Nagpur: The emotional chants of “Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya” reverberating across the city marked conclusion of 10-day Ganesh festival on Sunday. Thousands of devotees bid a tearful adieu to elephant-headed Lord Ganesh whose big and small idols were taken out in colourful processions for immersion to various water bodies.

This year, the 10-day Ganesh Festival commenced on Ganesh Chaturthi day on September 10 and culminated on Ananta Chaturdashi on September 19.

Thousands of devotees took out idols of their beloved elephant-headed deity from their homes and marched towards various water bodies amidst beats of dhols, drums and chants of ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya.” Dancing and sprinkling gulal, devotees took the idols installed in homes and pandals for immersion, albeit, with heavy hearts.

With the aim of eco-friendly immersion, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, with help of a number of voluntary organisations, had made arrangements of artificial ponds across the city to facilitate Ganesh Visarjan.

Teams of voluntary and environment organisations requested devotees to immerse idols of Lord Ganesh in the artificial ponds only. The organisations also collected Nirmalya (puja material) from devotees in order to keep lakes and surrounding area clean.

At Visarjan places, devotees performed aarti of Lord, distributed Prasad mainly consisting of Modaks, coconut, pedhas etc before bidding adieu to their beloved Deity. City cops had made elaborate arrangements to ensure the Ganesh Visarjan passes off peacefully.

Traffic police were seen monitoring and regulating movement of vehicles carrying idols of Lord. No untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the city, according to reports.

The post Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya: Devotees bid teary adieu to Bappa appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur: The Nagpur district on Monday reported 13 fresh cases and zero deaths attributed to the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19). In the last 24-hours, 7 person recovered from the virus borne disease.

Out of total cases, 10 were reported from Nagpur City while three cases were reported from rural areas. No cases were reported from outside the district.

With the latest update, the cumulative positive cases reached 4,93,205 and the number of deaths stand still at 10,120. The sum of 4,83,010 people have been successfully recovered from the virus borne disease.

The Covid recovery rate of Nagpur district stood at 97.93% while active cases stood at 75.

The post Covid-19: Nagpur district reports 13 fresh cases, active cases at 75 appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur: Lieutenant General SK Prashar, AVSM, VSM, GOC, Maharashtra Gujarat & Goa Area, on his two day visit to Army Establishments in Nagpur, Kamptee and Pulgaon. He was briefed by General Officer Commanding, Uttar Maharashtra and Gujarat Sub Area about the active role being played by Sub Area in Operations, Humanitarian Aid in Disaster Relief and Welfare of Ex-Servicemen during the COVID pandemic times.

GOC appreciated the preparedness and efforts of the Sub Area in extending support to the civil administration during the peak crisis of COVID and disaster relief during flood and fire incidents.

Later he visited GUARDS Regimental Centre, Kamptee, where he first paid homage to the Martyrs at the War Memorial. He was shown the recruit training and administrative initiatives undertaken, keeping all COVID protocols in place, to ensure uninterrupted conduct of training during the Pandemic thus ensuring ‘Force Preservation and Operational Readiness’.

GOC interacted with the recruits and training staff and exhorted all ranks to continue to strive towards excellence. He also appreciated the Centre’s training facilities which included the field craft circuit and the counter insurgency village.

The post Lieutenant General SK Prashar on two-days Army Establishments visit in Nagpur appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur: In a freak incident, an aged man was knocked dead by two 4-wheelers speeding on the wrong side in Gittikhadan police area here on Sunday night. The two drivers of the vehicles have reportedly been arrested.

The deceased, Mohd Jairuddin Mohd Rafiuddin (62), resident of Borgaon, was going on his Passion bike (MH-31/BH 7203) around 10.30 pm on Sunday. Midway near KRC Lawn, opposite Sarkar Bar, Gorewada Ring Road, a Mahindra TUV (MH-49/AE 1290) and Ritz car (MH-31/EK 0643), being driven recklessly from wrong side, dashed against Jairuddin’s bike with forceful impact. He, as a result, fell on the road and suffered fatal injuries and died on the spot.

Gittikhadan PSI Vithole, based on a complaint filed by Mohd Arif Abdul Vakil (60) of Arafat Colony, booked the Mahindra TUV driver Murtaza Hussain Shabbir Topiwala (23) and Ritz car driver Hussain Saifi Shabbir Saifi (24), both residents of Itwari, under Sections 279, 304(A) of the IPC read with Sections 119, 177, 184 of Motor Vehicles Act and reportedly placed them under arrest. Further probe is on.

The post Aged man killed by two 4-wheelers on wrong side in Gittikhadan appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur: Shatrughna Gokhale, the Shiv Chhatrapati Award winner and basketball coach and mentor, has strongly protested the decision of Maharashtra Olympic Association (MOA) to allow unregistered and non-affiliated Maharashtra State Basketball Association (MSBA) in MOA election scheduled to be held on September 24. Gokhale has termed the MOA move as illegal and sought the intervention of NCP leader Ajit Pawar in the matter.

Addressing a press conference in the city, Gokhale further said that he has produced all documentary proofs showing that MSBA is not a registered association either under Societies Act or Maharashtra Public Trust Act to the MOA. Also, for the want of same registration, MSBA is no longer an affiliated unit of Basketball Federation of India (BFI).

He recalled that the matter was first intimated to MOA way back on 23.9-2019 requesting them to take necessary action. Again, when the elections were scheduled in April this year, he had reminded MOA via email dated 18.3.2021. Later on, the elections were postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic and rescheduled on September 24.

“We came to know through newspaper reports that the MOA continued with the inclusion of name of MSBA in MOA elections. Subsequently, Adv Milind Deshpande filed objections with the Grievance Committee constituted for MOA elections. The committee comprised of Adv Dilip Hande, Shantaram Jadav and Shrirang Inamdar. Adv Deshpande also intimated the sameto Election Officer S N Sardesai along with all the documents. Jayant Deshmukh, Secretary, Amravati District Amateur Association, Jitesndra Shinde, Jalgaon District Basketball Association, Prof Shashikant Nandgaonkar, Washim District Basketball Association, and he himself, filed objections with the Committee on 13.9.2021 along with all documentary evidences,” Gokhale stated.

Gokhale lamented that the Grievance Committee never called them for the hearing and decided the matter without giving them a chance to appear before the Committee. “It is against the principle of natural justice to decide the matter without calling them for hearing. Moreover, the Committee never asked the MOA nor MSBA to produce the BFI affiliation letter or registration details under Societies Registration Act or Public Trust Act. The Committee also did not verify it from BFI whether the MSBA is affiliated to it or not. Instead, the Committee decided the matter saying both the representatives were present in the record of MOA by rule. They never mentioned by which rule of constitution of MOA, the MSBA representatives are in the list,” he claimed.

“The BFI, in a letter to the Election Officer, has informed that Maharashtra State Basketball Association is not an affiliated unit of Basketball Federation of India. In view of this development, we again requested the Election Officer to verify and check the authenticity of the voters and candidates and if found not legal he should not allow that voter or candidate take part in the elections,” Gokhale asserted. But the Election Officer, appointed by MOA itself, overlooked the facts and documents and did not respond to objections and even the BFI correspondence with him, he added.

Others who were present at the press conference include Dr Dhananjay Welukar and Jayant Deshmukh.

The post Move to allow MSBA participation in MOA elections protested appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur: In a bid to teach a lesson to habitual traffic rule offenders, the Traffic Police has served pre-litigation notices to whopping 26,412 vehicle owners for payment of their pending challans collectivelly worth Rs 3.68 crore.

“If they fail to make payment of the challans, they would be required to present themselves at the Lok Adalat,” mentioned a press release issued by Nagpur police.

The notices were sent to the vehicle owners (of the period from 1st March 2021 to 31st August 2021) through SMS with a link. If they failed to make the payment, they have been called upon to remain present on September 21 at the office of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) traffic in Civil Lines for Pre-Litigation Settlement.

In case, the violators fail to pay these pending challans again, they would be required to present
themselves at the Lok Adalat on September 25.
Even those who have not got the notices are requested to check their pending challans on the Maharashtra Traffic App forth-with and clear the pending dues.

A senior police official informed that Police Inspector Jagvinder Singh Rajput was appointed as nodal officer for payment of the dues. Nagpur Police have made a plan to recover challans from rule violators. Special teams have also been formed by traffic branch of Nagpur police.

Many rule violators are not paying challans and continuing their reckless driving on the city streets. The senior police officers believe that the challans would work as deterrence on such elements.

CP Amitesh Kumar and DCP Traffic Sarang Awhad are supervising the process and instructed all traffic zones to identify regular traffic violators in their jurisdiction.

The post Nagpur traffic cops issue ultimatum for offenders to file e-challan appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur: Some unidentified miscreants sneaked into a house in Mekosabagh Sindhi Colony and decamped the gold ornaments and cash collectively worth ₹ 6.15 lakh when the family was away, between September 9 and 19. The incident occurred under Jaripatka Police Station.

According to police sources, accompanied by family, the complainant, Rupali Parasram Katulkar (34) had gone to Madhya Pradesh to attend a family function between September 9 and 19. In the meantime some unidentified miscreants sneaked into his house by breaking the latch of the main door and swept away the gold ornaments and cash ₹1 lakh.

The burglary came to the fore when, Karulkar family returned home on Sunday night, only to find the door opened and his house in ransacked state.

Based on the complaint lodged by Rupal, Jaripatka police have registered a case under Sections 454, 457, 380 of the IPC and started the probe.

The post Housebreaking in Jaripatka, booty worth ₹6.15 lakh stolen appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur: Even as the dreaded dengue has been spreading its tentacles in the Second Capital, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation babus seem to be dozing in their air-conditioned chambers. The Ganeshpeth Bus Stand is emerging as the hotspot for breeding dengue mosquitoes. A visit to the bus stand will expose a horrible sight. Open and damaged tyres have been found accumulating rain water and thus breeding mosquitoes in swarms. Dengue is transmitted by the bite of the female aedes aegypti mosquito.

The Ganeshpeth Bus Stand is visited by hundreds of people aiming to go to various destinations. The passengers are being exposed to mosquitoes swarming the place. Piles of unused tyres at nearby workshops are hosting the rainwater and also breeding the mosquitoes in large numbers.

Lately, Nagpurians are facing the music! The buzzing music of swarms of mosquitoes that have invaded Orange City during the monsoon season. The rain and the humid condition have created a perfect, conducive breeding ground for the tiny but deadly insect. Hospitals and clinics too have been swarmed, not by mosquitoes but by patients with different fevers. Virtually no place has been left infested by the disease-breeding species turning the scenario grim.

Despite yearly outbreaks, people at large have a careless attitude towards this menace. People expect NMC, particularly health authorities, to deal with the problem. Aedes Aegypti, the vector which transmits dengue viruses to human beings, is a highly domesticated mosquito. It has certain characteristics which makes them difficult to control, leave aside elimination. Unlike anopheles, the malaria mosquito, which feeds primarily during night hours, Aedes bite during day time and thereby makes our barrier systems like mosquito net, and repellents redundant.

The post Nagpur’s Bus Stand emerging hotspot for breeding dengue mosquitoes appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur: In a shocking incident, a woman was molested and stabbed and her husband too was attacked with a knife in MIDC police area here on Sunday night. Four accused have been arrested in this connection.

According to the complainant, a resident of MIDC, a party was going on in front of his house and he along with others was dancing to the tunes of the sound system around 11.30 pm on Sunday. During the same time, his 22-year old wife came there.

The four accused, Naresh Puran Bawne (26), Suresh Puran Bawne (29), Puran Shalikram Bawne (55), and Badal Dhanraj Meshram (19), all residents of same locality, indulged in vulgar acts and molested the complainant’s wife. One of the accused also slapped her and stabbed her on the hand with a knife. When the complainant tried to intervene, he too was thrashed and stabbed.

MIDC API Musale, acting on the complaint, booked the four accused under Sections 324, 323, 354, 354(B), 34 of the IPC and put them under arrest. Further probe is underway.

The post Woman molested, stabbed, hubby attacked in MIDC; four arrested appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur: CA Nihar Jambusaria, national president of Institute of Chartered Accounts of India (ICAI), travelled by Nagpur Metro from Sitabuldi Interchange to Airport South station on morning of September 20.

While talking to Maha Metro officers, CA Jambusaria liberally praised the work done by the organization. “The trains and stations are excellent. The trains are spacious and comfortable. The stations have been designed very well. Somebody has put his heart and soul into the work,” he said.

Shri Jambusaria was in the city to attend the ‘Tax Conclave’ organized by Western Indian Regional Council (WIRC) of ICAI at Airport South station convention centre. CA Manish Gadia, chairman of WIRC, accompanied him.

Shri Jambusaria said that once the Covid pandemic is over the economy would pick up and fare box and non-fare box revenue of Nagpur Metro would increase significantly. “We should all hope that there is no third wave,” he added.

He further said that Maha Metro’s policy of earning over 50% revenue from non-fare box sources was good one and would help the organization greatly in initial stages. He expressed confidence that fare box revenue would pick up in the coming days.

The chartered accountants (CAs), who participated in the conclave were full of praise for Airporth South convention centre. “The hall is very beautiful, spacious and comfortable. Moreover, it is easy to reach here as it is connected to a Metro station,” said a lady CA.

The post Somebody has put his heart and soul in Nagpur Metro: ICAI president appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur : Maha Metro has redesigned its plan for doing commercial development of its land in Dhantoli, opposite Yeshwant Stadium. Instead of one tower, there will be two and both will be built on public private partnership (PPP) basis. The project has been redesigned to get better response from local bidders.

The areas of two land parcels opposite Yeshwant Stadium are 77,751 square feet and 75,696 sq ft. The land use is commercial. The floor space index (FSI) of these plots considering Transit Oriented Development (TOD) policy of Maharashtra Government is 4.0. The permitted height by Airport Authority of India (AAI) is about 289 feet. The two towers will be connected to Sitabuldi Interchange metro station with a foot over bridge (FOB).

The total allowable construction on each land parcel will be maximum about 5 lakh square feet. The two towers will be multistoried with ample parking space.

The concessionaires will have to provide parking space for two-wheelers and four-wheelers as per Development Control Rules (DCR) of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC). In addition, they will have to provide a parking space for 50 cars in each tower to Maha Metro. As Maha Metro is a planning authority, there will be single window clearance regarding sanction of building plans on these two land parcels.

The project will not only change the skyline of Nagpur but create a lot of parking space in the congested Sitabuldi area. The concessionaires can build offices, restaurants, banquet halls, hotels, etc in the building. They are free to decide the commercial use of the towers.

The successful bidder will have to pay minimum upfront premium of Rs 10 crore and annual concession fee to Maha Metro payable after construction period. This will be a bidding parameter. The concession period is 60 years for both towers. This includes construction period of 3 years from date of signing of letter of acceptance (LoA).

The tenders for the two projects are live on Maha Metro’s e-tender portal www.mahametrorail.etenders.in at serial numbers 263 and 264. The last dates for submission of bids are October 13 and October 14, 2021.

The post Two multistoried towers to come up in Dhantoli appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

With Nagpur suffering two Covid waves in the past, the citizens are very much concerned & worried of region’s preparedness in case of the anticipated 3rd wave.

To evaluate such a position in coming months ahead, a conclave on ‘Covid Preparedness’ was conducted at Hotel Centre Point, Nagpur by Prabhavati Ojha Smruti Seva Sanstha (POSSS), Nag Vidarbha Chamber of Commerce (NVCC) and Vidarbha Taxpayers Association (VTA).

This conclave was chaired by Dr. Nitin Raut – Guardian Minister Nagpur & State Energy Minister. To present administration’s preparedness, Vimala R., IAS – Collector Nagpur District, Radhakrishnan B., IAS – Municipal Commissioner, NMC Nagpur and Amitesh Kumar, IPS – Commissioner of Police Nagpur City attended and elaborated the members on the subject in detail.

Ramkishan Ojha – president of POSSS, Ashwin Mehadia – president of NVCC and Shrawan Kumar Malu – president of VTA jointly welcomed the chief guest Dr Nitin Raut.

Shivkumar Rao – President, Vidarbha Economic Development Council (VED) moderated the session with Collector Vimala R, while Tejinder Singh Renu – Secretary of VTA moderated session with police commissioner Amitesh Kumar and Ashwin Mehadia – President of NVCC moderated session with Municipal Commissioner Radhakrishnan B.

All three Administrative Officers shared their respective experiences during 1st & 2nd wave earlier and informed the members that the only key to avoid 3rd wave is by following Covid protocols religiously. They assured that they are equipped well to tackle the 3rd wave, if it strikes, however cooperation of citizens will be equally required in implementing Covid restrictions as and when situation arises.

Guardian Minister Dr. Nitin Raut in his address assured the traders, industrialists, taxpayers & citizens that any future decision on restrictions will be taken only after consultation with the stakeholders. He also insisted that vaccination should be 100% and offered ₹10 lakh extra funds to any City Corporation ward achieving 100% vaccination. Dr. Raut said, I being committed to the citizens for their safe health, hence at times decision on restrictions were enforced in the past. And any future decision will have active participation with majority of key trade & industry associations.

Prominently present in the conclave were Suresh Rathi – President Vidarbha Industries Association (VIA), Vishnu Kumar Pacheriwala – President Nagpur Chamber of Commerce (NCCL), C. S. Shegaonkar – President MIDC Industries Association (MIA), Pradeep Khandelwal – President Butibori Manufacturers Association (BMA), Vijay Dargan – President Credai Nagpur Metro, Girish Gandhi, Praful Gudadhe Patil, Nishikant Gandhi and others.

Members present from organising association were Anil Deshmuh, Dr Harish Rathi, Mahendra Sharma, CA Harish Bhoneja & Dr Manohar Muddeshwar from POSSS, while Arjundas Ahuja, Sanjay Agrawal, Sachin Punyani & Goldy Tuli from NVCC and Hemant Trivedi, Yogendra Mohan Singh, Pawan K. Chopra, Amarjeet Singh Chawla, Rajesh Kanoongo, Pravin M. Agrawal, Rohit Kanoongo, Sharad Sonkule, Viru Balani, Hareshkumar Soni, Pratish Gujarathi, Harmanjeet Singh Baweja & Vicky Osan from VTA.

The event was conducted by Ramkishan Ojha and vote of thanks was presented by Ramawatar Totla – secretary NVCC.

States the press, note issued by Ramawtar Totla(Hon. Secretary) of NVCC.

The post Nagpur will prepared for 3RD wave of covid -DR. Nitin Raut appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur: The early morning showers in Second Capital of the State for two consecutive days have led waterlogging on several roads.

As a result, a Star Bus got stuck under the Narendra Nagar Bridge on Tuesday morning. All passengers were rescued to safety. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Earlier, the city woke up to a rainy Monday with heavy to medium shower lashing parts of the city.

The post Star Bus gets stuck in waterlogged Narendra Nagar Bridge appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur: Burglars struck at a woman’s house and decamped with gold ornaments and cash collectively valued at Rs 6.15 lakh in Jaripatka area. In another incident, miscreants stole booty worth Rs 2.62 lakh from a house in Hudkeshwar.

The victim, Rupali Parasram Katulkar, resident of Mecosabagh, Sindhi Colony, in her complaint, told police that she had gone to Madhya Pradesh with family members on September 10. Grabbing the opportunity, the unidentified thieves gained entry into the house after breaking open the latch of the front door and decamned with gold ornaments worth Rs 5.15 lakh and Rs 1 lakh cash. The theft came to notice when Katulkar family returned home on Saturday.

Jaripatka police have registered a case under Sections 454, 457 and 380 of IPC and are searching for the burglars.

In another house-breaking incident, booty worth Rs 2.62 lakh was stolen from the house of Gangadhar Natthuji Ghorse (74), resident of Plot No. 223, New Amar Nagar, Borkar Layout. On Monday, between 2.30 pm and 3.45 pm, Gangadhar locked his house and went to his son-in-law’s house at Shastri Nagar for lunch.

In the meantime, some unidentified miscreants gained entry into his house and laid their hands on gold ornaments worth Rs 2.37 lakh and cash Rs 25,000 kept in steel almirah in the bedroom.

Hudkeshwar Woman PSI Vanmala Pardhi registered a case under Sections 454, 380 of the IPC and launched a search to nab the accused.

The post Booty worth Rs 8.77 lakh stolen from two houses in city appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur: In a chilling act, a newborn baby was thrown into a nullah in Wathoda police area by some unidentified person allegedly to hide affair and unwanted pregnancy.

The cruel act came to light when the body of the infant was found floating in the nullah water situated opposite PM Awas Yojana colony around 5 pm on Monday. After a preliminary probe, the body of the infant was sent to post-mortem to a government hospital.

Wathoda police constable Chilkulwar, based on a complaint lodged by Shubhang Rajesh Deshmukh (36), resident of Plot No. 44, Gurukrupa Nagar, booked the unidentified accused under Section 318 of the IPC and mounted a search for the accused person.

The post Cruel act: Newborn baby thrown into nullah in Wathoda appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur: Following raids on institutions linked to former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and his family members, the Income Tax Department has detected “concealment of income” to the tune of Rs 17 crore, according to media reports on Monday.

The media reports further said that the Income Tax Department also found alleged financial irregularities in a Nagpur-based Trust linked to the NCP leader that runs three educational institutions. “Evidence found during the search clearly indicates concealment of income to the extent of about Rs 17 crore,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) claimed.

While the CBDT said the raids were carried out on September 17 on 30 premises in Nagpur, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata against a “prominent public figure in Nagpur and his family members”, official sources identified the action as being conducted against Deshmukh. It added that “several” bank lockers found during the course of the search operation have been put under prohibitory orders.

The 71-year-old former Home Minister of Maharashtra is being investigated by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on charges of alleged money laundering and payment of purported kickbacks in the police establishment of the State. He had to resign from his post in the Cabinet of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in April after these allegations came to light.

The ED recently moved a local court in Mumbai, seeking action against Deshmukh as he refused to appear before it in response to five summons for physical questioning. The CBDT said the business group has “wide business interest spanning the fields of education, warehousing and agri-business in Nagpur and other parts of Maharashtra”. It claimed “many incriminating documents, loose sheets and other digital evidence were found and seized” during the searches, according to the media reports.

Reports stated that this evidence clearly indicates the involvement of the group in unaccounted financial transactions made outside the regular books of accounts including inflation of expenses, money laundering, bogus donation receipts, unaccounted cash expenses etc.

The CBDT said evidence for receipt of “bogus donation” in the hands of the Trust run by the assessee group through money laundering using Delhi-based companies “to the extent of Rs 4 crore has been found”. “This clearly substantiates the laundering of the unaccounted income of the assessee routed as donation to the Trust.

“Specific evidence has been unearthed which reveal that three educational institutions of the Trust have indulged in inflation of expenses in which salaries paid to the employees were partly collected back in cash,” it alleged. Such evidence, the statement claimed, was found for several financial years and amounted to more than Rs 12 crore.

The media reports further claimed the Trust, apart from suppression of receipts, has paid substantial amounts to brokers for arranging admissions. Such payments, to the tune of about Rs 87 lakh have been paid in cash and are completely unaccounted.

The CBI first booked Deshmukh in a corruption case related to allegations of at least Rs 100 crore bribe made by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.

Deshmukh had maintained that Singh made the allegations against him after he was removed from the post of the Mumbai Police Commissioner.

The post Deshmukh case: IT Deptt detects ‘hidden income’ of Rs 17 crore after raids: Reports appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur: The special squads of DCP Zone 2 Vinita Sahu raided Roof 9 Restaurant in Dharampeth and Godfather Cafe in Giripeth for violating Covid-19 related guidelines. The raiding cops found both the establishments serving the customers in violation of corona norms and not maintaining social distancing.

In the first raid on Roof 9 Restaurant around midnight on September 18, it was found that the customers were being served food mocking the Covid-19 guidelines. No social distancing was being followed nor the waiters wore masks. Subsequently, cops booked the Restaurant’s Manager and other staff namely Shubham Praful Jaiswal (30), resident of Plot No. 44, Samata Layout, Ambazari Road, Premkumar Raibhan Shende (36) of Khadgaon Road, Wadi, Sayyed Iftekhar Sayyed Mukhtar (39) of Navi Basti, Teka, Pachpaoli, Shardaprasad Chantamani Pande (46), resident of Gupta Square, Surendragarh, Gittikhadan.

A case under Sections 188, 269, 270 of the IPC read with 135 of Maharashtra Police Act and 51(B) of Disaster Management Act has been filed against the accused persons.

Similarly, the special squad raided the Giripeth-based Godfather Cafe on Monday, September 20 around 9.15 pm. The Cafe owner and other staff were serving hookah illegally in violation of Covid-19 norms.

Cops booked the owner, staff and 10 customers under Sections 188, 269, 270 of the IPC read with Section 51(B) of Disaster Management Act, Section 3 of Epidemic Diseases Act and Sections 4A, 21A of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA 2003). Cops have seized hookah pots and other material worth Rs 5700 during the raid.

The raids were carried out by PSI Kunal Dhurat, Sepoys Pankaj Ghotkar, Shatrughna Munde, Vikramsingh Thakur, Dhananjay Fartade, under the directions and guidance of DCP Zone 2 Vinita Sahu.

The post Special Squad of DCP Vinita S raids Roof 9, Godfather cafes for violating Covid-19 norms, serving hookah appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur: A shocking scenario was being witnessed again in the Nagpur City disregarding the environment. In order to extend favours to a showroom, some senseless elements indulged in cutting or trimming an age-old Neem tree in Dharampeth locality.

Cameras cuaght a Neem tree being cut or trimmed in front of Premium Plaza, beside Chhoti Lahori Bar in Dharampeth. The tree got cut or trimmed as a new showroom has been opened in the Plaza. The tree branches were reportedly obstructing the view of the new showroom named ‘Urban Lifestyle’. So, for the business interest, some persons targeted the Neem tree. It could not be ascertained whether permission to cut or trim the tree was sought from NMC. But Nagpur has lost one more tree.

The post Shocking: Neem tree cut or trimmed for business interest!! appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Gadkari graced the 37th Priyadarshni Academy Award as chief guest

Nagpur: The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Monday said that Indian history, culture, values and family system have received tremendous recognition worldover. The great spiritualist, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder, The Art Of Living, Bengaluru, Ravishankar has made unparalleled contributions in spreading Indian culture, spiritualism, knowledge about religion at global level in a real sense.

Gadkari was speaking as the chief guest at the 37th Priyadarshni Academy Award, considered by many as the Nobel Awards of Asia. Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Leader of the House-Rajya Sabha and Suresh Prabhu, former Union Minister with 10 portfolios and six-time MP, were invited as the Guest of Honour. Others present prominently include Chairman Emeritus, Priyadarshni Academy, Nanik Rupani, Niranjan Hiranandani, and Dr Mashelkar. They conferred the awards on global leaders with an enviable bag of achievements.

Gadkari further said, “The Priyadarshni Academy Awards are a recognition of global talent by Indian society.” He praised the Academy for the independent and impartial selection process followed to recognise and respect personalities from across the world for their contribution to society at large.

The Union Minister also praised Nanik Rupani for his tremendous contribution in taking the cultural values of India across the globe and building a human relationship. “We cannot catch our own image. So we learn from everyone and everywhere. The Priyadarshni Academy Awards are a source of motivation and inspiration for people like me,” he said.

Welcoming the dignitaries, Nanik Rupani, Chairman Emeritus, Priyadarshni Academy, said, “Priyadarshni Academy’s prestigious Global Awards function has always been a glittering affair, because of the eminent personalities who are honoured for their outstanding contributions to society. This year the award is being conferred on global leaders who have brought positive changes to the lives of people through their selfless work.” He said the recipients of the Priyadarshni Academy awards were the role models for millions of people and it was a great honour for him to felicitate them.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was felicitated for being the Harbinger of Peace. He was given the Priyadarshni Academy Global Award for Outstanding Contribution to Human Welfare and Spirituality. Bollywood Actor Kiara Advani was felicitated with the Smita Patil Global Award for Best Actor.

The post Indian history, culture, values received global recognition: Gadkari appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.

Nagpur: Does your vehicle break down frequently, especially after servicing? There are umpteen incidents of breakdown of two-wheelers in the rainy season after filling petrol. The mechanics, after checking, say that water is being seen in tanks instead of petrol. On the other hand, petroleum dealers have claimed that improper blending of ethanol with petrol by oil marketing companies (OMCs) is causing problems for vehicle users.

According to the dealers, ethanol absorbs moisture from the atmosphere and when it comes into contact with the water in petrol tanks, it forms a distinct layer and settles at the bottom. This leads to the vehicles stalling or facing difficulty while starting. This happens largely after monsoon or servicing when water has entered the fuel tank.

Now-a-days, petrol is being blended with 10% ethanol. This blending is being done by the oil marketing companies in their terminals and is not something new and is being used the world-over. There have been incidents of vehicle owners questioning water in the petrol and breakdown of their vehicles.

Adulteration at petrol pumps:
There are over 550 fuel outlets run by three state-owned petroleum companies and two private companies in six districts of Vidarbha. The fuel to the pumps of Indian Oil and Hindustan Petroleum is supplied by depots situated at Dahegaon in Wardha district. The Borkhed depot supplies petrol and diesel to 254 pumps of Bharat Petroleum Company in Vidarbha. Around 5 lakh litres of petrol is supplied daily. In all these depots, ethanol is blended with petrol proportionately with monitoring by personnel-based systems. Approximately, six lakh litres of petrol is sold in Nagpur city and district daily through 250 pumps in the district including 95 in the city.

After the vehicles were detected with problems, customers blamed petrol pump owners for adulterating petrol with water, even when the two were unmixable. However, an office-bearer of the Petrol Dealers Association said condensation in petrol tanks and water ingress led to these issues. Earlier, water would only settle at the bottom of the tank, but it is now reacting with ethanol, leading to vehicles stalling. Though the blending has been done since 2015, complaints had begun now because the availability of ethanol was seasonal and not through the year.

However, an OMC official denied the charges and claimed that the problem happened if petrol dealers did not follow the standard operating processes (SOP) or if water entered the fuel tank while washing the vehicle. It is scientifically proven that up to 10% of ethanol in petrol is perfectly safe, he said, adding that the dealer should check for water in the fuel tank through a water-finding scale.

The post Ethanol-petrol blending causing breakdown of vehicles? appeared first on Nagpur Today : Nagpur News.