No casualties were reported. Attempts were being made to ascertain the cause of the fire. (Express Photo by Arul Horizon)Pune News Highlights: Ten shops at Juna Bazaar in the Mangalwar Peth area of Pune city were gutted in a fire incident Wednesday morning, said officials. The Pune fire brigade control room received a call about the fire at 7.38 am. Teams of fire brigade, along with fire tenders and water tankers, rushed to the spot. They brought the fire under control by around 8.25 am. Fire officials said tin shed shops carrying electrical and mechanical items suffered damages in the incident. No casualties were reported. A
Water supply will be shut off in most parts of Pune city on Thursday, January 19, as the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has planned electric-related works at various water treatment plants. Water supply will resume the next morning on January 20 but with low pressure. Model Colony, Shivajinagar, Khadki, Kothrud, Dahanukar Colony, Senapati Bapat Road, Bhandarkar Road, Prabhat Road, Warje, Katraj, Bharti Vidyapeeth, Sahakarnagar, all peth areas, Salisbury Park, Koregaon Park, Keshavnagar, Phursungi, NIBM, Race Course, Tadiwala Road and Wanowrie are the areas which will have no water supply on Thursday.
The two-day G-20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) meeting under India’s G20 Presidency kicked off in Pune on Monday. The meeting was inaugurated in the presence of Union minister for MSME Narayan Rane, who informed delegates about the rich legacy of the city. The Union Minister also said the central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are making efforts to ensure citizens are not affected by the global economic slowdown. The first IWG meeting was attended by 65 delegates across the G20 membership, invitee countries and International Organisations. Cultural performances on the theme of Shiv Rajyabhishek including Lavani, Karpallavi, Potraj, Mardani khel etc were also organised for the delegates.
Both retail and wholesale egg prices have firmed up in Pune as lower supply hits the market. Lower production at the farm end and hoarding at the traders’ end are the reasons despite the cost of production remaining more or less static on a year-on-year basis, according to market sources.
As per the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), the price of 100 eggs in Pune for January is Rs 568.83. This translates into Rs 5.68/egg and Rs 68.12 per dozen for wholesale. In the retail market, a dozen eggs is now trading at Rs 80 with a single egg costing Rs 7. Last January, 100 eggs cost Rs 497.29 and a dozen for wholesale Rs 60. In the retail market, a dozen cost Rs 65-70. (Read More)
The Maharashtra government Tuesday granted yet another extension to the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry. An order in this regard issued by the state home department on Tuesday stated that the commission has been given an extension of three months till March 31, 2023, to submit the report.
The earlier period of extension granted to the commission expired on December 31, 2022.
The two-member commission, headed by retired high court judge J N Patel with former chief secretary Sumit Malik as the other member, was constituted by the state government on February 9, 2018, to inquire into the “exact sequence” of events that led to violence on the 200th anniversary of Battle of Koregaon Bhima on January 1 that year. One person had died and several others were injured in the violence. (Read More)
The property tax department of Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has urged the chairpersons of 100 residential housing societies to ask flat owners to pay their tax arrears. The tax department also warned of confiscating properties if the arrears are not paid.
In a letter, PCMC assistant municipal commissioner Nilesh Deshmukh said, “We have intensified our drive against property tax defaulters. Property tax defaulters in the residential category owe Rs 480 crore arrears to the PCMC.” (Read More)
Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who has a non-agricultural tax amounting to Rs 21,960 pending on a 1-hectare land she owns in Adwadi village of Sinnar taluka of Nashik district, has promised to pay the tax by Wednesday.
“Legal advisor of the actress met us today and told us that the tax will be paid by tomorrow,” Sinnar tehsildar Eknath Bangale told The Indian Express on Tuesday evening.
The tehsildar said the actress owns over 1-hectare land in Sinnar taluka where she runs a windmill energy farm. “She has invested in a windmill. The land was bought in 2009. She has paid the tax for all these years. Only the tax for this particular assessment year is pending,” the tehsildar said. (Read More)
Pune and its neighbouring areas are likely to witness above-normal temperatures in the coming days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast.
“At present, there are no major weather systems or cold winds from north India that are affecting Maharashtra. There will be mostly clear sky conditions prevailing during this week,” an official from the IMD, Pune, said.
The minimum temperature this week will gradually increase and settle at around 14 degree Celsius, the forecast suggests. (Read More)
A Pune Fire Brigade employee suffered serious injuries on his throat from a kite string laced with ‘manja’ while crossing a flyover in Gultekdi area on Tuesday afternoon. He has been identified as Navnath Mandhare. He is a driver with the Pune Fire Brigade.
Mandhare came to the fire brigade office in Bhavani Peth in the morning. Later, he was asked to go to the Kondhwa fire station.
He was going towards Kondhwa on a two-wheeler when, while crossing the flyover at Dias Plot in Gultekdi area, a kite string became entangled around his neck, injuring his throat. (Read More)
Making cities sustainable, resilient, inclusive and how to plan these mega urban centres with a people-centric approach and meet their financial needs have been among the major themes discussed by delegates at a two-day meeting of the G20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG).
The first IWG meeting under the aegis of G20, whose presidency is currently with India, was attended by 64 delegates from 18 member countries, eight guest nations and as many international organisations before concluding on Tuesday. It discussed the '2023 Infrastructure Agenda' under the Indian G20 presidency.
"There are five major areas on which we are working on (through the deliberations). The first one is how we make cities sustainable. Second and third were about making them resilient and inclusive. The fourth one was about financing needs of cities," Solomon Arokiaraj, joint secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, said while briefing the media on the two-day conclave.
Elaborating on the financing needs, he said deliberations were on how to attract more funding to support infrastructure in cities.
"The funding options are government, private and multi-lateral funding and there are various innovative financing mechanisms that are evolving like land value capture. In addition, we discussed how cities have to plan dynamically with a people-centric approach," said the senior bureaucrat. (PTI)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on January 23 a plea of bike taxi aggregator Rapido against the Bombay High Court order directing it to suspend its services in Maharashtra immediately for operating without a licence from the state government.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha agreed to hear the petition of the Pune-based bike taxi aggregator after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the firm, said the matter needs to be listed urgently. (PTI)
Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who has a non-agricultural tax amounting to Rs 21,960 pending on a 1-hectare land she owns in Adwadi village of Sinnar taluka of Nashik district, has promised to pay the tax by Wednesday.
“Legal advisor of the actress met us today and told us that the tax will be paid by tomorrow,” Sinnar tehsildar Eknath Bangale told The Indian Express on Tuesday evening. Read more
Solomon Arokiaraj, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance addressing the media during the concluding ceremony of G-20 First Infrastructure Working Group Meeting on Tuesday.
The Bombay High Court Tuesday asked Shoma Sen, an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, to approach a special NIA court for bail before moving HC with an appeal. Sen was arrested by the Pune police on June 6, 2018.
The National Investigation Agency took over the probe into the case from the Pune police in January 2020 and the trial was transferred to the special NIA court. Sen, a professor, had approached the Bombay High Court seeking bail, which the single-judge bench had transferred to a division bench comprising two judges. Sen made an application seeking to convert her bail plea as an appeal to be heard before a division bench of the High Court. Read more
The property tax department of Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has urged the chairpersons of 100 residential housing societies to ask flat owners to pay their tax arrears. The tax department also warned of confiscating properties if the arrears are not paid.
In a letter, PCMC assistant municipal commissioner Nilesh Deshmukh said, “We have intensified our drive against property tax defaulters. Property tax defaulters in the residential category owe Rs 480 crore arrears to the PCMC.” Read more
“Science is inherently international. Don’t let Brexit or right-wing nationalistic politics spoil it,” American Nobel Prize-winning scientist Prof Harold Varmus said at a public talk ‘Axioms on a Career in Science’ at National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) in Pune Tuesday.
The Nobel Laureate in physiology or medicine (1989), who is currently the Lewis Thomas University professor of medicine, was in Pune for two days and interacted with scientists and students. At the public talk, he spoke about the ten axioms that have been guiding principles for him for a career in science. Read more
Pune and neighboring areas will not experience significant cold till the end of this week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast.
The minimum temperatures, during the rest of the days of this week, will gradually increase and settle at around 14 degree Celsius, the IMD said Tuesday. Read more
The two-day G20 meet of the Infrastructure Working Group that began in the city Monday showcased the cultural richness of Maharashtra and infrastructure development in Pune.
At a time when the United Nations (UN) declared 2023 as the ‘International Year of Millets (IYOM), the G20 delegates thronged the exhibition stalls of products of millets and their health benefits in large numbers. There are also stalls showcasing bamboo artifacts and products made by tribal people of the state.
A stall of Bhimthadi Foundation by women’s rights activist Sunanda Pawar features products of women’s self-help groups in the rural areas. Another counter showcases khadi clothes to promote the indigenous textile industry at the global level. (Read More)
Two policemen were injured after getting entangled in a stray kite string while they were travelling on a two-wheeler on the Pune-Satara road on Sunday.
Policemen Mahesh Pawar and Sunil Gawli, both attached to the Shivajinagar police headquarters, sustained injuries on their neck and hand, according to an eye witness.
Balasaheb Dhamale, a bird lover and rescuer, said the incident took place around 4.30 pm as he was passing through the same bridge on his two-wheeler. (Read More)
Fifty three passengers were injured when a bus overturned in Maharashtra's Latur district on Tuesday, police said.
The accident took place near Borgaon Kale village at around 8.30 am when the bus belonging to the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) was heading towards Pune from Nilanga via Latur, head constable Ratan Shaikh said.
The bus was on a narrow bridge when its driver lost control over the wheels while trying to prevent hitting another vehicle coming from the opposite side. As a result, the bus overturned, he said.
Some villagers present at the spot immediately dialled '108' emergency medical service number.
All the injured passengers were taken to a rural hospital in Murud for treatment. Later, 16 of them rushed to a government hospital in Latur for further treatment, the official said. (PTI)
A leopard was sighted in a residential area in Pune district’s Maval taluka Monday for the first time in two years. The injured leopard was rescued by officials of the forest department.
The leopard was sighted within a building compound around 8 am on Monday by local residents who immediately alerted the forest department. The big cat had strayed from its natural habitat near Pavana dam and reached Pansole village. A team led by Forest Range Officer Hanumant Jadhav soon reached the spot and rescued the animal. Lonavala Rural Police Inspector Kishor Dhumal and his team also reached the spot. (Read More)
Marking a revolution in menstrual hygiene and intimate care, Pune-based startup ‘Avni’, founded in 2021 by Sujata Pawar and Apurv Agrawal, has emerged as an innovative business model with its sustainable and organic sanitary pads and other menstrual products.
The couple invested around Rs 30 lakh and raised Rs 65 lakh last April. They are looking forward to completing a second round this year.
Avni’s products include organic cotton and polyester cloth pads that are washable and reusable in the way women from earlier generations practised, as well as disposable cotton pads that come in packs of four, 12 and 24. There are also reusable menstrual cups and cotton panty liners, among others. By the end of 2023, five more products will be added. The products are made from natural ingredients and hand-stitched by women across the country. (Read More)
On the second day of first Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) meet of G20, the delgates are participating in four sessions related to Inclusivity in urban service delivery and improving administration for cities.
The four sessions are for discussing Enablers of Inclusivity in Urban service delivery, Framework on Architecture of Capacity Building of Urban Administration for cities of tomorrow, complementing InfraTracker 2.0 and finalising the future of the Golbal Infrastructure hub.
On first day, there were delebrations on principles on building Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable cities of tomorrow, Financing cities of tomorrow, Furthering work on The implementation of QII indicators and a high level workshop on Financong cities of tomorrow. The inaugural session was addressed by union minister for MSME Narayan Rane on Monday. There were a gala dinner organised for the delgates at Pune university campus where cultural heritage of the state was showcased.
The exhibition at the G20 meet venue promoted Millets, Khadi, Handicraft and Tribal products alongwith Maharashtra tourism.
Science is inherently international. Don't let Brexit or right wing nationalistic politics spoil that, says Prof Harold Varmus , American Nobel prize winning scientist at a public talk at the National Centre for Cell Science on Tuesday morning.
Maharashtra Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar Sunday called for stricter implementation of the two-child norm and asked families not to insist on a son.
Speaking at a gathering where clothes were distributed to poor women in Baramati, Pawar said, “When a newly-married girl comes to your home or when your daughter is married, you should tell them to stop at two kids. If they get two kids as girls, they should remember that girls are no less than boys”.
Citing his uncle, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar said, “Look at Pawar Saheb. He has only one kid, Supriya Sule, who has made a name for herself and her family. Why do people need a male child when girls are no less in comparison?” (Read More)
Minutes before Shivraj Rakshe won the Maharashtra Kesari title on Saturday, the state government tripled the honorarium given to wrestlers who have won laurels.
Rakshe defeated Mahendra Gaikwad to lift the prestigious 65th Maharashtra Kesari title in front of a packed house at the Mamasaheb Mohol Sports Centre near Vanaz in the Kothrud area. Originally from Rajgurunagar in Pune district’s Khed taluka, Rakshe represented the Nanded team. Gaikwad represented the Solapur team.
Rakshe was honoured with a silver mace, Rs 5 lakh and a Mahindra Thar SUV. Gaikwad, the runner-up, received a silver mace and Rs 2.5 lakh. (Read More)
TO SHOWCASE the culture and heritage of the city, the Union government has planned a heritage walk, a tour of the city and an excursion to Mahabaleshwar for the delegates of G-20 meet.
“The official meeting would be taking place as per the schedule, but there is also a demand from delegates for experience of the culture and heritage of Maharashtra and city. Thus, we have proposed three options of a heritage walk, tour of the town and an excursion to Mahabaleshwar,” said Solomon Arokiaraj, joint secretary, Department of Economic Affairs in the run up to G-20 meet of Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) which would be held in the city on January 16-17.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has been entrusted with the responsibility of a heritage walk for delegates. “The heritage walk will begin from Shaniwarwada at 7 am on January 18 and then cover Lal Mahal, Dagdusheth Ganpati temple and Nana wada,” said a PMC official. (Read More)
To empower the tribal community of the Melghat region in Maharashtra’s Amravati district and provide them with a platform to promote their artworks and handicraft items, the Melghat Support Group, along with Amanora Yess Foundation, will organise a tribal fair – ‘Changing Melghat’ – at Amanora Mall West Block in Pune’s Hadapsar from January 21 to 26.
The exhibition will be held from 10 am to 10 pm and entry to the tribal fair is free.
Through this exhibition, visitors will be able to see and experience the culture and skills of the Melghat tribal community, Aniruddha Deshpande, president of the Amanora Yess Foundation said. About 6-7 different stalls will be put up at the exhibition, which will showcase colourful tribal artworks like necklaces, bracelets and bags made from recycled wood and clothes. Several indigenous forest produce like millets, sorghum and honey will also be exhibited, he added. Products made of bamboo will be a highlight of the exhibition. (Read More)
“It was frightening,” said 90-year-old Dr Sharad Hardikar as he recalled the incident on Saturday afternoon when he, along with senior NCP leader and Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar, was in an elevator when it stopped with a thud between the first and second floors of a new multispecialty hospital in Pune’s Wakad.
The founder and director of Pune’s Hardikar Orthopaedic Hospital was at the inaugural event of Swarn Multispecialty Hospital at Wakad when the mishap occurred. “There was a power outage and the elevator stopped with such a jolt that it could have led to back pain,” he said. Pawar and Dr Hardikar were accompanied by Dr Uday Pote, founder of the hospital and a former student of Dr Hardikar. (Read More)
Leader of Opposition and senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar had a narrow escape when the lift of a hospital building plummeted down from the fourth floor after a power failure on Saturday.
The incident took place at a hospital in Pune city. Ajit Pawar spoke about the incident at an event in Baramati on Sunday.
Pawar said he was with three others including 90-year-old surgeon Sharad Hardikar when the incident took place. (Read More)
The Pune City police have arrested an accused from a village in Rajasthan in connection with the suicide of a 22-year-old student allegedly following a sextortion bid by an online fraudster who threatened to upload his nude video on social media, officers said. This is the second case in which a youth from the state has been arrested in a sextortion case registered in Pune.
According to the police, the victim was found dead at his residence in Tanaji Nagar in Dhankawadi on September 30 last year. His brother lodged a complaint at the Sahkarnagar police station on October 9 following which a First Information Report (FIR) was registered. (Read More)
PUNE CITY police Monday booked special public prosecutor Pravin Chavan and two others in alleged cheating and extortion case. According to police, the FIR has been lodged over a complaint by Suraj Sunil Zanwar, resident of Jalgaon, who is an accused in an alleged Bhaichand Hirachand Raisoni (BHR) State Cooperative Credit Society scam of over Rs 2,000 crores.
Suraj was arrested in January 2021, but was granted bail in May 2021. His father Sunil, another accused, arrested in August 2021, is behind bars. He has alleged that Pravin, who was appointed as the special public prosecutor (Special PP) in the case, and two other persons–Shekhar Sonalkar and Uday Pawar–demanded Rs 2 crores on assurances of helping his father secure bail. (Read More)
Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Narayan Rane Monday said India is likely to be hit with recession after June and the Centre was working towards handling it effectively and minimising its impact on the country,
“There is a global recession and it is in many countries. This is what I have gathered from the discussion in the meetings of the Union government. The recession is expected to hit India after June,” Rane said after giving an inaugural speech at the two-day G20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) meeting in Pune.
He said the lotus in the G20 India presidency symbol is good and has nothing to do with the BJP. “Even if one relates the lotus symbol of G20 with the BJP, then also, I am okay with it. The BJP’s lotus stands for sustainable development,” Rane said, praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the rising stature of India in the world. (Read More)
PIMPRI CHINCHWAD police have lodged a case against 14 persons, including a minor boy on charges of causing hatred between two religious communities and hurting religious sentiments by allegedly offering financial help to people in an attempt to convert them to Christianity.
The case was registered at Alandi police station on Sunday night over complaints by Prasad Salunkhe (25), a resident of Markal in Khed taluka of Pune district. The accused are identified as Pradip Waghmare, Prashant Waghmare of Charholi, Ronak Shinde, Ashok Pandhare, Tejas Chandne, Mukesh Vishwakarma, Lakshman Naidu, M B Yun, J Yun, Ishal Salve, three more women and a 17-year-old boy. (Read More)
PIMPRI CHINCHWAD police have arrested a youngster for allegedly cheating at least five job aspirants to the tune of Rs 5.6 lakh by offering them jobs at a software company. The accused has been identified as Fardeen Feroz Khan (23), a resident of Ruston Colony, Chinchwad. In this connection, a 22-year-old woman lodged an FIR at Wakad police station on Sunday. (Read More)
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