Citygritty 8212; Pune

Says Radha, 8220;We do have rules to deal with this sort of a thing, it8217;s just a question of enforcing them and making the department heads responsible.8221; Apart from this, the employees will also have their tea breaks monitored. And punctuality is not all that the ZP will see in the near future. As Radha puts it, 8220;File movement, delegation of work and several other procedural changes are on the way.8221; Discipline, like charity, begins at home.

Flooded by flowers
Florists in Aundh have been a happy lot since the past few days. Since the area8217;s corporator Dattatreya Gaikwad was elevated to the post of mayor, to be precise. Because from that day on, they have had a steady stream of people at their shops to pick up bouquets that ultimately find their way to the mayor8217;s home-cum-office in Gaikwad Nagar, Aundh. A fact reiterated by a visit to the first citizen8217;s place, where about half the room was filled with bouquets left by visitors who had been dropping in to say congratulations.

So what does the honourable mayor do with the mountain of flowers that takes shape by the end of the day. 8220;I send them to the Aundh Hospital for use, especially in the children8217;s ward,8221; reveals Gaikwad. Well, it appears that the 8220;most efficient corporator8221; of 1998 also seems to have his heart in the right place.

Kids in for a feast
Bleary-eyed children can finally look up from their books now that holidays are here. And what better way to celebrate than with a whole festival of films specially for them? Samvad, a city-based organisation, is all set to bring a children8217;s film festival here for the 10th year in a row.

8220;The highlights of this festival are Vanadevi ka Rahasya, a film promoting environmental consciousness which has a poem by Kavi Kusumagraj who passed away recently. This film is being shown here for the first time. The films included have science, entertainment and learning all rolled into one,8221; says Sunil Mahajan of Samvad.

Starting April 9, there8217;s a six-day treat in store for children, with films by all-time favourite Charlie Chaplin and those like Shyamchi Aai and the cartoon classic Beauty and the Beast on show at Vijay Talkies. Tickets for the films are available at the Aksharmitra Vachnalaya, Sambhaji Park. Sounds like fun!

Support burns bright
The citizens are up in arms. They have had enough and they are not ready to let things be. And it isn8217;t enough that four Public Interest Litigations PILs have been filed and are in court pending a decision. They don8217;t want anyone to forget what this is about and so they8217;ve organised a candle-light watch for former municipal commissioner Arun Bhatia.

As dusk draws in on M.G. Road, his supporters will gather to light a candle and hold it quietly for half-an-hour on March 3. So if you want to show your support for him and all the issues he stands for, then light a candle. Hail to citizen power!

Managing waste
Tilak Smarak Mandir will be the venue for a seminar on Hospital Waste Management, a field badly neglected. According to Anirudh Chaoji, director, projects, Bhumata, 8220;Pune alone generates over 15,000 kg. of bio-medical waste, of which about 2,500 kg. is potentially infectious and hazardous and includes still-born babies, aborted and unwanted foetuses, amputated and operated tissues and parts, blood, soiled gauzes and bandages, syringes and toxic drugs to name a few.

8220;Although most of it finds its way directly to landfills, sometimes stray dogs get to them before and they can be seen running around with body parts. Also, ragpickers, municipal health workers and all of us are exposed to this health problem, which ironically originates from the very sector responsible for healing and curing the society.8221; Burning in incinerators reduces the waste by 90 per cent but causes pollution in another way. What escapes are unseen gases like carbon monoxide and acid gases.

It is to give proper direction to the right disposable of this waste that the seminar is being organised. It is hoped that more awareness will be created and that every hospital, big and small, will participate with full enthusiasm to create a cleaner environment.