Covid Vaccination Drive underway at Shivarkar hospital on Tuesday. Express photo by Ashish Kale.Pune Live News: Colleges in Maharashtra (all non agricultural universities, deemed and private universities, technical institutions and affiliated colleges) will remain closed for offline lectures till February 15, Uday Samant, higher and technical education minister, announced on Wednesday. During a Facebook live session, he urged the universities and colleges to take up vaccinations of students on priority. Samant took a review meeting on Tuesday with district collectors, health officials, vice chancellors of all state universities after which he made the announcement on Wednesday.
Keeping in mind the rising number of Covid-19 cases, examinations of all non-agricultural, deemed and private universities, technical institutions as well as affiliated colleges, will be taken online until February 15. He also added that if a student or family member is Covid positive or student cannot give exam due to reasons such as power failure or technical issues during online exams, then universities or colleges must make arrangements to ensure there is no academic loss to the student. Schools will remain shut for classes 1 to 8 in Pune till January 30. Meanwhile, online schooling will continue as announced by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
In another news, Sindhutai Sapkal, better known as ‘Anathanchi Maye’ or ‘Mother of orphans’, passed away following a heart attack at a private hospital in Pune on Tuesday. She was 74. She was known for her work in raising hundreds of orphans, abandoned and destitute children, as well as towards rehabilitation of women.
Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 26,538 new cases, 8 deaths and 5,331 discharges. The state also detected 144 new Omicron cases taking the total tally of the new infection to 797. The active cases in the state rose to 87,505.
Schools in Nagpur city and some adjoining areas will remain shut for physical classes for students of Grades 1 to 8 from Thursday in view of the rising coronavirus cases, Maharashtra minister Nitin Raut said on Wednesday.
Raut, who is also the Nagpur district guardian minister, announced the decision after holding a meeting with the local administration on the coronavirus situation and preparedness on tackling the spurt in cases.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, he said offline classes for students of Grades 1 to 8 in private and government schools will be closed from January 6 in Nagpur city and some areas in its periphery. Raut did not say how long these schools will be closed for in-person learning, but added the decision has been on lines of Pune where schools for Classes 1 to 8 will remain shut till January 30. (PTI)
As many as 2,813 persons tested positive for Covid-19 in Maharashtra's Pune district, raising the tally of infections in the region to 11,71,265 on Wednesday, an official from the district health department said.
With a single casualty reported from the rural part of the district, the toll stood at 19,255. Of the fresh cases reported during the day, 1,805 were detected in the Pune municipal corporation limits, while 590 were from the Pimpri Chinchwad area, he said.
The Pune rural and cantonment areas together recorded 418 cases, the official said, adding that the district currently has 8,201 active cases, of which 818 patients were isolated in hospitals.
Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 26,538 new cases, 8 deaths and 5,331 discharges. The state also detected 144 new Omicron cases taking the total tally of the new infection to 797. The active cases in the state rose to 87,505.
Colleges in Maharashtra (all non agricultural universities, deemed and private universities, technical institutions and affiliated colleges) will remain closed for offline lectures till February 15, Uday Samant, higher and technical education minister, announced on Wednesday. During a Facebook live session, he urged the universities and colleges to take up vaccinations of students on priority.
Social worker Sindhutai Sapkal was buried in Pune with full state honours.
Sapkal, 74, fondly called the "mother of orphaned children" for her work, died at a private hospital following a massive cardiac arrest.
She was buried at the Thosar Paga burial ground as per the traditions of the Mahanubhav sect. (PTI)
Pune City Police have arrested controversial religious guru Kalicharan Maharaj from Raipur in Chhattisgarh in connection with the alleged hate speech during the “Shivpratap Din” program held in Pune on December 19.
The program was organised by Samasta Hindutva Aghadi at Natubag in Shukrawar Peth to mark the killing of Adilshahi General Afzal Khan by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in 1659.
A first information report (FIR) was lodged at the Khadak police station on December 28, following an analysis of the video clip of the programme.
Along with Kalicharan Maharaj, police had also booked Hindutva leader Milind Ekbote, Nandakishor Ekbote, Mohanrao Shete, Dipak Nagpure and Captain Digendra Kumar under sections 295 (a), 298, 505 (2), 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
Most districts in the state have set a target to finish administering the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine to all the eligible beneficiaries by January-end, state education minister Varsha Gaikwad said on Monday.
She chaired a meeting of top officials from all districts as well as various offices of the state education department to review arrangements for administering Covid vaccine to students in the 15 to 18 age group.
Gaikwad, however, did not announce closure of schools in light of rising number of infections, leaving the same to the discretion of local administration.
Read more
Offline teaching in Pune schools for Classes 1 to 8 will be suspended with immediate effect until January 30 in view of the spread of Covid-19 in the city and surrounding areas, deputy chief minister and guardian minister Ajit Pawar announced on Tuesday.
Pawar said offline teaching for Class 9 and above will continue as students in the age bracket are now eligible to receive vaccination.
“After prolonged discussions with officials of PMC (Pune Municipal Corporation), PCMC (Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation), and the district administration, we have decided to shut the schools for physical classes for Standard 1 to Standard 8,” said Pawar.
Read more
Only one of the 578 people confirmed to have been infected by the Omicron variant of coronavirus in Maharashtra till Monday had severe illness, while eight had developed moderate symptoms, the state Health Department said on Tuesday.
It said that 436 of the 578 Omicron-infected people showed no symptoms at all, while 133 had mild symptoms.
Maharashtra has detected the largest number of Omicron infections till now. On Tuesday, 75 more people were confirmed to be infected with this variant, taking the total number in the state to 653.
Read more
Sindhutai Sapkal, better known as ‘Anathanchi Maye’ or ‘Mother of orphans’, passed away following a heart attack at a private hospital in Pune on Tuesday. She was 74. She was known for her work in raising hundreds of orphans, abandoned and destitute children, as well as towards rehabilitation of women.
Sindhutai died at 8.10 pm.
She had undergone a surgery on November 24 last year for a large diaphragmatic hernia. She had recovered well, but about a week ago, she developed a lung infection. She suffered a massive cardiac arrest on Tuesday and passed away, said Dr Shailesh Puntambekar, medical director of Galaxy Care hospital.
Read more
Sugar industry should work on increasing diversion towards ethanol to escape sugar glut, which has proved to be a major problem for the sector, former Union agriculture minister and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar said on Tuesday.
Addressing the annual general body meeting of Pune-based Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI), Pawar also stressed on timely replacement of planting material to help farmers increase their per hectare production.
This was the second consecutive year when the meeting was held online, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Read more
Despite restrictions, a large number of people thronged the venue of the bullock cart race organised in Sangli district of Maharashtra on Tuesday, days after the Supreme Court granted the conditional permission to organise traditional bullock cart races in the state.
According to the district administration, the organisers were told to ensure that only a limited number of people are allowed at the venue near Nangole village in Kavthe Mahankal tehsil.
However, hundreds of people turned up to witness the race.
Holding of bullock-cart races remained banned in Maharashtra for the last several years before the apex court on December 16 allowed the resumption of the bullock-cart races. (PTI)
Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh approached a special court here on Tuesday, seeking default bail in connection with a money laundering case registered against him by the Enforcement Directorate.
Deshmukh was arrested by the ED on November 2, 2021 and is currently in judicial custody.
In his plea filed through advocate Aniket Nikam, Deshmukh said the special court had not taken cognisance of the prosecution complaint (charge sheet) filed by the ED before remanding him to further judicial custody.
Deshmukh pointed out that he has been in custody for 60 days and since the court has not yet taken cognisance of the charge sheet, he should be granted default bail under the provisions of Section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). (PTI)
Amid a row over OBC reservation in local body elections, senior Congress leader and Maharashtra minister Vijay Wadettiwar is planning to launch a separate front to raise effectively issues related to the other backward classes.
Maharashtra politics is currently in a state of ferment after the Supreme Court ordered the cancellation of the local body elections to OBC seats, prompting political parties to rush into damage control mode. "Several leaders from the OBC community have approached me to lead a separate front to effectively raise issues of the backward classes who have to get their rightful due in the society," Wadettiwar, the Minister of Disaster Management & OBC Welfare, Relief & Rehabilitation in the Maharashtra government told PTI.
Wadettiwar, a former Leader of the Congress Legislature Party, had planned a meeting of the proposed front on Wednesday in Mumbai followed by a show of strength in Aurangabad, but both the events have been postponed against the backdrop of the resurgence in COVID-19 cases in the state. He said there were plans to invite Rahul Gandhi for the Aurangabad rally.
Sources close to the minister said that the Congress ranked fourth in the state when it came to the support of the dominant Maratha community which has held sway over politics in Maharashtra since the formation of the state in 1960. (PTI)
You can meet the conscientious shopper in the aisles of grocery stores — picking up an item and reading the packaging before deciding on their purchase. Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, such shoppers have increased.
A report by UK-based market research firm, Euromonitor International and PepsiCo India, titled ‘Impact of Covid-19 on the nutrition choices of urban Indian consumers in 2021’, released in December, reveals that almost 90 per cent of the urban consumers were willing to pay more for healthy alternatives in food and, when it came to breakfast cereals, 53 per cent of urban consumers were ingredient-conscious. Read more
Maharashtra’s sugar commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad, in a letter, has directed sugar mills to ensure vaccination for migrant cane harvesters in their area. The letter assumes importance as most of the cane harvesters have migrated from their villages and might end up missing their scheduled date for the second dose, officials said.
Around 5-6 lakh harvesters, mainly drawn from the districts of Beed, Jalgaon, Nandurbar and Ahmednagar, annually migrate to the sugar mills across the state. These workers stay at makeshift camps during the cane harvesting season, starting post-Diwali and return home once the season is over in April-May. During this period, almost all able-bodied men and women migrate to harvest cane. Read more
As the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) on Monday kick-started the vaccination drive for children between 15 and 18 years of age, it was greeted with enthusiastic response from teenagers. While a small number was seen tense and nervous before taking the jab, a majority of them was unfazed and seemed eager to get themselves vaccinated to fight against Covid-19. As many as 1,947 teenagers received first dose of Covaxin on Day 1 without any adverse event.
Officials said in the first phase, 1.17 lakh children will be given the first dose of the vaccine.
The drive started around 10am at eight centres of the civic body. The centres include ESIC hospital, Mohannagar, Premlok Park dispensary, Masulkar Colony Eye hospital, New Thergaon Hospital, Thergaon, Old Bhosari Hospital, Urdu school, Yamunanagar, New Jijamata Hospital, Pimpri and Kasarwadi dispensary. Read more
A destitute man allegedly set afire four police vehicles at the Chikhli police station in Pimpri Chinchwad in the early hours of Monday. He also damaged a few more vehicles and pelted stones at the police, injuring one constable.
The accused fled the scene after the incident.
The police identified the accused as a youth in his early 20s who lives near the station. The police suspects he resorted to arson and vandalism after he was reprimanded for loitering around the premises. Read more