Maharashtra News Archive: July 2005

Zee with many new strategies
Sunday, July 31, 2005 | AY

Zee Telefilms is planning to add more channels into their package. Zee News is planned for launch in UK and Europe. The channels already present in that market are Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zee Music and Zee ETC Punjabi. Zee TV and Zee Cinema are sold for 12.99 pounds in UK. Also on the agenda is to take Zee Music to US in October on the direct-to-home (DTH) platform of EchoStar. Zee Cinema, Zee Gujarati and Zee Music will soon be travelling to Canada, adding to the Asian Television Network International's South Asian bouquet of channels. Zee ETC Punjabi channel, which exclusively brings the telecast of Gurbani from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, is already on offer. As part of the plan to strengthen its grip in the Middle East, Zee has already announced plans to launch in August Zee Arabia.

Raymond interest on branded clothes
Sunday, July 31, 2005 | AY

Raymond Limited, India's leading textile and apparel company, with a view to boost market share and profitability, will significantly increase the number of its exclusive branded garment stores in major Indian cities in the current year. The expansion strategy is part of a long-term plan to earn equal revenues from apparels and textiles businesses. The company plans to increase the number of its exclusive Park Avenue stores for formal readymade garments and accessories for men by more than 12 in as many months within the country. Similarly, the company will also add more stores under the Monzoni brand name that sells luxury range of men's shirts and ties.

Flights on the hold
Sunday, July 31, 2005 | AY

All international and domestic flights in and out of Mumbai airport have come to a halt since the wee hours due to poor visibility following heavy rains. All out-bound flights have been kept on hold and all the parking bays have been occupied leading to jam-packed Santa Cruz (domestic) and Sahar (international) terminal buildings. The in-bound flights are being diverted to other destinations.

Medicines worth crores washed down the rains
Sunday, July 31, 2005 | AY

Many pharma companies in Mumbai are facing huge loss since many medicine supplies stocks in godowns, on the outer fringes of Mumbai, worth an estimated Rs 180 crore got destroyed in the heavy rain here earlier this week. According to estimates based on stocks with C&F agents of pharma companies located in Bhiwandi, Cipla has lost medicine stocks worth Rs 20 crore, Ranbaxy about Rs 22 crore, Lupin about Rs 3.5 crore and GSK Pharma about 2 crore. the problem arises if an epidemic breaks out, there may be no medicines. Medicines worth several crores are stocked here for other parts of the country.

Rane as the cabinet minister
Sunday, July 31, 2005 | AY

Former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane was yesterday formally introduced into the Congress, and appointed as a cabinet minister. Rane, once a strident critic of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, yesterday praised her and promised to work for the party. The rebel Sena leader was being wooed both by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party of Sharad Pawar. The Congress, besides emerging as the single largest party in the state, would also be able to expand its influence in the Konkan, a stronghold of Rane's, where the NCP is gaining clout.

Maharashtra deaths rise up to 853
Sunday, July 31, 2005 | AY

The number of people killed in Maharashtra due to the recent torrential rains has mounted to 853, including 420 in Mumbai. About the estimated damage to property due to the rains, the earlier report of Rs 2,000 crore was overruled and the damage is coming to be around Rs 4,000 crore. The residents of Saki Naka area of suburban Andheri, was hit by a massive landslide that claimed 65 lives due to heavy rains.

Mumbai limping back to normalcy; rescue operation continue
Friday, July 29, 2005 | APA

Mumbai, Jul 28 (PTI) Mumbai limped back to normal today with partial restoration of rail and air services while relief and rescue operations were on in Raigad district as the toll in the monsoon fury across the state crossed 350, official sources said.Mumbai bore the brunt with 264 persons dying in the century's highest rainfall while 49 rain-related deaths were reported from Navi Mumbai, the sources said adding, 75 people were killed mainly in landslides in Raigad district.In Jui village in Raigad, where 20 houses were crushed under the debris and 100 feared killed in a landslide, rescue operations have been launched on a large-scale but only eight bodies were recovered thus far, Collector Bhaskar Wankhede said.In Saki Naka in north-west Mumbai, where several people died in a massive landslide, rescue operations are still on.In Nanded district, the Godavari river is flowing above the danger mark with 20 villages around Nanded marooned while 10,000 people living along the river banks have been shifted to safer places after heavy rains since three days.Meanwhile, long-distance train services on the Western Railway have resumed while on the Central Railway, all out-bound trains have been cancelled till tomorrow morning.The Mumbai airport, closed since Tuesday due to waterlogging of the runways, became operational following restoration of an alternate runway with the first commercial flight of Indian Airlines taking off for Delhi with 145 passengers on board in the afternoon. PTI

Tragedy hits Mumbai high offshore
Thursday, July 28, 2005 | AY

An oil platform in the Bombay High offshore field caught fire, fearing heavy casualities as there could be some 200-300 people on the oil platform. ONGC sources said the major fire broke out in the Bombay High field after a vessel collided with an oil platform. The sources said the plant where the accident occurred at 1630 hrs has the capacity to produce 50 lakh tonnes of crude oil per annum (one lakh barrels per day). An ONGC official said the fire forced the people on the oil platform to jump into the sea. However, details were not reaching the Mumbai shore as the communication lines to that metro have been snapped due to heavy rains.

Maharashtra breaks all records
Thursday, July 28, 2005 | AY

As many as 418 people were killed by landslides and torrential rains in Maharashtra and the Centre has released Rs 83 crore as immediate relief.Mumbai has been deluged with rain over the past few days, disrupting transport links and power supplies in the city of 16 million people. The rain that lashed Mumbai incessantly for the last 24 hours, submerging large parts of the city and bringing it to a standstill, has broken all records. From 8.30 a.m on Tuesday to the same time on Wednesday, Mumbai's suburbs recorded an unprecedented rainfall of 944.2 mm, exceeding the previous high of the world's wettest place, Cherrapunjee, which received 838.2 mm on July 12, 1910. About 48,000 people were evacuated to safer places in the State, including 10,000 in Mumbai, 15,000 in Thane district, 12,000 in Nanded and 5,000 in Raigad and Ratnagiri.

Sea link project in trouble
Wednesday, July 27, 2005 | AY

The Union Ministry for Environment and Forests has summoned the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to a meeting today with regard to the Bandra-Worli sea link project. The ambitious project has suffered a setback after a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed against the MSRDC. In its petition, the litigant, Save Worli Seaface Samiti, contended that the corporation did not obtain permission for extending the link by nearly 2.8 km. The meeting has been scheduled just a day before the PIL comes up for its first hearing in the Bombay High Court.

Public holiday declared owing to heavy rains
Wednesday, July 27, 2005 | AY

Government official declared rain hit Maharashtra state, a public holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act in the financial capital Mumbai and all other affected parts of the province. A holiday under the Act covers banks, including the Central Bank. There will not be any trading in the foreign exchange, debt and money markets in Mumbai on Wednesday. Navy on Wednesday rushed two rescue teams to Jui village in Raigad district, worst hit by floods and landslide even as heavy incessant rains continued to batter the Konkan region of Maharashtra.

Landslide takes the life of people
Tuesday, July 26, 2005 | AY

A landslide in Raigad district of Maharashtra kills atleast 150 people. The rains have also lead to flooding of roads, including the Mumbai-Goa NH 17 and low-lying areas in the district. Large portion of the track on Konkan Railway section has also been flooded, following which several trains were cancelled or detained at various places.

Rane finally makes his decision
Tuesday, July 26, 2005 | AY

Expelled Shiv Sena leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane, said that the formal induction of his decision to join the Congress will take place on July 28. He said that he realises that the Congress was a national party with a commitment to development and the welfare of the people, and with an objective to make India a superpower. Rane said his commitment to the Congress would be similar to the Sena, the party he had served for the past 39 years.

Sensex hits all time peak
Monday, July 25, 2005 | AY

The sensex on Monday hit yet another all-time peak at 7478.00 during morning trading on the Stock Exchange, Mumbai (BSE) even as Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) pumped in sizeable amount during the last week. The BSE Benchmark 30-share Index opened on a promising note at 7427.65 as against last Friday's close of 7423.25 and later rallied smartly to a high of 7478.00 before being quoted at 7456.16 at 10.30 am, up by 32.91 points. The sensex had scaled the life-time intra-trade high of 7429.95 and an all-time closing peak of 7423.25 in a strong 119-point rally on July 23. FIIs reported net investments of Rs 1,374.20 crore during the first four days of the week, as per figures released by the SEBI.

A young talent helps police force
Monday, July 25, 2005 | AY

Naresh Korde (20), a sketch artist from Mumbai, a second-year college student, has been helping Mumbai and Maharashtra police for six years in catching culprits by making accurate sketches of them. Special Task Force (STF) officials in Uttar Pradesh have also been helped by this young artist by making sketches of two terrorists that gave the investigating team, vital leads in the Ayodhya attack probe. Korde made accurate sketches of Mohammed Javed (23), considered the mastermind of the Ayodha attack, who has been absconding since then. He also sketched Ameen (25), one of the five terrorists killed in the encounter at the religious site, so that the police could positively identify him as one of the five killed at the temple.

Underworld don marries off his daughter
Sunday, July 24, 2005 | AY

Dawood Ibrahim's daughter married Javed Miandad's son in Dubai on Saturday, in a high society wedding with all the trappings of a Bollywood film. Former Pakistani cricket captain Javed Miandad confirmed earlier this month that his son Junaid would marry Mahrukh Ibrahim, whose father is accused of a wave of bomb attacks in Mumbai in 1993 that killed 260 people. Indian papers had said some guests, including prominent Indian cricketers and the chief of a hardline Hindu group, were unlikely to attend because of prying Indian and U.S. security agents.

Narayan Rane resigns from Maharashtra Assembly
Saturday, July 23, 2005 | APA

Mumbai, Jul 23 (PTI) A day after giving a clear indication that he will join Congress, expelled Shiv Sena leader and former Chief Minister Narayan Rane today resigned as member of the Maharashtra legislative Assembly.Rane, who was elected to the assembly on the Shiv Sena ticket for the fourth term last year, submitted his resignation to Assembly Speaker Babasaheb Kupekar at Vidhan Bhavan.Asked if the Sena MLAs supporting him would also resign their Assembly seats, Rane said: "I am speaking for myself." "I was elected to the Assembly because of Sena chief Bal Thackeray. Today, I am free," Rane said adding that he was `grateful' to the Sena chief.Rane, who is tipped to join Congress after his meeting with party President Sonia Gandhi in Delhi yesterday, evaded a question on which party he is joining. "Isn't it clear from what has appeared in the media today," he said. PTI

Software company gets funding from TD Capital
Saturday, July 23, 2005 | AY

Wireless software company HelloSoft has secured $16m funding from Boston-based venture capital firm TD Capital Ventures, Mitsui & Company Venture and Entrepia Ventures. HelloSoft specialises in software for signal processing technology and software-defined radio (SDR) solutions for VOIP, Wi-Fi, Cellular, and converged markets. The new investment will help HelloSoft accelerate its development of CelluLANTM for the burgeoning mobile multi-mode handset market. With its experienced team and a innovative technology portfolio, HelloSoft will continue focusing on the world’s most advanced low-cost and low-power solutions.

Rane may join Congress
Saturday, July 23, 2005 | AY

The former Maharashtra chief minister, Mr Narayan Rane, expelled from the Shiv Sena recently, is likely to join the Congress after a meeting with party chief, Ms Sonia Gandhi yesterday. Both Congress and NCP are wooing Mr Rane, who is currently on his third visit to the capital after parting ways with the Shiv Sena. The visit assumes significance following Mr Rane’s statement that he would decide this week whether to join Congress or NCP.

Unique surgery at J J hospital
Friday, July 22, 2005 | AY

On Tuesday, a team of doctors at Mumbai’s JJ Hospital performed an unique surgery. They did a musculonising genitoplasty on eight-year-old Pramod Goel, a hermaphrodite, which gave the boy a penis. The patient was a hermaphrodite, which meant he was born with both male and female reproductive organs. "Our task was to make the child a male,” said Dr SB Mane, honorary paediatric surgeon at JJ Hospital.

Case against Roshans postponed
Friday, July 22, 2005 | AY

A local court today adjourned till tomorrow, hearing in a cheating case filed by a film distributor against cine actor Hrithik Roshan, his father Rakesh and maternal grandfather J Omprakash over sale of marketing rights of Hindi film ''Kaho Na Pyar Hai'' and other home productions. The court had earlier ordered the police to investigate the allegations of cheating levelled by Popular Entertainment Network against the three. Popular Entertainment proprietor Jayanti Gada had filed six complaints against Hrithik Roshan and his family members alleging that his firm had been cheated by the Roshans by backing out of their agreement with the film distribution company.

Business agreemnet between agro industry & L-T John Deere
Friday, July 22, 2005 | AY

L&T-John Deere Pvt Ltd, tractor manufacturer, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maharashtra Agro Industries Development Corporation Ltd, manufacturer of rotary tillers under the brand Krushivators, for joint promotion and marketing of the products. The Krushivator tiller would supplement the efficiency of the tractor in several operations such as ploughing, clod crushing, harrowing and levelling, thereby reducing cost and time of land preparation and save fuel. LTJDPL's 50 per cent of the production is exported to the US, Turkey, Mexico and South-East Asian countries.

Mumbai professional colleges under raid
Friday, July 22, 2005 | AY

The Income Tax Department, IT Department, has trained its guns on professional colleges in Maharashtra, for not disclosing incomes. The Income Tax officials also searched the residential premises of the promoters and some middle men, who run the colleges. Officials say that the interrogation for those people in the education system, who have accepted black money in the form of donation and capitation fees, has brought quite a few important documents into the limelight. The colleges which have been raided include Lata Mangeshkar Medical College, Raisoni College and Kavi Kulguru College in Nagpur. In Pune, MIT Medical College, DY Patil Medical College and Bharati Vidyapeeth have been raided.

Dance bar shut across the state
Friday, July 22, 2005 | AY

Maharashtra legislative assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a bill to close down all dance bars across the state after a five hour debate. As soon as the Governor puts his seal on the bill to convert it into an official act, the provisions therein will be implemented without further delay. The opposition members said they would support the bill as the intent behind the move was definitely to do good for society. It was made absolutely clear that the government cannot take responsibility of providing alternate employment to bar girls who have migrated from other parts of the country or who are Bangladeshi nationals.

Mallika asked by the police for the MMS clip
Wednesday, July 20, 2005 | AY

Mumbai Police has asked actress Mallika Sherawat to provide a copy of the pornographic MMS clip in which she allegedly features. Soon after the MMS was seen on mobile phones, her advocate, Vibhav Krishna, had lodged a comlaint with Police Commissioner A N Roy on July nine seeking a probe into the offence Under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act. The Cyber cell police had managed to download the MMS clip and after investigations found that the woman in the clip was not Mallika though she resembled her. The clip would be subjected to cyber forensic examination to find out whether her face had been morphed or not.

Cable tv fees not in our hands- CM
Wednesday, July 20, 2005 | AY

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said that the state government had no power to control the fee being charged by companies from the subscribers for providing cable TV services. Deshmukh said this in a written reply to a query by Girish Bapat (BJP) and others in the state Assembly that various companies providing cable TV services in Pune had hiked subscription fee in April, 2005. Stating that 32 housing societies in Pune had opposed the hike, Bapat urged the state government to come out with a policy to ensure uniform cable TV rates in the state.

Zoo upgraded with the help of private participation
Tuesday, July 19, 2005 | AY

Brihanumumbai Muncipal Corporation today assured Bombay High Court that it is examining different options for upgrading the facilities at Byculla zoo in south central Mumbai through private or NGO participation. The court was hearing a petition filed by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) seeking the court's directive to improve the facilities at the zoo. The BMC assured the court that it would implement the expert committee report shortly and also appoint private security guards to check and apprehend persons teasing and illegally feeding animals.

Former miss world being interrogated
Monday, July 18, 2005 | AY

A day after actor Salman Khan was questioned, crime branch officials of Mumbai today interrogates actress Aishwarya Rai at her residence in connection with the purported conversation between the two in which the star had bragged about his underworld links while persuading the former Miss World to perform at a programme for gangster Abu Salem. Police are collecting the voice samples to match with the tapes. The investigation had picked up momentum as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil, who also holds Home portfolio, has promised to make a statement in the Assembly by Wednesday.

Hero Honda opens its new plant
Monday, July 18, 2005 | AY

Hero Honda who is experiencing a slight dip in Q1 numbers due to component supply chain issues in its Daruwada and Manesar plants, is planning to install a third plant soon to take care of the requirements in FY06. Pawan Kant Munjal, MD, Hero Honda said that the Super Splendor was doing very well, and the Glamor, recently launched in south India is showing signs of encouraging sales. Exports, which make up a small portion of the revenue, are healthy, though the domestic market is far more important for the company.

Rural maharashtra witness Congress-NCP fight
Monday, July 18, 2005 | AY

Although the Congress and NCP are coalition partners in Maharashtra, the fight for supremacy among their district level leaders is a cause for concern for both parties. Recently, their candidates were pitted against each other for the posts of presidents and vice presidents in two zilla parishads. The state BJP terms this as a new strategy to widen the growing cracks between the ruling coalition.
In Bhandara district of eastern Maharashtra, newly elected president Manohar Singanjude and vice president Nitin Kadhav of the zilla parishad belong to the NCP and BJP respectively. The 11th hour coalition between two bitter rivals saw their members voting for each other to defeat the single largest party - Congress.

Hema Malini in Bhagmati
Sunday, July 17, 2005 | AY

Zee Telefilms "Bhagmati" - Queen of fortunes, India's largest animated film dishes out a unique song featuring Hema Malini with the animated characters. Bhagmati is based on the immortal love story of Hyderabad prince Muhammad Shah and beautiful dancer Bhagmati. Tabu and Milind Soman play the lead roles, while Mahima Chaudhary lends her voice to the animated version of the character Bhagmati.

Rane keeping price for joining the party
Sunday, July 17, 2005 | AY

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane, who was expelled from Shiv Sena recently, on Sunday said he would join the party that will address the problems of the state. On the whip issued by Sena for attending the Assembly proceedings from July 19 to 21, Rane said neither he nor MLAs in his camp will succumb to the pressure tactics by the party.

Cross examination in the best bakery case postponed
Saturday, July 16, 2005 | AY

The cross-examination of Zaheera Sheikh, the controversial eyewitness in the Best Bakery case has been postponed till July 25. According to the Commission sources, the hearing was postponed due to inability of defence counsel Mukul Sinha to attend the proceedings due to personal reasons. During her last appearance before the Commission on May 4, She refused to narrate the events of the Best Bakery in which the bakery in Vadodara was fired by a violent mob claiming the lives of 14 people, including several members of Zaheera's family on March 2002. The Best Bakery case has been transferred to a Mumbai court for re-trial after Fast Track court had acquitted all the 21 persons accused of murdering 14 persons in the bakery case, including some Zaheera's relatives.

New LCD panel with dual vision
Saturday, July 16, 2005 | AY

Sharp Corporation and Sharp Laboratories of Europe have developed a new LCD panel, which can simultaneously display different information and image content in right and left views in a single unit by directionally controlling the viewing angle of the LCD. This feature makes it possible to provide information and content tailored to specific users depending on the angle at which they view the screen. Volume production of the LCD will begin this month, marking the introduction of the world's first practical application of this technology. This has drastically boosted demand for LCD application products such as LCD TVs and monitors, notebook PCs, in-vehicle rear-seat entertainment, and mobile phones. With the two-way viewing-angle LCD, a clear, readable display is possible with no intermingling of the respective display content.

Dolphin milk enters mumbai market
Friday, July 15, 2005 | AY

Dolphin Milk Products Private Limited, a private dairy in north coastal Andhra Pradesh, has forayed into the Mumbai market. The company has tied up with a Mumbai-based private milk hawker for supply of milk to the Mumbai market. Dolphin dairy has about 750 milk collection points in Visakhapatnam and Vizainagaram districts, and a few milk points in East Godavari district too. During last fiscal, Dolphin’s average daily milk collection was about 40,000 litres and this year, the company is expecting to touch 55,000-60,000 litres.

Salman in big trouble
Friday, July 15, 2005 | AY

The Salman Khan tapes controversy rocked the Maharashtra Assembly yesterday, with the opposition demanding the arrest of the Bollywood star, if the purported telephonic conversation with Aishwarya Rai was proved to be genuine. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Gopinath Munde found it shocking that the Mumbai police had taped his conversation with Aishwarya, where an abusive Salman Khan allegedly admits his links to underworld dons, and also threatens to eliminate her and her family members, way back in 2001, and yet failed to arrest the actor. Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh promised he would investigate the matter and inform the house as to why action had not been taken against Salman Khan.

CET may be cancelled in the state
Thursday, July 14, 2005 | AY

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday said it was planning to cancel the Common Entrance Test (CET) conducted for admission to engineering courses in the state. Minister of State for Higher and Technical Education Suresh Shetty, further said the AICTE that had reduced the intake capacity by 1,650 students in engineering colleges of Marathwada region due to lack of facilties has now sanctioned 705 seats after the colleges fulfilled the basic criteria.

Red Bull has to go under non vegeterian group
Thursday, July 14, 2005 | AY

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has prohibited the sale of the Austrian energy drink Red Bull after a complaint from a non-government organisation that it contained animal derivatives without adequate certification. Red Bull is sold in 250-ml cans and the Austria-based company claims the drink boosts physical performance. The FDA wants the manufacturer, Red Bull Ltd, to change the labelling code to indicate that it is a non-vegetarian product. According to information available with the FDA, taurine, present in the drink, is an animal-origin product, produced by the synthesis of amino acids in the body.

Aerial services introduces their new product
Wednesday, July 13, 2005 | AY

After having tied up with US-based Garmin, New Delhi-based Aerial Services has introduced a GPS navigation product 'street pilot' in the country. Containing GIS-mapped information about major landmarks in all metro cities, street pilot will be targeted first for cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune. This product will store information about railway stations, hotels, shopping malls, entertainment spots, hospitals and bank-ATM points. This would be a complete navigation system-helping the customers to navigate through different lanes and roads of the city. While going from one destination to another, one just needs to feed in the details and the device will take over from there. A voice modulator guides the vehicle announcing every turn, advising the distance before a turn. The company is planning to sell different flavors-street pilot 2610, GPS map276C, GPS 320C - of the product within a price band of Rs 20,000 to Rs 60,000.

A theatre company tours India
Wednesday, July 13, 2005 | AY

Germany's Flying Fish Theatre Company begins a seven-month tour of India, Nepal and Pakistan next month to expose audiences to contemporary European culture and to integrate South Asian scenes and stories into a play that will be performed at international festivals. The company will play at a variety of venues, including market places, community centres, schools and theatres in Delhi, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. the group will conduct interactive workshops for children in acting, puppetry, dance, music, acrobatics and juggling.

India settles with Bechtel group
Wednesday, July 13, 2005 | AY

India has reached a $160 million settlement with US engineering and construction firm Bechtel Corp on its claims on the mothballed Dabhol power plant. Maharashtra Power Development Corporation, owned by the Maharashtra state utility, which owns 14 per cent of the power project, will pay the sum to Bechtel. As a result of this settlement, Bechtel is expected to discontinue its $6 billion arbitration proceedings against the Indian government to recover damages to its investment in Dabhol. Dabhol was designed to produce 2,184 megawatts of power but shut down in May 2001 after a dispute between previous owner Enron Corp. and Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB), its sole consumer.

J-K Students given preference for engineering here
Wednesday, July 13, 2005 | AY

The Nationalist Congress Party has said that more than 1000 seats have been earmarked in different engineering institutes in Maharashtra for the children of officials of the Central service, and the paramiltary forces posted in the state and also the wards of J and K police officers. The party said that due to the efforts of President J and K NCP Thakur Randhir Singh, the facilities of getting admission in the colleges at Maharasthra has gained momentum and the students will get a lot of benefit with these efforts.

Reliance telecom has expansion plans
Monday, July 11, 2005 | AY

Reliance Telecom Ltd, a GSM wireless operator, has clocked net profit of Rs 11 crore in the last fiscal and has expansion plans in the pipeline too. The company has drawn up plans to expand services in another 500 towns in the coming months in its circles of operation. Reliance Telecom has seven telecom circles across 11 States, all in the North-East. Reliance Telecom's subscriber base grew by 3.25 lakh during the year to reach 1.12 million, reflecting a growth of 41 per cent. It is increasing its radio capacity to cater to increased traffic as a result of increase in usage and subscriber base.

Rupee rallies further
Monday, July 11, 2005 | AY

The rupee rallied further against the US currency early today on sustained foreign funds inflows amid a relatively weak dollar overseas with sentiments improving due to falling global crude oil prices. In generally quiet and range bound trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market here this morning the rupee is currently quoted at Rs.43.5625/5675 per dollar, sharply higher from last friday's close at Rs.43.61/62 per dollar. The rupee opened distinctly firm at Rs.43.55/56 per dollar after the US currency shed part of its recent robust strength against the Euro. Healthly trade and FII inflows into buoyant stock market amid a retreating dollar overseas fuelled a strong rupee rally with the outlook for the currency turning positive due to falling global oil prices.

Deep space antenna facility soon coming up
Sunday, July 10, 2005 | AY

Scientists at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) jointly with Electronic Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) have designed a deep space antenna system for telemetry for country's first spacecraft to Moon -- Chandrayan-I of Indian Space Research Organisation. ISRO has embarked upon Chandrayan-I mission for moon exploration in 2007-08. This programme needs a precision deep space antenna system for telemetry, tracking and control of the space-craft orbiting the moon at a distance of 400,000 kms from earth. BARC has taken up the responsibility for the analysis, design and development of the antenna servo control system for meeting the precision tracking requirements of the mission. The antenna is scheduled to be erected at a site near Bangalore in Karnataka by end of 2006. When completed, this will be a world class facility for Deep Space tracking applications.

Stem cell based treatment soon
Sunday, July 10, 2005 | AY

US-based Histostem has inked a deal with the Maharashtra government for setting up national (umbilical) cord banking (NCB) centre in Mumbai. Three more centres would be set up in Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. The main intention is to offer medical facilities using stem cell technology for spinal cord injuries, brain strokes, diabetes and bone cancer at much lower costs. The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) will have an equity partnership with Histostem for the project. Apollo Hospital has agreed to provide local support such as facilities as assistance in acquisition of umbilical cord blood in order to establish the stem cell treatment centres using Histostem’s technologies and protocols.

Veteran congress leader passes away
Saturday, July 9, 2005 | AY

Veteran Congress leader, Islamic scholar and distinguished writer Dr Rafiq Zakaria, 79, passed away at his residence here early today. Zakaria complained of acute back pain shortly before he breathed his last at around 7 a.m. An outstanding academic achiever, Zakaria had won the Chancellor's Gold Medal for coming first in the MA examination of Bombay University. A versatile scholar on Indian politics, Zakaria was closely associated with India's Freedom Struggle and spent over 25 years in public service. Zakaria's interest in literature and journalism went back to his student days when he worked for the News Chronicle and The Observer in London.

Tally solutions launches a planning platform
Saturday, July 9, 2005 | AY

Tally Solutions, the accounting software company, will shortly launch an Enterprise Resource Planning platform of its own in the country. The ease of use of Tally would be a feature of this new ERP platform as well. Tally has been extraordinarily aggressive over the last nine months, expanding and deepening its over-20,000-strong reseller network. They are trying to see that the pure hardware reseller moves up the chain to become a value-added services reseller. The company, which had revenues of Rs 200 crore in 2004-2005, expected a growth of between 200 per cent and 300 per cent this year.

London attacks reminds of 1992 Bombay blasts
Friday, July 8, 2005 | AY

Opposition Leader L K Advani said the attack on London's transport network has revived memories of the 1992 Mumbai serial blasts and warned the Centre not to let its guard down against terrorism. Advani said India had been victim to terrorism over the past two decades. The American and European countries realised the gravity of this scourge much later. The events of 9/11, the terror strike in Moscow and Indonesia, and now in London have once again underlined the need to step up the global fight against terrorism, the BJP chief said.

Settlement of the Dabhol case
Friday, July 8, 2005 | AY

Prospects of a successful settlement of the Dabhol case with General Electric (GE) and Bechtel, who own 85 per cent of the Dabhol Power Company (DPC), are welcome. The remaining 15 per cent share is owned by the Maharashtra Power Development Corporation (MPDC). With this, ownership of the DPC will now come into the hands of a special purpose vehicle. The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) will operate the plant. It should be able to restart it since it will now be given its designs and restart keys from GE — which supplied the turbines — and the drawings and designs from Bechtel, which was the engineering-cum-construction company. The Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), will be responsible for sourcing LNG for the plant.
The settlement has not come cheap, of course, and amounts to nearly Rs 10,600 crore. But operationalising the 2,184 MW DPC would certainly help Maharashtra address the severe power crisis it is currently facing.

Veerdhaval Khade sets new record
Thursday, July 7, 2005 | AY

Veerdhaval Khade of Maharashtra created two new records before emerging the fastest swimmer of the 32nd Junior National Aquatic Championship, which passed into the fourth day on Wednesday. Winning his boys' group II 50m freestyle event with a timing of 25.65 seconds, Kahde overhauled his own record that he set in the morning heats overwriting the previous best by Aniket D'Souza of Karnataka last year.

Thackeray alleges Kupekar
Thursday, July 7, 2005 | AY

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray today alleged that Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Babasaheb Kupekar was trying to "put Sena into difficulties" by recommending the name of expelled party leader Narayan Rane's supporter Vinayak Nimhan as the new chief whip of Sena Legislature Party. The Sena supremo also objected to Rane's statement that it was not Bal Thackeray but his son Uddhav who was running the party. "Had it been the case, Rane would not have become the Chief Minister and later Opposition leader",he said.

IBM global services gets 56 crore contract from IDBI
Wednesday, July 6, 2005 | AY

IBM Global Services has bagged a Rs 56 crore contract from IDBI to consolidate the latter's IT infrastructure, including building and providing service support for a state-of-the-art data centre and disaster recovery site. The data centre would be spread over a 12,000 square feet area in Melapur, Navi Mumbai and house IDBI's entire IT infrastructure running all critical applications and storing records while the disaster recovery site designed to restore systems in less than 24 hours would be located at chennai.

Bandh on July 7
Wednesday, July 6, 2005 | AY

The VHP and Bajrang Dal have called for Maharashtra bandh on July 7 in the wake of terrorist attempted storming of the makeshift temple in Ayodhya on Tuesday. Both VHP and Bajrang Dal will hold demonstrations and protest marches throughout the state.

Former leg spinner passed away
Tuesday, July 5, 2005 | AY

Former test leg spinner Baloo Gupte died here today after a prolonged illness. He was 70. Gupte is survived by wife, a son and daughter. Born on August 30, 1934, the international career of Gupte, who played three test matches and took three wickets, spanned over five years after his debut against Pakistan at Chennai in 1960-61. He played his last test against New Zealand in 1964-65. In first class cricket, Gupte represented Mumbai, Bengal, and Railways.

A new type of five-star deluxe hotel
Tuesday, July 5, 2005 | AY

Fomento Resorts Pvt Ltd, which owns the Cidade De Goa group of five star hotels, has snapped up a 100 acre plot of land from the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, for 90 years, that is located on a hill site 200 metres from the Aravali beach, in Sindhudurg district. The boutique hotel's USP will be a private swimming pool to go with every room. The first phase will see the construction of around 20 rooms, each equipped with a private swimming pool , at a cost of around Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million). On completion will see another 80 rooms with individual pools cooing up. The Sindhudurg region boasts of 15 pristine white sand beaches, each having a beach length of six to seven kilometers.

Emergency landing
Monday, July 4, 2005 | AY

An Alliance Air Boeing 737 flight from Bhopal with 121 passengers on board landed amidst full emergency measures today following a problem with its undercarriage. The Boeing landed safely after flying low over the runway for a check on the undercarriage, airport sources said. After inspection, it was cleared to operate to Mangalore.

Insurance scheme for helpless women
Monday, July 4, 2005 | AY

The Maharasthra Government proposes to launch a unique insurance scheme exclusively for women in the State, the proposed scheme would cover about 1.5 crore women who are below the poverty line, handicapped, widowed and landless the age of 18. The Minister said the premium for the policies would be as low as Re 1 or Rs 2 and the coverage would be Rs 10,000 for minor accidents, Rs 50,000 for partial disability and Rs 1,00,000 in the event of death. The scheme will also provide mediclaim facilities for maternity, breast cancer and other women-related health conditions.

Narayan Rane resigns
Sunday, July 3, 2005 | AY

Senior Shiv Sena leader Narayan Rane announced that he is quitting his post as the leader of opposition in the Maharashtra assembly. Rane said he would hand over his resignation to Sena supremo Bal Thackeray but he made it clear that he had no intentions of leaving the Sena. Rane added that there were many meetings of party's legislators and workers, where in Shiv Sena office bearers from his Sindhudurg district were invited, but he had not been invited to these meetings.

Foreign Investors venturing in the state
Sunday, July 3, 2005 | AY

A South Korean-American stem cell company and a US media consulting firm said it was planning to start a venture in Pune or Mumbai. Deshmukh has earlier said at a luncheon organized at his honour in Hollywood, that Maharashtra has come up with major policy reforms with a five-year roadmap of making the state the top destination for US investors. The chief minister said his government had cleared several infrastructure projects in the state and efforts were on to make available educated manpower for the companies that had set up shop in the state.

Shipping company spends 25 cr for a dry dock facility
Saturday, July 2, 2005 | AY

Chowgule Steamship, a shipping company plans to develop a Rs 25 crore dry dock facility at Lavgan in Ratnagiri district to cater to the requirements of small vessels, including coastal vessels, offshore supply vessels and Coast Guard ships. The company has got clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest for constructing this drydock which will have a ship repairing facility and a small jetty. At present, there is no drydocking facility for small ships deployed in coastal shipping in the country. These vessels have to depend upon the drydocking facilities in Dubai or Colombo. The company has evinced interest in developing the Jaigad port for handling four million tonne of cargo by constructing four berths and a dry dock.

State on alert due to heavy rains
Saturday, July 2, 2005 | AY

In view of incessant rains in various parts of the state, Maharashtra government has instructed to all district administrations to remain alert to meet any eventuality. The continuing heavy rains in Nasik and Nandurbar districts in North Maharashtra has led to fear of floods in the region. There has been heavy rains also in Konkan and Western Maharashtra region. There has been very less rain in Central Maharashtra, except for Nanded and Hingoli district, where rain is just over 50 per cent of average rainfall so far.

Devrai
Friday, July 1, 2005 | AY

Following the success of Shwaas, Marathi Cinema now again has another film to cheer about – Devrai. The film, dealing with schizophrenia,has outperformed big Hindi films like Karam and Bewafaa in its per screen capital during the same period and deservedly so. Incidentally both Shwaas and Devrai deal with medical problems and are based in and around hospitals in Pune, but whereas Shwaas aimed more to pull at your heartstrings, Devrai is the more mature, sensitive film. Directed by Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukhtankar, known best for their earlier films, also highly acclaimed – Doghi and Vaastupurush, the film has been produced by the Schizophrenia Awareness Association, and the KS Wani Memorial Trust. Technically the film is adequate with special mention of Debu Deodhar’s evocative photography.Sesh (Atul Kulkarni) has been brought to Pune by his sister Seena (Sona Kulkarni) from their small village. In Pune he has a major outburst at a party and is taken to hospital where he is diagnosed as a neglected Schizophrenic. From the flash back we come to know that sesh was denied of his love to his cousin Kalyani, and Shesh’s frustrations pile up at not being able to continue his studies and do research on Devrai – ‘the Sacred Grove’.

Jeep - Trick collision on the highway
Friday, July 1, 2005 | AY

Fourteen people, including four women and a child, were killed and five others injured in a collision between a jeep and a truck on the Pune-Hyderabad National Highway today. The jeep was carrying passngers from Osmanabad who were returning home after having ''darshan'' of Saint Dnyaneshwar's 'palkhi', while the truck was heading towards Bidar in Karnataka.

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