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Briefs
PUNE
Ashish Yerekar
is new PMPML
chief
The Maharashtra govern-
ment on Monday ap-
pointed Ashish Yerekar as
Chairman and Managing
Director (CMD) of Pune
Mahanagar Parivahan Ma-
hamandal Limited
(PMPML), replacing San-
jay Kolte. Yerekar, a 2018
batch IAS officer, pre-
viously worked as Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) at
Ahmednagar Zilla Par-
ishad. Kolte was ap-
pointed CMD in October
2023, replacing Sachindra
Pratap Singh. Since its
formation in October
2007, PMPML has now
seen a total of 21 CMDs,
with only one official hav-
ing completed the three-
year term at the helm of
the transport utility. Civic
activists have expressed
concern over the frequent
transfers of the PMPML
chief. Activist Vivek Velan-
kar said, “Within a year,
Yerekar is the third CMD
of the PMPML. As per
norms, any IAS officer is
expected to serve in the
post for three years, but
officers are transferred
before completing their
tenure. This shows the
government’s apathy to-
wards public transport."
HINJAWADI
NES to set up 5
MW data centre
facility
Natural Environment Sol-
utions Pvt Ltd (NES) on
Tuesday announced its
foray into the Indian data
centre industry with a 5
MW facility in Pune's Hin-
jawadi. Going forward,
NES plans to scale up to
over 100 MW of data
centre capacity across
India in the next three
years, capitalising on the
country's booming digital
infrastructure and regula-
tory support for data
centre investments, a
company statement said.
"NES is actively securing
long-term power supply
agreements with utility
generators, ensuring cost-
effective, environmentally
responsible operations
aligned with stringent
sustainability standards,"
NES Pvt Ltd Founder and
CEO, Umesh Sahay, said.
Sahay further noted that
NES' modern data centres
adhere to global regula-
tions, integrating cutting-
edge security measures to
protect data integrity
against evolving cyber
threats.
KOLHAPUR
Two drown in
Dudhganga
River basin
The body of one of two
youths from Karnataka's
Nipani town who drowned
in the Dudhganga river
basin at Kalammawadi
dam in Kolhapur has been
retrieved, officials said on
Tuesday. The drowning
incident took place on
Monday morning. Accord-
ing to Krushna Sorate,
Kolhapur Disaster Re-
sponse Force (KDRF) in-
charge, the body of one of
the youth was recovered.
The deceased person was
identified as Pratik Patil.
The official added that the
search and rescue con-
tinue for the second miss-
ing youth. The two youths
were part of a group of
friends from Nipani town
in Karnataka who were
visiting Radhanagari tehsil
in Kolhapur district for
monsoon tourism at the
dam, the official said.
Worms in food packets
FPJ IMPACT | Tree cutting at Pune Rly Police HQ sparks outcry
Greens call for action after given to anganwadi kids
35 trees cut & sold illegally
Ankit Shukla
PUNE
In an exclusive story, The Free
Press Journal on June 29 high-
lighted how 35 mature green
trees were chopped at the
Pune Railway Police Head-
quarters in Khadki without ob-
taining the necessary
permissions from the Pune
Municipal Corporation (PMC)
and sold illegally in January
this year. Taking cognisance of
the story, environmentalists in
the city are demanding action
against the perpetrators who
committed this crime of dim-
inishing the green cover of the
city.
Dhananjay Shedbale,
Trustee, Devrai Foundation,
said, "Government agencies
are not serious regarding such
issues. They wait for the media
to highlight them. That is the
apathy of our society. Respon-
sible people should be pun-
ished. Unfortunately, there is
no proper vigilance. This is the
collusion of the timber mafias.
Murderers of green trees
should be punished. National
Green Tribunal (NGT) and
Bombay High Court should in-
terfere in such matters."
Ameet Singh, founder, Pune
Samvad, added, "These trees
Pune teen’s dad held for fraud
after bail in driver kidnap case
PTI
PUNE
A Pune court on Tuesday
granted bail to the father and
the grandfather of the juvenile
involved in the Porsche car
crash, in a case pertaining to
the alleged kidnapping and
wrongful confinement of their
family driver after the fatal ac-
cident in May. However, the
father, Vishal Agarwal, was
later arrested by the Pimpri
Chinchwad police in a case of
cheating related to one of his
real estate projects.
The police took his custody
from the jail where he was
Water cut in city on Thursday
Staff Reporter
PUNE
Several areas of the city will
face water cuts on Thursday
(July 4), the Pune Municipal
Corporation (PMC) said in a
release. This is due to mainten-
ance and electrical work at
various water treatment plants
across the city. Supply will be
restored on Friday morning,
although with low pressure,
the civic body added.
The stations that will be af-
Nibav Lifts unveil new series
Staff Reporter
PUNE
Nibav Lifts, one of India's lead-
ing domestic brands, has
leveraged its technological
prowess to introduce its most
advanced product yet. On
Tuesday, the brand launched
the Nibav Series 4 Home Lifts
in Pune.
This new lift features state-
Zika virus infection: Safety tips for pregnant women
are the property of the public
and it is the PMC's responsibil-
ity to find out the culprits. They
have committed a crime and
criminal action should be
taken against them. PMC
should conduct a thorough in-
vestigation into what these
people have done on govern-
ment premises. The civic body
should file an FIR against what
they have done."
Hema Chari, an environ-
mentalist, expressed, "Now-
adays many people in Pune
request permission for minor
tree trimming and then go
overboard and cut down the
whole tree instead, which is
completely illegal. The tree
authority seems to be failing to
take timely action in these situ-
lodged and produced him be-
fore a court which remanded
him in fresh police custody for
two days, said an official.
Vishal Adsul, chairman of
Nancy Brahma Residency, a
project constructed by Agar-
wal’s firm in the Bavdhan area,
had filed a complaint against
Vishal Agarwal and four
others earlier this year. A case
was registered against them
under Indian Penal Code sec-
tions 420 (cheating), 409
(criminal breach of trust) and
provisions of the Maharashtra
Ownership Flats Act.
The construction firm alleg-
edly did not provide enough
fected by the scheduled works
on July 4 include the units in
Wadgaon Dhayari, Warje,
Pune Cantonment, SNDT, Par-
vati, Bhama Askhed, and New
Holkar Bridge area.
of-the-art technology such as
an AI-enabled cabin display,
intuitive LOP display, and
LIDAR 2.0 technology for pre-
cise navigation and gentle
landing, making it a first-of-its-
kind product in the home elev-
ators segment.
Presented in a unique mid-
night black edition, it offers the
largest cabin space among air-
driven lifts. These lifts are de-
ations. Given that this particu-
lar incident occurred on police
premises, it must be addressed
seriously and the process be
expedited."
Meanwhile, Samaiirah
India, a social activist, went to
the Khadki Police Station on
Monday to complain about the
illegal tree felling. However, in-
spector Girish Divaghar said
an FIR cannot be lodged in this
case. "It's a matter of depart-
mental inquiry. Give them
time till July 5," he stated.
After the police refused to
lodge a complaint, the activist
told this newspaper that she
was deeply concerned about
this blatant disregard for the
rules and the environment. "As
stewards of our natural re-
open space to the project and
gave only one open space to
three buildings by altering the
plans, and also did not take the
housing society’s permission
while constructing two 11-
storey buildings on its land, a
police official said.
Earlier in the day, bail to
Agarwal and his father was
granted for allegedly trying to
put pressure on their driver to
take responsibility for the acci-
dent in which two persons
were killed, and thus shield Vi-
shal Agarwal’s son who was al-
legedly driving the Porsche
when it hit the victims’ motor-
bike.
Last Saturday, Pune woke
up to unexpected disruptions
in its water supply. In the
morning, the Khadakwasla
pumping station stopped
working due to some technical
failure, halting the flow to sev-
eral areas. Swift action fol-
lowed as repair crews
mobilised immediately, striv-
ing to restore normalcy.
Emergency measures were
promptly initiated, ensuring
continuous water supply to
residents.
signed with a range of stylish
elements, including ambient
lighting, New Zealand wool
carpets, starlight ceilings,
leather-finished interiors, and
more.
Mahadev Babar, former
MLA of Hadapsar, unveiled
the new product in the pres-
ence of senior management of
Nibav Lifts at the brand’s flag-
ship Pune experience centre.
new concern
Indu Bhagat
PUNE
Six cases of Zika virus infec-
tion have been reported in
Pune, which includes two
pregnant women. "A 28-
year-old pregnant woman
from the Erandwane area
was detected with Zika virus
infection. Her reports came
positive on Friday. Another
woman, who is 12 weeks
pregnant, was detected with
the infection on Monday. The
condition of both women is
good and they have no symp-
toms," an official said.
The Zika virus is trans-
mitted through the bite of an
We demand a
thorough
investigation into
this incident and
strict action against
all those involved in
this unauthorised act
– Samaiirah India
social activist
sources, we must hold those
responsible accountable.
Therefore, we demand a thor-
ough investigation into this
incident and strict action
against all those involved in
this unauthorised act. The re-
sponsible parties must under-
stand the gravity of their
actions and the impact they
have on our community and
environment. We urge the
authorities to ensure that such
incidents do not occur in the
future and that there is strin-
gent adherence to environ-
mental regulations. The
officers present at the time
should face strict punishment
or be restricted from such ac-
tivities in the future," she
added.
SOPs for
handling
cases against
docs issued
Staff Reporter
PUNE
Pune Police Commissioner
Amitesh Kumar issued a Stan-
dard Operating Procedure
(SOP) to all police stations for
handling cases of violence
against doctors and the van-
dalism of hospitals by patients
and their relatives.
According to the release is-
sued by the CP, in the case of
complaints of medical negli-
gence, the police must for-
ward such complaints to the
expert district committee set
up by the state government.
After receiving a report from
the committee, the next
course of action should be
taken.
In cases of inappropriate
behaviour by patients and
their relatives with medical
professionals and hospitals,
action should be taken as per
the Maharashtra Medicare
Service Persons and Medicare
Service Institutions (Preven-
tion of Violence and Damage
or Loss to Property) Act, 2010.
The CP has instructed sen-
ior police inspectors to pro-
vide their contact numbers to
hospitals and address their is-
sues when called.
infected Aedes mosquito,
which is also known to
transmit infections like
dengue and chikungunya. It
usually bites during the day-
time. It is usually a mild to
moderate-severity disease in
adults and requires no spe-
cific treatment. Common
symptoms include mild
fever, rashes, headache,
muscle and joint pain, and
inflammation of the under-
side of the eyelid, which nor-
mally lasts for 2-7 days.
Meanwhile, pregnant
women need to follow safety
precautions as it may cause
microcephaly (a condition in
which the head is signifi-
Indu Bhagat
PUNE
The mid-day meal, a govern-
ment scheme to provide nutri-
tional food to kids at
pre-primary schools (Angan-
wadi), is always in the head-
lines for the wrong reasons.
This time again, one of the An-
ganwadi centres on Sinhgad
Road is making headlines as
worms were found in the food
packets.
Kids aged from six months
to three years are given food
packets of moong dal khichdi
premix from the government
under the mid-day meal
scheme. However, the food
packets which were dis-
tributed in one of the Angan-
wadi centres on Sinhgad Road
were found to be of bad
quality. Worms were found in
the khichdi mix.
Archana Navgire, a relative
of a kid, who found the worms
in the food packet, voiced her
concern on X (formerly
Twitter) and also reached the
authorities regarding the
matter.
"My nephew is enrolled in
an Anganwadi at Sinhgad
Road and kids are susceptible
and can fall sick after consum-
ing the expired food material.
The packets of these foods had
an expiry date of 120 days but
when we opened the packets
they had worms and were not
fit to consume. We want the
authorities to take strict action
against those responsible for
distributing expired food
packets," Navgire said.
Sandeep Kale, NCP (Sharad-
chandra Pawar) leader, wrote
Fly ‘found’ in Kayani
Bakery’s mava cake
Indu Bhagat
PUNE
An X (formerly Twitter) user
on Tuesday claimed to have
found a fly in the mava cake
bought from Pune's iconic
Kayani Bakery.
"Found insect in Mava Cake
of #Kayani_Bakery #Pune. Dis-
appointed that one of my favo-
rite cake ruined for life. Now
can't enjoy this cake like be-
fore (sic)," the user wrote,
sharing a picture of the fly in
the cake.
The Free Press Journal
reached out to Paurushasp
Kayani, one of the bakery's
partners, to address this com-
plaint.
He said, "I don't think this
has happened from our end as
you can see the fly looks fresh,
but if the customer is claiming
then we will look at it. If we are
found guilty, we will refund
the amount or give a fresh
piece of mava cake."
Kayani Bakery has a long
history. In August 1955, three
brothers - Khodayar, Hormaz-
cantly smaller due to abnor-
mal brain development) in
the foetus. Besides, it can
also lead to brain abnormal-
ities, eye defects, hearing
loss, and other developmen-
tal issues in the foetus.
Pregnant women are ad-
vised to take precautions to
prevent mosquito bites in
areas where the Zika virus is
circulating. This includes
using insect repellent, wear-
ing long sleeves and pants,
and staying in places with air
conditioning or screens on
windows and doors to keep
mosquitoes out.
Pregnant women who
have travelled to areas with
pune
Archana Navgire, a
relative of a kid,
who found the
worms in the food
packet, voiced her
concern and also
reached the
authorities
a letter to the Divisional Dep-
uty Commissioner, Women
and Child Development De-
partment and Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) notify-
ing the authorities that the
food packets given by the gov-
ernment under the mid-day
meal scheme to the kids are of
poor quality and are not fit to
consume.
The letter reads, "The food
given to children is unfit and
can't be consumed. The auth-
orities are playing with the
lives of young children. Who
will take responsibility if a
child gets poisoned or dies?
The concerned contractor's
license should be terminated,
all the packets given to the An-
ganwadi centres should be re-
diar, and Rustom Kayani - who
had left Iran in search of a
better life and had first come
to Mumbai and then Pune,
made the decision to open a
bakery in the Camp area.
Their goal was to offer freshly
baked bread, puffs, and pas-
tries.
The bakery is situated
across from the Cowasjee Din-
shaw Hall and Library, an in-
stitution established in 1875
and initially known as the Al-
bert Edward Institute. Over
the years, Kayani Bakery has
gained particular fame for its
delectable Shrewsbury bis-
cuits and mava cake.
‘Ensure measures
for tourist safety’
Agencies
PUNE
Pune District Collector Suhas
Diwase has instructed auth-
orities to conduct a survey to
identify potential hazards and
ensure necessary measures for
the safety of tourists. "Diwase in-
structed district officials to visit
ongoing Zika virus trans-
mission should be tested for
the virus, even if they do not
have symptoms. Testing is
also recommended for preg-
nant women with possible
exposure to the Zika virus
through sexual contact or
other means.
Pregnant women with
confirmed Zika virus infec-
tion should receive special-
ised prenatal care and be
monitored closely by health-
care providers. Additional
ultrasounds and other tests
may be recommended to
monitor the baby's devel-
opment.
Babies born to mothers
Pune, Wednesday, 3 July 2024
called and an order should be
given immediately that the dis-
tributed packets should not be
used. If no strict action is
taken, we will hold the com-
missioner responsible for any
mishap. We urge the auth-
orities to take strict action
against the contractor."
On the condition of ano-
nymity, a worker from the
centre said, "The khichdi that
the government distributes is
spicy as it's premixed and we
can't feed that to a six-month-
old child. The Anganwadi
workers and concerned par-
ents even voiced this concern
to the heads but nothing has
been done. Nobody takes this
khichdi. And if we can keep
good food then obviously stu-
dent strength will also in-
crease and there will be no
case of malnutrition."
Rupali Khapre, FDA inspec-
tor, said, "We collected the
samples and have sent them to
the labs, and Suresh Anna-
pure, joint commissioner,
FDA, Pune division, will take
the call on this matter."
The Free Press Journal tried
to contact Annapure, but
couldn't get a response.
Measures to
address river
polln initiated
Staff Reporter
PUNE
Amid the ongoing Ashadhi
Wari, the Maharashtra Pollu-
tion Control Board (MPCB)
has launched a comprehen-
sive initiative to monitor and
mitigate pollution in the In-
drayani River.
Following directives from
the MPCB headquarters in
Mumbai, the Regional Of-
ficer in Pune has imple-
mented 24x7 monitoring and
sampling of the Indrayani
River, sewage treatment
plants (STPs), and related in-
dustries."
The MPCB is committed to
preserving the ecological
health of the Indrayani
River and ensuring a pollu-
tion-free environment dur-
ing the Ashadhi Wari
pilgrimage.
These measures aim to
safeguard both the natural
habitat and the health of pil-
grims and residents," said
Siddhesh Ramdas Kadam,
Chairperson, MPCB.
picnic spots such as rivers, lakes,
dams, waterfalls, forts, and for-
est areas and ensure the safety
measures. He directed them to
demarcate prohibited areas by
installing warning boards. The
places which are disaster-prone
and where safety measures can-
not be taken must be shut for
tourists," an official said.
with Zika virus infection
should also receive special-
ised care and monitoring
to detect any potential
complications early and
provide appropriate inter-
ventions.
Besides, it is advised to fol-
low hygiene practices like
regular washing of hands
and refrain from consuming
food from unhygienic spots,
especially anything that is
undercooked. Including nu-
tritionally rich foods in your
daily diet, such as fruits and
vegetables, helps build a
strong immune system that
can better fight against such
vector-borne ailments.