A month that was…

Armed siege on civic tender wing:Armed men virtually took control of the tender cell of PMC for about four hors in an attempt to block civic contractors from filing the tenders for five civic projects worth over Rs 100 crore. (Feb 3)

This Valentine’s Day,cost is thorn in saying it with roses:Price of a rose stem that used to cost Rs 14 last year was all set to touch Rs 18 on Valentine’s Day. (Feb 4)

Kiled by horse brought into procession:A girl died after being kicked by a horse that a religious trust had allegedly brought illegally into a procession. (Feb 7)

A sign of times:Due to slowdown out of every three of 18,00 hoardings, only one carries an ad. (Feb 7)

Hopes derailed: interim budget fails to deliver on promises:With no new trains from Pune being announcerd,interim railway budget did not impress denizens. (Feb 14)

V-Day Fare:Couples forced to ‘marry’: Shivsainiks forced some couples celebrating Valentine’s day at Khadakvasla to tie the knot by putting garland around each others necks. (Feb 15)

Burdened clerk kills self in civic HQ:Employee was found hanging in toilet block. Letters reveal,ending life due to ‘work pressure’ and ‘harassment’. (Feb 19)

Techie found dead: Cops say suicide,family demands probe:The police suspects that Shridhar Rajgangaram Margam committed suicide by hanging himself,but the family suspects foul play,father R B Margam wrote a letter to Vishrantwadi police inspector for a probe. (Feb 23)

Two local group under bus blast probe scanner:Investigating agencies suspect that one of the two local fundamentalists groups had a hand in the low intensity blast inside a state transport bus at Manchar Terminus on February 15. (Feb 24)

37 degrees Celsius and rising:Summer of ‘09 arrives in Feb:- City witnessed scorching 37.3 degrees Celsius on Feb 27,the highest for the season. (Feb 27)

>bAT blames army rules :- Lt Col Prasad Purohit,the prime suspect in Malegaon blast,got bail in another case,involving fake arms license. (Feb 28)

Pimpri mayor ‘arms’ herself:Pimpri-Chinchwad mayor Aparna Doke (Feb 4)created a record of sort as she became the first mayor of the industrial town to move around with a gun.

Collector on e-drive,over 12 lakh old files destroyed:In a bid to create a paperless office,District Collector Chandrakant Dalvi has got his dept rid of 12 lakh old files and documents. (Feb 8)

Visually Impaired ‘Touch’ the bright spot:10 visually impaired girls get trained for a career in body massaging for women. (Feb 18)

Bonhomie reaffirmed,in sports and politics :NCP leader Sharad Pawar’s indication for support comes as a reason to cheer for Cong leader Kalmadi after being isolated by the local unit of the NCP. The NCP puts seat-share ball in Congress’s court. (Feb 9)

On the cards:crash course in hospitality to take tourism to new heights:- People like rickshawallas,taxi drivers,hotel industry professional and the staff at railway employees an airport will be trained to pamper guests. (Feb 11)

Act in place to meet gas shortage:The district collectorate invoked the Essential Commodity Act 1955 for requisition of seven bulk tankersfrom the Western India Bulk LPG Transporters Association. (Feb 13)

Gold rush:Citizens shed ornaments,jeweller buy with glee :- With gold rates climning hew heights almost everybody,almost every Indian household can claim ownership of some growing wealth. (Feb 20)

Slowdown sparks sales:Cars go second hand,software comes cheap: Struggling to pay EMI,many owners sell off vehicles. Software for small and medium firm usually worth Rs 15 to 45 cr lakh are now available online at Rs 250 to 2,500. (Feb 23)

Marathi girl stands up to charging Shiv Sainiks:Marathi girl,who was celebrating Valentine’s Day with her friend at Peshwe Park,stood up against the charging Shiv Sainik to question their act. (Feb 15)