The Golden Sparrow on Saturday 05/03/2016

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PUNE, MARCH 5, 2016 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

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TGS LIFE

Go Womaniya!

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Women take over male dominated land survey arena P3

Pak making fake calls to gather info P5

THERE IS FAR MORE TO

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THAN MEETS THE EYE

Say rugby and one visualises big men with bulging muscles tearing into each other with a manic frenzy, in pursuit of a flying saucer kind of ball that is flung about in rather unexpected directions... but the fact is that rugby is a game that demands consummate skills, not to mention dexterity and strength, and its devotees swear by the virtues of the sport See Spotlight, p08 & 09

Restaurateur chases German national with a baseball bat on a busy street

BY YOGESH SADHWANI @yogeshsadhwani In a case of road rage, a restaurateur and his son assaulted a German national and her partner on NIBM Road on February 27. The father-son duo, identified as Sean and Kyle Edwards, allegedly hurled abuses, tried choking German national Caroline Betram, threatened her and her partner Anuj Saxena with dire consequences, and even chased them with a baseball bat. All this because Caroline and Anuj were riding slowly looking for a spot to park their bike and the Edwards happened to be behind them in their SUV. Despite the gravity of the incident, Kondhwa police initially registered a non cognisable offence of assault and intimidation against the Edwards.

It was only after Caroline and Anuj persisted that the cops agreed to file a first information report (FIR) three days later. The father and son have been booked for assault and negligence but are yet to be arrested. Meanwhile, the couple has alleged that the sections under which the accused have been booked are quite mild.

The incident in question occurred last Saturday at 9 pm in Salunke Vihar, Pune. According to a complaint filed with the Kondhwa police station, Anuj and Caroline had stepped out for dinner and were looking for a spot to park their motorbike near a cafe. Sean Edward, who used to work with an airline as a cabin service director until recently and is now starting a restaurant in Mohammedwadi, was on the wheel in his Tata Safari behind them. Caroline explained that since they had slowed down their bike and were possibly blocking the car’s path, Edwards continued to honk incessantly.

Once they had parked the bike on the side of the road, the car halted right next to them and Edwards ‘harshly abused’ Caroline and Anuj.

“Anuj replied calmly and requested the man to drop his harsh tone. The car went ahead and parked on the side. Then, the driver and his son left their vehicle and walked towards us, continuing to abuse us. Anuj tried to speak with the man and urged him to settle the matter amicably.

Both father and son did not stop and cornered us, the son verbally threatening to break my partner’s bones,” Caroline, a visual anthropology student from

Harassed by cops, youth attempts suicide RAHUL RAUT

Family of youth who attempted suicide, claim that the police harassed and beat him up regularly for no reason

See p4

Caroline Betram with her partner Anuj Saxena

Germany, who is on a tourist visa in India, told TGS. On seeing that the Edwards were getting aggressive and might harm Anuj, Caroline stepped between her partner and Sean. “I stood between Sean Edward and Anuj to deescalate the situation, hoping that this man would refrain from violence towards me since I

am a woman. Instead, the man grabbed me by my neck and shoulder,” added Caroline. When Anuj, who was busy calming Kyle, saw that his girlfriend was being choked, he tried to break Sean’s grip. After a bit of struggle Anuj was able to divert Sean’s attention from Caroline towards himself.

Contd on p 4

StreetBeats Crew hip hop to the aid of teen cancer patient

See p5

MUMBAI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MARCH 5, 2016

PUNE

“The Eastern Freeway is an example which encourages private vehicles instead of public transport. Large number of private vehicles on roads only gives rise to traffic congestion and an increase in the pollution levels.”

— Ashok R Datar, Mumbai Environmental Social Network

Himachal may urge Centre to declare monkeys as vermin P 11

Puneri Peshwas sign off with a win P 16

Thane familicide: Police look for intent to crime Hasnain Warekar was heavily in debt but his principled father declined to give him money from Pardesh Baba Dargah Trust

BY SANTOSHEE MISHRA @santosheemishra The Thane Police are probing all possible angles behind the crime of 35-year-old man killing 14 members of his family, including his parents, wife and sisters before hanging himself to death. The victims also included children and babies. Hasnain Warekar committed the gruesome familicide with a butcher’s knife on the intervening night of February 2728 in Kasarvadavali village about 12 kilometres from Thane city.

The deceased have been identified as Zabin Hasnain Warekar (28), Mubashira Hasnain Warekar (5), Humera Hasnain Warekar (two months), Anwar Ismail Warekar (60), Asgari Anwar Warekar (55), Batul Anwar Warekar (30), Shabina Shukat Khan (36), Sadiya Shukat Khan (17), Aatal Shukat Khan (12), Ali Hasan Shaukat Khan (9), Maria Arfat Fakki (28), Umer Arfan Fakki (10), Yusuf Arfat Fakki (6) and Alfiya Sojab Bharmar (five months).

THE MOTIVES Investigators suspect that the accused could have spiked the soft drinks that was served to the family during the dawat (feast) before slitting their throats. Talking to TGS, Thane Police Commissioner Parambir Singh said that from the statements of accused’s sister and lone survivor Sobiya Sojab Bharmar it is evident that Hasnain had executed the killings with a butcher’s knife that he held in his left hand when people found the body that was hanging.

“We will look into all possibilities of the brutal crime that has shocked the small village Kasarvadavali. The accused seem to be in debt and had loaned huge amounts, besides mortgaging the ‘gold ornaments’ of his family to start his own business.

A member of investigating team claims that Hasnain’s behaviour towards his family changed after his recent visit to Bhandup and suspect that he was acting under the influence of the person whom he met there.

Police are also probing the social networking accounts of Hasnain as he had also de-activated his accounts, with the help of Cyber Crime Cell.

“Hasnain’s sister Batul was mentally disturbed. Even if children played with crackers she thought it to be a bomb blast. She decided to remain unmarried. We found some medicines used to treat mental disorder but are unable to trace the doctor that treated Batul. The possibility of Hasnain going through medication cannot be ruled out,” said Kasarvadavali senior police inspector DD Tele.

FINANCIAL STATUS The investigating agency is also examining Hasnain’s bank details and bankruptcy related papers. “He dealt in shares and records show that he incurred loss. He told his family that he was assisting in fi ling income–tax returns for a private fi rm and operated from Thane and Navi Mumbai. Our team found that the offices mentioned by the accused do not exist in Navi Mumbai. The team reached APMC market at the given address and found that it is a commercial warehouse that is closed,” said Singh.

Police officials said that the accused wanted to start a business of dealing in supari (areca nuts) and had borrowed ‘huge amount of money’ from his maternal aunt. To recover the loss in share market, Hasnain also mortgaged his younger sister Sobiya’s jewellery and took ‘soft loan’ from his

From left: Accused Hasnain Warekar, lone survivor Sobiya Sojab Bharmar and Hasnain’s mother-in-law Sufiyan Mubashira Patel

brother-in-law Shaukat Khan.

DISPUTE WITH HIS FATHER Hasnain’s father Anwar is known in Kasarvadavali as a man of his word and ‘farishta’ (angel) who led a simple life. He was working as a manager in a chemical factory in Kasarvadavali.

Village Kasarvadavali is dominated by Kokani Muslims and Warekar’s name appears on the Gazette from 1917.

Anwar owns a huge land in Thane city and adjacent areas. He is also a trustee of Pardesh Baba Dargah in Anand Nagar near Kasarvadavali in Thane.

“Anwar had apparently lost his civil dispute with a builder and reportedly the latter had agreed to pay him a ‘lucrative’ amount but Anwar declined to accept,” said a relative Jafar Ali Kotkar.

The house where the family lived in Kasarvadavali village was a ‘gift’ from Hasnain’s maternal family.

Hasnain’s maternal grandfather Gulzar Warker owns huge land in

Kasarvadavali and adjacent Waghbill area in Thane. He wanted to support his grandson Hasnain but the latter knew that his principled father would not approve of such benefits. He agreed to his father’s view but did not accept it wholeheartedly,” said a relative of Wareker family.

Hasnain wanted his father to give him the money donated to trust so that he recover the loss but Anwar was of view that “Ye Trust Ki Amanat Hain (the money belongs to the trust),” said Jafar. Another relative Altaf Bashir Warekar said, “Anwar uncle was so popular and respected in his village that ‘khadi shakkar’ (sugar), a ritual at marriage ceremonies in our community, was handed over by him only. People trusted him blindly.

He wanted Hasnain to be like him.

Probably Hasnain was not like him.

He looked simple and introvert but was hiding many things.”

Police also found that Anwar and his wife Zubin, Asgari and his eldest

sister Shabina were admitted to Titan Hospital for three days for alleged food poisoning in July 1, 2012. The hospital authorities did not inform the police but the latter have now seized the papers related to the incident.

THE CRIME On the day of fateful incident, Hasnain had invited all his three married sisters: Shabina and Maria stayed at Kopar Khairane in Navi Mumbai and Sobiya in Bhiwandi. “He invited all on ‘dawat’ and had even ordered food from outside for the family gettogether. The menu included chicken, prawns, bombil and a few items made at house. Th is kind of dawat is routine in the family of Warekars,” the accused family member said. An official from the team of investigators reveal that a bottle of some chemical was seized from the murder spot.

“It seems that the liquid served (cold drink) during the family party was spiked. Probably Hasnain’s wife

Zubin and Sobiya did not take the drink as they were breast-feeding mothers. That could be the reason these two family members got up while Hasnain was on his killing mission,” a police official said.

The food and drink samples have been sent to forensic science laboratory (FSL) and its report is awaited.

Even though Sobiya had refused to attend the ‘dawat’ saying that water in his village is available only on Saturdays and Sundays, the accused forced her by sending an autorickshaw and she came with her five-month-old infant Alifiya (who was also murdered).

Hasnain was so pre-determined to carry out the crime that when one of his sister Maria’s husband’s relative had reached from Kopar Khairane he asked her to leave. Whereas Shabina’s daughter Sadiya (17) was asked to come immediately for ‘dawat’. Shabina’s husband Shaukat had dropped their daughter Sadiya (who was also killed) at Kasarvadavali and left for home as all men were asked to attend another ‘dawat’ on Sunday noon.

RELATIVES, FRIENDS CONFUSED Asrar Warekar, Hasnain’s friend and relative said, “I am still unable to believe that Hasnain can do this heinous crime. He was a very shy and polite person and was never seen on streets whiling away his time. If Sobiya would not have survived, no one would have believed it.” Hasnain’s mother-in-law Sufiyan Mubashira Patel said, “He killed my daughter and two grandchildren but I am still unable to believe that Hasnain could go to this extent and kill 14 members of his family. He usually organised ‘dawat’ at home on weekends. It is a mystery that why he reached to this stage where he killed everyone and later killed himself. According to Islam, killing does not yield anything. He was a devout Muslim.” santoshee.mishra@goldensparrow.com

Youth assaulted in Thane court This is how cops treat their own A senior ACB officer complained about a group of youngsters riding their high-end bikes rashly. He also found out that one of the imported bikes had a fake number plate. Instead of filing FIR against the offenders, Kapurbawdi cops collected a fine and let them go TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly

Jayesh Motwani, a law student was allegedly thrashed by several lawyers in a court and suffered multiple injuries

A 24-year-old was thrashed by a group of lawyers in Ulhasnagar court after he told one of them to not smoke inside the premises

BY YOGESH SADHWANI @ yogeshsadhwani Barely a fortnight after JNU student Kanhaiya Kumar was thrashed inside Patiala court premises by a group of lawyers, another such incident has come to light in Ulhasnagar, a township in Thane district. A 24-year-old law student was brutally assaulted by a group of lawyers inside court premises in Ulhasnagar on Monday.

Jayesh Motwani made the mistake of asking a lawyer to not smoke in the court premises. The lawyer was so enraged by his gall, that he blew smoke on Jayesh’s face. One thing led to another and in the end the lawyer got several others together and

thrashed Jayesh.

The incident occurred on Monday at around 2 pm when Jayesh had gone to Chopra Court in Ulhasnagar to collect copy of an order. “My cousin, Sunil Motwani, has been fighting a legal battle in court over a civil dispute. We had gone to the court to collect a copy of the order in his case.

When I walked up to the fi rst floor of the court building, I saw a lawyer smoking in the corridor. I told him that he cannot be smoking there as doing so in a government building is an offence. He laughed at me and continued smoking. Since the smoke was coming on my face, I tried blowing it off with a paper,” said Jayesh.

The paper accidentally touched the lawyer’s hand. “His cigarette fell from his hand and he started shouting at me.

Even before I knew what was happening he called several lawyers and raised a ruckus about me assaulting him,” said Jayesh. Realising that several lawyers around him were in no mood to hear him out, he told them that they should go to the nearest police stat ion.

“They

were getting really aggressive, so I called police control room for help.

They took me to the ground floor and before I could get out of the building they started beating me,” he said.

Jayesh claims that around 25-30 lawyers gathered around him and kept hitting him. Each time he tried getting away from them they would nab him and hit him. “I had been slapped and punched several times.

One of the attackers picked a beer bottle lying around and lunged at me. Shards of glass flew and injured my hand,” said Jayesh. He explained that one of the lawyers who knew him from before intervened and tried stopping the attackers, but in vain. A few cops who were posted in the court too intervened but were asked to keep away.

The assault stopped only when cops from neighbouring police station arrived at the spot. “They pulled me away from the lawyers. I was taken to police station and sent for medical examination. I narrated the entire incident and late in the night an FIR was registered against my attackers,” he said. The unidentified lawyers have been booked for unlawful assembly, rioting and assaulting with a weapon under sections 141, 143, 147, 149, 323 and 324 of the Indian Penal Code.

At the time of going to press police was yet to make any arrests. yogesh.sadhwani@goldensparrow.com

We have heard about cops burking complaints from the common man.

Often victims of crimes are made to run from pillar to post to merely register complaints. But Thane police hit a new low recently when they didn’t heed to a complaint from one of their own. Sanjay Mohite, a deputy superintendent of police in the Anti Corruption Bureau, Thane gave a detailed complaint to Kapurbawdi police about nuisance caused by a group of youngsters racing on their imported biked not too far from his house. He also pointed out that one of the bikers was using a fake number plate. Mohite expected swift action.

However, for over a fortnight cops sat tight. When he followed up repeatedly, they merely brought the youngsters to police station, charged them under milder provisions of Motor Vehicles Act and collected fines.

It started with Mohite spotting a group of youngsters racing their bikes recklessly in a residential area in Manpada at around 11 pm on February 20. He confronted the boys and asked them to stop immediately as they endangering lives of residents living in the area and also causing nuisance.

In his complaint to Kapurbawdi police on February 21, Mohite stated that the youth were revving the bikes and speeding on a narrow road. “When I told the youth that their bikes were very loud and that the sound was disturbing residents, one of them who gave his name as Jay Pichad, told me that a bike worth Rs 14 lakh is bound to be noisier than my Pulsar worth Rs 60,000. He went on to say that I should mind my own business,” the complaint stated. The next day when Mohite ran the registration numbers of the bikes, he found that one of them had a fake number plate – MH04 EN5005. “The

number has not been issued to any vehicle so far. You should verify the registration of the bikes being used by the youngsters and book them for forgery. They should also be booked for rash and negligent driving,” Mohite’s complaint added.

Over the next few days he kept following up with the Kapurbawdi cops, but did not get any response about the course of action. It was only on March 3, after multiple calls from Mohite that cops decided to act.

They brought three youngsters to the police station and charged two of them under the Motor Vehicles Act. While Jay Pichad (18) was fined for driving dangerously and for not possessing a licence, Ronit Jadhav (20) was charged for driving recklessly under the MVA. They both were made to shell out fine

of Rs 2,000 each. The two residents of plush Hiranandani Meadows in Thane were let off after they paid their fines.

Sd jadhav, senior inspector of Kapurbawdi police station justified the action. “We did not really have any eye witnesses. It was merely an application from Mohite. We acted on it and charged the youth under MVA,” he said, refusing to explain why stringent provisions were not applied or the youngsters not booked for using a fake number plate.

While Mohite declined to comment on the grounds that he would take up the issue with superiors at Thane commissionerate, his friends revealed that the deputy superintendent was furious over how Kapurbawdi cops had let go of the offenders with a mere fine. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MARCH 5, 2016

India likely to get loan for solar project P12

“People driving wrong side is the main reason for accidents that result in loss of human life. I have directed my men to have zero tolerance policy towards traffic violators.”

— Pravin Dixit, State Director General of Police

Can a damaged human heart heal on its own?

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1

Heart disease remains a major health issue, being a leading cause of death around the world, and consequently cardiovascular research is one of the most actively evolving fields. Various strategies aiming to revert, palliate, or ameliorate the deleterious effects of heart failure have been intensively pursued.

If your heart is damaged by any cardiac ailment, you need not undergo any cardiac treatment, as it may be cured automatically on its own! Hard to believe, isn’t it? But it is true. Scientists of Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune, in collaboration with Max Flung Society, Germany, have embarked on an endeavour that will utilise functional approaches of Zebra fish heart regeneration in the ultimate hope of unlocking the regenerative potential in mammals (human beings) also.

Agharkar Research Institute is only institute in India to undertake such unique research. If they succeed, it will be a milestone for millions of cardiac patients who will benefit from it, and it will also save immense expenses incurred on heart treatment.

Mammals have an extremely limited capacity to repair lost or damaged heart tissue, thus encouraging biologists to seek out models for heart regeneration. Zebra fish exhibit a robust regenerative capacity in a variety of tissues including the fin, spinal cord, retina and heart, making it the sole regenerative vertebrate organism currently amenable to genetic manipulation.

Although the human heart is virtually unable to regenerate new muscle when severely damaged, our vertebrate cousin the zebra fish can regenerate cardiac muscle to replace a massive section of damaged heart.

Scientists have understood why fish and humans have such differing regenerative abilities and especially how the fish heart regenerates and have yield clues for improving therapy after human heart attacks.

“In our lab we are trying to study the heart regeneration process to constitute it on humans that cannot

PUNE

Scientists at Agharkar Research Institute working on heart regeneration

regenerate their heart unlike zebra fish. In case of Zebra fish, if you cut or make an injury to its heart resulting in death of around 30 per cent cells, they can regenerate in 60 days,” said Dr Chinmoy Patra, head of the heart regeneration unit in ARI. “We are trying to explore how regeneration happens. That’s why we use Zebra fish as a model and we are mostly working with the protein or extracellular molecules present outside the cells in Zebra fish,” he said.

Dr Patra and the team of five scientists have been involved with this research for one and a half years. They have come up with some molecule that helps in regeneration of the heart. As part of the study, the team made an experiment on a Zebra fish, making an external injury in its heart under the microscope that caused 30 per cent cell deaths. They found that it auto repaired

within 60 days. “We are not sure how many years it may take to complete this experiment. It may take 20 years or more. There is research going on all over world but we are the first in India to conduct such research,” said Dr Patra.

Survey reports and statistics suggest that in India around 50 million people suffer from coronary heart diseases. Moreover, about 30 per cent of deaths are caused by coronary diseases. As these numbers are increasing, it is quite alarming to know more about this field of cardio biology.

Hence, understanding the disease conditions may help to improvise the function of the diseased heart.

The Cardiovascular Biology Lab at Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, was established in 2014. It focuses on these areas of basic research such as understanding the heart development (Amey Rayrikar), also to understand

Agharkar Institute takes the lead in delving into the concept of heart regeneration

how blood vessels grow to provide oxygen and nutrients in the heart muscle (Anirudhha Das) and also explores how molecules reside outside the cells (extracellular matrix molecules) helps in heart regeneration in vertebrates (Debanjan Mukherjee).

Dr Patra, the head of Max-Planck DST Partner Group, uses this animal model to study the regeneration of heart after cardiac injury. Zebra fish a vertebrate model organism shares high genomic similarity with humans and is widely studied as a developmental model across the world. Zebra fish have a simpler two-chambered heart compared to the complex four-chambered human heart, showing significant regenerative virtue unlike other vertebrate models such as mice or rats. The reason behind this regenerative capacity is the ability to make new contractile cells, the cardiomyocytes after injury.

In contrast, mammalian hearts can’t produce new cardiomyocyte, and therefore there is no regeneration. Dr Patra’s lab is exploring the role of the molecules residing outside the cells in heart regeneration. For this, adult zebra fish undergo surgical procedures obeying animal ethics rules, and are studied for regeneration of the heart.

The findings probably can be used to promote heart regeneration in mammals, in future. Moreover, as a far sighted goal, these findings may help in finding therapeutic targets in promoting heart regeneration. dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com

Posing as eunuchs, men extorted from students for years

They were nabbed by citizens and handed over to the cops RAHUL RAUT

Eknath Sawant and Sudhakar Sawant at Prabhat police chowky

TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly

Two youths posing as eunuchs were mercilessly beaten by passers-by on BMCC Road around noon on March 3. The accused duo confessed to be ‘extorting’ gullible youngsters by pretending to be eunuchs for the past three years. They used to threaten and often snatch money from those who refused their demands.

On March 3, the ‘eunuchs’ demanded Rs 1,000 from a student but he was not willing to give it to them.

They started harassing him and the youngster started crying that attracted a group of bikers who stopped to inquire about the matter. Seeing the people approaching them, the two imposters fled and entered a building to hide. However, the gathered crowd followed the duo and nabbed them after a chase.

Passers-by mercilessly beat the duo and pulled off their wigs and clothes

and the duo confessed to their crime.

Police were alerted and the two were taken in an autorickshaw accompanied by a police constable to Prabhat Police chowky for questioning.

The police identified the suspects as relatives Eknath Sawant and Sudhakar Sawant, hailing from Ghosi village in Buldhana district. No police case was lodged against the duo as not a single person from the crowd reached the police station to file an FIR. Deccan Police Station Senior Police Inspector in-charge PA Chowgule said, “After the boys were brought to the station we made them wait for a long time. Since no one turned up, we had to let them go with a warning.”

According to the locals, Eknath and Sudhakar would often be seen around the same area and used to harass woman by touching them inappropriately and forcing them to give money. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Insignia Brandings We print. We brand. We flaunt.

Women take over male dominated land survey arena

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Varsha Bhoite is a Technical Assistant in Public Works Department (PWD). She is proud of the accomplishment, when she along with five colleagues, surveyed 8.65 hectares of land in Phulgaon village in Haveli Taluka.

The 50 women surveyors, recruited by the state government in Pune district, have been able to complete all their land survey assignments, though they have had to battle prejudice and obstacles all the way. But now they have the satisfaction of proving to their male counterparts that women could do the job and handle responsibilities just as well.

“Male colleagues kept telling me that surveying land was difficult, a job I would not be able to perform. I was confident that I could do it just as well as the men,” said Bhoite, who quit a comfortable IT job to pursue what she wanted to do, in a male bastion. Her male counterpart tried to discourage her the day she took up this job,, but she was determined to see it through.

“My seniors motivated me to go ahead. Initially I was only assigned demarcation and surveys of small land plots. But I surveyed the entire Phulgaon

Varsha Bhoite at a village in Haveli Taluka

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State government makes bold decision to recruit women surveyors who prove themselves as being well up to the task

village in Haveli Taluka a couple of years ago,” Bhoite said. She has also surveyed Kasarsai village in Mulshi Taluka.

Over the past year the state government has recruited 1800 people as surveyors. Thirty per cent of the posts were reserved for women, and accordingly, 500 women surveyors were hired and posted in different talukas. Phulgaon was the first village where women surveyors started field work.

“It has by no means been stress-free.

We used to travel between 50 and 100 km daily to reach these villages,” said Shilpa Jawak, special deputy superintendent of land record (Pune city), who

later was transferred to Ahmednagar.

“When surveyors finished their work, my work of conducting an inquiry used to start,” said Jawak, whose task it was to determine the ownership of the open space.

Nisha Bendhari was just 20 when she joined as trainee-surveyor in 2014, and said she was on cloud nine when she single-handedly surveyed 30 acres of land. “My family has always been supportive, which encouraged me to take up this work,” said Bendhari.

Deputy director of land records, Kishor Tavrej said that the survey work was to demarcate open and reserved spaces in an area. “It was a remarkable decision of the state government to include women in this male dominated occupation. The women surveyors have almost finished their work. However, survey work is a continuous process and we need women surveyors in the near future to survey the land of villages which cross the population mark of 2000,” said Tavrej. priyankka.deshpande@goldensparrow.com

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THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MARCH 5, 2016

PUNE

“Transport remains a major concern in the PMR. The move to open up the public transport sector will benefit the city because the concept of satellite nodes might become a reality.”

— Ramchandra Gohad, urban planner

No more month end salary blues P10

Suspended constable poses as inspector to cheat people Former police constable conning people to live in flashy style, lands in police net

BY YOGESH WAGH @YogeshWagh1857 A former police constable who was suspended by the Pandharpur Police in 2013, Rajkumar Dnyandev Patil, 42, of BDD Chawl number 24, Lower Parel, Mumbai, has landed in the Property Cell police net February 29 for impersonating a police official.

Patil has been accused of cheating and fleecing people in Mumbai, Pune, Kolhapur and Solapur.

The Pune Property Cell was investigating a case registered under Lashkar Police Station jurisdiction in November 2015, involving a person posing as a senior police officer, and ‘stealing’ Rado watches worth Rs 2,50,000 and a Seiko watch worth Rs 27,500 from a shop in Camp area.

Property Cell Senior Inspector Sushma Chavan said, “We had the CCTV footage of the person stealing the watches. But the mobile phone number he had given the shopkeeper was untraceable. So we had to rely on our informants.”

Meanwhile Lashkar Police Station had lodged an FIR against the conman under Indian Penal Code Sections 406 (Punishment for criminal breach of trust), 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 170 (Personating a public servant) and 171 (Wearing garb or carrying token used by public servant with fraudulent intent).

On February 28, Property Cell

P12

Restaurateur chases German national with a baseball bat on a busy street Contd from p1

Rajkumar Patil; Fake visiting card he made to con people and steal from them

constable Santosh Mohite received a tip that the accused, identified as Rajkumar Patil frequents Alka Theatre.

They laid a trap for the accused and nabbed him there at around 5 pm.

Patil has confessed to stealing the watches in November 2015.

“We have confiscated the Rado and Seiko watches, two mobiles, two SIM cards, visiting cards bearing the name Rajkumar D Patil Senior Police Inspector, Mumbai, from him,” said Chavan. “During the interrogation we came to know that he was also booked under sections 420

of IPC at Shahapuri police station, Kolhapur for buying a laptop on a false cheque. We have seized the laptop as well.”

Patil was sent to magisterial custody, and since did not have bail money, he was sent to Yerawada jail.

Patil, who had joined the Mumbai Police Force in 1998, was suspended in 2013 based on charges of cheating lodged in the Pandharpur City Police Station. In 2013, Patil went to his brotherin-law Sachin Pawade’s house at Pandharpur, where he met Kunal Dilip Yelekar, of Bobade lane, Pandharpur.

“He had bought a laptop and given a fake cheque”

Patil said he would give him gold for Rs 20,000 per tola, and took Rs 6,50,000. But he never gave either the gold or money to Yelekar. Based on Yelekar’s complaint, Pandharpur City Police booked Rajkumar Patil under sections 420 and 406 of the Indian Penal Code.

Patil had taken to life as a conman, using his police force experience. He impersonated senior police officials and charmed and convinced his victims.

Once trust was established, he used to shoplift expensive goods. In pursuit of a lavish lifestyle, Patil committed a growing number of crimes, involving imported watches, designer clothes and sunglasses. Patil has not been home for two years, where his wife, son and daughter live. yogesh.wagh@goldensparrow.com

Harassed by cops, youth attempts suicide Family of youth who attempted suicide, claim that the police harassed and beat him up regularly for no reason

BY DNYANESHWAR BHONDE @dnyanesh1 A youth suspected by the police of carrying an illegal firearm, attempted to commit suicide on March 3.

Kiran Raju Kamble, 22, of Aundh Road, Khadki consumed pesticide on the evening of March 3 on the grounds of the National Chemical Laboratory. His cousin brother, Sonu Bhalerao, happened to see Kiran. “I saw him at around 6:00 pm frothing at the mouth and immediately took him to Sassoon Hospital, where he was admitted,” said Bhalerao.

Kamble, who is now out of danger, has accused the anti-gunda squad of crime patrol of forcing him to end his life.

“I was harassed, abused and even beaten up by them,” he said. Sources said that the police picked him up on Monday, on the basis of information that he had a revolver stashed in his house. “They picked me on Monday and took me to the police station. They made me sit there for hours, abusing me and asking me to show where I had hidden the revolver. Then they let me go and asked me to come back on Tuesday. The same process was repeated on Tuesday. When I went to the police station on Wednesday, they started

SC seeks BCI reply on AIBE

Kiran Raju Kamble at the hospital

abusing me again. When I asked them to check my house to see if I had a revolver or not, they took me inside, hung me upside down on a tyre, and started hitting me on the legs and the shoulders,” he recounted.

He was dropped back home in a semiconscious state by the policemen, who asked him to come back to the chowky on Thursday. On Thursday, however, Kiran did not go to the police station.

He instead went to the NCL grounds and consumed pesticide in an attempt to commit suicide. While Inspector Vijay Singh Gaikwad of the anti-gunda squad refused to comment, his family believes that the issue stinks of conspiracy. “There are people who do not wish him well and they may have spread such rumours,” said his uncle Sunil Yashwant Shinde.

Kamble has a criminal record. He was booked under Indian Penal Code’s section 320 (causing grievous hurt) in 2011 and was sent to prison for three years. However, his family asserts that he isn’t a seasoned criminal. “My son has been trying to turn a new leaf, but the police just won’t let him. The anti-crime unit keeps picking him up and beating him. They have made life hell for us.

They sometimes even pick up his younger brother Vaibhav (19) who is a student and has nothing to do with any crime. Both our sons are beaten up and bloody though they are not at fault,” said his father Raju Kamble, a mason by profession.

While Kiran is currently recuperating in ward 15 of Sassoon Hospital, his family is considering writing a letter to the commissioner in this regard. dnyaneshwar.bhonde @goldensparrow.com

“Both the father and son lunged at Anuj, who decided to run. The son followed my partner, while the father ran back to his car, brought out a baseball bat and chased my partner. When I saw this change in the situation and the involvement of a severe weapon, I ran after the man, trying to stop him and distract him from his intentions,” Caroline said. According to the FIR filed by Anuj, a psychologist, Sean once again turned his attention to Caroline and lifted the baseball bat in an attempt to hurt her. Anticipating a harsh blow Caroline ducked, lost her balance and fell to the ground. “He held the baseball bat to my face while I was on the ground, defenceless,” said the German national.

As the situation was worsening, a crowd gathered at the spot and asked Sean to stop. The restaurateur allegedly swung the bat at the crowd to keep them away. Meanwhile, Kyle who had gone after Anuj returned only to take the bat from his father. It was then that one of the bystanders held the baseball bat firmly and asked the Edwards to stop. With the crowd swelling, the duo hurriedly got into their car, which had a female occupant, and fled the spot.

Before they could escape, Caroline managed to note down the vehicle’s registration number - MH 12 JZ 9094.

One of the bystanders, who had witnessed the episode, called the police control room and within minutes cops arrived at the spot. Caroline and Anuj were accompanied by around a dozen witnesses as they reached Kondhwa police chowky and narrated the entire episode. An hour later, the cops at the chowky asked them to go to Kondhwa police station and collect a copy of their complaint. “We were shocked to receive the copy which was a mere non cognisable complaint (NC) for assault and intimidation. Some of the witnesses with us were aware of the criminal law and said that the NC was nothing but an eyewash. We insisted that the father-son duo should be booked under harsher provisions of law considering they had assaulted us, tried choking Caroline, threatened both of us with dire consequences, and even chased us with a baseball bat but the cops at the police station refused to listen to us,” said Anuj.

For the next three days, the couple continued to calling senior officials from the police station and even met the local assistant police commissioner.

It was only on March 1 that they were called to the police station again.

Caroline and Anuj went with to the police station along with six witnesses.

Once again, they narrated the entire

incident and, this time, the cops filed an FIR under sections 323 (assault), 352 (criminal force), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 34 (common intent) against the driver of vehicle and his son.

At the time of going to press, the cops had made no progress in the investigation. Officially, the accused were still to be identified and traced.

In the interim, feeling let down by the police, Caroline wrote to the German Ambassador and the Consulate General in Mumbai. The couple also met CH Wakade, additional commissioner of police on Friday and said that they expected the Edwards to be booked under stringent provisions. The couple told the senior cop that the duo should be booked under section 506(II) of the Indian Penal Code (threatening with grievous hurt and death), which carries a sentence of seven years. In contrast, the sections applied in the FIR filed by the police carry maximum sentence of three months.

Caroline, in her letter to the additional commissioner, stated, “I have also been assured that this case is being taken very seriously by the General Consulate, given that Pune plays an important role in Indo-German economic relations and several German expats live in the city who may also fear for their safety after this incident. The very fact that the police merely registered a NC on the first day and only after we continued to follow up that an FIR was registered, that too under milder provisions, shows that the Kondhwa police are not taking the case seriously.”

Additional commissioner asked them to meet the local deputy commissioner and instructed Kondhwa police to initiate action against the Edwards. DCP Sudhir Hiremath too assured action and said that senior inspector of Kondhwa police station will do the needful. When TGS contacted Rajendra Mokashi, senior inspector of Kondhwa police station he justified the sections applied in FIR. “When they came to us on the first day, they gave us limited information about the incident and hence a non cognisable complaint was taken by us. Later, when they came back with a detailed version, we converted the complaint to FIR,” said Mokashi justifying the complaint filed under milder provisions of the Indian Penal Code.

Meanwhile, Sean and Kyle Edwards could not be contacted despite calls and text messages. Sean’s wife answered the phone and said that she would have her husband respond in an hour. However, Sean did not call or answer our calls. yogesh.sadhwani@goldensparrow.com

Sean and Kyle Edwards

The hospital has been sending patients to private hospitals which charge a bomb for anti-rabies vaccines

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan

Dr Ambedkar General Hospital, which is run by the Khadki Cantonment Board (KCB) is has been grappling with an acute shortage of

anti-rabies vaccine for the past month.

The injections used to immediately neutralise viruses in dog bite wounds, are not available at the hospital, and patients have been forced to buy the vaccines from outside. On an average, the hospital treats 20 patients a month at the antirabies cell, most of whom are from poor households.

The vaccine is available free of cost at the hospital, while in the open market, the branded vaccine costs Rs 300-500.

Resident Medical Officer (RMO) Dr Ranjit Bhosale said, “We have had a shortage of rabies vaccine

RAHUL RAUT

Patients suffer as Ambedkar Hosp runs out of anti-rabies shots

since January. We had written to CEO to provide us the vaccine on an emergency basis.”

In December, the hospital

administration realized that there was only enough vaccine to last till January end. They wrote to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Amol Jagtap

to intervene and provide the vaccine immediately. In fact the hospital administration had even asked Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) and the National Urban Health Mission to provide the vaccine on loan.

They also asked Military Hospital, Khadki for the vaccine. But they declined as they had limited stocks.

The PCB has given them 80 vaccines.

The KCB has given the Rs 9.32 lakh tender to Vinayak Pharma, which had deposited Rs 93,000 as security.

But Vinayak Pharma has stated their inability to provide the vaccine. The hospital administration is planning to seize the security deposit.

KCB CEO Amol Jagtap said, “RMO has apprised me of the situation. We have received letters from the hospital authorities, and we’re looking into the matter. We have asked MH Khadki for some vaccine. We will also question the supplier over their inability to provide the vaccine. ” Sources from the hospital said that the hospital administration has sent dog bite patients to Yashwantrao Chavan Hospital or Sassoon General Hospital for treatment. “Due to unavailability of injections we are forced to send patients to other hospitals,” said a source. sushant.ranjan@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MARCH 5, 2016

Middleman sublets flat to Iranian nationals and vanishes without paying rent to the actual owner of the flat

not only had Irfan sublet the flat, but he’d also taken deposit money from each of the three tenants. “He had taken Rs 25,000 security deposit from me and I used to deposit Rs 7,000 every month as monthly rent. He never told us that this house wasn’t his,” said one of the tenants, Steve Hodges. “The rooms were always lent to different people and people used to come and go. However, since the last year, around December, Irfan had been missing. We only had to deposit the rent in his bank account, otherwise he’d call,” explained Steve, who works at a gokarting track at Kharadi. According to Hodges, the rent and the security deposit varied for everyone.

On the other hand, Irfan had not been paying the rent to the Yadavs.

He had also defaulted on water and electricity bills, owing to which essential services were cut off two months ago.

Tenants like Sara, Mahsa and Steve, who had paid security deposits, had no option but to continue living in the house despite

Sara Salimi, a Facebook photo

there being no water or electricity.

“He stopped paying rent since July last year. He gave us a cheque and asked us to deposit only when he would tell us.

Obviously, he never told us. When we took the cheque to the bank, it bounced,” said Yadav. Irfan owes some Rs three lakh for the rent he hasn’t paid and Rs 1.5 lakh for the electricity bill that he hasn’t paid.

“The house I built with my life’s savings has no electricity or water now, all because Irfan defaulted on bills,” said Yadav.

Yadav explained that Sara and Mahsa wanted to vacate the flat but since their security deposit was stuck with Irfan, they couldn’t afford to rent another house. “They approached us twice for the deposit. When we haven’t taken a single penny, what would we give them back? I asked them to settle it with Irfan,” said Yadav. The two women then approached the police station on Tuesday and the ruckus ensued.

Their friends revealed that a few days ago they had approached a local police chowky but did not get any help. On Tuesday they went to Koregaon police station and insisted that cops help them get their security deposit back. Cops claim that they were willing to file a complaint, but Sara and Mahsa just wanted their money and were not eager to file one. According to police, the two women misbehaved with a pregnant constable, threw away her mobile phone and even tore up a register.

VG Bambe, sub inspector attached to Koregaon police station, said, “The two women were visibly stressed, and we understood their problem. We told

StreetBeats Crew hip hop to the aid of teen cancer patient

PUNE,

Lt Gen Bipin Rawat

children and family members of army men and ask about official information.

Army jawans travel by Indian Railways. Rawat said, “These agents call station managers and introduced themselves as Divisional Railway Managers (DRM) to know about the movement of jawans.”

The army officials have, however, developed a mechanism to stop the information pass through these porous channels. “India’s distinct code is +91. However, now the agents have obtained numbers beginning with +91, so now we ask them to give us their numbers which we trace. If they hesitate, we understand and disconnect the call immediately,” explained a senior army official. sushant.ranjan@goldensparrow.com

With this issue

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Adnan,” said Prayag Parab, one of the crew members.

Priyanka contacted some NGOs, asking them to organise fund-raisers, but nothing came of it. “Adnan was admitted to a private hospital, and some organisations said that they would help only if we moved him to a government hospital. Others said that it was not possible to arrange a fund-raiser for just one person,” she said.

Adnan is currently under the care of one of the best cancer specialists in the city at Ruby Hall Clinic.

The hip hop crews will be performing on the road and donation boxes will be provided for the audience to put in their contributions. The show will start at 6 pm on Sunday, March 6, and the dancers will first perform in front of Barista and then outside the Fergusson College gate.

If they get the permissions, they plan to repeat the event the following Sunday at Koregaon Park, outside Lane 6. salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

Indian Army jawans across the country have been receiving phone calls from unknown people, asking for information about activities of the army. The callers identify themselves as senior officials and ask for classified information.

While the army intelligence has been unable to trace these calls, they are allegedly from Pakistani intelligence agencies.

Lt Gen Bipin Rawat, GOC-in-C, Southern Command, has asked jawans to be wary of such calls.

He said, “These calls asking for details of army activities are intended to find information about the Indian Army. The callers identify themselves as senior army officers like brigadier or colonel, and ask for crucial information.”

In January 2016, the Jaisalmer BSNL officer got a call from a Pakistan intelligence agency and was asked about Indian army classified information. A man introduced himself as an army officer, but he was actually a Pakistani agent spying on India’s military activities at the border.

Lt Gen Rawat said that these callers identify themselves as Army or Indian intelligence officers,.

Sometimes the Pakistan Intelligence Operative Agency (PIOA) associated with Pak intelligence agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), call

m rrow.co denspa thegol | www.

5, 2016 MARCH

BY SALONEE MISTRY @SaloneeMistry

Adnan has completed his first round of chemo therapy. He was discharged from hospital a few days ago, and is currently in the three-month remission period. He is scheduled to undergo another round of chemo therapy in April. If the cancerous cells do not return, he will be taken for a bone marrow transplant.

Priyanka Dutta, 23 a final year law student, who is Arshiya’s close friend and for whom Adnan is like a younger brother, decided to help the family out, by organising a fund-raiser on Adnan’s behalf.

She roped in her friend Pankaj Mali, a hip hop dancer and a part of the StreetBeats Crew. They decided to organise a hip hop cypher which will bring together all the hip hop dancers of the city.

“The idea is to dance and entertain all the people who attend the event, which will be held on Fergusson College Road, and the aim is to raise money for Adnan’s cure. Dancing is what we do and we want to use this medium not only to show its power but also to help young

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan

s by eir battle fought th happiness e ’v ey Th es to find hile themselv le joys of life w in the litt t delightful n ou carving for their childre the moments ight from doing g R in as well. chores to stepp of d househol house in search d e n out of th independence a to a l financia e mother figure an th playing single moms are e tee, thes on for ever yone ti inspira

Adnan Shaikh has acute leukemia and his family’s finances are stretched to breaking point with the medical expenses. A hip hop crew is lending a helping hand

Most 15-year-olds across the country are burning the midnight oil currently as they prepare for their board exams.

Adnan Shaikh is doing the same, but he has another cross to bear, that of dealing with the pain and suffering resulting from the chemo therapy. Adnan was diagnosed with leukemia in January.

Adnan hails from a lower middle class family.

The family lives in the corporation area. Adnan’s father Asif and two elder sisters, Arshiya, 23 and Jasmine, 26. are the breadwinners who look Adnan Shaikh after the running of the household. But the cost of Adnan’s treatment has made a huge and unforeseen dent in the Shaikh family finances, and they are finding it hard to cope, both on the financial front, and more so on the emotional front.

Adnan himself is going through an excruciating ordeal, and the intensive chemo therapy and its after effects are taking their toll on the teen. His friends and family are doing all they can to provide him with the support and comfort, and keep him in a positive frame of mind.

Pakistan undercover agencies are trying to elicit Indian Army information by making fake calls to jawans and their families

The kings of kebab

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In the issue S RE U

The rented premises where Sara Salimi and Mahsa Ali stay

them that we couldn’t get their money back legally. We could only lodge an FIR under Indian Penal Code’s section 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) which would need us to talk to the landlord. We even offered to mediate in the conversation between them and the landlord. They didn’t tell us about Irfan even once,” said Bambe.

According to her, the women weren’t ready to listen and were very aggressive.

“The constable they pushed was nine months pregnant. They even abused and manhandled our senior officer and then went about destroying property,” she said, adding, “It took us around half an hour to control them and they were aggressive to us later, even in the court premises.”

Sara and Mahsa were booked for assaulting a police officer and deterring a public servant from discharging his duties on Tuesday. They were released on bail the next day. On Thursday they were at Koregaon police station to finish from formalities. When TGS reached out to them for comment, they declined. One of their friends, accompanying them, said that both the women were extremely stressed and one of them even had health issues. According to one of their friends, the women desperately needed money and wanted to vacate the flat and thus approached the police. While Sara is a student of the Pune University, Mahsa is living in India as a refugee. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Pak making fake calls to gather info

FEAT

Two Iranian nationals, who were duped of their deposit money by a middleman, assaulted a cop at Koregaon police station on Tuesday.

Sara Morawali Salimi, 30, and Mahsa Mirzai Ali, 32, had been making the rounds of a local police chowky, seeking help to get their Irfan Khan money back, but in vain. On Tuesday they approached Koregaon police station, where they lost their cool and attacked a woman constable. While they were arrested and spent a day behind bars, their friends claimed that they were disturbed after being duped of their money.

The incident occurred on Tuesday at Koregaon police station. According to the police, Sara and Mahsa allegedly beat up a woman constable, threw her mobile phone away and also tore up a register at the Koregaon Police Station.

The women, who live in Shravani Villa, Koregaon Park, had been duped by a middleman identified as Rayees Ahmed Khan alias Irfan Khan.

Sopanrao Yadav, owner of the house where the two reside, explained that he had given his house on rent to Irfan Khan till August 2015 for Rs 35,000 a month.

Yadav claimed that he did not take any deposit from Irfan. Irfan sublet the house to others including Sara and Mahsa. “He (Irfan) was introduced to us by our older tenant,” recounted Yadav. For a few months all was well, but soon unknown foreigners started appearing around the house. “We used to live in our village and used to come occasionally to Pune. Every time we used to ask who these guys were, we were told that they were only visiting. It was only after he stopped paying rent and vanished that we got to know that he had sublet the flat,” said an aggrieved Yadav.

Yadav claimed that he found that

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Iranian women duped of security deposit attack cops

BY YOGESH WAGH AND GARGI VERMA @TGSWeekly

Nepal-India ties on firm footing: Oli

NASA invites India on mission to Mars

“Statistics show that Pune is one of the most dangerous cities in the world in terms of road safety. Changing this is possible if there is a larger public will, combined with enforcement and a strong monetary deterrent.”

— Sarang Awad, Deputy Commissioner of Police (traffic)

PUNE

Extreme athlete

Making of a super model

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MARCH 5, 2016

PUNE

“The civic body plans to launch big infrastructure projects that have been pending for years. The 24x7 water supply plan, High Capacity Mass Transit Route and solid waste management are some projects that will be taken up on priority.”

— Kunal Kumar, Pune Municipal Commissioner

China to shed 1.8 million jobs in coal and steel sectors P 14

Cops refuse to lodge FIR against illegal hoardings Activist Qaneez Sukhrani made to wait for three hours at Yerawada Police Station despite her having photographs of illegal hoardings; She is a petitioner in Public Interest Litigation lodged against illegal hoardings at High Court

An illegal hoarding on Ahmednagar Road

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma Pune police are burking, yet again, this time even when they have the evidence.

When city-based activist Qaneez Sukhrani, 56, went to Yerawada Police Station to register an FIR against illegal hoardings, not only was she made to wait for three hours but the cops did not even

file her complaint. While Qaneez has been battling with police authorities, her case against illegal hoardings in the High Court is still on.

Qaneez of Viman Nagar had spotted a few illegal hoardings on Ahmednagar Road in February last week. “They were just perched dangerously on the terraces of buildings right next to the main road.

Not only was it defacing the locality, it was also a major accidental hazard. It will only take a gust of wind to let these hoarding fall and pose risk to road users. I always take photographs of illegal hoardings I chance upon as a proof, and I did the same for these also,” she said.

The next few days went in her trying to notify civic authorities and obtain a response from them. “The High Court has given special instructions to municipal authorities and other bodies to take strong action against illegal hoardings, if they are notified. However, in this case, no one even bothered to respond to my emails and messages,” Qaneez said. She

also contacted PMC head of skysigns and Joint Municipal Commissioner (Zone 2) Ramesh Shelar. When even after several days, her complaint led to no effect, she decided to approach the police.

“I have been told by many municipal officials how they dread taking actions against politicians. I thought maybe police would be a better body to approach.

We are all equal in the eyes of the law right?” she asked. However, it turns out

PCB members are free to flout norms PCB members and officials go scot free for putting up illegal hoardings in Cantonment area

BY SUSHANT RANJAN @sushantranjan Several banners and hoardings featuring politicos were brought down by the PCB recently. And the PCB has urged political parties to abide by the rules. Notices have been sent to those responsible for the illegal hoardings which include some elected board members. Sources said that the PCB has decided that only those flexes which do not reflect any political connection will be allowed in the cantonment area.

Senior officials of revenue

department of PCB said that directly or indirectly some board members are involved in the putting up of illegal hoardings in cantonment area. “We are taking action against these hoarding owners. But we are not levying any fines. We have taken action against 537 illegal hoardings in the last six months,” an official said.

Admitting there is a problem, PCB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sanjeev Kumar told TGS that the PCB would take action against owners of illegal hoardings. “There are several hoardings in the cantonment area installed without permission from the PCB or the DEO,” he said.

Board member from Ward 6, Vinod

Mathurawala said that some notice has been sent to political parties. But he denied that PCB has sent him any notice. He said, “In my area mostly hoardings are for birthday and festival greetings. The board has sent notices to these illegal hoarding owners, but I have not got any notice. We have already raised this matter at the board meeting in January.”

Officials from the revenue department said that action was not taken due to the high-handedness of board members. “Due to illegal hoarding, the board is facing a financial crunch. When the matter was presented in the board meeting, some members objected to sending notices to board members. We lost seven lakh to ten lakh rupees every month. We decided to recall the tender for the sixth time.” sushant.ranjan@goldensparrow.com

that the statement doesn’t hold truth for the Pune Police.

When Qaneez walked into Yerawada police station armed with photographs as evidence, the police refused to take her complaint. “The inspector in-charge just went into another room to discuss the matter with his seniors while I waited outside. After an hour, he asked me to come later as they needed to talk to PMC officials to see if my claims were right,” she said, adding ‘When I have photographs, why did they have to check with the PMC?” Later, however, the boards were taken down but even that was a show. “They knew it was illegal and I wasn’t going to shut up about it. So they brought down the hoardings. But I see illegal hoardings cropping up in the area, time and again,” she said. Her FIR meanwhile was never lodged. “When I went again to see if they had actually spoken to PMC, they again made me wait for two hours this time while they waited for a response from the department concerned. When I finally got frustrated and asked if they were going to actually take my complaint or not, they simply told me that since the hoardings have come down, they can’t lodge an FIR,” she said.

Qaneez, who is the main petitioner in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) lodged against illegal hoardings, has been fighting a battle both in the city and at the High Court. According to her lawyer Ravi Pachnudkar, the high court has been patiently trying to root out the practice of putting illegal hoardings. “In the order of August 6, 2014 and November 26, 2015

the High Court has clearly rounded up the authorities. The police have to file a case against the Maharashtra Prevention of Defacement of Property Act (1995) compulsorily if they receive any complaint.

The authorities were also asked to take strict action, not just on paper but also on the ground,” he said. In the recent hearing, the court had asked for affidavits asking collectors and commissioners of around 10 districts along with Pune. The affidavits had to mention the steps they had taken against illegal hoardings and even to spread awareness,” he said.

The affidavits are currently being perused by the Judge. “Meanwhile, the court has even refused to believe that political parties don’t have enough control on their own members to stop them from putting up illegal hoardings. The court has asked all political parties to pay a fine. While a few individuals have already paid money that goes into lakhs, many others might receive a hard push from the court,” he said. The money acquired has been sent to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund. “In the hearing of March 3, the court had asked us for a chart detailing the names of political parties and their one significant member from each region so that they can keep a tab on who is putting up illegal hoardings. The court will then issue a contempt against all of them and the chart shall help the court’s understanding,” Pachnudkar said.

“The court has already said that they can’t accept the argument that the hoardings put across the cities in the name of political parties are put unbeknownst to the regional chief. The court might issue contempt against the head honchos as well. At least that’s what we are trying to achieve,” he added.

“While the High Court is going after the big political parties, the city administration is so scared of them that they won’t even lodge a complaint when I have the evidence with me. We are going to include the entire incident in our argument at HC when the court shall be hearing on the authorities’ action or lack thereof. We hope to get a strict punishment then,” said Qaneez. gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

A candle march in Pune film-maker traces the origin and evolution of ancient thumri ‘Babul mora’ memory of Karishma

Makarand Brahme is making a documentary named ‘ Babul Mora’ and looking for all the help he can get

BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis_ashish Biopics, films based on the lives of famous or historic personalities, are all the rage these days. But Pune-based producer-director Makarand Brahme is producing a film, delving into the history of the well-loved thumri ‘Babul Mora Naihar Chhooto Hi Jaye’.

Doyens of Hindustani classical music, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Kesarbai Kerkar, Siddheshwari

Devi, Rasoolan Bai, Khadim Hussain Khan, Girija Devi, Kishori Amonkar, and ghazal queen Begum Akhtar have had their own renditions of the thumri.

One of its most popular renditions was by Kundan Lal Saigal in the 1938 movie ‘Street Singer’.

Thumri, which has its origins in temple music, was modified and altered by Urdu poets. Thanks to its romantic and sensuous mood and melody, the thumri was a favourite of the Mughal era tawaifs.

The lyrics of ‘Babul Mora’ were penned

by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Lucknow in the 19th century. Shah was exiled to Calcutta, after the British takeover of Lucknow.

“I only realised the vast scope of it when I started working on the history of the thumri. Encompassing every aspect of the thumri is a challenging prospect,” said Brahme, who has been involved with music, theatre, television, production and advertising for over 35 years.

Defining the essence of his movie, he said, “Renowned vocalists Padmabhushan Rajan and Sajan Mishra will speak to stalwarts of Indian classical music, to pinpoint the origins, history and evolution of this particular thumri. The focus will be on the gharanas, folk music, poetry and even the thumri dance form of. It’s a documentation of this historic, sensuous and romantic journey.”

He also wants to dispel the myth of tawaifs being prostitutes. “Tawaifs were not prostitutes. They were actually women of culture, well versed in social etiquette. The tawaifs were also instrumental in preserving the classical heritage of Indian music,” he said.

Brahme was involved with music and drama even as a youngster. He worked in Vijay Tendulkar’s landmark play ‘Ghashiram Kotwal’, and also toured abroad with the unit. He joined Theatre Academy in 1974, where he worked with luminaries like Jabbar Patel, Mohan Agashe and Mohan Gokhale.

Brahme was a volunteer for the Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav for years together, and got to see and hear icons like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Firoz Dastur and Pandit Kumar Gandharva

Karishma Bhosale’s family and friends take out a candle march on the occasion of her birthday

BY PRIYANKKA DESHPANDE @journopriyankka

closely. He considers himself extremely fortunate to have had a first-hand experience of the art of such legends.

Brahme moved to Mumbai and worked for Doordarshan in the advertising and production departments. He also worked with the Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL) and was credited with new concepts and ideas for the company. He returned to Pune owing to domestic issues, and got into real estate. But he has reverted to music and drama, and eventually to media production.

He produced a documentary titled ‘Adwait Sangeet’, a biopic on Rajan and Sajan Mishra, in 2011, under the banner of Creative Media, which was well received by the critics and screened at a number of international film festivals.

“We must preserve our cultural treasures. The works of legends must be documented and preserved for posterity,” he said.

Brahme and his team have shot over half an hour of the film ‘Babul Mora’, and are working on other aspects.

“It’s a huge project and I have invested all I have into this venture. It’s nowhere near enough and I am seeking sponsors from the corporate world and the ministry of culture. We are working on a trailer of ‘Babul Mora’, which will be screened at film festivals. I am hoping it resolves the financial aspect. If all goes well, we will be able to release the film next year,” said Brahme. ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com

A fortnight after Karishma Bhosale’s tragic death in a fire at a medical university in Russia, her family is still awaiting closure. They still have not received information from the Indian Embassy in Russia nor the Russian authorities regarding the cause of Karishma’s death.

Karishma’s school-mates and her younger brother Karan conducted a candle march in Karishma’s memory, on March 4, which happened to be her birthday.

“It seems that people have already forgotten, but we have not. We will not give up until the Russian authorities give us my sister’s post mortem report,” said Karan, 18, who is a commerce student. The march was to send a message to the Russian authorities that Karishma’s family wanted the investigation to be done thoroughly.

“Initially we wanted to hold the candle march near Sarasbaug, but changed our plan owing to the traffic situation in the area. We therefore started the march from Sujay Garden and ended it at Kataria High School, where my sister used to study,” Karan said.

Karishma, 20, and Navi Mumbai

resident Pooja Kallur died in the fire at Smolensk State Medical University’s six-storey hostel, on February 14.

“The Russian authorities are behaving insensitively and are Karishma Bhosale not cooperating.

Karishma’s parents call them but they do not pick up the call. It shows that there is something fishy which the Russian authorities are hiding from us. This is the precise reason we wanted to hold the march to tell Puneites that they should tweet repetitively not only to Russian authorities but also to External Affairs Ministry of India to look into the matter,” said Karishma’s school friend Akshay Patil, who led the march.

Akshay and Karan have used social media to spread the message. “We have had a good response from Puneites, especially the youngsters. My entire family except for my mother joined in the march,” said Karan. Pooja Kallur’s family also participated in the peaceful protest. priyankka.deshpande@goldensparrow.com

Happy times- Karishma Bhosale with her younger brother Karan and parents

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MARCH 5, 2016

“The kind of freedom of speech available in India is not there in any other country. But in the name of freedom of speech, the country will not tolerate anti-national utterances.”

— Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh

Azadi from hunger, communal hatred, casteism, from capitalist exploitation and pressures of imperialism is a not an ‘anti-national’ act but a patriotic duty — Sitaram Yechury, General Secretary, CPI (M)

Youngsters unite to provide healthy meal to street kids

Make your next weekend count by buying a lantern and helping provide nutritious meal to children of shelter home in just Rs 200

BY SALONEE MISTRY @SaloneeMistry

Irrespective of the cause, the mere thought and later the act of giving is something that can do a great deal to change society.

While many think and preach about charity, giving and change, only a handful walk the talk and make it happen. Three youngsters from different walks of life got united for one goal; their desire to do something good for society.

It all began two years ago when Tripti Gade, 30, a graphic designer by profession working at TCS, thought of holding a lantern festival in the city. She had attended a few of these events and was mesmerised by its grandeur. While there was no way for her idea to become a reality then, it was only when her brother Mayur Gade, 26, started a social digital venture ‘Crescent Digimedia’ three months ago did she find a way to make it happen.

Teaming up with her brother and their mutual friend Mukund Kadam, 30, a technical query lead also working with TCS and a freelance photographer who runs a venture by the name of MK Photography, and Lokesh Galav, 28, co-founder of ‘Crescent Digimedia’, the four will host a lantern festival at the Lokseva e School on Pashan-Sus Road on March 12 (Saturday) in the city. The

Mayur Gade, Tripti Gade and Mukund Kadam. (Right) Mayur, Tripti, Lokesh and Mukund did a trial run with the lanterns at the shelter

funds collected will be donated towards providing nutritious meals to the children of a shelter home.

“When we decided to do the festival, out immediate thought was to attach it to a cause. We were looking out for something out of the box and after a lot of research and brainstorming sessions picked the John Paul Slum Development Project (JPSDP) at Yerawada, Pune,” Mayur said.

Their main aim was to provide funds to an organisation that did not otherwise get enough funds. Charity has been a part of their lives since their childhood days. Be it celebrating their birthdays in orphanages or donating a part of their monthly salary, they made it a point to do something for the needy.

JPSDP’s shelter home ‘Gharta’ for street children currently cares for nearly 100 children aged between six and 14 years from across Pune district. They are funded

by the Pune Municipal Corporation and can afford only basic meals for children from the money provided by the civic body. When the three enquired with the authorities at the organisation, the only thing that they said they needed was the opportunity to provide a healthy and complete meal to children. Hence, the trio finalised on donating the funds received from the festival towards the nutrition of these children.

Simply deciding to do the event was not enough. They did a trial run of the festival at the shelter to make sure that it was feasible. “The experience was a great.

The children were extremely disciplined and well behaved. While we were wondering how we would take care of 100 children, their behaviour immediately

The green hands behind transformation of Gundegaon

Village deputy sarpanch Sanjay Kotkar united people to adopt water conservation measures and beat drought

BY SHEKHAR PAIGUDE @TGSWeekly Farmers Popat Bhapkar, Eshwar Haral, Kundalik Kotkar and Bhausaheb Bhapkar are more than happy today. Even as nearly 90 lakh farmers in Maharashtra have been impacted by drought, Ahmednagar district’s small village Gundegaon is a green shoot in the gloomy environment.

The villagers have joined hands to successfully overcome adverse natural conditions and are enjoying the fruit of their collective efforts.

The padyatra for water conservation organised by village deputy sarpanch and high schoolteacher Sanjay Kotkar in 2013 triggered a positive change in Gundegaon.

“The Shirpur pattern for water conservation by deepening check dams was at the peak. We visited Shirpur and studied the efforts taken for water storage and implemented it in our village,” said Sanjay. The villages Sanjay Kotkar revived two dead

rivers Shudala and Kasarmala and cleared the encroachments on river beds.

“Villagers raised more than Rs 45 lakh to rejuvenate barrages and agri-ponds.

Shashikant Haral who owns 4,000 sq ft of land donated 1.5 thousand sq feet land for barrage,” said Sanjay appreciating the involvement of villagers. Gundegaon now has more than 22 barrages with a total capacity to hold one crore litre of water.

Ahmednagar district senior geologist Hrushikesh Gosake said, “Gundegaon will be known as model village in the coming years. They have implemented ‘reach to valley’ programme successfully.

They have cleaned all water bodies and created new ones. Though the region has been facing drought, Gundegaon is an exception. Villagers’ efforts have helped maintain the underground water level.”

Pomegranate farm owner Bhausaheb Bhapkar earned more than Rs 12 lakh from his latest crop. It was impossible without adopting the methods of water conservation and plantation. Peoples’ strong sense of responsibility towards the betterment of their village has changed the scenario within three years.

The village is tanker free since the past three years. “The situation was not as positive as it is today. We were forced to look for alternative jobs than farming as agriculture activities collapsed due to consistent failure of monsoons,” said Mahadev Chaudhari, a farmer of the village.

The village is gifted with hills that act as natural conservator of water. “We have 730 hectares of forest land. We formed joint forest management committee in

Popat Bhapkar has made an earning of Rs 6.30 lakh from his 1.5-acre pomegranate farm

2013 and started plantation drive on hills. Now around 150 hectares of hill comes under the green cover,” said village sarpanch Dr Nayana Bhapkar. “We also dug continuous contour trenches (CTT) on 350 hectares down the hills to avoid soil erosion. We planted trees with medical benefits to provide economic benefits to villagers,” she said, adding that the village bagged Maharashtra’s prestigious Sant Tukaram Vangram Puraskar with a prize money of Rs 10 lakh this year besides winning Mahatma Phule Bhujal Sandharan (land water irrigation) award at district level. Range forest officer of Ahmednagar Ramesh Devkhile commended the efforts of villagers. He said, “We have a joint venture with the village and encourage villagers’ efforts. Though the region received minimal rainfall in the past last three years, trees are still in good condition. The village has also imposed a ban on cutting forest.” Bhapkar said LPG cylinders have been distributed to villagers to reduce the dependability on forest for fuel and it is mandatory to plant one tree in front of every home.

The village is not behind on social front. Villagers has implemented liquor ban and are engaged in addiction related activities. The village’s schools have ISO certification and it has underground drainage system to check the spread of diseases. The efforts have also reflected in the lifestyle of villagers. Central Bank of India Deulgaon Siddhi branch manager Devendra Daware said, “The villagers of Gundegaon’s record of repayment of loans and deposits is commendable. Though drought has financially affected other villages, Gundegaon is on solid economic ground due to their water saving efforts.”

LEADING FORCE Rui Chattisi high school teacher and deputy sarpanch Sanjay Kotkar leads by example. He participated in a National Service Scheme camp held at Hivre Bazar as a student in 2005-06. He has organised camps to implement the ideal rural model of village. He was village sarpanch from 2010-2015. “The transparent administration helped me win the confidence of villagers,” said Sanjay, who is now the deputy sarpanch. tgsfeedback@goldensparrow.com

PUNE

put us at ease,” Mayur said. The children did not create any chaos when they were lighting the candles and the ‘rehearsal’ went smoothly.

Talking about challenges they said that getting sponsors was difficult and will probably always be. “While people love social ideas and offer words of encouragement, they seldom dig deeper into their pockets and help, especially when you are a new venture. You should have an extensive work experience to convince them to invest. Till date, whether it was the trial lantern runs that we were having on our own or the one that we organised with the children, we managed from our funds,” he said.

Through all the work that they do, the three of them only wish to change the community’s mindset when it comes to charity. “When one gives, the person must learn to give from what she or he has and not from what one can spare. Very often people set aside funds for themselves and then decide to give to charity if they have any money left over. We want them to give to charity first and then learn to adjust from what is left,” Mayur said.

Mukund added, “So many of us have a lot of give but don’t always land up reaching out to the needy. We also wanted to ensure that the donation had a memory attached with it to ensure that the act of giving sticks with the people and so the festival.”

The lantern festival will be held at the Lokseva e School on Pashan-Sus Road on March 12 and the entry fee is Rs 200.

This money will not only cover the sky lantern but also give a memorable meal to the children from the shelter. salonee.mistry@goldenspaarrow.com

She is the inspiration for SPS sufferers

Iranian woman Golnaz Aboutorabian has made YouTube video to raise awareness about Stiff Person Syndrome TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly Golnaz Aboutorabian, 45, always remembers March 29, 2006 when she suddenly started getting muscle cramps leaving her body literally as stiff as a board. The Iranian woman moved to Pune in 2008. It was only in January 2011 that she was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, or SPS, a rare neurological autoimmune disease that leaves some sufferers so rigid that they can’t walk or move on their own. SPS is a rare and disabling disorder, characterised by muscle rigidity and painful spasms involving axial and limb musculature. Its symptoms include rigid limbs and searing pain.

“My disease started to show itself at once with muscle spasm over my ankle and within a week it spread on my right leg and I could not bend knee. During the initial days there was no pain, but after a few months, pain and spasms started to attack me together. I have made a 40-minute movie on YouTube ‘The journey of a pain’ that tells my fight with SPS. The video will help face the ailment with confidence,” said Golnaz, who runs a business and is settled in Pune.

Golnaz decided to make the YouTube video to raise awareness about the rare ailment that has affected a maximum of 7,000 people the world over. “The number of neurologists might be even 10 times more than us yet finding an experienced doctor who can diagnose this disease is nothing short of a miracle and there should be a special blood test to detect the ailment. As we are very few, I guess they

are not putting a lot of effort to find the right cure. Around 10 people in the US and Canada have undergone stems cell transplant and got cured but the cost of such an Golnaz Aboutorabian operation is around Rs 10-15 lakh and it carries a risk of death. The video will help know the ailment.”

Her strong resolve has made her fight the disease till now. “I guess I’m the only one who doesn’t believe that having such disease can stop me. I just believe in myself, so while I think my situation is worse than all those whom I know, still am looking for the day will beat SPS. Medication and doctor are keeping the ailment in check but I’m unable to walk in open spaces and stiffness may attack me immediately after feeling any stress.

I call myself a ‘depend’ person. I cannot use walker or cane, as I have a sort of walking phobia. Earlier, I could not get off the bed.”

Golnaz took to Yoga after moving to Pune in 2008 to overcome the tension that triggered the symptoms. “Yoga helped me in the first phase of my disease,” she said.

Golnaz, who describes herself as a strong woman who does not care about her condition, leads an improved lifestyle, feels young and tries to do impossible jobs and competing in business led by men, wants authorities to prepare a data of people suffering from SPS and detail the cause and do research to find a cure. tgsfeedback@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MARCH 5, 2016

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

PUNE

MARCH 5, 2016

THERE IS FAR MORE TO

RUGBY THAN MEETS THE EYE Say rugby and one visualises big men with bulging muscles tearing into each other with a manic frenzy, in pursuit of a flying saucer kind of ball that is flung about in rather unexpected directions... but the fact is that rugby is a game that demands consummate skills, not to mention dexterity and strength, and its devotees swear by the virtues of the sport

BY EKTA KATTI @Ektaak

R

ugby is an intensely agg ressive contact sport. The violence or aggression is evident even when one is watching it on a television screen. But under the surface veneer of all-out offence and macho, muscle-oriented frenzy, rugby is a sport that, like any other, demands from its players discipline, dedication, training, physical fitness as well as a calm and focused mind. The name derives from its place of origin, Rugby, in Warwickshire, England.

To draw a parallel, rugby is probably as popular in England, Europe and the US of A, as cricket is in India.

Surhud Khare, 48, was born and brought up in Swaziland. He was

N

introduced to rugby by Welsh teacher Pam Watson, at the private Oak School in Manzini, Swaziland, when he was eight. “Thanks to miss Watson, who taught us the basics of rugby on a golf course, I switched from football to rugby,” he said.

His father passed away in 1985, and Surhud moved to Pune with his family. He was disoriented at fi rst and clueless about the football scene in the city, and if people player rugby here.

Though rather under the radar, rugby had its aficionados in India.

And Pune, in keeping with its sports hub reputation, had its share of rugby enthusiasts and fans. Surhud in collaboration with his brother Swapneel, founded Khare’s Football and Rugby Academy (KFANDRA) in 2001.

“Pune has been home to outstanding rugby players but it is a sport in need of promotion and recognition. Rugby is not just physical aggression but it is a game that requires lots of skill, and strategy. It is a great platform to channelise innate aggression. We need to remove the misconceptions about rugby and it’s only when one gets down to playing it that all the

virtues of rugby show through,” Surhud said.

Initially it was only men who were drawn to rugby, and a sevens team was formed, which participated in invitational matches, in 2002.

The girls in Pune gravitated to KFANDRA, thanks to England’s poster boy soccer star David Beckham, and the ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ fi lm. But at the academy, the Khare brothers introduced the girls to rugby.

As time rolled on, the fi rst Pune women’s rugby team was formed in 2005, which soon came to the notice of the Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU). The fi rst women’s 7s tournament jointly organised by KFANDRA and Western India Rugby Football Union, was held in Pune in November 2008. The Pune team who were the hosts, won the tournament, defeating Jungle Crows of Kolkata 17-5 in the final. The Pune team has won four national tournaments.

Besides the exhibition matches, the Pune Rugby team won the first All India Women’s 7s played in Mumbai, in May 2009. The international scouts at the event selected players for the first national women’s rugby 7s team. And no less

I like the rough stuff

S

aloni Prachande, 22, has her big sister Shweta to thank for her initiation into rugby. Shweta was part of the fi rst national women’s rugby 7s team formed in 2009.

“I like the rough stuff , and rugby is the kind of physical and aggressive sport that allows one the freedom to give vent to this side of human nature,” she said.

“It was a liking at fi rst sight and the moment I went to my fi rst practice session in 2009, I was hooked,” she said.

Saloni, a member of the Pune women’s rugby squad, was selected for the Indian women’s rugby team in 2012. She has been always amazed by the strong sense of fraternity among the city’s rugby enthusiasts and players. “I went for training hoping to get fit but I was so taken by the spirit and zeal, that there was no question of stopping.

And to Surhud sir goes the credit for creating such an environment that has been so essential for my love of rugby,” said Saloni.

The 5’ 1”, 65 kg Saloni of 2011, she is now a f ighting fit 57 kg,

than 11 KFANDRA players were selected for the Indian team.

T h e I n d i a n w o m e n ’s sevens team made its debut at the Asian Women’s Sevens Championship in Pattaya, Thailand, in 2010. The team claimed runners-up honours in the pre-Olympics qualifiers at Chennai, in 2015, and finished third at the Asian Development 7s at Chennai, in February 2016.

The Indian team has been captained by Pune girls, Avani Sabade, Surabhi Date and Vahbiz Bharucha.

Scholarships-winning rugby stars of Pune are making their mark with foreign clubs too. Surabhi Date and Ketki Khare are in New Zealand, Anuya Ketkar is in Australia, Niharika Bal is in Denmark, and Gayatri Salunkhe is in Germany. ekta.katti@goldensparrow.com

she said. A national level handball player, she handles a rugby ball with consummate ease and dexterity, and looks like she belongs in the Indian Women’s Rugby 7s team, which she has been a part of since 2009.

Neha and Vahbiz are longterm school-mates, classmates since standard VI, also started off with their rugby careers in the ninth grade.

“It’s saying a lot, but rugby has been

a kind of life-changer for me, and I have found myself evolving, in terms of my attitude and approach to life,” she said. “There is a misconception that you should be big and tough to play rugby. Not true. Rugby is a fast and agile game, where speedy reflexes and the ability to think on one’s feet are just as vital as being strong and aggressive,” Neha said.

Rugby is catching on but overall

it is a rather obscure sport. “Rugby gets little media or print coverage and neither is there any great effort to popularise the sport. Except for the players, the general public is largely unaware of how exciting and attractive a game of rugby can be,” she said. She thinks that lessons can be learnt from the recent boost for and the resulting popularity of football in India, and that the same formula can

time,” she said.

Sharayu, who plays as forward for the Pune women’s rugby team, feels that the training and discipline for rugby have crossed over into real life, and she thinks that she has gained attributes that have impacted her life positively.

“The camaraderie among the players at the training sessions you have to experience to believe. They also bring out individual qualities and enable

us to build the kind of rapport that is invaluable for a rugby team. It is at these intensive training sessions that we come to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and then complement each other,” she said.

Rugby, despite its evolution in the city, remains quite unknown, and there is no cohesive endeavour to bring it under brighter spotlight and focus. “Youngsters should be given the opportunity to play and

The art of controlled aggression

V

be applied to promote rugby.

Neha keeps extremely fit and sticks to her nutrition plan wherein a high intake of protein is crucial, as are the training and drills. She has represented India in ten tournaments, scoring 55 points.

Neha is a computer science graduate has an enterprise called Mall Tech, dealing with websites, e-commerce and portals.

experience the joys of rugby in schools and colleges. It is an exciting sport and I am sure that a little encouragement will go a long way in bringing rugby into the limelight,” she said.

Sharayu is pursuing her masters in Design Strategy (DMBA) Program at the California College of the Arts, San Francisco, but does keep track of all the happenings with the Pune women’s rugby team.

thanks to a scrupulous training regimen and scrupulous attention to her diet.

Saloni represented India in 2012-2013, featuring in two international tournaments.

She has represented Pune in four tournaments, scoring 30 points.

Saloni admired the Japanese women’s rugby 7s team, and thinks that the Indian women’s rugby team is in great need of promotion as well as recognition and government support. “There is little awareness of the Indian women’s rugby team among the general public and government support would do wonders for the sport,” she said.

“The Japanese team started as we did in 2009, but they have evolved in leaps and bounds thanks to their government’s support. In contrast, we haven’t received our prize money after winning the national games last year,” she said.

Being part of the Indian team has been a source of strength and comfort. “I was going through a rough phase in my personal life during 2014. Th at is when my team-mates were ever so supportive and then winning the All India Senior Women’s 7s tournament, beating Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) of Odisha 350, was one of my most memorable moments,” she said.

Saloni, a computer application graduate, works at Zocdoc. She also has a Post Graduate Diploma in Corporate Law.

The kind of coaching I have received has brought me to this level. Pune players have made their mark at an international level. This game is my passion and has given me more than what I dreamed of. The present Pune team is doing well all they need is support and faith from the people of Pune. I would love to see more girls taking up rugby.

Nassir Hussain, 36, General Manager of Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU)

Youngsters should have the opportunity to play rugby in schools, colleges harayu Dhimate, 25, was born with an affinity for sports, and has rugby to thank for changing her introverted nature into an outgoing one.

Sharayu joined the Khare’s Football and Rugby Academy in 2003 to play football but soon found herself drawn to rugby. “Surhud and Swapneel sirs gave me the confidence and motivation to take up rugby and I acquired the skills and moves in no

RUGBY SEVENS

Surabhi Date, 24, former Indian women’s team member and currently half back for College Rifles in New Zealand

Speed and lightning reflexes are as important as strength

eha Pardeshi, 22, a diminutive 5’ 3” and featherweight 56 kg, you would not associate with the rough and tumble of rugby. But what she lacks in stature and girth, she makes up for with her agility and lightning reflexes that have earned her the status of a top scrum half, the key link between the forwards and back. “During tackles the scrum half plays a key role,”

S

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PICS BY RAHUL RAUT

When it comes to rugby, Pune has been the powerhouse.

Players like Vahbiz, Neha, Sharayu, Ketki and others have played key roles in revolutionising this game in India. With this, they have also taken their home team (Pune) to the next well. The condition of this game is changing in the city. We are trying to create awareness by teaching the sport in schools.

ahbiz Bharucha, 22, was sceptical about taking charge of the national rugby union sevens, in 2013.

But her gifts of mental strength, grit and a flair for rugby are attributes that are all evident, and make her eminently eligible to be the leader of the squad.

Vahbiz, who has recently graduated in physiotherapy, has been born with the sporting genes. Her dad Boman represented India in hockey and body building. Her uncle was a martial arts exponent and her grandfather was a body builder and wrestler.

Vahbiz excelled at sports at her alma mater, Dastur School, from handball to basketball, fencing and wrestling. She took to rugby at the age of 14. “I seem to have been born with a natural flair for rugby. And I will always be thankful to Surhud sir for introducing me to rugby. He has an eye for talent, and if he selected me, he must have seen something,” she said.

Rugby involves wrestling for the ball and it calls for a certain aggression that Vahbiz had to grow into. “I’m strong and I am quick, so I can run opponents down. But I had to learn the art of controlled aggression,” she said.

Vahbiz played her fi rst competitive rugby match as part of the Pune rugby team against Bombay Gymkhana, in 2009. The match was also like a selection trial, where players were to be selected for the fi rst ever Indian women’s rugby team.

The Indian team’s jersey was unveiled at the tournament and Vahbiz was determined to make it into the Indian women’s team.

Fortune favoured here and thanks to her striking performance, Vahbiz was selected for the fi rst national women’s rugby 7s.

Vahbiz is versatile and plays forward or backward, according to the opposition and situation. She admires the Kazakhstan rugby team, which is able to turn a match in their favour, at will.

During the 2010 Asian Games qualifiers, the Indian women were pitted against Kazakhstan. During the team huddle, the coach said that he didn’t expect them to beat Kazakhstan, whose players were much stronger and larger than the diminutive Indians. Expectedly, India lost 40-0 to Kazakhstan.

Vahbiz was named the Indian women’s rugby team captain in 2013. Her disappointment knew no bonds when the team claimed seventh rank, but was not sent for the 2014 Asian Games. “Though we made the cut off ranking, the government declined to send us to the 2014 Asian Games,” she said.

Vahbiz has represented India in 55 tournaments over the course of seven years. “Rugby is my life, my team-mates are my family, the opposition is the obstacle, the pitch is my world and the coach is the creator,” Vahbiz said.

A game of rugby 7s featured two opposing teams with seven players each, with three forwards and four backs. The playing field measures 300 x 70 feet which has a number of lines (vertical and horizontal) and has H-shaped goal posts on each side. The ball is passed backward while running forward. A forward pass rates as a foul which calls for a scrum. The players carry, pass and ground the ball at the goal post to score points. The game is played for 15 minutes, including two seven-minute halves separated by a minute’s breather. Five points are awarded for each try, while two for penalty try and the team with a greater score of tries wins the game.

The game starts or restarts from the halfway line (centre).

After kick off, the ball has to cross the ten-metre line.

Next is the 22m line from the halfway which is the defence area. The try line or goal line, is after the defence area, with the goal posts where tries are scored. On the sides there are five-metre and 15-metre lines. During line out the players must stay between these lines.

TERMINOLOGY

Line Out: To restart the game after the ball has gone outside the playing area. The opposition team is awarded a line out when the ball goes out of the field of play.

Scrum: Short for scrimmage, scrum is used to restart the game after a foul is created by the team by throwing the ball forward. Players are closely packed together with their heads down attempting to gain possession of the ball.

Try: A try is a way of scoring points. Points can be scored by grounding the ball in the opposition’s goal area (behind the goal line). The ball must be touching the player when coming into contact with the ground.

Ruck: If the ball is on the ground and one or more players from each team are close around it, a ruck is formed. The players should only use their feet or dive over the ball to gain access of the ball.

Mall: A mall occurs off the ground, when the ball carrier is held by one or more opponents. The teammates have to hold on to the ball carrier. The mall needs a minimum of three players from each team.

Tackle: A tackle occurs when the ball carrier is tackled by the opponent and is brought to the ground. The ball carrier must release the ball and the tackler must release the ball carrier to continue the game. This allows other players to come in and contest for the ball, thereby starting a new phase of play.

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MARCH 5, 2016

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TECH/START-UP

Early Zenith TV remotes changed channels by sound. When you push the button, a small hammer strikes an aluminum rod, triggering a sound above our hearing range that’s picked up by the TV — http://crazyfacts.com/

India likely to get loan for solar project P 12

No more month end salary blues EarlySalary.com started by three Puneites promises to take care of your woes

BY GARGI VERMA @missgverma Most of us go through that phase of life when the salary gets credited late and debited fast. It is usual for many youngsters to live the last few days of any month, in a state of beg, borrow and steal, simply because the salary gets over before the month ends. Well, if three Pune youths have Akshay Mehrotra their way, not any more.

Th ree Puneites, Akshay Mehrotra, Ashish Goyal and Jay Jain have cofounded a fi nancial-tech start-up ‘Early Salary’ that has come up with a mobile application that aims to support young professionals with easily approved lowbudget unsecured loans. The money that can be lent is as low as Rs 10,000 to Rs 1,00,000 for up to 30 days. The free app available on Android phones for users in

Twitter launches new campaign to empower women Taking cue from a study showcasing a prevailing male dominance over both online and offl ine space, social networking site Twitter recently launched #Positionofstrength campaign to empower women to raise voices against any form of discrimination. The movement, which has been already been launched in Australia and Ireland, seeks to bridge the gender equality gap online in India and “inspire the next generation of women leaders to have an influential voice in society.”

“We have heard from many women influencers who have used Twitter to drive awareness on gender pay gap, childcare, domestic violence, healthcare and flexible work. With the introduction of #PositionOfStrength, we hope to strengthen the women empowerment movement and encourage women to amplify their voices in a secure and confident manner,” says Mahima Kaul,Public Policy Head, Twitter India.

Safety lies at the core of the campaign.

PTI

Pune is a boon for professionals living fi nancially independent in the city.

Mehrotra holds an MBA from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, Ashish Goyal is a chartered accountant and Jay Jain is a serial mobile entrepreneur.

“The rationale behind this technolog y-led fi nancial business is to provide an easy-to-use mobile application interface that is designed to Ashish Goyal help consumers to apply for a short-term loan to meet their immediate needs,”

said Mehrotra, who had prior to his fi rst venture worked with Big Bazaar and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co Ltd. He was recognised as one of the Most Talented Chief Marketing Officer Jay Jain (CMO) of 2013– 2014 in retail space

by CMO Asia. Chief Marketing Offi cer (CMO) is a global knowledge transfer agent for senior marketing professionals worldwide.

Early Salary launched its mobile app on February 23.

EarlySalary.com is an innovative lending platform that is trying to change the way loans in India are taken. Rather than relying on the traditional method of looking at rating loans to deem if they are secure or not, it combines traditional credit scoring with new social and online scoring technology-linked risk assessment concepts. Coupled with a fast and secure application process, speed decisionmaking capabilities and precise data analytics, EarlySalary aims to ensure that the money requested is made available soon. Th is vision has been supported by many national and international business personalities. Early Salary app received

its seed funding from Ashok Agarwal of Transcorp Group of approximately Rs 10 crore in November last year.

So, how does Early Salary work?

“It’s actually simple,” said Mehrotra.

“All someone needs to avail a loan is a Facebook ID, a LinkedIn ID, PAN Card and past three months’ bank statement.

After scrutinising these documents and judging the security score of loans, all of which takes not more than a few minutes, we sanction the loan of the desired amount. The payback is easy as the rate of interest is only up to 2.5 per cent, very low in comparison to other credit systems, and needs to be done within 30 days. That way, people can take a manageable loan every month, if their salaries run out,” he said.

According to Mehrotra, this is an efficient method relying on the youthful India’s strong social presence and profi le.

He said, “We recognise a recurring need among young professionals: they reach out to their friends and colleagues or even their companies for salary advance. We are here to become that friend or colleague from whom you can easily access the funds. Traditional banking instruments don’t cater to short-term needs and are very slow to cater to this urgent need. We have worked towards building a product backed with technology to help customer to their need of instant money.” gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

Tax incentives welcome, but more measures needed, say start-ups The government has not done enough in the budget to address start-ups’ near-term concerns

The start-up community reacted positively to the tax incentives announced in the Budget, but feels the government has not done enough to address their near-term concerns.

They added that investors would have benefitted if capital gains on investments in listed and unlisted companies were treated at par, even as they welcomed the three-year tax exemption for startRavi Gururaj ups. Th is will reduce compliance burden and cash outflows, allowing new ventures to invest in product development and scaling up businesses, they said.

“We were expecting more radical reforms in the Budget for start-ups. While we welcome

the the three-year tax holiday, the fact that the Budget has retained MAT negates much of the advantages, as we have cash-flow problems in initial years,” said Ravi Gururaj, chairman of Nascomm Product Council.

Pushpinder Singh He also said capital gains tax on investments in listed and unlisted companies have not been treated at par, which makes it unattractive to invest in start-ups that are already more risky.

Travelkhana CEO and Co-Founder Pushpinder Singh said, “The Budget has been quiet on certain aspects (like GST) although some future actions have been promised.”

Jewellery and fashion accessories e-tailer Voylla’s founder Vishwas Shringi welcomed the proposal of one-day speedy registration of companies, but added that imposition of 1 per cent excise duty on branded jewellery is a dampener.

Indian Angel Network co-founder Saurabh Srivastava said while exemption from capital gains tax was expected, it would have been beneficial if capital gains tax regime for unlisted companies was aligned with that for listed companies, at least for investments made by Sebi registered alternative investment funds.

In order to encourage indigenous research and development, the Budget proposed to put in place a concessional taxation regime for income from patents.

Industry think-tank iSpirt Foundation said it will encourage companies to fi le more patents in the country, but said taxation rules should have been simplified.

“We are disappointed with no attention being given to easing taxation norms of software fi rms where there is significant friction, confusion on ‘goods’ versus ‘service’ tax on online downloads, TDS on sale of software products and competition from foreign fi rms selling B2C products without any tax in the country,” Sharad Sharma of iSpirt said.

PTI

NASA invites India on mission to Mars India’s maiden mission to the Red Planet, Mangalyaan, has opened the eyes of the world on ISRO’s capabilities

BY PALLAVA BAGLA In future, India and the US could jointly explore Mars and who knows an Indian astronaut could also head to the Red planet on a joint mission.

India’s maiden mission to the Red Planet, Mangalyaan, has opened the eyes of the world on ISRO’s capabilities at undertaking low cost, high value interplanetary mission.

Charles Elachi, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory or JPL, a part of NASA and an institution better known for piloting most of the American planetary exploration efforts with rovers like Curiosity, says India and the US could jointly explore Mars and even invited India to send astronauts to the Red Planet.

EXCERPTS OF AN INTERVIEW: The US is interested in going back to Mars, so is India. Will India and America look at a joint robotic mission to explore Mars?

A) We hope so that it will be the case in the future. At NASA, we are just beginning to plan for next mission to Mars for the next decade, which is 2020-2030. In fact

shortly, there is a meeting in Washington on possible collaborations for the next 5-6 mission to Mars and ISRO is invited for that meeting. Th is is in preparation for the ultimate human space fl ight to Mars.

We clearly hope that India would be interested. Hopefully, India will be part of the consortium between US, Europe, France, Italy among others where all can capitalise on our capabilities to explore the solar system.

A cooperative exploratory mission is what you are looking at?

A) Yes, that is right. With its accomplishment on the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) India is a great partner, India can be a full partner in the international endeavour for exploring Mars.

In the long run, President Barack Obama has said America should send humans to Mars, so are you looking at a collaboration with India on that mission, since India also has a human space fl ight program?

A) NASA is starting to plan for the human expedition to Mars, and NASA is looking at it as an

international endeavour.

NASA has invited international agencies to start thinking together on how to send humans to Mars and beyond. So clearly that is an area where there will be collaboration between India and the US considering the capability that India has, by showing that it can meaningfully contribute to international endeavours.

What was NASA’s role in India’s mission to Mars?

A) When India launched its mission to Mars, and I congratulate India on a superb mission by reaching the orbit or Mars in the very fi rst attempt. JPL supported ISRO in the navigation and communication because of the antennas we have.

Reaching the Mars orbit in fi rst attempt was an amazing achievement and that too at such low cost. Now American scientists through its MAVEN mission and India through its Mars Orbiter Mission are sharing data. .

NASA is looking to mine an asteroid, is India likely to participate on that mission?

A) We are looking at a mission using electric

propulsion, which is a major advancement in technology, to capture an asteroid and bring it back to lunar orbit so that astronauts can go and do more deeper exploration. NASA has opened the door for potential interest, be it from India or Europe. We are in a very early stage of planning so that is clearly an opportunity for more collaboration with India.

Where are Indo-US relations in space heading?

A) I think they are heading for a very positive future, from five years ago the interest has now tremendously expanded.

There is now good will both politically and scientifically, I am very optimistic about the future in space collaboration. Space is for everybody, the good will between two countries makes space a natural place to work together. The two can cooperate even in astronomy, India has a long history in astronomy. I visited the ancient observatory made by Indians (at Jantar Mantar) that is a few hundred years old that furthered knowledge and now we can do it together.

India has a great tradition of learning.

What else is in store for NASA and ISRO in the future?

A) We have a mission called NASAISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission. Th is is a major mission that will be launched in 2020. Here we are really collaborating as equals, between India and the US. PTI

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ENVIRONMENT “The country has to develop in various areas. Total budget expenditure is not sufficient to stimulate growth, reduce poverty, and improve public health and to generate employment opportunities for educated youth.”

— V P Athreya, Professor of Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

H EALTH

MARCH 5, 2016

PUNE

“Right from school-level, students have to be taught on the effects of pollution and conservation in the country. Pollution in Western Ghats should be stopped and the forest area should be preserved.”

— K.Kalidasn, Environment Researcher

Deep-ocean sound waves may aid tsunami detection

El Nino may spread cholera-like diseases

events around the world in a matter of minutes.

Researchers at MIT have now identified a less dramatic though far more pervasive source of acousticgravity waves - surface ocean waves.

These waves, known as surfacegravity waves, do not travel nearly as fast, far, or deep as acoustic-gravity waves, yet under the right conditions, they can generate the powerful, fast-

Northern pollution affecting Bengal

SHIMLA: Himachal Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri told Vidhan Sabha that the state government was aware of problems faced by farmers and people in general due to attacks by wild animals and monkeys and was contemplating to urge the Centre to approve the proposal to declare monkeys as “vermin”.

Nine natural habitats (Vanar Vatikas) will be set up around the monkey sterilisation centres and case for declaring monkeys as vermin will be moved to the Centre so that the menace can be controlled.

Replying to a question by Maheshwar Singh (HLP) regarding attacks by stray dogs and wild animals, Bharmouri said the task of undertaking survey of monkeys was complete and the moment the data is compiled, the

case seeking declaration of monkeys as vermin would be moved to the Centre for approval.

He said that in the meantime, the government has speeded up the task of sterilisation of monkeys and “More than one lakh monkeys have been sterilised so far and the latest census has indicated decline in number of monkeys.

Leader of Opposition PK Dhumal (BJP) said monkey menace was a very

big problem all over the state, especially in Shimla and Hamirpur and the state government must take necessary steps to declare monkeys as “vermin”.

He asked the Forest Minister to lay the documents supporting his statement on the table of the House.

Inder Singh (BJP) raised the issue of delay in approval to the channelisation of the Seer khud in Gopalpur area of Mandi district and said that he failed to “understand why there was delay in approval as the DPR of the project had been sent to the Centre and relevant documents also submitted before the Central Water Commission,” he said.

Replying to a query, Irrigation and Public Health Minister Vidya Stokes said a budgetary provision of Rs 4.80 crore had been made for the scheme in 2015-16 and the DPR of the project was sent to the CWC on April 1, 2014.

Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur informed that 123 MBBS and six MD doctors has quit service during the last three years.

PTI

NATION

CITY

Get your voice heard on NetaG P6

No damaged goods please P3

GRANDCHILDREN SUE THE COMPLETE MAN

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

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

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

PUNE, MARCH 14, 2015 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

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

When hunger strikes past midnight

NATION

CITY

Bakery worker’s daughter gets her wings P 12

Why are traffic cops taking selfies these days?

P3

DITCH THE

AUTO,

HAIL A

CAB

GAUTAM SINGHANIA

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

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

Five members of the team tried hiring rickshaws for distances ranging between 1.5 and 20

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

DEHU

6

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

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

See Spotlight on p8&9

CHINCHWAD BHOSARI

4 THERGAON HINJEWADI VILLAGE

KALEWADI FATA

WAKAD

DIGHI

NASHIK PHATA

5

LOHEGAON

DAPODI 50

PIMPLE GURAV

WAGHOLI

3 4 BANER

VISHRANT VIMAN WADI NAGAR YERWADA

AUNDH

2

SANGAMWADI PASHAN

AH47

WADGAON SHERI

MUNDHWA

SHIVAJI NAGAR

GHORPADI

9

BAVDHAN

CAMP

HADAPSAR

KOTHRUD

SWARGATE PARVATI

WANOWRIE

1

NANDED AMBEGAON BUDRUK

KONDHWA

UNDRI

KATRAJ

4

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

said director of the school, who

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

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

The investigation was carried out by statements.”

DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL

ALANDI

AKURDI

RAVET

Sab golmal hai...

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

RITU GOYAL HARISH

CHIKHALI

KIWALENIGDI

~ Suit filed by the siblings

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

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

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

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

We believe we were on the right,”

Parents teach them more than exams do P 10

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

~ Suit filed by the siblings

What a mess!

Teacher booked for sexually abusing 22 students acquitted

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS

CITY

Truly, a tree lady P4

And yet no respite for commuters

DR VIJAYPAT SINGHANIA

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

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

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

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

PICS ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Monkey menace is a very big problem all over the state

TGS LIFE

Run for... yourself

RAHUL RAUT

Himachal may urge Centre to declare monkeys as vermin

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

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

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

WASHINGTON: Scientists have observed a rare but extremely powerful type of lightning spark which could help them better understand how a cloud can generate a current that is powerful enough to cause lightning.

Researchers from New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology found that this powerful type of lightning called narrow bipolar events, is caused by a newly recognised type of discharge called fast positive breakdown. Data suggests that this same discharge initiates most or even all of the lightning flashes typically seen in thunderstorms. These sparks travel at speeds that are fast even for lightning - around 10 to 100 million metres per second - and produce very powerful radiofrequency (RF) radiation as high as a few megawatts.

PTI

new variants of waterborne pathogens emerged in Latin America.

These included a devastating cholera outbreak in Peru in 1990, leading to over 13,000 deaths, as well as two instances in 1997 and 2010 where new variants of the bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus led to widespread human illness through contaminated shellfish.

“Through our findings we suggest that so-called vibrios - microscopic bacteria commonly found in seawater can attach to larger organisms such as zooplankton to travel oceans,” said lead author Jaime Martinez-Urtaza, from the University of Bath. “Numerous previous studies have shown how such vibrios bind to and use these larger organisms as a source of energy and through this mechanism, we suggest, they are essentially able to piggyback to travel such enormous diseases, driven by ocean currents,” Martinez-Urtaza said.

“An El Nino event could represent an efficient long-distance ‘biological corridor’, allowing the displacement of marine organisms from distant areas,” said Craig Baker-Austin from the UK Cefas Weymouth laboratory.

PTI

THANK GOD IT’S S AT U R D AY

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

the quality of air since the last few years.

“Black carbon concentration over Sundarban was found to be around 15 microgram per cubic meter of air which is quite high for a remote and virgin island. In Darjeeling, the average concentration was 3.5 microgram per cubic meter which is also high compared to a high altitude hill station in the Himalayas,” he said.

“We have analysed that 60 per cent of soot in Sundarbans is from Kolkata, both vehicular and industrial emissions, while 40 per cent is from industrially rich areas of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh,” Chatterjee, who is also the station-in-charge of National Facility on Astroparticle Physics and Space Science, Darjeeling said.

PTI

Clues to mystery of what causes lightning found

LONDON: El Nino - a phenomena which sparks global weather extremes - could be transporting and spreading waterborne diseases such as cholera thousands of miles across oceans, with significant impacts for public health, a new study has found.

Researchers from the University of Bath in UK found that illnesses caused by waterborne bacteria reported in Latin America seem to be moving in tandem with when and where warm El Nino waters make contact with the land.

El Nino describes the unusual warming of surface waters along the tropical west coast of South America.

These events tend to occur every 3-7 years; something many suggest have become more regular and extreme in recent years, as a result of climate change.

Most significantly, drawing on new data derived from whole genome sequencing of bacterial strains, they suggest there are links between organisms that are causing illnesses in Asia with those that emerge in Latin America.

Over the past 30 years, coinciding with the last three significant El Nino events in 1990/91, 1997/98 and 2010,

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

KOLKATA: Scientists have found out that polluted air generated in industries in northern India travel over 2000 km to reach the hills of Darjeeling and islands of Sundarbans in West Bengal.

A huge and thick mass of air carrying particulate matter (PM) of less than 2 micrometre travels to West Bengal under the influence of the strong north-westerly winds, Abhijit Chatterjee, an environmental scientist at Bose Institute here told PTI. Travelling at a speed of about 20 km per hour, the soot or black carbon takes four days to cover a distance of about 2000 km between northern India and parts of West Bengal, he said. Under a research project, a team of scientists from the institute, installed aethalometers in Sundarbans and Darjeeling and have been monitoring

moving, and low-frequency sound waves.

The researchers have developed a general theory that connects gravity waves and acoustic waves.

They found that when two surface-gravity waves, heading towards each other, are oscillating at a similar but not identical frequency, their interaction can release up to 95 per cent of their initial energy in the

Comparing data from 1997 (left) with 2015 highlights the ‘extraordinary effects’ of El Niño over recent times. The 2016 El Niño ‘Godzilla’: Researchers say illnesses caused by waterborne bacteria reported in Latin America seem to be moving in tandem with when and where warm El Niño waters make contact with the land/University of Bath

Supriya Bhoite from Chaturshrungi police station.

Contd on p4

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

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

The CPIO was clueless about the project and sought information from his colleagues in other department

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

“Without compressibility and gravity, we cannot describe low-frequency sound waves correctly,” Usama Kadri says. “This is one of the reasons why researchers have mostly overlooked acoustic-gravity waves.” Courtesy: MIT

form of an acoustic wave, which in turn carries this energy and travels much faster and deeper.

Th is interaction may occur anywhere in the ocean, in particular in regions where surface-gravity waves interact as they refl ect from continental shelf breaks, where the deep-sea suddenly faces a much shallower shoreline.

Understanding this relationship between surface-gravity waves and acoustic-gravity waves allows researchers to describe how energy is exchanged between gravity and acoustic waves, researchers said.

Th is energy could be vital for many marine life forms, and it could play a role in water transport and the redistribution of carbon dioxide and heat to deeper waters, thereby sustaining a healthy marine environment, they said.

Kadri calculated that if two surface waves flow towards each other at roughly the same frequency and amplitude, as they meet and roll through each other the majority of their energy - up to 95 per cent can be turned into a sound wave, or acoustic-gravity wave.

Th is new understanding of wave interactions can be used for tsunami detection, researchers said.

The study was published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

PTI

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

BOSTON: Scientists are developing a system that may help predict a tsunami by detecting sound waves that race through the deep ocean more than 10 times faster than the more destructive wave.

“Severe sea states, such as tsunamis, rogue Usama Kadri waves, storms, landslides, and even meteorite fall, can all generate acoustic-gravity waves,” said Usama Kadri, a research affi liate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT).

“We hope we can use these waves to set an early alarm for severe sea states in general and tsunamis in particular, and potentially save lives,” Kadri said.

Acoustic-gravity waves are very long sound waves that cut through the deep ocean at the speed of sound.

These lightning-quick currents can sweep up water, nutrients, salts, and any other particles in their wake, at any water depth.

They are typically triggered by violent events in the ocean, including underwater earthquakes, explosions, landslides, and even meteorites, and they carry information about these

ILLUSTRATION: CHRISTINE DANILOFF/MIT

Acoustic-gravity waves are very long sound waves that cut through the deep ocean at the speed of sound

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

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

Hum

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

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

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

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

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

Saath Saath

When

HUNGER STRIKES past midnight

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

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

The Kamdars

Run for…

yourself

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

PUNE’S FIRST WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

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THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MARCH 5, 2016

PUNE

The Finance Minister has announced a new scheme-Fair and Lovely scheme. In this scheme, any thief of the country can convert his black money into white. If anyone indulges in corruption, he can convert his black money into white using the Fair and Lovely scheme —Rahul Gandhi, Congress Vice-President

China to shed 1.8 million jobs in coal and steel sectors P 14

‘Action against terror takes priority’ India had blamed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed for the Pathankot attack and sought action against the perpetrators of the strike NEW DELHI: India has indicated that action against terror by Pakistan will take priority over talks with it in the aftermath of the Pathankot strike that had prompted the postponement of the Foreign Secretary-level talks.

“In the aftermath of a terror attack, if you ask me what do you give priority to, a terrorist attack or a diplomatic dialogue, I think the answer should be obvious,” Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said.

He was replying to a question during an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue -- a conclave on geo-economics and geo-politics -- on whether FS talks between the two countries were linked to action by Pakistan on information given to it by India on Pathankot terror attack.

Jaishankar said both the countries were in touch with each other following the Pathankot attack, primarily at the level of National Security Advisers and to a certain extent between him and his Pakistani counterpart.

The Foreign Secretary said “parallel processes” are at works.

India had blamed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed for the Pathankot attack and sought action against the perpetrators of the strike which had led to the postponement of Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary-level talks. India had said Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar masterminded the attack.

Talking about overall Indo-Pak ties, he said India was for a “much more modern relationship” with Islamabad but for that to happen there was a need

Pak team denied access to inmates at Jaipur

Security personnel at Pathankot Air Force base during the military operations

to have change in attitude towards a number of issues of which terrorism is a “central” one.

Underlining the need for better connectivity between India and Pakistan, he said, “It takes two hands to clap” and that India would like to have same kind of ties with Islamabad like with other neighbours.

“Most people in this country wants to treat Pakistan as a normal neighbour.

So we would like to do with Pakistan what we do with everybody else. But the fact is that there are obstacles and we know what the obstacles are,” he said, emphasising on the need need to remove the obstacles. MORE PTI MPB To a question whether India

Radia ventures into healthcare biz

MATHURA: Making a comeback, PR veteran Niira Radia has ventured into healthcare business through a new entity Nayati Healthcare, whose first hospital was inaugurated here by Ratan Tata.

Nayati Healthcare plans to open a hospital in Amritsar next while the Mathura facility would be a hub for cancer treatment in the region, Radia told PTI. After inaugurating the 351bed multi super specialty hospital, Tata said: “It is heartening to see

a full-fledged specialty hospital being established in Mathura with considerable personal sacrifice, driven by passion and a genuine desire to serve the community.” The hospital would provide “much needed medical help and healthcare facilities for the people of the region”, Tata said.

Radia said the hospital is poised to serve not only the population of Western Uttar Pradesh but will be the centre of excellence for the whole of North India.

PTI

RAVENOUS RHINOCEROS

and Pakistan can remain isolated, Jaishankar said they shouldn’t and that New Delhi has been making sincere efforts to improve ties with Pakistan.

“I cannot think of any Prime Minister of India who did not strive for better relations with Pakistan. There may be differences in nuances, pace and packaging,” he said.

Last moth, Pakistan had lodged an FIR into the Pathankot terror attack case which was seen by India as a “step forward” in bringing the perpetrators of the strike to justice.

The FIR was filed against “unknown persons” though India had named Masood Azhar as mastermind of the strike.

India submitted evidence to show

Statutory status to Aadhaar NEW DELHI: Government has decided to accord statutory status to Aadhaar to ensure that benefits of the government subsidies directly reach the needy. “Additionally, as I will elaborate later, we will undertake significant reform including enactment of a law to ensure all government benefits are conferred to people who deserve it by giving a statutory backing to the Aadhar platform,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said while announcing Union Budget 2016-17.

Till date over 98 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated. Per day average of 26 lakh biometric and over 1.5 lakh e-KYC transactions are made.

PTI

BY KJM VARMA

Vol-II* lssue No.: 38 Editor: Yogesh Sadhwani (Responsible for the selection of news under the PRB Act, 1867) Printed and Published by: Shrikant Honnavarkar on behalf of Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. CIN:U22200PN2014PTC151382 and printed at PRI – Media Services Private Limited CIN: U22222MH2012PTC232006 at Plot No. EL-201, TTC Industrial Area, MIDC, Mahape, Navi Mumbai.

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NEW DELHI: Claiming that whistleblowers have lost confidence in institutions like Central Vigilance Commission and the laws aimed at protecting them in fight against corruption, civil society members launched Citizens’ Whistle Blower Forum (CWBF) to help them “expose” graft.

Speaking to reporters after conclusion of two-day ‘Act Now National Convention on Corruption’ here, Swaraj Abhiyan leader Prashant Bhushan said the forum will endeavour to expose corruption, file PIL and get such matters probed if there was inaction and make efforts to ensure the whistleblowers are protected.

Bhushan said the “apolitical” forum will ensure that the identities of whistleblowers are protected. He said the forum will not be affiliated to any political party.

He said the CWBF will take up complaints from across the country.

The forum also released an email address citizenswhistleblowerforum@ gmail.com where whistleblowers can send their complaints.

Besides Bhushan, Justices (Retd) AP Shah and Santosh Hegde, Admiral Ramdas, ex-National Commission for Minorities chairman Wajahat Habibullah, social activist Aruna Roy, former secretary in the Central government EAS Sarma and Association of Democratic Reform founder Jagdeep Chhokar are part of the forum’s board of directors.

“It has been noted government’s CVC failed as it did not have separate investigating wings,” Bhushan said.

PTI

SC seeks BCI reply on AIBE NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has sought response from apex bar body Bar Council of India on a plea challenging holding of All India Bar Examination for granting advocacy licences, saying the profession has become “overcrowded” and the system is “crying for reforms”.

A bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice U U Lalit said the matter needs elaborate examination by a three-judge bench and indicated that it may appoint an amicus curaie to assist it in reforming the system.

The bench also said that it would examine as to whether conducting the AIBE falls under the statutory sanction of the Advocates Act or not.

“We have too many lawyers practising the profession and this profession has become overcrowded,” the court said, adding that there has to be a system in place to ensure that only capable professionals enter the profession.

“The system is crying for reforms,” the bench said. The court was hearing a plea of R Nagabushana seeking quashing of BCI’s notification on AIBE on the ground that it takes away the statutory right,

given to an eligible person to practice law. The BCI conducts AIBE to examine an advocate’s capability to practice the profession of law and it has been made mandatory. The apex court had observed the right to practice law is a fundamental right for LL.B degree holder and introduction of the examination by Bar Council of India for granting advocacy license “negates” the very right.

PTI

The BCI conducts AIBE to examine an advocate’s capability to practice

India likely to get loan for solar project The NDB became fully-operational after agreeing to place its headquarters in Shanghai

A one-horned rhinoceros runs in search of food through a village at Bokakhat near Kaziranga national park in Assam

that the six men who opened fire at the air base came from across the border, and demanded action against the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed led

by Azhar.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz said the SIT may visit India in the next few days and hoped that the Foreign Secretary-level talks will be scheduled very soon.

Pakistan last week set up a fivemember Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the terror attack.

Earlier, a six-member SIT was set up by the government for the initial probe into the January 2 attack based on the leads given by India.

PTI

NEW DELHI: The Pakistan High Commission said that a team of its diplomats was denied access to inmates in Jaipur prison and the matter has been taken up with the External Affairs Ministry.

“The incident occurred on February 25 when the delegation came here to meet the Pakistani prisoners, which also includes Pakistani fishermen consisting minors and women,” the High Commission said.

It said the matter has been taken up with the Ministry of External Affairs asking them to look into it with a view to ensuring that such lapses do not recur in future.

Pakistan has always given top priority to such humanitarian issues and facilitated the access of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to Indian prisoners, it said. According to an official at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, “the four-member team had permission from the Ministry of External Affairs to give consular access to Pakistani prisoners but they were denied access to the Pakistani prisoners.”

The Pakistani High Commission official said there are 25 Pakistani prisoners in Jaipur jail.

Citizens’ Whistle Blower Forum launched

SHANGHAI: The New Development Bank set up by BRICS countries aims to lend up to USD 2 billion this year starting in about two months and the multilateral lender’s first loan to India could be for a green solar energy project, its president KV Kamath said.

“For this year, if we can approve one-and-a-half to two billion dollars I will be happy. We are six months into setting up the bank. We do not want to take steps which are too fast,” Kamath told PTI. While the bank is in the process of finalising its set of loans to green projects from each of the BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — India’s first loan could be for a solar project, the eminent banker hinted.

“The projects we are looking at are all green projects.

They are primarily in solar. A variety of initiatives were placed before us by the government,” he said.

Kamath, 68, said the bank is also looking for water projects and thereafter road projects to fund. The bank will release the first set of loans

by April this year.

“These are primary steps for us.

We will understand what is the larger context that is playing out in India and follow that strategy. We have no preset mind,” he said.

About how NDB can back the ‘Make in India’ campaign, he said “our key role is of a catalyst. Multilateral bank can not meet the entire development effort. It is how you innovate and add value and bring together markets and other players in the baking in system make a difference,” Kamath said.

“We will work with the country and what they think is priority,” he said, adding that the signals suggest that the members states are articulating green

projects.

“We are happy to work along on green (projects),” he said.

The NDB became fully-operational after it signed an agreement with China to place its headquarters in Shanghai, according the bank a legal status under Chinese regulations.

Established with an initial subscribed capital of USD 50 billion, the NDB has a total paid-in capital of USD 10 billion. Its founding members have already brought-in a capital of USD 1 billion as initial contribution.

Reserver Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, who witnessed the signing of the headquarters agreement,

Officials pose for a family photo of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting at the Pudong Shangri-la Hotel in Shanghai, China

termed the bank a “worthwhile venture” by the five-member bloc.

“It is a co-operative effort between all the BRICS countries. Let us see how it develops. Lots of hopes embedded in it for greater cooperation among BRICS countries,” he said.

Rajan was in Shanghai to attend the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors.

India, expected to grow at 7 or 7.5 per cent this year, is the only BRICS member that posted a better economic growth than other members, including China.

Asked how the NDB has planned its funding, Kamath said 1 billion paid-in capital has come in. “We are starting at debt leverage. We could safely leverage this capital to two to two and half times, which is another two and half billion dollars.”

“We said we would like to raise local currencies predominantly. The first issue only will be in Chinese market because the rates of interest is very attractive. India is right up there in terms of wanting to access,” he said.

“The first borrowing is happening in China. There could certainly borrowing in India as we go along and other member countries. In the course of time there will be a dollar borrowing,” he said. The bank is also sounding out other potential markets.

“We find South Africa is a deep market for the local needs. Russia has also welcomed the local issue,” he said.

PTI

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATUR MARCH 5, 2016

Ex-army men provide a breeding ground for football satrs P 16

PUNE

Terrorism is something our own domestic (concern). It is overflow of terrorism from Afghanistan that becomes the second (top security concern for Pakistan) within our borders, which hopefully we would be able to control it in the next few years —Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs

UK Sikhs oppose Terror groups stealing use of term ‘Asian’ sovereignty of Pakistan: Kerry

BY ADITI KHANNA

Sartaj Aziz reiterates country’s resolve to ‘finish and win’ fight against terrorism

Pak told to reduce N arsenal

BY LALIT K JHA WASHINGTON: Terrorist groups like LeT and the Haqqani network are “stealing sovereignty” of Pakistan, US Secretary of State John Kerry has warned as he reminded the country of its commitment that it would take action against all terror outfits without discrimination.

“Groups like the Haqqani network or Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-eMohammad, all of these groups are literally stealing sovereignty of the nation. And they are stealing the future of the nation. It is important for us to stand up to them,” Kerry said in his opening remarks at the USPakistan Strategic Dialogue, which he co-chaired with Pakistani Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz.

“We welcome Pakistan’s commitment not to differentiate between terrorist groups...Groups like the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba seek to undermine Pakistan’s efforts to foster strong, positive relationship with its neighbours,” Kerry said.

“We recognise that every country can do more to intensify, to destroy and defeat violent radical extremists.

We commend Pakistan for its... approach to implement the national action plan to eliminate the ability of the militant groups to recruit, to

Secretary of State John Kerry and Pakistan Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz at the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue meeting at the State Department in Washington

finance and to incite violence,” said the top American diplomat, as he referred to the recent terrorist attack on the Bachha Khan University.

Aziz, in his opening remarks, reiterated Pakistan’s resolve to “finish and win” the fight against terrorism.

“Our strategy to eliminate the terrorist networks and defeat their extremist ideology is allencompassing,” he said.

Through military operation Zarbe-Azb, Pakistan is determined to deny space to any terrorist groups to plan and launch violent activities from the Pakistani soil, he said.

“After almost year and a half since

Pak hails Oscar winning film-maker

BY SAJJAD HUSSAIN

ISLAMABAD: Sharmeen ObaidChinoy was hailed in Pakistan for being a “source of inspiration” to all women of her country by winning the prestigious Oscar, her second, for her new documentary dealing with the sensitive topic of honour killings.

President Mamnoon Hussain termed Chinoy’s choice of the subject as “heroic”. “Sharmeen had performed a heroic deed by highlighting an important social issue. She deserves congratulation for this,” Hussain said.

Chinoy, 37, was to awarded the Oscar for the documentary “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness” which tells the story of a girl who was shot in the face and thrown in a river for marrying a man of her choice.

18-year-old Saba, who fell in love and eloped, was targeted by her father and uncle but survived to tell her story.

“Every year, more than 1,000

girls and women are the victims of religiously motivated honour killings in Pakistan, especially in rural areas,” the Oscars website said.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs (SAPM) Syed Tariq Fatemi also congratulated Chinoy for winning the best documentary short award at the 88th Academy Awards at a ceremony held at Los Angles, United States.

“It was a matter of pride for the nation that a daughter of Pakistan had yet again, achieved this distinction, which was a source of inspiration for all Pakistani women,” he said.

Earlier, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif congratulated her for the Oscar nomination and also organised a special screening of her documentary at his office exactly a week ago.

Sharif said on the occasion that “there was no honour in honour killing”.

PTI

its launch, Zarb-e-Azb is probably the most successful story in the history of counter-terrorism operations,” he claimed. Pakistan is taking all necessary measures to launch intelligence-based operations and choke the funding sources of terrorist organisations. So far, more than one billion rupees worth of accounts have been frozen by the State Bank of Pakistan belonging to the terrorist and extremist organisations, he said.

Aziz said multiple actions are underway to defeat the extremist agenda or propaganda of the terrorist organisations.

PTI

WASHINGTON: The US has pressed Pakistan to reduce its growing nuclear arsenal but Islamabad has refused to accept any curbs on it saying America must show “greater understanding” of its security concerns in South Asia.

Citing the example of the US and Russia which are working to further reduce their nuclear arsenals, Secretary of State John Kerry asked Pakistan to understand this reality and review its nuclear policy.

The nuclear issue was discussed during security talks held recently as part of the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue.

“I think, it is important for Pakistan to really process that reality and put that front and centre in its policy,” Kerry said in an apparent reference to the reports that Pakistan has the fastest growing stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world.

His remarks come ahead of this month’s Nuclear Security Summit to be hosted here by President Barack Obama that would be attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

LONDON: A British Sikh group asked the police to refrain from the use of the term “Asian” when referring to criminals with South Asia origins, especially in the aftermath of Rotherham sex-trials that largely involve Pakistani Muslim men, who preyed on teenage girls.

The Sikh Federation UK made the plea following the conviction of four Pakistani-origin men, belonging to a single family, for raping and sexually abusing as many as 15 teenage girls for over 16 years in Rotherham, northern England, last week.

“If the four men that have been found guilty and carried out the abuse were Pakistani Muslims, this is how they should be described and not called Asian,” Bhai Amrik Singh of the group told ‘The Independent’.

“One of the demands in the Sikh Manifesto that we published a year ago before the General Election was that the government should encourage public bodies and the media to abandon the use of the term ‘Asian’ when describing perpetrators for reasons of political correctness,” he added.

The ringleader, Arshid Hussain, was imprisoned for 35 years, while his brothers Basharat Hussain, 39, and Bannaras Hussain, 36, were handed 25 years and 19 years respectively.

Their uncle Qurban Ali, 53, was jailed for 10 years.

The case has been prominently discussed in the media as an example of “Asian grooming gangs”, which the

group believes divides communities.

“We have learnt the perpetrators of these crimes regarded themselves as above the law as the authorities were supposedly worried about race relations and turned a blind eye despite repeated warnings,” Singh said.

The issue was also previously criticised in December 2013, when Sikh and Hindu groups started a petition. In a joint statement then, the Hindu Council UK, the Network of Sikh Organisations, Sikh Media Monitoring Group and the Sikh Awareness Society, said: “Communities who themselves fall victim of this emerging pattern of criminality, should not be besmirched by the vague terminology ‘Asian’. In order to help find a solution to the problem, we need to be clear on the identity of those involved.”

The petition closed with 1,859 signatures calling for the word “Asian” not to be used in grooming and sex abuse cases.

PTI

China facing big food supply shortfall: Official

BLACKOUT IN WHITEOUT

A woman walks with her children through a park in Prague, Czech Republic. Thousands of people are without electricity following heavy snowfall that hit the Czech Republic overnight

BEIJING: Notwithstanding bumper harvests, China had a massive shortfall of up to 25 million tonnes in the amount of grain it produced and consumed in 2015, prompting record imports, a Chinese official said recently.

China faces a problem as people’s appetites grow, Chen Xiwen, director of the office of the central agricultural work leading team, said during an agricultural forum.

China’s total grain output increased 2.4 per cent year on year to 621 million tonnes in 2015, the 12th straight year of growth. Still, authorities have had to look abroad to close the gap, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Food imports reached a record 120 million tonnes last year, with soybean accounting for over 70 per cent of the total.

Policymakers renewed their commitment to safeguarding food security during a top-level rural work conference at the end of 2015.

PTI

Global leaders wary of UK exit from EU Nepal-India ties on firm footing: Oli Brexit would be a shock among rising downside risks and vulnerabilities for the world economy

SHANGHAI/LONDON: The global economy will suffer a “shock” if Britain leaves the EU, finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s biggest economies including India have warned, boosting Prime Minister David Cameron’s strong stand against leaving the bloc.

A so-called Brexit would be a “shock” that ranks among rising downside risks and vulnerabilities for the world economy, the G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs said after a meeting here in Shanghai, China’s gleaming financial metropolis.

“Downside risks and vulnerabilities have risen, against the backdrop of volatile capital flows, a large drop of commodity prices, escalated geopolitical tensions, the shock of a potential UK exit from the European Union and a large and increasing

British Prime Minister David Cameron argues that being part of the EU is good for the British economy

number of refugees in some regions,” they said in a joint communique at the end of a two- G20 meeting in Shanghai.

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan along with Additional Finance Secretary Dinesh Sharma attended the meeting.

Britain will hold a referendum on membership in the EU on June 23,

and markets are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact on trade, jobs and investment if voters choose to leave the bloc of 500 million people.

UK Chancellor George Osborne described the prospect of a UK exit from the 27-member European Union as “deadly serious.”

“The financial leaders of the world’s biggest countries have given

their unanimous verdict. They say that a British exit from the EU would be a shock to the world economy,” Osborne told the BBC in Shanghai. “If it’s a shock to the world economy, imagine what it would do to Britain.”

Some prominent politicians, including London mayor Boris Johnson, have backed the Brexit campaign. Opinion polls show voters in Europe’s second biggest economy are deeply divided over the issue, and many remain undecided.

British Prime Minister David Cameron argues that being part of the EU is good for the British economy.

But his opponents say EU membership is costly, creates regulatory red tape and allows unlimited immigration.

In Shanghai, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde told reporters the issue was included in the G20 communique “as soon as the meetings really effectively started”.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Cameron warned that gaps in the case for a Brexit made it the “gamble of the century”.

PTI

BY SHIRISH B PRADHAN KATHMANDU: Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli said he tried to clear the “misconception” about Nepal’s new Constitution during his India visit when he also assured the Indian leadership that he would not allow the Nepalese territory to be used against any of its neighbours.

Oli said he has always emphasised on maintaining Nepal’s territorial integrity and sovereignty while making bilateral dealings and during his visit to India, he tried to maintain “high dignity” of the country.

He said that during his high-level political meetings in Delhi, he had “tried to clear all doubts regarding

the misconception” about the new Constitution of Nepal, opposed by Madhesis who are largely of Indianorigin.

“The constitution has treated all the citizens equally and there is no bias against any community,” he added.

The 64-year-old premier said his maiden six- state visit to India, which was his first overseas, had been instrumental in clearing past misunderstandings and contributed in strengthening the relations between the two neighbours.

“Nepal India relations can see ups and downs in the course of time but there is no way that the relations could take a wrong course,” he said.

PTI

Oli’s visit to India has helped to clear doubts and misgivings

MONEY MATT ER S

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MARCH 5, 2016

PUNE

Given our technology and skill base, the government is keen to develop India as an MRO hub in Asia, attracting business from foreign airlines while retaining the domestic business.

— Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Union Minister

Signposts

Currently, we have little over 1,300 employees and we are looking to hire 200-300 people next fiscal as per our plans to open new stores.

— Mohit Bhayana, Retail Head, Marks & Spencer

Rating agencies pick holes; S&P says no revision for two years

Moderately positive for all

Budget does not make Standard & Poor change their rating outlook

Black money to attract double payout In a stern warning to black money holders, the government has said those caught with illicit wealth within the country would have to cough up 90 per cent in tax and penalty and also face up to 7 years in jail if they fail to declare it during the four-month compliance window. The window, announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget 2016-17, will begin on June 1 and provides an opportunity to avoid prosecution with payment of 30 per cent tax and 15 per cent penalty. After the end of the window, the penalty will increase to 60 per cent while 30 per cent tax will also have to be paid, thus doubling the total payout to 90 per cent from 45 per cent.

Global rating agency Standard & Poor’s has said the Budget contains a number of positives but the roadmap for fiscal consolidation is tepid and there was no room for any positive action in the next two years.

Its grouse arises from the fact that the Finance Minister has stuck to the fiscal deficit target announced last year at 3.9 per cent for this fiscal and 3.5 per cent for the next, skipping an incremental roadmap.

While Moody’s and Fitch remained silent on the rating side, the largest of the three S&P was very vocal in saying the Budget does not make them change their rating outlook either this year or next. S&P while welcoming the Budget in general said the proposal on the fiscal side shows only limited progress and ruled out any changes in rating outlook for next two years.

“The Budget has made limited progress in fiscal consolidation and it only modestly reduces the vulnerabilities associated with the low per capita income and weak public finances,” S&P credit analyst Kyran Curry said in a note.

“Without marked improvements in the general government’s fiscal outturns and accompanying declines in net debt, we do not expect to change our rating on India (BBB-/Stable) this year or the next,” Curry added.

“Government’s debt burden and subsidy spending continue to significantly constrain its fiscal policy options,” said Curry, adding “interest payments and subsidies account for almost 40 per cent of total budgetary expenditure.” Thomas Rookmaaker, director at Fitch’s Asia-Pacific sovereign group said, even the announced “fiscal target is subject to substantial uncertainty and the 3.5 per cent target looks challenging” considering the tepid revenue growth projections for the next fiscal.

Moody’s on the other hand said “from a sovereign credit perspective, it wants to know whether the trend

Vodafone, Cairn urged to pay up

of falling annual fiscal deficits would be maintained in FY16 estimate and FY17 target?” It also posed queries on how the allocation of government resources towards civil servant pay hikes, and bank recapitalisation would affect FY17 budget targets apart from questioning whether new measures to address the structural challenges over the medium term would be introduced.

“As expected, fiscal consolidation will be gradual, challenging and vulnerable to adverse economic trends,” Moody’s said adding the Rs 25,000-crore allocated for bank recapitalisation is not as high as market estimated.

Moody’s also noted that none of the several measures announced in the Budget on the revenue and expenditure fronts, heralds a structural shift in the fiscal or macroeconomic framework.

“The Budget target appears to recognise that pressures on the expenditure side are mounting, given the significant costs of funding government employee wages and benefits, as well as bank recapitalisation costs,” Moody’s said and warned that whether the FY17 deficit target will be met will depend on the extent to which direct and indirect revenue recovers--whether corporate profitability and rural consumption recovers and on the weather patterns. “A third year of weak monsoons would likely weaken growth and fiscal trends,” it warned.

On the rating side, Fitch’s Rookmaaker said from a rating perspective, the budget contains a number of positive elements, even though it is subject to substantial uncertainty. “Firstly, the government continues to gradually broaden its ambitious reform programme and like last year, this Budget contains some further announcements of reforms, including measures related to the FDI regime, the financial sector and agriculture. “Even though it may not always be easy to pass all the proposed laws in Parliament, the government has a vision of how to structurally improve the economy and it seems to do what it can to achieve this vision,” Rookmaaker said.

PTI

China to shed 1.8 million jobs in coal and steel sectors The move is part of the Chinese government’s efforts to reduce industrial overcapacity

Economy worth USD 298 billion

Asserting that the tax demand against them has been “rightly generated”, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Tuesday said companies like Vodafone and Cairn Energy should promptly avail the one-time dispute resolution scheme announced in the Budget to close the issue by paying the principal tax and getting waiver on interest and penalty.

CBDT Chairman Atulesh Jindal said “as long as” the retrospective amendment of the IT Act passed by Parliament remains valid, the “demand (of tax against them) remains valid.”

Jindal, in an interview to PTI, said apart from UK’s Vodafone Group plc and Cairn Energy plc, there are about a dozen more such companies which are facing similar demands due to the retrospective amendment of the Income Tax Act.

“They (companies) are basically challenging the retrospective amendment.

Retrospective amendments have been passed by Parliament. They have not gone against passing of retrospective amendment before any court... so, as long as the retrospective amendment is valid, the demand (of the IT department) remains valid.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget speech on Monday, announced a new dispute resolution mechanism for such companies who are in confrontation with the taxman’s action.

“In order to give an opportunity to the past cases which are ongoing under the retrospective amendment, I propose a one-time scheme of Dispute Resolution for them,” Jaitley said.

PTI

China created 13.12 million urban jobs in 2015

China will lay off a total of 1.8 million redundant workers in the country’s key coal and steel sectors as part of efforts to reduce industrial overcapacity, in the world’s second largest economy, a senior minister said on Monday.

The Chinese Central government would provide 100 billion yuan (over USD 15 billion) for redundant workers as a result, adding that he was “confident” of a smooth transition, Minister of Human Resource and Social Security Yin Weimin said.

He was confident of keeping overall employment stable this year despite downward pressure on the economy. No time frame was given for when the 1.8 million workers would be let go.

Earlier this month, a Chinese Cabinet plan said China will not approve any new coal production capacity over the next three years, and will remove about 500 million tonnes of production capacity within three to five years, squeezing “zombie” coal fi rms from the market.

In 2015, China recorded a consecutive drop in coal use for a second year, with coal consumption down by 3.7 per cent, official data shows.

China created 13.12 million urban jobs last year, exceeding the government target of 10 million, while the urban employment rate stood at 4.05 per cent, Yin said.

PTI

From ride-hailing business to online auctioneers, sharing economy platforms in China have created a market worth USD 298 billion in 2015, according to an official report on Sunday.

There are 50 million sharing business providers in China and they have more than 500 million consumers, according to a report by National Information Centre.

The sharing economy generating a revenue of 1.95 trillion yuan satisfies a variety of needs in daily life and business.

In addition to taxi-hailing apps such as Didi, product, knowledge and service-based providers have mushroomed on the Internet, said Yang Yixin, deputy secretarygeneral of the China Internet Association told the media.

Didi raised tens of billions of US dollars last year from domestic and overseas investors.

Moody’s Investors Service has described the Budget as moderately credit positive for most sectors except public sector banks, but warned that deficit reduction will remain challenging.

“Budget is modestly credit positive for the sovereign, since it indicates a continued commitment to gradual fiscal consolidation by bringing down fiscal deficits to 3 per cent over the next two years,” Atsi Sheth, a Moody’s Associate Managing Director for the Sovereign Risk Group, said.

She however said the Budget proposals do not contain significant measures to address structural fiscal challenges, such as the government’s low tax revenue base and the vulnerability of government finances to economic shocks. Th is means, any deficit reduction will come from either cyclical upswings or tactical fiscal management, rather than a broadbased fiscal consolidation strategy.

The Budget is credit negative for public sector banks due to the insufficient allocation of capital for the sector, as the government has stuck to the capital infusion roadmap announced last year, budgeting just Rs 25,000 crore in capital injections next fiscal.

Gross non-performing assets of 39 listed banks surged to Rs 4.38 trillion in the December quarter, up from Rs 3.4 trillion in the previous quarter.

‘Few mega industries may shut units in Goa’ Industry body Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) warned that few mega industries in the state are contemplating to shut down their units.

GCCI had earlier pointed out to the unhealthy environment for industrial growth in the state, claiming in the last couple of years, a large number of industrial units have closed down.

“We also have feelers from a few large units that their managements are contemplating shutting units in Goa or shifting operations out of the state.

Th is does not augur well for the state,” GCCI said.

It said as per the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Survey 2015, Goa is ranked 19th amongst Indian states.

The chamber has suggested “three to five member task force under the chairmanship of the chief minister or chief secretary should be set up to assess the problems faced by the existing units in the state and also to check the possibilities of reviving the closed units.”

According to GCCI, industries in the coastal state are also highly taxed with a lot of tax distortions and disparities.

PTI

Odisha gov to keep vigil on companies collecting deposits Govt has asked district collectors to protect gullible investors from unscrupulous companies

In its bid to save gullible investors in the state, the Odisha government asked the District Collectors and Superintendents of Police (SPs) to keep vigil on activities of non-banking companies collecting public deposits.

The decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the State Level Coordination Committee on checking illegal public deposit and money circulation activities, under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary AP Padhi.

The issues related to stopping of

illegal public deposit by non-banking companies, duping people under the pretext of higher returns and rewards against the deposits, new ways adopted by vested interest groups to cheat people, collection of money by multi-state cooperative societies were discussed and strategies were worked out to check such activities, an official said.

Padhi directed Special Director General of Crime Branch of Odisha Police BK Shrama to ask the SPs and Collectors to keep tab on the activities of the non-banking fi nancial entities including multi-state cooperative societies and fake insurance companies who were trying to cheat the people.

Inspector in-charge of all police stations and SPs have been asked to

give a monthly report on this aspect and take proactive action to prohibit these activities, the official said.

The Chief Secretary directed the Registrar, Cooperative Societies to ban collection of deposits from nominal members by cooperative societies and stop all illegal collection through cooperative societies.

Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary Finance R Balakrishnan suggested bringing about necessary amendments in the cooperative rules enabling the authority to impose punitive actions against the offenders.

Balakrishnan also emphasised on intensification of the investors awareness camp and fi nancial literacy at Panchayat and village levels, the official said. Regional director RBI

PK Jena said almost all major Odia dailies accepted the request that they would not carry advertisements given by such companies.

Padi said all agencies dealing with public advertisements would also be requested accordingly.

A new trend of money cheating had started from the neighbouring states under the guise of producer companies, the official said.

The list of such incorporated companies was collected from the Registrar of Companies and sent to all SPs with the direction to keep close watch on their activities, he said.

Meanwhile, the SEBI has passed orders against 23 entities in Odisha for illegal public fund mobilisation.

PTI

Following Centre’s plans, Odisha government has reduced the time required for giving various approvals through its e-biz portal for investors to promote ease of doing business

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MARCH 5, 2016

PUNE

WEEK THAT WAS AAMBY VALLEY GATES UNSEALED AFTER CEO PAYS TAX

OF LANDSCAPES, FIGURATIVE AND WADAS

SHOW SOME LOVE FOR THE EMPRESS OF ELECTRONICA

She has redefined the Indian Electronic scene.

Whether she plays progressive trance, dirty house, techno or chilled ambient grooves, Ma Faiza is guaranteed to be in her element behind the decks. She is a leading light in the dance music scene in India so come on Pune, you don’t want to miss this explosive gig.

When: March 5 Where: blueFROG, Ishanya Mall

PUNE IS RAISING THE BAR AT BOMBAY HIGH

Bombay High is all set for a grand commercial launch this weekend. Spread over a lavish 9,000 sq ft, the club plans to re-invent Pune’s night-life. One of the most premier clubs in the city, Bombay High incorporates the spirit of Mumbai in the Victorian Era. The venue

Art Gratitude is an exhibition of paintings by three professional artists who paint in different mediums and subjects. In this art show one can enjoy wonderful paintings on landscapes, still life, figurative and seascapes too. While landscapes of old wadas, temples, small boats at sea shore and few from Konkan areas are painted in water by Sachin Naik and Mohan Charya. Sachin paints on location.

Mohan Charya is displaying few figurative and landscapes in oil and acrylic with unique bold style. Pooja Kale is skilled in oil and acrylic still life and figures. Her favorite subject is still life with simple objects used in day to day life.

When: March 6 to March 26, 10 am to 6 pm Where: Bliss Art Gallery, Lane E, Koregaon Park

SUPER WOMEN DESERVE SUPER FUN

Join the Women’s Day celebration at Amanora Town Centre Mall as they’ve got some exciting activities lined up for you on this very special day. Right from an allwomen band performance to a skit with a women empowerment and abuse theme which would be performed by Lila fellows of the Lila Poonawalla Foundation, cupcake and cooking workshops, flea market and exclusive grooming sessions.

When: March 5, 4 pm to 8 pm Where: Amanora Town Centre Mall, Hadapsar.

THE MAD HATTERS AT THE BEER CAFE

embraces five VIP sections and a 60 ft-long bar- the longest bar in Pune. With the most stellar line-up of renowned international acts, the club plans on having a great weekly event calendar. To top it all off, the menu exhibits delicacies from the streets of Mumbai to its town side European restaurants. The first commercial night opens with DJ Paroma and massive international act by Promise Land.

When: March 5, 8 pm onwards Where: Bombay High, Orchid Hotel, Balewadi

This Saturday, enjoy an unparalleled beering experience with a performance by The Mad Hatters. The two-piece band consists of Jude Eagen and Zane Rodrigues who usually play country, reggae and soul among other genres.

The band plays diverse and unique covers of popular songs from a wide-range of genres.

They will also be performing their own songs at The Beer Cafe.

When: March 5, 9 pm onwards Where: Ground Floor, Kapila Matrix, Koregaon Park

deluxe room, guests can treat their taste buds to breakfast and dinner buffet that includes a choice of appetizers, entrées and desserts.

When: March 7 and March 9 Where: Courtyard By Marriott, Chakan

CELEBRATE WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE WITH LOST THE PLOT

Lost the Plot presents a weekend of films focusing on strong female protagonists, we say ‘strong’ but the characters featured are also complex and tender and resilient. They are not always powerful and certainly not all empowered. Their vulnerabilities shine spectacularly bright in some of the films, and not all emerge triumphant. The festival includes some award-winning cinema like He Named Me Malala, Qissa, The Help and Girlhood.

When: March 11, 8.45 pm; March 12, 7:30 pm & 9.45 pm; March 13, 7.30 pm Where: Lost The Plot, Seasons Hotel, Aundh

All the party folks and classy socialites of the town, grab your friends for one elegant party of the town with Pune’s famous DJ Abhishek Mantri who is making India proud by having a huge followership on SoundCloud. Sing along or simply groove to the Funk Deep Disco, Nu Disco and Deep House kick-ass mixes with some craziest range of alcohol mixes and scrumptious food from all cuisines only at Local- Gastro Bar. When: March 5, 8 pm onwards Where: Local Gastro Bar, 6th Floor, Kapila Matrix, Koregaon Park

GET READY TO BE PAMPERED

Courtyard By Marriott, Chakan, invites all you gorgeous ladies to get pampered and enjoy some downtime. Exiting deluxe room package includes nail art session in association with MyGlamm.com and cocktail making session. In addition to a one night or two night stay in a well-appointed

The high-profile launch of Playboy’s first Beer Garden in the city saw Bollywood celebrities, models and the who’s who of Pune. Seen here are Parag Sanghvi, MD, Playboy India, along with the guest DJ of the night, Sunny Leone and her husband Daniel Weber in arms

THE

E WE K

RAHUL RAUT

PIC OF

EDITOR

THE SUNNY SIDE OF SUNNY

DJ ABHISHEK MANTRI TAKES ON THE CONSOLE

HOUSE ON FIRE: Overflowing garbage around a bin on Vaikunth Road was set on fire on Thursday night. The fire around the bin placed close to a electric box posed a threat to lives of several residents in the area

LETTERS TO THE

Hours after gates of Aamby Valley were sealed for non-payment of tax, Mulshi Tehsildar allowed the gates to be opened. This was after Aamby Valley CEO Vivek Kumar paid the dues. The drama at Sahara Group owned Aamby Valley had begun on Tuesday around 8.30 am. Prashant Dhage, Tehsildar of Mulshi ordered its sealing and cordoned off all gates and site offices of the city. He said that Aamby Valley had defaulted on payment of nonagricultural tax. The plush Sahara Parivar complex owed a whopping Rs 4.82 crore to the state treasury, which they had been defaulting for many years, according to the tehsildar. “After they didn’t pay last year, we were forced to take action in March,” Dhage said.

Later in the day, with government officials refusing to budge, Kumar issued a post-dated cheque. He issued a press statement claiming that the actual amount that the company owed to the state treasury was Rs 27 lakh, far lesser than the figure quoted by the Tehsildar.

That’s what friends are for It’s inspiring indeed to hear of people who do good for others without a thought for personal gain. The Mr & Ms Do-Gooders of last week’s Spotlight are the kind of people we need more of. They are doing selfless deeds to give underprivileged children a helping hand. It is such a heart-warming endeavour as they provide food to the kids, teach them music

or help them out with education. It is especially laudable in today’s busy urban life, when one does not have enough time for oneself. Helping one another is a trait we seem to have left behind a long time ago, and the heroes of your story are reminding us of our lost human inclinations.

—Mohan Shodha

FIVE TECHIES DRUG COLLEAGUE AND GANG RAPE HER IN DHANORI Abhinay Sahi (28) of Shrihans Nagar, Dhanori, Pittanshu Akhileshkumar Gupta (23) of Snehavardhan Society, Sahakarnagar, Devrath Prashant Dube (23) of Bhairav Nagar, Dhanori, Anand Pralhad Chaar (27) of Shrihans Nagar, Gokulnagar, Dhanori, Abhijit Govind Devray (25) of Lohegaon and Tanushree Habsingh Jagi (30), Sankalp Nagari, Dhanori were arrested by the police on February 29, in connection with the gang rape of a woman employee of an IT company in Hinjewadi last weekend.

The arrested, Sahi, Gupta, Dube, Devray and Chaar are employees of the same company, while Jagi was an accomplice in the crime, said Surekha Gharge, Assistant Police Inspector, who is investigating the case.

The 24-year-old victim was lured by Sahi under the pretext of their company’s annual gathering to Hotel Irish in Mundhwa, where the culprit spiked her iced tea. The culprit then took her to flat 101, Rainbow society, Bhairavnagar in Dhanori, where Sahi and the other five culprits raped her repeatedly from Saturday afternoon to Sunday noon, said Janmahammad Pathan, senior police inspector.

Lighting the creative spark

The production innovation lab at Pimpri College is a big step in the right direction in this age, when human lives are being transformed by the miracles of science and technology. Creators an inventors need just such an environment for them to be able to conjure up ideas and concepts that will benefit humanity as a whole.

It will give these creative-minded people to exchange ideas, and inspire each other. Even schools and colleges should provide creative spaces that will promote innovation..

—Shubha Dalvi

When we ourselves are to blame The MAHADISCOM is responsible for providing us electricity round the clock. And they face the flak when the electricity supply goes off for whatever reason. In such a backdrop, it is astounding that citizens are so careless, and their garbage-burning on street corners has damaged electric cables which had to be replaced. Even citizens have to behave responsibly and take care not to damage public property. The electricity department needs to be appreciated for the crucial service they provide, and we should provide the MAHADISCOM all the support and co-operation that they deserve.

—Shami Pujari

The Mathadi millionaires The story about the Mathadi workers who are earning lakh-rupee monthly salaries by carrying 25 tonnes of goods a day, raises many questions. There seems to be a conspiracy even among their superiors, as their bringing in outside workers to carry out the load-carrying jobs is passed over though it is illegal. The Mathadis or load-carriers, in the past, were very badly off and their lives must have been really hard. But the current generation are not only much better off, but they are devising novel means to earn far beyond what was in their reach. And they are doing this right under the noses of their superiors who turn a blind eye to the flouting of the law. There’s more to this than meets the eye.

—Satyajeet Thumare

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY MARCH 5, 2016

PUNE

SPORTS

“We have to do something very special at the World T20 because ours is a tough group. We’ve given youngsters plenty of opportunities, what else can you do?”

— Shahid Afridi, Pakistan Skipper

Signposts PYC wins inter-club Shashi Vaidya tennis PYC Gymkhana B emerged champions in the plate division of the 5th edition of the Shashi Vaidya Memorial Interclub Tennis Championships organised by the PMDTA. In the plate division finals, PYC B outplayed Deccan C 24-7. In the 100+ event, Yogesh Pantsachiv combining with Sailesh Dore, registered a close 6-3 win over Sangram Jagdale and Pankaj Yadav.

The pair of Sunder Iyer and Himanshu Gosavi outplayed Dattu Shinde and Manoj Hardikar 6-1 to extend the lead of the team.

Kridabhushan for Deepali Deshpande Rifle shooter Deepali Deshpande will receive Symbiosis’s Kridabhushan award on Saturday (March 5). Symbiosis has been conferring the award on sports personalities and organisers for their contributions in promoting a sports culture, for 14 years.

Hemant Jogdev, Nandan Bal, Harishchandra Birajdar, Prakash Kunte and Aniruddha Deshpande are among those to receive this award. Deepali is a multiple national champion and had represented India at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She has been head coach of India’s Junior Rifle Shooting squad since 2012. Under her guidance, the youngsters have performed impressively at international events.

“I felt that my game is back. I have been trying to get as much batting time as possible and I believe I have been picking up slowly” — Yuvraj Singh, Indian Batsman

Satpute aims for saat golds

City cyclist Rutuja Satpute’s season has gotten off to a great start, with one international and two national gold medals

BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis_ashish Rutuja Satpute is on a roll. The city cyclist won a team gold medal in the South Asia Games (SAG) in Guwahati, Assam, and then clinched two gold medals in the 20th National Road Cycling Championship at Kerala.

She is delighted with the golden start to the year, and aims to continue the gold spree. “If I am able to win seven medals this year, it will be ‘Seven for Satpute’, and that should keep me in a golden mood.”

The 21-year-old’s rise has been pretty spectacular, and the regularity with which medals have come her way, seven medals in a year seems quite within her reach. In 2013, she won a bronze medal at the Asian Cycling Championship in Bangkok, and fi nished second in the 500m time trial at the Track Asia Cup at New Delhi. In 2015, she won two silver medals in the

team event in the 19th National Road Cycling Competition at Karnataka, followed by a gold medal in the 35th National Games at Kerala.

Year 2016 started with a team gold in the SAG. She was part of the Indian team, including Bidyalaxmi Devi, E Chowba Devi and G Manisha.

Unfortunately, she took ill a few days before the tournament, which affected her performance adversely.

“I was not feeling well and wanted to pull out of the tournament. But at the last minute I decided to give it a try and participated in the individual time trial. My performance was not up to the mark naturally, but I fi nished fourth. I would have brought home a gold if I was in perfect health,” she said.

She continued with her supporting role for her team which proved a boon in the team trial event.

“Supporting my team-mates and stretching the

opponents to the limits was my plan and I am happy I did it quite well and my efforts paid off,” said Rutuja, who is currently stationed at Ooty for the conditioning camp held by cycling brand Giant.

Rutuja, who is sponsored by Rutuja Satpute Giant Cycles, uses Giant Propel cycle, meant for sprint fi nishes. Stateof-the-art technology has a big role to play in a player’s performance, she thinks.

“Th is new bike is awesome.

It’s extremely light weight which is a blessing on steep ascents. The aerodynamics and other features enable one to put in one’s peak performance,” she said.

Rutuja’s quest for medals was even more evident after she missed out on a medal in SAG. She put that

behind her and was determined to make amends when she was named captain of the Maharashtra squad in the 20th National Road Cycling Championship.

“I wanted to prove that I was capable of giving it my best shot at the national competition. I had no doubts as I was confident about my performance. We landed in Kerala 15 days in advance, to get used to the terrain. I familiarized myself with the route and chalked out my strategy. I had enough practice of uphill climbs which came in handy too,” she said.

Rutuja won her medal in the Time Trial (women’s elite) and later added another in the 40km road race.

“On their home turf, the Kerala cyclists gave us a tough fight. They even tried to break our momentum.

But I kept calm and in the last sprint went all out,” said Rutuja, who is now aiming for Asian gold.

“My long-term aim is to participate in the Commonwealth Games and win a medal,” she said. ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com

Easy wins for Pune Police, Shivajians Pune Police edged out Roopali 4-3, while DSK Shivajians recorded the second win on a trot, thrashing BEG 5-1 in their league encounters at the first division super league encounter at the DSK Toyota Pune Football League first Division, organised by the PDFA and played at the BEG Football ground. Yogesh Wahval scored twice for the Pune Police to help his team to a win over Roopali.

BEG could not make the most of their home ground as they were thrashed

by DSK Shivajians. Nikhil Mali and Kamlesh Nadar scored a brace each for the winners in their 5-1 win.

Pathare leads Synerzio to big win An unbeaten 95 runs off 49 balls by opener Jagdeep Pathare helped Synerzip register a 32-run win over host Ideas in their league encounters at the 12th edition of the Ankur Joglekar Inter IT Cricket Championship, organised by the IDeas at the Poona Club ground. Batting first, Synerzip scored 182 runs for loss of four wickets. They then restricted IDeas to 150 runs. In another match, Gaurav Singh (87) helped TCS to run off to a 20-run win over Cybage. KPIT maintained their winning run, ousting IBM by 31 runs in another league match, scoring 174 for the loss of 7 wickets. KPIT restricted IBM to 143 runs, claiming 7 wickets.

Puneri Peshwas sign off with a win TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly Puneri Peshwas ended their home campaign on a positive note by beating Haryana Gold in the UBA Pro Basketball League last week.

Pune holds a 2-2 win-loss record in the tournament so far, while Haryana have lost all four of their games.

Haryana Gold began the game with intent, led by the play of their centre Jaskaran. Although he’s had a quiet tournament so far, Jaskaran stepped up today, using his length and earning his points in the paint. Haryana’s guards Vikas Mor and Himanshu Sharma were also aggressive with their penetration and finishing at the basket. For the Peshwas, young centre Gaurav Ohlan also showed up to play today, knocking down close jumpers and rising above defenders to finish in the paint. The first quarter was a high scoring affair with Haryana Gold up 31 to 25.

But Pune fought back to outscore Haryana in the second quarter.

Siddhant Shinde was on the attack, creating opportunities for his team in transition. Gaurav Ohlan was on fire throughout the contest crashing the boards, creating second chance opportunities and draining shots around the basket. Pune ended up on top at halftime 45-42, much to the delight of the boisterous crowd.

After building a double-digit lead, Haryana attempted a late comeback, employing the full court press and scoring in transition. Himanshu Sharma kept plugging away, ending up with 27 points in the game. But a late triple by Pune point guard Shinde (26 points) sealed the deal for the Peshwas who breached the century mark and ended up with a 103-81 victory. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Ex-army men provide a breeding ground for football stars Three former army men unite to promote football in India, and plan a residential academy to groom young footballers TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly Captains Ameya Kochrekar, Sachin Sharma and Nitin Pant share a common passion for sports, and the desire to give back something to society. Kochrekar was a state-level pugilist, Sharma excelled in pistol

shooting, while Pant was a professional footballer, who represented Delhi.

After serving out their Short Service Commissions (SSC), the passion for sport has brought the trio together to form Proforce, an organisation that aims to provide quality sports coaching, along with identifying and grooming Indian talent.

As part of this initiative, Proforce has launched Dream Chasers, under which they aim to target 30,000 young footballers across all centres in the fi rst round of selection, and assess the skills of the trainees, according to the Sporting Clube de Portugal (SCP) curriculum. In all, 3000 trainees will

qualify for round two and from these, 50 will be picked for round three, who will be screened in Mumbai by talent scouts from SCP. From these 45, the best 15 will be selected.

The final 15 players will be entitled to a 14-day sponsored training camp at SCP. They will also be inducted into the special training programme, which is a commitment for five years. These 15 will be based at the residential training centre of Dr Cyrus International School in Kolhapur, where, besides football training, their education as well as lodging and boarding will also be looked after. The programme will include ten months of football training in Kolhapur and one month of free

training every year at SCP. A coach from SCP will be sent to stay with the trainees in Kolhapur with an Indian as his assistant.

“We want them to be fully involved in football. They will have everything under one roof, including a sports psychologist, sport science expert, dietician and physician. Even the school has offered a separate sportbased curriculum for them. They will spend the maximum time on the field but their studies will be taken care of as well,” said Sharma.

“We wanted to promote boxing and shooting at the school level, two sports disciplines which have brought in Olympics medals for India. But

we faced several issues when we tried to promote boxing and shooting at the grassroots level. Schools which were keen on boxing, were dissuaded by parents who were wary of boxing for their children. Shooting demands strict safety rules and regulations and also a proper shooting range. That is why we have concentrated on football.

But we have started archery and fencing at some schools in Mumbai,” said Kochrekar.

The selection process in Pune will take place at Agashe College of Physical Education, Gultekdi on May 7 & 8. For details, contact Capt Nitin Pant (9769968484). tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Manjeet marshals Puneri Paltan to glory

The city team rated as the underdogs, reaches semifinals for the first time in the Pro Kabaddi League TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly

Puneri Paltan’s defender Surjeet fails to hold the tall raider, Mahendra Rajput of the Bengal Warriors. Manjeet Chillar (center) watches his teammate’s efforts

Puneri Paltan, rated as the underdogs, shrugged off the tag and performed way beyond expectations, to reach the Pro Kabaddi league semi-finals, in the third season. Manjeet Chillar, its star player and leader, and coach Ashok Shinde’s guidance, combined to enable the team to garner 43 points, and book their place in the top four for the fi rst time.

The team had displayed its

potential but ended at the bottom of the league in the last two seasons, as they failed to convert the chances into wins. Change was the need of the hour in the third season. Masterminded by coach Shinde and owners Insurekot Sports Pvt Ltd, Puneri Paltan roared back in a new avatar in this season.

The team was determined to make the semi-finals, with its impressive and promising squad.

The path to the top of the league table was not easy, but was worth celebrating and an achievement to be proud of. The team’s will to succeed was all evident, what with a completely revamped squad and the inclusion of star players, not to mention the thought given to strategy. The Paltan had signed on players who had been outstanding in the previous season,

and consequently it was a squad to be reckoned with, with its line-up of top raiders and defendants, not to mention the new spirit and enthusiasm among the players.

Puneri Paltan coach Shinde said, “It’s a feeling of mission accomplished and all our hard work has paid off. I am really thankful to the players and management who trusted me in what I was doing. After the fi rst phase, very few people expected us to reach the semi-finals. But we had belief and played each game like a final match.

We had nothing to lose, so the only option was to win. It’s team effort and sheer hard work of the players, who worked as a team. All the players kept working hard with relentless zeal and the reward is that we have reached this position.”

Team manager Kailash Kandpal said, “People love rooting for the underdog and seeing them succeed.

The underdog is perceived as being inferior to the opposition, maybe not as technically gifted or athletically gifted, and therefore the challenge to win is greater. We went into every game believing that we could win, no matter what our perceived status was.

I really appreciate the support of all the fans not only from Pune but from everywhere and sponsors for trusting us. It was great team effort.”

The team will be playing its semifinals match at Thyagaraj Stadium, New Delhi. It will be exciting and enthralling for Puneri Paltan fans to watch their favourite players striving to attain more glory. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com