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TGS LIFE

Corporator’s kin allege medical negligence

It is common for society to ridicule people with a height disability. But, as all of us know or should know, these people are no different from us. They have dreams and ambitions just like we do, and possess all the intellectual abilities to function as productive members of society

See p08-09

MEDIA PARTNER

After death of corporator Rajashree Andekar, kin approach police seeking justice See p06

MUMBAI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPT 24-30, 2016

PUNE

“We have already started the work on Mumbai-Goa four-lane cement concrete road.

Our target is to complete Mumbai-Goa highway by 2018. Once it is completed, it will take only six hours from Goa to Mumbai.’’

- Nitin Gadkari, Union Transport Minister

‘BMC, MMRDA must tackle state of rivers’ A recent PIL filed in the Bombay High Court adresses the sorry state of affairs that the rivers in Mumbai are facing

Voicing concerns over the “deplorable” state of rivers in Mumbai resulting in drainage issues and water-logging during monsoon, the Bombay High Court today said authorities like BMC and MMRDA will have to jointly take immediate measures to address the issue. A division bench headed by Justice V M Kanade was hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocate Atal Dubey, seeking a direction to the departments concerned to take necessary steps to tackle drainage problems and waterlogging in the city each monsoon.

The petition was filed after heavy rains brought Mumbai to a halt in June last year.

The petitioner’s advocate S C Naidu informed the court that after the July 2005 deluge, authorities had carried out dredging and rock excavation at Mithi river but as per a report by expert body National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), on a daily basis several tonnes of raw sewage are being dumped in the river till date.

“According to the report, the original depth of Mithi river was 16 feet but as of now the depth is less than 7 feet because of constant dumping of raw sewage,” Naidu argued. “This is a dangerous situation. If this is true... all authorities concerned have to sit

Waterlogging at Hindamata due to the heavy rains in Mumbai

together and find a solution. This is not the time to fight over jurisdiction.

It is a matter of serious concern,” Justice Kanade said. The court noted that because the authorities are not complying with the statutory provisions of treating sewage before dumping them, the rivers in Mumbai are in a “deplorable” state.

“This leads to drainage issues and water-logging and then viral diseases like dengue and chikungunya are on the rise,” it said.

The bench directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to take immediate measures to stop deterioration of rivers in the city. It also directed the authorities to consider the recommendations made in the NEERI report and implement those on a warfooting basis. The petition was posted for further hearing on October 5.

PTI

Freedom fighters’ pension hiked P 12

ASHA workers protest over pay hike Thousands of ASHA workers from across the state today staged a sit-in protest here seeking continuation the National Rural Health Mission, the second phase of which is set to end in 2017.

The protest was held at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai.

According to the protesters, National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched in 2005 for a 12-year period.

Under this, Accredited Social Health Activists workers were instituted as community health workers to facilitate rural population in accessing health services.

“The NRHM has proved to be a boon and helped in bringing down the infant mortality rate. Under this programme, 65,000 ASHA workers across the state have been providing medical services at nominal renumeration,” working president of Maharashtra Rajya ASHA Swayamsevika and Samanvayak Mahasangh, Maya Parmeshwar, said.

“However, as the NRHM is set to end in March 2017, the ASHA workers and other medical staff on contract fear that they would soon be rendered jobless. Therefore, we demand that the state government should adopt this central scheme and assure the ASHA workers that their jobs would be intact.

The government should also increase the remuneration,” she said.

Accusing the government of neglecting them, the protesters said they were overworked but underpaid.

Sarika Jadhav, an ASHA worker from Navi Mumbai said, “We create awareness among rural populace on factors related to health, such as nutrition, sanitation and hygiene, healthy living, but our own condition is pathetic.”

PTI

BSNL gets Rs 1,250 cr subsidy P 14

IT dept to unearth unaccounted cash

Stash of cash at roadside stall leads IT department sleuths to undertake inspections at all Ghatkopar hotels

BY SANTOSHEE MISHRA @TGS WEEKLY

The Income Tax (IT) department has started the inspection of all hotels across Ghatkopar, after its raid of a streetside food stall last week.

Incognito IT officials visited Sai Swad food stall at MG Road, Vallabh Baug lane, Ghatkopar (East), known for its dosa varieties. The stall that has been in business for several years, is owned

by Vijay Reddy.

An IT official said that they found Rs 60,000 in cash at Sai Swad food stall.

“We had kept a tight vigil on Reddy’s food corner as we were sure that the owner was evading paying taxes to the department. After seven days, the stall was searched and a large amount of cash was found,” he said.

Reddy claimed that the cash was not income from the stall, but that it was money loaned to him by his friends.

The department is verifying the facts.

Reddy serves around 45 dosa

varieties. He is well known to his customers, and is fond of wearing gold ornaments.

“After the search, we realised that the hotelier may not have been showing unaccountable cash while filing income tax returns to the department.

Now a team is visiting all the hotels in Ghatkopar, and is checking the kitchen table orders (KTOs),” the official said.

A hotelier from Ghatkopar (West), on condition of anonymity said, “We pay our income tax returns regularly.

They barged into our hotel and inspected all the bills as well as KTOs. Usually we tally everything at night, so it is very in unethical for them to check this way. We are in a state of fear but cannot help it as the IT officials claim that they can inspect our bills and other accounts documents.”

AHAR (Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association) President Adarsh Shetty said, “We have received information that IT officials have been checking documents at various hotels, but it is part of their job.” tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Maharashtra mulls new Dengue spreads in Police Colony policy to push agri sector

BY SANTOSHEE MISHRA @TGS WEEKLY

To rejuvenate the sagging agriculture in the state, Maharashtra government has decided to bring in a new policy that will focus on promoting indigenous seeds instead of genetically-modified ones and also farm-allied businesses.

The new policy would be unveiled in 6-8 months after studying the measures adopted by those states which have recorded healthy expansion in the highly important sector over the last few years, Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Pandurang Fundkar said today.“An expert committee consisting of scientists from agriculture universities will be constituted and it will visit Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The committee will study the policies adopted by them to increase growth rate in the agriculture sector,” he said.

Last fiscal, he said, the growth rate in the farm sector in Madhya Pradesh was 20 per cent, the highest in the country. During the same period, Gujarat

recorded 8.45 per cent growth rate in the sector, Andhra Pradesh 8.40 per cent, Chhattisgarh 7.8 per cent and Karnataka 7.8 per cent. Fundkar said in one acre of land, farmers can plant one lakh saplings of hybrid cotton seeds, while the corresponding figure for BT cotton is only 7,000.

“Farmers are again veering towards hybrid seeds and we will take steps to promote them,” he said, adding agriculture universities would be asked to develop indigenous seeds. The new policy will also promote agriculture-allied businesses where farmers can venture to generate income in case of a drought, the Minister said. He said phenomenons like global warming and climate change are adversely affecting the sector.

“Climate change and global warming are hampering the agriculture sector. Therefore, the crop pattern needs to be changed in a way that farmers can benefit.”

PTI

Mumbai city alone has seen almost 160 cases of dengue in September so far. The alleged laxity in handling the menace by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has added to 12 fresh cases of the virus affecting cops and their families.

There are around 25 buildings in Ghatkopar (East) occupied by the Government Railway Police (GRP) that guard the security of 85 lakh passengers travelling in the city’s lifeline local trains. However, these security personnel are residing in the colony that has not seen any fogging drive for the past many months.

“We have been forced to live in such unhygienic and dirty surroundings. Three of my family members are dengue positive. Our

repeated complaints to BMC have fallen on deaf ears. My husband, who is attached with the GRP head office, and our two children are diagnosed with dengue and are undergoing medication,” said Shubhangi Shinde, who is residing at 15-A building in the police quarters.

“The former municipal commissioner used to ensure that these localities are covered under the fogging exercise but his transfer has left our areas discarded,” she said.

Suvarna Gohil, a homemaker said, “I had to spend Rs 30,000 for my son’s dengue treatment at a private hospital and now my motherin-law is affected with the virus. As my husband’s duty does not give him time to take us to the hospital, I have to manage these emergencies.” tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Hygiene and cleanliness are ignored in the Government Railway Police residential area

Sketches of gunmen issued in Uran; schools, colleges shut Police have issued sketches of suspects spotted moving suspiciously near a Naval base at Uran in neighbouring Raigad district, even as multi-agency search operations are on to trace them a day after a high alert was sounded along the Mumbai coast and adjoining areas.

Based on the description given by some school children at Uran who spotted the armed suspects, their sketches were issued late last night, police said today.

The schools and colleges in Uran and adjoining areas have been shut today.“As per the reports, five to six persons were sighted in Pathan suits and appeared to be carrying weapons and backpacks,” Naval spokesman Cdr Rahul Sinha had earlier said.

Some reports said they were in military uniform.

Despite carrying out massive combing operation in Uran and Karanja areas with the help of Navy, Coast Guard, CISF and Quick Response Team, police are yet to

trace the suspects.

The elite commandos from National Security Guard (NSG) and state police’s specialised Force One have also been roped in, police said. Navi Mumbai Commissioner of Police monitored the situation throughout the night alongwith other top officials.

A strict vigil by police and other security agencies is being maintained in the area. A high alert was yesterday sounded along the Mumbai coast and adjoining areas after a group of men were spotted moving suspiciously near a naval base at Uran in Raigad, leading to search operations by multiple agencies.

The alert came four days after the Uri attack which left 18 soldiers dead.

The Navy pressed its choppers for surveillance and heightened patrolling in the sea by its vessels and high-speed boats.

Some children from Uran Education Society’s school first

spotted the suspects, and their teacher informed the police, the police said.

Subsequently, the Western Naval Command issued a “highest state of alert” along the Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Raigad coasts where several sensitive establishments and assets are located.

Western India’s biggest naval base, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, fertiliser plants, refineries, power plants and the country’s largest container port, JNPT are located in close vicinity of Uran.

Coastal security has been top priority after the 26/11 attacks, in which multiple locations in Mumbai were targeted by Pakistani terrorists who landed using sea route.

The fishing town of Uran is located across the eastern water front of the financial capital. The base located close to the town also houses units of MARCOS, the Navy’s elite strike force.

PTI

Heavy security arrangements after two school children spotted suspicious looking gunmen at Uran, in Navi Mumbai

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPT 24-30, 2016

PUNE

“It is the right of the state and the Centre to decide which city is to be included or not in the Smart Cities Mission. They will take appropriate action. PCMC will conduct excellent planning till we are included.”

- Mangala Kadam, Ruling Party Leader

BRICS seeks strong legal framework against terror P13

MHADA no refuge for the common man?

MHADA accused of charging rates higher than private builders, and the flats they constructed in 2001 at Pimpri have leaking floors and toilets

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar Owning a home in a cosmopolitan city like Pune is the dream of the common man, who invests his life savings on buying his home.

Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), with its affordable pricing and reliable reputation is the organisation the common man prefers to deal with in his quest for a home. MHADA recently placed an advertisement for residential flat schemes in Pune city.

Online registration for lottery opened on September 6 and will remain open till October 5. But there has been a lukewarm response for MHADA flats in the city, due its high rates compared to private builders, and inferior construction quality.

MHADA constructed the buildings in Pimpri in 2001, but now the flats and buildings are in a bad state, what with leaking floors and toilets. The flats are on the verge of collapsing just 15 years after they were purchased.

MHADA recently placed advertisement for its schemes at Morwadi, Pimpri, Mhalunge, Wanowrie, Dive (Purandar) and Saswad. Registration for the lottery started on September 6 and will remain

open till October 5. But the MHADA flats rates are higher than those of private builders, people complain. The price of an 1 BHK flat in Morwadi, Pimpri is Rs 34 lakh, Rs 53 lakh for 2 BHK flats, which is way beyond the common man’s budget. MHADA is considered to be one of the most affordable housing platforms for the common man. MHADA’s Pimpri schemes are now under construction.

People living near the MHADA flats construction site complain that their floors and toilets are leaking.

Pimpri MHADA flat resident Gorakh Navghare said, “I am the chairman of this MHADA society.

We purchased these MHADA scheme flats in the year 2001. Now the situation is that if water gets spilled on the floor it leaks through to the flat underneath.

Floors are leaking because the builder used precast floor slab and just installed cement columns, and the gaps between the floor and column were fi lled with poor quality cement, which is why the floors are leaking. The builder told us that they used precast cement floor and column for speedy construction work of buildings. B G Shirke constructed our MHADA buildings and the same builder has now got the contract of our adjacent MHADA buildings construction. In the same way they are now using precast cement floors and columns for speedy construction work.

They bring precast cement floors and columns from their factory and just assemble them here at the construction site. Latter they fi ll the gaps between floor and column with cement but it leaks. Our buildings are four-storey and toilets on all floors are leaking. We complained many times to MHADA

regarding the leakage but they are neglecting it. It is economically possible for us to repair leaking floors and toilets. MHADA, after giving possession of flats to us, is not giving any post repair service.”

Local Pimpri corporator Seema Savale said, “MHADA’s motto is to provide affordable housing to the common people. But in the recent MHADA advertisement for flats in Pimpri, their rate is Rs 4,600 per square foot, which is higher than that of private builders, which is Rs 4,000 per square foot. How can common people purchase MHADA flats at such high rates? MHADA seems to have forgotten its motto of affordable housing and house for all policy. If MHADA officialls decide

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rates after their market survey, how can they charge such high rates which are beyond the reach of the common people? I personally wrote a letter to the chief minister to bring down the rates of MHADA homes, which are now higher than those of private builders. MHADA has not followed the standard procedure of giving tender of construction for the Pimpri site. Builder B G Shirke only approached to MHADA and got the contract. The Shirke builders’ track record is bad. MHADA flats which Shirke constructed in Pimpri are now leaking, as they used precast cement floors and columns for construction, and fi lled the gaps with cement.”

B G Shirke Construction Pvt Ltd Managing Director Pratap Shirke said,

“We use precast cement floors and columns for the construction at MHADA. But we maintain the quality of cement at our factory in Mundhwa.

We keep regular Seema Savale checks of strength of cement in our factory. After assembling the floor we give a layer of 40 mm so that it has more strength. Our rates are lower than the market rates, which is why MHADA has given us the tender of construction of MHADA schemes in Pimpri and Morwadi.”

MHADA Pune division CEO Ashok Kakade said, “Builders everywhere are now using precast cement floors and columns for speedy construction work. Th is time MHADA is constructing 2500 flats in Pune, so it is necessary to use modern construction techniques like precast cement floors and columns for speedy construction work. We will inspect the MHADA flats built in 2001 for leaking floors and toilets and then take further steps. We have given tender of constructing MHADA sites in Pimpri to B G Shirke Construction Company as their rates are lower than other builders as our market survey revealed. Shirke has huge experience of MHADA scheme constructions in Mumbai, and therefore we have given them a contract once again. We did our best to keep rates of MHADA flats in Pimpri lower compared to private builders.” tushar.rupanavar@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPT 24-30, 2016

PUNE

“The non-availability of jammers for cars and cranes to lift four-wheelers parked on the wrong side is a hurdle in traffic management. Such facilities should be made available for officials in different areas.”

- Vishal Tambe, NCP Corporator

Fire Brigade demands land for sub stations

Goodbye lamp, hello laser!

P10

Instead of the required 30, Pune city has only 12 fire brigade stations; PMC urged to allot land for new stations

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Fire Brigade department has tabled a proposal for possession of four plots reserved for fire brigade sub stations. Once they get the lands, the number of fire brigade stations in the city will rise to 16 from the current 12, by the end of this year.

Pune city has a population of 31.32 lakh as per the 2011 census, and an area of 243.84 square kilometres. The city has only 12 fire stations, which is a very low number considering the population and the area. Pune city needs 30 fire brigade sub stations, in view of its development and the growing population. As it stands, with its inadequate number of stations and personnel, the fire brigade is forced to deal with all the emergencies in the city. This results in delays in reaching the accident spots and is often the cause for the loss of human lives and property. It is mandatory to have a fire station within a 10 km radius.

Fire brigade department chief Prashant Ranpise said, “Considering the population and area, Pune city needs 30 fire stations but actually we have only 12. There is an urgent need to set up new fire sub stations to reach the required number. The fire brigade department has submitted an application for eight plots to set up fire sub stations, which are reserved in the

development plan of the city. These reserved lands are at Dhayari, Baner, Dhanori Road, Mohammadwadi, Vishrantwadi, Warje and Nana Peth.

Currently the Pune city fire brigade receives ten calls per day on average, of which five are regarding fire incidents. The other five are related to falling trees, building collapses, or people stuck in borewells etc.

Catering to a city like Pune with its huge population and extensive area with just 12 fire stations is difficult.

Initially PMC agreed to give us four plots of land at Katraj, Kharadi, Balewadi and Chandni Chowk. These are entry points of the city so it will be easy to reach accident spots in minimum time. Construction of fire

sub stations is underway at Ganga Dham Chowk, Khadak centre and Janata Vasahat, and these fire sub stations will be functioning by the end of this year. To set up fire stations at the abovementioned eight places, we need connectivity to main roads for smooth service. It is mandatory to have fire station within a ten km radius, but we have areas like Hadapsar where we do not have a fire station. In case of accidents there, we have to send fire tenders from Swargate, which takes a long time, and then there is a risk of loss of property and human life. We have urged PMC to give us land at Shevalwadi octroi station or Bhekrainagar octroi station to set up fire stations there. But the PMC has PIC: RAHUL RAUT

STREET PLAY

HC warns pvt school for denying admission to disabled child

not yet decided about the issue.”

Mayor Prashant Jagtap said, “We have received the application from the fire brigade for the eight plots which are reserved for fire stations.

PMC has already given four plots at Kharadi, Katraj, Balewadi and Chandni Chowk, which are entry points of the city, to set up fire sub stations. The remaining plots will be given very soon. Considering the inadequate number of fire sub stations in the city, the PMC will co-operate with the fire brigade department and get them available land. It is necessary to build more fire sub stations for the city to have an adequate number of fire stations.” tushar.rupanavar@goldensparrow.com

P12

Citizens will no longer face delays TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly The stamp duty and registration department has always been set back by corruption. That is why citizens find it an ordeal to get routine tasks done like registering property or recovering original documents. But authorities say that the problem has been resolved with the Maharashtra state government including 14 services from the Department of Registration of Stamps under the Maharashtra right to Public Services, and that citizens will no longer face delays.

This will begin on Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti, on October 2, 2016. Services include registration of documents, search, valuation report for assessment of stamp duty, certified copy of documents, refund of registration fee, and solemnisation of marriage. The services will have a stipulated time limit from one day to thirty days. The sub-registrar will be the concerned officer to monitor the work, whereas concerned joint district registrar and deputy Inspector General of Registration will be the first and second appellate authorities respectively.

State Inspector General of Registration and Controller of Stamps (IGRS), Dr N Ramaswami said, “The service will be started on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. The development of one’s service request will be notified through short message service (SMS) at every stage. The work of all the sub-

register offices will be monitored by the IGRS office. Citizens who have complaint about the work not been completed in stipulated time can appeal directly from the system or can call our helpline number. Officials failing to provide the service in stipulated time will face action as per the norms. Citizens have to be aware about the facilities available for them at the department and be determined not to pay any bribe.

IGRS has a complaint mechanism and even a helpline number (Sarthi 8888-00-7777) where they can register their complaint about the malpractices in the department. There is big rush for registration and paying stamp duty, and people have to face long delays, leading to many pending cases and corruption. The department is planning to add more service under the Public Services purview. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

It costs Rs 500 to park your car at Lavasa Lavasa has hiked parking charges to Rs 500 per car, which, visitors say, is daylight robbery TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly

Amidst the hustle-bustle at the Swargate bridge, these street performers are busy getting ready to put up a show

Consumers pay the price for late delivery of electricity bills

BY VICKY PATHARE @Vickypathare2 Around 1000 families living in Solapur Bazar and Poolgate areas in Camp received their electricity bills on Monday, a day after the due date for payment. When they went to pay their bills, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) staff asked them to pay a late fee, citing the late payment clause stipulated in the bill.

MSEDCL has allotted the work of bill distribution in Camp, Ghorpadi and Lullanagar areas to an agency named Bhagwan Enterprises. The agency personnel distributed the electricity bills to more than a thousand families in Camp and nearby areas on September 19, a day after the due date.

Thereafter a penalty of Rs 20 is charged

by Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB). The due date for the bills was September 17. These Camp residents are being forced to pay penalties for no fault of theirs.

Camp resident Manohar Pardeshi said, “We received our bill on Monday

morning, which is a day after late fee is mandatory. When we asked the contractor who delivers the bills why our bills were sent late, he said that it was not his fault, and to visit the Rasta Peth office and file a complaint. When I went to pay the bill at the MSEDCL office, the officials asked me to pay a late fee of Rs 20. When I said that it was not my fault, the officers said that I had no option but to pay the late fee.”

Another resident, Edwin Francis said, “MSEDCL should give us the bills a week before the due date. This is

a clear fault of theirs so why we should we be made to pay a late fee? They are looting us. The MSEDCL will earn Rs 20,000 from these thousand bills, which is unscrupulous. The electricity department, though it is their own fault, will not exempt us from paying the late penalty. It is not concerned about the problems of citizens.”

MSEDCL Camp division executive engineer Ganesh Ekade admitted that it was their fault. “Agency workers have problems with the distribution of electricity bills door-to-door only in this area. MSEDCL is facing a problem in procuring the services of a reliable agency for the distribution of bills, as they only make one rupee per bill. To avoid such inconvenience, MSEDCL has started registering the numbers of citizens. The department will send a short message service (SMS) on the registered number stating the amount of bill, due date and other details.

Citizens can pay the bill as soon as they receive the SMS and no electricity bill is required for this. A duplicate MSEB bill will be provided on the spot to citizens.” vicky.pathare@goldensparrow.com

Parking space is at a premium in Pune city, but now parking has become a problem even at the popular tourist destinations around Pune. Visitors to Lavasa lake city have been shelling out more money since the parking charges have been hiked since September 8. Lavasa parking charges range from Rs 200 for two-wheelers, to Rs 500 for four-wheelers and Rs 1000 for heavy vehicles. Though Lavasa officials said that the parking charges will be compensated for with food or other amenities, visitors say that no such compensation is provided.

Lavasa, 65 km from Pune, is a private, planned city built by the Hindustan Construction Company (HCC). The sprawling township is spread across the seven hills of Mose valley. Being within close reach of Pune and Mumbai, and with Varasgaon lake as a major attraction, Lavasa is a most popular tourist destination. Naturally, it is thronged by tourists from Pune and Mumbai on weekends and holidays, and there is an equally large number of vehicles that need parking space. Swati Chaudhari is a regular visitor at Lavasa. She had gone for lunch to Ekaant Resort with her family recently, and was shocked at the exorbitant Rs 1000 she had to pay as parking charges for two cars.

“We had gone for lunch to the restaurant. They charged us Rs 1000 for two cars. I don’t know on what basis they calculate the parking charges, but Rs 500 per car is daylight robbery. They collect the parking charges at the gate and give receipts, but the vehicles are parked at owners’ risk.

The Lavasa authorities don’t provide any compensation for the parking charges on food bills at the restaurant, or for

the other facilities. The amount they charge is unethical,” she said. Tourist Kishori Rawal said, “The Lavasa administration has started siphoning money from tourist under the name of parking charges. If people argue with the security people at Lavasa about the high parking charges, they are downright rude and tell us to pay or leave. Visitors have no option but to pay the exorbitant parking charges.”

“It’s a clear case of extortion in the name of parking,” said Onkar Deshpande, a resident of Pune and regular visitor to Lavasa. “Malls, airports and shopping centres which offer more facilities, charge Rs 50 to Rs 100 for parking. So why are we forced to pay Rs 500 per car at Lavasa?

The parking charges are more than what I spend on fuel going to Lavasa. This is ridiculous,” he said.

The Lavasa administration said, “It’s a management decision taken after considering all the aspects of the city.

What visitors spend as parking charges will be compensated towards other expenditure made by them on food and other utilities available here. The money generated from this will be used for other development and maintenance of facilities and infrastructure at Lavasa.”

Asked if the exorbitant parking charges were meant to keep unwanted visitors away, the Lavasa said, “The decision is not meant to keep away any visitors, but to generate money for development and maintenance purposes.” tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Pedal to spread the message of cleanliness TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly Mark your day on Sunday (October 2) to take part in the cycle rally. Many cyclists will ride across lush green Pashan Road for about 15 km spreading the message of ‘Clean Pune-Best Pune.

The second edition of the bicycle rally organised by Rotaract Club of Pune Pride is an effort to draw the attention of citizens towards keeping the city clean.

“Cycling should be promoted in the city and people from all walks of life

need to be encouraged to use bicycles.

Last year, more than 250 cyclists participated in the rally. This time we have an additional social cause to donate cycles to underprivileged schools,” said Sanat Munot, Project Chairperson of Cycle Rally, Rotaract Club of Pune Pride. Rotaract Club of Pune Pride is an NGO of the youth which comes under the Rotary International.

The rally will commence from Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC) and take a 15km loop route along the Pashan Road and conclude at the same venue. The

rally will consist of a water break and participants will ride at a constant pace.

“It is not a race and anyone can participate. The registration charges are Rs 100 only. Breakfast, certificates and additional goodies will be provided by the organiser. Let’s make Pune cleaner and cycling-friendly.

Registrations can be done online on www.meraevents.com or offline registrations at Cream Stone, Kothrud or Lifecycle, Tilak Road. The contact persons are Manas (9011459442) and Sanat (8983636621). tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPT 24-30, 2016

“Shiv Sena is the only party which can attract backward Marathas because other parties, especially the NCP and the BJP, have elite established Maratha leadership.”

- Prakash Pawar, Political Analyst

As we know, the police personnel often rely on their informers to provide the clues and evidence in solving the cases they are assigned to. But these informers for the most part live in a twilight zone, as most of them have criminal records, and P R Patil they are likely to belong to the lower strata of society.

Seema (name changed) has been providing information to the police for some time. “I can’t reveal my profession or my identity. My secret life as a police informer began when I was an inmate at Yerwada jail. After I was released from jail, I have been providing clues to the police in cases they are working on. It is difficult for a person like me with a criminal record to get a job, unless I keep it a secret and work as a labourer. The money I earn is not sufficient, so being an informer provides me another source of income.

I help and inform the police when I am able to and have clues about robberies or housebreaking cases. Whatever I earn goes towards the upkeep of my children, their school fees etc. The police help me to buy groceries for my home. No one in my family knows about my life as a police informer. If people came to know, my life will be

as risk, as well as my family,” she said.

Suresh (name changed) said, “I was not able to get much of an education. I dropped out of school and got involved in petty crime at a young age. That was also the time I came into contact with the police. I wanted to become a policeman, but I have instead become an informer, who helps out the police in their investigation. I informed the police about a murder suspect, and also about the suspect in a kidnapping case. I have never told my family that I am a police informer, and never will.”

Sunder (name changed) said, “Two generation of my family have been working as police informers.

Even my mother works as informer. I have learnt a lot from her. My mother informed the police when she came to know of a gang who had planned

a robbery. I’m a lower middle class person. I live in a slum. I inform the police when I come to know of some crime. The police give me money for providing information. I don’t depend on this work, but it is to maintain good relations with the police.”

Shanti (name changed) said, “I belong to the red light area. I inform police about illegal sex rackets. When minor girls are brought here and forced into prostitution, I tip off the police.

The police give me money in return for the information. I maintain good relations with the police, and they in return, help me and my family. Once some police officers helped me with money to pay my son’s school fees.”

The police pay informers from their own pockets most of the time.

It also depends on the case, and how

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P11

The life of police informers is not easy as they dare not reveal their clandestine activity even to their families

BY GUNWANTI PARASTE @gunwantiparaste

Lakhvi challenges 26/11 panel

Loneliness may be in your genes: Study

They live in a shadow world much we can pay informers.

M o s t l y in for mers genuinely want to help the police.

Even respectable people help and inform the Bhanupratap Burge police. They of course are not doing it for the money. It’s mostly lower strata of society people who become police informers.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime, P R Patil said, “We have a secret fund only meant for police informers. I know of some respectable and educated people who help and give information to the police. At time we pay informers from our own pocket.”

Pune ATS ACP Bhanupratap Burge said, “Not all informers are criminals, but some are involved in minor infringements of the law.

Women informers are of great use in PETA cases. Women informers give us clues about sex rackets, and minor girls forced into prostitution. The government gives us a fund to pay informers. If for some reason money is not available, senior officers pay from their pockets. In today’s hi-tech age, informers play a very important role. Today’s criminals are aware and switch off their mobile phones at a crime scene. This is when informers are of great help in nabbing the culprits.” gunwanti.paraste@goldensparrow.com

PUNE

HC raps Pune cops for shoddy probe Businessman who files cheating plaint has been booked for extortion

BY GUNWANTI PARASTE @gunwantiparaste Businessman Vinit Grover has been fighting for justice for the past three years. Having being cheated by his friend Ketan Shah and the financial irregularity even getting a Bank of Maharashtra Assistant General Manager (AGM) slapped with suspension notice, the culprit is still at large and the Bombay High Court has pulled up the Pune Crime Branch for shoddy investigation.

Speaking to TGS, Grover said, “I had taken a loan of Rs 3.3 crore from Bank of Maharashtra in 2013 for business purpose. My friend Shah who has helped me get the bank loan had used a fake quotation in the name of 56 Blue Lights Company instead of the genuine Sam Associates and diverted the loan amount. I had availed of the fund to expand my father’s business but Shah, his friend Devendra Parekh and the bank branch’s AGM Ajit Gokhale used my fake signature and cheated me.

I want the case to be handed over to CBI. The Pune police that are handling the case has made me (complainant) the accused now. Myself and my family are helpless and are living under severe mental stress.”

Grover said that he has written several times to the Pune Police

Vinit Grover and his wife Riddhima

Commissionerate to transfer the case to CBI and awaiting a positive response. “And imagine that the police arrested me and my wife in an extortion case,” he said.

Grover’s wife Riddhima said that Shah is a good friend of my husband.

“But he cheated us by using fake signature and stamp. The loan amount was thus transferred to another name and now Shah is at large. My husband is the first complainant and now we are being put on the wrong side of the law.

With the support of the now suspended Bank of Maharashtra AGM Ajit Gokhale, we are accused of extortion and are seeking justice.”

Grover’s friend Durgesh Pardeshi said that the police are not willing to file a writ petition. The main complainant’s advocate Debajyoti Talukdar said that the Bombay High Court has criticised the Pune police for their shoddy probe.

The officers investigating the case said that the probe is going in the right direction. gunwanti.paraste@goldensparrow.com

PMC blamed for spurt in dengue, chikungunya cases PMC’s delay in setting up a Mosquito Abatement Committee has led to the spike in dengue and chikungunya cases in the city

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 The three-year delay in setting up the Mosquito Abatement Committee (MAC) by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) health department has led to the increase in vector related diseases like dengue and chikungunya, as well as mosquito breeding spots. The state health department had set an April 2015 deadline for the PMC health department. But the MAC was eventually formed in the month of June 2016 when dengue cases showed an alarming rise.

Directorate of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme and directorate of state health department had asked all corporations and districts to set up MACs in 2013.

Only the Mumbai corporation was quick to set up the MAC which is still working systematically. It has taken Pune’s PMC almost three years to set up its MAC, which includes representatives of private institutes where breeding spots were found.

The committee is presided over by the deputy director of the respective district or region, and initiates measures to curb mosquito breeding spots and monitor dengue cases.

The 79 teams comprising 300 workers, formed by PMC health department, are part of MAC. They reported 479 suspected and 248 confirmed cases, and one fatal

dengue case this year. Three more suspected deaths by viral fever and a whopping 7475 breeding spots found after surveys of 12 lakh households and commercial establishments in city limits, from August 16 till date.

There spurt in suspected dengue patients resulted in city hospitals being overcrowded. Statewide there were 397 chikungunya cases, and 92 cases in Pune.

Casting blame on the PMC health department, a senior health officer from the state directorate of vector borne control program, said, “We have been urging the PMC health officers to set up the MAC

for the last three years, but they failed to take us seriously. We sent several reminders since 2013 that were ignored. We arranged several meeting at the state level and ministry to curb the mosquito menace, but PMC health officials failed to take it seriously.”

A meeting was held in April 2016 by the state health officials of the directorate of vector borne control program. Strict instructions were issued to the PMC health department to set up the MAC, but PMC continued to ignore it. Even officials from the Union health ministry’s National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme (NVBDCP) visited the PMC to inspect the situation regarding the

The 79 teams with 300 workers are part of MAC

mosquito menace in the city, and recommended setting up of MAC, but PMC health officials failed to comply. The committee was formed in the first week of the June this year, after dengue cases rose alarmingly.

Then on August 16 the PMC formed 79 teams and undertook house-tohouse indoor survey, during which thousands of mosquito breeding spots were found. This should have started early June.

Dr Kalpana Balivant, chief of vector borne control department

by PMC, said that the committee (MAC) comprises 18 representatives from various establishments from the city. “MAC constitutes representatives from railway, state transport, scrap godown dealers, airport, corporate offices, building associations etc. They have been asked to keep their respective areas clean and ensure there was no dengue mosquito breeding,” said Balivant.

“These big private establishments have been asked to hire private insecticide services and prevent breeding spots, because PMC does not have sufficient manpower to look for such big establishments. This is compulsory for these establishments as per MAC rules,” said Dr Balkrishna Kamble, assistant director of vector borne disease control (state) program.

Dr Kanchan Jagtap, joint director state vector control program said that they had asked PMC health officials to set up the committee several times but they didn’t pay heed, which has led to an increase in the dengue cases. Another official from the same department said that Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) swung into action in April and formed the MAC two months before the PMC, which has resulted far fewer dengue cases are in their limits.

PCMC chief health officer Dr Anil Roy said that they have found only 79 positive dengue cases this year till date. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@ goldensparrow.com

Rotaract Club Of Pune Pride

Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce

for enquiry

/RotaractClubOfPunePride

Co-sponsored by

On the spot registrations @ 200/-

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPT 24-30, 2016

PUNE

“The announcement of the funds has been made. But metro project is still waiting for the permission from the union government. The city has six MLAs and a MP of BJP, they should take steps to make sure that the project get approval from the government.”

- Prashat Jagtap, Mayor

Corporator’s kin allege medical negligence

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR AND DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @TGSWeekly

The death of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Corporator Rajashree Andekar of Nana Peth (Panel number 48 A) at KEM Hospital on September 6 has raised many questions with the kin accusing the medical authorities of negligence and filing complaint with Samarth police station against Samarth Hospital and KEM Hospital both located at Rasta Peth.

The deceased corporator’s husband Suryakant Andekar alleged that his wife died of wrong injection given by the compounder of Samarth Hospital after which she went into a coma. He also alleged that KEM Hospital did not reveal the treatment and medicines administered to the patient. Samarth Police are inquiring the case and will take action after receiving the report prepared by the panel of Medical Board of Sassoon General Hospital.

The NCP corporator, who was elected during the Pune municipal polls in 2012, was admitted to Samarth Hospital by her husband Suryakant.

Her husband said that Rajashree’s blood report was shown to Dr Suhas Kalashetti, who said that the patient was diagnosed with chikungunya and needs immediate medical attention.

Suryakant admitted his wife at Samarth Hospital in Rasta Peth on February 5.

“After admitting her in the

Rajashree Andekar

hospital, Dr Kalashetti was absent and her medical treatment was carried out

by Shankar Mali who is a compounder.

Mali called Dr Kalashetti on phone and the latter advised him to give some injection to the patient. Mali gave the injection to Rajashree after which within 15 minutes she went into comatose state and even urinated on the bed,” said Suryakant.

Seeing Rajashree’s condition deteriorating, the Andekar family shifted her to nearby KEM Hospital on February 5. Suryakant said that the doctors admitted her in ICU and started treatment. “She did not recover from the coma state and succumbed on September 6 in the hospital. During the treatment she was also taken to Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital on April 5 and the doctors said that her brain is damaged. We later re-admitted PIC: RAHUL RAUT

SIESTA TIME

her in KEM hospital,” said Suryakant, adding that the medication bill at the hospital during the seven months touched Rs 1.5 crore which was borne by the Pune Municipal Corporation.

“The wrong medication done by Samarth Hospital and concealing the fact by KEM Hospital took my wife’s life and the people responsible for this negligence should be punished,” he said.

Andekar has written an application through Advocate Bilal Shaikh to Samarth Police demanding medical negligence offence under the law against the doctors of both hospitals on August 28. Advocate Shaikh said that it is a clear case of medical negligence.

“Samarth Hospital administered wrong injection to the patient. When she was admitted in ICU of KEM hospital’s urology department for further treatment, the KEM doctors despite knowing she was given wrong medication by previous hospital (Samarth Hospital), did not disclose the fact. If we were told about the fact, then we would have admitted her to super specialty hospital. KEM Hospital doctors tried to protect their counterparts at Samarth Hospital,” Shaikh said, adding “We have written the application to Samarth Police that offence should be registered against doctors of both hospitals as per Sections 338 (medical negligence), 304, II (culpable homicide) and 467 (forgery of valuable security) of the Indian Penal Code.”

Sleep habits in childhood linked to alcohol use later P 11

After corporator Rajashree Andekar’s death, her family approach police seeking justice

Samarth Police Station Senior Inspector Rajendra Mohite confirmed that they have received the application from Andekar. “We have recorded the statements of both parties. We are forwarding the case to Sassoon General Hospital Medical Board and will take action after receiving their report.”

When TGS visited Samarth Hospital, cardiologist Dr Kalashetti said that the patient was suffering from chikungunya hyperthyroid and other complications and there is no staffer by the name Shankar Mali working at the hospital. “When the patient came to our hospital I was busy treating another patient so my sister Pooja called me and asked for the injection. I suggested monosafe antibiotic to reduce fever.

After the injection was administered to the patient, she went to washroom and fell unconscious. Then we shifted her to KEM. We have given right medical treatment and gave our statement to the police,” he said.

KEM Hospital Medical Administrator Dr VL Yemul told TGS,” We have given her proper treatment. The patient was admitted in the hospital in an unconscious state.

We administered her standard line of treatment for seven months. The cause of death was known and as it was not a medico legal case we didn’t advise her post mortem after death. Police have recorded our doctors’ statement and we are cooperating in the investigation.” tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Cops check CCTV footages to identify suspects TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly

A number of shots were fired on the street at Shahu Chowk on Shivaji Road on Thursday (September 22) night when two persons allegedly accosted a murder accused out on bail and opened fire at him. The man, out on bail, sustained head and neck injuries. The Khadak Police under whose jurisdiction that crime spot falls confirm that the incident was due to past enmity.

“Two persons on bike arrived at the chowk and opened six rounds at the person identified as Arjun Vasant Deokar (28), a resident of Shukrawar Peth. Deokar had come to the area to meet his relatives. One bullet hit the

spend of USD 3.6 billion for 2016,” the report said.

“With an evolving business landscape and thriving tourist destinations, India has been witnessing a high influx of overseas travellers for both business and other purposes,”

victim’s neck and another on the back of his head. Deokar was rushed to a private hospital. He was arrested in 2010 in connection with the murder case of Rakesh Ghule and was out on bail,” a police officer said, adding that the authorities are checking the CCTV footage to identify the suspects.

According to the police, Deokar used to stay at Hinjawadi. After the murder of Ghule, he shifted to Shukrawar Peth and was presently staying in Magarpatta City, Hadapsar.

He had come to visit his aunt’s home in Shahu Chowk with his friends on Thursday night and was out on the street after meeting his relatives when he was fired at around 9.45 pm.

Joint Commissioner of Police Sunil Ramananad, DCP Sudhir Hiremath, Crime DCP PR Patil, ACP Suresh Bhosale and other senior police officers visited the spot. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

At the scene of the crime

Schools must deal with issue of complaints The educational department will conduct surprise checksto assess if schools have appointed grievance redressal officers to deal with complaints against them.

It will also assess the work done by these officers.

Institutions failing to make necessary appointments will face penal action as per the norms.

It was seen that no official regulatory mechanism was in place to resolve complaints against schools.The Maharashtra Education Commissioner issued a circular through the state education department a couple of months ago, seeking appointment of grievance redressal officers on mandatory basis before August 10, 2016. All government-run as well as private schools in the state are legally obliged to appoint grievance redressal officers to deal with the institution-level complaints. This complaints schoolsare later directed to district-level, zone-level or state-level government offices.

The circular further stated, “Schools have to display boards carrying names and number of redressal officeron their premises. The board should be blue in colour and letters must be printed in white, and should be visible from 100 feet distance.”

The decision comes in wake of the deputy director of

Pune makes it to Mastercard global destination index Five Indian cities, including Pune ranked 91, have been named among the top 100 destination cities globally, with Mumbai and Chennai registering at least 1 million overnight visitors in 2016, says a report.

According to the sixth annual Mastercard Global Destinations Cities Index released recently, the five have made it to the top 100 destination cities for 2016.

Mumbai was ranked at 27 while Chennai was placed at the 30th position. Delhi came in at 48, Kolkata (62), along with Pune (91). Mumbai and Chennai stand out as the fastest growing destination cities globally with at least 1 million overnight visitors in 2016, the report said. Mumbai further consolidated its position as the only Indian city to enter Asia Pacific’s Top 10 Destination Cities in terms of international overnight visitors in 2016. “Ranked at number 10, right after Shanghai, the city boasts of 4.86 million visitors along with a visitor

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Two bikers open fire at murder accused

BY VICKY PATHARE @Vickypathare2

A tempo driver takes a quick nap during a pause in his working day

New smart city list a huge boost for realty sector

Parag Bhatnagar, Vice-President, Marketing, South Asia, Mastercard, said.

On the five Indian cities making the cut, Bhatnagar said, “This trend also projects a huge potential for Indian cities to develop as global hubs

education office being flooded with complaints that can be solved at the institutional level. The complaints are mostly regarding fees, infrastructure, major and minor issues between parents and administration, which are supposed to be dealt with at the institutional level. Most schools in Pune region are yet to form the committees and appoint grievance redressal officers.

Millennium National School, Karvenagar, St Arnold Central School, Vadgaonsheri, SVS High School, Pune, SwamiVivekanand High School, Dapodi, Kendriya Vidyalaya and Range Hills English School, Khadki are amongst the schools yet to appoint grievance redressal officers.

Deputy director of educationDinkar Temkar said,

Pune is among the five Indian cities included in the top 100 global destinations

for investment in terms of business and tourism alike.”

Meanwhile, Bangkok has emerged as the leading destination city by international overnight visitor arrivals.

According to the study, Bangkok is projected to receive 21.47 million international overnight visitors in 2016, just ahead of the second-ranked London.

Asia makes up half of the global top 10 -- Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and Seoul -- and seven of the top 10 fastest growing destination cities -- Osaka, Chengdu, Colombo, Tokyo, Taipei, Xi an and Xiamen.

The Mastercard Global Destinations Cities Index provides more than a ranking of the 132 most visited cities around the world. It projects visitor volume and spend estimates for the 2016 while delivering a deeper understanding of how people travel and spend around the world.

PTI

“It is mandatory for private as well as government institutes to appoint a grievance redressal officer at institutional level to deal with complaints.But many of them have not appointed them and we are getting complaints.The decision is expected to be beneficial for all stakeholders. Besides serving as an institution level platform to deal with different complaints, the grievance redressal officer will also serve as a link between school and higher authorities in sharing crucial information related to concerned matters. Mobile numbers and landline numbers of grievance redressal officers must also be put on display boards in schools.”

‘We will conduct surprise visits at schools to check if they have appointed the officers and stringent action will be taken against those who have not done so. We willalso inspect records of complaints maintained, students limit, and financial complaints,” he said.

“We have already started the mechanism at our all schools, prior to the directives and even placed the boards displaying details of the grievance redressal committee,” said Vasanti Kakadi, chairman of Pune Municipal Corporation school board. Officials from the Zilla Parishad and Pimpri Chinchwad Education board confirmed that they have appointed grievance redressal officers. vicky.pathare@goldensparrow.com

Youth gets helping hand from Lions Club

Lions Club to sponsor Pimpri Chinchwad youth’s trip to Vietnam for the fifth Asian Games

BY GUNWANTI PARASTE @gunwantiparaste After TGS published the story about Shreeyash Chavan, 19, of Pimpri Chinchwad being selected for the Asian Games but that he had no money to travel, Lions Club has now come forward to help him and finance his trip.

S h r e e y a s h ’s Shreeyash Chavan mother Sujata said, “After TGS publish the story, I received phone calls from Lions Club, Rahatani, Pune Lion Vasant Kokane, Lion Sameer Agarwal, Lion Prashant Gomkale, Lion Sumeet Kamthan, Lokmanya Hospital,

Chinchwad operation manager Veronica Jerry, Ashok Galwad of Human Resources department and Pradeep Sapkal, who are willing to sponsor Shreeyash’s trip to Vietnam, to represent India at the Asian Beach Games 2016. Shreeyash can now concentrate on the games instead of worrying about the finances. My husband is a Tata Motors employee.

We also appealed to Tata Motors for help but they refused, stating that they help workers, not workers’ children.

Even the PCMC sports department failed to respond.”

Lion Kokane said, “We support all 16 players who have been selected for the 5th Asian Beach Games 2016.

We have held a press conference and appealed to sponsors to financially support the players. We are arranging air and train tickets.” gunwanti.paraste@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPT 24 30 20 6

“I have always been fascinated by the Chinese and Indian cultures which are so philosophical and rich in tradition and morality.”

— Stan Lee, Comic Book Legend

“Today the Indian community here is a major factor in India-UK relations.The Indian community has also made its presence in politics with his representation in the House of Commons and House Lords.”

— Navtej Singh Sarna, Indias High Commissioner to the UK

Techies vie for this workplace

Showcase of social ventures

Rapid Circle India is an apt example of what an office must be, to allow the community to grow as a whole and for individual growth too

BY SALONEE MISTRY @SaloneeMistry There is a sense of freedom and equality when you walk into the Rapid Circle India office on Baner-Pashan link road. Long wooden benches with chairs on either side, a huge wall that jumps out at you with vibrancy and happiness on the faces of those working there is something that does not go unnoticed.

Started in 2010 by Suyog Patki who is now the Managing Director and Daniel McPherson who is the Chief Technology Officer, it was formerly called Zevenseas and is a Microsoft Cloud Avan Pa k Company.

A unique work culture, free meals, no hierarchy, and a game room are things that this venture boasts of. Empowering people to take initiative, being people driven, and ensuring that work becomes an enjoyable experience are beliefs that they strongly abide by. It is the work culture here that boosts the happiness index of all, and is something that must be replicated if we are to grow as a community.

Development for all Working in the IT sector for over 12 years, Suyog was inspired to start a venture like this because of what he hoped to see in the place that he was working. When Rapid Circle India started off in 2010 it was a small place under a metal sheet roof and this was a risk that he was willing to take.

Born an brought up in Sholapur, in a family that wasn’t too well-off, he had never

TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeek y

through and so every little help counts,” he said. In addition to all of this, reviews every six months by reviewers that the workers themselves select and not having the regular corporate divisions like a human resource Suyog Pa k department etc, are also things that they follow. Suyog’s wife Avani Patki looks after the responsibilities of an HR department but her designation is culture consultant at this venture. Rapid Circle India was voted number one partner by Microsoft in the Healthcare domain in 2015 and is also one of their gold partners for Cloud. They also have teams working in Amsterdam and Europe. even known what a computer was till he went to an engineering college. Soon he fell in love with programming and has never wanted to do anything since.

“My vision with this place is to make people better human beings and love what they do rather than those who run behind their monthly pay cheque. The idea is to love what we do and do what we love,” he said. Building a workplace culture that is beneficial for all and maintaining transparency is key to making the company and the employees self-sufficient, he added.

When there is not much to bother about internally, the people working with the venture can focus on giving the customer whatever it is that they want and the way they want it. Another thing that Rapid Circle India does to ensure that the

happiness quotient of the people there is high is to allow for flexible working hours and the guideline that one doesn’t have to be present in office to fi nish their work. They could sit in their home or in a cafe and work Dan e McPhe son as long as the Internet connection is good, Patki said. The office space is also used by a few other start-ups to operate from and that too for free.

“We encourage anything that is innovative and needs the push to excel.

Being a start-up ourselves we are aware of the kind of struggles that they might be going

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,

AUGUST 6, 2016 PUNE

THRILL OF DRIVING

TGS LIFE JULY 9, 2016 PUNE

THRILL OF DRIVING

By Tushar Burman

Road-tripping in Thailand

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.

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

W

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. hustling around the corners and Verdict things are generally smooth at + Comfort, speed. I suppose we should be price, heritage pleased as consumers that we’ve - Middling auto come to a point where we can gearbox actually buy much harder-core performance cars in this price TGS rating bracket. ;;;;2 The V8 sounds nice inside the cabin, but isn’t particularly evocative insideChiang or out. It’s butjump-off muted burble Maia isdeep your point that comes to the ear; no snap crackle and adventures pop drama of European tyre-burners. The India edition only comes with the 6-speed

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

MOTO GEAR

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

MONSOON

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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.

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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 child and we imagine it will have takers than sports car. 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 sedans Rear legroom is good for a person of my size more overt sportscars or luxuryrunning 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 in this maximum comfort. At least one passenger we rode Certainly no other car we’ve seen 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.

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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.

There are button fasteners on the 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,

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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

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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

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)

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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VISHAL KALE

“Even if the needy are alcoholics, we are ready to provide them food.”

a so abou sens s ng peop e Peop e canno run away rom he r soc a respons b y us by g v ng cash so we do no accep cash and peop e come here w h ood wh ch hen crea es a sense o comm men n hem ” N esh N mba kar a HSC s uden rom Modern Co ege who comes da y o dona e ood sa d “I was so nsp red by he pro ec ha I conv nced my am y o dona e here I have a so been crea ng awareness abou he pro ec among my r ends and wo o my r ends have s ar ed dona ng here a ready ” Ano her donor Ra endra Shedge sa d “I dona e here on week y bas s Ra her han g v ng money o he poor s a ways sa s y ng o he p hem w h cooked ood ” A needy person who ava s o he ac y Sa sh A a ekar sa d “I come here da y I am rom Ko hapur and work here as a da y wage abourer Ne her I nor my am y have a regu ar ncome Th s s a very cruc a serv ce or me ” “Nobody shou d go hungry nobody shou d s eep on an emp y s omach” s our mo o We co ec ro rom househo ds and d s r bu e hem o he poor home ess and hungry ” A ar sa d v ky pa hare@go den parrow om

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background o he needy Even he needy are a coho cs we are ready o prov de hem ood ” Exp a n ng he n a ve ano her ounder F roz A ar sa d “To open an accoun a he Ro Bank he donor has o fi up a orm and ob a n a code number The manda ory reg s ra on orma es are or sa e y purposes I

BY VICKY PATHARE here s a case o ood po son ng we can rack he donor eas y hrough h s @V kypa hare code number As per he demand o Noor Ro Bank s he firs -o - s-k nd he needy we g ve hem ro r ce and n a ve aunched n Bopod where cooked vege ab es We chose Bopod c zens can dona e resh y cooked as s a cen re po n or P mpr ood wh ch w hen be Ch nchwad and Pune d s r bu ed o he poor As he pro ec grows The Ro Bank and as he peop e rom was firs aunched araway p aces show n Aurangabad The n eres n con r bu ng Bopod bank was we m gh appo n a aunched n Apr I has person o co ec ood 55 donors and around rom hem on regu ar 80 poor peop e are bas s Curren y he ava ng o he ac y max mum number o da y donors and rece vers are N sar A ar one o rom nearby areas ke he ounders o he Ro Khadk Bopod and Bank sa d “Anyone Dapod ” N SAR ATTAR who wan s ood and Ano her ounder anyone who w shes o Zuber P rzade sa d dona e ood s we come “We accep vege ar an here We are no d scr m na ng on ood on y so ha peop e rom a he any grounds We do no nves ga e he re g ons can ava o he ac y I s

Dene Sama ache I owe soc e y be eves n ak ng effor s o evo ve he coun ry as an ega ar an soc e y To he p promo e he ac v es carr ed ou by soc a serv ce organ sa on ac v es Ar s ry has been ho d ng he un que soc a even or he pas e even years “A our c a ms o hav ng ach eved success n he fie ds o econom cs sc ence and n orma on echno ogy w be mean ng ess we a o evo ve as an ega ar an soc e y Dene Sama ache s a non-profi ab e ac v y managed by even managemen organ sa on Ar s ry or promo on o Veena Gokha e soc a serv ce organ sa on ac v es s nce s ncep on 2005 ” sa d Veena Gokha e ounder-propr e or o Ar s ry The ma n purpose o he annua exh b on s o make common peop e aware o he unusua se fless work Over 5 000 peop e have v s ed he even n he pas and saw he ac v es done by over 20 soc a organ sa ons or ree “Around 30 NGOs/char ab e organ sa ons rom across he s a e w be seen under one roo The ac v es ha hey w showcase w cover env ronmen hea h HIV educa on no se po u on and o her areas The exh b on h s year w be he d be ween 10 am and 9 pm rom Sep ember 23 Fr day o Sep ember 25 Sunday a Harsha Ha on Karve Road ” she sa d Ar s ry adv sor Chandrasen Sh ro e sa d “The response has been overwhe m ng over he years These par c pa ng organ sa ons need financ a ass s ance o carry on he r respec ve ac v es and Dene Sama ache prov des hem w h he oppor un y ” Some o he par c pan s h s year nc ude eevan Anand Sans ha Khar Yoganand Founda on Nasrapur Mau Seva Pra sh han Ahmednagar Th rd Eye Assoc a on Nash k ama a Ba akashram Sa ara Bhag n N ved a Pra sh han Pune N vas Ma mand V dya aya Pune and Sav Ba sadan Ahmednagar g eedba k@go den parrow om

It was not a smooth ride Apart from people not trusting that the venture would do well since it started off under a metal sheet roof, the biggest challenge is to ensure that the ‘values’ that Patki and the other founders are trying to stay away from does not creep in from some way. “Since we are a people-driven place, we train everyone here to take interviews so that they can choose their own co-workers. By picking people who share the same passion as ours we know for a fact that the leniency that we offer won’t be taken advantage of,” Patki said.

When they started off there were a lot of technicalities that they weren’t aware of and so mistakes were a given. Even so it is important to learn from them and grow, the team believes. salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

Roti Bank, a lifeline for many and novel way to feed the hungry Roti Bank concept at Bopodi has citizens who donate freshly cooked food and the needy who avail of it on a daily basis

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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.

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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

Ro Bank a Bopod s a boon o housands o unde p v edged peop e

om he nea by a eas

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

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THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPT 24-30, 2016

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PICS: RAHUL RAUT

Walking

‘Going t

A

jinkya Vasude Health and F Shukrawar Pe in the power weightli at the 2006 Asian Ga medal at the 2007 As His childhood wa the barbs and taunts remembers it as a hum learn how to cope wit tall and it is his small calling in life. “I join Road 15 years ago. W going to the gym was have happened, but g find just what it was t over the years, my lik and now I find being am able to teach othe

TALL

It is common for society to regard people with height disabilities as objects of ridicule. But, as all of us know or should, these people are no different from us. They have dreams and ambitions just like we do, and possess all the intellectual abilities to function as productive members of society

W

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE & SHAILESH JOSHI

e, as a society, are monumentally insensitive towards people with physical disabilities or handicaps. Our first reaction is to make fun of them, and call them all kinds of rude, crude and cruel names. Do we realise that a person with a handicap or disability is just as prone to feeling hurt and offended by such behaviour, just like any of us ‘normal’ people? This kind of hurt and humiliation are almost an everyday experience for the disabled or handicapped people.

The causes for their handicap or deformity may be a genetic disorder, malnutrition or any other reason. But they have to learn to cope with ostracisation and ridicule from a very young age.

Schools can be very cruel places, and children with physical handicaps have a rough time indeed.

This carries on into adult life as well, but by then these disadvantaged people have learned how to cope with the stigma, and to ignore the rude behaviour of society at large.

This insensitivity of society is a fact of life for the handicapped and there is not much they can do to change it. What they

can do, is to not let their handicap get in the way of making progress, and getting to where they find their niche in society, and settle into a productive way of life. It may take more of an effort than what a normal person puts in. And if they are fortunate, they will have the support of the people who are close to them, like family, friends or teachers.

Life is difficult even for people who are free from any handicaps. It is likely then to be even more difficult when you have to face everyday challenges, while coping with a lifelong handicap. It may take a little time and effort for normal people to gauge the nature and dimension of the difficulties that handicapped people face in day-to-day life.

But, rest assured, there are people, who with fortitude and strength have come to terms with their physical handicap, and are now able to face life with optimism, and the willingness to overcome what challenges may come their way.

TGS has come face-to-face with a handful of people with physical handicaps, who have emerged through their initial trauma and heartbreak, to make their way forward, get an education, find an occupation, and settle into a way of life that offers them the possibility of leading a constructive life in society, and also to attain their dreams and goals, which once may have seemed impossible.

‘I want to be a businessman, make lots of money and become very rich’

K

umar Laxman Rathod, 17, is a standard XII student of Marathwada Mitra Mandal College (MMMC), Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce Road, Deccan Gymkhana. He is just 3.2 feet tall.

Life is hard for Kumar, who lives in Kasarwadi, with his parents Laxman and Sushila, who work as construction site labourers, brother Prakash, 15, and sister Sharda, 14. His day begins at 6 am, and after the morning ablutions, he does his studies. Then he commutes to college by PMPML bus. College lectures last from 11:30 am to 5 pm, when he returns home.

Kumar has been fortunate as he has not faced too much ridicule or harassment owing to his stature, in everyday life or at college. “I am fortunate that I have parents, friends and teachers at my college, who are always there to give me support if I need it. Even Principal M B Lawrence has always been supportive,” he said.

Kumar is determined to put in all the hard work needed to make something of his life. He is seeking medical help to overcome his disability but the doctors can’t guarantee success. But he has learned to come to terms with his physical handicap, and will not let it come in the way of achieving his goals.

“I want to be a businessman, make lots of money and become very rich. I have had enough of being poor and helpless,” he said.

Kumar Rathod at the gate of his college

Ajinkya Joshi (right) with one of his proteges at the fitness and health club

‘If you give us the opportunity, we can prove that we are just as capable as others’

Maya Anvekar (right) dispenses the prescribed medication to a patient

M

aya Uttamrao Anvekar, 47, resident of feet in height. She has been working as physician Dr Parag Rasane’s clinic at S Budhwar Peth, for 14 years. Everyone knows her expertise in giving injections, saline, medication appreciated.

Her parents were aware of Maya’s deficiency i they could to deal with the problem. They consul injections and prescribed physical workouts, but n Moreover, there was the added trauma of facing s of due to her diminutive stature. All through sch cope with her handicap and put on a brave face. “ any sign of being scared or angry, the people wou and make my life a living hell. So I learned to ign fun of me, and concentrated on my studies. Now anymore,” said Maya.

Maya’s father Uttamrao, a goldsmith, passed school. She was forced to leave school after stand brother and sister to look after. She did a typing c finding a job. But her brother Suresh stepped in a after the younger siblings. Their mother passed aw physical disability, Maya was unable to get any m proposals I got turned out to be frauds as the suit getting dowry,” said Maya. She started looking fo but it proved to be difficult with her handicap. Bu for a compounder’s post at Dr Prakash Rasane’s c would be able to fulfil my duties. I asked them to two days. They did and then I was selected. Now his sister, and trusts me,” said Maya. Maya had so through looking after her ailing mother.

Maya has always had a positive approach tow hobbies and interests such as weaving, reading, an “Don’t just see the physical side but try to see people like me. If you give us the opportunity, we as capable of others of doing our duty,” is Maya’s others like herself, Maya believes that they shoul themselves, and to ignore the people who just wa She lives with her brother Suresh and his wife

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPT 24-30, 2016

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to the gym enabled me to find what I wanted to do with my life’

ev Joshi, 30, is a trainer at the Soman Fitness Club, at Khajina Vihir, eth. He has made a name for himself ifting arena, having won a gold medal ames in South Korea, and a silver sian Games in Taiwan. as a traumatic time as Ajinkya faced from people owing to his size. He miliating experience, but he had to th it, the hard way. Ajinkya is 4.6 feet l stature that has led him to find his ned a gym in Vitthalwadi on Sinhagad What I really wanted to gain from s to increase my height. That may not going to the gym has enabled me to that I wanted to do with my life. And king for keeping fit has kept growing, a trainer a rewarding occupation, as I ers what I have learnt. The gym is also

the place where I became interested in the sport of power lifting,” he said.

It was when he was 15 that his parents realised that Ajinkya’s physical growth had stalled. They consulted a number of doctors to seek a remedy, but the efforts proved to be in vain. Then a chance suggestion by a friend led him to the Soman Health and Fitness Club.

“I have been inspired by my parents, and also my teacher, the late Swapnil Soman sir. He guided me and taught me everything I know about power lifting. He motivated me to improve my skills and excel at the sport.

I participated in power lifting competitions in school, and then progressed to the national and international levels,” he said. Ajinkya has won 40 district level, 16 state level, 11 national and two international championships. He would have continued his career, but a ligament injury he suffered in 2008 has forced him out of the competitive arena.

With all the experience in the gym, it seemed logical

Abbas Inamdar going about his newspaper rounds

‘Why should people make fun of my disability which is not my fault at all?’

Ravivar Peth, is just 4.4 s a compounder at general Sonya Maruti Chowk, r at the clinic, and her and first aid, is well

in growth and did all lted doctors who gave her nothing seemed to help. society and being made fun hool, Maya learned how to “I knew that if I showed uld trouble me even more, nore the people who made of course, no one teases me

away when she was in dard X, as she had a younger course in the hope of and lent a hand, in looking way 15 years ago. With her marriage proposals. “The tors were only interested in or a job when she was 17, ut then came the interview clinic. “I was asked if I o observe my work for Dr Parag treats me like ome nursing experience

wards life. She has many nd music. e what’s in the minds of e can prove that we are just advice to society. And for ld not lose confidence in ant to make fun of them. e.

for Ajikya to settle into a career as trainer. He worked with Persistent Company, Nal Stop, Karve Road for four years before joining Soman Health and Fitness Club, where he has been working for four years. Fondly known as Appa, the club has a clientele of 125 male and female fitness enthusiasts. Ajinkya aka Appa guides them in losing or gaining weight, weight lifting, power lifting, and other assorted physical fitness regimen. He is the only trainer and also manages the club, for his remuneration of Rs 4.5 lakh annually.

Ajinkya, who has a Commerce degree, was refused jobs by Emcure, MSEB and other companies, but it has all been for the best. He now wants to set up a power lifting academy. He also has other interests such as playing the dhol in a drum troupe during Ganeshotsav.

Ajinkya is unable to drive a car or ride a bike owing to his disability. He lives with his parents and brother.

‘I decided a long time ago not to bow before anyone and to prove my worth’

P

rofessor Dhiraj Damodarrao Nage, 40, of Bhosari, is a shining example of a human being who has not let being undersized come in the way of what he was wanted to achieve and attain in life. The four feet two inches tall Dhiraj has been working as an assistant professor at the computer science department of Fergusson College for eight years. Inspired and motivated by his father, his unwavering determination and strength have enabled him to acquire a BSc and MSc in agriculture, as well as Master in Computer Application (MCA).

Born in a farming family at Daryapur village in Amaravati district, Dhiraj’s physical handicap proved to be a burden since childhood. When he was in standard VII, his parents sought medical help, and also other means to bring about a regular physical development. The doctors however, told them that it was the genes they had inherited that were responsible for Dhiraj and his brother Prashant being undersized.

Dhiraj underwent much trauma in his growing years, and at times he would curse his fate that had led to him being small-sized, and an object of fun for insensitive people. But over time, he learned to accept his situation, and knew that lamenting his state would not bring about any positive change. He instead, as urged by his father, decided to get as much education as he could, to be able to function in and contribute to society.

“I learned how not to pay heed to the people who made fun of me. I had taken up a marketing job during my college days, which entailed a lot of travel. It was always an experience to be able to face people in different towns and villages, who were attracted more by my diminutive size rather than what I was selling. Some of them were just plain curious, while others would make fun of me, but I never retaliated. I think that 90 per cent of people are not friendly or

helpful, and only ten per cent treat us with some consideration and kindness,” said Dhiraj.

Dhiraj wanted to join the civil services and even passed the Mahararashtra Public State Commission (MPSC) exam, but he failed to be selected in the interview. He gave farming a shot, but the drought foiled his plans. He then decided to come to Pune. That was 15 years ago.

He applied for a technical post with Larsen and Toubro, but was rejected because of his size, despite all his assurances. This incident has made Dhiraj even more fearless and determined. “I decided then not to bow before anyone and to prove my worth,” he said.

He first worked as a software developer for an IT company for two years. Then he applied for a lecturer’s post in the computer science department of Fergusson College in 2008, and was selected.

As assistant professor he earns Rs 2.70 lakh annually. He is single and wants to get married. His brother Prashant is studying networking and lives with Dhiraj.

He commutes from Bhosari to Pune by PMPML buses, facing the usual hassles while boarding a bus. But he does not take injustice lying down. “If I see wrongdoing, I will oppose it and even argue.

People try to dominate me because of my stature, but I make it a point to let them know that I am a college professor. Then they view me differently, even respectfully. I like my job and try to give my 100 per cent. My students know and appreciate this,” said Dhiraj.

He loves the cordial atmosphere at Fergusson College. “I have the full support of my head of department and principal. I like working here,” he says.

Dhiraj is the kind of person who is always eager to learn something new. He is polishing up his English, and his hobbies include karate, action movies and chess.

Professor Dhiraj Nage engrossed in guiding his students at Fergusson College

A

bbas Nabilal Inamdar, 51, resident of Rasta Peth, is heightchallenged and as a consequence, he has been used to being called names and treated with ridicule by society. Everyone in his locality knows him and with his elderly status he is not the object of fun anymore, but he cannot forget his past. “As a child I felt humiliated when people called me names like ‘butkya’ (dwarf in Marathi), and made fun of me. Initially, I would retaliate but this only made matters worse and they would tease me even more. So, I learned to ignore such people, which was the right thing to do. Why should people make fun of me for my physical disability which is not my fault at all?” he says.

Abbas works as an office assistant at B J Medical College. He also runs a newspaper stall in the Poolgate area. Abbas’s day begins at 4:30 am, when he leaves home on his bicycle, to go to Poolgate. There he collects the bundles of newspapers from the depot, and goes around on his cycles distributing the papers to around 300 households. He has a boy for company on these rounds. His wife Shahnaz, meanwhile, looks after the newspaper stall at Poolgate.

“I have been in this newspaper business since 1980, and I barely earn Rs 7,000 a month from this,” said Abbas.

At 10:30 am, he goes home for breakfast, after which it is time to report to B J Medical College, where he has been working since 1995. Abbas’s duties include making photocopies of documents, filing documents and other assorted office chores. His working day ends at around 8 pm.

Abbas’s family includes his mother Jainabi, 95, wife Shahnaz and only son Ali Jabber, 17, who is a standard XI student. Abbas was unable to pursue his education owing to the impecunious family conditions.

He has studied up to standard X. Then he was forced to earn a living by doing the newspaper rounds, in 1980. He got the job at B J Medical College in 1995, but was relieved of his job after a year. He got the job back after a court order. He earns Rs 12,000 a month as an office assistant. He likes to read, and finds some book, periodical, or newspaper to browse through in his spare time.

Abbas has had some difficult times to deal with. In 1995, he was addicted to the lottery, and found himself in debts amounting to Rs 50,000. It was a desperate situation and he ran away from home to Mumbai. His parents filed a missing person complaint with the police station, which was published in the local Marathi daily ‘Sandhyanand’.

After about a week Abbas returned to Pune. The police caught him and handed him over to his parents. He had to work twice as hard to pay off his debts.

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPT 24-30, 2016

TECH/START-UP

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Amended CrPC will hinder cop functioning

“Google rents out goats from a company called California Grazing to help cut down the amount of weeds and brush at Google HQ.” -http://www.thefactsite.com/

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Goodbye lamp, hello laser!

LED-laser hybrids are replacing lamps in digital projectors, vastly improving their endurance

BY ANAND PARTHASARATHY Murphy’s law—‘Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong’—has a way of proving itself at the most awkward times.

If you have ever handled slide, overhead or LCD projectors at school, college or office, you may have experienced Murphy’s Law in action: the projector lamp will conk out right in the middle of an important presentation.

Then the frantic search for a spare bulb, which if you are lucky you may locate among the spares. The whole contraption is so hot, you have to wait for a few minutes before you can switch bulbs. And if as in many institutions, the projector is suspended from the ceiling, you need a ladder as well. The problem is you can never anticipate when projector bulbs will die on you. The makers will guarantee a life of some 3000-4000 hrs but who can keep track?

Rejoice, for there are tidings of joy: Finally it is time to kiss the projector lamp goodbye - and good riddance. In a flurry of announcements in the last few weeks, at least 4 manufacturers of digital projectors have announced the launch of new lampless models in the Indian market. All of them call their products laser projectors and while it is true there is a laser in the heart of their system, the term is as misleading as calling an LCD TV an LED TV just because the LCD screen is lit from the back by a bank of LEDs. The new projectors which have

dispensed with the lamp offer different forms of a hybrid technology where the laser is used together with one of two competing approaches—3-LCD or Digital Light Processor. Epson has long been the proponent of the 3-LCD technology in digital projectors, one for each of the three primary colours, red, green and blue. Texas Instruments holds most of the patents in DLP technology where the key projecting devices with millions of tiny mirrors have been fabricated in silicon.

DLP and 3LCD projectors have been in use both for home/office projectors as well

as theatrical systems for some years. What is new is that they have switched to lasers for the primary light source in recent months.

Epson has launched its new EB-L1000 series projector based on laser source.

These are the fi rst worldwide to integrate inorganic 3LCD panels with an inorganic phosphor wheel to achieve superior light and heat resistance. The EB-L1000 series projectors’ new lamp-free laser light source with 3LCD technology, is capable of reproducing images with good levels of colour brightness for extremely long periods, delivering up to 20,000 hours of

Coming: Laser TV Even as laser light sources are replacing bulbs in projectors, a quiet revolution is happening on the TV front. TV sets using lasers rather than LED may not be far away.

In Paris, on the sidelines of the UEFA football cup final in July, the leading Chinese TV maker Hisense, unveiled the world’s first 100 inch 4K Laser TV. Backed by 200-plus patents, Hisense has promised to launch laser TVs later this year—at price points one-tenth of what is currently charged for LED-LCD TVs of equivalent size. The 100-inch model will cost $ 10,000. If we extrapolate this to smaller sizes, a 30 inch laser TV should be available for around Rs 3000! maintenance free use. The projectors come with nine optional lenses including the world’s fi rst zero-offset ultra-short throw lens, the ELPLX01, enabling the projectors to be installed in the shortest throw distance where available space is at a premium. With a laser light source, the projectors reach maximum brightness without the need for warming up. The EB-L1000 series will be available in 3 models ranging in India – L1200U (Rs 11, 03,799 with 7000 lumens), L1405U (Rs 11, 68,999, 8000 lumens) and L1505U (Rs17, 86,399, 12,000 lumens).

BenQ has launched its fi rst BlueCore

laser light source projector LU9715.

BlueCore laser technology enables a high contrast output of 80000:1 with an extended lamp life. The projector is available for Rs 18,00,000.

Casio India has introduced three new models to its EcoLite series of LampFree projectors XJ-V2, XJ-V100W and XJV110W, with Laser & LED Hybrid Light Source technology that reduces the power consumption up to 50%. The 3 models range in price from Rs 56,995 to Rs 79,995 and are the most affordable laser projectors to be offered in India till date.

Sony’s new projectors include three 3LCD laser models (VPL-FHZ65, VPLFHZ60 and VPL-FHZ57). The laser models’ “quick turn on/off ” requires only approximately 7 seconds for the brightness to ramp up after turning on. The life of laser light source is expected to be up to 20,000 hours The models range in price from Rs 9.66 lakhs to Rs 5.33 lakhs.

As we can see laser projectors don’t come cheap and there is a wide price band from half a lakh to 18 lakh rupees, depending on the target application that could be for home use or for huge outdoor signage. But all users will benefit from the laser projector’s promise of ten-fold increase in life from 2000- 4000 to 200030000 hours. As competition hots up and cost drop with volume, lasers instead of lamps appear to be the way of the future and we can say quite literally, that in the intense beam of a laser light, ‘ the future looks bright’!

IndiaTechOnline

APP WORLD Cyber ink on my fingers!

The new inking feature lets you write on your MSOffice documents with a pen, stylus or even your fingers Productivity apps are highly useful for professionals’ onthe-go. One of the main constrains of these apps is the difficulty to type texts or draw a graph while you are on the move, especially if you are trying to work from your phone instead of a laptop or tablet. Microsoft recently added the Inking feature to its Office tools, which would allow users to write or draw in documents, presentations and spreadsheets with a pen, stylus or even your fingers.

The inking feature enables users edit documents by reviewing and correcting errors. One can mark the errors and type the changes then and there. There’s also the highlighter and eraser that lets you highlight the errors for later reference and erase the ink once the changes have been made.

The inking feature also comes with different options for colour and pen thickness.

The app will show you two different modes for the inking feature, one with pen and one without. There will be a pen icon on top of the tool for mobiles devices with a compatible pen, which needs to be tapped to activate. For devices without pen, users need to go to the Home menu and tap on Draw, which will give two options: Tap to Draw with Mouse or Touch. Although it’s easier to use a pen or a stylus compared to finger for editing documents, this additional touch feature is helpful for those who don’t want to invest in a digital pen or an expensive device with stylus.

The inking feature is now available for Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps. The Microsoft Office apps is available for free download in GooglePlay, AppStore and Microsoft store.

Co-founder-CEO LC Singh (Pink Shirt) with some Nihilent staffers. The company has heavy presence in Africa

Their roots lay with Tata Consulting Services—albeit in different spheres. L.C. Singh was a Senior Vice President looking after TCS operations in UK, South Africa and the Middle East. Minoo Dastur headed the company’s corporate banking group. In August of 2000, having helped TCS successfully ride the Y2K challenge, Singh and Dastur left to start their own company in Pune. They started from scratch, which is probably why they named their new entity, Nihilent Technologies, after the Latin word ‘Nihil’ which means ‘nothing’.

IT is like that...

But everything emerges from nothing and pretty soon, ‘nihil’ morphed into something substantial: bringing a holistic approach to solutions management, where they prepare for change reaction with every solution, then fill the gaps that will inevitably manifest.

To do this Nihilent has crafted a suite of proprietary tool, of which the flagship is called MC3. (Nihilent’s logo takes the theme that something can be ‘created’ out of ‘nothingness’ even further. It is an egg, cracking open with ideas) Today, that company has been assessed at the highest level 5 of SEI CMMI (Software Engineering Institute’s Capability Maturity Model Integration, a method to evaluate and measure the maturity of the software development process of an organizations).

Its diverse portfolio ranges from consulting to enterprise IT services and products. Its footprint spans 5 continents and its clients include the Mothercare brand in the UK and the South African Nedbank. Indeed for historical reasons, a lot of Nihilent’s clients are based in Africa, particularly South Africa. In recent months the company has acquired other entities like Intellect Bizware, a leading SAP practitioner to ICRA Techno Analytics, an analytics expert.

Having carved a niche and a name for itself in the enterprise solutions space, Nihilent has also ensured that its name will be familiar to thousands of innovators and developers working towards Digital India. From inception, Nihilent is a title-sponsor of the annual Computer Society of India-Nihilent awards for e-governance... their way of giving something back to society.

IndiaTechOnline

Cool laser measuring tool from Bosch

There’s more to Bosch than spark plugs! The company has launched the GLM 50 C, a professional laser measuring tool, that is simple enough to be operated, by lay users.

You just click the main button and point at a wall—up to 50 metres away—and the bright red white and blue display tells you the distance in metres, accurate to 1.5 - 3.0 mm. A function button lets you select different measurements-- area, volume, inclination, wall surface (useful for estimating how much paint to buy!). It is also clever enough to do rough indirect measurement if there are obstacles in the direct path. It weighs just 320 grams and runs for days from two AAA batteries.

Bosch has created a mobile app to go with the GLM 50C where the measurements can be ploughed into different projects or reports.

A great tool for the handyman who will love it. And so will the rest of us who are used to using steel tape and foot rulers for measurements in the home, but aspire to do it like the pros. The price is Rs 9,500 at Flipkart or Amazon.

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‘We’ll help you channel the change!’

IndiaTechOnline

Sex, necessary for reproduction, is considered a matter of shame and taboo in India. Children are brushed off by their elders when they ask innocent but uncomfortable questions. Naturally, this leads to more curiosity in children, while they try to find answers on their own. The real shock comes when they come face-toface with reality. This may lead many children down the wrong path.

Today, timely knowledge about sex is Madhavi Jadhav important to avoid misconceptions. Madhavi Jadhav believes in enlightening people about sex and sex education, and dispels myths around the subject. She is the founder of THATMATE (www.thatmate.com), an online platform to create awareness about sex and sexuality education in India. She is a petroleum engineer by education and profession, an avid reader and blogger. Her job -- with negligible female company -- introduced her to the various problems women face in the workplace.

Since childhood, her parents ignored her questions like, “How was I born?” She had been fed with common lies such as babies are born through ‘Divine Intervention’.

“Among the many things that India has given to the world, Kama Sutra has always been the most talked about. People in India are not deprived of sex (India being the second most populated country in the world), but they are very reluctant to talk about it. In India, parents struggle to educate their kids about sex; they consider it taboo. I remember when I asked my parents about the reason behind menstruation, my mother asked me to refer to my biology books. Most parents, like my parents, are embarrassed or uncomfortable talking about sex with their kids,” she explains.

Jadhav’s talk at the TEDxPICT event ‘The Mirror of Erised’ on 1st October 2016 will focus on the Indian mentality and perception of sex and what can be done to change this scenario. She will speak of her questions to her parents, of interviewing people about sex and the overall perception of sex in the second-most populated country in the world. She will dispel myths and misconceptions, and will highlight the hypocrisy exhibited by people and ignorant attitudes towards the important of sex education. TEDxPICT aims to propagate the importance of the power of thought through their event. Madhavi is one of nine speakers who will promote this thought culture.

-Vinay Chawla

ENVIRONMENT “The best way to curb vehicular pollution is to take steps to stop personal vehicles coming on road. Public transport services must be improved so that people stop using their own vehicles.”

-Sujit Patwardhan, Founder, Parisar

A glass of beer makes people more sociable

Feeling left out at a party? Grab a glass of beer as scientists have confirmed that drinking alcohol can make people more sociable.

The team from University Hospital Basel in Switzerland tested 60 healthy people drinking alcoholic and nonalcoholic beer. Participants took part in tasks, including a face recognition test, empathy test and sexual arousal test.

“Although many people drink beer and know its effects through personal experience there is surprisingly little scientific data on its effects on the processing of emotional social information,” said lead author Matthias Liechti, from the University Hospital Basel. The desire to be with others, in a happy, talkative and open environment increased in the group which drank the alcoholic beer and was more marked in women and those with higher initial inhibitions, ‘BBC News’ reported.

Beer also enhanced participants’ emotional empathy, particularly in those with lower levels of initial empathy.

Participants who drank alcoholic beer also rated explicit sexual content as more pleasant. This was most marked in the women participants, but researches found it did not actually enhance sexual arousal. The study appears in the journal Psychopharmacology.

PTI

H EALTH

Evidence suggests links between heritable loneliness and schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder

and adults. From these, researchers estimated that 37 to 55 per cent of loneliness is determined by genetics.

Previous studies also to pinpoint genes that contribute to loneliness, focusing on genes related to neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin, or other cellular systems associated with human attachment, such as oxytocin.

However, these studies mostly relied on small sample sizes, Palmer said. Researchers examined genetic and health information from 10,760 people aged 50 years and older that was collected by the Health and Retirement Study.

As part of this study, participants answered three questions that measure loneliness. The study accounted for

gender, age and marital status, as married people tend to be less lonely than unmarried people. Researchers found that loneliness - the tendency to feel lonely over a lifetime, rather than just occasionally due to circumstance is a modestly heritable trait. It is 14 to 27 per cent genetic, as compared to the previous estimates of 37 to 55 per cent.

Th is new estimate of the genetic contribution to loneliness could be lower than previous estimates because the team relied on chip heritability, a method that only captures common genetic variations and not rare genetic variation.

The study was published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

PTI

Why Tibetan people live longer

BY KJM VARMA Low-oxygen environments in Tibet may be promoting longevity among the local people, according to a study

by Chinese researchers.

According to research by Zhang Yaping and Wu Dongdong at Kunming College of Life Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, elderly people from the Tibetan Plateau have a longer lifespan than their counterparts in others parts of China.

By examining 2010 census data, researchers found that the proportion

of the Tibetan population over 60 years of age was significantly lower than that for the Han population.

However, among Tibetans there is dramatic rise in the ratio of proportion of people older than 91 years old.

The proportion of individuals older than 100 years of age was also higher for male (but not female) Tibetans than for Han Chinese, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the findings, published in Cell Research on September 9, elderly people living on the Tibetan Plateau tend to have

a longer lifespan than elderly people living at lower altitudes, suggesting an association between hypoxia and longevity.

There have also been reports of a link between longer life expectancy and living in the high altitude Andean region in America, the report said.

Genetic studies showed that lowoxygen environments can accelerate the evolution of aging-associated genes, which might offset the effect of aging and extend lifespan, the researchers said.

PTI

Sleep habits in childhood linked to alcohol use later

Researchers advise improving sleep time to check use of substance intoxication in adolescence Parents, take note! Every reduced hour of sleep at the age of 11 accelerates the fi rst use of alcohol or cannabis in adolescence by 20 per cent, a new study warns.

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in the US suggest a link between the sleep duration and quality, both during the late childhood with the alcohol and cannabis use later in adolescence.

“Treating problems with drugs and alcohol once they exist and preventing them can be challenging, and we are always looking for modifiable risk factors,” said Brant P

SEPT 24-30, 2016

PUNE

“A patient coming to a doctor is not only physically ill, but is under a lot of mental stress too. Doctors need to be holistic in their approach and treat not only the disease but also fix a possible cause like a faulty lifestyle.”

-Pratibha Patil, former President of India

Loneliness may be in your genes: Study Feeling lonely? Blame it on your genes, say scientists who have found that loneliness - a trait linked to poor health and early death - is partially heritable.

Loneliness is linked to poor physical and mental health, and is an even more accurate predictor of early death than obesity, researchers said.

To better understand who is at risk, researchers at University of California San Diego conducted the fi rst genomewide association study for loneliness - as a life-long trait, not a temporary state.

They discovered that risk for feeling lonely is partially due to genetics, but environment plays a bigger role.

The study of more than 10,000 people also found that genetic risk for loneliness is associated with neuroticism and depressive symptoms.

Evidence suggested links between heritable loneliness and schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. “For two people with the same number of close friends and family, one might see their social structure as adequate while the other doesn’t,” said Abraham Palmer, professor at UC San Diego, who led the study.

“And that’s what we mean by ‘genetic predisposition to loneliness’ - we want to know why, genetically speaking, one person is more likely than another to feel lonely, even in the same situation,” he said.

The heritability of loneliness has been examined before, in twins and other studies of both children

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

Hasler, assistant professor at UPMC. “Doing what we can to ensure sufficient sleep duration and improve sleep quality during late childhood may have benefits in terms of reducing the use of these substances later in life,” said Hasler.

Researchers analysed 186 boys, whose mothers completed the Child Sleep Questionnaire as part of a larger longitudinal study of low-income boys examining factors associated with vulnerability and resilience.

Based on questionnaire results from when the boys were 11 years old, their sleep time and sleep quality were calculated.

At ages 20 and 22, the young men were interviewed about lifetime cannabis and alcohol use.

After accounting for race, socioeconomic problems, neighborhood danger, self-regulation, and internalising and externalising problems, both sleep duration and sleep quality at age 11 were associated with early substance use throughout adolescence. The study participants who slept the least, compared to the participants who slept the most, were more likely to report earlier use, intoxication and repeated use of both alcohol and cannabis.

Every hour less of sleep at age 11 was associated with 20 per cent acceleration to the fi rst use of alcohol and/or cannabis, Hasler added.

Worse sleep quality was associated with earlier alcohol use, intoxication and repeated use. It was also associated with earlier cannabis intoxication and repeated use, but not fi rst use. “After considering other possible influences, we were able to determine that sleep problems are preceding the substance use problems. Addressing sleep may now be something we can add into the package of our substance abuse prevention and treatment efforts,” Hasler added.

The study appears in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

PTI

How brain filters out irrelevant info Ever wondered how people are able to read in a noisy cafe, ignoring the ambient chatter and clattering of cups?

Scientists have discovered how the brain filters out irrelevant information in such circumstances.

To explain how we are able to focus on a particular sound or information ignoring others, New York University (NYU) researchers offer a new theory, based on a computational model.

“It is critical to our everyday life that our brain processes the most important information out of everything presented to us,” said Xiao-Jing Wang, professor at NYU and NYU Shanghai.

“Within an extremely complicated neural circuit in the brain, there must be a gating mechanism to route relevant information to the right place at the right time,” said Wang. The analysis focuses on inhibitory neurons - the brain’s traffic cops that help ensure proper neurological responses to incoming stimuli by suppressing other neurons and working to balance excitatory neurons,

which aim to stimulate neuronal activity.

“Our model uses a fundamental element of the brain circuit, involving multiple types of inhibitory neurons, to achieve this goal,” Wang said.

“Our computational model shows that inhibitory neurons can enable a neural circuit to gate in specific pathways of information while filtering out the rest,” he said. In their analysis, led

by Guangyu Robert Yang, a doctoral candidate in Wang’s lab, researchers devised a model that maps out a more complicated role for inhibitory neurons than had previously been suggested.

Of particular interest to the team was a specific subtype of inhibitory neurons that targets the excitatory neuron’s dendrites - components of a neuron where inputs from other neurons are located. These dendrite-targeting inhibitory neurons are labelled by a biological marker called somatostatin and can be studied selectively by experimentalists.

The researchers proposed that they not only control the overall inputs to a neuron, but also the inputs from individual pathways-for example, the visual or auditory pathways converging onto a neuron.

“This was thought to be difficult because the connections from inhibitory neurons to excitatory neurons appeared dense and unstructured,” said Yang.

“Thus a surprising finding from our study is that the precision required for pathway-specific gating can be realised by inhibitory neurons,” added Yang.

The study appears in the journal Nature Communications.

PTI

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“Modi poisons the society and makes Indians fight each other. It is unfortunate that the pain and problems of the farmers are not reaching the Prime Minister. Their (SP, BSP and BJP) governments have only looted the people and given nothing to them.”

-Rahul Gandhi, Congress Vice President

Amended CrPC will hinder cop functioning

HC warns pvt school for denying admission to disabled child

Police say changes remove vital defence available to them in the event they are accused of an offence

NEW DELHI: The change in law providing for prosecution of public servants without sanction in cases of alleged offences against women, would allow wrongdoers to make false allegations against cops, hindering their ability to do their job, police told Delhi High Court.

The law and order agency has contended that the change in the criminal procedure law “is an impediment to free and fair investigation and for discharging official duties” and was “open to gross misuse in the absence of any safeguards”.

Delhi Police made the submission before a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra

Sehgal, which was hearing a PIL by a serving official challenging the amended provision in Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). “The amendment exposes any investigating agency and its officers to prosecution in all cases of the nature contemplated therein, is grossly arbitrary,

Court concerned over pendency of over 4,000 POCSO cases A whopping 4,000-plus cases of sexual offences against children are pending in trial courts in the national capital.

This evoked sharp reaction from the Delhi High Court which termed it as a “serious and important issue” that has to be considered in a timebound manner. “We have to consider this as far as data (of Delhi State Legal Service Authority) is concerned. We have to look into it (pending cases),” a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal said.

It said the plea seeking time-bound trial and disposal of cases relating to such offences against children was an important issue. The court’s observation came during the hearing of a plea by NGO Bachpan Bachao

Andolan (BBA), which informed the court that as per Delhi State Legal Service Authority (DSLSA) 4,274 such cases were pending in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) courts here.

BBA, represented by senior advocate HS Phoolka, said as on July 31, there were 4,274 cases pending in 11 POCSO courts across Delhi which may take 10 years to be dispose of.

Phoolka submitted that only 449 cases have been disposed of, as the 11 POCSO courts set up to try only cases related to children, were also dealing with other matters. The court said the HC will have to hear the issue relating to setting up of special courts. The court listed the matter for October 5.

unfair and unreasonable.

“No police officer or any other public servant (in his investigative capacity) would be able to perform his duty in the field, if the explanation to Section 197 CrPC is allowed to stand,” the police said in an affidavit placed before the bench, which will hear the matter on November 24.

Section 197 of CrPC provides that prosecution of a public servant requires sanction from the appropriate authority, but the explanation added to the provision by the amendment of 2013 says that this protection would not be available to a public servant in cases of any alleged offences against women.

The affidavit states that “removal of requirement of sanction does not only fetter police powers and expose public servants to unwarranted and/or malicious prosecution, but also removes an important defence available to police officers in the event they are accused of an offence in the performance of their lawful duties”.

Inspector Anil Sharma, in his plea, has sought quashing of the amendment, saying “it defeats the purpose and object of Section 197 CrPC and is in complete violation and against the scheme an spirit of CrPC 1973 and the Constitution”.

PTI

PTI

INDIA’S PRIDE

P15B-Missile Destroyer, the Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL)’s second Visakhapatnam Class-destroyer, with more than 60 per cent indigenisation and increased stealth power, was launched in Mumbai

NEW DELHI: A private school was sternly told by Delhi High Court that it cannot be allowed to escape the legal mandate by keeping its door closed to a disabled child under the economically weaker section (EWS) category on the ground that he was studying in a municipal school.

The 7-year old boy, who was not only from EWS category but also differently-abled with a prosthetic leg, was denied admission by Siddharth International Public School, located near his residence in East Delhi.

“We are of the view that the appellant school cannot be allowed to escape from the statutory mandate merely on the ground that during the pendency of the writ petition, the boy was admitted in a local municipal school,” a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal said while upholding the order of a single judge.

The division bench justified the decision of single bench which had come to the child’s aid by dismissing the school’s appeal against a decision of Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) which had allowed his mother’s plea to admit her son.

The boy’s mother had sought direction from MACT that her son be admitted to the school under the EWS category as he was unable to go to school due to financial condition of family. In March this year, MACT had directed the school to admit the disabled boy in class 1 under EWS or disadvantaged group (DG) category for which 25 per cent seats are kept reserved, by giving him age relaxation.

This was upheld by the single judge, saying the boy was legally entitled to a seat in the institution.

Concurring with its single judge direction to the school, the division bench observed that “it is also not in dispute that the appellant school is located in the locality where the boy resides. Therefore, the single judge was fully justified in directing the appellant school to admit the boy in class one,” the bench said.

PTI

Centre merges Union, Rail budgets P 14

Women entitled to end pregnancy regardless of reason MUMBAI: Endorsing the right of a woman to “lead a life of her choice”, the Bombay High Court has held that the scope of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act should extend to the “mental health” of a woman and she should be “allowed to opt out of an unwanted pregnancy irrespective of the reason”.

A division bench of Justices VK Tahilramani and Mridula Bhatkar said, the benefits of the Act must be extended to not just married women but also to those women who “stay with their partners as married couples in live-in relationships”.

The court maintained that though the Act provided for a woman to undergo abortion if she was pregnant for less than 12 weeks and with the consent of two medical practitioners if she was pregnant for 12 to 20 weeks, in cases where the pregnancy posed a risk to the health of a woman or to the foetus, she must be allowed to undergo abortion during the same timeline even if there was no risk to her “physical health”.

The court made the observation while taking suo motu (on its own) cognizance of a news report about pregnant women prisoners who were not taken to hospitals, despite informing the jail authorities of their wish to terminate pregnancy.

“Pregnancy takes place within the body of a woman and has a profound impact on her health, mental well-being and life.

Thus, how she wants to deal with this pregnancy must be a decision she, and she alone, can make,” the bench said. “The right to control their own

body and fertility and motherhood choices should be left to the women alone. Let us not lose sight of the basic right of women: the right to autonomy and decide what to do with their own bodies, including whether or not to get pregnant and stay pregnant.

“This right emerges from her right to live with dignity as a human being in society and protected as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution,” the judges said.

“Not allowing a woman to terminate her pregnancy amounts to grave injury to her mental health,” they added.

The bench also passed certain directions to make it easier for women prisoners to access health facilities, including the right to medical termination of pregnancy.

PTI

Court says not allowing a woman to terminate pregnancy amounts to grave injury to mental health

Freedom fighters’ pension hiked NEW DELHI: The monthly pension of freedom fighters, including those who were incarcerated in Cellular jail in Andaman Islands or suffered outside British India, was hiked by around Rs 5,000 each.

The decision to give 20 per cent enhanced pension to all categories of freedom fighters, their spouses and dependents was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The revised scale of pension has taken effect from August 15, 2016 and the revised total amount of pension will be taken as basic pension for the respective categories of freedom fighter pensioners for calculating Dearness Relief, an official statement said.

The existing Dearness Relief system based on All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial workers, which was so far applicable to freedom fighter pensioners on annual basis, is being discontinued and replaced by the Dearness Allowance system applicable to central government employees twice a year. This will be termed as “Dearness Relief ”, the appropriate term in case of

pensioners, it said. Pension for freedom fighters in the category of ex-Andaman political prisoners and their spouses has been enhanced from Rs 24,775 to Rs 30,000 per month.

Pension of freedom fighters, who suffered outside British India, has been raised from Rs 23,085 to Rs 28,000 per month. Pension of other freedom fighters, including those who were members of Indian National Army (INA), has been raised from Rs 21,395 to Rs 26,000 per month. Addressing the nation on the 70th Independence Day

from the Red Fort, the Prime Minister had announced a 20 per cent hike in the pension for freedom fighters. Central freedom fighter pensioners and eligible dependents under ‘Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension’ will get enhanced pension with effect from August 15, 2016. So far, 1,71,605 freedom fighters and their eligible dependents have been sanctioned pension under the scheme.

At present 37,981 freedom fighters and their eligible dependent pensioners are covered under the scheme.

PTI

India’s growing thirst for Scotch whisky

BY ADITI KHANNA Vol-III* lssue No.: 15 Editor: Tushar Burman (Responsible for the selection of news under the PRB Act, 1867) Printed and Published by: Shrikant Honnavarkar on behalf of Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. CIN:U22200PN2014PTC151382 and printed at PRI – Media Services Private Limited CIN: U22222MH2012PTC232006 at Plot No. EL-201, TTC Industrial Area, MIDC, Mahape, Navi Mumbai.

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

LONDON: India has emerged as one of the world’s fastest growing import markets for Scotch whisky with the value of exports surging 28 per cent to 43 million pounds, a trade body said while seeking urgent help from the UK government to bring down India’s “exorbitant” 150 per cent customs duty on liquor.

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) revealed the amount of Scotch whisky sold overseas increased for the first time since 2013, largely thanks

to India registering a massive jump in shipment value. India has established itself as the third-biggest export market for Scotch at 41 million bottles, marking a 41 per cent increase in sales volumes, after France (90.9 million bottles) and the US (53.1 million bottles).

“The growth of exports to India stood out, with value up 28 per cent to 43 million pounds,” the SWA said.

The industry body also called on urgent action from the UK government to help realise the full potential of the Indian market. “The full potential of the Indian market would only be delivered

through liberalisation of the exorbitant 150 per cent basic customs duty. We urge the UK government to prioritise discussions with India as it develops its post-Brexit pirorities,” it added. Diageo,

a leading UK-headquartered distilling company, recently took over Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s United Spirits distribution network in India, which is being linked to the sale of 12 million more bottles than last year.

India also registered a marked rise, by more than half, in the amount of single malt whisky shipped to India, adding up to more than 700,000 bottles. Scotch, a patent of the Scotland, overall had the equivalent of 533 million bottles shipped from the UK in the first six months of 2016, marking a 3.1 per cent increase.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPT 24-30, 2016

A step towards a table tennis revolution P 16

PUNE

“At moments like this, I think it’s important to remember what terrorists and violent extremists are trying to do. They are trying to hurt innocent people, but they also want to inspire fear in all of us.”

- Barack Obama, US President

Nations engaged in ‘proxy wars’ must end them

BY YOSHITA SINGH UNITED NATIONS: US President Barack Obama asked nations engaged in “proxy wars” to end them, warning that if communities are not allowed to co-exist, the “embers of extremism will continue to burn” causing sufferings to countless human beings and export of extremism overseas.

In his eighth and final address to the UN General Assembly as the US President, Obama admitted that the extremist and sectarian violence destabilising the Middle East and spreading elsewhere “will not be quickly reversed.” “No external power is going to be able to force different religious communities or ethnic communities to co-exist for long,” Obama told the world leaders gathered at the 71st UN General Assembly session.

“Until basic questions are answered about how communities co-exist, the embers of extremism will continue to burn. Countless human beings will suffer and extremism will continue to be exported overseas,” he warned.

“Across-the-regions conflicts, we have to insist that all parties recognise a common humanity and the nations end proxy wars that fuel disorders,” he said. India accuses Pakistan of waging a proxy war by supporting, arming and training militant groups like Jaish-eMohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba who

United States President Barack Obama, right, greets Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left, and General Assembly president Peter Thomson after speaking at the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters

China, India remain on path of ‘remarkable growth’ US President Barack Obama said the international order has been so successful that China and India remain on a path of “remarkable growth”.

“Indeed our international order has been so successful that we take it as a given that great powers no longer fight world wars. That the end of the Cold War lifted the shadow

launch cross border attacks.

Obama’s remarks a day after his Secretary of State John Kerry asked Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to prevent terrorists from using his

of nuclear Armageddon...that China and India remain on a path of remarkable growth,” Obama said.

He said a quarter century after the end of the Cold war, the world is by many measures less violent and more prosperous than ever before yet the societies are filled with “uncertainty and unease and strife.”

country’s territory as safe havens.

“We have taken away terrorist safe havens, strengthened the nonproliferation regime, resolved the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomacy. We

Lakhvi challenges 26/11 panel

BY M ZULQERNAIN LAHORE: Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi and six other suspects have challenged the legality of a Pakistani judicial commission that travelled to India in 2013 to probe the 2008 attack, which could further delay the case proceedings.

Lakhvi’s counsel Raja Rizwan Abbasi said the defence lawyers challenged the proceedings of the judicial commission that travelled to Mumbai to record the statements of four Indian prosecution witnesses in the Islamabad High Court.

When asked had not the trial court already declared the commission’s proceedings ‘null and void’, Abbasi told PTI: “No...

the trial court had not declared the commission’s proceedings null and void and we have challenged the legality of the commission in the IHC early this week.” Earlier, the defence lawyer had challenged the legality of the commission before the trial court in 2013 but it was dismissed.

A Pakistani panel comprising special prosecutors and the defence counsel in 2013 had visited Mumbai to record the statements from prosecution witnesses, including Magistrate RV Sawant Waghule, who recorded the confessional statement of Ajmal Kasab; Ramesh Mahale, the chief investigation officer of the case, and Ganesh Dhunraj and Chintaman Mohite, the two doctors who had conducted the post-mortem of

Prosecution says defence lawyers are raising issue to delay the case

the terrorists killed during the attack.

The commission in 2012 had recorded the statement of these witnesses but due to an “official understanding” between the Pakistani and Indian governments, had not cross-examined them. Lakhvi’s lawyer has filed a plea the commission that went to India had not been allowed to cross-examine four key Indian witnesses.

A prosecution lawyer said the defence lawyers challenging the legality of the commission and saying it was not allowed to cross-examine the key Indian witnesses was aimed at delaying the case further. “As the case is already not heading further because India has yet to decide whether to send 24 witnesses to Pakistan to record their statement the defence lawyers challenging the Pakistani commission’s proceedings in the IHC may further delay it,” he said.

The court has not fi xed the date of hearing.

PTI

opened relations with Cuba...and we welcome a democratically elected leader of Myanmar to this Assembly,” he said. .

Obama said that the international community must reject any forms of fundamentalism, racism or a belief in ethnic superiority that makes our traditional identities irreconcilable with modernity. “Instead we need to embrace the tolerance that results from respect of all human beings,” he said.

He said the collapse of colonialism and communism has allowed more people than ever before to live with the freedom to choose their leaders. “Despite the real and troubling areas where freedom appears in retreat, the fact remains that the number of democracies around the world has nearly doubled in the last 25 years,” he said. The US President accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of trying to recover power through force.

“In a world that left the age of Empire behind, we see Russia attempting to recover lost glory through force, Asian powers debate competing claims of history. There is no easy answer to resolving all these social forces,” he said.

Obama said that in the South China Sea, a peaceful resolution of disputes offered by law will mean far greater stability than the militarisation of a few rocks and reefs. On the Syrian crisis, Obama insisted that diplomacy is the only way to end the brutal fiveyear conflict. He also called for the international community to step up aid for refugees. On North Korea’s recent move to test nuclear bomb, Obama said such steps “endangers all of us” and any country that endangers global security must face consequences.

PTI

PTI

Barack Obama asks world leaders to embrace tolerance that results from respect of all human beings

Sharif raising Kashmir with all leaders amid isolation Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has raised the Kashmir issue with almost every world leader he has held talks with on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, but his efforts to internationalise the dispute with India appeared to have gained no traction.

Sharif raised the issue with the leaders of the US, the UK, Japan and Turkey and sought their intervention to resolve the matter. He met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “PM Sharif briefed Japanese PM about the grave turn that the situation in occupied Kashmir is taking. Reminded him about UNSC resolutions,” Pakistan’s envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi tweeted.

“PM Nawaz Sharif also apprised his Japanese counter pa r t of the human rights violations

SKIES BURST WITH COLOURS

Hot air balloons are inflated and lift off during the Autumn Aloft Hot Air Balloon Festival

BRICS seeks strong legal framework against terror

Leaders say conflicts ‘provide fertile grounds for terrorist activities and cause migration waves’

NEW YORK: Strongly condemning recent terror attacks, including in India, the BRICS member nations sought a “firm” legal framework under the UN for concerted efforts to fight terrorism effectively and called for expediting negotiations to an international accord against the menace.

India along with other BRICS member nations - Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa - in a meeting held here on the sidelines of the 71st session of UN General Assembly expressed concern that continued conflicts in several regions provided “fertile” grounds for terrorist activities.

The BRICS leaders called for an early conclusion of the negotiations on the Comprehensive Convention against Terrorism. The meeting of BRICS’ Ministers of Foreign Affairs also reaffirmed the need for a comprehensive reform of the United Nations, including its Security Council, with a view to make it more representative and efficient,

besides calling for “collective action” to boost world economic growth.

Brazil’s Jose Serra, Russia’s Sergey Lavrov, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar, China’s Wang Yi and South Africa’s Maite Nkoana-Mashabane reiterated their “strong condemnation” of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

“They strongly condemned the recent several attacks, against some BRICS countries, including that in India,” a joint communique released after the

meeting said. “They urged concerted efforts to counter terrorism on a firm international legal basis, under the UN auspices, and expressed their conviction that a comprehensive approach was necessary to ensure effective fight against terrorism,” the communique said.

Expressing concern over continued conflicts in several regions, they said such a situation undermines stability and security and “provide fertile grounds for terrorist activities and cause refugee and migration waves”.

being committed by Indian occupation forces in Kashmir,” Lodhi said in another tweet.

Erdogan and Sharif “agreed that OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) Commission on Human Rights should send a fact-finding mission” to Kashmir, Lodhi said.

Sharif held bilateral talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry and UK Prime Minister Theresa May. According to a readout of his meeting with Kerry by the Pakistan mission, Sharif told him that more than 107 people have been “assassinated” in Kashmir, thousands injured and “worst human rights violations are being committed at the state level.” “I expect US Administration and Secretary Kerry to use his good offices to help in resolving bilateral issues between Pakistan and India,” he added. In his meeting with May, Sharif urged her to play her role in convincing India to stop the use of force against the people in the region.

He said Pakistan’s support for Kashmiri people “in their legitimate struggle for self determination and its commitment to the Kashmir cause are non-negotiable.” Sharif ’s repeated calls to the UN to help resolve the Kashmir dispute appeared to be gaining no traction as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made no reference to Kashmir in his final speech to the UNGA as the UN chief.

They also voiced concern over the situation in the Middle East and underlined that the international community should work together to pave the way for the political settlement of conflicts through dialogue and negotiations.

“They recognised the efforts of BRICS countries, in particular that of the Russian Federation aimed at achieving a political solution to the international crisis in Syria including Russia-US arrangements agreed upon in Geneva

MJ Akbar, Union Minister of State for External Affairs joins hands with BRICS foreign ministers at BRICS nations meet in New York

on September 9,” the communique said. Exchanging views on global and regional issues in the economic and political spheres, the ministers said they are determined to continue to contribute positively to the maintenance of peace, security and stability, including by upholding multilateralism.

Welcoming China’s incoming BRICS Chairpersonship in 2017, they expressed confidence that intraBRICS cooperation will be further strengthened. On the current state of the global economy, they noted that global economic recovery continues to be weak and uneven.

They called for “collective action” to boost world economic growth, macroeconomic policy coordination, improving global economic governance, promoting international trade and investment, addressing income inequality and achieving sustainable development.

Akbar also had discussions with Foreign Minister of Denmark Kristian Jensen, Foreign Minister of Colombia Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, Foreign Minister of Ireland Charles Flanagan besides meeting Vuk Jeremic, candidate of the Republic of Serbia for election as UN Secretary-General.

PTI

Bill to designate Pakistan a terrorist state WASHINGTON: Two powerful American lawmakers have introduced a bill in the US House of Representatives to designate Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism, in a setback to Islamabad at a time when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is trying to drum up support over the Kashmir issue.

As Sharif held talks with world leaders on the sidelines of the 71st session of UN General Assembly to internationalise the dispute with India, the two lawmakers said it was time that the US stopped paying the country for its “betrayal”.

The ‘Pakistan State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act (HR 6069) has been moved by Republican Ted Poe and Democrat Dana Rohrabacher, who is a ranking member of the influential Congressional Committee on Terrorism.

“It is time we stopped paying Pakistan for its betrayal and designate it for what it is: a state sponsor of terrorism,” said Poe, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism. “Not only is Pakistan an untrustworthy ally, Islamabad has also aided and abetted enemies of the US for years,” Poe said.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPT 24-30, 2016

PUNE

MONEY MATT ER S

“At this game-changing price, Mi Air Purifier 2 is set to disrupt the air purifier category in India, enabling us to bring these technological innovations to everyone.”

—Hugo Barra, Vice President, Xiaomi

Signpost Start-ups continue to disrupt business

Centre merges Union, Rail budgets Jaitley says Cabinet follows the report of the committee headed by NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy

Ending 92-year-old tradition, the Cabinet decided to merge rail budget with the general budget and agreed in-principle to advance the date of its presentation in Parliament from the usual February end.

The actual date for presentation of the general budget for 2017-18 will be decided by the government after taking into account the ensuing assembly elections, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said while briefing the media about the Cabinet decisions.

The Cabinet has also decided to do away with the Plan/Non-Plan expenditure classification in Budget 2017-18 and replace with ‘capital and receipt’. The government, Jaitley said, was in favour of advancing the budgetary exercise to that it could be completed before March 31 and expenditure on public-funded schemes could begin from April 1. He said: “While we in-principle are in favour of advancing the budget date and finishing the entire financial business before March 31...the actual dates will be decided after consultations depending on calendar of the state elections.”

The government, he added, is keeping itself in a “state of readiness” to advance the Budget presentation. As per tradition, the Budget is presented on the last working day of February. A separate railway budget was started by the British in 1924.

Economic Affairs Secretary

PTI

The start-up culture, which has gathered pace in the country, will continue to disrupt traditional business models in a significant way, according to investors which have funded such activity. “Traditional businessmen understand business in their own way. That person will discount you in the first place. For a tech guy, that is past. This is the future,” Ashneer Grover, the head of finance of online grocery market place Grofers, said.

“Investment from both the public and private sector will be required for financing projects in the areas of health, education, sanitation, renewable energy, highways, ports and railways among others.”

— Arun Jaitley, Union Finance Minister

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu after addressing the media regarding the cabinet meeting in New Delhi

Shaktikanta Das said the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) will provide provisional Advance Estimates of national income or GDP by January 7 so that the data can be incorporated in preparation of Budget. The provisional advance estimates, he hoped, would be in line with the one normally released by February 7. Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu said the merger of rail and general budgets will not impact the functional autonomy of the railways but help in enhancing capital expenditure.

“One single budget will mean railway and general budget will work in harmony,” Prabhu said, adding Railways will not have to pay dividend to the Government.

Jaitley said the report of a committee headed by NITI Aayog member Bibek

Debroy had observed that presenting a separate railway budget is only a ritual as its size has become very small compared to the general budget. It had suggested that rail budget should be a part of government’s overall fiscal discipline and the developmental approach of the Budget. Jaitley said the government will continue to maintain the distinct identity of the railways and its functional autonomy.

Asked who will decide on passenger fare and freight rates, Jaitley said: “These decisions will continue to be taken by the Railways. But the accounts of railways will be presented to Parliament by the Finance Minister. Presentation of statement of accounts will be consolidated so there will be a horizontal merger of the two accounts.”

As regards advancing the date for presentation of Budget, Jaitley said the government is in-principle in favour of advancing the budget date so that financial business ends before March 31 and taxation can be levied and expenditures can be incurred from April 1. “We should move away from the current practice when (certain indirect tax) proposals come into effect from June 1. The government is in-principle in favour of advancing budget date and budget session. However, the specific date for budget will be decided after taking into account the calendar for assembly elections,” he said.

He said that during assembly elections, Parliamentarians are busy campaigning and hence the actual dates will be decided after consultations, depending on the calendar of the state assembly elections.

Jaitley said the size of defence and highways budget are large but they do not have a budget, and hence the presentation of separate railway budget had become redundant.

Das said railways meets its expenditure, including payment of salary and pension, from its income and there would be no change in this because of the merger of accounts with general budget.

Centre will continue to provide subsidy which it was extending to the railways.

The revenues of railways will now come to the consolidated fund of India and expenses would be met from that fund and hence it will not affect the finances of the general budget. At present, the railways are paying the salaries from their income, the DEA Secretary said.

PTI

Railways to maintain distinct identity

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said that it was decided for merger of the rail budget with general budget but distinct identity of the railways will be maintained.

Following the merger of budget, the Railways would not have to pay dividend to the Centre though it would still get gross budgetary support from the exchequer.

As far as the salary and pension bill of railway employees is concerned, it will remain the responsibility of the national transporter.

In 2016-17, the railways had to pay dividend of Rs 9,731 crore, of which subsidy was Rs 4,301 crore, as a result the national transporter had to pay Rs 5,430 crore to the exchequer. At present, the railways has to bear an additional burden of about Rs 40,000 crore on account of implementation of the 7th Pay Commission awards, besides, an annual outgo of Rs 33,000 crore on subsidies for passenger service. The decision to merge the railway and general budgets is significant as in recent years as political heavyweights, particularly regional satraps, have used this occasion to nurture their constituencies in a big way.

BSNL gets Rs 1,250 cr subsidy ‘Reforms to boost growth; banking risks constraint rating’ Moody’s Investors Service said the reforms undertaken by the government will help boost investor confidence and bolster growth potential, but cautioned muted private investment and banking sector risks will remain a constraint on India’s sovereign rating. It also said in the near-term, challenging budget targets could lead to significant spending cuts late in the year, especially since fiscal deficit till July had touched 74 per cent of the whole year’s budget target.

“In Moody’s view, over time, the multi-pronged but step- wise approach to reform will foster a stable macroeconomic environment. In particular, the cementing of the monetary policy framework with the objective of maintaining inflation at moderate levels is credit positive. Moody’s expects continuity in monetary policy, which is a credit positive,” said Moody’s Sovereign Group Senior VP Marie Diron. Moreover, structural hurdles will continue to constrain private sector investment and growth and banking sector will continue to pose contingent liability risks to the government over the near to medium term, Moody’s said.

“The credit implications of India’s reforms will materialise in the medium term,” it said. Moody’s points out that banking sector risk will also remain a constraint on India’s sovereign ratings.

While bad asset recognition is a first step, the measure does not strengthen the resilience of banks, and therefore does not reduce the contingent liability risks for the sovereign. Moody’s estimated that the fiscal costs of equity injections in public sector banks are manageable, although they are larger than currently budgeted and will add to the government’s challenge in meeting its fiscal targets.

Speaking at a joint Moody’s-ICRA sovereign and macro- economy briefing here, ICRA Senior Economist Aditi Nayar said economic growth will pick up

Banks moving past worst asset quality cycle, outlook stable India’s banking system outlook is likely to be stable over the next 12-18 months as the pace of formation of bad loans is expected to decrease compared to last five years, Moody’s said.

Under the asset quality recognition (AQR) of the Reserve Bank, lenders have recognised a major portion of their non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans, it said.

“The pace of deterioration in asset quality over the next 12-18 months should be lower than what was seen over the last five years, especially compared to the fiscal 2015-16, even as we take into account some remaining problem loan under -recognition in a handful of large accounts,” Moody’s Vice- President and Senior Credit Officer Srikanth Vadlamani said.

Aside from these legacy issues, the

underlying asset trend for Indian banks will be stable because of a generally supportive operating environment, he added.

Moody’s said the stable outlook for the banks over the next 12-18 months reflects its assessment that the system is moving past the worst of its asset quality down cycle.

The agency rates 15 banks in the country that together account for around 70 per cent of system assets.

The ratings outlook on 11 of the banks is positive.

Vadlamani expects net interest margins (NIMs) of banks to stabilise, given the expectation of limited policy rate cuts over the next 12 months, with an upside risk coming from current changes in portfolio mixes in favour of higher yielding retail loans.

in 2016-17 to 7.9 per cent, from 7.6 per cent last fiscal.

In the near-term, Moody’s expect private investment will remain weak as corporates in investment-intensive sectors are burdened by elevated debt levels.

In addition, the economy will remain vulnerable to fluctuations in monsoon rains. In general, infrastructure gaps will continue to constrain investment and the rise in FDI will not make up for muted domestic investment, it cautioned.

In terms of the monetary policy framework, the government of India has notified a CPI inflation target of 4 per cent, within a tolerance band of 2-6 per cent until March 2021.

“Such a scenario would help to anchor inflationary expectations. In addition, a favourable base effect as well as improved crop sowing dynamics will ensure that CPI inflation remains within this tolerance band in the near term,” ICRA said. .

However, higher global food prices and the anticipated improvement in domestic demand after the implementation of revised scales for the Central Government employees and pensioners pose modest risks to the inflation trajectory.

“Without taking into account the impact of the eventual increase in allowances based on the recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission, because the timing of the implementation is unclear ICRA expects that CPI inflation will record a mild hardening to about 5.1 per cent in FY2017 from 4.9 per cent in FY2016,” it said.

PTI

The Cabinet cleared the long-pending compensation of Rs 1,250 crore for public sector telecom company BSNL to support rural landline connections installed before April 1, 2002.

The subsidy will be given to the state-run firm after an amendment in the Indian Telegraph Rules (ITRs), 1951.

“The Cabinet approves subsidy of Rs 1,250 crore to BSNL as compensation for deficit incurred by BSNL in operating rural wireline connections,” said Frank Noronha, the government’s principal spokesperson, on Twitter. The BSNL subsidy support will be given from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) for the rural connections installed prior to April 1, 2002, he added.

The telecom operator had asked the government to provide Rs 2,000 crore to support rural wireline connections.

On the basis of the submission from

New smart city list a huge boost for realty sector Realtors’ body National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) hailed the government’s announcement of 27 more cities for the development of smart cities, saying the move would provide business opportunities for the real estate developers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi along with holy cities of Amritsar and Ajmer has made it to the list of 27 smart cities.

Under the Smart City Mission, the government aims to have 100 smart cities by 2022. Sixty have been chosen so far, including 20 in January and 13 in May this year. NAREDCO President Parveen Jain said the inclusion of cities like Agra, Amritsar, Ujjain, Varanasi, Tirupati and Vellore etc will boost the tourism sector as well as bringing up these cities on global tourism map.

He said the development of smart cities would lead to well planned urbanisation with aesthetic beauty comparable to international standards.

NAREDCO sees immense opportunities for the real estate industry in transforming these selected cities. Arindam Guha, Senior Director, Deloitte in India, said: “The Smart City Challenge continues to generate significant enthusiasm throughout the country.”

PTI

BSNL and the detailed information in respect of working rural wireline connections installed before April 1, 2002, the deficit per rural wireline connection was estimated at Rs 4,876 for 2011-12. The deficit from the rural wireline connections installed before April 1, 2002 for 2011-12 and 2012-13 were estimated at Rs 1,593 crore and Rs 1,265 crore, respectively.

The Department of Telecom had paid subsidy for these connections to BSNL up to July 17, 2011. Based on the trend at that point, regulator Trai estimated subsidy of Rs 1,500 crore for 2011-12 with effect from July 17, 2011 and Rs 1,250 crore for the subsequent year effective July 18, 2012. BSNL has received Rs 1,500 crore subsidy and the Cabinet approved the pending amount of Rs 1,250 crore.

“Full/lumpsum amount of Rs 1,250

crore shall be disbursed consequent on necessary amendment of the ITRs and signing of USOF agreement with BSNL,” an official statement said.

In order to make BSNL eligible for subsidy funding on nomination basis from USOF, amendment is required in Rule 526 of the Indian Telegraph Rules (ITR), 1951. It stipulates that the criteria for selection of universal service providers shall be made by bidding process from among eligible entities for implementation of USOF schemes.

Corresponding Amendment in Rule 525 will also be required, the statement said. Also, the subsidy support of Rs 1,250 crore will be the last and final payment and no further request from BSNL for financial or subsidy support from USOF on this count shall be considered, the statement said.

PTI

Mute response to spectrum auctions Even as telecom companies have deposited Rs 14,653 crore for the upcoming spectrum auctions, Care Ratings said it expects a muted response from operators at the sale as they will look at alternatives like sharing of airwaves.

“The auctions may be a bit muted this time as the operators may look at other options, including spectrum-sharing deals, in a more focused manner,” the domestic rating agency said in a note.

Seven telcos have deposited Rs 14,653 crore in earnest money for the auctions likely next month. A company has to deposit up to 12 per cent of the reserve price for spectrum they are likely to bid for, which translates into bids of around Rs 1.40 trillion coming up, which is lower than the reserve price of Rs 5.60 trillion for the total quantum of spectrum put up for sale by government.

The government expects a good response at the auction, even as companies like Idea Cellular have said there will not be an aggressive bidding, saying “we are moving into an era of spectrum glut”.

In the note, Care said the entry of Reliance Jio, with its cheaper offerings, only complicates matters as the incumbents were likely to beef up their spectrum at the auctions to address issues like call drops.

The entry of Jio, with the promise of lifetime free calling, will lead to challenging times for the incumbents, who get 70 per cent of their revenue from the voice and SMS business.

The smaller players with weak data footprints will be the worst affected and cede market share to the telecom arm of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, it said. “The much-discussed consolidation in the sector, which was already underway, is expected to gain further momentum with the smaller players likely to be looking for exit options at their desired valuations,” it added.

Jio also faces its own set of challenges, it said, pointing out to state-run BSNL’s already operational 2,50,000 km of optic fibre network as a potential difficulty for the Mukesh Ambani-led company which intends to give wi-fi spots.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPT 24-30, 2016

WATCH OUT EXPERIENCE A CULINARY JOURNEY FROM SOUTH INDIA Fancy eating a giant crispy dosa dipped in piping hot spicy sambhar? How about some Pazham Puri (fritters made with ripe banana)? Southindies is bringing South Indian food to Pune through their COCONADA Food Festival, the most authentic and flavorful food festival this season. Cocanada, named after a town in South India, represents delicacies from the four Southern States of India- Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Designed

by Chef Manu R Nair, the festival will feature an extensive array of signature delicacies in an unlimited vegetarian buffet format from the whole of South India.

When : Till September 30, Lunch (noon to 3.30 pm) and Dinner (7 pm to 11 pm) Where : Southindies, Ganeshkind Road, Shivajinagar

WHEN THE SAROD AND TABLA COME TOGETHER Witness a magical and musical morning, where Anupam Joshi, a student of Pandit Rajiv Tarnath and

Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar will perform on the Sarod and Ujjwal Bharti, student of Pandit Kumar Bose will be accompanying Anupam on the table. He will also present his solo performance.

When: September 25, 9:30 am onwards Where: Bharati Niwas Hall, Bharati Niwas Colony, Erandwane

where they can take an empty plate and fill it up once for Rs 400 plus tax with the food that is available.

When: Till to 11th October Where: Effingut Brewerkz, Lane 6, Koregaon Park

TRIBUTE TO QUEEN Hard as it is to believe, Bohemian Rhapsody turns 41 this October.

Join in as The Collective pays tribute to Queen, the most innovative, progressive and experimental rock bands of all time. The band was fronted by Freddie Mercury aka Farrokh Bulsara, known as the rock world’s most versatile and engaging performer, with an amazing fiveoctave vocal range. Brian May and John Deacon are Queen’s lead and bass guitarists with Roger Taylor on the drums. Musicians like Clynton Fernandez on vocals, Christopher Fonseca on guitars, Michael Pereira on bass, Leo Mathew on keys and Denzil Fernandez on the drums are the musicians making this tribute possible.

When: September 25, 9:00 pm onwards Where: High Spirits, Koregaon Park

WOK IT UP WITH CHEFS SUN & SUNIL! Calling all Chinese cooking enthusiasts for a special master class. Guest Master Chef Sun from Hyatt Regency Chennai and Chef Sunil of Baan Tao, Hyatt Pune, Kalyani Nagar will show their cooking skills and toss up some amazing signature dishes such as Fried Lotus Stem Sweet and Spicy, Sichuan Style Chilli Chicken, Sichuan Hot & Sour Vegetable Soup, Barbeque Chicken, Egg Fried Rice. So don’t miss the fun, book your seats now and ‘wok’ it up.

When: September 24, 11.30 am onwards Where: Baan Tao, Hyatt Pune, Kalyani Nagar

PARTY LIKE THE GERMANS The Oktoberfest by Crowne Plaza Pune City Centre is an eleven day food and beer festival that will offer to its visitors a specially curated menu of German Barbecues, beers, entertaining DJ and live band performances. Guests can unwind at a breezy rooftop lounge with deliciously barbecued German Sausages and beers for company .There will be live food counters such as the Cheese, Wurst and Bread Station which will serve freshly baked breads with international cold cuts, a range of pickles, chutney and condiments. The Meat and Sausage station offers some of the most enticing options such as the Pork Buckhurst, Pork Nuremberg, Chicken Krakauer, Grilled Chicken Rosemary Steaks, Pepper Jus and Chicken Bratwurst.

When: Till October 3, 7 pm to 12.30 am Where: Evviva Sky Lounge, Crowne Plaza Pune City Centre

THE OKTOBERFEST IS HERE Believing that there are numerous styles to introduce people to the concept of craft beer in India, Manu Gulati started Effingut Brewerkz.

Keeping in tune with this space will feature a 20 day beer fest this October. Customers who opt to dine a la carte will also have an option

WEEK THAT WAS INDIA ARE MEDAL CONTENDERS IN WORLD YOUTH CHESS: GOKHALE

The Indian seniors came quite close to a medal finish in the recently held Chess Olympiad at Baku, Azerbaijan. This time, the junior string of Indian players are ready to prove their mettle in the Fide World Youth Chess Tournament at Khanty-Mansiysk. The team of eight boys and ten girls is led by Pune-based America first We (the state) fully support the PMC (Pune Municipal Corporation) in the project. Suicide: Depression choice to study Fide trainer Jayant Gokhale. Talking about major cause, women Water meters are a must in the city considering rising water usage. Meter system abroad will also curb wastage of water. attempt more than men P13 Girish Bapat, Guardian Minister P11 the team’s chances, Gokhale said - that most of the players were in good form. “If this had Residents breathe in been an Asian tournament, we would have put garbage stench here up a good show. But at the world level, there will be strong competition,” said Gokhale.

Structural audit report recommends urgent repairs of ten bridges in Pune, but work is yet to begin owing to red tape He has trained several international players including Aakanksha Hagawane. She recently emerged champion in the national under-17 chess championship held at Kolkata. This was her third national on a trot. Another strong contender will be Tamil Nadu player RB Vaishali. Others to look out for are last time gold Kamala Das was a poet and writer known for nuturing new talent. It is in her honour that Gyaan Adab Centre in Kalyani medallist in World Youth, M Mahalakshmi (uNagar will be presenting an award to Priyanka Sutaria (second from right) on Saturday, September 24. She is an 18) and bronze medallist Vantika Agrawal in upcoming poet currently studying at Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts, Viman Nagar the under-14 girls. Amongst the boys, there are big expectations from Mitrabha Guha.

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 17-23, 2016

Beware, Brit-built bridges of Pune are in precarious state

BY TUSHAR RUPANAVAR @tusharrupanavar

EDITOR

LETTERS TO THE

The bridge over the Savitri river on the Mumbai-Goa highway collapsed on August 2, claiming a number of lives.

This bridge constructed by the British had passed its expiry date, and was still in use.

It cast focus on the state of the old bridges in Pune built by the British. Soon after the Savitri accident, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) mayor ordered a structural audit of 18 old bridges. C V Kand Consultant Pvt Ltd did the structural audit of these 18 bridges and submitted its report to the mayor as well as the administration. The report shows that ten bridges out of these 18 in the city needed immediate repairs. PMC made budgetary provision for the repair work worth Rs 7,72,00,000 of these bridges in August 2015 itself. But the repair work has not started yet, due to delay by the administration in tender procedure. There is now the risk to the lives of people who use these bridges every day.

Many of the ten bridges which need immediate repair were constructed by the British, and they have outlived their validity. C V Kand Consultant Pvt Ltd had recommended urgent repair work of Mundhwa bridge, Old Harris bridge, Shivaji bridge, Balgandharva bridge, Bopodi, Spicer College bridge, Wellesley bridge, Rajiv Gandhi bridge, Old Sangam bridge and Sambhaji bridge. It

BRIDGE

EXPECTED REPAIR EXPENDITURE

Old Harris bridge

Rs 83.32 lakh

Bopodi bridge

Rs 39.16 lakh

Spicer College bridge

Rs 26.62 lakh

Rajiv Gandhi bridge

Rs 14.97 lakh

Wellesley bridge

Rs 70.91 lakh

Old Sangam bridge

Rs 76.26 lakh

Balgandharva bridge

Rs 75.70 lakh

Sambhaji bridge

Rs 57.44 lakh

Shivaji bridge

Rs 64.63 lakh

Mundhwa bridge

Rs 2.64 crore

Total repair work expenditure Rs 7.72 crore

mentioned that there were cracks in these bridges that needed immediate repair.

There was also urgent need to replace of tar layer of roads over the bridges, gap

HIV, AIDS patients reel under drug shortage

Patients forced to buy medication from private medical stores at exorbitant rates as ART centre at Sassoon is facing a shortage

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 The nodal Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) centre on the Sassoon General Hospital premises, providing comprehensive services to persons suffering from Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), is facing a shortage of antibiotic drugs. Patients who seek regular follow-up treatment and medication allege that they are provided just ten to 14 days of medication instead of a month’s quota, forcing them to make rounds of the centre. They are told to purchase the drug from outside medical stores, but

the drug is not sold in private medicals.

Pravin (name changed), 29, is HIV positive. He lives in Somwar Peth and visits the ART centre for antibiotic drug medicine provided free of cost.

The medication helps patients ward off bacterial disease as it prevents the growth of the virus in the body, making patient able to live with the disease.

As Pravin had run out of the tablet stock, he requested the store keeper at the ART centre, but he was referred at an outside medical store. “As I asked for the tablet, the staff told me that the tablet was not available here, and told me to purchase it from outside a medical store in front of the hospital, which shocked me,” said Pravin. At the private medical store, the tablet was available for Rs 600. “I had no money so I left without purchasing the tablets and have to adjust with two days tablets,” he said. After a week Pravin went to the ART centre and got the tablets but only for 15 days instead of a month.

There are four nodal ART centres in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. They

are in Sassoon General Hospital, Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Yashawantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCM) in Pimpri and National AIDS Research Institute (NARI) on Senapati Bapat Road.

Apart from this, there are several link centres in corporation hospitals of the city. The oldest nodal centre is in Sassoon Hospital, that is on the ground floor of Infosys building. It is visited by 200 to 300 HIV / AIDS patients every day for availing the medicine tablets. Tablets are being given to AIDS patients when their CD4 count (number of cells in a cubic millimetre of blood) reaches around 250 less than the normal range of 400 to 1600. The monthly based tablets help patients fight the infections as they are more vulnerable to other common infections such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, jaundice fever, diarrhea, allergy etc.

These are commonly found in HIV patients due to a weakening immune system.

Johnson Vasant Kolhapure, president of Bahujan Sasmaj Party, Sassoon Hospital sector decried the shortage of the drug and demanded appropriate supply of tablets. “The shortage of tablets has been here for more than four months, which is leading hundreds of patients to purchase medication from outside medical stores, spending thousands of rupees. The medicine falls under the category of ‘schedule H drug’ which is not supposed to be sold in private medical stores, Why it is being sold in private stores?” he said.

A doctor from the ART centre of Sassoon Hospital confirmed that there was a shortage of the drug, which was resolved now .

A D Sonavane, assistant director of Maharashtra State Aids Control Society (MSACS) under which the ART centre functions, refuted the charges of shortage of tablets, saying that it was seven months ago due to technical reasons. “There is no shortage of the tablets right now in Pune. There are 22 types of tablets provided to HIV patients. There is petition filed in court seven months ago when the shortage had occurred. But there is no shortage now,” he said. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com

HIV/AIDS patients face grave ordeal

AIDS and HIV are the worst diseases somebody can get and it is alarming if Sassoon Hospital itself is facing shortages of these drugs. Drugs which may prevent growth of the virus in the body making the patient’s life liveable are an example of how far we’ve advanced medically. A medicine like that not available in the hospital store is scary. How much should people be made to suffer?

-Anil Jadhav

BY GUNWANTI PARASTE @gunwantiparaste

repairs and consolidation work. Soon after the submission of the report to city development committee and mayor, Mayor Prashant Jagtap ordered immediate commencement of work.

PMC chief engineer Sriniwas Bonala said, “After the Savitri bridge collapse, we did structural audit of old bridges in the city immediately. The structural audit report recommended immediate repair work of ten bridges. PMC allocated Rs 7,72,00,000 for the repair work of these bridges. Before this report, PMC’s traffic department had done the structural audit of these 18 bridges in Pune in the year 2014.

This report recommended need of repair and consolidation work of 12 bridges out of 18 old bridges in the city. We already started the repair work of Dengle bridge and Bund Garden bridge, and work is still going on. Now C V Kand Consultant Pvt Ltd has suggested repair work of ten bridges. We have the budget so we will float a tender in the coming few days and then start repair work immediately.”

Mayor Jagtap said, “We got the report of C V Kand Consultant of structural audit of 18 old bridges. This is serious concern for us I ordered administration to start repair and consolidation work of these ten brides on immediate basis. We made budget provision of Rs 7,72,00,000 for the repair work. Very soon repair and consolidation work of these bridges will start.” tushar.rupanavar@ goldensparrow.com "MY PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE IS PRETTY MUCH INTERTWINED"

TGS LIFE SEPTEMBER 17-23, 2016 PUNE

The fact that her son understands everything that she has to say even before she has finished her sentence is the biggest boon for her, she believes.

Raajkumarri Mutha set up Tulips, which is a furnishing business in Pune, with just three other employees. Today, not only has the company expanded in the country but has also found a footing internationally.

Working with his mother since 2009, Sidarrth joined to help with the branding and marketing strategy of the venture. He came to the family business after a stint in Microsoft. Both of them have their duties and responsibilities defined, and this helps in the smooth functioning of the business.

“Of course my mother and I have had our set of disagreements when it comes to certain decisions that needed to be taken for the company. But nothing that a little discussion can’t solve. My personal and professional life is pretty much intertwined since I work with mom. It is quite difficult to switch off when we get home; we are always talking about work,” explains Sidarrth. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, being related and this is extremely helpful in the office space since we then know what the other person will be able to manage without help, he adds.

His mother absolutely loves the fact that other than being able to teach him, she too is learning so much from him.

She is thrilled at the fact that her son is passionate about the business and is not just in it out of familial obligation. The fact that the two of them work together so well is why the company has been able to progress as it has, she believes.

FEATURES

Even as the city looks forward to Ganesh visarjan, the residents of Shivane, Uttamnagar and Kondhwe-Dhawade have to live a life of stink and stench that comes from the river as the administration releases water from Khadakwasla dam for immersion during these days. Layers of garbage and waste line the Mutha river bank.

“Imagine the faithful immerse the deity in this polluted river during Ganeshotsav. The authorities promise to make Pune one of the cleanest cities in India and here we have one of the dirtiest rivers that has turned into a dumping ground.

The government has not paid heed to our complaints to check river pollution,” said Sunanda Shinde, a resident of Shivane.

Shinde claims to have written to gram panchayat and health department. Shivane, Uttamnagar and KondhweDhawade areas come under the Shivane Gram Panchayat.

She said that the garbage vehicle of gram panchayat dumps garbage on the banks of the river and no action has been taken despite repeated complaints by the residents.

Shivane’s Riverview Society resident Naina Hemant Patil said that many residential complexes have come up along the riverside. “The river pollution has led to outbreak of many ailments in the neighbourhood. Cases of chikungunya have been reported from Kondhwe Dhawade, Uttamnagar and Shivane. Even the number of mosquito breeding sites have increased. During immersion, water is released from Khadakwasla Dam and it mixes with the garbage. So, people end up immersing the idol in polluted waters,” she said, adding that the residents had even staged protest and rally at the gram panchayat office.

Sneha Vihar resident Ganesh Shirsagar said that the area along the river has also become an unsafe spot as a body was recovered from the bank last week.

Shivane Gram Panchayat Officer Sandeep Deshmukh said, “We do not have a proper place to dump garbage because of land shortage. We need a proper waste dumping ground or landfill in the city.”

“We are awaiting reply from the government to our proposal to provide land for dumping garbage at the cluster zone near Nanded City,” Shivane Gram Panchayat Rural Development Officer Soma Khaire said. gunwanti.paraste@goldensparrow.com

FOLLOWING IN THE PUBLISHING FOOTSTEPS OF THEIR PARENTS

TGS LIFE SEPTEMBER 17-23 , 2016 PUNE

FEATURES

THE FESTIVE SEASON IS HERE! Few young adults today actually join the family business. But those that do so willingly, bring to the table a flavour of their own

By Salonee Mistry @SaloneeMistry

H

ave you ever wondered what it would be like if your mother or father had to be your boss? If you have a family business, you likely already know, and if not then popular culture and conversationmust have given you an

idea. As with every situation, there's a good side and a bad.

On one hand there is the advantage of having shared values and knowing how to behave around your boss, since you share a lifelong history. But, there is also the burden of high expectations and the possibility of work being brought home.

TGS talks to a five families from the city to understand the dynamics of working with the family, having your children as your employees and a parent as your boss. The children share with us what they have learned while working with their parents and having them as bosses, while the parents explain the advantages of having their kin work in the same office. Read on to find out what they had to say.

"WORKING WITH MY PARENT’S HAS MADE ME TOUGH" Ira Ghosh has been working with her parents for about nine years now. While her father Robbin Ghosh is the founder of Victorious Kidss Educares in Kharadi, her mother Saarada Ghosh is the principal there, and she a teacher. What started off as an internship in-between college semesters turned out to be her true calling, and she is happy that she decided to walk down this path. Other than the constant opportunities to learn from her parents, the best part of this arrangement for her is that they all

"MY FATHER BECAME MY INSPIRATION" Born and brought up in Bahrain, Faeza Ammar helped her father, Zoheb Saheeb set up the business that both of them run today. Moving it to Pune in 2004, the business slowly started growing and went from a team comprising just the two of them to a much larger organisation. Since this was her first job, Faeza too was still learning how things worked and her father was her guru in every way.

“My father became my inspiration for whatever task it was that I had to get done with. There were days when we would walk kilometres to get to our

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office and in the most horrible weather conditions, but he never complained or gave up. He showed me what determination was and that is a quality that helps me even today,” she says. A lot of what he taught me while on the job was applicable in real life, and this correlation was probably possible since I was his daughter too. They found a way to work together and manage any disagreements that came along the way.

With the two of them, their biggest challenge is finding a middle ground when it comes to things like style of working or customer service.

share the same passion. Ira has no regrets in choosing this path. Discussing how their day went when back at home is a fun exercise for her. Ask her to pick a few reasons why she loves working with her parents and she says, “Working with my parent’s has made m tough. I started at level one just like everyone else and am never treated differently. My father getsas mad at me if I am tardy as he does with his other employees, and my mother makes sure that I keep all deadlines,” she says. The one thing that she

does find difficult if anything is the extremely high level of expectations that comes with working for your parents.

This too, she feels, only helps her grow.

For Robbin, the best part about having his daughter on board is that it is easier for him to communicate to her exactly what he needs. Having the same set of values makes it easier for them to work together, and he knows that her belief in the foundation is just as deep-rooted and strong as his is.

"WE DID NOT GET ANY PRIVILEGES EVEN THOUGH WE WERE THE OWNER’S DAUGHTERS"

PRESENTING ‘BEING MY DAD’S EMPLOYEE IS BOTH FUN AND STRESSFUL’ When Aviva Pundole started helping her father Cawas in their family-run shop CT Pundole & Sons, on MG Road, it was meant to be a part-time thing. A media and communications graduate, she hoped to use her academic skills to grow her father’s business and then move on to a job of her own. Eventually, she landed up joining him and working fulltime.

While working in a family business gives her the liberty to take leave when

she wants and has even helped strengthen her bond with her father, there are a lot of challenges to deal with too, she tells us. “Being my dad’s employee can be both fun and stressful. We are invariably always working, whether we are at home or in office. We are always together and this, in many ways, is both good and bad,” Aviva says. Ask her what is the one thing that she would like to learn from her father and while the list is big, his negotiation skills are right at the top.

Cawas feels that it is a good thing to have the next generation in line and working in the family business. It is even better when your children are not just in it because they can’t do anything else, but are passionate about the work and are taking the company to greater heights. Keeping up with the kin is quite the task, he believes, but also an important one. Giving them a little freedom to bring in their own flavour while they keep the tradition going never hurt anyone, he adds.

Working with her father, MA Tejani since 2008, Samana has grown up learning about the work that goes on in his office. Before joining him full-time, she interned at the office for a while to learn how things function. There are both positives and negatives to working with a parent, she tells us. There was constant mentoring for her and her younger sister Aasiya, and their father was more than happy to hand over the reins to them giving them ample room to explore.

“Our dad is an extremely patient person and receptive, as long as you make valid points. There is so much to learn working with him. We did not get any privileges because we were the owners daughter’s, and had to start at the bottom. We have worked our way to the top and that is what has made us who we are,” says Aasiya. Samana adds, “The only flipside of having your father as your boss is that when there is any disagreement, you can’t lose your temper. There is not much room for argument and this can get challenging at times.” The fact that work goes with them wherever they go is also something that they wish they could avoid. Samana now heads the operations department at Gits Food Products Pvt. Ltd while her sister is the director of finance.

When we spoke to their father, M.A Tejani he tells us how he is always trying to keep up with his daughters. Both of them were academically trained to do what they do, and so he always knew that they would eventually step into his shoes. “Most of their thoughts are extremely similar to mine given that they are my children, and this is something that helps keep conflicts at bay.

They love taking risks, while I am the more cautious one. Being their boss and their father, it is my job to show them the right path to ensure that they don’t make the same mistakes that I made,” he explains. It is, however, a great experience for him to be working with his daughters and he wouldn’t have it any other way. salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

Brit-built bridges in bad condition After reading your story on how the bridge over Savitri river collapsed taking lives, I got a lump in my throat. It was a heartbreaking incident that could have easily been avoided had our municipality been a little more concerned. I am really appalled that we have not kept such old infrastructure in check knowing well that relying on these structures is not safe. These structures built by the British are at least 70 years old and it is obvious that they will be in an unreliable A condition.

The Sanghvi bridge shakes The environment when a truck passes it. inspires herover paintings -Anupama Sadhvi TGS LIFE

Working with parents

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Your story on children walking into the footsteps of their parents reminded me of my own time as a student. I had started working under my father as an intern and it was a really tough time as, even though he was my own father, as a boss he was not easy going at all. He used to always keep a tab on my assignments through his assistant. I was a marketing student and I was helping out with his social media presence. His attitude in the office and that at house was completely different.

For him, I was a marketing professional during work hours, and he would always advise me about my mistakes and also pat my back on my successes. It was a great learning curve. Your story was a really interesting mix of perspectives from all such children.

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FEATURES

Belonging to an army family, painter Tenaz Rao often had to move from one country to another and this reflected in her art

By Salonee Mistry @SaloneeMistry

rt, specially painting, is something that started off simply as a hobby for Tenaz Rao. Her parents enrolled her in classes as a child and for a long time, she never even realised that she wanted to make a career of it. It was in 1978 that she began pursuing painting professionally, and has only grown as an artist since. She got a diploma in commercial art from Abhinav Kala Vidyalaya, Pune and started working as a freelance artist taking up projects that interested her. For a week starting today, she will be exhibiting a few of her paintings at the Gyaan Adab Centre in Kalyani Nagar. Living in the Cantonment area in Pune, a lot of her work reflects the lush green environment

that she is surrounded by. Just as she gets ready for her exhibition, TGS speaks to her about what inspires her work and the challenges that she faces.

The exhibition is going to

be a collection of abstract and semi-realistic work in acrylic. It explores the world of abandoned buildings and the power that nature around us emits. The use of colour throughout the series is

striking, while it reveals powerful visual narratives too. “My work has always been inspired by the area or city that I have lived in. If I am able to capture this in my work, it means I will be grab the attention of the

people living there,” she explains.

When she was in Tejpur, she did an entire series on landscapes and scenery because that is what she was surrounded by. When in Muscat, a lot of her paintings were about birds, rendered in pen and ink. The surroundings tell you a lot about the people and what they like, she feels.

When Tenaz started painting commercially, she did a lot of realistic work and started with watercolours.

She then moved to poster colours and eventually to oil paints. Because oil paints took a long time to dry, she moved to acrylic and has been using them as a medium ever since. This way, she is able to churn our paintings and work out faster, she explains.

Moving from doing realistic work to abstract was an extremely challenging task, she tells us. There is a lot that is left to the imagination of the onlooker when the work is abstract, and this is something she took time getting used to.

“Nature and the outdoors are my strength when it comes to painting. I am not very good at human forms, and so never even opted for it in college. I love using a lot of colours in my work to help highlight what I feel is important in the image,” she says. The fact that she can work at her own pace and doesn’t have to work with anyone else is a huge plus for her.

Tenaz also holds classes and in the future wants to find a way to do social work through her profession, and what she knows best: painting. salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

Outliving life: The story of an 81-year-old painter Positioned in a small house which was once his wada, lives Srinivas Vaidya, a painter completely unknown

By Gulal Salil @gulalsalil

L

ong before the modern-day Amar Chitra Kathas, there was the art of painting religious figures for book covers and the illustrations within. Artists painted religious figures out of devotion, or as commissions from wealthy patrons or royalty. With digital art, the profession of a painter itself has morphed into design and illustration. The skill of painting every fold and wrinkle of skin by hand on a canvas continues to become a rarity. There is one such painter who lives in the crumbling space of Shaniwarpeth, perhaps as one of the last symbols of an almost faded Indian renaissance epoch. His name is Srinivas Vaidya.

Srinivas is the oldest living member of the Vaidya lineage. At 81, this man still paints in his small workshop in his backyard. His room is mostly scattered with pencil sketches and half-done paintings of his spiritual gurus sitting cross-legged. This space is where he spends most of his time now. Finding Srinivas Vaidya was an element of fluke rather than a tip off. An electrician working outside this particular home told us about him. As we were welcomed inside his home by his wife

and grandchildren, back to his workshop, he naturally felt a little unsettled by the sudden crowd. Eventually, the man narrated his story, in an English rich with vocabulary, something rarely experienced in these days of clipped communication.

A former government servant, he painted as a hobbyist, having spent almost all his weekends with brushes. “I used to have Saturdays off, which allowed me two days of useful indulgence,” he mentions. He has painted religious figures almost all his life, but has never accepted money for any of them.

“I have 250 book covers to my name, but I

don’t take commissioned work”, he says.

He describes the reason why most of his work remains either unpublished or lost, “Most of it got destroyed in the floods of 1961.

We had a big wada and over 70 families used to live here. The house was half-submerged and everyone left except us, since we thought we would rebuild this place.” In light humour he indicates the level at which the water was, saying “I am short so don’t measure it by my height.” Srinivas seems like a man who doesn’t regret much. While the house is in the middle of a disputed plot, he only mentions it very casually, “yes, something is going on, I

Such a hidden gem!

wouldn’t worry too much about it.”

“I follow Shri Narasimha Saraswati, who is the avatar of Dattatreya, and this painting,” he points to a huge oil on canvas, “is Shri Mahadev Akkal Goswami.” Most of his personal paintings are various acrylic renditions of the two figures, but the one which he points to is an oil on canvas, his first-ever attempt at oil painting. He talks about it with pride. “I was asked by a friend to paint this on the condition that I do it using oil paint. It was a challenge”, he smiles. The portrait is overwhelming, with its multiple folds and impossibly small details. He calls it his best work. From a distance, it looks like a digitally filtered photograph.

As he gives us a tour of his workshop he tells us, “I used to work in the room on the first floor before, but now I can’t climb the stairs because of my health, so I shifted my work here.” He talks about his health and old age with practicality and a certain comfort with the idea of mortality. When asked about his family members and whether they have any interest in painting, he mentions, “ Well, none of my children paint and apart from my father who was a painter too, no one in my family does this.”

He then calls his youngest grandson, pats his back and says in a tone pregnant with significance, “he paints.” gulal.salil@goldensparrow.com

I was really surprised to read about Srinivas Vaidya, the 81-year-old painter

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VOX POPULI Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Pravin Mundhe, recently demanded the scrapping of free parking policy on city roads and increasing the fine for vehicles parked in ‘no parking’ areas. He believes that implementing this measure would help to address the traffic problems in the city.

We caught up with a few Puneites and asked their opinion on the issue Labanya Maitra Student I think it’s a good idea. Even parking on the side of the road needs to be looked at. It contributes to a lot of traffic jams and congestion especially when people start double parking till they’re essentially in the middle of the road.More parking lots will result in more structured road habits which is absolutely essential, especially in a city like pune where road sense is anyway on the negative side.

Kanksha Raina Researcher There is an urgent need for proper and wellorganized parking lots in Pune. I think that the idea of charging people for parking is good, but on two aspects - one, the money for the parking lot shouldn’t be used for the profit of the place that owns the lot (prices will surge, and that is unfair to the citizens. Two, the parking lots should have a decent space for cars and bikes. That being said, I think that no free parking will not only urge the PMC to construct more well-functioning parking lots, but will also encourage citizens to use public transport, or carpool. If that gets encouraged, the PMC will also be pressured, in a way, to develop a better public transport system as well.

Shreya Popli Student I believe that there should be parking charges but they shouldn’t be exorbitant and should be fixed area wise. Off course if parking is above Rs 60-70, I will want to park elsewhere.There needs to be a balance in deciding, who comes to which place and how much will they be willing to spend on good parking space. A lot of parking lots are also inconvenient to park at as one has to walk a lot from the parking space. I think more than bigger things, little human things should be kept in mind.

Ushnav Shroff Writer I’m of the opinion that the system of parking should continue as normal. What if I park my bike just for a minute to run and get something from a shop? It seems unfair that I would have to pay just for a mere minute’s stalling.

Yash Thakur Filmmaker I don’t think its a good idea.There is no reason to build more parking lots and shepherding people into paying for parking isn’t going to help anyone.

If anything, charge for parking on 2 wheelers.

There are tons of them, and they use up most of the spaces.

in your Life Edition. Life gives all sorts of surprises and i couldn’t fathom how such an interesting person and great painter never got any coverage before. It was nice that you did a story on him and gave him recognition for something he has been doing since so long in his long life. It means a lot to know how far someone’s humility and passion can take them. Constant hard work regardless of whether people see it or not always pays off. I teared up when i read about him.

-Krishna Jain

Great to see such corporates working for the societal upliftment I am really impressed to see that there are corporates doing such important and innovative work in giving back to society. What really caught my attention was the fact that most of these have been doing CSR work regardless of the existence of the Companies Act of 2013. Even a midsize company like Giftease is seen trying to make a difference to people’s lives is impressing upon a world mostly filled with dread. And then, there is

Zensar trying to engage with ‘the last pocket’ as they call it. This article made my day as I truly believe that we all should contribute to everyone’s life by our own means possible.

- Deepraj Guliani THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

SEPTEMBER 17-23, 2016 PUNE

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orporates are the backbone of the Indian economy. They create millions of jobs, and also boost the nation’s purchasing capacity by ensuring that the rupee retains its value. But more often than not, the corporates cater to the higher strata of society. So, it is not surprising that they also wish to give back something in return to society, and take up the cause of the strata that they have not done much for; their work force. This is what is termed as Corporate Social Responsibility.

The Tata and Birla groups invest a specific amount of their base profit to help the needy.

However, in 2013, the Government of India mandated that all companies above a certain base value, give back to society a specific amount of money. Under the Companies Act,

2013, any company having a net worth of Rs 500 crore or more, a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more, or a net profit of Rs five crore or more, has to spend at least two per cent of its previous three years’ average net profit on CSR. This has made CSR mandatory for big companies.

But we tend not to give value to whatever has become mandatory. Instead of a genuine desire to help the needy, companies take the easy way out by collaborating with foundations and NGOs. This is why there is no connect between the companies and those they help. But there are the exceptions, companies that invest energy and effort in deciding how and whom to help.

Team TGS spoke to representatives of such companies, to gauge what they do and what motivates them. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

SEPTEMBER 17-23, 2016 PUNE

You could send a gift to a child in an orphanage through this initiative

It is better to give than to receive

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Be it a science programme for children, providing solar power for the residents of a remote village in Maharashtra, giving gifts to poor children, training talented youngsters in sports, or developing leadership skills among people, here is an exceptional section of corporate India, that believes in and deals with the concept of social responsibility very seriously, even innovatively

BY GARGI VERMA AND GULAL SALIL @TGSWeekly

The academy has trained more than 150 children in football, cricket and hockey

Old buses have been restored to make mobile digital training centres

Their programme has helped schools in Ambedkar Vasti go digital

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ensar is a company that focuses on its employees volunteering for all its CSR activities so that social upliftment is not just fund-oriented, but a people-oriented effort. Their specialisation lies in essentially four tracks - Community development, Environment and Sustainability, Digital Literacy and Employability Enhancement, but without a rigid and strict formula. Their work essence lies in the fact that they can do anything and everything as long as it is innovative and has leadership at its core, as Hamsa Iyer, CSR Co-ordinator at Zensar explains. “I once got a request from an employee that his kid wanted to do terrace farming and whether that could be a CSR idea. We did it and the kid now helps with terrace farming all over the city,” she says, explaining how this would fall under the environment and sustainability track similar to the Urban Gardeners club running Udaan Biodiversity Park in Viman Nagar. The park is monitored by a few Zensar employees every weekend and mostly managed by the club which comprises of the community around it.

Like any other CSR activity by Zensar, this park is also an effort to empower and sensitise people about their own surroundings.

Zensar is involved in developing communities through education programmes like School Transformation, Gender Equity and Digital Literacy. Their major focus as far as school transformation is concerned, lies in Ambedkar Vasti in Chandan Nagar.

Zensar has tied up with the PMC (even the Udaan Biodiversity Park is a PMC property) to transform a group of schools in Chandan Nagar. The group is located in one complex and because of Zensar’s intervention, the school now is fully equipped with digital labs. “When we checked the task sheet of the teachers in the Chandan Nagar school, they

had 38 tasks listed in which none of them were related to teaching. These were all clerical and administrative tasks centred around the curriculum and so on. We intervened, introduced Chrome books in the school and made all ledgers cloud sustained with a robust database. After that we added a 39th task – teaching,” Hamsa said.

Zensar has also aligned itself with the National Digital Literacy Mission and introduced two digital literacy buses that act as mobile training centres for low and daily wage labourers. The buses train the labourers in how to do menial tasks like issuing PAN cards and booking tickets online. There are two teachers hired by Zensar for this who take classes in shifts throughout Pune.

There are various other programmes by the company which focus on making leaders out of people. The vision is to enter a community and render the existence of the intervention obsolete once the work is completed by making the community self-sustained. There is a lot of focus on what Zensar calls, ‘the last pocket’.

The policy for employee interaction in this group is very strict as to not instruct anyone from it regarding any decision, that it is their call. In an example, Hamsa explains this last pocket, “There was a kid whose father used to come back drunk every night from outside and beat him up. One of our volunteers interacted with the kid and suggested that he should talk to his father once. The kid took it and asked his father as to why he drank so much. The father didn’t stop drinking, but shifted his activity home.” She mentions how it may not be a huge step but it is at least a small milestone. Zensar has publicly released an app titled ZenCSR which is in its first phase of development. This app contains all the information of Zensar’s CSR interventions.

The Courtyard by Marriot team decided to travel to the distant village and installed solar powered electricity units at every house to provide them with lit-up surroundings after dark

They felt as if they were witnessing a miracle when solar power lit up their homes The SKF Sports Academy had a five-year programme of sports development for underprivileged children

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KF India Ltd, a ball bearing, lubrication and seal manufacturing company founded out of Sweden, established its first Indian plant in Pune in the year 1965. SKF initiated its contribution to social upliftment in 2005, long before the Companies Act of 2013 was introduced. One focuses on India’s youth employment through the skill building ‘Youth Empowerment at SKF’ or YES programme, and the other on child mental and physical health development through the SKF Sports Academy.

“Our idea is to help underprivileged and uneducated youth get trained and employed every six months,” said Prashant Pednekar, the CSR Programme Manager at SKF Pune.

The YES programme made possible in a tieup with NGOs Don Bosco Pune and Sambhav Bengaluru, is a full-time, six-monthly skill building course to train automotive technicians.

Every six months, SKF inducts fifty students on an average and teaches them practical tools and skills to service automotives efficiently. They are creating employment amongst youth which is highly underprivileged. The criteria for selecting these young people is that they ought to fall in the age bracket of 18-25 and they only take those who have low educational qualifications. These are also selected on the aspect that they should have willingness to work, even more so, to open their own business. For any unskilled and uneducated person, working in garage is usually a long-hauled and slow progress. “When someone is hired at a service centre or garage, they are first taken in as a ‘chotu’ and it takes an average of ten

years for them to be called an ‘ustaad’,” Pednekar said. “We are trying to cut that time gap and help people get trained to become successful automotive technicians. Once a student has been trained to become a technician, we monitor him for a year on his on-job training and also provide him with starting funds if he wants to put up a business,” he said.

The YES programme was first introduced in Pune and now has been taken to Bengaluru as well, with the second plant of SKF being set up there. It was introduced in January 2015 in Pune, and 130 students have graduated already with the highest monthly salary right after the programme reaching up to Rs 12,500. This is a high jump from an average unskilled and uneducated worker’s salary of Rs 7,500.

The other flagship programme is the SKF India Sports Academy which runs a five-year holistic programme to train underprivileged children between the ages of 16 and 20. The academy has football, cricket and hockey training and it has trained more than 150 children so far.

The sports academy programme was the first CSR initiative by SKF. These trained children have gone on to become coaches or players in their chosen sport. SKF has its own dedicated football ground and has a tie-up with the Pune Football Club to enable the training.

Every year SKF India Sports Academy participates in the Gothia Club which is a youth football tournament. SKF academy’s girls football team also participated in the year 2015 and reached the quarter-finals.

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ourtyard by Marriot is synonymous with luxury. But this deluxe brand has a strong sense of social responsibility.

With an energetic team of around 15 members, they have decided that 2016 is going to be a year of change. Since January 2016, the team congregates and develops new ideas every quarter, to give back to society. Their latest venture, undertaken in the month of September, is an upbeat and happy change from the regular food and clothes drives that most corporates come up with.

Dnyanupur is a small and remote village in the interiors of Pune district. Owing to its geographical location and other factors, the village had no electricity supply. Courtyard by Marriot’s CSR team has now installed a solar unit, capable of running two LED bulbs, a fan and two mobile charging sockets in every house in the village. Courtyard by Marriot General Manager Nasir Sheikh, 38, believes that this village electrification did benefit the villagers, and was also a big morale booster for the team.

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“We used to be one of those companies that thought of their CSR ventures as an extension that worked in collaboration with the NGOs we were teamed with. However, we realised that the real deal is to make something happen by team effort and collaboration. There are still many villages like Dnyanupur that are deprived of electricity, with no one really caring to make a change. When I see these villages, I see a lot of children who don’t even have the opportunity for a better future. But now they can study after dark, and do not have to fetch firewood all the time,” he said.

Highlighting the reasons why they picked Dnyanupur, Sheikh said, “The closest motorable road is four km away from Dnyanupur, and from there, it is a steep trek to the village.

When it is so difficult to reach, why would anyone care for the 60 odd families living there?” For the Courtyard by Marriot team this wasn’t just a CSR venture. “It was more like a team outing for us. The residents of the village prepared food for as a mark of gratitude, which was one of the best meals of my life,”

cience seems to be a daunting prospect for students of municipal schools. They find it arduous or uninteresting to make headway with scientific subjects, and therefore, turn their backs on a career in the field of science. The well-to-do can afford to send their children for extra tuition classes to ensure that they understand their subjects. But the others find it hard to relate to science subjects and how they are applicable in our daily lives.

KPIT, a Pune based IT company, has developed a concept called ‘Chhote Scientists’, which aims to spark an interest in science among underprivileged students of standards VIII and IX, and motivates them to deal with real world issues by using practical applications and experiments. Under this programme, the firm’s employees devote a specific amount of time in inculcating the love of science among the students, and ensure that they are not deprived of resources and course material. It collaborates with Jnana Prabodhini to assess the needs and requirements of the targeted schools and students, and thereafter develop appropriate courses, and organize the necessary materials, activities, and methodologies. The courses generally culminate in a science exhibition, which is a platform for the participating students to showcase what they have learnt.

KPIT Chief Executive Officer Kishore Patil said, “The Chhote Scientists programme, launched in 2012, has benefited over 10,000 government school children

he said.

The CSR team meets every quarter and brainstorms on ideas that can have a real and immediate impact on the lives of people in need. In the past year, the team has repairs done to the existing facilities in nearby municipal schools, they have installed solar pumps in villages facing a severe drought like situation, besides generating electricity to remote Dnyanupur. “Our activities are inspired by the government’s focus on the grassroots.

When a company like ours caters to a specific section of society, it is imperative that we look beyond and give back to the other end of society’s spectrum, as they are in dire need of help. Our work is focused in that area,” he said.

The residents of Dnyanupur felt as if they were witnessing a miracle when solar power lit up their homes. It was like turning over a new leaf, and they are still in awe of the momentous changes that solar power has brought to their lives. For the youngsters, it is like a blessing now to be able to turn on a switch, and study at night, in the comfort of their homes.

After fitting the solar cell, the bulbs were lit and the villagers were overjoyed

ith the boom in online shopping, the e-commerce sectors have evolved into a valid corporate hub. Giftease. com, a Pune based online gifting portal, has now ventured into the corporate social responsibility arena. The three-year old company has started doing its bit for society this year, in the form of gifts for underprivileged children.

Ashish Mansukhani, 49, the Chief Operation Officer of the company believes in bringing experiences of happiness to people who are not expecting it. “How would you feel, if in the middle of a random day, you get a knock and a surprise parcel? We all love receiving gifts and there are those of us lucky enough to get them regularly. But there’s a section of society where children rarely or never get gifts. We want such children to experience the joy of receiving gifts,” he said.

For the giving such gifts, the company’s CSR wing decided to launch two initiatives, one that included the sellers, and the other, the buyers.

For the buyers, a special page was designed, where they could order Friendship Day gifts for children living in orphanages. “We initiated this concept during the Friendship Day event, but we plan to keep that page going through the year as it has seen a good response,” Mansukhani said.

Their other venture, aimed at the sellers and their own team was born out of a simple idea. “Since there’s not a 100 per cent surety that a gift once purchased from our website will be used and not returned, because of numerous reasons, we generally have a stockpile of goods that are perfectly fine but have minor packaging damages. Instead of returning them to the owner, we give them away to those who genuinely need it and would use it,” explained Mansukhani. So, if a gift comes back, instead of sending it back to the seller, they send it away to children’s orphanages. “We recently delivered nearly 70 tables to an NGO in Karnataka that was refurbishing a closed school,” he said.

Being a fairly new company, they have faced numerous hurdles in the process of acquiring trust while doing social work. “We have to collaborate with NGOs, even though it’s mostly our work and ideation, because we do not know the proper inlet.

Receiving gifts and a shot of joy

Moreover, where the buyers are involved, there’s always a question of credibility that comes with involvement of genuine NGOs. So, right now we are only working with the Hope Foundation in Pune, but we are looking at extending the idea of gifting for many other organisations that help the underprivileged,” he said.

Elaborating on why they provide gifts for underprivileged kids, and are not taking the easy way out of donations, Mansukhani said, “We are the only portal that deals in the online buying and sending gifts. While there are many, even amongst our customer base, that work by donation and helping to sort out the bare minimum, or the dire needs, for these children, we hope to give them the happiness that comes with getting gifts which are not necessarily something that they need.

Sometimes, even a child receiving a simple toy, which he could have done without, is the biggest happiness for him at that time. So, we decided to take the gifts route.”

Giftease believes in gifting little joys to people who have never received any gifts and have been left out

The Chhote Scientists programme has benefited over 10,000 government school children in rural Pune, Mumbai, Jalna and Bengaluru, through experiment-led sessions by KPIT employee volunteers and Jnana Prabodhini volunteers, who teach basic concepts of science using easily available material.” According to him, it is indeed interesting to see the way the young minds adapt and grow with the help of these fun-based learning sessions. They even enlist help from other academicians and institutes like the Nehru Planetarium and Science Centre in Mumbai, to encompass an all-round experience for the intellectual and practical growth of students.

KPIT launched an app in September for the students involved in the Chhote Scientists programme. The android app has been developed by KPIT and Jnana Prabodhini volunteers, and is available on the Playstore for free. The app provides reading and audio-visual material for classroom experiments to the government school teachers. It also enables individual users receive information about the planned sessions across different schools, submit volunteer feedback, rate sessions and upload pictures or videos of scientific experiments that they think the children could benefit from.

“We aim at making the schools where our volunteers

help self-reliant, so that even if our volunteers discontinue, the children don’t get left out. A smart phone in a house is not a novelty. So, instead of wasting their time at home, they can continue to browse through the app and learn trivia that makes them eager to learn more. The app also helps in standardising the quality of teaching and course delivery, align teachers, subject matter experts and students on one forum, and encourage an exchange of ideas so that it’s easy to monitor and handpick talent out of the lot,” explained a company spokesperson.

Patil, however, believes that the app is a revolutionary tool as it will help them affect more lives without investing huge resources. He said, “The use of the mobile app will create an inclusive and collaborative ecosystem of teachers and students. With the continued efforts of our employees and citizen volunteers getting inducted into the programme, we expect to increase our beneficiary base to one lakh by 2021.” According to Patil, KPIT is committed to create a ‘more intelligent world that is sustainable and efficient’ and educating children, spreading awareness and making them able to self-educate is a positive step in that direction.

The dignitaries of KPIT interact with children enrolled under Chotte Scientists during one of the science exhibitions

The academy sends a football team to participate in the Gothia Cup in Sweden every year

The students of Chandan Nagar School now get more attention from teachers as Zenzar has taken the responsibility of managing the school’s clerical work

Volunteers from the company help explain complex theorems to the students via simple experiments

Students are encouraged to take up practical activities using readily available material to understand theory better

SKFs YES programme teaches automotive servicing skills to batches of uneducated youth every six months

Write to Us

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

SPORTS

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPT 24-30, 2016

PUNE

“We tennis players aren’t really used to play Davis cup matches on neutral venues because we love the home and away atmosphere that we get in this tournament” — Andy Murray, Wimbledon champion

“We have chopped and changed teams since winning the World Cup, making sure we give everyone sufficient game time. We are looking ahead to the Champions Trophy and the 2019 World Cup.” — Darren Lehmann, Australia coach

A step towards a table tennis revolution Table Tennis Federation of India and Stag India aim to create one million players by 2020

BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis_ashish

will be provided for the duration of the camp to attract more kids.

India, which is currently ranked 30th in the world, has produced just one player ranked in the top 50, who is Sharath Kamal. Though the country has won many medals at the Commonwealth level, our paddlers fail miserably at the world and Olympics level.

Four paddlers had qualified for the Rio Olympics, for the fi rst time, but they crashed out in the fi rst round itself. To avoid such a debacle in future and to create a wide base of table tennis players, Stag India, a leading table tennis tables and equipment manufacturing company, has, in association with the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), launched a massive programme of creating one million players by 2020.

Under the scheme, Stag India will be organising 20,000 camps in the next five years. Each camp will have around 60 players. Two to three players from each camp will then be selected for training at the district level. From the district level academies, players will be selected for the state academies, and ultimately, to national academies.

These academies will employ advanced training methods, and will be supported by international coaches.

The camp module has been designed by five times World Champion, Peter Karlsson. A robot training machine

MONEY MATTERS A project on this massive scale, will require equally massive investment of money. Asked how much Stag India will be spending on their dream project, company CEO Rakesh Kohli said that they will be investing Rs one crore initially.

“We will be conducting the fi rst 500 camps on our own, where equipment will be provided by us.

Later on when the concept picks up, we can look for sponsors. We will be charging Rs 200 as registration fee for every student, out of which Rs 100 will be transferred to the national federation and Rs 100 to the state. The funds thus collected will be used to sponsor international level players for their preparations,” Kohli said.

“However, we will exempt kids who can’t afford this, and they will be provided everything free of cost.

The school authorities will provide us names of students from the underprivileged category, and we will take care of them.”

Signposts Eagles lift badminton league Eagles outplayed Comets 9-4 to win the fourth edition of ‘PYC - TRUSPACE’ badminton league tournament organised by PYC Hindu Gymkhana at Club Badminton Courts. In the final, Arya Deodhar, Siddharth Sathye, Amit Deodhar, Deepti Sardesai, Mandar Vinze, Vaishali Thatte, Vishwesh Katakkar, Tanaya Kelkar, Sanjay Parande and Praveen Gujar registered wins in their group matches for Eagles, while Parag Chopda, Rahul Pathak, Amol Mehendale and Makarand Chitale reduced the margin for Comets. In the match for the third spot, Falcons edged out Tornadoes 7-6.

Off-road Carnival from today Over 300 off-roaders from all over the country will be seen in action at the Panchshil Annual Offroad Carnival, powered by Shahji’s Banqueters and Maxlink Group of Companies, which will be organised by the city based Pune Pathfinders on September 24 at Satav Patil Farms, Choki Dhani Road, Wagholi. This year will see the presence of competitors and vehicles which were part of the international off-road competition ‘Rain Forest Challenge’ in India and Malaysia.

Neha wins table tennis title Top seed Neha Mahangade defeated Ankita Patwardhan 11-9, 2-11, 11-7, 115, 11-8 to win the youth girls’ title in the Friendship Cup District Ranking Table Tennis Tournament at PYC Gymkhana recently. In youth boys, Aryan Panse prevailed over Anand Kale 4-3 while in the men’s segment, Santosh Wakradkar defeated Suyog Patil 4-1. In the women’s singles final, top seed Vaibhavi Kher beat Ankita Bhusari 4-2. Meanwhile, in the doubles event, the pair of Vaibhav Dahibhate and Kunal Jangid scripted an easy win over Suyog Patil and Santosh Wakradkar.

THE STRUCTURE Under the programme, Stag India will conduct a five-day introductory event.

Stag will provide a professional coach, two TTFI approved table tennis tables, one mini table, 60 racquets and

table, a ball and racquets.

“I say that table tennis is most suited with minimum facilities. We have designed a compact TT product, which includes a folded net, two racquets and balls. With this you can convert any table to a table tennis table. One can always start without any infrastructure. While other sports need at least some space of ground, TT requires none. We will be provide all that is required to those who want to take it to a further level,” he said.

six dozen plastic balls.

“If the institute wants to continue the facility, they will have this equipment at a subsidised price. Last month, we held a camp at Silchar, Assam, where 80 kids turned up. Later on they converted the camp into a fullfledged academy and all 80 kids are

currently undergoing regular training.

We want this model to be repeated everywhere in India,” said Bhushan Thakur, project head and international table tennis player.

INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES Infrastructure at affordable cost

is the most essential thing for sportspersons in India. When it comes to table tennis, it’s anticipated that it requires expensive tables, big hall and other quality equipment, which are accessible to the rich and elderly recreational players. However, Kohli says that all it requires is just any

‘I have lost sight, not my vision’

Visually challenged Divyanshu Ganatra completes the tandem bicycle expedition from Manali to Khardung La TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly

Pune-based adventure enthusiast Divyanshu Ganatra lost his vision due to glaucoma when he was just 19. At that age, it was a severe blow for the youth. However, he overcame the adversity and engaged himself in several adventure activities like trekking, mountaineering, paragliding and recently he become the fi rst visually challenged person in India to finish an expedition from Manali to Khardung La. With help from cycling brand Giant Starkenn, Divyanshu and his partner Gagan Grover covered the 550km distance in just eight days.

“I have always been an adventureloving person and I didn’t let my loss of sight hamper my dreams. I lost my sight but not my vision. I enjoy everything like any other person.

I just need to alter it as per my needs,” said Divyanshu, who runs an NGO, Adventures Beyond Barriers

Foundation (ABBF).

Talking about the expedition he said, that getting the tandem bike was the biggest obstacle as we don’t get such bikes in India.

“We had several technical issues but with the support staff and my partner Gagan, we managed to get

over it. Secondly it was harsh weather, strong winds, snowfall, high altitude and rough terrain, but we kept going,” he said.

Th is is not the fi rst time Divyanshu had gone through such physically and mentally demanding activity. Earlier, he had made a solo fl ight at a height of 600 feet above the sea level as a solo para glider, becoming the fi rst visually challenged person in India to do so. He has also scaled the Milam Glacier and the Kumaon range of the Himalayas among other peaks.

Now he is aiming to train a group of para-athletes for the upcoming para Olympics. “We need a support from society and there is no other way to create empathy than through sports. Th rough our foundation, we conduct various adventure activities for physically challenged including mountaineering, camping, marathons, triathlons and now this tandem cycling has been added. My aim is to promote long distance cycling and also create a team for para Olympics,” he said. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

SOCIAL CAUSE Stag India received the international ‘Peace and Sport award’ for the best corporate social responsibility initiative of the year, in 2010. Stag has been involved in social programmes in various countries, like Ukraine, where they built an academy for disadvantaged children, and the Solomon Islands, where they set up a project for the schools in a region affected by civil war and a recent hurricane. They provided equipment for tsunami rebuilding, a programme to restore table tennis activities in countries affected by tsunamis.

They have also signed a contract with International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), where they will be providing free equipment to every new associated country that gets affi liated to ITTF. “Last year we provided kits to 14 countries in Africa, Latin America and Oceania, and will continue in future too,” said Kohli. ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com

Spanish forward Tato joins FC Pune City TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly The Rajesh Wadhawan Group and Hrithik Roshan co-owned Indian Super League club FC Pune City strengthened their forward line, adding striker Jesus Tato. The Spanish footballer will make his debut in the Indian Super League with this move to the Pune club.

With this addition to the club’s attacking line, CEO Gaurav Modwel felt the team’s line-up now looks formidable. “Tato adds versatility to our frontline. He can play forward as well as on the wings as per the team’s requirements. His experience of playing in the Spanish leagues means his skill sets are up there and he will be an asset for FC Pune City,” he said.

Tato started his career with Barcelona playing for their youth team. He scored 11 goals playing for the Spanish giants ‘C’ team in his three years with them. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Mayor’s trophy wrestling goes international again After a gap of three years, wrestlers from eight countries to be seen in action in Pune from October 5 TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly After a three-year hiatus, the Pune Municipal Corporation has decided to stage the mayor’s trophy international tournament again. Wrestlers from eight countries, including superpowers Russia and Iran will be seen in action in this invitational competition to be held at Kharadi from October 5.

A simultaneous state-level wrestling competition has also been organised, making the event one of the biggest ever, with over 600 wrestlers on show over five days.

The organisers faced severe criticism during the inaugural edition of the competition in 2012, as many Indian wrestlers who won their respective fights, received nearly four to five times less prize money than that given to foreign wrestlers who lost their fights. International wrestlers from Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Nigeria and Australia fought against

Indian players in over 20 matches, but most of the Indian winners received less prize money.

The political leaders also opposed the idea to invite international wrestlers as they claimed that the aim of the mayor’s trophy is to promote local talent and not to spend large sums of money on international wrestlers.

Eventually, the next three editions of the tournament were held for national level grapplers.

However, this time, besides Iran, Russia is a major country to confi rm its participation. There will also be wrestlers from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Turkey, Georgia, Bulgaria, Uzbekistan and Hungary.

“With Rs 50 lakh up for grabs, the competition has received tremendous response as around 80 international wrestlers have confi rmed their participation,” said Mayor Prashant Jagtap.

The international competition will have Rs 14.47 lakh as prize money, while the state-level competition, to

be conducted in five categories and 36 weight classes will have Rs 33.52 lakh at stake.

“There will be eight weight categories in the international competition with the gold medal winner earning $1000, silver $700 and

the two bronze medalists $500 each,” informed Jagtap.

To give national and local wrestlers an exposure to compete with international wrestlers, the winners of state-level tournament will get entry to international segment and also some

wrestler will be picked using wild card, informed international wrestling umpire Dinesh Gund.

Officials from the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and the MSWA will handle the technical aspects of the championship. The United World Wrestling, the international governing body for the sport, has given its sanction for the competition and has included the same in their annual competitions calendar.

VENUE Instead of the world-class wrestling stadia in Balewadi, PMC has decided to hold this tournament in Vithoba Maruti Pathare Stadium in Late Rajaram Bhiku Pathare Primary School, Kharadi.

Asked about it, Jagtap said, “Balewadi is out of city bounds and we wanted this tournament in a PMCowned venue. The Pathare stadium is in good condition and we are planning to increase the viewing capacity, by erecting temporary spectator stands.”

However with just 12 days to go, the work hasn’t started yet. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com