The Maharashtra government had allowed schools to reopen for VIII to XII classes from October 4. (Representative image/PTI)Pune News highlights:Based on directives issued by the state government, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has permitted offline teaching for students in classes VIII to XII at all schools within the limits of the civic body, the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) and the Kirkee Cantonment Board (KCB), provided the institutions obtain consent from parents.
Meanwhile, nearly 1.05 crore vaccine doses have been administered and 47% of the population have been vaccinated in the Pune district since the immunisation programme commenced in January this year. September saw the highest number of vaccinations with almost 25 lakh doses being administered.
In Pune Municipal Corporation area, 45.50 lakh vaccine doses have been administered while the number for Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation was 19.66 lakh.
Housekeeping staff of Bhave High School Sadashivpeth sanitise classrooms and corridors as the schools in the State are set to reopen from October 4.
Maharashtra on Saturday reported 2,696 new coronavirus infections and 49 fatalities, the health department said. The recovery rate of the state is 97.27 per cent and case fatality rate is 2.12 per cent. There are 35,955 active cases in the state.
Pune division reported 895 new cases, according to PTI.
Four people have been arrested in Alibag in Maharashtra's Raigad district for allegedly giving an onion trader 22 fake currency notes with a face value of Rs 2,200, police said on Saturday.
The four had purchased onions from the trader on September 29 and the latter complained to the police the next day after he found the Rs 100 denomination currency notes suspicious, an official said. (PTI)
Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari batted for the development of “cost-effective, pollution-free indigenous mobility solutions and the use of alternative fuels like ethanol, methanol, LNG, Green Hydrogen and Bio-CNG for transportation” on Friday.
The minister was speaking at the valedictory function of the 17th edition of the Symposium on International Automotive Technology (SIAT). The programme was organised virtually by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) in association with SAEINDIA and SAE International (USA). Read more.
Based on directives issued by the state government, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has permitted offline teaching for students in classes VIII to XII at all schools within the limits of the civic body, the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) and the Kirkee Cantonment Board (KCB), provided the institutions obtain consent from parents.
The schools have to instruct teaching and non-teaching staff to mandatorily undergo RT-PCR testing in the 48 hours prior to reopening. They will also need to take the test every 15 days even if fully vaccinated.
Implementation of the SOPs issued by the state government will be mandatory for schools. The management should also ensure availability of thermal guns, pulse oximeters, disinfectant, soap and water. School vehicles have to be sanitised twice a day while classrooms and toilets should be sanitised frequently. Read more.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday lauded Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari at a function at Maharashtra's Ahmednagar, PTI reported.
"I am attending this function because I was told that Gadkari was going to inaugurate many projects in Ahmednagar which would solve long-pending issues of the city, and he wants me to be present," Pawar was quoted as saying.
"Very often nothing happens once the stone-laying ceremony takes place for a project, But when it comes to Gadkari's projects, within a few days of the function one sees the work starting," he added. "Gadkari is a great example of how a people's representative can work for the development of the country," Pawar said.
Gadkari, on his part, stated that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had de-silted local rivers and streams while executing road projects in Buldhana district of Maharashtra. He urged Rural Development Minister Hasan Mushrif to "think of focusing on water conservation in Ahmednagar district."
The famed white onion of Alibag in Maharashtra's Raigad district has earned itself a 'Geographical Indication', giving the crop a unique identity and wider markets, agriculture department officials said on Saturday.
They pointed out that Alibag's white onion, which has medicinal qualities and is used for the treatment of heart ailments, controlling cholesterol and creation of insulin, has been mentioned in the official gazette as long back as 1883.
"The agriculture department here and Konkan Agriculture University had jointly submitted the GI application on January 15, 2019. On September 29 this year, the proposal was scrutinised in the Mumbai office of the Registrar of Patents and it was decided to confer GI tag on Alibag's white onion," an official said. (PTI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on their birth anniversaries. He said, "Gandhiji's life gives a message of self-sufficiency, dignity of labour, cleanliness and rural development. He has been a great ambassador of peace and non-violence." Talking about Shastri, the chief minister said he gave a strong leadership to the nation and his slogan of 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' continues to inspire. (PTI)
Scores of farmers from across Maharashtra are trying to register details of crop loss suffered by them — in the wake of their produce being damaged by extremely heavy rain — on the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) app. By September 30, the state government has received 15.67 lakh claims, most of them from Marathwada region.
Preliminary reports by the state Agriculture Department had estimated crop loss over 17.51 lakh hectares due to heavy rain, triggered by the remnant of Cyclone Gulab over the last few days. Nashik, Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Dhule, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Aurangabad, Jalna, Latur, Osmanabad, Nanded, Hingoli, Buldhana, Yavatmal and Akola districts have reported heavy crop loss. Read more.
State Minister for Energy Nitin Raut has announced the much-awaited results of the mega recruitment drive to 5,000 posts of Vidyut Sahayyak at the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) on Saturday. The results of 4,534 candidates have been uploaded on the MSEDCL website, while those of 466 candidates belonging to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) have been withheld due to the ongoing litigation on reservation at the high court.
The selected candidates will soon be called for document verification and posting. The 4,534 posts for which results have been announced include 1,984 in the open category, 375 in SC category, 236 in ST, 109 in Vimukta Jati, 109 in Nomadic Tribe (B) category, 80 in Nomadic Tribe (C), 44 in Nomadic Tribe (D), 81 for Special Backward Classes and 1,507 for Other Backward Classes. Read more.
Although BJP leaders Devendra Fadnavis and Pravin Darekar are touring flood-affected areas of Marathwada district, Pankaja Munde, the national secretary of the saffron party, said she would be out of bounds for the next four days owing to illness.
In a tweet, Munde said, “Unwell…tonsillitis and blisters in throat…advised strict voice rest for 2 to 4 days…can’t take calls or meet in person.” Read more.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) Friday issued a resolution detailing specifics of the formation of the seven Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), which will take over operations of the 41 factories of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), which ceased to exist as a body as the resolution came into force.
The resolution also states that the management and control of a section of the non-production units will be transferred to the Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination and Services) under the Department of Defence Production of the MoD. Some other non-production units will go under the umbrella of the seven newly formed DPSUs. The Munitions India Ltd., which will lead a group of 12 factories producing ammunition and explosives, will be headquartered in Pune on the premises of Ammunition Factory Khadki. Kanpur will have headquarters of three of the DPSUs.
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Nearly 1.05 crore vaccine doses have been administered and 47% of the population have been vaccinated in the Pune district since the immunisation programme commenced in January this year. September saw the highest number of vaccinations with almost 25 lakh doses being administered. Whereas 18.78 lakh people were inoculated in August. The vaccination figures for June and July were 15.28 lakh and 17.81 lakh doses, respectively. In Pune Municipal Corporation area, 45.50 lakh vaccine doses have been administered while the number for Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation was 19.66 lakh. Around 40.20 lakh vaccine doses have been administered in the rural areas. The estimated number of beneficiaries in Pune district is 83.42 lakh, of which 85% have got their first dose.
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The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) launched ‘Indane composite cylinders’ of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Pune, claiming that they are lighter than conventional cylinders and helps customers to know the level of gas in advance.
The cylinders have been launched in a few cities, but the Pune launch is the first one in Maharashtra. “The cylinders will allow customers to plan their next refill easily as they have a translucent body which helps customers to accurately check the LPG level against light and verify the quantity of LPG supplied,” said Anirban Ghosh, Executive Director and Head of IOC Maharashtra at a press conference Friday.
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“The Maha-Metro Rail, which is going to be the most significant mode of transport for Punekars, will have a favourable and positive impact on the Pune’s Real Estate sector, which has witnessed a marginal growth,” said Brijesh Dixit, Managing Director, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL).
He was speaking at the 38th Annual General Meeting organised by CREDAI-Pune Metro, while giving a presentation on how the Metro project would benefit the construction business in Pune. Atul Gadgil, Director, MMRCL and CREDAI members including Anil Pharande, President, Arvind Jain, Secretary and Vice-Presidents including Ranjit Naiknavare, Amar Manjrekar, Manish Jain, Rajesh Choudhary, Vinod Chandwani and Aditya Javdekar were present during the occasion.
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By the time a 23-year-old business executive from a Burlington-based clothes and swords firm ‘Landon, Morland & Landon’ arrived in Pune on a business trip on May 8, 1851, it had already been 34 years since the city fell to the British forces. Thomas D Landon, who wrote a detailed memoir of his rendezvous with three British India provinces and spent weeks in Pune, described it as a ‘very large and ancient city’.
“Besides, Poona is the largest military station in the Bombay Presidency. Moreover, it is a very healthy spot, and is much resorted to in the monsoon or rainy season,” he wrote in the Narrative of a Journey Through India, published in 1857.
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City Police have lodged an offence against officials of the 'Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL)' and 'Novex Communication Private Limited' for allegedly extorting money by threatening to file cases over 'violation of the Copyright Act' for playing music and songs at wed- dings held at five-star hotels.
According to police, a public notice issued by the central gov- ernment in 2019 makes it clear that playing music and songs during weddings does not amount to violation of the Copyright Act. But still, some firms cheat people by accepting fees illegally on the pretext of 'issuing a licence for playing copyrighted music and songs' at weddings that are held at five-star hotels. A similar complaint of cheating was received by Pune City Police, which claimed that PPL and Novex Communications allegedly extorted money during weddings at Conrad Hotel in Pune.
Nagpur, Mumbai, Pune and Nashik are among 10 districts in the state which reported an increase in the number of dengue and chikungunya cases, according to the state Health Department. As many as 8,302 cases of dengue and 1,784 chikungunya cases were reported till September this year across the state.
Civic health officials admitted that cases of dengue and chikungunya have more than doubled in the city in the last month.
According to the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) report dated October 1, 2,068 people were suspected to be infected with dengue from January this year. Of these 395 tested positive for dengue, with 192 people confirmed positive for dengue infection in September compared to 86 in August. In September, 80 cases of chikungunya were detected as against 16 in August. Overall, there are 180 cases of chikungunya in the city.
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NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Friday sought that Maharashtra's SARTHI institute run at full capacity and all pending issues associated with it be sorted out at soon as possible. Pawar and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar took part in a meeting to review the working of the Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Research Training and Human Development Institute, including progress on its new building.
SARTHI in Pune is an entity for research, policy advocacy, training, etc for socio-economic and educational development of Maratha and Kunbi communities in the state. (PTI)
Even as Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors enter the second day of their indefinite stir, government medical colleges will conduct blood donation camps today on the ocassion of Gandhi Jayanti birth anniversary.
Nearly 4,000 resident doctors across government medical colleges in the state have decided to continue the stir to press for various demands. A statement from the central unit of Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) said that despite a long round of discussion between the association’s representatives and the secretary, State Medica Education Department, there was no written communication, which accepted the demands.
“There was no written assurance despite the long meeting held today in Mumbai and hence the stir will continue,” Pune resident doctors with MARD said. Nearly 450 resident doctors at B J Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital in Pune have joined the state-wide stir.
Their main demand is a waiver of tuition fees for the months that they worked for Covid care instead of being taught the specialisations they had enrolled for.
In other news, the Southern Command on Friday extended a grand welcome to the ‘Victory Flame’, which marks the 50th year of the victory of Indian Armed Forces in the 1971 India-Pakistan War, being celebrated as Swarnim Vijay Varsh. The flame will be taken to various places of historic, military and cultural significance during its month-long halt in Pune.
To honour the victory in the 1971 Indo-Pak War and creation of Bangladesh, the year 2021 is being celebrated as the Swarnim Vijay Varsh. The celebrations began on December 16 last year with Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering tributes to valiant soldiers at the National War Memorial, and the four Victory Flames were sent out in four directions.
A 21-year-old tigress, popular among visitors of Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park here as Priyadarshini, died on Friday evening, an official said. It had quit eating for the last few days and died of age-related complications, he said.
The tigress was brought from Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai but had been off display here for the past five years due to old age, Zoo Director Rajkumar Jadhav said. The zoo is now left with four tigers and three tigresses, he added. (PTI)
Bullish sugar prices and the Central government’s thrust for ethanol has led to a slow but steady revival of sugar sector in Maharashtra. With more players being interested in the sector, mills which have been closed for the last many years have started getting people who are interested in running them on rent. For the upcoming season 8 such mills will be crushing cane after banks and sugar commissioner’s office successfully negotiated their rental agreement.
Sugar commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad while speaking to The Indian Express said 6 mills have been successfully given on rent and they would crush cane for this season. Two of the mills are in Nashik, while Osmanabad, Aurangabad and Jalgaon has seen one mills being given out on rent Prior to this the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSC) had issued tenders for leasing out 12 mills of which 2 have been successfully bid. Last season the MSC bank had leased out 6 mills which would take crushing this season also.
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Pune district Friday recorded 765 new Covid-19 cases and 6 deaths. Over 624 people recovered from the infection during the day, taking the total active cases to 6,229. 26,698 samples were tested on Friday.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar appealed to fully vaccinated citizens to continue taking precautions and cited data from the Health Department which showed that the rate of breakthrough infections was higher among citizens who have received both jabs as compared to those vaccinated with a single dose.
Pawar quoted a health expert who explained this anomaly by stating that fully vaccinated citizens tend to get careless and stop following the precautions. “They don’t wear masks and, hence, seem to be more affected by breakthrough infections of Covid-19,” said Pawar after heading a Covid review meeting in Pune Friday.
So far, 14,182 breakthrough infections (0.19 per cent) have been detected in Pune district among 71.62 lakh citizens vaccinated with the first dose. Among 33.74 lakh citizens who have been vaccinated with both doses of the vaccine, 8,836 (0.25 per cent) breakthrough infections have been detected till date. Read more
The week-long Kolhapur Tourism Festival organised by the state government from September 26 to highlight the district on the tourism map by taking its historical, cultural, religious and culinary legacy to tourists will come to a close Sunday.
District Guardian Minister Satej Patil said the plan is to serve tourists in every possible way. The formal inauguration of the festival was held Monday on the occasion of World Tourism Day. The festival logo and a website dedicated to tourist spots in the district were also unveiled during the ceremony. Speaking on the occasion, Patil had said the festival was meant to showcase the diversity and richness of Kolhapur.
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The water levels in dams across Maharashtra have shown a sharp increase of 3.10 per cent in the last four days. The increase is attributed to Cyclone Gulab, which has resulted in incessant rains across Marathwada, parts of Vidarbha, North Maharashtra, Konkan and Western Maharashtra.
In comparison, Pune division in western Maharashtra was less at 2.03 per cent. The dam water in this region, which was already higher, increased from 83.63 to 85.66 per cent.
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Malati Dumbre (74), a resident of Otur village in Pune’s Junnar tehsil attends practically every webinar organised by senior citizens’ groups and ensures that she does not miss out on a single essay, dance or cooking competition. She has learned to operate her mobile phone and laptop, and now encourages other women in rural areas to participate in the online sessions.
Another keen participant of virtual classes is 70-year-old Jyoti Sachade, founder of Pune-based Mamata Charitable Foundation, who is also getting tech-savvy. With a keen desire to help the underprivileged, Sachade aims to set up a day care centre ‘Aaji-Aajobachi Aaramkhurchi’ so that the elderly can engage in recreational activities. She tries her best to stay digitally connected and organises free-of-cost classes to learn how to use a computer, among other activities.
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Acknowledging that school closure due to the COVID-19 may have led to serious gaps in learning, a survey is being undertaken on a national level by the National Independent Schools Association to assess learning loss amongst school students of 3rd, 5th and 8th grade during the pandemic.
Stating that the situation arising out of the lockdown and restrictions has led to complete disconnect from education for the vast majority of children or inadequate alternatives like community-based classes or poor alternatives in the form of online education, including mobile phone-based learning, the association has started the survey whose objective is to understand and identify the learning gaps that occurred in this pandemic. Besides the learning gaps, the survey hopes to evaluate the impact on their mental health. From each school, 12 students of grade 3, 5 and 8 are being administered the survey as a sample size
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Pune City Police’s Crime Branch has arrested two Nigerian nationals over possession of cocaine worth Rs 2.17 lakh.
While patrolling in the jurisdiction of Chaturshringi police station, a team of Crime Branch’s Anti-Narcotics cell nabbed two foreigners near the Savitribai Phule Pune University on Wednesday. Police identified the two as Nnadi Odinaka Henry (37) and Okeke Infechukwu John (29), both Nigerian national who currently live in Pimple Gurav area.
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Nearly 450 resident doctors at B J Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital will join the state-wide stir planned by the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) from October 1 for their pending demands.
“All routine/non-emergency medical services across Maharashtra will be closed from 8 am until our demands are fully accepted by the state government,” an official statement issued by MARD has said. However, emergency and intensive care services will not be affected.
The demands include waiver of tuition fees for the months that the doctors worked for Covid care instead of being taught the specializations they had enrolled for.
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Even as the School Education Department has issued instructions to reopen physical classes in schools from October 4 in a phased manner across the state, the indecision by local authorities on the same has city school managements in limbo.
Last Friday, School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad had announced the decision to reopen schools, stating that in rural areas, classes will resume for students of classes 5 to 12 and in urban areas, for classes 8 to 12. However, local authorities like Zilla Parishad and local municipal corporations have been empowered to decide on reopening dates and other conditions, depending on the Covid-19 situation.
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An automobile garage owner, Tasabbar Suleman Shah (37), whose garage was damaged during the Koregaon Bhima violence of January 1, 2018, deposed as a witness before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry on Thursday.
Shah’s examination in chief was recorded by Aashish Satpute, lawyer for the commission. A resident of Koregaon Bhima, Shah has been running an auto garage in the village since 2006.
In his affidavit submitted before the commission, Shah had said that during the January 1 violence, persons holding blue flags and shouting slogans of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar had damaged 17 four-wheelers that were awaiting repair work at his garage. He said the group had iron rods and stones, and they set the vehicles on fire after spraying inflammable material on them.
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The prosecution in the murder case of Dr Narendra Dabholkar on Thursday submitted before the court 13 documents, which it will be relying on along with witnesses and evidences, during the trial. The documents include some panchnama reports and forensic examination findings, among others.
On September 15, a special court in Pune had framed charges against the five chargesteeted accused linked to the radical outfit Sanatan Sanstha, marking the beginning of the trial in Dabholkar murder case. All the five accused had pleaded not guilty to charges against them.
On Thursday, the special public prosecutor in the case, advocate Prakash Suryavanshi, submitted the 13 documents to the court, as part of the procedure under Section 294 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
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At the end of the four-month monsoon season this year, Pune city received 469.6mm of rain in total, marking a deficit of 17 per cent. Pune district, however, managed to record 4 per cent above normal rain this year.
The Southwest Monsoon, which ended on Thursday, was mostly active during June and September over Pune, with long dry spells witnessed during July and most days of August. Until recently, Nandurbar was the only district to record below normal rain but thanks to remnants of Cyclone Gulab and the subsequent rain, the district finally crossed into normal rain territory earlier this week.
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Pune district Thursday reported 608 new Covid-19 cases and 5 deaths. Over 538 people recovered from the infection, leaving 6,094 active cases in the district. 22,167 samples were tested on Thursday.
Pune Municipal Corporation Thursday reported 185 fresh Covid-19 cases and 2 deaths. Pune region reported 1,004 Covid-19 cases and 9 deaths.
At the end of the monsoon season this year, the five reservoirs supplying drinking water to Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad have a collective reserve of 44.95 Thousand Million Cubic feet (TMC).
Except Khadakwasla, all remaining dams - Pavana, Bhama Askhed, Varasgaon, Panshet and Temghar continue to stock water reserves to their optimum capacity, as on September 30. With good reserves, the city should not face water cuts for at least the next six to 8 months.
Though the southwest monsoon season will officially end today, the India Meteorological Department has forecast more rain during the coming days associated with the monsoon retreat next month.
Rabies continues to be a major public health burden in India, expert speakers said during a webinar organised by the National Institute of Virology, Pune, on Tuesday on the occasion of the 15th World Rabies Day (September 28).
The disease kills around 60,000 people annually worldwide, with India accounting for 20,000 of these deaths. Though rabies is completely preventable with vaccination, the general awareness about the disease remains quite low, leading to deaths.
A global call for action, called ‘Zero By 30’, has been initiated by the WHO and other agencies for eliminating dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030.
Maharashtra's Raigad district has received 3,650.73 mm rain so far since June 1, which is 113.5 per cent of its average rainfall in this period, an official said.
Murud taluka has received 166.88 per cent of its average rainfall in the last four months, which is the highest, while Mahad has received the lowest at 97.61 per cent, the official said.
As per the information released by the district collector's office, as against 3,516.48 mm rain received in four months last year, while it saw 3,650 mm rain in the same period this year. (PTI)
Maharashtra's Raigad district has received 3,650.73 mm rain so far since June 1, which is 113.5 per cent of its average rainfall in this period, an official said on Thursday. Murud taluka has received 166.88 per cent of its average rainfall in the last four months, which is the highest, while Mahad has received the lowest at 97.61 per cent, the official said.
As per the information released by the district collector's office, as against 3,516.48 mm rain received in four months last year, while it saw 3,650 mm rain in the same period this year. (PTI)
With the Maharashtra government making it compulsory for all government, civic and zilla parishad offices to use electric vehicles as their mode of transport, Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML), the city’s transport undertaking, is preparing to step up acquisition.
PMPML was among the first few public transport bodies to acquire e-buses. Considering the operational advantages and low cost of fuel, PMPML decided to jack up its fleet with 500 electric buses.
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Rabies continues to be a major public health burden in India, expert speakers said during a webinar organised by the National Institute of Virology, Pune, on Tuesday on the occasion of the 15th World Rabies Day (September 28).
The disease kills around 60,000 people annually worldwide, with India accounting for 20,000 of these deaths. Though rabies is completely preventable with vaccination, the general awareness about the disease remains quite low, leading to deaths.
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Four sandalwood trees were chopped and stolen from the premises of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) Group 2 in Wanwadi. SRPF personnel Bhushan Desai (45) lodged the first information report (FIR) in this case at the Wanwadi police station on Tuesday.
According to the police, four sandalwood trees of about 20 to 25 feet length and 20 centimeter diameter were found to be stolen from SRPF Group 2 premises. Inquiry revealed that the sandalwood theft took place on the intervening night of September 11 and September 12, 2021.
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Owing to shortage of syringes, the Pune Municipal Corporation has temporarily stalled the Covid-19 vaccination drive on Thursday morning.
Dr Suryakant Deokar, PMC vaccination officer told The Indian Express that the daily requirement is around 60,000 syringes. 'The state has not sent the supply but we are hoping the demand will be fulfilled soon. Tenders have also been floated for the same', Deokar said.
As public enthusiasm for paid Covid-19 vaccination wanes, private hospitals in Pune are reducing the order quantity of vaccines, and in some cases, transferring their stock to smaller nursing homes. District vaccination officer Dr Sachin Edke said that there is a provision to transfer vaccines from bigger facilities to smaller ones.
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Pune is not likely to face any water disruptions for the next 6-8 months as at the end of the monsoon season this year, the five reservoirs supplying drinking water to the city and Pimpri-Chinchwad are at their optimum levels having a collective reserve of 44.95 thousand million cubic feet (TMC).
As on September 30, except Khadakwasla, all the remaining dams — Pavana, Bhama Askhed, Varasgaon, Panshet and Temghar — continue to stock water reserves at their optimum capacity.
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The Maharashtra Association of Resident doctors (MARD) has decided to go an indefinite strike from October 1. An official statement released today by MARD has said that the state has failed to meet their demands which include waiving tuition fees for the months they works for Covid care instead of being taught the specialisations they had enrolled for.
The most number of sugar mills in Maharashtra having payment default to farmers for the sugarcane crushing season 2020-21 are managed directly or indirectly by BJP leaders, according to analysis of data released by the sugar commissioner.
Ahead of the 2021-22 crushing season, sugar commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad had released a colour coded list of mills based on last season’s payment history. Analysis of this data shows that of the 32 mills against which action has been taken for non-payment of farmer’ dues, nine were managed by BJP leaders while mills managed by NCP leaders came second with five mills defaulting in payment.
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An unidentified person driving an autorickshaw allegedly tried to run over a police officer at Bhairav Nagar in Dhanori on Tuesday evening. The officer was injured in the incident. Ganesh Shirsat, a police officer attached to Vishrantwadi police station, has lodged the FIR in this case.
According to a press release issued Wednesday, Shirsat and his colleague, police constable Deepak Rajmane, were on patrolling duty when they received information about a person taking away an autorickshaw that was parked in Bhairav Nagar in Dhanori for the past two days.
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To mark its 200th year on October 6, the Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute will be getting its own commemorative postal stamp issued by the India Post. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari will be present on the occasion to mark the bicentenary year of India’s third oldest higher education institution.
The Rs 5 stamp will depict the Victorian Neo-Gothic style main building of the college. This building was constructed using a grant of Rs 1 lakh donated by Jamsetji Jejeebhoy, a Parsi cotton merchant, during the late 1860s. His philanthropy also led to the establishment of Mumbai’s JJ School of Arts and JJ Hospital, both of which are named after Jejeebhoy.
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Four sandalwood trees were chopped and stolen from the premises of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) Group 2 in Wanwadi. SRPF personnel Bhushan Desai (45) lodged the first information report (FIR) in this case at the Wanwadi police station on Tuesday.
According to the police, four sandalwood trees of about 20 to 25 feet length and 20 centimeter diameter were found to be stolen from SRPF Group 2 premises. Inquiry revealed that the sandalwood theft took place on the intervening night of September 11 and September 12, 2021.
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Pune district Wednesday reported 656 fresh Covid-19 cases and six deaths. Over 656 patients recovered from the disease, and the total active caseload stands at 6,029. 25,285 samples were tested on Wednesday.
In a special drive, the Pune division of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has seized sweets and confectionery items worth more than Rs 8 lakh.
As many as 88 sweet shops had come under the scanner for not following the norm of displaying ‘best before date’ on the packaged items, said S S Desai, joint FDA commissioner (Food). A fine of Rs 1.99 lakh was levied from the errant shop owners for the violation. During the drive, total goods of over 5000 kg were seized from 174 places and 144 samples were collected for analysis.
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Asama Raje’s husband was admitted to a private hospital of Niphad in Nashik district after tested positive for Covid. The oxygen supply there was not enough so he was shifted to two other hospitals. But after a fortnight, he died during treatment. Asama incurred a cost of Rs 17 lakh and had to sell her family gold. Now, she has demanded an inquiry into why she was overcharged by the private hospitals.
Seema Bhagwat and her husband have their own medical store in Nashik and are aware of how medicines with high margins were being prescribed by hospitals despite side effects. Seema’s husband died 38 days after contracting Covid-19. She had to struggle to pay the hospital bill of Rs 17 lakh and rues the compensation amount of Rs 50,000 that was promised by the Centre.
The stories of Seema and Aasma were among many that were shared at a virtual conference, which presented the findings of a new survey conducted by Jan Arogya Abhiyan and Corona Ekal Mahila Punarvasan Samiti. The survey found that many private hospitals allegedly flouted the state government’s order on capping treatment expenses and charged Covid patients much beyond the regulated rates.
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Day after the state cabinet approved a three-member ward system for the civic polls in the state, except in Mumbai, the Maharashtra unit of Congress, which was pushing for a one or two-member ward system, decided to continue its opposition to the move.
“We are opposed to the three-member ward system. Despite our opposition, the government has gone ahead and decided to implement the three-member system. I have decided not to talk to the Chief Minister anymore on this issue. We will continue to oppose the government’s decision through democratic means,” said Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Nana Patole.
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Cyclone Gulab has left a trail of devastation in its wake in Maharashtra, with dozens of lives lost and crop damage across an estimated 17 lakh hectares of agricultural land, mainly in Marathwada and Vidarbha regions. Heavy rain caused by the cyclone have been lashing the fields since the last two days.
State Agriculture Commissioner Dheeraj Kumar said the extremely heavy rain could end up damaging 23-25 lakh hectares of agricultural land. Work of conducting the panchnama to assess the extent of damage is going on at war footing, he said.
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Kul Jamaat Tanzeem, a group representing several Muslim organisations in Pune, held a protest at the District Collector’s office on Wednesday to protest the arrest of Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, Maulana Umar Gautam and Mufti Jehangir by Uttar Pradesh Police and the state Anti-Terrorist Squad.
The organisations which participated in the protest include Popular Front of India, All India Imam’s Council, Jamat-E-Islami E Hind, The Muslim Foundation, Jamiat Ulema E Hind, and the Seerat Committee. They alleged that the accusations against the Muslim clerics were politically motivated and should be dropped immediately.
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