Pune July 07 Congress legislator questions civic body's wisdom in use of EWS space Pointing out that affordable housing for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) of society is as badly needed as slum rehabilitation, Congress MLA Balasaheb Shivarkar has taken on the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). He has charged the civic administration with using land reserved for EWS housing towards slum rehabilitation projects under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

Pune July 06 The decision to impose fines and initiate legal proceedings is taken to dissuade builders who dump debris into the rivers, says municipal commissioner

Pune July 01 The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) has urged citizens to make a solemn promise to conserve energy. Pradeep Bhargava, Chairman, Confederation of Indian Industries, Maharashtra said that Pune has zero loadshedding and has proposed that consumers should endeavour to keep the energy bill the same in rupees which they were paying before the reliability charge came into force. Bhargava who pointed out that the Pune model that was operational from June 4, 2006, was steered by CII and had resulted in the city being free from load shedding.

Pune June 30 The central government loan waiver scheme will see Rs 636.23 crore being waived off for 1.87 lakh beneficiaries from the district. With the list of beneficiaries being put up at all banks with June 30 being the last day, collector Chandrakant Dalvi who had a meeting with all the bank representatives on Monday, said that all these farmers will be eligible for fresh loans.

Pune June 30 Out of Pune's annual credit plan of Rs 5,063.80 crore for 2008-09, 70 per cent or Rs 3,560.78 crore goes to agriculture that comes under the priority sector of the plan. The credit plan has 22 banks

Pune-Based Arm Of US Automotive Co Eaton Is Diversifying Into Electrical Systems Sector Our Bureau CHENNAI AFTER the new age air-conditioned Volvo buses gracing public transport system in Indian cities, it could be the turn of hybrid buses

UNICEF and UN-ISDR evince interest in the computer-based game; plan to take the idea forward Taking a cue from the established fact that learning is best acquired if taught in a fun manner, Pune-based Neeti Solutions Pvt Ltd has devised a new version of the timeless game Snakes and Ladders. In its new avatar, the computer game is aimed at teaching children about fires and earthquakes and how best to cope with them.

The Agri Horticultural Society of Western India, a non-governmental organisation taking care of the Empress Garden has decided to form a committee to protect the greenery in Pune. The committee will be named as - Harit Pune Sanrakshan Samiti, said Suresh Pingle, secretary of the organisation. "It has been observed that prominent politicos, bureaucrats and land mafias are interested in acquiring the green patches in the city. Our committee, comprising of leading personalities in various sectors would see that the greenery remains safe," said Pingle.

70 persons suffer snakebites in four months in Narayangaon area Ten-year-old Hrishikesh Wable from Junnar taluka in Pune district did not realise he was bitten by a snake till he was gasping for breath and could not walk. Villagers who wasted precious time thinking it was a "scorpion" bite instead took him to a "tantrik" to cure him. However. when he turned unconscious, the relatives rushed him to Narayangaon, 20 km away from the Wadgaon Sahane village where he was put on the sole ventilator at the Dr Jal Mehta Rural Critical Care Centre.

The Pune Municipal Corporation has confirmed that there has been an increase of 30 girls being registered at birth per 1,000 boys over the last five years. This reverses the downward slide of girls born per 1,000 boys as the number had dipped to 841 in 2002, making it a skewed sex ratio for the city.