Maharashtra News Archive: March 2006

Spanish consulate soon to be in Mumbai
Friday, March 31, 2006 | AY

Spain plans to set up its consulate office in Mumbai by 2007 for issuing visas, even as Madrid is contemplating having direct air link with India. The Spanish government is also in talks with Indian and Jet airways for starting direct flights between the two countries, as currently there is no direct connectivity between India and Spain. The spanish embassy in Delhi had issued 15,000 visas in 2005, an increase of 84 per cent as against 2004, with a bulk of them for business trips.

Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Mara won award
Friday, March 31, 2006 | AY

Jahnu Barua's critically acclaimed film 'Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Mara' won FIPRESCI award at the International Film Festival of Mumbai, organised by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI). This is the second international recognition for the debut Hindi film of the noted Assamese director after his film won the best actor and best film award at the Riverside film festival. The film is written and scripted by former journalist, Sanjay Chauhan.

Intel plans to hi -tech Pune
Friday, March 31, 2006 | AY

Pune Municipal Corporation has selected Intel as the chief technology and programme management consultant to architect an ‘Unwired Pune’ by 2007. Through this endeavour, PMC proposes to deliver an easy, seamless Internet connectivity solution to citizens, businesses and academic institutions. This wireless communication network infrastructure will cover the entire 400 sq kms of Pune city. Intel has suggested deploying WiMAX (World-wide Inter-operability for Microwave Access) and Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) technologies to empower Pune with high-speed wireless Internet.

Bhakti Heech Khari Shakti
Friday, March 31, 2006 | AY

19 year-old Prajwal Shetty of Nakre has become the first Mumbai-Kannadiga to venture into Marathi film production. A student of first year BA in Jain College Mumbai, the Nakre boy has gained high acclaim for his big budget debut film ‘Bhakti Heech Khari Shakti’ which is expected to be released by Deepavali next. He opted to direct a Marathi film as it has very limited market. To top it all, working with renowned Marathi film director Mahesh Manjrekar for one year inspired him to do a Marathi film. Under the banner of Ashwameda Films, Prajwal’s Marathi film has already completed the music recording. Renowned music director Nandu Honab has directed the music. However shooting of certain scenes is pending and is likely to be completed soon.

Bhakti Heech Khari Shakti
Wednesday, March 29, 2006 | AY

19 year-old Prajwal Shetty of Nakre has become the first Mumbai-Kannadiga to venture into Marathi film production. A student of first year BA in Jain College Mumbai, the Nakre boy has gained high acclaim for his big budget debut film ‘Bhakti Heech Khari Shakti’ which is expected to be released by Deepavali next. He opted to direct a Marathi film as it has very limited market. To top it all, working with renowned Marathi film director Mahesh Manjrekar for one year inspired him to do a Marathi film. Under the banner of Ashwameda Films, Prajwal’s Marathi film has already completed the music recording. Renowned music director Nandu Honab has directed the music. However shooting of certain scenes is pending and is likely to be completed soon.

IT Major opens its new R&D centre in Pune
Wednesday, March 29, 2006 | AY

IT major Symantec Corp, who have opened its new R&D centre in Pune, is preparing to move up the value chain and become a $10 billion company in the next four years. The company will strive to protect and secure client-level interactions rather than securing and protecting information and infrastructure, adding that it was the company's vision to move up the value chain from protecting information and infrastructure in a bid to deliver faster growth. Symantec India currently accounts for 40 per cent of the 4,000- strong global employee base for Symantec. Spread across 5 acres area in Baner, the Symantec India Innovation Centre will house 650 engineers in the first phase and will hold 1,500 employees in the second. Elaborating that the Pune centre has developed two products – Dynamic Multipathing, a software solution that automatically switches to take another path and Cluster File System – a commercial file system for Unix platform were developed from scratch in Pune.

Animators from MAAC win FICCI awards
Tuesday, March 28, 2006 | AY

One of India's leading animation and visual effects training academies, Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics Ltd (MAAC),has a team of young animators, who have won two prestigious awards at the FICCI BAF Awards 2006 in Mumbai. MAAC bagged 'best student animation film - social welfare award' for "Takes You Higher?", which dealt with anti-smoking, and 'best visual effects in a motion picture award' for Ketan Mehta's "Mangal Pandey - The Rising". Entries came from prestigious animation training institutes and universities across the globe including Vancouver Film Studio, Sheridan. The FICCI Frames Awards is an annual recognition of the best from the world of animation, gaming, VFX and films from around the world and is an initiative by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Turkish Airlines from Mumbai
Tuesday, March 28, 2006 | AY

Turkish Airlines, which operates four flights a week out of Delhi, plans to operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, from Mumbai this May. By introducing the Mumbai flight, the Turkish carrier, which operates from Delhi on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, would increase its capacity by about 45 per cent. The airline's General Manager Halil Yorulmazer said there was a growing demand for leisure and business travel to Turkey and the additional service out of Mumbai would provide daily options to the Indian traveller.

Patient awake during cardiac surgery
Monday, March 27, 2006 | AY

For the first time in Pune, a cardiac surgery was performed on a fully awake person, Sassoon General Hospital on Sunday. In this type of surgery, the patient is not given general anaesthesia and remains awake throughout the operation. Under the procedure, a thoracic epidural is administered through a catheter that is inserted into the spinal canal of the patient. This makes the upper part of the body up to the neck numb. But the patient stays awake and can talk to the doctors when the operation is being conducted. The awake surgery was possible due to the technological advancements made by the department.

Lopez in Mumbai
Monday, March 27, 2006 | AY

Latino sensation, pop star Jennifer Lopez, will be coming to Mumbai in April. JLo will fly in on April 22 from Amman, Jordan, for three days, and then fly off to Dubai. Sabbas Joseph, director of the event management company says that they are very excited about bringing in the biggest star to visit India since Michael Jackson came back in 1996. She is very curious and is looking at connecting with Indian singers, exploring Bollywood.

First batch of actors after 1978, graduates
Sunday, March 26, 2006 | AY

After a gap of 28 years, an acting course batch will once again graduate from FTII. The budding actors had Naseeruddin Shah, Subhash Ghai, Tom Alter, Chandraprakash Dwivedi, Benjamin Gilani and Raza Murad honing their acting skills and a series of stage and film experiences at FTII. For the Mumbai experience, the students are finishing two one-hour films made by Mumbai directors that will be premiered on television. And to grab more attention, the students will have two shows of Taldhar in May solely for the film industry. Everyone from Shah Rukh Khan to Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been invited.

Intel equips Pune with high-speed wireless internet
Sunday, March 26, 2006 | AY

Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has roped-in Intel India as the chief technology and program management consultant in order to build an "Unwired Pune" by 2007. PMC says that with this project, it intends to deliver an easy, seamless internet connectivity solution to its citizens, businesses and academic institutions. Under the deal, Intel will be responsible for developing an extensible, high-performance, technical architecture and detailed design to best suit PMC's requirements. Intel will inform and educate the PMC in state-of-the-art wireless technologies, through workshops and training programs.

Dabbawalas become tech advanced
Sunday, March 26, 2006 | AY

The much talked about Mumbai dabbawalais all set to be Hi-Tech. This community had launched its website www.mydabbawala.com at a function at Vile Parle in Mumbai. The site has been built to essentially bring the regular Mumbai citizen closer to the dabbawala. Dabbawalas have been around in the city for 115 years, but it was only after Prince Charles’ visit in 2003, and Virgin Atlantic chief Richard Branson’s visit in 2005 that the community got worldwide attention. The association has more than 5000 dabbawalas, each earning around Rs4,000 per month. There was a lot of initial reluctance to go online. It was only after the company, Bharat Petroleum, donated two personal computers on which they now learn word processing and spreadsheets to maintain databases, that they decided to become IT savvy.

MAMI presents its film festival in Mumbai
Saturday, March 25, 2006 | AY

The Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) will present its eighth International Film Festival from March 23. It will open with Les Choristes (The chorus) by Christophe Barratier and close with Deepa Mehta's Water. As a tribute to Ismail Merchant, White Countess will be screened. Organised by MAMI, the Y.B. Chavan Pratishtan and the National Film Development Corporation, the festival will showcase Serbian cinema in India for the first time, along with packages from Palestine, Israel, and Europe. It will pay tribute to two film legends on their birth centenary — Roberto Rossellini of Italy, and Prithviraj Kapoor. The three-member international jury has Barbara Lorey from France, Aijaz Gul from Pakistan and Utpal Borpujari from India.

The proposed ferry service going to be a reality soon
Saturday, March 25, 2006 | AY

The proposed passenger ferry service between the satellite city and south Mumbai and the roll-on-roll-off (ro-ro) project mooted by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) have been found to be technically and economically viable. The proposed ferry craft will have a capacity of 400 passengers each and a ro-ro craft will ferry 40 medium-sized cars, besides passengers, and the distance between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai will be covered in about an hour. Senior officials at MSRDC, the nodal agency for implementing the Inland Passenger Water Transport (IPWT) project, are now awaiting the final report—expected in June, that will give the estimated cost of the project and the type of craft/vessel to be used for the services.

Mallya selected the new chairman of Bank of Maharashtra
Saturday, March 25, 2006 | AY

Executive Director in Oriental Bank of Commerce, M D Mallya, has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of Maharashtra. Mr Allen C A Pereira, who is now General Manager in Syndicate Bank, will replace Mr Mallya as Executive Director in Oriental Bank of Commerce, an official announcement said on Friday.

Rahul Roy in a Marathi film
Friday, March 24, 2006 | AY

Rahul Roy is now entering into new projects in regional languages. First to come is the Hindi film 'Naughty Boy', a sleaze fest by director TLV Prasad that doesn't really promise much. After this he has a Bhojpuri film coming in next that is titled 'Gajab Rahail Hamaar'. Then there is also a Marathi film called 'Chawa' in the pipeline for him.

Mumbai congress members supports Sonia
Friday, March 24, 2006 | AY

Congress members are likely to resign en masse at different levels in the State on Friday, to express solidarity with Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Mumbai Regional Congress Committee president and Member of Parliament (Mumbai North-east) Gurudas Kamat sent in his resignation as Lok Sabha member to Sonia. Former minister of state for home Kripashankar Singh will submit his resignation from the House to the Congress president. An emergency meeting of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee has been called on Friday morning by Kamat. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman Sanjay Nirupam said, “Sacrifice is an important part of Congress culture. Soniaji has shown the way, let us see how many follow.”

Shiv Sena emphasis on learning Marathi
Wednesday, March 22, 2006 | AY

Shiv Sena now appears to intensify the agitation for the use of Marathi on campuses of various educational institutions. Recently, Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena (BVS) took out a dindi to various premier education institutions in the city and appealed to the institution authorities to ensure that Marathi is used on campus. The agitation is an attempt to revive Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena (BVS) which suffered a major jolt after Raj Thackeray quit Shiv Sena along with thousands of BVS office bearers. BVS city unit chief Ajay Shinde said that this agitation would not be carried out in ‘‘Shiv Sena style’’. ‘‘This would be a silent agitation as we do not want to disturb the campus atmosphere. Shinde said that a large number of students from other states were coming to study in Pune. ‘‘If notices and forms are printed in Marathi, they would be compelled to learn Marathi.

Jet Airways starts new flights
Wednesday, March 22, 2006 | AY

Starting from July 10, Jet Airways, has announced the introduction of a second daily flight on Mumbai-London-Mumbai sectors, starting July 10. It will operate these flights with the Airbus 340-300E aircraft. The return fare in economy class will be in the range of Rs 20,000 to Rs 70,855. The premiere class fare will be from Rs 1,24,000 to Rs 1,70,000. The fares are exclusive of taxes. Jet Airways' A340-300 enhanced aircraft can carry 269 passengers in a two-class configuration.

Liquor costly in Maharashtra
Wednesday, March 22, 2006 | AY

The Maharashtra government presented its annual budget for 2006-07 with a hike in excise duty on liquor and motor vehicle tax on four-wheelers to mop up an additional Rs 500 crore. The state government is expecting a revenue of Rs 59,145 crore while its expenditure is pegged at Rs 58,840.30 crore for FY07. It had estimated a revenue surplus of Rs 265 crore for the year ending March 31, 2006. The minimum excise duty on country liquor will be Rs 155 per proof litre instead of the earlier level of Rs 150.25. The minimum excise duty on Indian Made Foreign liquor (IMFL) will be Rs 160 per litre (Rs 150 being the old rate). The duty on mild beer would be Rs 15 per bulk litre, up from the Rs 12 charged earlier. Privately-owned motor vehicles will now have to pay 7% of cost as MVT as against the earlier 4%. Patil defended the hike in MVT saying that neighbouring states charge between 4-9% on similar vehicles.

Haworth Inc steps in Pune
Tuesday, March 21, 2006 | AY

Global office furniture designer and manufacturer Haworth Inc launched itself in Pune last week. With this launch Haworth has two manufacturing facilities in the Asia Pacific region, the other one being in China. Haworth had established its presence in India since 1997. Speaking of the Pune operations, CEO said that they have a manufacturing capacity of 35,000 seating solutions per year and will increase this to 50,000 seating solutions per annum, by the year end. The Pune facility at present has one manufacturing line building 'task chairs', popular in the Asia Pacific as well as the North American markets.

Ranji one-day shifted to Mumbai
Tuesday, March 21, 2006 | AY

The Ranji one-day final between Uttar Pradesh and Railways, which was to be held at Lucknow tomorrow, has been postponed to April 2 and would nowbe held at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Meanwhile, UP were strengthened by the availability of R P Singh and Suresh Raina after they were released from the third Test squad to play in the final.

2 Coastal Plants in Maharashtra
Tuesday, March 21, 2006 | AY

Tata Power Company is planning to put up two 1,000 MW plants if conditions prove favourable. The company had been looking at a coastal plant near Mumbai, at a location called Vile, but had to revisit its plans again to so as to be able to create a captive jetty for fuel that could also be located close to the plant. The company had just inaugrated its new 250-MW coal-based unit (number 8) at the company's Trombay thermal station. This plant, which will involve a total investment of Rs 860 crore, will be completed within 28 months. The 1000-MW coastal plant should be completed by 2010.

Local heros lets down in Mumbai test
Sunday, March 19, 2006 | AY

The third and final Mumbai test is tilting towards, the visitors as India lost 3 important first innings wickets in reply to a well made 400 by England. The first three wickets included that of local boy and Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar who failed once again with the bat. India had lost both the openers, Virender Shewag and Wassim Jaffer another local boy at the score of 27, before Sachin came out to bat in the record 132 test of his career. But the little master was not in his elements and was soon caught behind for 1 in the bowling of J Anderson. Earlier a 4 wicket brust from S Sreesanth and 3 wickets by Harbajan and 2 by Munaf Patel enabled India to restrict England for 400 all out. By stumps on 2 nd day, India were 89 for 3 with skipper Rahul Dravid on 37 and Yuvaraj Singh on 32 holding the fort for India. With just 5 specialist batsmen in its ranks, this pair have to dig deep to get India out of trouble.

Thaang/Quest
Saturday, March 18, 2006 | AY

Amol Palekar, was in Mumbai recently for completing the last film on his trilogy on the man-woman relationship and sexuality - a bilingual titled ‘Thaang/Quest’. The last two instalments, ‘Daayra’ and ‘Anahat’ were released in 1996 and 2003 respectively. Palekar says that ‘Thaang/Quest’ is set in contemporary milieu. He also says that there isn't any social message from this Marathi-English venture.

Mumbai band perform in Gulf
Saturday, March 18, 2006 | AY

Bombay Vikings, the music band from Mumbai that shot to instant fame with the song 'Kya Soorat Hai' two years ago, is set to make its Oman debut next month. The troupe, led by Neeraj Shridhar, currently rated as one of the top Indi-pop singers, will also include bollywood's 'theme' models Niloufer Khan and Moon Das. The show, titled 'Bombay Vikings — Zamana Kya Kahega' and brought here by Touch Event Organisers, is scheduled for April 6. The venue will be the City Amphitheatre in Qurum. Neeraj, known for his appealing voice, recently came out with another album, 'Chod Do Anchal' which took the No 16 spot in the US world charts. He latest video, 'Aa Raha Hoon Main', is currently dominating MTV, Channel V and other channels.

Harvard school opens its research centre here
Saturday, March 18, 2006 | AY

On March 24, Harvard Business School will formally open its fifth research center outside its Boston campus, and this one will be in Mumbai. The School's other research centers are in Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong and in California's Silicon Valley. Professor of the Harvard Business School, Kash Rangan, said that they could not ignore India since, India's got this beautiful juxtaposition of government, business and civil society, all happening simultaneously, which rarely happens.

Award on Vegetarianism
Thursday, March 16, 2006 | AY

Dr K M Gangwal of Pune and Dr Kusum Lunia of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh have been selected for the Dr Nemichand Jain Memorial award in recognition of their books on Vegetarianism. Dr Lunia is being given the award for her book "Sakahar - Shrestaahar" and Gangwal gets it for penning "Vegetarianism - Healthy Way of Life". The award is a cash cheque worth Rs 51,000 each.

Gastric inflammation among people in Mumbai
Thursday, March 16, 2006 | AY

Gastroenterities have claimed the lives of two people in south Mumbai and also almost 81 others have also been admitted to hospital with gastro symptoms. All the patients have been admitted to state-run Gokuldas Tejpal Hospital in Mumbai and five of them are in the intensive care unit, hospital authorities said. All of them complained of diarrhoea and vomiting, common gastro symptoms. BMC water department is checking the possibility of mixing of drainage water with drinking water due to pipeline rupture. As a precautionary measure, BMC has stopped water supply to the areas from where outbreak has been reported and water tankers are being provided to those localities.

IMAX in Mumbai showcases film festival
Wednesday, March 15, 2006 | AY

Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) 's 8th Annual International Film Festival will begin from the 23rd March 2006 and will go on for a span of 7 days till 30th March 2006. There will be more than 100 films showcased from 30 countries. The festival will open with French film maker Christophe Barratier's Chorus and will close with the screening of Deepa Mehta's critically acclaimed Water. The centerpiece is James Ivory's White Countess. Filmmaker Yash Chopra will be felicitated for his lifetime contributions to cinema. The main venue for the festival is IMAX Wadala alongside YB Chavan Center where a considerable number of films will be screened.

Third test on Saturday
Wednesday, March 15, 2006 | AY

The India and England cricket teams, left for Mumbai, the venue for series' third and final Test. Some of the Indian players including captain Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble had left the city last evening to catch a flight to Bangalore from Delhi. Others who had stayed back preferred to confine themselves to their hotel rooms as heavy rains here brought down the mercury considerably. India beat England by nine wickets in the second Test to take a 1-0 lead. The third Test will begin on Saturday.

Rasta Roko
Tuesday, March 14, 2006 | AY

The shooting of Anubhuti Art's 'Rasta Roko' is nearing completion. Written by Yajuvendra Gore, it is directed by Devashish Shedge and has cinematography by Rajesh Joshi, sound by Moin Khan, editing by Hemal Kothari, music by Kaushal Inamdar and lyrics by Ashok Bagwe. The film stars Mrinal Kulkarni, Sachit Patil, Arun Nalawade, Sanjay Mone, Sharad Pongshe, Milind Gunaji, Shrikant Moghe, Julia Mone, Amita Khopkar and Jayant Sawarkar.

Vision eye centre inaugrated in Juhu
Tuesday, March 14, 2006 | AY

Amitabh Bachchan after his surgery and recuperation for an intestinal problem in November last year, was at his usual best when he inaugurated "Vision Eye Centre" in Juhu. He, however, did not speak to the media in the short 10 minutes of his presence at the function. Vision Eye Centre has Conductive Keratoplasty for Presbyopia a condition that occurs with growing age and results in the inability of the human eye to focus. With the launch of Vision Eye Centre, people in India will have access to the latest technology and precision available only to select centres in the world.

Kshan
Monday, March 13, 2006 | AY

Amol Productions 'Kshan' is ready for release in April. The musical love story is directed by Mandar Devsthalli for producers Sachin Parekar and Sanjay Parekar. Starring Subhodh Bhave, Deepa Parab, Prasad Oak and Arun Nalawade, the film is written by Chinmay Madlekar and has lyrics by Nitin Aakhve, music by Kishor Ranade, cinematography by Debu Deodhar, art by Guruji Brothers, editing by Ashok Patwardhan and background music by Amar Haldipur.

Former bodyguard of the actor arrested
Monday, March 13, 2006 | AY

Ravindra Patil, former bodyguard of Salman Khan and a key witness in the hit-and-run case involving the actor, has been arrested by the Mumbai crime branch. Patil had failed to appear for a cross-examination in the trial for the past five weeks, and a non-bailable warrant had been issued against him. The suspended cop was with Salman when his vehicle rammed into a Bandra bakery on September 28, 2002, killing one person and injuring four. Salman's lawyer Dipesh Mehta said Patil had already given his evidence before the court, but his cross-examination was pending which will be on March 16.

Gruhalaxmi
Sunday, March 12, 2006 | AY

The shooting of producer B Rajesh’s 'Gruhalaxmi' was completed recently. Being made under the banner of Aparna Chitras’, the film is written and directed by Sanjeev Kolte. Starring Ramesh Bhatkar, Alka Aathlye, Aavishkar, Aparna Chaphekar, Smita Oak, Sachin Salvi, Deepak Aalegoankar, Dr Ranjan Darvekar, Dhanjay Pathak, Jagatlata Rajesh, Sneha Wagh, Sayli Joshi, Anant Kale and Priya Berde, it has music by Achyut Thakur, lyrics by Jagdish Khebudkar, cinematography by Jahangir, editing by Vasant Kubal and choreography by Priya Berde. The film is due for release in April.

Major tragedy averted in Mumbai
Sunday, March 12, 2006 | AY

A major terrorist strike in the city was averted with the timely detection of two kilos of explosive ammonium nitrate from the Byculla railway station in Central Mumbai. Apart from the explosive filled in a plastic water bottle, the police recovered a pocket-size transformer that could have provided the power if a detonator was to be attached to the device. The device, detected following a tip off, was taken to the Girgaum Chowpatty in south Mumbai, where an Anti-Terrorist Squad team defused it. A high alert has been sounded in the city and security tightened at all places of worship, railway stations and vital installations. The serial bomb blasts on March 12, 1993 killed 256 persons and injured 713, besides causing damage to property worth Rs. 27 crore.

Doctors back to work
Sunday, March 12, 2006 | AY

Members of the Maharashtra Resident Doctors Association (MARD) called off their 12-day strike and resumed their duties at the 27 municipal and state government hospitals. Over 6,000 registered and unregistered resident doctors all over the state had participated in the strike. After a marathon 11-hour meeting with state government officials and Minister for Medical Education Dilip Valse Patil, the Association called off the strike after most of its demands were met. The minister has promised that their stipend would be increased to 12,500. He said that in the case of some MARD members, who were given termination notices during the strike, verbal communication has been issued to BMC and state government authorities to let them resume duty.

Hi Porgi Kunachi
Saturday, March 11, 2006 | AY

The shooting of Hi Porgi Kunachi was completed recently. Produced by Deelip Jadhav and directed by Girish Mohite, the film stars Arun Nalawade, Nirmiti Sawant, Swati Chitnis, Dr Vilas Ujwane, Ranjit Jog, Kadambari Kadam and Vijay Chavan with Sachin Pilgoankar, Renuka Shahane and Paddy Kamble making guest appearances.
Written by Samir Joshi, Aniruddh Potdar and Abhay Dakhane, it has music by Ashok Patki, lyrics by Mangesh Kulkarni, cinematography by Sanjay Dharankar and choreography by Sonia Parchure. The film will release in April.

Hurdles to cross for the expansion of IT park
Saturday, March 11, 2006 | AY

The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation’s (MIDC) who had made a proposal to expand the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park in the fourth phase at Hinjewadi, met with resistance as the villagers of Maan (about 30 km from Pune) violently protested against it last week. The work of land measurement, scheduled for Wednesday was met with stiff resistance from villagers which eventually turned violent, resulting in lathi charge by police and arrest of over 60 protestors. Anil Kavade, regional officer, MIDC, clarified that the notices for acquisition had been sent and the next step in the process will be measurement of land.

Thunderstorm took the lives of many
Saturday, March 11, 2006 | AY

Heavy rains that lashed Maharashtra last night accompanied by lightining and thunderstorms claimed at least 19 lives in various parts of the state and severely damaged standing crops. The worst-affected areas included districts in Marathwada and Vidarbha region. Western Vidharbha region too suffered extensive damages. At least six people were killed here and scores of others injured. Farmers were badly hit in Nashik by the hailstorm. Onions and wheat kept in the open were completely damaged. Mangoes and grapes too were destroyed.

Star parivaar awards 2006
Thursday, March 9, 2006 | AY

Vatika Hair Oil STAR Parivaar Awards comes back on STAR PLUS, with a bang! As the event makes way on the channel, this Sat, March 11th would be a prelude to festivities with the event Gharaati Vs Baraati, a show full with fanfare of fun, hungama and entertainment. While the rein of Baraati's team would be in the hands of Babuji (Kahanii Ghar Ghar Ki), Rishi (Kahiin to Hoga), Akshat ((Kahiin to Hoga), Swayam (Kahiin to Hoga), Anees (Baa Bahoo Aur Baby) a close & tough competition would come from Gharaati's team spearheaded by Ba (Baa Bahoo Aur Baby), Kumkum (Kumkum), Charu (Kahiin To Hoga), Gayatri (Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii), Ganga (Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi).

A new and relatively untried technology
Thursday, March 9, 2006 | AY

Having made exceptional advances in recent years, microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology is now set to transform radio frequency (RF). These devices seek to control RF energy usually in the form of MEMS switches; process RF signals in the form of MEM filters, tunable/switchable filter banks and integrated mixer-filters; and generate RF carriers in the form of MEMS oscillators. This untries technology has many obstacles to cross like reliability issues such as temperature drift, life, degradation dielectric (breakdown, leakage) and stiction or static friction. Components based on this technology deliver superior RF performance and tunability over a much broader range of operating frequencies. Typically known for their low power consumption and reconfigurability, RF MEMS are ideally suited to enable wireless appliances operating in the home/ground, mobile and space spheres such as handsets, base stations and satellites.

Nandita doing a film by Chitra Palekar
Wednesday, March 8, 2006 | AY

Actress Nandita Das will soon be seen in a new film based on a story by Jnanpith award-winning writer Mahashweta Devi. It's a Marathi film being directed by Chitra Palekar (Amol Palekar's wife). The film is adapted from a story by Mahashweta Devi. Atul Kulkarni is her co-star in this film that should be released by this year. She is also doing an "untitled" English film with Rahul Bose which will be directed by cinematographer-turned-director Santosh Sivan.

Doctors alerts other doctors across the state to join the strike
Wednesday, March 8, 2006 | AY

Doctors of govt run hospitals in Maharashtra intensifies their eight-day-old strike as authorities struggled to cope with the crumbling healthcare services in the state. The doctors said they would appeal to their colleagues across the country to join them in their fight against low stipend and pathetic living and working conditions in hospitals. Over 2,500 doctors from 15 government-managed hospitals have stayed away from work since February 27 demanding better security while on the job after relatives of a patient beat up a doctor. The government has, so far, terminated the registration of 350 doctors for refusing to resume duty for defying state's ultimatum. The government had decided to take emergency measures like deploying doctors from private nursing homes and rural areas in the municipal hospitals in Mumbai to normalise the situation.

Anti malarial drugs found by Scientists
Tuesday, March 7, 2006 | AY

Indian scientists have once again exhibited their talent with the isolation of two compounds from mussels, animals found in sea, that have been found to have anti-malarial activity, especially against the ‘falciparum’ parasite which accounts for maximum mortality. The molecules, named NIO-1 and NIO-2, have been discovered by the scientists at the National Institute of Oceanography in collaboration with researchers at the National Centre for Cell Science, Pune and International Centre for Generic Engineering and Biotechnology in Delhi. The compounds, already patented, are cheap to obtain and can be prepared in bulk without killing the mussel, adding that Mumbai-based company Shreya Life Sciences has been licensed to commercialise the drug. Studies have shown that the two compounds act by directly killing the malaria parasite, "Plasmodium falciparum," rather than just causing inhibition of their growth. The compound, NIO-2, also had activity against chloroquine resistant strain of malaria parasite - W2Mef, it said adding this molecule has been tested for oral mode of treatment and found effective.

Govt bans soft drinks in schools
Tuesday, March 7, 2006 | AY

Maharashtra government has taken a step to ban selling of soft drinks in school campus. The decision follows a report by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), which said soft drinks are bad for health and children are drinking too much of it. Various studies have shown that soft drinks are a major cause of abnormal weight gain (obesity) in children. Higher concentration of sugar, impurities like pesticide residues, caffeine and its acidic nature are areas of major concern. But many students comment that they love soft drinks and that banning them in schools wont stop them drinking it elsewhere.

Aamhi Saatpute
Monday, March 6, 2006 | AY

Nach Baliye winning couple Supriya and Sachin Pilgaonkar will soon be seen together in Sachin’s Marathi film, 'Aamhi Saatpute', inspired from the Hollywood classic, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. The film was also the inspiration behind the Amitabh Bachchan-Hema Malini-starrer Satte Pe Satta, which had featured Sachin in the role of the youngest brother.

A proposal for financially weak students
Monday, March 6, 2006 | AY

Economically backward students of the upper castes will be given scholarship by the Maharashtra govt on the line of OBC scholarship from the next academic session. Deputy chief minister, R.R. Patil, said that over 30 per cent students give up further education after Class VII while the dropout percentage among the SSC-passed students are 53 in Maharashtra due to poverty. If the proposal materialises, Maharashtra will be the first state in the country where upper caste students will get scholarship, along with SC/ST and OBC students. The Maharashtra government has been spending over Rs 120-crore for scholarship of 4-lakh OBC students every year.

Javed Akhtar and Shiv Kumar Sharma works together
Sunday, March 5, 2006 | AY

Famous Indian lyricist Javed Akhtar and acclaimed musician Shiv Kumar Sharma have released an album of love songs - their first collaboration in 25 years. The album features vocals by respected Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah. The song lyrics were written by Akhtar and the music composed by Sharma. The album was released at a party Thursday in Mumbai that featured celebrity guests, such as Bollywood leading woman Rani Mukherjee. The musicians joined forces a quarter-of-a-century ago to produce the soundtrack to the Hindi-language movie Silsila, which remains popular to this day.

S M Krishna to award Pt. Ravi Shankar
Sunday, March 5, 2006 | AY

Maharashtra Governor S M Krishna will present the Bangalore Gayana Samaja Centenary Award to Pt. Ravi Shankar at a function to be held in New Delhi tomorrow. The programme will be followed by a sitar concert by Subhendra Roy, disciple of Pt Ravi Shankar. The Bangalore Gayana Samaja, established in 1905, is one of the oldest cultural organisations in the country having rendered uninterrupted service for 100 years in the field of music and fine arts. The Samaja has the unique honour of promoting, preserving and propagating all forms of fine arts including Carnatic and Hindustani classical music, devotional light music, and dance in all its forms.

INS Mumbai in Oman
Sunday, March 5, 2006 | AY

Indian naval ship INS Mumbai was given a warm welcome on her arrival in Muscat to participate in the one-year long golden jubilee celebrations of diplomatic ties between the Sultanate of Oman and India. The celebrations, which will culminate this month, included public performances by the navy's 17-member brass band, interaction with officers of Royal Navy of Oman, banquets on board the ship and a friendly football match between the two navies. The technologically advanced indigenously built ship represents India's capability, which is recognised in Oman with its naval officials getting trained in India, and establishing cooperation in mapping, joint exercises, anti-piracy operations among other things.

US based company opens its ODC in Mumbai
Sunday, March 5, 2006 | AY

Atlanta-based Enterprises Computing Services Inc. (ECS), a software development and services company, has opened its offshore development center (ODC) in Mumbai. The new offshore development model allows ECS to offer its high quality software development services at even lower costs. The ECS offshore development center resides in Millennium Park in Mumbai and is approximately 18,000 square feet. ECS has created an offshore development model strong in customer communications and development frameworks. Effective communication between US and India teams is a primary focus of ECS' development strategy and success.

Marathi TV channel holds film festival
Saturday, March 4, 2006 | AY

ETV Marathi is holding a festival of films based on lavani. Most of these are old black and white classic films and are being telecast for the first time on any television channel. Films like Ek Gaon Bara Bhangadi, Sangtye Aika, Kela Ishara Jata Jata, are old blockbusters and they are packaged with sound bytes of veterans associated with the film like Nilu Phule, Leela Gandhi, etc. along with interesting information about the film. The telecast commenced from Febuary 26 to April 2.

ARI has plans to market tribal products
Saturday, March 4, 2006 | AY

Agharkar Research Institute (ARI)of the Department of Science and Technology that is engaged in basic and applied research in biological sciences, has tied up for the first time with Onco Life Sciences Pvt Ltd and Shiv Herbal Research Laboratory (SHRL) for marketing ‘tribal’ herbal products. A total of six plants used by tribes for their medicinal properties in various regions of Maharashtra have been identified. Their chemical extracts have been purified and a detailed analysis has been undertaken. Among the many technologies which ARI have developed in-house include neem-based hepatoprotective agents, innovative plant-based clot buster to be used in heart diseases and others. Onco Life Sciences provides professional services in the area of business development to international companies, while SHRL is a Nagpur-based nutraceutical company.

Indian Rupee getting stronger
Saturday, March 4, 2006 | AY

The Rupee continued to gain ground against the US currency on sustained FII inflows, export proceeds and NRI remittances in moderately active early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market here today. Opening on a positive note at Rs 44.35/36 per dollar, the Rupee strengthened further to 44.3350/3450 per dollar, higher from Wednesday's close of 44.36/37 per dollar. Persistent FII inflows into the booming stock market, increased export proceeds and NRI remittances continued to give the Rupee firm underlying support despite a global strong dollar and surging crude oil prices. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) infused nearly USD 129 million into equity markets in first two trading days of the week after pumping in USD 651.30 million last week. World crude oil prices surged to over 62 dollars a barrel and was quoted at USD 62.14 in early Asian trade today due to worries of global supplies.

Maharashtra doctors terminated
Saturday, March 4, 2006 | AY

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), as a warning to other striking doctors, issued termination orders to 150 striking resident doctors from Sion, KEM and BYL Nair hospitals on Friday night. The termination orders have been issued under the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA). The 150 terminated doctors are among the 1,400 recognised resident doctors-cum-post-graduate students in the three civic hospitals. The decision to sack some of the striking doctors followed inconclusive talks between the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), ministers and BMC officials on Friday. The doctors refused to accept anything less than a written assurance specifying the amount of stipend they would get, the ministers and officials were unwilling to give them that.

Prominent cinematographer expired
Wednesday, March 1, 2006 | AY

H Laxminarayan, an award winning cinematographer, who earned a place for himself in Bollywood by his own efforts, enthusiasm and innovative ideas, passed away early this week. He had worked for more than 70 films in his more than 45-year long career in Mumbai film world. He started his career as an assistant photographer under Dharam Chopra working in B R Chopra team. He had even worked for English, Panjabi, Marwari, Marathi films. He is survived by his wife, daughter and son.

Centre will not bear the cost of the express highway
Wednesday, March 1, 2006 | AY

Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways K M Muniappa recently made it clear that the Centre would not be able to sanction the MSRDC’s request to bear 40 per cent of the cost of the express highway. Instead the government has signed a concession agreement with the MSRDC, allowing the latter to levy a toll on National Highway No 4 (NH-4), an old highway connecting Mumbai and Pune that runs parallel to the express highway. The Centre has shown little interest in the express highway, built at a cost of Rs 1,630 crore. The period of toll will be up to April 30, 2030 and the work contract for NH-4 has been awarded to Ideal Road Builders. The Central government has said that the income from the tender for the improvement of NH-4 and the toll that will thereafter be collected will amount approximately to Rs 704.45 crore, which is more than 40 per cent of the cost of constructing the new expressway.

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