It also aims at promoting solidarity among children. It will attract children through value-based games, chats, exercises and exchanges.

It will present alternative and appropriate material for children and seek to protect them from risk of child pornography and abuse on the Internet, said CJ George, regional coordinator of TDH Germany for South Asia. The organisation said efforts will also be made to help children from the vulnerable sections also to have access to the site.

The site also also has a general section on the situation of children’s rights for all those interested, such as adults who are duty holders, care givers, concerned citizens, students, teachers, journalists and government personnel. Through this, it will both create awareness and sensitise people about children’s rights and provide various channels of information and action, said a press note.

Also see:

• March 17, 2010 — New local job website for Pune (0)
• March 11, 2010 — APMC working on site that will update vegetable prices everyday (0)
• March 8, 2010 — First official Marathi cinema website launched (0)
• December 14, 2009 — Get all information about Vanjari community online (0)
• October 27, 2009 — Int’l airport website hacked (0)

The nucleus of the late night soirees, Koregaon Park also faces the fury of the recent attacks with spruced up security making the place even more uptight for partygoers as well as the spots there. “We are often asked to shut down due to security reasons and the cops barge in too. My event company cancelled appearances by almost seven artists this year. Even the DJs in the city are stressed for sufficient gigs. Besides, it is affecting the revenue of all those involved in the vicious circle of music and entertainment,” says John Allen, disc jockey.

The city cannot boast of more than three venues that can host big acts with international DJs . The resident DJ of One Lounge, Durgesh says, “We too canned our events recently, with the restrictions getting stricter by the day. While sound and time limits have been old problems, newer hurdles only fortify them.Of late we close by 11.30 pm- this has lead to the event companies from Mumbai and Delhi giving a second thought to getting in artistes to Pune.”

Also see:

• November 12, 2008 — College student dies after consuming excessive drugs (0)
• July 23, 2008 — Friendship day party (1)
• February 19, 2010 — Police analyses cell phone calls made from Koregaon Park on the day blast (0)
• February 17, 2010 — No police station for Koregaon Park residents (0)
• February 16, 2010 — Revitalizing Nala Park (1)

Pricing for the EXI model will start at Rs 3,89, 224 (petrol) and Rs 4,81,970 for diesel variants. The ZXI models are priced at Rs 4,07,570 (petrol) and Rs 5,06,430 for diesel while ‘Titanium’ will sell at Rs. 4,51,394 (petrol) and around Rs 5,40,062 (diesel model). (All ex-showroom prices). The standard engine for all models is the 1.2-litre Duratec petrol engine. Duratorq 1.4-litre diesel engines are available on all models.

“We have priced all four Ford Figo models very competitively to emphasise Ford’s commitment to a segment that is growing in the Indian automobile market,” said Michael Boneham, president and managing director of Ford India.

A new 1.2-litre petrol engine delivers 52.44 kW @ 6250 rpm and 102 Nm @ 4000 rpm. The fuel efficiency for the 1.2-litre is 15.6 kilometres per litre. The 1.4-litre Duratorq diesel engine also will be available for Figo with outstanding fuel efficiency of 20-kilo metres per litre, the statement added.

Also see:

• February 11, 2010 — DSK Group and KPIT Cummins launch a web portal for car servicing (0)
• January 20, 2010 — Women Big Wheelers, a group for women bike enthusiasts (0)
• January 11, 2010 — City clerk has an enviable collection of miniature car models (0)
• May 4, 2009 — City-based Jaya Hind Industries becomes an external source for Ford India (0)
• February 18, 2009 — The joy of not being ‘polite’ (2)

Opus will now be wrapping up at the end of March, and will not be seen setting up at an alternative location, at least for some months. But why this move?

Says the owner of the Opus chain, Carlton Braganza, “We’re off to figure out how to work within the system to retain all that Opus means as a brand, which is basically to focus on really good live music acts.

The time limit of 10.30 pm for an outdoors place to shut the music off, was not working for us.”

Since indoor clubs/pubs can keep the music going for slightly longer till 11.30 pm, Carlton regrets that Opus wasn’t being able to deliver a complete music experience to its customers.

In the eight months since Opus set up after Soul shut down, says Vivek Madan, GM, Opus, they saw a great response and also built almost a cult following, as Pune’s party-goers would testify.

Gokul Karunakaran, a city-engineer, and a routine fixture at Opus, thinks he will miss the atmosphere of the place the most.

“The place had that family vibe. A lot of it was about the people that ran it, and you could always expect the best bands in India to play there,” he says.

ABC Farms has housed some of the best loved music hangouts in the city, albeit most of them have shut shop. Jazz Garden shut down after the tragic death of its owner in a freak accident.

Soul closed down after the owner moved abroad last year. And now, Opus too will be migrating elsewhere in Pune within the next six months. Meanwhile, you can expect ‘Opus Nights’ at other joints in the city.

A big send-off is being planned on the last weekend of this month, with some of the most popular bands that have played at there.

Also see:

• March 5, 2010 — Ishanya hosts IPL LIVE on the largest screen in Pune (2)
• February 16, 2010 — Restaurants step up security measures (0)
• January 29, 2010 — Some tables in the city restaurants have memories of arranged marriages (0)
• January 18, 2010 — Restaurants in city install weighing scales (0)
• May 16, 2009 — Street food review: Chopsticks (1)

“Pune is the education, engineering and cultural capital of Maharashtra and like others identified in this report has the raw development potential and the competitive advantage to be a world-class centre,” the UKIBC report stated.

Benchmarking Pune as a premier business hub, UKIBC said the city could help create potential linkages with the UK industry capacity in financial services, ICT and creative and media sectors.

“Pune is a city, which is transforming itself from an emerging city to a thriving metropolis offering immense opportunities for UK business. It is just one of a handful of future investment hotspots in India offering future business potential for the UK companies,” the report stated.

The UKIBC is the lead organisation supporting the British government in the promotion of bilateral trade, business and investment between the two countries. The research was based on social indicators, physical and cultural infrastructure, economic size, growth and the local business environment it aims to position the nine cities and regions as an impressive alternative for UK investment.

“A common feature across emerging cities in our research is the active role of state and state agencies in promoting economic development,” the report states.

Close to 200 survey responses were analysed and over 150 key informants were conducted to ensure an extensive and representative coverage. While Ahmedabad presented plum opportunities for UK companies to invest in media and creative sectors, Chandigarh showed potential for software, IT and BPO. In Kochi, opportunities exist for tie-ups in food production, especially technical know-how, the UKIBC report said.

Also see:

• October 29, 2008 — Thoda adjust karo (3)
• February 4, 2008 — Checkpoint survey cautions against retail shrinkage (0)
• March 18, 2010 — The Blue Mug – Play (0)
• February 16, 2010 — MSRTC to start Pune-Bangalore Volvo bus service (3)
• February 16, 2010 — Restaurants step up security measures (0)

The system, the first-of-its-kind in the state, operates on the principles of anaerobic technology and will treat organic farm waste. This is a process of treating waste water without using oxygen. “An anaerobic digester is an industrial system that harnesses natural process to treat waste, produce biogas that can be used to power electricity generators, provide heat and produce soil-improving material. This technology is used to treat waste water in an environmental friendly manner and facilitating its use for irrigation or its return to water bodies without polluting them,” he said.

Although the administration has said it will be a scientific garbage processing unit, the residents of Mundhwa are not happy as the plant is just 1 km from housing societies. The processing plant proposed to come up at survey numbers 9-14 in Mundhwa is bound to affect people residing in Koregaon Park, Mundhwa, Ghorpadi and Keshavnagar, said K K Diwakar, a resident. Residents of Keshavnagar, Sopan Shinde are also worried that the garbage being carried to and fro to the area will create traffic jams at the Ghorpadi crossing. “With no railway over bridge, the garbage dumpers will worsen the situation,” said Diwakar.

Meanwhile, the MPCB is also in the process of giving authorisation to ward wise garbage processing dumps in the city. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has already proposed 11 such sites. A PMC officer said the sites have biogas plants and they will soon be given official clearances. The sites include Model Colony, Aundh, Bavdhan, Ghole Road, Peshwe Park, Hadapsar, Katraj, Wanowrie and Yerawada.

Besides Mundhwa, Digraswadi in Shirur taluka too has been proposed. “The district administration has proposed more sites, but due to the non-availability of land the proposal is pending,” said an officer from the collectorate.

Also see:

• March 9, 2010 — Nation-wide rally to demand rights of waste collectors (0)
• March 4, 2010 — A greener way to waste disposal (0)
• January 5, 2010 — Two young citizens design a biogas plant through food wasted in hotels (4)
• December 22, 2009 — Villagers of Phursungi-Urali again decide to stop dumping of garbage (0)
• December 8, 2009 — City-based company develops hygienic underground garbage collection machine (0)

The Blue Mug, a theatrical version of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks, involves the themes, of memories, nostalgia and history. Konkana Sen Sharma, Rajat Kapoor, Ranvir Shorey, Vinay Pathak, Munish Bharadwaj and Sheeba Chadha act it out in Pune.

Venue: Nehru Memorial Hall, Camp

Date: 20th – 21st March’10

Time: 7:30 pm onwards

Just Dance

For all those who want to set the stage on fire, Pinwheel has organized the ‘Just Dance’, competition especially for dance enthusiasts across the city. The competition is open for people above the age of 18 and it has been split into 5 categories namely – Jive, Salsa, Cha Cha, Hip Hop and Bollywood.

Venue: Ishanya, Yerawada

Date: 20th March’10

FTII Golden Jubilee Celebration

FTII is set to celebrate its golden jubilee. A three-day event has been planned to mark the event. The main event would comprise of felicitation of the 1st batch of students. Cultural programs will feature a Magic Lantern show, contemporary dance program, classical recital by Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Chhou dance programme and Qawwali.

Venue: FTII

Date: 20th -22nd March’10

Fine Art Photography Workshop

Catch the seven day fine art photography workshop for beginners and amateurs. The workshop focuses on giving an in-depth training about SLR techniques and training to create aesthetic compositions.

Venue: Aperture India, First Floor, Connaught Place, Near Wadia College, Bund Garden Road

Date: 15th – 21st March’10

Contact: 32416857

No Mind’s Creation – Painting Exhibition

Film and TV actor Pankaj Jha will be holding his first solo exhibition No Mind’s Creation in the city.

Venue: Bliss Art Gallery, Koregaon Park

Date: 17th March – 5th April’10

Time: 10 am to 6 pm

The Regatta’ – Annual Boat Festival

The College of Engineering Pune, that houses one of India’s oldest Boat Clubs, will host its annual boat festival ‘The Regatta’.

The 81st Regatta last year was well-received, a press note said. A movement against water pollution was initiated and supported by NGOs like Gomukh, Spandan center for Environmental Education, Jal Dindi Pratishthan, Janwani and Rashtriya Harit Sena. One year since the onset of the movement and the river – cleaning project is bearing fruit. With visible decrease in the water waste, the students are encouraged to further their efforts in this direction. Keeping up with its motto of ‘Clear Water, Clean Environment, Clear conscience’, the 82nd Regatta promises to take the message of water conservation to the masses through street plays, exhibitions and Jalmaitri.

Venue: Boat Club, CoEP

Date: 21st March’10

Colour Splash – Creative Workshop By Milind Mulick

Art2Day is celebrating winter season by organizing a unique Creative Workshop Series titled “Colour Splash” under the guidance of Well-known Artist Milind Mulick. An opportunity to learn basics of Water Colour, Acrylic Colour & Sketching in different workshops especially designed for art lovers in Pune by master artists.

Venue: Art2Day Art Gallery, 1048, Hirabaug Chowk, Above Hotel Malhar, Tilak Road

Date: 13th Feb – 21st March’10

Contact: 24452706 or 41269001

Website: http://www.art2day.co.in

Also see:

• October 29, 2009 — Weekend Roundup- Naneghat Hike (0)
• June 18, 2009 — Fine Art Photography Workshop (June 24th Week 2009) (1)
• March 19, 2010 — Pune is a premier business hub, finds study by UKBIC (0)
• March 12, 2010 — College of Engineering will host annual boat festival ‘The Regatta’ on March 21 (0)
• March 11, 2010 — Pune International Dance Congress (0)

On Sunday, 55 bolts were fitted on a stretch of 350 ft on the Vanarlingi peak near Junnar. Four more forts frequented by trekkers will be taken up for rebolting after monsoon.

The initiative was launched last year with Duke’s Nose in Lonavla followed by Dhak Bahiri cave in the Karjat region, Taila-Baila in Lonavla and ended with Vanarlingi on Sunday.

The technical part of this exercise was handled by SCI, while the idea was executed by Giridarshan. Speaking to TOI on Sunday, soon after rebolting Vanarlingi peak, Satish Marathe, president of Giridarshan, said, “When trekkers go to these sites, they put up bolts themselves. However, these bolts do not last for too long. In two or three years, they become weak and tend to break, putting trekkers’ lives at risk. For this reason, we launched this initiative with SCI.”

Inspired by German climber Nicholas Mylander, who introduced the German-made bolts and drilling machine to SCI, the two organisations started work on rebolting the most-frequented trekking and rock climbing sites close to Pune and Mumbai.

According to Swanand Joshi, founder member of SCI, “These German-made bolts can last for over 50 years. A special drilling machine and a chemical tube to fix the bolts has been used on all the four sites.”

The SCI team removed about 40 bolts from Vanarlingi, while the rebolting process, which started on March 11, ended on Sunday.

Once the new bolts were placed, climbers trekked the Vanarlingi peak to test their strength. “Our aim is to promote trekking and rock climbing as even a small accident at a trekking site may result in greater damage to the sport.”

In the first phase, the two organisations made a list of the most visited sites by climbers and started rebolting work early in 2009. Now, another meeting will be held to identify places for phase II. Work on the remaining sites will start after the monsoon.

Also see:

• January 15, 2010 — Weekend Getaways around Pune (0)
• July 22, 2009 — Monsoon Mayhem (0)
• October 18, 2009 — Tunga Fort (0)
• September 26, 2009 — Monsoon Destinations: Harishchandragad Fort (0)
• August 29, 2009 — Korigad Fort (0)

The police detained eight people in connection with the case and are awaiting reports from municipal authorities for further action.

MNS worker Dilip Bahirat said, “The chemical used is so deadly that if water is poured on it, it starts burning like fire. And the stench is horrible; that is what drew us to these godowns.”

The police said they investigated the claims of locals that some men were using harmful chemicals on raw mangoes. The police raided the godowns at Narpatgiri Chowk and seized a truckload of mangoes and a few kilograms of a “suspicious” powder.

But residents said the police approach to the problem was casual and said they would approach the municipal corporation and the FDA to get the seized chemicals tested.

A J Bhujbal, food inspector, FDA, who seized the samples, said, “The chemical was calcium carbide, which is hazardous to heath. We are going to perform further analysis and move for strict court action. We have also decided on a large-scale inspection drive in big trading markets.”

Also see:

• May 25, 2009 — Mango prices reduced, low response from buyers (0)
• August 6, 2008 — Exporting pomegranates is gaining popularity among farmers (0)

The owners are disappointed since they were hoping to cash in on the IPL at a time when there are hardly any big film releases.

But the theatre owners are optimistic that the IPL fever will grip people soon and matches on the big screen will run to packed houses.

“SSC exams and other school and college examinations are behind the low response,” said Sadanand Mohal, president of Pune Exhibitors’ Association. “Watching IPL on screen is really different from watching it on television and people will eventually flock to theatres.”

Mohal, the owner of Vaibhav, Ashok and Vishal theatres, said the response has been a little better when the Mumbai team is playing.

“We get about 40 per cent occupancy. I am sure the response will get better after the exams,” he said.

There is a mixed response to the screening of IPL matches in hotels and pubs in the city.

At Hard Rock Cafe in Koregaon Park, the response is growing and there is 20 to 25 per cent rise in people coming in compared to last week, said Tushar Bhatt, general manager of the youth hot spot.

“IPL is yet to complete a week and on Saturday and Sunday we had a crowd of 400 people. Hard Rock is offering special offer to the viewers of food and beverages,” said Bhatt.

Ajoy Krishnamurthy, CEO of Ishanya in Yerawada, claimed occupancy was 70 per cent at match screenings. “We are expecting more response in the future. Our effort is directed at creating a stadium-like feel with our open-air amphitheatre, which has a 630-seat capacity,” he said. “Here is only one show between 8 pm and
midnight, and it is getting popular.”

Also see:

• March 10, 2010 — City multiplexes to screen IPL matches (0)
• August 21, 2009 — Film exhibitors in city have suffered losses of Rs 3.4 crore in 15 days (0)
• August 11, 2009 — City multiplexes, theatres to shut down for three days (0)
• April 20, 2009 — Restaurants and pubs give special offers during IPL (0)
• March 18, 2010 — Toons – The Café Down Under (0)