Maharashtra News Archive: July 2006

Air Arabia adds more flights to Mumbai
Monday, July 31, 2006 | AY

Air Arabia LLC, the first low-fares airline in the Middle East and North Africa, has announced a further increase in its frequency on the Sharjah-Mumbai sector. The additional six flights per week, effective August 15, 2006 till September 10, 2006, will be operational every day of the week except Monday and will depart from Sharjah at 0010 hours local time, arriving in Mumbai at 04:40 hours Indian Standard Time. The regular flights to Mumbai continue as normal with a daily departure of 1630 hours UAE time from Sharjah and a 2145 hours departure from Mumbai Indian time.

Novoseven -A potent drug against haemorhage
Sunday, July 30, 2006 | AY

At the 'Continuing Medical Education' (CME) programme on ‘Recent advances in management of haemorrhagic disorders’ at the Armed Forces Medical College, haematologist Dr M B Agarwal said that the Novoseven’s proper administration might drastically reduce the chances of death from haemorhage. He said that 50 per cent of the deaths occur due to haemorrhage. Novoseven has also proved to be effective during intra-cranial haemorrhage. The drug was first used experimentally on an Israeli soldier by Uri Martinowitz to save him from bleeding to death. NovoSeven was developed by the Danish company Novo Nordisk, based on research by Israeli scientists.

Nirmalkumar Phadkule passes away
Saturday, July 29, 2006 | AY

Noted Marathi writer Nirmalkumar Phadkule passed away at Solapur following a heart attack. Phadkule who was 79 is survived by his wife and two sons. Phadkule was known for his mastery over diverse subjects like literature, sociology and spiritualism. He authored over 30 books which were widely read. He was also a good orator.

Flood alert in Pune
Saturday, July 29, 2006 | AY

Authorities have issued an alert due to the swelling of rivers Mutha, Mula, Bhima and Pavana in Pune following heavy rains and started shifting people to safer places. Water was being discharged from many dams in the district, including 50,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) from Khadakwasala dam. Deputy Municipal Commissioner Anil Gaikwad said some low-lying areas, including Patil Estate on Mumbai-Pune Road, Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, Kolajivadi, Indira Nagar and Singhad Road were inundated and 170 families in these areas had been relocated.

Brightstar launches fixed wireless division
Saturday, July 29, 2006 | AY

Brightstar, a wireless distribution and supply chain solutions company, has launched its fixed wireless division in India. Fixed wireless devices provide connectivity where there is little or no access to landline communications. Brightstar had launched its subsidiary, Brightstar India, in early 2005. The subsidiary operates two sales and distribution offices in Mumbai and Delhi. The company hopes to support Indian consumers with fixed wireless devices developed in conjunction with major manufacturers and also under its own Avvio brand specifically for India.

Education Minister introduces a baseline tests
Wednesday, July 26, 2006 | AY

For improving quality of primary and secondary education in the schools, a baseline tests are introduced by the Maharashtra government for students of standard second to standard eighth. A survey was undertaken in 2004 which showed that 8.31 lakh students in the state could not read or write and a special scheme was implemented to train these students wherein two lakh teachers participated in the effort. Students will have to answer questions of previous year curriculum in the present year in such type of tests.

Sports book released by Tata
Tuesday, July 25, 2006 | AY

Tata Group has released a book titled `To Strive and To Soar', which nurtures Indian sporting excellence. Sunil Gavaskar, cricket legend, and Narain Karthikeyan, India's first Formula One driver, released the book, which is in the form of a visual anthology, at a function in Mumbai. Tata Group's sporting achievers, almost the who's who of Indian sport, were in attendance.

Wi Fi in Mumbai
Monday, July 24, 2006 | AY

Mumbai, this August, will adopt Wi Fi Technology. This technology will permit Internet users to surf the Internet wireless, at a minimum speed of 256 kbps on their laptops, personal computers, mobiles PDAs. This service will be provided to Internet users through radio frequency. In this technology, the data gets converted into radio frequency signals and is transmitted through the air. This technology uses radio frequencies like the radio, cordless phones, wireless handsets and blue tooth use, to connect with the internet. It works on high frequencies - 2400MHz, 5800MHz.

RIL plans Rs 3,500 crore port
Monday, July 24, 2006 | AY

After consigning Rs 25,000 crore for its special economic zone (SEZ), the Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries is planning to develop a multi-purpose port for managing the cargo generated from the proposed SEZ. The sources reveal that the proposed location is most likely to be J.N.P.T. port, Navi Mumbai. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is studying the effects of constructing an international airport in Navi Mumbai, close to the company’s proposed SEZ.

Toronto film festival awaits Indian movies
Saturday, July 22, 2006 | AY

A slew of Indian movies are expected to hold centrestage at the prestigious Toronto International Film festival in September. Films in Hindi, Marathi, Telugu and Manipuri will be there. Johar's much awaited multi-starrer will be screened in the 'Gala Presentation' section of the festival - a slot usually reserved for high-profile blockbusters or premieres. The John Abraham-starrer 'Kabul Express,' directed by Kabir Khan and filmed on location in war-torn post-9/11 Afghanistan, will be premiered in the 'Special Presentation' category of the festival. Filmmakers Chitra Palekar and Rajnesh Domalpalli will be showcasing their directorial debuts here in the festival's 'Discovery' section. Palekar's Marathi film 'Maati Maay' starring Nandita Das and Atul Kulkarni, is based on Maheshweta Devi's story 'Daayen'. The film tells the story of a woman branded a witch and condemned to the fringes of society.

Akshay Kumar dedicates a song for the victims of 7/11
Saturday, July 22, 2006 | AY

Akshay Kumar has sung a devotional song NIRGUN LAAKH LEEYA for a Punjabi Album. The song which had been shot near the golden temple in Amritsar is dedicated to the victims of the recent bomb blast that rocked Mumbai. Akshay will also star in the video as well which is shot by Ajay Kumar and Sanjukta. A special note from Akshay Kumar says, Mumbai…. The city that never sleeps. On 11 July, hundreds slept their last sleep. Even as their families stayed awake waiting for them to return…. Some are still waiting! This video is dedicated to all those who lost their lives that fateful day and to their families who still can’t sleep.

KOEL plans new units in Maharashtra
Saturday, July 22, 2006 | AY

Oil engines manufacturer Kirloskar Oil Engines (KOEL) is planning to set up a greenfield engines plant at Kagal near Kolhapur in Maharashtra with a capital outlay of Rs 400 crore. The company is also planning an export-oriented unit to manufacture engine valves at Ahmednagar in Maharashtra with a capital outlay of Rs 60 crore. KOEL chairman and managing director Atul Kirloskar told shareholders at the annual general meeting today that the company is looking at raising its export earnings to 50% of total revenue as against 10% now.

New tourism policy in 3 months
Wednesday, July 19, 2006 | AY

Maharashtra, is finally all set to get a new tourism policy outlining the plan of action for the next 20 years. This will be the most comprehensive tourism policy for the state. Various departments related to tourism like PWD, industry, planning, etc. have already inked their approval on the various segments of the tourism policy which is in the final round of discussion between the state finance and tourism department. Apart from the new tourism policy, the sanction of Rs 250 crore for the next four years (2006-2010) by the 12th Finance Commission with Rs 62.50 crore each year will give a big boost to tourism in the state.

Forging testing centre in Pune
Tuesday, July 18, 2006 | AY

Bharat Forge Ltd — Pune will now have a first-of-its-kind Rs 22-crore research and development, testing and validation centre for the forging industry in the country. The centre set up on 2,200 sq mt plot spread over 4,400 sq mt at Chakan will begin operations by October 2007. It is jointly promoted by the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Association of Indian Forging Industry and the forging division of Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). While the government will fund the project, the centre will run on revenues from consultancy services on research and development and testing of products.

New lead in the blasts investigtions
Monday, July 17, 2006 | AY

Investigators of the train attacks in Mumbai believe all the bombs were planted at the main Victoria Terminus. Reports point out that the bombers escaped through an underpass. At least three of the seven bombs fitted with timers were set to explode after 20 minutes.A police team from Mumbai will interrogate 11 suspected members arrested in Tripura two days after the blasts.

Ishshya
Sunday, July 16, 2006 | AY

Marathi films are not far behind in following the trend of picturising item numbers. Recently Umesh Jadhav choreographed a number on Kranti Redkar and Ankush Chaudhari for the film Ishshya. The song was composed by Sharang Dev and rendered by Vaishali Samant. The set erected for the item song was designed by Guruji Brothers, who have been associated with Yashraj Films for many years. The special item song is jointly produced by Chaitanya Shantaram of V Shantaram Entertainments and Ashok Raut of Ushakalaa Vision.

Silver medal at chemistry olympiad bagged by a puneite
Saturday, July 15, 2006 | AY

Pune lad Omkar Wagh bagged the silver medal at the International Chemistry Olympiad (ICO) held in South Korea between July 2 and July 11. Wagh was the only Puneite among the four-member contingent representing India at the ICO. From rigorous tests to selection camps, the boys were subjected to a stringent screening process competing with 30,000 students from all over India. Once selected, the boys underwent a formal pre-departure training from the HBSCE, the nodal agency for the Olympiad.

Bomb threat in Mumbai station
Saturday, July 15, 2006 | AY

Sections of the Bombay commuter rail network were shut down Saturday afternoon after a caller phoned in an anonymous bomb threat. The caller said the bomb had been placed at the station in the Bombay neighborhood of Vile Parle. It was not immediately clear if there was a bomb, or whether the call was a hoax.

Mumbai blasts probe
Saturday, July 15, 2006 | AY

Investigations into the Mumbai blasts are gaining momentum. Nearly 25 eyewitnesses have come forward to offer descriptions of 'suspicious' looking persons present at the Churchgate station before the blasts. Intelligence agencies have confirmed that the explosive used in the serial blasts in Mumbai's suburban trains is not the deadly RDX but ammonium nitrate.

Four Soft opens technology centre in Pune
Wednesday, July 12, 2006 | AY

Four Soft Limited, an emerging Indian Multinational and the world's largest transportation and logistics software product company today announced its plans to establish a technology centre in Pune. The technology centre is likely to start functioning from 1st August 2006 onwards. The technology centre is going to function on the company's core products using leading J2EE methodologies. Keeping in line with their expansion plans, they are planning to hire 200-300 professionals by the end of this year.

Train blasts shook Mumbai city
Wednesday, July 12, 2006 | AY

Mumbai, was rocked by seven explosions on trains and in commuter stations yesterday, killing at least 163 people and injuring 464 in the nation's worst terrorist attack in 13 years. The explosions occurred within 30 minutes starting at 6 p.m., tearing apart train cars and ripping through rush-hour crowds in this city of 16 million. India put all its major cities on alert after the blasts, the worst since almost 200 people died in 1993 attacks on the Bombay Stock Exchange and commercial landmarks. All the bombs were placed in the first-class compartments of the trains. The attacks hit Khar, Mahim, Mira Road, Jogeshwari, Borivali, Matunga and Bandra.

Chhattisgarh tourism centre in Maharashtra
Monday, July 10, 2006 | AY

A Chhattisgarh tourism information centre was set up Sunday in Nagpur with the aim of attracting tourists visiting Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region. The Nagpur centre is the first centre of the Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) in Maharashtra. CTB has so far set up similar centres at Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Bhopal. Among the major tourist attractions in Chhattisgarh are the Indravati river falls in Bastar, the Kanger valley national park, caves and rocks that are reportedly 3,000-3,300 million years old and the Buddhist religious centre at Sirpur in Mahasamund district.

10 motorised boats for rescue operations
Sunday, July 9, 2006 | AY

In contrast to last year’s floods, when the district administration had to borrow boats from the Army to ferry residents to a safer place, this time as part of the precautionary measures, the State government’s Rescue and Rehabilitation (R&R) Department will be sending 10 inflatable, motorised boats to the city in the next 8-10 days. The State government has purchased 60 inflatable, motorised boats from Pune-based GP Company at an estimated cost of Rs 1.25 crore that will be sent to every district. With a seating capacity of 12-13 adults, the inflatable boats are large and have less chance of overturning in strong currents.

Mumbai-Pune Expressway to be realigned
Saturday, July 8, 2006 | AY

Since June, the 176 km-long Mumbai-Pune Expressway has already seen 10 landslides. Now, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), want to realign a 23-km stretch of the expresssway where it meets the NH4 near Lonavala and Khandala. MTDC is proposing aligning the stretch passing along the Sahyadari ranges between Kusgaon and Khalapur away from the hills so that from Kusgaon, it passes along Kuruwande and Bhushi, away from the vertical face of the ghats that are prone to landslides and ends at the foothills at Adoshi.

Chikungunya grips most of Maharashtra
Saturday, July 8, 2006 | AY

Nineteen districts of Maharashtra are affected by chikungunya. Among those affected are Nashik, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar, Pune, Solapur and parts of Marathwada. Chikungunya is a viral fever that has gripped most parts of Karnataka over the last few months. In the districts of Shimoga alone, over 19,000 people have been affected. The disease spreads through mosquito bites. The symptoms include moderate to high fever, redness in the eyes and severe joint pain. In extreme cases, the patient finds it difficult to move, but experts say the disease is not fatal.

Supreme court dismissed a PIL against Bollywood actor
Saturday, July 8, 2006 | AY

Supreme Court dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL),against Shah Rukh Khan who believed to have challenged the Maharashtra government’s decision to permit construction of a multi-storey housing complex near a heritage building in the Mumbai suburb of Bandra where the actor lives. The court observed there was nothing wrong established to prove that the Maharashtra government violated any law and that the actor influenced the administration. Bombay High Court had earlier dismissed the petition filed by one Cyril Thomas Mecwan, who said Khan had influenced the state government into taking the decision. Khan had earlier filed a caveat in the Supreme Court, anticipating that the PIL would reach the apex court of the country.

Medical and Dental Colleges decides to fix new fees
Wednesday, July 5, 2006 | AY

The Association of Managements of Private Medical and Dental Colleges (AMUPMDC) has rejected the fees fixed by the Shikshan Shulka Samiti and has decided that all 29 medical colleges under it would fix their own fees. On June 21, the Shikshan Shulka Samiti has announced a 7.5 percent hike in fees from last year. That meant that medical fees were Rs 2.5 lakh and dental fees was Rs 1.5 lakh. This was unacceptable to the colleges, which normally charge anything between Rs 4 lakh to Rs 4.80 lakh per year for a medical seat and Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh for a dental seat. According to the new fee structure proposed by the colleges, Mumbai ones will charge the highest amount.

Schools remains shut
Tuesday, July 4, 2006 | AY

Mumbai has been receiving intense monsoon showers, which continued for the fourth consecutive day. The Met office has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours, and consequently, schools, which were closed today, will remain closed on Wednesday. Although the situation is not as bad as last year's deluge, people say that the situation is worse than the disruption usually caused by the monsoon. The Mithi river is presently flowing at full capacity and the Powai lake is also full, and part of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway has been closed due to a landslide.

Naseeruddin Shah makes his entry in Marathi serial
Monday, July 3, 2006 | AY

Actor-director Naseeruddin Shah makes his debut in a Marathi serial to be shown on ETV from next week. The serial 'Ha Khel Sanchitacha' is a daily soap and will go on air from July six at 2100 hrs. In the serial, he will been seen in a guest appearance, essaying the role of sitar maestro Pandit Nissar Ali Khan. The story traces the life and times of the singer and his family's rivalry with another musically-oriented family of 'tamasha' (popular dance form) artistes. The soap was written and directed by Usha Deshpande. Its lyrics were written by Sangeeta Joshi, while the music was composed by Kedar Pandit and sung by Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar.

Mercedes S-class to be cheaper
Sunday, July 2, 2006 | AY

The premium S class 350 of Mercedes-Benz will soon be cheaper by 15-20 per cent, with the company planning to assemble it at its facility in Pune. Market analysts estimate the price reduction to be in the range of 15-20 per cent. Mercedes has two variants in S-Class, S-350 priced between Rs 72-75 lakh and S-500 with a price tag of Rs 85 lakh plus and is imported from Germany. The S-350 would henceforth be assembled in India. Presently, the company assembles its C and E class models, priced relatively cheaper, at its Pune plant.

Relief package for farmers by PM
Sunday, July 2, 2006 | AY

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, announced a Rs.37.5-bn relief package for Maharashtra's distraught farmers, many of who have killed themselves after failing to repay their huge debts. The measures include waiver of Rs.7.12 billion of overdue interest on loans taken by farmers, allocation of Rs.21.77 billion for improving irrigation facilities to be released over the next three years, Rs.1.35 billion to encourage subsidiary income through livestock and fodder, and Rs.2.4 billion for watershed development. The package also includes rescheduling of Rs.12.96 billion agricultural credit over a period of three to five years with one year moratorium in the six districts. At least 745 farmers have committed suicide in Maharashtra this year due to crop failure and growing debts. The Vidarbha region has seen more than 1,600 farmers end their lives since January 2001, deaths that have shocked the nation.

Amol's Quest at the film festival
Saturday, July 1, 2006 | AY

Amol Palekar’s most recent production ‘Quest’ has been chosen to be premiered at the Brisbane Film Festival in Australia on July 6 this year. This bilingual film, called ‘Thang’ in Marathi, has Mrinal Kulkarni, Rishi Deshpande, Shishir Sharma and Vijaya Mehta in the cast. The film is a contemporary depiction of an urban couple’s life. It revolves around Sai and Aditya who bond in spite of professional pressure, personal confusion and dilemmas.

Heavy rains in Mumbai
Saturday, July 1, 2006 | AY

Rains continued to lash the city for the third day on Saturday, causing minor disruptions in rail and road traffic. Colaba in south Mumbai recorded rainfall of 99 mm while Santacruz recorded an average rainfall of 53.2 mm in the last 24 hours. The forecast for the next 24 hours is intermittent rains or thundershowers with a possibility of heavy downpour in the city and nearby suburbs.

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