce s and p a e e s affec ng he over-a hea h In h s me o d s ress a group o peop e ha go by he name Peop e s Power s do ng a hey can o ra se und or her rea men and he p he am y make ends mee S ar ed by Was m Kadr who s an IT pro ess ona he Wha sAapp group cons s s o abou seven o h s r ends who ry and he p someone every mon h “I a ways wan ed o he p he needy and do my b o g ve back o he soc e y Wh e dona ng o an NGO mon h a er

D ve Za a Sha kh (cen e) w h he membe s o Wha sApp g oup Peop e s Powe s a ed by Was m Kad ( gh )

mon h seemed ke an easy op on here was no guaran ee o be ng used or he r gh reasons Keep ng h s n m nd I dec ded o crea e a Wha sApp group o a ew r ends o m ne find peop e who rea y needed he p ver y he r case and hen he p hem ou ” he sa d Th s s no he firs me ha he group has he ped Sha kh and h s am y Las year oo when he needed money or h s daugh ers rea men he group had managed o arrange abou Rs 40 000 o Rs 50 000 or hem Apar rom Sha kh he group has he ped ano her am y who needed unds o rea he r ch d who was suffer ng rom cancer The group has been unc on ng s nce wo years and cons s s o Dan sh Sha kh Im az Khan Z a Sha kh Saeeb Sha kh Bushra Nesarg Mudassar Khan and Kadr h mse

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A o hem are pro ess ona s work ng n IT firms and ake urns a find ng peop e o he p “I s no ke we a come rom ex reme y we -off am es bu us ee s n ce o do some h ng or someone e se Even here s a cer a n amoun o effor nvo ved n erms o figur ng ou he case s genu ne or no s a wor h a he end The sa s ac on s a ee ng above every h ng e se ” sa d Kadr The group con r bu e Rs 500 rom he r pocke s every mon h and keep as de hey find someone needy o he p I ever he requ remen s more hey find a way o ra se he unds e her by ask ng he r r ends and am y or do hrough crowd und ng pages a onee m ry@go den parrow om

Seagu B and Launch Cen e Ch e S a egy Office Samee Desa (cen e) co ec ed he awa d on beha o he company

Relax and take an art cruise TGS NEWS SERV CE @TGSWeek y

In a y we made hem s separa e y a er oge her and hen he un began ” she sa d The young en repreneur sa d ha floor soon urned n o an energe c p ayground w h coup es s ng oge her and d scuss ng he r work ask ng and g v ng sugges ons and mprov ng he r pa n ng The sess on he ped hem bond and ee ree o express he r cr ca ana ys s “Even s ke hese g ve p easure soo he he sou and g ve se -en oymen Each sess on has a pro ess ona ar ns ruc or who gu des you a ong he way n echn que dur ng your pa n ng comp e e w h pa n ng ma er a s I s an oppor un y o m x up w h r ends and ge w h he crea ve s de ” she sa d Meh a p ans o ho d such even s across he c es “We w soon conduc TPS n Sura and Goa I have a so go nv a ons rom Pune and are work ng ou he finances The expense o organ s ng such even s var es bu a s andard wo-and-a-ha -hour sess on w cos be ween Rs750 and Rs1 000 F rs ns ruc on and op c are g ven bes des equ pmen compr s ng pa n ng supp es and s gna ure The Pa n Soc a aprons Dr nks are served o ee a ease and en oy conversa ons w h your r ends and o her par c pan s Then he pa n er akes you hrough bas c s eps o crea e a canvas you be proud o share w h o hers Whe her a poor ar s or a pro he ma n dea s o have un and de-s ress ” sa d Meh a who a so hos s heme-based par es and am y unc ons g eedba k@go den parrow om

CARS, BIKES, TRIPS, GEAR HONEST, FUN REVIEWS TECHSPEC TANK PADS

TGS LIFE

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

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

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

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

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THRILL OF DRIVING

TGS LIFE JULY 9, 2016 PUNE

THRILL OF DRIVING

By Tushar Burman

Road-tripping in Thailand

TGS LIFE JULY 16, 2016 PUNE

THRILL OF DRIVING

T

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

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

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

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

Perfect roads as far as the eye can see

TGS LIFE

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

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

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

TANKED-UP TGS LIFE

JUNE 25, 2016 PUNE

JUNE 11, 2016

By Tushar Burman @tburman

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

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

THRILL OF DRIVING

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

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

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

Step-thrus and

SHIMA D-TOUR WP GLOVES

THOROUGHBRED @tburman

MOTO GEAR

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

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

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

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

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

Still, it’s evident from the quality of thecornering, interior that the TUV absorbing steering and a driver airbag. energy With the benefit of hindsight and experience, we can also is meant to be a bit more upmarket. But it costs between 10 and Five personalized kit options are available: Urban, Style, Kool, say that the current TUV300 feels a bit heavy to steer compared 16,000 rupees LESS than the NuvoSport. Confused?

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

Datsun Redi-GO launched, starting at Rs 2.38 lac

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Minimal badging on the sides and at either end

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

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

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

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

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

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

A

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

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

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

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

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

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

G

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

JUNE 4, 2016 PUNE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THRILL OF DRIVING

Marks the sixth luxury SUV that Mercedes sells in India

AMEO=POLO PLUS

By Tushar Burman

bottomed steering wheel which feels nice to manipulate.

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

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

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

294 litres inDO the hatch to 330 in the sedan.

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

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

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

It’s finally here: the Polo with a boot

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

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

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

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

Engine and interior mimic the Polo hatch

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

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

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

Mahindra launches all-electric eVerito

Triumph Bonneville Thruxton R launched for Rs 10.90 lac

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while remaining lightweight.

Features are basic but thoughtful.

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

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

The jacket comes with CEapproved armour in the shoulders, elbows, and along the back. Fit appears to be European, which will work well for slimmer riders. fasten on the There are button fasteners sleeves to get a more snug fit, and velcro on the cuffs and waist. The RST mesh jacket will be available in this black/red combo, or the inverse: red/black.

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

TGS LIFE

JULY 30, 2016

By Tushar Burman

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RST MESH JACKET

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

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

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

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

TGS LIFE

TGS LIFE

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

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

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

The equipment list continues; the Thruxton

B g dea

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

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

By Tushar Burman

MONSOON

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

by a Gujarati. He has a huge fan following!

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

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

@tburman

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

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

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

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

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

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

VISHAL KALE

Many o us v ng n me ros or c es find ourse ves ead ng as and ur ous ves W h compe ve work ng cond ons some run he r sk o becom ng s ressed anx ous or depressed resu ng n a decreas ng qua y o e S ress can and w a some po n n many peop e s ves ake Ruch Meh a a heavy o on our m nds and bod es bes des adverse y effec ng our hea h And hav ng a hobby cou d he p us ou o s ress u e Ruch Meh a s The Pa n Soc a TPS s an effor o e ar encourage crea v y and se -express on as veh c es o reduce s ress and ncrease awareness In ac pa n ng s a med a ve r ua o he crea ve process o exp ore he nner crea ve vo ce and one does no have o be pro o en oy he benefi s o ar “I a ways had an ar s c bend o m nd and have won awards n ca graphy n schoo days I h nk ha a o us need a hobby or an ac v y ha can he p us cu off rom he ou s de wor d by do ng some h ng ha cou d be nv gora ng

re ax ng educa ona and un My hobby s o pa n and when do ng so I can ose myse or hours S ud es have shown here can be a d rec connec on be ween pa n ng and a reduc on o s ress eve s ” sa d Meh a he 28-year-o d b o ech gradua e who d d her ear er s ud es rom New Zea and and comp e ed her MBA rom SP a n Ins u e o Managemen & Research Mumba Ta k ng abou her n a ve Meh a sa d “The Pa n Soc a s ar ed n May 2016 In he beg nn ng I nv ed r ends or he sess on and asked or he r eedback You can ca as a par y w h pa n as s a comb ne o cock a s and canvases I was a momen o come ch pa n ea and have un The peop e who urned up ound he sess on o be un des ress ng and herapeu c and encouraged me o con nue w h Even hose who are ho d ng he brush or he firs me a er schoo ound he even n eres ng as he r works were no udged TPS urned ou o be a way o crea ve y pass he me ” Meh a s ar ed ho d ng such even s n Mumba be ore organ s ng a s m ar programme n Pune “The heme o he Pune even ha we conduc ed or he firs me was Coup e on Canvas pa n par y n assoc a on w h V be Group on une 19 The venue was The F y ng Saucer Sky Bar a V man Nagar The even saw he par c pa on o 23 coup es The mage was pre-se ec ed o Coup e Swans Each coup e made ha o he pa n ng where he o her ha fin shed he rema n ng pa n ng

VISHAL KALE

The Paint Social is an initiative to let people de-stress

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

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

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

VISHAL KALE

Our YouTube channel has the most fun reviews you've seen, guaranteed. Subscribe and comment.

A large, comfortable V8 grand tourer at an attractive price. We drive the Ford Mustang GT at the BIC

The Pune even Coup e on Canvas pa n pa y saw 23 coup es make Coup e Swans TPS p ov des co ou ma e a s and ap on

The Mahindra NuvoSport is a friendly, practical compact SUV at a good price. The automatic is a bonus

Royal Enfield finally gives us a bike puspose-built for the Himalayas, a traditional pilgrimage for Bulleteers

Don't be fooled by the bland spec sheet. The Kawasaki Versys is a great all-round bike at a good price

You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. Look for "THRILL OF DRIVING"

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2016

PUNE

Wh

PICS: RAHUL RAUT & TEJAS GAIKWAD

C TOM

‘We can’t throw out the tenants who have been staying here for ages’

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he old parts of Pune are a treasure trove of history. Patel Wada in one of the alleyways in Bhavani Peth is such a structure dating back to 1946 when the Patel family built the house. Even though it poses a serious risk to its occupants, as the wooden infrastructure has become weak with the passing years, it still is the abode of people who have been living there for ages.

The survey number 1121 is a now dilapidated house with a huge courtyard. Although it was built in 1946, nothing much has changed except for minor damage to its exterior walls. However, the age becomes obvious once one enters the house through the low doors. The interiors have been done up mostly with wood. The stairs, panels, window shutters and balustrades are all made of wood that has now lost its lustre. At places, the stairs and panels are broken. While some are covered up with plastic sheets or flex sheets, most breaks are visible to the eye. The walls of the three-storey building are slightly crooked, as if age has rendered them incapable of maintaining an upright stance.

The building tells its own tale of age and withering, but it is still home to ten families. The houses aren’t a recent possession. In fact, no new

Individual houses become our headache, authorities say While the houses that have been served notices regarding the hazardous state of the buildings due to age are all individuals, not many seem to come forth when the actual disaster strikes. According to Pune Cantonment Board Assistant Executive Engineer S N Gaikwad, “The buildings become our headache even though they shouldn’t technically be. These are individual houses that are posing risks to the general public and thus we have to get involved.”

Pune Municipal Corporation Deputy Engineer Rajendra Thorat said, “These houses are generally disputed. There are disputes between the landlords and the tenants, in which neither party is willing to negotiate.”

However, just serving notices is not the end of the task. “We have task teams who have specific areas to look after these buildings. If the buildings start to fall, we have to send our team to evacuate and rescue and then clean up the debris,” explained Gaikwad.

person has come to seek shelter in the wada in the last five years. However, almost all the houses, be it the humble one room shelter of 10x10 feet, or a bigger dwelling of two rooms twice as big, all rooms are occupied. “I was married into this house nearly 20 years ago. My mother-in-law and my children, everyone live here,” said one of the dwellers who refused to tell us her name.

The owners of the Patel Wada are the Patel family who follow Islam and did not want their identity to be disclosed due to religious reasons.

They said, “The house has existed since our forefathers came to settle here. This building was erected in 1946 and since then has been given out to tenants. However, we don’t really benefit from it. The rents are abysmally low as one room is for Rs 75 per month and even that, most people don’t pay. We don’t force them to pay either as all of them have been living here since a long time.”

Even though the building has received several demolition notices, the tenants are not ready to move out. “Even we wish for the property to be rebuilt, as it is too old and risky.

But we can’t throw out the tenants who have been staying here for ages,” one of the Patel family members said.

Every once in a while, espe monsoons, there is news collapsing. From the real estate structures pose a complex situ rights of tenants and landlords com then there are the more tragic k where the occupants of old, dilap have no option, as they neither ha repair the structure or inve

BY GARGI VERMA A

He has been residi rooms saved from c

‘We can’t leave after running this place for over 130 years’

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he Pune Cantonment Board has sent multiple demolition notices to the United Theological Seminary, located at the end of Prince of Wales Drive. The 137-year-old structure occupies a sprawling stretch of land, and there is a lot of land around the building itself. But even the lush greenery on the scenic campus is not enough to hide the dilapidated state of the main hall of the seminary. Being over a century old, the old tiled roofs have caved in, leaving gaping holes that are covered with flex sheets. Even the buttresses of the structure have withered away over the years. The metal frame of the roof is bent at places, and the water supply pipes have left seepage marks over the building’s walls. Plants are growing in the cracks of the building, and are probably weakening the structure further.

But the United Theological Seminary continues to function.

The seminary, started by the American Marathi Mission in 1878 at Ahmednagar, was shifted to Pune in 1929. It has not changed much since.

“Our building has remained the same, as have our educational beliefs. We take in sponsored students from each diocese in Maharashtra and teach them,

to serve as well trained pastors and evangelists for the churches. However, the building has had better seasons,” said Reverend Sonal Christian, who is the principal of the seminary. The seminary currently has nine students. “The students are expected to live here in the seminary itself. But even their quarters are not in a proper state,” she explained. This has acted as a major turning point for the students, several of whom have turned back looking at the

condition of the seminary. “In the end it is all about the faith and devotion one has for the subject and the cause. A devout pastor-to-be can and will adjust anywhere,” she said.

The building has suffered major damage. The rain water leaks from the roof and the walls in almost all rooms. The library that used to house some really antique and rare books, has lost several of its treasures as the rain water has destroyed them beyond salvage. “It’s a charitable organisation and funding has been far between and less. However, we manage with whatever we can,” said Sonal.

The building can even collapse on to itself as the walls have been developing cracks. They have even received notice of demolition from the Pune Cantonment Board under whose jurisdiction the building falls. “We can’t desert this place that has been running for over 130 years. If God wills, he will make the place better. Till then, we manage with what we have,” said Christian.

While the notice was served almost two months ago, when the rains had just begun, the Board hasn’t followed up or hasn’t sent an inspection and demolition team yet. The seminary, however, hopes that help will arrive before that.

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ouse number 276 on MG Road is 200 years old. It belongs to Jeetendra Mhaske, whose forefathers built and lived in this three-storey home. Before the rains hit Pune three years ago, Mhaske’s tenant accidentally fractured a wall by ramming a piece of furniture into it. This minor crack gradually led to the collapse of three-fourths of the heritage structure within a year, undefended and weakened by the seeping rains. While viewing the house from the busy MG Road, the perimeter walls and windows hardly show any sign

Floor space index (FSI) in cantonment areas should be increased. The FSI norm of 1 or 1.2 for redevelopment projects at old building sites in the civil areas of cantonment board jurisdiction has kept people away from undertaking any redevelopment project and the cantonment areas are left with too many dilapidated old building structures.

Most of the old structures in cantonment areas are constructed on the basis of 1 or 1.2 FSI, but the major problems are faced by owners of this structures is when it comes to the fresh FSI for redevelopment as the FSI norm is similar 1 or 1.2 which earlier was only 0.5 and was recently amended by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

As per the recent orders issued by

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THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2016

PUNE

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AND GULAL SALIL @TGSweekly

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une city is currently booming with housing projects. As the city is aiming to become ‘smart’, the housing projects all claim to provide state-of-the-art facilities. However, amidst the swanky new buildings, are houses that date back a century or more. Weather and time have taken their toll on what were once stylish constructions. These dilapidated bungalows or wadas are still inhabited by generations of the same family that occupied them decades ago. But apart from being old and relics of the past, these structures are now a hazard to the people who occupy them, as well as to others.

Years of wear and tear have left these buildings in a dilapidated state, where collapse sold be imminent.

These ancient houses are in dire need of wither

repair or demolition and reconstruction, but the disputes between the parties involved has stopped such constructive action. While most involve an owner-tenant dispute, some are family owned houses that aren’t being renovated due to lack of funds or permission, or both.

While these buildings are a symbol of the past, their existence is a concern for the civic authorities.

With two building collapses happening within a month in the same area, the authorities have become even more cautious. However, the inhabitants continue to live there, oblivious to the danger.

Team TGS found its way to some of these old buildings, and talked to the residents, trying to fathom what keeps them living in these structures that seem to be on the brink of collapse.

ing with his extended family in collapse for the past three years

‘We were given a loan of Rs 11,000 in the flood year by the government’

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ehind Shaniwarwada, in the centre of a redeveloping and hyperactively concretising Shaniwar Peth, sharing a wall with a newly erected grey complex and anchored to that same plot which was once home for 70 families, is a reminder which now covers only a quarter of the area. The floods that devastated in Pune in 1961 displaced every family, to search for safer settlements.

The ones who stayed back were the Vaidyas, Ayurveda practitioners in the courts of the Peshwas, and owners of the ruined wada.

Srinivas Vaidya, a former government servant, painter by passion, and also the oldest living member of the family, recalls how the floods submerged the wada completely and the entire structure collapsed. Back then it was him, his seven cousins and their respective elders. He recalls how his family stuck around to rebuild their house. What stands there today in a rather broken down condition is the wada that has weathered the ravages of five and a half decades, a reminder of the grandeur of his childhood.

“We were given a loan of Rs 11,000 in the flood year by the government but the debt was waived later,” he recalls as he speaks of the time when his family was without a home.

The plot was gradually sold off and only this quarter was kept back. Today the Vaidyas have the property divided among the seven cousins. The family is wrangling in the High Court over rebuilding issues with their neighbouring plot owners since the year 1990. Srinivas’s nephew Mandar describes the case as an affair which may just go on till the PMC decides to intervene. The corporation hasn’t issued any notice pertaining to the dilapidated condition of the house yet.

Mandar does hope that a new society could eventually get constructed as the plot has been in a contract with a builder since before 1990. The contract gives his family possession in any redevelopment that takes place. He peers at his family home and points out to the robust complex right beside it. He mentions that

“if the PMC intervenes or the case gets resolved, a more stable house could be constructed, but the neighbours don’t give up,” he said.

Mandar currently lives at Sinhagad Road with his portion of rooms in the building locked, and it is only Srinivas Vaidya with his wife and his son’s family who still live there. The rest of the rooms have been given out on rent. The house still awaits a decision as time moves on.

‘We don’t have that much money or why would we stay here?’

f the dilapidation inside. To the passing ye, it seems vacant. That is why the house robably never got any notice from the Pune Cantonment Board to redevelop or demolish he structure. Mhaske began his visits to dministrative offices, pursuing officers and ermissions in the summer of 2014, in an ttempt to save his inheritance from ruin. ut he will not resort to under-the-table means.

Before seeking redevelopment ermissions, the property’s ownership eeded mutation to Mhaske after his father

passed away in 2013. It took two years for the transfer when regulations mandate one.

At the same time, Mhaske suggested a repair plan which the PCB turned down, arguing that only the broken sides could be redeveloped. For him, like many others, this is practically impossible to do due to the risk of the complete building collapsing in the process. “It is complete harassment by the PCB. They keep making me run around for this and that,” he tells us in a tone which echoes the sentiments of most such house owners on MG Road.

Existing FSI needs to be changed in Cantonment areas

the MOD a couple of months ago, the FSI was relaxed from 0.5 to 1 or 1.2 for redevelopment projects of old building structures in the cantonment limits.

However, the order is helpful only for those owners of the dilapidated buildings who don’t have tenants residing in it. The order is not helpful to provide solution to the thousands of dilapidated structures waiting redevelopment in the board areas.

Arun Godbole, Deputy Engineer of Khadki Cantonment Board, stressed the need for increasing the FSI norms for the renovation of buildings in the

cantonment area. Due to FSI restrictions no developers or owners come forward to develop a building or structure which leads to losses due to the limitations on the FSI. “KCB hardly receive applications from developers or owners of dilapidated structures for renovation,” he said.

“In case of old building there are tenants residing since years or even generations and pay only a nominal amount of rent from Rs 20 to Rs 50 to the owner of the buildings. Even though they are declared to be hazardous by the board, tenants cannot develop the structure or

In a nonchalant narration of his political connections, he mentioned that he even sent a letter to Prakash Javadekar in 2014 to get the mutation issue resolved. It did, but it immediately got succeeded by another blockade of unfair property taxes. The annual assessment value of the house stood at Rs 6244 in the financial year 2011-12, and within a year it was exponentially increased to Rs 43,624, an approximate 70 per cent jump in property tax. A commercial tax was also levied even though it is a residential property which has never harboured any business activity in its double century of existence. The quotient of all this is that his repair permission still remains due and the tall structure remains in a precarious state.

Mhaske’s woes don’t lie in taxes and the ‘harassment’, or the delays in his attempts to get things done without bribes. He strongly posits his stance saying that he “won’t pay a single penny to the board”, neither backhandedly, nor for the amplified revenues. His agony lies in the fact that he has been residing with his extended family in rooms saved from collapse for the past three years, alongside rubble which once bore the footprint of his forebears.

rebuild it and the owners of the structure don’t want to redevelop due to the low FSI norms. Most of the owners wait for the structures to collapse and then develop it,” said Godbole.

“As the same number of carpet area has to be allotted to the tenants most of them demand the owners and developers don’t come forward to redevelop and construct a new building which is a loss of money. No one is interested in redevelopment of structure in board area which is the only reason for a large number of dilapidated structures waiting for redevelopment. The number will keep rising.

In KCB there are around 30 dilapidated structures,” he said. (with inputs from Vicky Pathare)

I

n Khadki Cantonment Board jurisdiction there are many old houses that date back to the era when the British rulers settled in the area. Most of them are vacant but some of these houses are still occupied by tenants who have been living in there for generations. One such property is in Gadi adda, right next to the old Kirkee club house.

While the owner of these houses lives in a modern building, the tenants refuse to relinquish their houses even though some of them have caved in completely. Despite the risks involved, the cantonment board’s intervention has failed to evacuate them as the owner-tenant dispute has made the house-dwellers tenacious.

Parmeshwar Dhandere was even younger than his youngest grandchild when he came to live in the old house. His uncle used to stay here before that and when he got married, his wife came to the house and not the village dwelling.

“I have been living here for nearly 50 years now. My husband had been staying here even before me.

When our entire lives have been spent here, where do we go now?” asks Kesharbai, Parmeshwar’s wife.

The owner of the houses, the Kadam family, who refused to comment on the issue, have relinquished all claims on the houses. “When the board officers come, they ask us to pay the tax. We don’t have that much money or why would we stay here?” says a dispirited Kesharbai.

Of the old two-room houses, two have collapsed. These houses fell while people were inside but no one was seriously hurt. The tenants however, used the rubble from the fallen buildings to create their own houses. “There isn’t anywhere we can go. So, what other option do we have?” asks Kesharbai whose house hasn’t fallen yet, but she thinks that it is on the verge. “The board officers and the Kadams don’t repair it for us and won’t let us repair it ourselves. We are willing to pay the rent but there is nowhere else we can go,” she stated.

The house rent was a meagre Rs 84 in the yesteryears and the owners haven’t increased it since. However, they don’t collect the rent anymore.

“The officers keep telling us that they will break down our houses. But then, where will we go? Isn’t construction better than destruction?” Kesharbai says rhetorically. The Kadams refused to comment or give their first names either.

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2016

TECH/START-UP

PUNE

‘‘There are more than 4 billion cell phones in use. About 3 million cell phones are sold every day.” http://didyouknow.org/

Wearable ways to health

BY ANAND PARTHASARATHY

When Indians determine that something is good for them — and good value — they go for it with an enthusiasm that often takes the industry by surprise. Wearable technology is a case in point. Latest numbers released this week by analysts International Data Corporation, indicate that the growth of the market for wearables in India is among the fastest in the world — almost 42 percent, compared to a worldwide rate of 26.1 percent during the same period, the second quarter of 2016.

Buyers here share the global preference for health-related devices like fitness trackers over other wearables like smart watches or safety bands. Indian buyers of wearables confirm their reputation as canny customers: they shun costly products and overwhelmingly go for health bands costing Rs 3500 or less. Since online sellers offer the best deals, they are able to scoop up almost 80 percent of Indian business in wearables.

We also buck the global trend and go for local brands: the number one position in India with 16.1 percent market share is the desi health wearable Goqii which sells more units in the corporate sector compared to lay

India’s No 1. wearable

consumers (See item alongside, on the latest Goqii 2 version, just launched).

The Chinese company Xiaomi holds the second position with 10.3 percent share in India, followed by Fitbit the global number one which managed 6.7 percent. Other brands which sell in India are Garmin (1.4 percent) and Huawei (1 percent). All these brands put together account for only 35.5 percent or just over a third of all wearables sold in India... the other 2/3rd of the sales are ratched up by unbranded or unorganised

While most of these fitness bands allow you to track your activities, GOQII not just tracks your activities but also provides a fitness program with a personalized coach to guide you.

The recently launched second version of GOQII fitness tracker comes added with health care facilities like doctor consultation, diagnostic services, and a health locker to store medical records. GOQII has tied up with Max Healthcare and Thyrocare for their consultation and diagnostic services respectively.

The fitness tracker offers doctor consultation for general medical and lifestyle related issues through an appbased service over chat and voice call.

For diagnostic services one needs to book an appointment via app. After

brands. This is a situation very similar to that which prevailed in the early years of the personal computer when Indians uniquely put their faith and money in unbranded and assembled PCs. In a separate study of the global wearables scenario, IDC finds that while basic wearables like health bands grew briskly to account for nearly 83% of all sales, so called ‘smart’ wearables are actually in decline. Fitbit is the undisputed champion of the global maidan, accounting for 25.4 percent or just over a quarter of all sales in the April- June 2016 period. It is followed

by Xiaomi with 14 percent and Apple comes third with 7 percent.

The upcoming festive season in India is expected to provided a big boost to the more affordable wearables—since they make good gifts. But the IDC report hints that Indians are a choosy lot. They are not thrilled with negative aspects of many health bands — poor battery life, low accuracy and lack of ‘killer’ features. This is both challenge and opportunity for India-based industry.

They can take up the challenge thrown by the consumer and create truly paisa vasool products—or fall by the wayside.

IndiaTechOnline

diagnosis, the reports would be stored in the health locker, which can be referred by your fitness coach and doctor. The doctors and your personal coach collaboratively help you achieve your fitness goals by giving health and lifestyle based advice. There’s also the karma points concept that is similar to the previous version of Goqii. Every step is converted into a Karma point which can be used as donations to various social causes.

The GOQII health band has a rubber strap and a removable OLED display, which tells you the time, number of steps taken, distance, and calories burnt with a single tap on its head. The new GOQII fitness tracker comes with a subscription cost of Rs 1999 for 3 months, Rs 2999 for 6 months and 3999 for 12 months respectively. It is available at GOQii.com and other ecommerce websites.

Parties differ on voting machine P 12

Fitness freaks fuel a galloping growth of wearable devices in India Fitbit charges ahead Launched globally last week, the Charge 2 is 4 times bigger Fitbit is the worldwide leader in health tracking bands. At the IFA consumer electronics show in Germany last week, the company launched the new edition of its Charge health band Charge 2 is four times larger than the first version, but Fitbit feels it can get away without making the band touch sensitive. A single button is provided to cycle through all menu options. like number of steps, heart rate, stopwatch mode etc. The display is larger and crisper.

A new introduction is Cardio Fitness — using information like age, gender, weight and heartrate to give you a cardio score. Another is a feature called Relax that hlps you do a short breathing. Charge 2 was launched internationally at $149 and is described on Fitbit’s India site but no India pricing yet.

PRODUCT REVIEWS

BY V. SUDHAKSHINA

Big Screen for Small Pocket For an entry level phone, Zen Cinemax 3 offers a large screen Big screen devices are a hit these days, but the budget conscious may hardly find one that easily in the market. The recently launched Zen Cinemax 3 by the Indian manufacturer Zen Mobile is ideal for those in need of big screen smart phone with a budget. The Cinemax 3 is a 5.5 inch device that looks and feels sturdy. Most of the phones these days come with either metal or a plastic body, but this device features a sandstone finish back panel that gives it a unique yet premium look. Display wise it comes with an IPS screen with 480x854 pixels resolution. The Cinemax 3 is powered by a 1.3 GHz quadcore processor with 2GB RAM. It runs on Android 5.1, which is a slightly older version.

The 5 megapixels rear camera with flash and HDR is an OK performer. But we feel that the 3.2 megapixels front camera isn’t enough for today’s selfie-obsessed world. One of the highlights of this smart phone is its 2900 mAh removable battery. The device can easily run one full day without running out of juice. Also you can keep a spare battery, which is a rare advantage that isn’t available with most of the smart phones these days. The dual-SIM phone has slots for a regular SIM and a micro SIM. It comes with 16 GB internal memory that is expandable up to 32 GB via Micro SD card. The ZEN Cinemax 3 is an adequate device for the budget conscious. As its name indicates, it is aimed at buyers who want to see movies on their handsets — and offers the battery power to facilitate this. It is now available for Rs. 5,999.

IndiaTechOnline

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organisation for all retail payments system in India, has last week announced that the long awaited simplified mobile payments system—Unified Payments Interface (UPI)—has gone live for customers of 21 banks in India.

UPI is a unique payment solution which empowers a recipient to initiate the payment request from a smartphone. It facilitates ‘virtual payment address’ as a payment identifier for sending and collecting money and works on single click 2-factor authentication. It also provides an option for scheduling transactions for various purposes like sharing bills among others. One can use the UPI app instead of paying cash on delivery on receipt of product from online shopping websites and can pay for miscellaneous expenses like utility bills, over the counter payments, barcode (scan and pay) based payments, donations, school fees and other such unique and innovative use cases UPI allows a customer to have multiple virtual addresses for multiple accounts in various banks. In order to ensure privacy of

customer’s data, there is no account number mapper anywhere other than the customer’s own bank. This allows the customer to freely share the financial address with others. A customer can also decide to use the mobile number as the name instead of the short name for the virtual address like 1234567890@sbi.

At present, if a person wants to transfer money, he needs the account number and IFSC code of the receiver. Then, he will need to add the other person as a beneficiary. For credit card transfer, you need the card number.

With UPI, an individual only needs to make a unique virtual private address (VPA), simpler than signing up for an e-mail. If you are a bank customer, your VPA can be created like xyz@ abank.

Says AP Hota, Managing Director & CEO, NPCI. “This is a success of enormous significance. Real-time sending and receiving money through a mobile application at such a scale on interoperable basis had not been attempted anywhere else in the world. Now the UPI App will be made available on Google Play Store by banks.”

TomTom chooses Pune for global innovation hub Netherlands-headquartered leader in navigation systems—TomTom—has chosen Pune as its first global Innovation Hub. The 100 square metre facility is open to all of its over-800 people in India, allowing them to transform their ideas into proof of concepts and prototypes leading to new innovations.

The company has carved niches in three areas—map making for navigation, wearables technology and data services. The TomTom India team already contributes to the parent company mainly in the area of mapping and software. The Innovation Hub is expected to take this process further, facilitating a free flow of information and ideas and encouraging experimentation and cross-boundary cooperation.

“At TomTom, we believe that innovation can happen anywhere and encourage all our employees to be innovative in everything they do,” says Alain De Taeye, Member of the TomTom Management Board.

The Pune facility—TomTom’s largest

TomTom products on display in the Pune Innovation Hub

outside the Netherlands, has been headed since April 2015 by Barbara Belpaire, General Manager, TomTom India. “My ambition is to make TomTom India the best place to work by unlocking our in-house potential and developing key talent”, she says. Barbara holds a Master’s degree in Bio Engineering from the University of Leuven and Industrial Management from the University of Gent,

Banks who agreed to provide UPI enabled mobile app on Google Play Store: Andhra Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Bhartiya Mahila Bank, Canara Bank, Catholic Syrian Bank, DCB Bank, Federal Bank, ICICI Bank, TJSB Sahakari Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Karnataka Bank, UCO Bank, Union Bank of India, United Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, South Indian Bank, Vijaya Bank and YES Bank.

We tried — and not all these bank have as yet uploaded their UPI app. There is no UPI app as such. Each bank will eventually offer a UPI app for its customers. So you have to see if your bank has a UPI app ready for you to use.

You need to have smartphone, install your bank’s UPI mobile app and register with your mobile number. Then get a unique UPIID and start banking. In many ways this is like Paytm where you can transfer the money from one wallet to another using just mobile number but you don’t need to deposit money afresh in a wallet.

Welcome to the cashless society!

IndiaTechOnline

Global navigation products leader, to grow head count in city to 1000 by year end both in Belgium. Under her leadership TomTom facilities in Singapore, China and Japan received ISO/TS certification.

By year end, she hopes to increase the headcount in Pune to 1000. Asked how many of these would be developers, she said ‘All thousand”. Innovation at TomTom is welcome from any member of the family.

Having served in Delhi during a previous stint in India, Barbara has made Pune home—with husband Frank and sons Jasper and Ender.

In 2016, TomTom has launched 6 products in India: Portable Navigation Devices Via and Start and wearables including GPS sport watches, Spark, Spark Cardio and Spark Music. Cab aggregators Uber worldwide and Apple’s iPhones, use TomTom maps for navigation. At recent product launches in Germany TomTom also unveiled Vio, a disc shaped satellite navigation systems for scooters.

IndiaTechOnline

ADVERTORIAL

‘My phone works as my bank!’

Ever since the dawn of time, man has been fascinated by outer space. The dark, limitless stretch of space filled with orbiting bodies has captured our interest ever since we were able to perceive them. Most of the complex interstellar relations at play have been elusive and shrouded in mystery.

Today, there are thousands working towards uncovering these mysteries in order to gain a deeper understanding of the universe and our origins. One such bright mind hard at work is SENDHILKUMAR ALALASUNDARAM Sendhilkumar Sundaram.

Sendhilkumar has acted as the Onboard Computer Subsystem Lead on the SWAYAM satellite project, which was launched by ISRO in June 2016. An Electronics and Telecommunication engineer by profession, he had always been interested in astrophysics. He has been involved in the SWAYAM project ever since it’s conception. The idea for SWAYAM was born with one of his friends being consulted for building a ground station for tracking satellites, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Sendhilkumar believes the words of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam: “The whole universe indeed conspires to give the best to those who dare to dream and work”. Dreams and desires are two curious ideas: so enigmatically alike, and yet the paths which lead to them could not be more different. He will be speaking at TEDxPICT’s event, The Mirror of Erised on Saturday, 1st October 2016. During his talk, he will be describing how the dream of some undergraduate students to build a picosatellite was realized after eight long and arduous years. A story which teaches us to follow our heart’s innermost desires, even if it means embarking on a path fraught with challenges.

Sendhilkumar’s story proves that nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come. What makes the feat more remarkable was that it was achieved in the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP), an institute where the subjects of astrophysics and aeronautics are not even taught. TEDxPICT aims to propagate the importance of power of thought through their event. Sendhilkumar is just one of nine speakers who will be promoting the thought culture. His talk on the 1st of October is sure to motivate and inspire one and all. As Sendhilkumar himself says, “If something is important enough, then you should try it even if the probable outcome is failure.”

Rajvardhan Oak, TEDxPICT

ENVIRONMENT ‘‘We need more private participants to join in ‘Swachha Bharat Abhiyan’.

The government is trying to make the country open-defecation free for which proper sanitation facilities, like these, are required on a large scale.”

— Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister

Soon, you may ‘touch’ objects in videos!

Want to pet the cat in a video? That may soon be possible, thanks to MIT scientists who are developing a new imaging technique that will let you reach in and “touch” objects in videos.

Using traditional cameras and algorithms, the technique called Interactive Dynamic Video (IDV) looks at the tiny, almost invisible vibrations of an object to create video simulations that users can virtually interact with.

“This technique lets us capture the physical behaviour of objects, which gives us a way to play with them in virtual space,” said Abe Davis, a PhD student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).

“By making videos interactive, we can predict how objects will respond to unknown forces and explore new ways to engage with videos,” Davis said. IDV has many possible uses, from film-makers producing new kinds of visual effects to architects determining if buildings are structurally sound, said Davis.

For example, he shows that, in contrast to how the popular Pokemon Go app can drop virtual characters into real-world environments, IDV can go a step beyond that by actually enabling virtual objects (including Pokemon) to interact with their environments in specific, realistic ways, like bouncing off the leaves of a nearby bush.

ABE DAVIS/MIT CSAIL

MIT scientists are developing IDV to create simulations that users can virtually interact with

The most common way to simulate objects’ motions is by building a 3D model. However, 3D modelling is expensive, and can be almost impossible for many objects.

While algorithms exist to track motions in video and magnify them, there are not ones that can reliably simulate objects in unknown environments.

The research shows that even five seconds of video can have enough information to create realistic simulations. To simulate the objects, the team analysed video clips to find “vibration modes” at different frequencies that each represent distinct ways that an object can move.

By identifying the shape of these modes, researchers can predict how these objects will move in new situations.

“Computer graphics allows us to use 3D models to build interactive

Hair strand may help identify people

Move over fingerprints! A single strand of hair may soon be used to identify people, thanks to scientists who have found unique protein markers in the human hair - a finding that could be a game-changer for solving crimes.

DNA profiling is commonly used for identification in forensic science and archaeology because DNA is unique to each individual.

However, environmental and chemical processes can degrade DNA, limiting its usefulness over time. In contrast, protein is more stable than DNA and can also have variations that may be unique to the individual.

Glendon Parker from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in the US and colleagues studied whether the proteins found in human hair could offer another tool for identifying individuals in forensic or archaeology.

The researchers were able to examine bioarcheological hair samples from six

individuals that were up to 250 years old, demonstrating the robustness of these proteins.

They analysed these samples along with hair samples from 76 living humans of European American and African descent.

They have found a total of 185 hair protein markers to date, which they estimate would be sufficient to provide a unique pattern for an individual that could distinguish that person among a population of one million.

The researchers hope to identify a core set of around a hundred protein markers that would be sufficient to distinguish an individual among the entire world’s population using a single hair.

“This method will be a game-changer for forensics,” said Brad Hart, director of the LLNL Forensic Science Centre.

The study was published in the journal PLOS One. PTI

To simulate objects, researchers analyzed video clips to find “vibration modes” at different frequencies that each represent distinct ways that an object can move

simulations, but the techniques can be complicated,” said Doug James, a professor at Stanford University who was not involved in the research.

“Davis and his colleagues have provided a simple and clever way to extract a useful dynamics model from very tiny vibrations in video, and shown how to use it to animate an image,” James said. Davis used IDV on videos of a variety of objects, including a bridge, a jungle gym and a ukelele.

With a few mouse-clicks, he showed that he can push and pull the image, bending and moving it in different directions. He even demonstrated how he can make his own hand appear to telekinetically control the leaves of a bush. Researchers say that the tool has many potential uses in engineering, entertainment, and more.

PTI

Contraceptives check ovarian cancer deaths Widespread use of oral contraceptives is driving the fall in deaths from ovarian cancer worldwide, according to a study.

Deaths from ovarian cancer fell worldwide between 2002 and 2012 and are predicted to continue to decline in the US, European Union (EU) and, though to a smaller degree, in Japan by 2020, researchers said. The main reason is the use of oral contraceptives and the longterm protection against ovarian cancer that they provide, said researchers, led

by Professor Carlo La Vecchia from the University of Milan in Italy.

The decline in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to manage menopausal symptoms and better diagnosis and treatment may also play a role, they said.

Using data on deaths from ovarian cancer from 1970 to the most recent available year from the WHO, the researchers found that in the 28 countries of the EU death rates decreased by 10 per cent between 2002 and 2012The research was published in Annals of Oncology.

PTI

H EALTH

the most used and chemically stable between the thousands available to the cosmetics industry. Samples collected during conditions of low tide in Venice and Burano showed concentrations comparable to those of untreated waste water. In Venice, the city without sewers, wastewater treated through biological tanks which then flow directly into the canals thus seems an insufficient method of lowering the concentration of these molecules, researchers said. For example, one of the most frequently found compounds in the waters of the lagoon was benzyl salicylate, a known allergenic

which has to be indicated on the labels of cosmetic products which contain it. “Ours is a pioneering study on the persistence of a new class of potential contaminants in the environment,” said Marco Vecchiato from Ca’ Foscari.

“According to our data, the concentrations seem to be below the threshold for acute toxicity to marine organisms. We don’t know the consequences of prolonged exposure to low doses of these substances. The study is the first step in gauging an understanding of its environmental fate,” said Vecchiato.

PTI

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2016

PUNE

‘‘The world community is working on (tackling) global warming but it is not properly implemented at the local level. Every country and state has a different perspective on environmental issues.”

— Hamid Ansari, Vice President

India was part of antarctica billion years ago Geologists have found evidence supporting the hypothesis that Indian subcontinent was part of Antarctica a billion years ago but were separated and re-united several times due to tectonic movement of plates before the evolution of mankind.

A group of geologists from India and Switzerland researching on evolution of the Earth’s crust studied ancient rocks of the continental crust in the Eastern Ghats area and found important clues to the formation of the continents.

“It is for the first time that we have been able to prove the hypothesis that Antarctica and India were once a single large continent that broke apart about 1.5 billion years ago,” IIT Kharagpur geologist Dewashish Upadhyay, who led the research said. India and Antarctica then got separated by an ocean.

“This ocean closed again with the movement of the landmasses and the two continents approached each other until they collided again around one billion years ago to form the Eastern Ghats mountain belt,” he said.

Their research, which was recently published in international journal ‘Elsevier’, shows the two continents separated once more and a new ocean was formed where the old ocean had been.

“Then the movement of the continents reversed again and there was yet another collision around 600 million years ago which created another mountain range that is preserved in the Eastern Ghats all the way to southern India and Sri Lanka and even Madagascar, which was once part of the Indian subcontinent,” Professor Klaus Mezger of the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Bern, Switzerland, said.

PTI

Many animals may be extinct by 2100

Researchers say biggest animals such as the Bengal tiger could be extinct if drastic conservation measures are not taken The threat is particularly dire in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, where much of the world’s biodiversity resides

Many of the world’s biggest and iconic animals such as the Bengal tiger could be extinct by the end of the century if drastic conservation measures are not taken, a new study has warned.

The threat is particularly dire in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, where much of the world’s biodiversity resides, researchers said.

“The rapid loss of biodiversity and megafauna, in particular, is an issue that is right up there with, and perhaps even more pressing than, climate change,” said Peter Lindsey, lion programme policy initiative coordinator at conservation organisation Panthera.

Researchers catalogued the species in peril across six continents - all of the species across the globe that the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists as

threatened with extinction.

When they looked at the prognosis for each of those species, the forecast was dire, ‘Live Science’ reported. About 59 per cent of the world’s big carnivore species (those heavier than 15 kilogrammes), such as Bengal tigers, and 60 per cent of big herbivore species could disappear from the Earth if critical steps are not taken, researchers found.

“There is a risk that many of the world’s most iconic species may not survive to the 22nd century,” researchers said.

“It’s time to really think about conserving them, because declines in their numbers and habitats are happening quickly,” said lead author William Ripple, an ecologist at Oregon State University in the US. PTI

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Perfumes in daily use products may pollute environment

Certain fragrances widely used in soaps, detergents, shampoos and many other personal hygiene products may potentially contaminate the environment, a pioneering new study on the canals of Venice has found.

Researchers, including those at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in Italy, have been investigating the canals to look for traces of these molecules which are referred to as ‘perfumes’ in the ingredients of products that we use daily.

Soaps, detergents, shampoos and many other personal hygiene products contain mixtures of ‘odorous’ molecules that have passed safety tests for human health with little or nothing known about their impact on the environment.

Between April and December last year, scientists repeatedly collected water samples from 22 places between the inner canals in the historic centre of Venice, the island of Burano and at two points in the far-north lagoon. They were looking for the presence of 17 fragrances among

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THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2016

PUNE

‘‘I did not have doubts about Kejriwal’s character. But his reputation has been damaged because of the people he took in his party to win power. If he wishes to win over the confidence of people again, he should give up power and serve the nation again.’’

— Anna Hazare, Social Activist

Terrorists getting public support in parts of country

NEW DELHI: Terrorists and insurgents are getting “public support” in some parts of the country and unless this is stopped, India will continue to get hit by acts of terrorism, a report prepared by the elite counter-terror force NSG has said.

The analytical report on recent bombing incidents in the country, compiled with data from all states for the period between April and June this year, also raised concern over the possible leakage and use of ordnance factorymade explosives by terror outfits.

“Analysis of the data by the NBDC shows public was the prime target of the terrorists/militants/insurgents. Public support to terrorists/insurgents continues in some parts of the nation.

“Until and unless the public support to anti-national elements stops, the acts of terrorism will continue. Sincere efforts are required to mitigate the IED menace.

A ‘Whole of Nation’ effort is the way ahead to keep the citizens of the country safe,” the report, accessed by PTI, said.

While the report did not elaborate as to how public support was rendered to ultras, it is understood that police forces and other agencies who report these incidents to the National Bomb Data Centre (NBDC) also share inputs with regard to links detected between the locals and perpetrators of such blasts.

PTI

NSG report suggests people to be more cautious of IEDs and similar bombs

A security person with sniffer dog checks a car in front of Kolkata airport after a bomb threat call in Kolkata

The NBDC of the National Security Guard (NSG) is based at its garrison in Manesar near here and acts as the national repository for collection and analyses of all types of bombing incidents and attacks in the country.

Analyses of the incidents of IED recovery/blasts for the second quarter of this year, it added, reveal “in most of the incidents, explosive ordnance like grenades and other forms of explosives made in ordnance factories were used by terrorists, militants and insurgents of Jammu and Kashmir and North East.”

“In some incidents, Chinese made grenades were also used by militants of Jammu and Kashmir,” the report said.

It said a total of 93 blast incidents were reported in the second quarter of

this year as compared to 92 last year, while 39 people were killed as compared to 60 people last year and 185 injured in comparison to 206 last year.

“There was 1 per cent increase in number of blast incidents during the second quarter of 2016 vis-a-vis second quarter of 2015. There was 16 per cent decrease in the number of casualties which took place in blast incidents in the second quarter of 2016 vis-a-vis same period last year,” it said. Left Wing Extremism-hit states continue to be the most affected areas which witnessed 51 per cent of blast incidents that took place.

The states affected by Naxal violence, led by Chhattisgarh, were the worst affected by bombing incidents that were carried out by using either hidden

‘Married son’ can get compassionate jobs under the provisions of the relevant recruitment rules,” read the norms.

The onus of examining the penurious condition of the dependent family rests with authority making compassionate appointment. Courts have clearly stated in various judgements that offering compassionate appointment as a matter of course, irrespective of the financial condition of the family of the deceased or medically retired government servant, is untenable, the existing guidelines say.

The objective of the scheme is to grant appointment on compassionate grounds to a dependent family member of a government servant who died while in service or who is retired on medical grounds before attaining the age of 55 years (57 years for erstwhile Group ‘D’ employees) thereby leaving his family in penury.

A joint secretary in-charge of administration in the ministry or department concerned is the competent authority to decide on compassionate appointments.

PTI

Plan’s objective is to grant job on humane grounds to a dependent family member of a government servant who died in service

Vol-III* lssue No.: 13 Editor: Yogesh Sadhwani (Responsible for the selection of news under the PRB Act, 1867) Printed and Published by: Shrikant Honnavarkar on behalf of Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. CIN:U22200PN2014PTC151382 and printed at PRI – Media Services Private Limited CIN: U22222MH2012PTC232006 at Plot No. EL-201, TTC Industrial Area, MIDC, Mahape, Navi Mumbai.

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Parties differ on voting machine NEW DELHI: Political parties are split on the introduction of a new machine which prevents disclosure of voting pattern during counting to enhance secrecy, the Election Commission has informed the Law Ministry.

The Commission’s letter to the Legislative Department in the Law Ministry is now part of documents before a team of ministers formed last month to take a call on whether the machine should be used in future elections.

While it is learnt that the team of ministers is in favour of the ‘totaliser’ machine, a final decision will be taken by the Union Cabinet based on its recommendations.

The five-member team headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, was set up on the directions of the Prime Minister’s Office, to recommend to the Union Cabinet on whether the machines can be used. The move of the government to set up a team of ministers comes against the backdrop of the Supreme Court asking the Centre to decide on the issue by this month end.

The machine is connected to control unit of EVMs after polling and it gives out an overall result. It does not disclose results boothwise, thus preventing parties from knowing which area voted against them. When EVMs were not in use, ballot papers from different booths were mixed before counting to conceal voting pattern.

According to the Commission, Congress, NCP and BSP “categorically” supported its proposal to use ‘totaliser’ machines, while the ruling BJP was of the view that booth-wise performance

RURAL REALITY

PTI

NEW DELHI: Married sons are now eligible for compassionate appointments, the Centre has said.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has issued new instructions in consultation with the Department of Legal Affairs in this regard.

It has been decided that a married son can be considered for compassionate appointment if he otherwise fulfils all the other requirements of the ‘Scheme for Compassionate Appointment under Central Government’, the DoPT said in an order.

It said the appointment will be subject to the conditions that the candidate is eligible and fulfil the criteria.

Until this recent order, married sons were not eligible for compassionate appointments.

The criteria for considering the compassionate appointment is that the family is indigent and deserves immediate assistance for relief from financial destitution.

“Applicant for compassionate appointment should be eligible and suitable for the post in all respects

mines or Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), witnessing 48 out of the total 93 incidents, the data said.

It said Chhattisgarh was the most “sensitive state” in the LWE belt witnessing 15 IED blast incidents, followed by West Bengal with 12 such incidents in the said period.

“Maoists/Naxals in LWE areas mostly used can or cane bombs, pipe bombs, pressure cooker bombs, tiffin bombs, IED landmines while anti-social elements of Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal used mostly crude bombs and country made bombs,” it said. The report adds petrol bombs “were used by anti-social elements of Tamil Nadu and Kerala during the said period.”

“There was a considerable decrease in number of blast incidents in Jammu and Kashmir by 50 per cent in the second quarter of 2016 vis-a-vis the same period last year,” the report said. The maximum hit, either killed or injured, by these incidents were the members of public and security forces personnel.

“Out of 93 blasts incidents that took place in the country during the second quarter of 2016, public and security forces were the prime targets (of 48 and 32 incidents respectively),” it said.

The report suggests a general awareness needs to be created among people to be more cautious of IEDs and similar bombs as general public is the “most preferred” target of terrorists or militants in all parts of the world.

PTI

Replacing cash with digital-money: A recipe to Ram Rajya?

P 14

Voters wait in queues to cast their votes

is important for parties in their booth management.

“The CPI-M agreed in principle to the proposal with the rider that we should be careful regarding the foolproof functioning of the totaliser and that in may be tried out in phases,” the Commission has told the Law Ministry.

While AAP — Delhi’s only recognised state party — has supported totaliser, Trinamool Congress — accorded national party status last week — opposed its introduction.

The other members of the team of ministers include Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

The Election Commission had in 2008 proposed to use ‘totaliser’, which prevents disclosure of voting pattern during counting to enhance voter secrecy, and has received the backing of the Law Commission.

PTI

Upload FIRs on websites within 24 hrs: SC NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court directed all States and Union Territories to upload the FIRs on their websites within 24 hours of registration at police stations.

A bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and C Nagappan, however, extended the time up to 72 hours for uploading of the FIRs for those states which are located in difficult terrains where Internet connectivity is poor.

The apex court exempted the state police authorities from uploading the FIRs on sensitive cases pertaining to insurgency and sexual offences against women and children.

The bench made it clear that the accused cannot take benefit before the courts of law of the fact that FIRs lodged against them have not been uploaded on the website. Initially, it was suggested during the hearing that the states be allowed to upload FIRs on websites within 48 hours. However, the court later fixed the time limit at 24 hours. The direction came on a PIL filed by Youth Lawyers Association of India.

PTI

Parents carry their child while walking towards ‘Ramdevra fair’ in Bikaner

Schoolkids, backaches and hunchbacks Assocham survey finds 68% of school children below 13 years across India may suffer from mild back pain

KOLKATA: Thanks to the load of books in their bags as much as 68 per cent of school children in the age group of 7-13 years face the risk of backaches and even hunchbacks.

A recent survey conducted by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) under its Healthcare Committee has found that 68 per cent of school children under the 13 years across India may suffer from mild back pain, which can develop into chronic pain and later into hunchback.

The survey noted that over 88 per cent of children in the age group of 7-13 years carry more than 45 per cent of their weight on their backs including art kit, skates, taekwondo equipment, a swim bag, cricket kit every alternate day leading to serious spinal damage and irreversible back problems.

“Early slip disc, spondylitis, spondylolisthesis, persistent back aches, early degeneration of spine and postural scoliosis are some of the problems that these children face,” chairman of Assocham’s health panel BK Rao said.

As per the Children’s School Bag Act 2006, a schoolbag should not weigh more than 10 per cent of a child’s weight.

The law also stipulates that nursery and kindergarten students should carry no schoolbag and the school authorities should issue guidelines on bags. It also

suggests that the state government provide appropriate lockers in schools.

“Excessive and uneven loads are linked to an increased risk of backtrouble and deformation of the spine.

Stress from such excess weights may affect the growth of the musculoskeletal system especially if children carry the bag on one shoulder.

“If children start getting back pains at such a young age, then there is the possibility that they will have it life long,” Rao said. Carrying very heavy

School children walk in rains in Patna

backpacks puts extra pressure on one side tilting the spine, Rao said, adding putting the bag down and then carrying it again is more dangerous for a growing spine than continuously walking with static weight.

The excess weight puts undue stress on muscles, ligaments and disk and damage them. The alignment of the column is also disturbed causing it to bend, mostly forward or sideways, Rao explained.

The survey was conducted in ten cities including Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur and Dehradun in which over 2,500 students and 1,000 parents were interviewed.

The majority of the parents during the survey complained that on an average their children carry 20-22 books and copies for seven to eight periods in a day, it said. Skates, taekwondo equipment, a swim bag and a cricket kit have to be taken to school every alternate day. Very few schools provide lockers for the sports kits, it added.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2016

‘Pune will have more Olympians in future’ P 16

‘‘If India is given preferential treatment regarding membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), then stopping a regional nuclear arms race will become a distant dream.’

—Aizaz Chaudhry, Pakistan Foreign Secretary

A rising China needs to restrain itself US President Barack Obama says Communist nation has been “much more anti-Western” in the past

Obama warns China over its stance on SCS

US President Barack Obama waves as he leaves a news conference at the conclusion of the G-20 in Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province

norms, then they should be partners, he asserted.

“There is no reason that China and the US cannot be friendly competitors on the commercial side and important partners when it comes to dealing with the many international problems that threaten the two countries,” Obama said.

Obama noted China has been run during his lifetime by a Communist party that has been “much more antiWestern” in the past.

“We went through a period over the course of 20 years, in the ‘90s and on through maybe the onset of my presidency, where, because state-

sponsored capitalism and an exportdriven model was very successful, China was less interested in making waves,” Obama said.

“But, you know, you’ve got over a billion people, one of the largest economies now in the world. And so it’s to be expected that they will want a bigger seat at the table when it comes to international affairs. And what we’ve said consistently is we welcome the peaceful rise of Chin, consistent with international norms. That’s good for everybody. An impoverished and collapsing China would be dangerous for everybody,” Obama said.

PTI

US varsity to study Pokemon Go University of Idaho

Playing Pokemon Go can now help students earn course credits, thanks to a university in the US that has introduced a new class which will incorporate the widely popular augmented reality game.

Th is fall, students at the University of Idaho (UI) in the US who opt for the “Pop Culture Games” class will wander around the campus gathering Pokeballs and searching for Pikachu, Jigglypuff and Snorlax - while earning course credits.

The physical activity class will also teach students about leading active lifestyles, building teamwork and exploring their communities through games like the megahit smartphone app Pokemon Go and the live-action

game Humans versus Zombies.

Students will help organise the campus Humans versus Zombie club’s annual competition, which combines elements of tag, hide-and-seek and other games for a massive, multiplayer event that lasts for days.

“I want it to be more than people going, ‘I am going to go catch a Pikachu,’” said course instructor Steven Bird from UI. “Th is app does more than let you shoot a Pokeball.

You get to adventure around, seeing different things, being active, seeing the sun. It allows

you to move in large groups and a team.

You get not only physical activity, but you also get team-building and leadership,” said Bird.

According to him, the game’s clever technology and nostalgic content encourages people who might normally shy away from organised exercise to get outside, get moving and meet other players.

“The goal is to give students a fun, creative class that teaches them skills to take with them far beyond an afternoon searching for Charmander or throwing Nerf balls at “zombies” on the administration building lawn skills like leadership, ethics, safety and respect,” said Philip Scruggs from IU. “We are hoping to capture the interest in Pokemon Go and other active games and draw the link with a healthy, active lifestyle,” said Scruggs.

“It is a great way to engage youth through adults, and a great way to engage families in active games together.

Our interest is to turn folks onto an active lifestyle, and that can be achieved in endless ways,” he added.

PTI

Warning China of “consequences” due to its aggressive behaviour, US President Barack Obama has asked the Communist nation to restrain itself from worrying its neighbours in the disputed South China Sea region.

“Part of what I’ve talked to communicate to President Xi (Jinping) is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself,” Obama said.

“You know, when we bind ourselves to a bunch of international norms and rules, it’s not because we have to, it’s because we recognise that, over the long-term, building a strong international order is in our interests. And, I think, over the long-term, it will be in China’s interests, as well,” he told CNN in an interview recorded before he left for China to attend the G20 Summit.

“So where we see them violating international rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea or in some of their behaviour when it comes to economic policy, we’ve been very fi rm. And we’ve indicated to them that there will be consequences,” Obama said.

What the US has tried to emphasise to China is that if it is working within international rules and international norms, then they

Businessman freed from UK jail accidentally

should be partners, he asserted.

“There is no reason that China and the US cannot be friendly competitors on the commercial side and important partners when it comes to dealing with the many international problems that threaten the two countries,” Obama said.

Obama noted China has been run during his lifetime by a Communist party that has been “much more anti-Western” in the past.

“We went through a period over the course of 20 years, in the ‘90s and on through maybe the onset of my presidency, where, because state-sponsored capitalism and an export-driven model was very successful, China was less interested in making waves,” Obama said.

“But, you know, you’ve got over a billion people, one of the largest economies now in the world. And so it’s to be expected that they will want a bigger seat at the table when it comes to international aff airs.

And what we’ve said consistently is we welcome the peaceful rise of China, consistent with international norms. Th at’s good for everybody. An impoverished and collapsing China would be dangerous for everybody,” Obama said.

PTI

BY LALIT K JHA WASHINGTON: A rising China, which has been worrying its neighbours with its aggressive behaviour on economic policies and in the disputed South China Sea, needs to restrain itself and behave responsibly at the world stage, US President Barack Obama has said.

“Part of what I’ve talked to communicate to President Xi (Jinping) is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself,” Obama told CNN. “You know, when we bind ourselves to a bunch of international norms and rules, it’s not because we have to, it’s because we recognise that, over the long-term, building a strong international order is in our interests.

And, I think, over the long-term, it will be in China’s interests, as well,” Obama said in an interview recorded before he left for China.

“So where we see them violating international rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea or in some of their behaviour when it comes to economic policy, we’ve been very fi rm. And we’ve indicated to them that there will be consequences,” Obama said.

What the US has tried to emphasise to China is that if it is working within international rules and international

PUNE

Muslim women wear veil to integrate into modern society

BY ADITI KHANNA LONDON: Muslim women who are young and educated choose to wear the veil as it is their means to integrate into modern society, according to a latest study conducted in 25 Islamic nations.

The study, done by researchers from Oxford University and European University Institute published in the journal ‘European Sociological Review’, tested earlier mathematical models to see how the intensity of wearing the veil varied according to the women’s education, employment, urbanisation and contact with non-Muslims.

The study, ‘Behind the Veil: The Strategic Use of Religious Garb’, includes the wearing of headscarves, the turban or hijab, the chador, the burqa (which covers the face too), and no head covering at all.

“A veil is seen as a genuine expression of a woman’s religiosity. Paradoxically, it is the women who are engaging with the modern world who appear to rely on the veil to signal to others that they will not succumb to the temptations of modern urban life,” explained Dr Ozan Aksoy, the study’s author from the Department of Sociology at the University of Oxford.

The study drew on data of thousands of women living in Belgium, Turkey and 25 Muslim countries. Study co-author Professor Diego Gambetta, Official Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford, and Professor of Social Theory at the European University Institute, noted: “Contrary to the populist cant that seems now dominant in Europe, veiling could be a sign of more rather than less integration.”

PTI

AERIAL DELIGHT

BY ADITI KHANNA LONDON: An alcoholic Indian-origin businessman, who was accidentally released last month by a London jail has surrendered to police after enjoying two weeks of freedom.

Hoffman Singh even posed for a selfie with Scotland Yard officers on duty at the Notting Hill Carnival last weekend after wardens at Pentonville Prison in north London sent him home in a taxi instead of putting him into a van for a court hearing.

“As far as everyone was aware, I should have been tucked up in a cell while I was out partying with the best of them in Notting Hill.”

“But after the last one, the magistrates lost patience and remanded me in custody,” the 44-year-old courier firm owner told ‘The Sun’ newspaper.

“I was due to have a court hearing on August 25, but no one came to collect me from my cell. I told the wardens but they didn’t seem to care. Then at 5.30pm I was just reading the paper when a warden came round and said, ‘Pack your stuff, you’re going home’.

The UK Prison Service confirmed Singh had been released in error.

PTI

The ‘Frecce Tricolori’ Italian Air Force acrobatic squad fly over the Monza racetrack prior to the start of the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at, Italy

North Korea comes closer to nuclear strike capability

BY SUBHASHIS MITTRA

North Korea’s recent submarinelaunched missile test appears to have brought Pyongyang closer to its nuclear strike capability.

The potentially game-changing ballistic missile “Pukguksong” was fired from a submarine submerged off the northeastern port of Sinpo and flew 500 kilometres towards Japan, far exceeding any previous sub-launched tests.

Last month, North Korea fired a landlaunched ballistic missile directly into Japanese-controlled waters for the first time, drawing an outraged response from Tokyo, which said North Korea’s missile launch “simply cannot be tolerated.”

That time the United Nations Security Council failed to condemn the move after China sought to include language in a statement opposing the THAAD missile defence system that

the United States plans to deploy in South Korea.

But, this time the UN Security Council met for two hours to discuss North Korea’s latest provocative move and strongly condemned four North Korean ballistic missile launches in July and August, calling them “grave violations” of a ban on all ballistic missile activity. A press statement approved by all 15 members deplored the fact that the North’s ballistic missile activities are contributing to its development of nuclear weapon delivery systems and increasing tensions.

The UNSC expressed “serious concern” that North Korea carried out the launches after six ballistic missile firings between April and June “in flagrant disregard” of its repeated statements to halt such launches as well as nuclear tests which violate council resolutions.

It urged all UN member states “to

redouble their efforts” to implement sanctions against Pyongyang, including the toughest measures in two decades imposed by the council in March.

Those sanctions reflected growing anger at Pyongyang’s nuclear test in January and a subsequent rocket launch.

After North Korea’s previous missile test, the US had also proposed a press statement, but diplomats said China insisted on language linking it to US plans to place a high-tech missile defense system in South Korea. So the US dropped the statement.

This undated photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looking though binoculars at the site of a ballistic missile launching at an undisclosed location in North Korea

The Security Council in March imposed the toughest sanctions on North Korea in two decades, reflecting growing anger at Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test and rocket launch in defiance of a ban on all nuclear-related activity.

China, Russia and others expressed hope when it was adopted that the sanctions would lead to the immediate resumption of six-party talks aimed at the de-nuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. North Korea withdrew from the talks in 2008. Current UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from any use of ballistic missile technology, but Pyongyang has continued to carry out numerous launches following its fourth nuclear test in January.

North Korean leader Kim JongUn declared the submarine-launched missile test the “greatest success”.

Kim said the latest launch proved the North had joined the “front rank of

the military powers fully equipped with nuclear attack capability”.

The US mainland and the Pacific are now “within the striking range” of the North’s army, the official KCNA news agency reported Kim as saying after the launch. Kim said the “US vicious nuclear threat and blackmail against the DPRK (North Korea) only resulted in bolstering up its nuclear attack capability hour by hour”, according to KCNA. A proven submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) system would take its nuclear strike threat to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a “secondstrike” capability in the event of an attack on its military bases.

Strongly condemning this missile test in violation of the UN Security Council resolutions, the Pentagon termed the development as a “provocation”.

PTI Feature

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2016

PUNE

MONEY MATT ER S

“We make constant endeavours to bring path-breaking innovation and invention even in the feature phone space. ‘it5311’ thrives on the same conviction.”

— Sudhir Kumar, CEO, itel India

Signpost MSMEs need Rs 5L cr in near term Highlighting the financial crunch faced

by MSMEs, a report has pegged the total credit demand for the sector at Rs 45 lakh crore over the medium term while Rs 5.15 lakh crore needs to be mobilised for the near term. “Crisil estimates show Rs 11.37 lakh crore is only a quarter of the total funding demand of MSMEs. The rest is met either through informal sources/self-financing or remains unmet,” said a joint study by Crisil-Assocham. “Crisil believes that Rs 45 lakh crore would be the total credit demand for MSME sector over the medium term.” The near-term estimated funding requirement considers term finance, working-capital finance and non-fund limits for enterprises in manufacturing and trading.

“We’re not saying that iPhone replaces your DSLR. We’re saying this is the best camera we’ve ever built in any iPhone. For many customers, it’ll be the best camera they’ve ever owned.”

— Philip W. Schiller, Vice President (Worldwide Marketing), Apple

Replacing cash with digital-money: A recipe to Ram Rajya?

With ecommerce system unable to recognise unaccounted money as valid business activity, corruption, crime and social evils will soon be curbed

BY RANA AJIT The government launched an exercise to examine feasibility of banning cash transaction above Rs 3 lakhs. The news reports quoting Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairperson Rani Singh Nair said the move is afoot in a bid to curb black money in the country’s economy.

As per yet another decision aimed at discouraging cash transactions, the Union Finance Ministry has set up a high-level panel to suggest steps to promote card payments through incentives like tax rebates and cash back schemes.

As per the Ministry’s statement, the 11-member committee headed by former Finance Secretary Ratan P Watal, will recommend various measures to ‘incentivise transactions through cards and digital means, e.g., through tax rebates/incentives, introduction of cash back/lottery’. Evidently aimed at curbing the circulation of black money in Indian economy and bring the same under tax net, the two steps to discourage the cash transaction have come not a bit too early.

Ironically, the government has started taking these baby steps to curtail cash transactions over a decade after the country’s largest public sector bank, State Bank of India, had hinted at the malady of the cash transaction in a futuristic advertisement that not many might

remember now.

The tag line of the advertisement read: Welcome to the world of cashless transaction, free of pick-pocketing! On the face of it, the SBI ad promised its card users a world free of the menace of pick-pocketing, but its closer scrutiny revealed the contours of a rather radical but futuristic idea – a recipe to an ideal India, free of not only pickpocketing but all the crimes and social evils.

The SBI advertisement seemed to be subtly advocating elimination of unaccounted cash transactions and substituting the same with a fully accounted-for, digital monetary transactions system and rid the country of various crimes, including terrorism,

Equities best asset in 25 yrs Equities, not just in the domestic context but across the globe, have been the best asset class in the past 25 years, with the Sensex and the Nifty being the second best performers among top 10 global indices with an average of over 12 per cent returns.

The Shanghai Composite Index of China tops the list among top 10 global indices by giving a CAGR of 12.9 per cent during the 25-year period, according to an analysis of various asset classes and their returns by the citybased brokerage Centrum Group.

The data pertains to the 25-year period ending July 31, 2016 and are in local currency terms, the brokerage said.

Our study prove that the equities have trounced all other asset classes by

a wide margin. Of course some of these asset classes have given higher returns over a short-term, but for the long term it is definitely the equities, Centrum analysts Sweta Chawla and Siddhartha Khemka said.

“These numbers confirm the belief that equities have created more wealth for their holders than other asset classes.

Of course, this has happened over a longer time frame and the asset class comes with its own set of volatilities in the shorter time frame,” they told PTI. While the Sensex has given in a CAGR of 12 per cent for past 25 years, Nifty has been a notch better at 12.1 per cent, while in dollar terms this have been 7.9 per cent each.

PTI

corruption and tax evasion.

Despite sounding ridiculous and childish, the idea, on closer scrutiny, would reveal that it may well lead to elimination of all forms of crimes in which money plays a role in their commission, besides tackling various evils like poverty, lack of social security.

But, before explaining how an alternative mode of fully-accounted, digital mode of monetary transaction would prove to be panacea for eliminate terrorism and other crimes, the idea itself needs a little elaboration.

To begin with, the digital mode of fully accounted monetary transaction would recognise no paper or token currency. The monetary currency under

64% citizens in dark about LED scheme: Survey Government is promoting the usage of LED bulbs aggressively, but a survey claims that as many as 64 per cent of the citizens have not got these energy efficient bulbs and do not know how to get them.

According to a poll carried out across more than 56 cities and 20 plus states

by LocalCircles, a citizen engagement platform, 64 per cent consumers across still don’t know how to get LED bulbs.

“The reason for this is that the scheme has not been communicated to consumers properly. They are unaware of where to procure these bulbs from, how many bulbs can they buy and what is the paperwork required,” the survey said.

PTI

GST to make taxation simpler

BY CHANDRA SHEKHAR

With eight states ratifying the Constitution Amendment Bill on the Goods and Services Tax (GST), it looks like that the government will be able to meet the tight deadline for roll out of the new indirect tax regime from April 1 2017. However, various issues have to be ironed out for the smooth implementation of the GST. Spelling out benefits of the GST for various stakeholders, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said that under the new regime consumer goods would become cheaper and economy would get a boost because of increased consumption. “... (GST will) create a unified common national market for India, giving a boost to foreign investment and Make in India campaign,” the CBEC said in an advertisement in major newspapers.

Seeking to apprise the general public of the benefits of GST for the economy and also remove apprehensions, CBEC said exemption for a majority of small retailers will make “products cheaper for consumers”. Besides, the new tax regime will result in increased economic activity and generate more job opportunities.

The bill has already been ratified by eight state assemblies of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. Maharashtra and Haryana are likely to follow suit soon and the requisite numbers may be in place by

September.

After the GST constitution amendment bill is approved by 16 states, that is half of the 31 states, it will be put up before President Pranab Mukherjee for his signature.

Thereafter, Parliament will have to pass CGST (Central GST) and IGST (Integrated GST) bills and states legislatures SGST bills for providing necessary legal framework for the new indirect taxation regime.

An early Winter Session would help get the CGST and IGST legislations, that will pave way for the Goods and Services Tax (GST), to be approved within November or latest by early December.

The government is of the view that once half of the state legislatures approve the new national sales tax

regime, the GST Council - comprising Union finance minister and state finance ministers, can be nudged to quickly approve the tax rate, slabs and exemptions for it to be incorporated in the supporting legislations. Once implemented, GST will replace more than a dozen levies of central and state levies, including central excise, service tax and sales tax as well as VAT, to make movement of goods seamless.

Instead of the goods being taxed multiple times, under the new GST setup, goods will be taxed at the point of consumption. GST, CBEC said, will integrate taxes, unleash growth, create a national market and ease compliance.

On advantage for the trade and industry, CBEC said it will reduce compliance cost as the assessee will not have to maintain multiple records for a

variety of taxes.

“Greater use of IT will reduce human interface between the tax payer and the tax administration,” it said, adding that GST will eliminate double taxation on certain sectors like works contracts, software and hospitality, among others.

The new regime will be “simpler” with a few exemptions, it said, adding, “average tax burden on supplies of goods and services (is) likely to come down leading to more consumption.”

According to the tax department, there will be simplified and automated procedures for various processes such as registration, returns, refunds and tax payment.

The CGST and IGST will be drafted on the basis of the model GST law. The states will draft their respective State GST (SGST) laws with minor variation incorporating state-based exemption. The IGST law would deal with inter-state movement of goods and services.

There will be implementation hiccups which are difficult to foresee in advance, but the efforts should be to keep them to the minimum. However, once it is in place several benefits will accrue to the economy as the country would become a common market and ensure free flow of goods and services.

Among other things, the new regime will also prevent tax evasion and improve compliance.

PTI Feature

this system would just be an arithmetical number in a person’s bank account, liable to be digitally transferred from one person’s bank account to that of another.

Secondly, the monetary digital transaction would be strictly executable only in response to fully recognised legal and valid business activities with probably millions of them, including the trade of merchandise and services, digitally codified and enumerated in the country’s e-commerce or valid business activity directory.

With the country’s ecommerce system unable to recognise the payment of bribe or dowry as valid business activity, there will be no way how a corrupt official would be able to receive graft.

And even if he manages to receive some emoney in his or her account on some flimsy pretext, the transaction being fully accounted for, it should not be tough for sleuths to see through the real motive of the transaction.

This would hold in each monetary transaction, which in any case is fully accounted for and recorded. Needless to say, like common people to fulfill their daily needs, terrorist too need to conduct some monetary transactions to execute their nefarious designs.

But with most of the illegal activities unrecognised for being fit for monetary payment, it would greatly hinder such activities of native terror groups.

With the country recognising only e-money, it would be virtually impossible for the foreign militants and infiltrators, sneaking into the country through its porous borders, to conduct any monetary transaction here.

For those coming to the country on proper visa and passport could be given temporary e-money bank account, having a pre-determined sum in his account to take care of his genuine needs in the country for his stay. And again owing to the e-money, he will not be able to overstay. Sure enough, in absence of any physical currency, precious metals like gold and silver and other costly gems and stones may stage a comeback as parallel currency.

But neutralising such an eventuality may not be a challenging task for authorities by enacting laws. The whole idea of eliminating cash transaction and substituting it with a fully accountable, digital monetary transaction may sound a trifle bizarre and too radical. But it may be time for the government to comprehensively examine its feasibility now at a time when even the auto rickshaws have begun displaying the ubiquitous Paytm sticker saying “We accept fare also through Paytm.”

This only testifies to the popularity of digital mode of monetary transactions among the honest hardworking citizens.

PTI Feature

RBI should share black money data

SIT in a letter to RBI has impressed upon need to establish an institutional mechanism for sharing of data with Centre The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money has asked Reserve Bank to develop an institutional mechanism to share data with enforcement agencies to track illicit fund flows out of the country.

The SIT headed by Justice MB Shah (retd), in an August 11 letter to the RBI governor, impressed upon need to establish an institutional mechanism for sharing of data and stressed on effective sharing of information between various government departments.

“Chairman SIT has asked RBI for an institutional mechanism for sharing of data in its various databases with the enforcement authorities,” a Finance Ministry tweet said. It has asked banking regulator RBI to develop an institutional mechanism to track illicit financial flows out of the country.

The Supreme Court appointed SIT was set up to suggest methods to curb black money in the economy.

The SIT feels that the data can be shared only by having one agency such as Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) or any other agency, as a data warehouse. “From the said data warehouse, various agencies can gather the relevant information for taking early appropriate action,” the SIT said.

It said since the data would be available with one agency, it can be relevant to action expected to be taken by other law enforcement agencies.

At present, RBI holds the information with respect to all types of foreign exchange transactions under various categories.

“SIT feels that for controlling and tracking illicit financial flows out of the country, use of RBI data by various law enforcement agencies, like Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and CBDT is of critical importance,” the Finance Ministry further added in a statement.

The SIT in its letter has suggested that RBI gives access to data relating

to foreign exchange transactions of all authorised dealers with authorities like enforcement directorate and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.

Foreign Exchange Transactions Electronic Reporting System (FETERS), which holds the said data should capture the PAN number of the importer or exporter and that RBI should take necessary steps to get this done on an “urgent basis”.

As regards Exports Outstanding data, the SIT said huge amounts were found outstanding beyond a period of one year in violation of FEMA. The SIT had noted that the possibility of the concerned companies having wrongly claimed duty drawback also cannot be ruled out. Further, the possibility of the concerned Companies having availed of various export promotion schemes also cannot be ruled out. “In light of this, the SIT has asked the Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Ministry of Commerce to analyse the data of export outstanding and take necessary action in this regard,” the statement said.

RBI maintains export realisation data in its EDPMS database.

The SIT in his letter has also observed that it is important to co relate shipping bills with confirmation from banks on the EDPMS database itself rather than Bank Realisation Certificate (BRC) which is different database and that RBI may impress upon the banks to inform regarding realisation of export proceeds on the EDPMS itself.

With regard to ‘monitoring of Advance Remittances against Imports’, the SIT in wake of the Bank of Baroda scam, the SIT had asked RBI to institutionalise a mechanism for cross checking of advance remittances against Bill of Entry irrespective of value of advance remittances sent.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2016

WATCH OUT HARI AND SUKHMANI One band, 2 individuals and both are singers, songwriters and producers.

Hari and Sukhmani have been creating fresh and eclectic sound, fusing traditional Punjabi folk music with ambient electronica embodying their powerful, singular and independent spirit. The duo is highly inspired by famous Sufi poets like Bulleh Shah, Baba Farid, Kabir and Shah Hussain. Hari Sukhmani aim to make music that speaks to the soul, resonating with every generation.

When: September 24 Where: Paasha, JW Marriott, SB Road

called Guldasta-e-Urdu.

This session celebrates the 303rd birth anniversary of Meer Taqi Meer the pioneer of Urdu poetry. This engaging gathering will reflect on Meer’s ten memorable couplets and relish a cinematic experience which presents the poet’s life. The well known poet and personality Mrs. Mumtaz Peerbhoy will introduce and lead the discussion.

When: September 10 Where: Gyaan Adab, Kalyani Nagar

GULDASTA-E-URDU In keeping with our mandate of promoting various languages, their Literature and related cultural art forms, Gyaan Adab has initiated a series of intimate Urdu gatherings

VOX POPULI

also enjoy the live demonstrations on Ganesha paintings by artists and live traditional music.

When: Till September 15 Where: Tilting Art Gallery, Ishanya Mall, Yerwada

DAIRA BlueFROG presents Daira performing live at the venue. Daira is a five-piece band from Mumbai.

Formed in 2014, its members include Piyush Kapoor, Vikalp Sharma, Shivam Pant, Govind Gawli and Pratik Kulgod. Their sound is predominantely alt rock sound with songs have strong underlying themes of love and freedom.

When: September 14 and 15 Where: BlueFROG Amphitheatre, Yerwada

COLOURS OF DECCAN

ART MEETS DEVOTION Tilting Art Gallery presents Art Meets Devotion- an art exhibition showcasing the breathtaking paintings of Ganesha.

More than 15 artists will be presenting their painintgs of the diety to commemorate the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. Art lovers can

BEST OF APPURV GUPTA

Art2Day Gallery brings to you Colours of Deccan- an art exhibition to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the gallery. There will be painitngs by artists from Maharashtra as well as other states showcasing their work at the gallery. SOme of the popular names who will be participating at this exhibition includes Chippa Sudhakar, Kandi Narsimhulu, K. Laxma Goud, Laxman Aelay, Nagesh Goud and Iruvan Karunakara among others.

When: Till September 30 Where: Art2Day Gallery, Shukrawar Peth

Get ready for an evening of insane humour with Appurv Gupta. Appurv Gupta has one of the most unique voices in the Stand-Up Comedy scene of India. Recently, Forbes India had listed his name in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 Nominees list for 2015. After performing 500 shows all over the country and 2 sold out solo shows, he is bringing his best material to this show, so don’t miss out on all his college, relationship and technology stories.

When: September 14 Where: Euriska, Koregaon Park

A video of a cop being assaulted by a group of hooligans during Ganesh immerssion went viral recently. Reacting to the incident the Chief Minister asked for a committee to be set up to monitor the attacks on policemen. Is setting up a committee a way out? We ask Puneites their take on this.

Apoorva Lele Photographer A committee has seldom helped in these kind of situations. Hence strict action must be taken against anyone who indulges in such acts. A high profile personnel’s hired or connected goons could do such thing as well. Hence despite the criminal’s connection he or she should be punished. The punishment should be handed out not only as an exchange for the sufferings that the victim has been through but also so as to set an example for the others.

Aroon Deep Student Making a committee is one of the most common quick fixes that governments at all levels try to fix a problem. The lack of follow-through on the committees’ findings is the crucial part of the problem-solving process that is usually not explored, because by then the issue ceases to exist in the public consciousness. Consultation papers are a great alternative, because they get both the general public, stakeholder institutions, and NGOs involved in the process, and the level of accountability that naturally arises as a result can help see an actionable solution to realisation.

Rohit Gite Copywriter Setting up a committee to protect the protectors shows the sorry state of affairs. We need to make an example out of these offenders with stern and immediate action. So the fact that a law doesn’t exist in place to take care of these people is extremely sad. We must ensure that acts like this do not become the norm.

WEEK THAT WAS BANDS ENRAGED WITH PUNE PUBS FOR ASKING THEM TO GUARANTEE CROWD

Musician Aayushi Jagad recently expressed her anguish over a pub asking her to guarantee a minimum number of people at the venue, failing which the gig would be cancelled. Her post against The Local Gastro Pub on Mundhwa Road has evoked quite a response, mostly from other musicians.

In her post put up on her Facebook wall on Wednesday Aayushi, a member of The Plus Ones band, narrated how the pub refused to allow them to perform if they did not guarantee a crowd of 100 people for the performance. Aayushi told TGS, “I have played gigs at several places and this has never happened before.

While as an artist I understand that I will be able to pull crowd but still asking me to guarantee a minimum number is not right.” Another band member Kushagra Mathur, from Retrofied band who had similar experience in the past said, “My band Retrofied was called for a gig for a regular Friday night gig, and we were similarly asked to get a guest list of 100 or minimum 75 people. I was angry with the diktat and in the end we cancelled the gig. The pubs pay us very little for every performance and expect us to get them business worth lakhs.”

The pubs on their part believe that it’s all about business at the end of the day. Avinash Agarwal the owner of Classic Rock Coffee Co said, “In a situation wherein the artist has approached us and isn’t confident of how many people might turn up, the venue isn’t obliged to sign them. The artist must also be willing to take some risk in situation where he or she isn’t confident of the numbers. It is only fair.”

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The exodus of the migrants

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Sameep Kulkarni Musician Just setting up the committee is not sufficient, but also taking control and action against the crimes is important. The authorities’ just want to get away with their responsibilities, they should trace criminals and also creates awareness. Also more “Pramukh Swami’s deep sense of devotion led him to spend his life mm H example m helped his followers w find revitalizing communities in nee. His steps must be taken by the government to prevent more harmony – both with others and within themselves.”

— Hillary Clinton, Former Secretary of US any crime.

EDITOR

SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2016

Sarita Mangesh has actively been doing live shows for the past four years. Running the theatre company Creation Pune she has a two-fold aim when it comes to theatre as an art form. Not only does she hope to present it at a lower cost but also wants to promote and provide an opportunity for new artists.

While she herself does not act, she manages everything from writing the script to arranging the artists to even directing the plays. This year, her team will be performing Sarita Mangesh at about 15 mandals all of which are located in the Pimpri-Chinchwad area and will be tackling social issues.

“The one thing that I have learned along the way is that your story must always have a positive end. People stop whatever it is that they are doing and watch you. If you give them a sad ending they leave with that feeling and no one wants to be in a foul mood during the festive season,” she tells us. The issues that she has worked on range from suicide prevention to how the grieving farmer could be helped, even peer pressure all of which conclude on a happy note.

As someone who writes and directs these plays, one other challenge that Sarita faces is to try and fit such important topics in 10 to 15 minutes. As a director the attention to detail is a bigger factor as the actor essentially has to lip-sync and this is much more challenging than actually saying the dialogues. There is no room for error at all. While doing all of this you must also be able to deliver the right emotions and at the right time too. Like many others, this started off as a hobby for her and later turned into a full-time job.

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A sorry state of affairs

FEATURES This festive season, when you see artists performing at a Ganpati mandal right around the corner of the streets, stop for a few minutes to appreciate the passion and dedication that they put into it. Meet the live performers who are always on the go

By Akshay Dixit & Salonee Mistry @TGSWeekly

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ne of the best things about the Ganpati festival, other than the pretty idols and extravagant decorations, are the people performing skits to entertain devotees. These 10-15 minute plays are acted out as if on repeat mode for almost three hours every evening from the second to the ninth day of the festival. All the mandals have their own choice of topics, usually something that is either related to the culture of the city, its history or a script that holds a social message.

Extremely different from the kind of plays you see when seated in an auditorium, the dialogues for the performances are dubbed, often by some other artist and the actor on stage only lip-syncs.

Getting paid by the day, one must really be passionate about acting and being associated with something like this, to keep at it. Just before the festivities begin, TGS spoke to some of the theatre groups that have been performing live shows for years now and finds out what keeps them going.

When a festival brings the streets alive ‘THE LIVE SHOWS AREN’T FOR MONEY’

Right from when he was 12 years old, Sunny Waghmare would accompany his elder sister to her theatre practice and would sit on a bench in a corner for hours till she got done. One day his sister’s teacher asked him to join the performance as well and there has been no stopping him since. Running his own group that goes by the name Krushna Movies he has about 15 artists with him and has been performing live shows since 2000.

This year, he will be performing at two mandals in the city, at Navi Peth and JM Road. He will be staging a play in Marathi language at the former and one on Shivaji Maharaj at the latter. “The live shows aren’t done for money. We do them to satisfy the actor within us and since profits are never even a part of the plan it is almost like doing it for fun. We earn from our corporate and commercial theatre shows to pay for the live ones,” he explains. All of the topics that Sunny has worked on since he started off revolve around either a historic topic or a social cause, like women abuse or equality.

Pointing out the one stark difference that he feels exists in the live shows versus the commercial one’s done in an auditoriums is that of the audience.

With live shows, he feels that even though there is a possibility of the audience strength being quite large, it’s still an intimate performance and one will always find a familiar face right in the front encouraging you on. The members from your own team will wait in the crowd to boost your confidence if there is no one else, he adds. Practice for his team begins about 10 days before the shows. Sunny also feels that this is a medium that allows you to deliver a message to an audience that would never come to the theatre.

‘PERFORMING FOR A MOVING CROWD IS VERY DIFFERENT’ For the last seven years, theatre has been a huge part of Abhijit Pawar’s life. It started off as a hobby while he still had another job and when he went on a break, acting is something that he kept doing and did not even realised when it became his profession. A student of Dada Pashalkar, he learned everything that he needed to know about acting and direction when he was a part of the Mangal Theatre Group in Pune. He has been doing live shows during the Ganpati festival for the last four years and it’s something that he absolutely enjoys. This year too he will be seen performing at two different mandals with his team of 15 members who are all friends and go by the name Audumbar Pratishthan.

At Ajanta Mitra Mandal in Hadapsar, his team will be performing a play that revolves around Maharashtrian culture titled Maharashtrachi Sanskriti. On the other hand, at Jai Jawan Mitra Mandal also in Hadapsar, they will perform a drama called Pravesh Prakriya- Ayogya ki Yogya that highlights the boons and banes of the internet. The scripts for both plays have been written

by Sanjay Navgire and Amit Deshmukh. Practice for the live shows starts about 12 days before they take to the stage. Talking about the experience he says, “Performing for a moving crowd is very different.

Sometimes you will have an audience and sometimes you won’t.

Even so, for someone who is passionate about acting, the size of the audience does not matter.”

Another thing that he points out is the challenge that comes when you perform for more than one mandal at a time. It becomes the actor’s responsibility to ensure that his performance is balanced for all the mandals so you don’t lose either of the jobs since most of them take part in the same competitions, he adds. Abhijit is also a commercial theatre artist and has even done various films like Gondal and Bavre Prem He to name a few.

‘LIVE SHOWS ARE LIKE WORKING IN A CINEMA, WITHOUT A CAMERA’

TGS LIFE

SEPTEMBER 3-9 , 2016

He was one of the foremost people to bring the concept of live shows to Pune, he tells us.

Not knowing how the crowd will react back then, Santosh Raut obviously was very apprehensive Santosh Raut before starting out and made mistakes from which he learned too. Performing this year with his team of nearly 20 people at Garuda Ganpati, on Laxmi Road he will be staging a play titled Jhansi Chi Rani. For him, the biggest challenge has been managing funds. Sometimes the payments from the mandals come in late or the arrangements exceed the budget and this is when he lands up better at the same thing but there paying from his own pocket. Even so, is no one recording your growth this is one of the best times of the year other than a moving audience. To for him and he enjoys every single stay focused through all of this can sometimes get stressful.” The minute of it even if he is stressed.

He says, “Live shows are like monsoon can also be something working in a cinema without a which is extremely tiresome to camera. You get enough takes to get deal with, he adds. Santosh starts

PUNE

prepping for the shows one month in advance and does everything from organising it, to scripting, directing and even acting in it himself. Since most of his plays are historic in nature he can constantly be found researching on one topic or the other. Once someone who

‘SOURCING TALENT FOR LIVE SHOWS IS A HUGE TASK’ A child theatre artist himself, Sudharkar Aughde has been associated with the art form since 1996. Live shows is something that he has been doing for about a decade now and loves every minute that he is involved with it. It is a different kind of satisfaction and a good break from the regular theatre performances too, he tells us. Apart from acting in these plays he even looks after the script, direction and all the logistical requirements like that of putting together a team, the lights, make-up and costumes among other things.

His work begins two months before the live shows start. He firsts talks to the mandals to find out what exactly they want and then works on a script which he then once again finalises with them. Once this is done he then has to put together a team that will fit well with the work at hand and deliver. “Sourcing talent for live shows

It was extremely sad to read about the condition that the children inside the juvenile home live in. While on one hand it is supposed to be an abode that prevents them from walking down the wrong path it is also meant to be a place that shows them the difference between the right and wrong. What with

FEATURES

Sudharkar Aughde

is a huge task. Since it does not pay well unless you are a well-known artist the younger crowd soon lose interest and move onto something

It’s time to appreciate the talent The cover story in the LIFE supplement about the live shows that take place on the side of the road during the Ganpati festival was a fun read. It only made me realise how there is so much talent on every nook and corner of the city only waiting to be explored. It was however sad to read that funds are a struggle for these artists who give it their all every time they take stage. An admirer of the theatre as a performing art I hope that someday there is a way to take this medium and all its variations to a much higher level. What these artists do is nothing short of hard work and they must be appreciated for it.

-Swamini Reddy

has been working with him for a while gets a hang of how it all works, he hands over a mandal to him and starts training others. The fact that there is a repeat audience on some days only goes to prove that his artists are good at what they do, he feels.

more stable. Managing a team that will stick with you for years is every organiser’s nightmare,” Sudhakar says. This year, he is working with a group of about 35 artists out of which only about 15 of them have been with him for a long time. The rest have joined in this year with no guarantee of them being around for the next.

His team will be performing at three mandals this year namely Sainath Tarun Mitra Mandal in Camp, Patil Nagar in Chikli and Gandhi Chowk Mitra Mandal also in Chikli.

Apart from building a loyal team, his other challenges include finances and working with new artists who take time to grasp their role.

His topic this year for one of the mandals takes a dig at the way our government functions and the time the authorities take when it comes to tackling rape cases and the second one is on the Maharashtrian culture.

See p02

The fruitful rains this year have been the proverbial blessing for all. But it has created a strange situation, where the migrants from See p08-09 drought-hit areas of Maharashtra have returned home to their villages, causing an acute shortage of labour in Pune

City activist alleges marijuana grown inside juvenile home Gross misconduct, including prevalence of drugs alleged at juvenile home in Pune

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma

All is not well at the Juvenile Home in Pune. While there have been multiple instances of children running away from the home in the last fortnight, the security is not the only thing that’s lacking. In a letter addressed to the Commissioner of Women and Child Development, child activist and volunteer at the juvenile home, Yamini Adbe, has brought forth vital information of gross misconduct going on inside the juvenile home, which is in direct violation of the Juvenile Justice Act 2015.

According to the letter dated August 25, the children are provided with tobacco, marijuana and other addictive substance by the juvenile home staff. The letter states, “Almost all children get gutkha, marijuana and other drugs very easily through staff only. They blame the parents but then this again shows a serious lapse of security at the time of entrance. Kids kill wall lizards and burn them to get the addiction habit fulfilled. Has your counsellor once informed about the de-addiction help required?” This is not the first instance where such an accusation has been made, as a parent of one of the inmates had written a similar letter to the Juvenile Justice Board. The letter adds that there is marijuana planted inside the juvenile home, and it is being nurtured by the inmates and the staff is involved as well.

Continued Yamini Adbe on p05

HIGHLIGHTS OF YAMINI ADBE’S LETTER • Kids kill wall lizards and burn to get a high • Almost all children get gutakha, marijuana and other drugs from staff • Nobody bothered to investigate availability of condoms in children’s home.

It indicates sexual exploitation of the small kids by the elder ones • Violating all the norms of Juvenile Justice Act the kids were transferred in uniformed police vehicle like hard core criminals • Children ran away from the home after beating the caretaker, not only once but repeatedly • No qualified caretaker available inside the home even after recent episode

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2016

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

PUNE

SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2016

Houses with locks on the doors are a common sight in the slums the migrants lived in

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he migrants from the drought-hit regions of Maharashtra mostly used to live in Ramnagar and Khan slums in Warje, Dhankawadi, Janata Vasahat and Dandekar bridge slum. But now a majority of them have returned home to their villages to work on their farms, or they have found some other jobs there. As a result, the houses they occupied in the slums are locked. At Ramnagar and Khan slums in Warje, one sees a lot of houses that have locks on the doors.

“These houses were occupied by the people who had migrated here from their villages, in search of work, owing to the drought-like situation back home. But since the arrival of the monsoons, there has been a reverse migration, and these people have now gone back to their villages, to either work on their own farms, or on some other people’s farms,” said Kayyum Khan, resident of Khan slum.

The situation is the same in Dhankawadi, Janata Vasahat and Dandekar bridge slums, where there are scores of houses that have locks on the doors, since the occupants have returned home to their villages, as they do not need to be looking for jobs and a means of livelihood here any more, now that the monsoons have turned the situation around.

The closed doors and boarded-up windows tell the story of the occupants returning to their homes

‘There has been sufficient rain, so we don’t have need to go anywhere this year’

A

ppa Bhagwan Gavade, 24, resident of Bangali Pimpla village in Georai taluka of Beed district, is overjoyed to see the cotton crop come up on his five-acre farm. He also cultivates bajra and pigeon pea (toor dal). He sprays his crops with pesticides regularly to protect them from insects and fungicides.

After three years of working as a construction labourer, he is now more than happy to revert to his occupation as farmer.

Appa used to work as construction labourer at a site in Pimpri Chinchwad. He had come to Pune in 2013 in search of work, and ended up at a construction site, as there were few options to earn a livelihood. Appa has passed the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exam, and owns five acres of land in his village, but the drought-like situation had turned the prospect of farming impossible. He therefore, was forced to migrate to Pune to earn some money for the upkeep of his eight-member family, including parents, wife Rekha, son Banti, and younger brothers Dipak and Jija. He came to Pune with his wife and son and started working as construction labourer.

He worked till May, and then he decided to quit the job, and return home to his own farm.

- APPA GAVADE “I am happy today working on my own farm. Despite owning the farm, I had to work as a labourer in Pune, because of the drought-like conditions in the last five years.

Thanks to the rainfall this year, my cotton crop is flourishing and I hope to make a decent profit from it,” said Appa. He was also a seasonal sugar cane labourer for two years before coming to Pune.

His father Bhagwan is happy with the monsoons this year. “The scanty rainfall in the last five years had made farming an impossible prospect. We were unable to cultivate our crops, and we were forced to migrate to the city to earn some money. But now that there has been sufficient rain, we don’t have need to go anywhere this year,” he said.

Savita Ghongade from Goalegaon village in Shevgaon taluka of Ahmednagar district has been working in Pune’s Hinjawadi area as a housekeeper for a company, for one and a half years. But now she is back home in her village, working on her own farm,thanks to the bountiful rain.

“I am happy today working on my own farm.”

Appa Gavade is thrilled to be back home, tending to his flourishing cotton crop

‘There are no maids available, and it is too much of a bother to recruit them’

E

Chhaya Shewale is one of the few women available for housemaid duty

mployment agencies in the city and suburban areas are facing an acute shortage of manpower, for jobs like housemaids, office boys, housekeeping staff, care takers and security guards. So acute is the shortage that some of them have had to shut shop.

Pradeep Rane of Sai Manforce Solution Pvt Limited, which employs housekeepers, said that they have never had such a shortage of manpower. Their office is in Hadapsar, and they have been looking to recruit workers for quite some time.

Maruti Ghogare of Chaudhari Maid Services, from Yerwada, said that they too have had a shortage of housemaids these days.

“Currently we have 15 maids working for our agency, but we need more. We normally see this slack during every Ganesh festival, as the women are busy with their household work and normally join after the festival. But these days, no maids are available for the work,” said Ghogare.

Sumanta Vetal of Rutuja Maid Services started her service from Bhosari, but has had to shut shop due to shortage of women workers and related hassles. “I have closed down the business as there are no maids available, and it is too much of a bother to recruit them. I have changed my line of work and have started a milk business,” said Vetal.

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‘Since there is a shortage of manpower, my wife and my brother’s son are also helping out’

T

he hospitality and catering industry in Pune is currently facing a big shortage of manpower, as the migrants from drought-hit areas formed a large section of their workforce. But with the advent of the monsoons this year, a large number of these migrants have returned home to their villages to work on their own farms. This shortage of manpower has hit the hotel industry hard, as they are now finding it difficult to find enough workers for the smooth operation of their eateries and hotels.

Some of the owners have had no option but to get their own family members to work at their hotels.

Hotel Tukai in the vicinity of the Sinhagad Institute in Narhe area, had placed an advertisement in a local Marathi newspaper, to recruit waiters and cooks, seven days in a row. But they did not receive even a single response to their advertisement. The owner even put up advertisements on the walls in nearby areas, but even this has failed to bring in the workers they need.

Tukai owner Pandurang Shinde said, “The hotel industry needs adequate manpower for a smooth operation. We need waiters, cooks, sweepers and women to make rotis in our hotel. At Hotel Tukai, we pay these workers wages of Rs 6,000 to Rs 14,000, and also provide them with their meals. We also give them a place

to stay. At times we have to pay the cooks more than this. At times, we pay our workers money in advance for them to send it to their families, or to pay back loans they have taken from private money lenders. But now the situation has become so bad that our hotel has been unable to hire workers, in spite of placing advertisements in the Marathi daily ‘Pudhari’, for waiters, cooks and sweepers, for seven days in a row. We are still waiting to recruit workers.

We get workers mostly from Solapur, Osmanabad, Latur and states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The workers we used to have, have now gone back to their homes, as there has been a good rainfall this year, and now they are able to work on their farms. The drought situation was bad as they did not have water for drinking, which is the reason why they had migrated to Pune city, to find a job for their livelihood. But now the situation is different with the good rainfall. After all, they were working in Pune as a temporary resort, and what they earn here is really not enough to fulfil all their needs. It was just a source of livelihood for them. Right now there are only five workers in our hotel, of which one is cook, one makes tea, one is a sweeper and the other two are waiters. But since there is a shortage of manpower, my wife Rohini and my brother’s son Pankaj are also helping out at the hotel.”

The exodus of the migrants

The fruitful rains this year have been the proverbial blessing for all. But it has created a strange situation, where the migrants from drought-hit areas of Maharashtra have returned home to their villages, causing an acute shortage of labour in Pune

BY TUSHAR RUPANAWAR AND DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @TGSWeekly

T

he scanty rainfall over the last four or five years resulted in a drought-like situation in Maharashtra. One of the fallouts of this was the mass migration of people from the rural parts of the state such as Marathwada and Vidarbha, to the cities, in search of a means of earning a livelihood.

A countless number of such migrants made a beeline for Pune city. They were forced to leave behind their farms and their homes, as there were no jobs available as farm labourers in the regions reeling under a dry spell. And in the cities, they were willing to take up any jobs that came their way, which would be mostly of the manual and physical type, as these migrants lacked the education or skills that would enable them to land jobs in professions that demanded specialised skills. So the kind of jobs that were available to them were restricted to construction sites, the manual kind of jobs in industries, or jobs that did not demand and special skills, such as housekeeping, security guards, waiters, housemaids etc. There seemed

no limit to the number of such people that a city like Pune cold accommodate, as there is a constant demand for people willing to do such jobs at reasonable wages.

The situation, however, has changed this year and the monsoons this time around have been favourable almost all over the country.

Maharashtra is no exception, and with the adequate rains, the once acute scarcity of water has now been resolved for the most part. The water levels in the dams are at a reassuring height and most of the fears regarding the production of foodgrains have now been allayed. Of course, now that the rains have been plentiful, the once arid regions of Marathwada and Vidarbha too have had their share, and the farming activities that have in recent years been non-existent, have now been revived. As a result, the legion of migrants who had come to the cities in search of jobs and livelihood, have now turned their sights homeward, and have decided to bid adieu to their migrant status and return home to take up the tilling of their own fields and farmlands.

This reverse migration has now given rise to the kind of situation where, now there is an acute shortage of manpower for the jobs these migrants had been doing for the last four or

five years, whether it be at construction sites, or as security staff or labourers and the other makeshift occupations. The employment agencies, labour contractors, industries, and hospitality industry that employed the migrants are now facing the shortage of cheap and affordable labour. There is now a big vacuum that the migrants have left behind and now it has become hard to find housemaids, housekeepers or waiters.

The places that the migrant workers would haunt on a daily basis as they looked for jobs, are now beginning to wear a deserted look. These populations who had once made Pune their temporary home have now gone back to their villages. The addas which these labourers once flocked to are now not seeing the kind of activity that they once did. The manpower crunch has hit industrial sector, the construction sites, and the hospitality industry quite hard.

TGS undertook a survey of the places where these migrant workers were once working and living, to gauge the fallout of the reversal of the drought situation, and how it has affected the situation in Pune, as far as the labour scenario is concerned. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

‘We are facing an acute shortage of manpower and I hope that his does not mean a big loss’

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mit Ishwar Phale, 25, and his cousin Ajinkya Suresh Phale own Sagar Engineering and Industrial Workshop in the Bharati Vidyapeeth area of Katraj. They are facing a downturn in their business for the simple reason that they don’t have enough workers to operate the machines in their workshop. What they require are 25 operators, but they are making do with only 16 operators. “We have a total of 21 machines, including seven metal lathe machines, nine drilling machines, a milling machine, and other small machines like Computer Numeric Control (CNC), Virtual Network Computing (VNC) etc. But since the migrants workers have gone back home, we are suffering a slowdown of our business as we are finding it difficult to recruit an adequate number of workers to operate the machines in our workshop,” said Ajinkya.

The Phales’ Sagar Engineering Workshop undertakes metal goods jobs which are fabricated on their machines. They used to have eight workers from the Marathwada and rural regions of Maharashtra.

But all the eight workers quit their jobs as soon the monsoons arrived, and returned home to their villages to take up their farming occupation now that the rain gods have been favourable. As a consequence, we are facing an acute shortage of skilled labourers, and I hope that his does not translate into a big loss for us, due to shortage of manpower,” said Ajinkya, who is pursuing a course in mechanical engineering. “We have been facing this shortage of manpower for the last 8-9 months, as the people we had working for us from Marathwada and the rural regions, decided to return home to their villages to work on their farms,” he said.

F eedom D

BY SHAILESH JOSHI @TGSWeekly

For the students from poor, rural areas who move to the city to attend colleges and struggle to make ends meet, they have a friend in need who also belong to a remote village in Marathwada and worked hard to become a successful businessman. After starting many initiatives that help students from impoverished rural communities survive in a city, Rajkumar Bhanudas Dhurgude Patil, 50, will launch a food van for college students belonging to rural areas from September 17, observed as Marathwada Mukti Sangram Din. “Under the banner of ‘Marathwada Samanwayak Samiti’ that we formed in Pune along with 25 like-minded people, we will give one meal a day to students who come from villages for Rs 10. The service will start from September 17,” Rajkumar said. The founders of ‘Marathwada Samanwayak Samiti’ hail from Marathwada region. The Samiti has distributed 500 forms to city’s various colleges, including Fergusson College, Sir Parshurambhau College, Abasaheb Garware College and Modern College Garaware college, inviting students to avail of the service.

“I come from a remote village and know the hardships that people from rural areas face. We will give bhaji poli packets that will have three polis and one vegetable.

PG 8-9

them finding ways to get TGS high, LIFEsexual exploitation and even running away dealer up, from the Kawasaki place there iswound something that superbike customers in limbo is not correct with the way the things Following our report on Aug 12, the SNK Palm Beach dealer has officially been closed, leaving a have beenKawasaki happening till date. It is sad dozen owners in the lurch that we have even reached a situation where something like this must be brought to the notice of the higher authorities. I hope things change for the better soon.

-Yashvir Singh

“Our children should be educated and healthy. m can reap the demographic dividend only if w we educating and skilling our youth, especially our — Pranab Mukherjee, President

Hussain Jawadwala M w m w m m Student m m This is not the first time that something like this has happened. It is this kind of behaviour that must not be tolerated at all. Setting up a committee to look after the matter is a very easy way of pushing the matter under the wraps because not action will ever be taken. The committee will be formed, reports will be made and they will sit in a corner gathering dust because of some missing paper or some other reason. There must be a better solution to this and one that yield results quickly.

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PICS: RAHUL RAUT

LETTERS TO THE

‘YOUR STORY MUST ALWAYS HAVE A POSITIVE END’

THE GOLD

Secure city life for village students

PG 14

PICS BY RAHUL RAUT AND VISHAL KALE

TGS LIFE

PUNE

cursing them for crowding in a small city like Pune, but this story gave us an insight into their life too. They lack the education that would land them secured jobs and hence they are forced to work on construction sites, housekeeping, security guards, waiters, housemaids etc. They are not even offered wages that enable them to support their family. They live in slums, and are hard working, I wish government did something to provide them with financial assistance or help them educate their children.

-Shehla Kaushik

Initially, we will put up food vans outside six colleges in the city but cover more educational institutes in the future. Our volunteers will be standing outside college gates to provide food from 10 am to noon every day. Two volunteers will stand before each college and give the packets. Our food van will wait outside colleges till students consume the meal and give us the empty food packets. In order to ensure that the whole process runs smoothly, we have written to the principals of these colleges in advance and received their approval,” he said.

For those students who are unable to pay Rs 10, Marathwada Samanwayak Samiti will be distributing food packets for free but the benef iciaries will have to

The dictionary drive N

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service for humanity. Belonging to a farmer’s family living in a backward and remote village in Mangrul in Marathwada, Rajkumar spent his childhood knowing the value and importance of basic needs of life. It was his young days at the village that made him responsible and caring towards others.

Coming from farming background, he foresaw the potential for agriculture to play an important role in bio-technology and environment, besides providing jobs to the unemployed rural youth. He started agro inputs manufacturing factories in 1994 at his village and soon his firm ‘Sun & Ocean Group of Companies’ expanded into agro, crop science, biotech, agro chemicals and bio-care, manufacturing more than 150 agro input products like insecticides, weedicides, fungicides, bio pesticides, plant tonics, micronutrients, water soluble fertilizers and bio and organic fertilizer.

“All my business interests focus on helping the farmers. I give my quality products to farmers at low cost and my extensive distribution network ensures that products and services reach farmers who stay in remote areas. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

volunteer in the organisation various social campaigns.

“When I started my firm’s marketing office in Pune, many of my accountant’s friends used to come from his village in Marathwada to meet him. Unable to afford a place to stay in the city, these visitors stayed on company premises. These villagers told me that finding a place to temporarily stay in the city was beyond their means. I built a hostel ‘Margadnya’ for boys in Sukhsagar area in Katraj. The monthly rent of this hostel for students is only Rs 400. Later, I also constructed a girls’ hostel ‘Swavalambi’ in Dhankawdi. The name of this hostel that means to be independent is based on the principle followed by my mother Vimalbai Bhanudas Dhurgude.

Being the son of freedom fighter Late Bhanudasrao J Dhurgude, living a life of service and sacrifice came naturally to Rajkumar. He was inspired by his father’s simple style of living and devotion towards

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TANKED-UP TGS LIFE

JUNE 25, 2016 PUNE

JUNE 11, 2016

THRILL OF DRIVING

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PUNE

THRILL OF DRIVING

By Tushar Burman @tburman

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

That has now changed with Mahindra calling this iteration the mHawk100 motor -- essentially the same thing but now putting out considerably more power and torque, up to 100hp and 240Nm. If you’ve read our previous assessment of the TUV300, not much has changed, save for our experience with other, more recent SUVs in and around the same segment. The TUV300 is surprising in its nice interior accoutrements. A great AC, a very decent infotainment system with Bluetooth and iPod connectivity that works flawlessly, a nice two-tone Dash that looks contemporary and a quiet cabin that belies the intrinsic nature of a three-cylinder Diesel engine. It should sound and feel rough, but it doesn’t. Nothing in the SUV does.

Of particular interest to us in this new 100hp guise of the TUV, was the suspension. You see, the Mahindra NuvoSport, which we also recently tested, uses the same engine, but has a problem with considerable body roll. Not so much with the TUV, which is controlled and feels more secure at highway speeds. It also feels a bit firmer, but that’s a trade-off we’re willing to make: some more jerks to the spine in exchange of careening off a cliff on a sharp bend. Engine performance is also on par with the NuvoSport, but after using the TUV’s manual transmission, we ended up missing the AMT of the NuvoSport, wh

Datsun Redi-GO launched, starting at Rs 2.38 lac

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

TGS LIFE JULY 30, 2016 PUNE

THRILL OF DRIVING

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

By Tushar Burman

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he urban crossover/hatchback which was globally unveiled in April, Datsun’s Redi-GO finally makes its way to Indian roads.

The 799 cc Redi-GO runs on a three-cylinder i-SAT engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission. It produces 53 hp, 72Nm of torque and delivers a fuel efficiency of 25.17 kmpl. The top speed is 140 Kmph and the ground clearance is 185mm. The vehicle on display at the press launch looked solid, with most details standing up to scrutiny. While it may be built to a cost, it looks good in the flesh and doesn’t betray it’s budget category.

Safety is courtesy “Datsun PRO-SAFE7” which includes shortest braking distance, high strength body shell to absorb impacts, good visibility and wider view of the road, high bolster support while cornering, energy absorbing steering and a driver airbag.

Five personalized kit options are available: Urban, Style, Kool, Easy Kit - Sporty and Easy Kit - Premium. Colour options available are: White, Silver, Grey, Ruby and Lime. The Datsun Redi-GO comes with a warranty of 2 years/unlimited km and the car can be booked via mobile app called ‘Datsun India App’.

@tburman

Minimal badging on the sides and at either end

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Triumph Bonneville Thruxton R launched for Rs 10.90 lac

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

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

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

The equipment list continues; the Thruxton

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

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

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

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

expanse of nice, flat lug access thanks to the ha the Skoda Octavias of with hatches hiding hug On the go, the S5 is 7-speed dual-clutch tr smooth, and shifts gea Press the throttle with a quickly shifts down, rel the quad pipes out back likes to make nice grow but never overpowers. feedback and kicks, but High-rev gearshifts re the exhaust. Paddle shi times when you think car’s electronics. Drivi Dash is usual Audi fare. Dark two-tone upholstery between comfort, dyna and carbon trim look sporty to your individual tast the generally luxurious than anything else and it drew attention wherever the large wheels and r it went. Though, we suspect, it would pass under transmitting road impe the radar in a more sedate paint job. Few, if any Setting the car in ‘Com external features stand out. You have a typical in this regard.

Audi front grille, headlamps and design language On our favourite, w tweaked slightly to accommodate the curvaceous shone with its Quatt rear hatch. The red ‘S’ badges are also discreet on drive system. There’s al the front and the back. need, and it works wel Step inside and the treatment is typical Audi. the motor. The specific If you’ve been in a recent A-type sedan, everything you drive the car before is familiar. There’s the MMI screen, central console 329hp and 440Nm fro and ergonomics as expected, but with a small, We’ve driven m fiddly jog dial. The steering wheel also with less pow doesn’t have explicitly labelled phone capability w Verdict controls, which is something that being 4.7 + Refinement, will confuse those coming from compact performance, other car brands. Upholstery is in width-w unique black and dark brown and there the flat- It’s just “nice” is much leather on display. There nice to t are some lacquered carbon fibre The ORV TGS rating trim pieces along the door and other better job s ;;;`2 surfaces as well, though we’re not sure if of the vehicle it’s the real thing. The seats are comfortable to personal prefer and supportive one-piece units for the front, lending The Audi S5 has a sporty look without being uncompromisingly potential, but keep hardcore like the near-race seats you’d find in a comfortable and luxuri sports car. child and we imagine it Rear legroom is good for a person of my size more overt sportscars (5’9”) but then, few grown men are actually my of the niche it occupie size, so we’d suggest a seating capacity of four for for the buyer who wa maximum comfort. At least one passenger we rode Certainly no other car with commented on how his i20 felt more spacious shade. At just north of in the back. Again, apart from the “sport” theatre, the price will give you there is little else to talk about. Open the hatch spacious luxury cars for and it’s another world. Literally! Audi claims 480 cars for as much. Stuck tus litres of cargo space, and we believe them. It’s a vast

Hotel Tukai owner Pandurang Shinde deals with the shortage of workers by getting family members to lend a hand

There is a shortage of labourers in Pune since they have gone back to their villages

A noble initiative

The once buzzing Majoor adda wears a forlorn look, with just a handful of people waiting for daily work assignments

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he Dandekar bridge Majur adda used to be a beehive of activity before the onset of the monsoons this year. There were no less than 500 labourers, both men and women, would congregate in this place, in their search for work as daily wage labourers. With the rains being plentiful this year, most of this workforce has now returned to the villages they migrated to Pune from. The numbers have dwindled drastically, and where once there were hundreds, now there are hardly 70 to 80 workers. Most of these migrants are from Solapur, Latur, Osmanabad, Beed, Nanded and Yavatmal districts, which were once drought-prone areas.

Mahadeo Sable, 60, from Barshi tehsil in Solapur district, is waiting patiently for his co-workers to arrive at the Dandekar bridge Majur adda on Shastri Road. With the highlight of the city calendar, the ten-day Ganeshostsav around the corner, he has been working for the Pune city Ganesh mandals, digging pits to erect bamboo supports for the pandals. Sable has a lot of experience with this job of digging the pits and erecting the Ganesh pandals. He has been coming to Pune from Barshi for the Ganesh festival for a long time, and has done the job numerous times, so that he is especially adept at all the tasks that go into the setting up of Ganesh pandals. Sable has been doing this for no less than 25 years, and then he lives in Pune city for three months, up to Diwali. This time around though he has been abandoned by most of his co-workers, who have gone back to their home towns or villages, now that the rain gods have been kind this time around. “There are just a handful of co-workers here in Pune this year, whereas for the last five years or so, there were literally hundreds. Most of these colleagues of mine have now returned to their villages to continue with their occupation of farming, since

there have been adequate rainfall this year in the once arid regions of Maharashtra. The situation is such that there is a scarcity of manpower available for such jobs now in Pune,” said Sable.

Sable is able to earn anything between Rs 500 and Rs 700 a day, when he puts in about 12 hours of work. Though it isn’t a lavish income, it is enough for him to be able to look after his three daughters and wife. He has a son who works as a labourer in Kolhapur.

Sambhaji Nagnath Kalwe, 50, of Latur has been working at construction sites, which fetches him about Rs 500 a day. He lives in Janata Vasahat slum in Pune. He too is aware of the paucity of workers who gather at the adda these days. “Most of my friends, colleagues and co-workers have gone back home to their villages, and their farms, now that we have had a fair monsoon. They have all done with their sowing, and are now waiting for the harvest. Since so many of them have gone back home, there is a visible shortage of labourers here in Pune, and people are finding it difficult to find workers for the routine labour jobs,” he said.

Kalwe owns four acres of farmland, which his sons Janardan, 22, and Nana, 18, are working on. Kalwe’s wife Laxmi expired four years ago.

Sunanda Shankar Phanse, 45, has been working as a housemaid and construction site worker for 20 years. She hails from Velha tehsil of Pune. Sujata is well aware of how the situation has changed this year, now that the monsoons have been adequate. “This Majur adda used to be so crowded and there were literally hundreds of women like me, who used to gather here every morning for the daily jobs. There are just a handful of women here now, since most of them have returned to their villages, where they are now working on their own farms, or have found work on other people’s farms,” she said.

Ajinkya Phale in his workshop

Subhash Koditkar, resident of Velha, has been working as a turner at Sagar Engineering for the last 12 years. “Four of my colleagues who had been working with me have now returned to Velha to work on their farms. There are many other migrants in Pune who have also returned to their homes, and this has resulted in an acute shortage of workers in the city,” he said.

Life of migrants The story on the people who have migrated here due to the drought like situation in the villages of Maharashtra was good read. It was an eye opener for us, as we as a commoner don’t know what they go through. We keep

The idea that Pallavi Nahar had of donating dictionaries to the under-privileged students of St Andrews Girls school was extremely commendable. I have heard of many people donating books and notebooks but this was a first for me. There are so many benefits of this drive the most important one being the fact that it will help these girls grasp better language skills which will help them later on in their life. It is when things like this are done that the kids get

encouraged to study more and build a future for themselves and help the people around them too.

-Vandan Bhide

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SPORTS

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2016

PUNE

“I am confident that in the next two-three years I can do better than what I have done in the last five-six years. I have to do better and I want to come back stronger. ” — Saina Nehwal, Indian Shuttler

“ I only got two chances to qualify. Male boxers get five to six chances, but even then many of them did not qualify. I hope that things would change for better after the boxing federation elections.”

— MC Mary Kom, Indian Boxer

Signposts Double crown for Bishop’s School The Bishop’s School, Camp won a double crown in the recently held inter-school football tournament organised by District Sports Council and Pune Municipal Corporation at Dobarwadi ground. In the under-19 final, Bishop’s boys defeated Symbiosis 4-1. Akshay Bhullar scored a double for the winning team.

Earlier, Bishop’s girls claimed the under-19 title with a 1-0 win over St Mary’s School.

‘Pune will have more in future’

Neha, Abhishek win state championship Pune shuttlers Neha Pandit and Abhishek Kulkarni won titles in the recently held senior state selection trial in Mumbai. In the men’s single final, Kulkarni defeated Arjit Bose of Mumbai Suburb 17-21, 21-9, 21-17.

Earlier Kulkarni had prevailed over Pune’s Vinit Kamble in the semifinals. Meanwhile, in the women’s single final, second seeded Neha defeated Pune’s Shruti Mundada 2117, 21-15. Earlier, Neha entered final with an easy 21-13, 21-3 win over Pune’s Revati Deosthale.

Manish Gajmal adjudged best lifter Manish Gajmal of Fame Auto was adjudged as the best lifter in the recently held inter-industrial weightlifting competition. In the 56kg weight category, Manish lifted 80kg in snatch while 93kg in clean and jerk category. In all he lifted 173kg to finish first. He was followed

by Narayan Auti. In the 62kg weight category, Ishwar More finished first and was followed by Dhananjay Sonar, while in the 69kg weight category, Shivanand Swamy and Manoj Thorat were placed first and second respectively.

Aphale as referee for Asian judo Pune’s Datta Aphale has been appointed referee for the Asian Cadet Judo Championship to be held in Kochi. Aphale, who is also a general secretary of Maharashtra Judo Association, has cleared the international referee exam and have officiated in several tournaments.

He was also manager of the Indian junior team.

Chinmay Kulkarni defends chess title Chinmay Kulkarni easily pocketed the 18th edition of MJ’s Trophy Every Sunday Rapid Chess Championship.

Kulkarni who was winner of previous edition of the tournament, proved his strength by winning consecutive second time. Six straight wins and a quick draw in the last round with Pratik Mulay was the graph of Chinmay’s victory. Aakanksha’s shocking loss to 11-year-old Aryan and also a draw with her elder brother Harshad separated her from Chinmay by a huge margin.

Japanese dominate junior badminton Japanese shuttlers dominated the recently held Sushant Chipalkatti Memorial Yonex Sunrise India Junior International Badminton Championship at Shivajinagar.

Japan’s top seed Natsuki Nidiara defeated India’s seventh seed Vrushali Gummadi in the girls’ final, while in the boy’s final, Thailand’s Pachaarapol Nipornram won the title with a hard-fought win over Singapore’s Zin Rei Ryan NG.

Sunder Iyer, who has been elected as executive committee member of the AITA, believes that their Vision Project will be a path-breaker

BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis_ashish After India’s below par performance at the Rio Olympics, everyone is talking about the lack of a sports culture and facilities provided to our athletes.

But there are a few people, who have been working for years to create a generation of players who can Sunder Iyer do well at the international level, and eventually at the Olympics.

Pune Metropolitan District Tennis Association (PMDTA) secretary Sunder Iyer has recently been elected as an executive committee member of the All India Tennis Association (AITA). Iyer, who has been in the field of tennis for more than three decades, has played a key role in transforming Pune into a tennis hub.

Later, working as honorary secretary for the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA), he has implemented several ideas to promote the sport in the rural and tribal parts of the state.

Now with an added responsibility, he is all set to take the

sport to new heights.

Asked about his new role at the national level, he said that there wouldn’t be any difference immediately.

“It will take at least five years to make some contributions. Of course, you can implement your ideas at the national level, there will be interactions with heads of other states, there will be knowledge sharing, and

it is eventually going to help local tennis,” he said.

Maharashtra got two nominations in the Executive Committee, with president of MSLTA, Bharat Oza being unanimously elected as the vice president, and Iyer will make his debut as an executive committee member.

VISION PROJECT Iyer stated that tennis has reached out

NEW PROJECTS To tap the potential of promising players in tribal areas, Iyer had come up with the idea to start a coaching centre at Nagpur for the youths from neighbouring regions of Gondiya, Chandrapur and Bhandara. Th is project turned out to be a huge success as almost 60 tribal youths have been appointed by Andhra Pradesh for their school tennis development project.

Iyer has also come up with new ideas like ‘Tennis for All’ and ‘Tennis library’.

“Tennis for All is my dream project. Under this project, we want to teach tennis to every underprivileged kid. We will provide them free training and kits.

If they show promising results, we can adopt them, educate them and all these expenses will be borne by the association. Thus we can provide them an opportunity to better their living standards,” said Iyer.

The second project is a tennis library, in which old tennis racquets are given to villages.

“If anyone wants to try out the sport, they can do it without investing in costly racquets. They can come, play and return the equipment to the centre. They can buy their own racquets after some initial improvement. So far we have distributed over 500 racquets in different villages and we are getting a good response,” said Iyer.

ISSF medal for Pawan Singh

BY TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly Pawan Singh, the renowned former coach of the Indian Shooting Team was presented an award by the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) recently, in Delhi.

Raninder Singh, member of the ISSF executive committee, presented the award to Pawan Singh for his exceptional contribution to the field of shooting. The award comprises of a bronze medal and a certificate.

Pawan Singh is the youngest Indian to be honoured by the ISSF over the course almost 70 years. He is also the fi rst person from Maharashtra to receive this honour.

Pawan Singh has immense experience and expertise in the field

at the grassroots level in Maharashtra.

“The sports equipment dealers are getting a good demand from districts like Aurangabad, Nanded, Parbhani and Beed. Regular tournaments are being held in remote places. It reflects that we have attained our fi rst target, and now we are focusing on quality improvement,” he said.

With that goal, Iyer has proposed Vision Project, under which top players from each age group, from under-10 to men’s and women’s categories, will be selected and they will be provided the best coaching facilities along with foreign training and exposure.

“This is a very ambitious project.

We won’t just provide them training, but will analyse their fitness and biomechanics. We have tied up with a citybased company and they will track every player’s record, stats and performance, which will help the players to analyse their graph,” said Iyer.

Interestingly, all coaches of the state are part of this project and they will help each other in improving the performance of the selected players.

Along with training and facilities, the players will be provided fi nancial aid too.

“We are already giving scholarships to selected players like Sharnya Gaware and Gargi Pawar.

While the top players like Snehal Mane, Shivani Ingale, Mihika Yadav and Siddharth Banthia, who are doing well at the international level are supported by MSLTA as they bear the air tickets for these players for any tournament,” Iyer said.

However, he says that the most ambitious project is the Vision Fund, from which any top ranked player can withdraw up to Rs 25 lakh as per their requirement.

“We are building a fund of Rs one crore, and players like Arjun Kadhe, Rutuja Bhosale or any other top ranked player can use the money whenever they need it. They can repay the amount as per their convenience.

Normally a player needs to spend Rs 30-35 lakh to break into the top 200. We are thus providing them the cushion for the time being. I feel this will be a path-breaker for other states and other sports too,” he said.

2020 OLYMPICS Asked if Maharashtra could produce more Olympians who could participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Iyer said that they were targeting for 2024, and have been training youngsters with that goal in mind. However, there will be few players who can get the ticket to Tokyo.

“The Vision Project is defi nitely going to help a player while preparing for the Olympics. The idea is to give them maximum exposure and training, and I am sure our players will feature in the 2020 Olympics,” he said.

Iyer also spoke about the controversy regarding India’s men’s doubles pair in the Rio Olympics, and stated that they would love to have a strong doubles team from Maharashtra in the near future.

“The problem is that tennis is an individual sport and one cannot force a player to pair with any player. Of course, we can develop a doubles pair right from the beginning, but for that we need more doubles or mixed doubles tournaments. If we can organise more national championships for doubles, then it will create an opportunity for them. It will be a huge success,” he said. ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com of equipment control. He was the jury member and an equipment control officer for many national as well as international s h o o t i n g championships. Pawan Singh He himself has claimed many medals at national shooting championships. Pawan also has vast experience in the field of equipment control, organising international level shooting competitions and testing pellets and ammunition for rifles and pistols.

He is a co-founder of Gun For Glory (GFG) shooting academy with London Olympics bronze medalists Gagan Narang. The GFG academy which started in Balewadi, Pune has spread all over India and now have 13 branches in states like Gujarat,

‘Enjoying the game is my mantra’

TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly Pune’s former Davis Cupper Nitteen Kirrtane has once again proved that age has no bar. At the age of 42, he has been going strong and recently won a double crown in the AITA men’s national ranking tennis tournament held at Bangalore.

In the men’s singles, he defeated seventh seed Anirudh Chandrashekhar 3-6,7-5,6-0 to clinch the title. It was a close match and went on over three hours. in the fi rst set, both players held serves till the eighth game where Anirudh broke Nitteen and then held serve to win the fi rst set.

Both southpaws players attacked well in the second set also and Anirudh was serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set. However, experienced Nitteen turned the tables in this crucial game breaking his younger opponent two times and winning the set 7-5.

In the decider, Nitteen changed his strategy and played more aggressive game, putting Anirudh on his toes. He pushed him to the wall by breaking him three times and eventually won the set and match with 6-0 verdict.

Later in the men’s doubles, Nitteen paired with Bibaswan Deb of West Bengal. The second seeded pair defeated Tamil Nadu’s Prithvi Shekhar and Jude Raymond 7-6(86), 3-6, 10-6 in super tie-breaker.

Th is was Nitteen’s fi fth title of the season, as he has won three men’s singles titles and two doubles titles.

However, he is not ready to stop yet and is planning to get into ITF ranking at the end of the season.

Immediately after his performance he has rushed to Chennai to participate in the $10,000 India F5 Futures tournament.

“My target is to get ITF ranking at the end of the season and Oct to December is a busy calendar for me,” he said. Nitteen, who adores Indian tennis legend Leander Paes, says he will continue playing as much time as he can.

“Leander has proved that age doesn’t matter if you a physically fit and mentally strong. I am following the same and keeping myself super fit. That’s the key factor when I face young and energetic opponents on the court,” added Nitteen. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Kerla and Haryana. Over 750 shooters are getting training in the academy and several of them have earned international accolades.

In view of his exceptional knowledge in the field, Pawan Singh has been invited by the ISSF to address the ‘ISSF World Cup Organising Committee Workshop 2016’.

Organised for the second consecutive year, experts at this workshop will talk about the modification in rules for shooting for the upcoming world cup and Tokyo Olympics, as well as the additional responsibilities that coaches, players and organising committee members have to handle.

“Th is is a very important workshop as we will be informed about new rules and changes at the international level. The rules will be implemented from January and it will beneficial for our shooters to get used to the new format,” said Pawan Singh. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com