Festival briefs

Life jackets for mandal activists
The Prabodhan Pune and the Laxmi Hanuman Panch Mandal will distribute “life jackets” to mandal activists on immersion days at various dams and ghats along Mula-Mutha rivers,stated Milind Kachi,president of the Prabodhan Pune. “The organisations have come forward for taking care of the activists as Laxmi Hanuman Panch Mandal activist Ashok Jain lost his son Vinit and daughter Vinita in a boat mishap a few months back. If life jackets had been place,their life could have been saved,” said Kachi,adding that the life jackets would be distributed on the fifth,seven and the last day of immersions.

Protecting rivers: NGOs show the way
Some organisations in the city are doing their best to protect rivers from pollution. As in the last four years,Swach,a cooperative of waste pickers,and eCoexist in association with the PMC will collect nirmalya from 14 ghats in the city. “We collect nirmalya,segregate it and then dispose it off,” says Shabana Diler of Swach. The volunteers of the two organisations will educate people on the need to use immersion tanks for immersion,women members will collect nirmalya and segregate and transport wet waste to several other organisations who have been trained to convert it into compost,” she said. This year this activity has been sponsored by Emcure Pharmaceuticals and Eaton Technologies. The organisations such as Blind School (Girls),Karvenagar,Blind School (Boys),Koregaon park,Dilasa Kendra,Bal Kalyan (Aundh) SNDT Adult Education centre,Karve Road,Swach,Paud Road willing compost the nirmalya within their premises,she said.

Bagwe praises city Malayali community
The Malayali community is participating in the Pune Festival,held as part of the Ganesh Festival,in a big way. Applauding this,Minister of State for Home,Ramesh Bagwe,said that the Malayali community has enhanced the prestige of cultural capital of the state by taking part in the festival in a big way. Bagwe was speaking while inaugurating the ‘Keralayam -2010,’ at Balgandharva Rang Mandir. Mayor Mohansingh Rajpal,Pune Festival’s chief organiser Krushnakant Kudale,Pune Malayalee Federation Rajan Nair,vice-president M N Vijayan and actress Ashwini Ekbote,among others,were also present.

Pune Festival shifts venue
After the Bombay High Court rejected the injunction of a petitioner on allowing cultural functions at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch,the venue has been thrown open to cultural festivals by the Pune Municipal Corporation. This has come as a heartening development for organisers of the Pune Festival. The festival was slated to be inaugurated at Balgandharva Rangmandir. It will now shift to Ganesh Kala Krida Manch which has been the venue of the festival since its inception. The festival will be inaugurated at 4.30 pm on September 17. On September 18,actor Hema Malini,as in past years,will present her ballet titled “Nrutya Surbhi.”