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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Transport Horror

The New Year is a time of celebration and joy to most people. Human psychology being what it is we like to think of it as a time for good tidings to begin and rightly so as we are predisposed to hope and wish for the best. That said it certainly hasn’t begun on a good note for the road users of Pune and that means every citizen of this city. We all use some form of transportation for some reason or the other. Whether it be going to work or recreation or students to their classes or even housewives to the bazaar etc. There is probably not a single household above the poverty line which does not own some kind of vehicle. The road network is chock-a-block with the sheer number of vehicles using it. Some would say it is a matter of pride that the per capita income as compared to a few years has gone up exponentially thereby jacking up the buying power where it is now possible for almost everyone to think of owning a vehicle. Add to that a vehicle has also become a barometer for perceived status in society. It is a less known fact that Pune has the highest number of two-wheelers in any single urban space in the world. Some years back the book of records mentioned Pune as having the most number of women drivers too.

SUMMERS AND WATER CUTS GO HAND IN HAND.

Richa Sohi
Water is a precious resource that we have to learn to harness, store, preserve and use judiciously.


Baner in Pune is a progressing area with the booming IT Sector as well as the fast growing residential complexes but one problem the citizens still face is that of water shortage. As the summers are approaching, the perennial water cuts prove to be a grave concern for the residents of Baner.

Almost ten to twelve housing societies face the issue of decreasing water supply. Among these are Ozar Housing Society, Kubera Bahar, Anand Bahar, Hills Scape and Echelon Society. The residents complain that they have been receiving scanty water with low pressure. Two reasons for the acute water shortage are leaking water pipes and the increasing number of residential complexes. The residents fear as the number of residential complexes are increasing day- by- day the water supply would only deplete further.

New Lessons in Life

Citizen Gautam Naik had to be hospitalized for orthopaedic reasons. He shares few lessons.


Every moment in life teaches you something. This knowledge is sometimes mistaken wrongly as experience. Experience is something you observe and feel. Lesson is something you use for future reference. Each moment gives you experience as well as teaches you new lesson. I used to strongly recommend hostel experience for each individual. Hostel life makes you independent, gives you new perspective about life, understand diversity of opinions, thought processes, capabilities. All the while your parents and families shield you from these useful experiences and lessons as well when they cocoon you in good intentions of protecting you from big bad world.

Sula Fest

A former finance manager at Oracle, Stanford graduate Rajeev Samant quit his job and returned to India with the crazy idea of becoming a farmer in India. He ended up establishing Sula Wines in Nasik, Maharashtra.


Since its inception, Sula has rapidly established itself as India’s leading premium wine brand, helping spark a wine revolution that has seen consumption grow at 25% annually and several new wineries come up in the Nasik area who due to lack of marketing savvy end up selling a majority of their produce to Sula. In November 2002, Wine Spectator – the world's No.1 wine magazine – did a five-page feature on Sula, a proud first for an Indian winery.

Lavasa Womens Drive 2012

One of Pune's signature annual events is the Lavasa Women's Drive. Launched in 2009 from Mumbai it grew in stature to include Pune in 2011. A gem of an idea by Lavasa Corporation Ltd. has seen support by the erstwhile Times of India since its inception. It is an event for women by women to commemorate International Women's Day; and what a way to go about it. 350 cars from Mumbai and 150 from Pune gang up to spread cheer, the lack of which afflicts cancer patients. The event associates itself with India's premier cancer institute, Tata Memorial Hospital. The never say spirit of the Indian woman finds an outlet on this day of fun and adventure where all cars participate in a car rally from both cities and culminate at the picturesque man made hill station of Lavasa near Pune. Its quite a statement of what man can achieve given the opportunity for forward thinking and execution. Such cities in my opinion becoming more the norm than the exception in the coming decades. Coming back to the drive, it is an extremely professionally managed event run in conjunction with the FMSCI, the FIA sanctioned body for control and conduct of motorsport in this country. This event sees a huge clamour for participation and cannot be indulged for the strain it would put on the delicate ecology of the Lavasa region as also for the sheer logistical nightmare it proposes to become and is curtailed to 500 participating cars in total by means of a voting system which determines that the top 500 women participate. This simply adds to the build up to the event in a effervescent fashion.

Age related Macular Degeneration

Age related Macular Degeneration or AMD is a disease that affects older individuals and causes loss of central vision. In the western world it is the leading cause of irreversible severe visual loss in individuals over the age of 60 years. In India vision loss due to AMD and Diabetic Retinopathy (damage to inner part of the eye due to diabetes) are the major challenges for ophthalmologists.


AMD is a chronic slowly progressive degenerative condition which affects the central retina. The retina is the innermost layer of the eye and also the most sensitive layer responsible for transmitting the visual signals to the brain via the optic nerve. Since it affects the central retina it is the central vision which is lost and when both eyes are affected it is difficult to read, write, watch television, or recognize faces. This can cause a lot disability and distress.

Narayangaon

Pune deserves the sobriquet “Queen of the Deccan” and is nested on the fringes of the Deccan Plateau flaunting its quintessential charm. It is also the second largest city in Maharashtra. This queen has many "dasi's" (read small places of interest at a short distance), one among which is Narayangaon. A sleepy, picturesque village in the backdrop of the majestic Sahyadri mountains, Narayangaon is located 76 kilometres from Pune on the Nasik-Pune highway Getting there by road in the only option as Narayangaon does not boast of rail or air connectivity. Travel time is between one and a half to two hours.

Tex Mex of Aundh

Siddhi Mehta
Luscious food, a soothing ambience and quick service along with a tinge of available parking area make Polka Dots at Aundh the best recipe for a perfect restaurant. Being the first stand-alone eatery for world cuisine, it has made a prominent mark on the cuisine industry in Pune. This multi-cuisine restaurant offers south-east Asian, European, Mexican, Italian and of course Indian dishes along with sumptuous desserts, all under one roof. This 40-seater eatery is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and has an open kitchen and front view dessert and pastry counter.

Internet Doomsday facts

Come March 8, 2012 and for millions around the world Internet will be forcibly shut down. This comes as a consequence of a virus that got so big that it infected millions of computers and is still looming large. The case goes back to 2007 when six Estonian men got together to create a botnet to spread DNSChanger malware that tapped into fraudulent servers, directing Web users to unintended - and sometimes illegal - sites. As a part of Operation Ghost Click, FBI took control over the botnet’s command and control servers in November, 2011 and replaced the rogue servers with temporary legitimate servers that were allowed to run only for 120 days – a deadline that is fast running out.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

New Cityblog Out

New Cityblog with main story of night life controlling, gadgets, unknown places in west pune, corporator of week, summer tips, lifestyle, interview tips and much more..... Book your copy for useful reading...