Pune News Blog
A blog about life in Pune and various news in Pune city

On Thursday, in Pune district, power supply to residential and industrial areas in Shirur taluka will be stopped from 7 am - 6 pm to power supply cables make easy laying to Fiat’s developed unit at Ranjangaon.

A statement was issued by the MSPTC (Maharashtra State Power Transmission Company). They said that the power supply cable will be laid from the 220 KV Ranjangaon sub station to the Fiat unit. Therefore, power supply from 220 KV Ranjangaon Lonikand and 220 KV Babhaleshwar Ranjangaon will be stopped. As power supply from Ranjangaon sub-station will also be close and supply to 132 KV Kuruli, Whirlpool, Shirur and Indian Smelting substations will also be close.

Further, the statement said that power supply to residential and industrial areas in Shirur taluka will be close till finish the cable laying work. Supply was restored once the work is complete.

In Pune’s vicinity, modern agro-biotech college is coming up. The PES (Progressive Education Society) runs modern college is all ready to start the agri biotech college. A final nod, it had received from the state government for the project. The college will be fusion of agricultural sciences and biotechnology. Officials said that the college will begin performance from the next academic year 2009 to 10.

Dr. Gajanan Ekbote, PES chairman told Pune Mirror -

Our organization is celebrating 75 years of establishment this year. Modern college for agro-biotechnology is the new venture that will mark the platinum jubilee year celebrations.

About 55 acres of land has purchased in Paud by the society for the college. In the city, this will be the 2nd agricultural college and likely to the MPAU (Mahatma Phule Agriculture University) in Rahuri.

Modern agri-biotech college will provide a course i.e. different as of the traditional agricultural degree programme. The Modern college of agri-biotech offered the programme will have the categorization agri-biotech (B.Sc.). Ekbote said that the set of courses and syllabus is set. He adding that the next year is all ready to start the institute.

On Tuesday, the Khadki police arrested Sameer Kulkarni by the Anti Terrorist Squad inquiring the Malegaon bomb blast from the Nashik jail. In 2007, supposedly attacking pastor Peter David Silway of Aundh.

A police group led by Pandurang Shahane (crime), inspector took arrested Kulkarni. On Wednesday, he is predictable to be bringing on a transit warrant to Khadki. Shahane said on Wednesday afternoon Kulkarni was produced by the Khadki cantonment court for getting the custody.

Silve’s house three people went and the felicitating the pretext on June 7, 2008. They whipped him with stumps and sticks. Silve had lodged a FIR against unidentified people under sections 323, 324 as well as 452 read of the Indian Penal code 34.

Missing Kulkarni, after police initiated to suspect him and the police attempts to trace him in his Bijaleenagar residence in Chinchwad and other places showed useless for over a year.

At what time asked Kulkarni’s involvement in this case was discovered and the police said one of the suspects sketch and prepared the description on the basis given by the pastor and similar to Kulkarni. In this case, the witnesses have also identified the sketch and he says that of Kulkarni, the police claimed.

The investigation was closed in this case prior with the police lodging an ‘A’ summary before the court that the suspects couldn’t be traced. The police got the summary report copy on November 10 and a transit warrant for seeking Kulkarni’s custody.

Now, RTI (Right to Information) is becoming a headache for PMC (Pune Municipal Corporation). Each month are registered above 400 applications in the PMC and the management is sad.

In 2005, the RTI was passed. As then, consciousness regarding it has been rising. PMC received a whopping 2,772 applications between January to June 2008. These have been sorted out 99 percent it is good news. Each month are registered 400 RTI applications. The BPD (Building Permis­sion Department) is most busy. At least, files 7 to 9 application daily and municipal officials say that the applications sorting out is a boring job.

A top official said -

It takes a lot of time as well as money. We have to pay special at­tention to them and because of this we get very little time for our own work. The impor­tant thing to note is that most of the applications are filed by a third party, who is using the Act to create nuisance. With the e-governance project still in progress, ad­dressing the RTI applications is taking so much time.

Mr. Vijay Kumbhar (RTI activist) disallowed PMC’s allegation, and he said some government organization as well as Municipal Corporation has to publish 99% of obtainable information under section 4 of RTI Act. However, they aren’t doing it. In its work, PMC shows sincerity and transparency. There won’t have to face such a difficulty.

As the PMC (Pune Municipal Corporation) is allegedly going during a financial crisis and has still applied for a loan. It creates for a very interesting exposure that the municipal body has use as a minimum Rs 35 crore on a work that is not still in its jurisdiction. In question, the work is the electric pole shifting and noticeably the MSEDCL (Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited) work was undertaken by PMC in the whopping charge.

President of Sajag Nagrik Manch Vivek Velankar and president of Creative Foundation Sandeep Khardekar have shot off letters to Pravinsing Pardeshi, PMC Commissioner demanding that the municipal body allege back the sum use for MSEDCL. They indicate that MERC (Maharashtra Energy Regulatory Committee) has closed the electric pole shifting work is the MSEDCL.

Velankar told Pune Mirror -

We had heard about the 15 percent cut in the expenditure on development works and wrote to the PMC commissioner on July 9 earlier this year, whereas the truth of the matter was that PMC was spending the money on the electric cable shifting for 22 roads under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). At the time, we did write to the civic administration to refrain from making the unnecessary expenditure. Howerver PMC paid no heed and now it has to apply for a loan. Now, MSEDCL is claiming 1.2 percent supervision charges on the same work. Hence, PMC must collect this money from MSEDCL.

Deputy engineer of PMC electric department Shreenivas Kandul said that recently the PMC has a meeting with MSEDCL in the attendance of Dilip Valse Patil, state energy minister and the demand for the amount had been conveyed. The minister had recommended that Rs 35 crore of the total cost be borne by PMC and MSEDCL bodies however no decision had been taken in this look upon.

On Sunday, at Thergaon, the auditor of a cooperative credit society has filed a FIR against its chairperson as well as 16 directors. The scam amounts to above Rs 25.10 lakh. No held had made until now.

Mahendra Sadashiv Kharat (42-year) registered the FIR against chairman of Mauli Rural Non-agriculture Cooperative credit Society Manda Parabhakar Abhange and other directors.

The indicted was chairman during from May 2001- March 2005, he says. At what time the scam took place. All the indicted collected deposits from account owners during the period but not paid interest as well as not returned the basic amount.

The MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) had opposed the standing committees’ verdict to hike corporators the monthly honorarium to Rs 10,000 in the PMC (Pune Municipal Corporation).

In fact, the 8 corporators from the party have decided to utilize the obtainable honorarium of Rs 4,000 for municipal hospital and schools.

MNS leader in the PMC Ravindra Dhangekar Speaking to TOI, he said the municipal body is facing an economic crisis and the hike suggestion is absurd. When we will resist it comes up before the general body.

He added that 8 corporators also all our and the municipal school board member will use the obtainable honorarium of Rs 4,000 for civic hospital and schools.

Dr K H Sancheti, city orthopedic has been granted a copyright by the Central Government for a natively designed artificial knee for TKR (Total Knee Replacement) surgery. The gainful ‘Indus Knee’ and developed after an wide research and lets above 135 knee bending degrees as well as make easily sitting on the floor and crouching. Dr Sancheti said that until now above 1000 patients have been operated and these requirements gainful satisfied.

In the Pimpri-Chinchwad area, five banks were found in cash sent to RBI (Reserve Bank of India) of a 127 total false currency notes. With these false notes were Rs 1,000 values 2 notes, Rs 500 three and Rs 100 values 122.

Different customers had been deposited with banks between November 2007 and October 2008 for these notes. The incident came to light when a manager of the RBI S Chakraborty from Belapur and filed 5 separate FIR in Pimpri police station. As a result, five separate fake case currency notes were lodged of this.

Chakraborty said in his FIR -

As per RBI norms, the banks deposit the money collected at various branches with the RBI. Once the notes reach RBI, they are scanned for counterfeiting, using special machines. The 127 notes were found to be false during such a check.

Branches of Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, State Bank of India, Imperial Bank and Punjab National Bank were found in the cash deposited with the RBI for these false notes, the police said.

Sub-Inspector Meena Jagtap is investigating the case. He said -

These currency notes were deposited with the banks on different occasions by different people. We are totally clueless as to how to identify and track down the people who brought the currency notes in circulation.

In Wakad, Sadanand Hotel a well-liked and joint frequented by young people, has found itself in strange condition. A Mumbai-based company Noves Communication Pvt Ltd holding commercial rights of transmitting the signals of ESPN and Star Sports. They have registered a police complaint claiming that the hotel was illegally the channels screening.

On Wednesday, in question, the channels went off the hotel screens after the police and Noves officials raided the hotel and lodged a piracy case.

Vikram Sherry, hotel owner confirmed the raid however deprived of it had dishonored any copyrights. He said -

We got a notice and were negotiating with the company’s senior authorities. However, Noves took the drastic step unilaterally and filed a complaint.

He said that although they were the channels screening after they took the notice and they had not committed any crime as dialogues were going on.

But, the FIR registered in the Hinjewadi police station by Nilesh Anant Sawant, Noves’ field officer. Allege the notice ignored by the hotel and sustained the channels screening.

Sawant was named Shetty, manager Suresh Mohandas Awtani, Birajdar, director of Sunny Cables Pvt Ltd and Satish Padale, cable operator. The 2 channels were being shown illegally in hotel’s 82 rooms for a year, Sawant said.

The hotel hadn’t taken permission to screen the channels and paid for it either, the FIR also said. In September 2008, the company alleged Narendra Joshi, sales officer met the hotel authorities and asked them to stop the channels. But, alleged the FIR, the hotel ignored the warnings and on April 5, promoting the company to serve a legal notice.

Since both Padale and Birajdar ignored the notice and on September 18 Noves wrote to them and asking them to enter an agreement and decide the issue harmoniously, Sawant said. R S Wanjari, Sub-inspector is investigating the matter. He said the company alleges that the hotel holder owes Rs 800 per television set for each month. He said two loudspeakers, TV sets as well as remotes were seized in the raid. No arrests have been complete until now.