Posts Tagged ‘Ahmednagar’
Written by admin on 30 September 2012
Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), Sep 30 (IANS) The irrigation scam directed against him is an attempt to divert attention from the “coal scam”, former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said Sunday.
Addressing his first public rally after resigning as the deputy chief minister, Pawar said the irrigation issue was a conspiracy against the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
“There is an attempt to (malign us),” Pawar told the gathering at Akole, 120 km from Ahmednagar town.
The “coal scam” Pawar referred to relates to the controversial coal blocks allocation made to private companies by the central government that has been criticised by the official auditor.
Pawar, 53, abruptly quit the cabinet last week amid allegations that he had arbitrarily doled out irrigation contracts worth over Rs.20,000 crore as the state water resources minister (1999-2009).
Lashing out at those behind “the defamation campaign” and refuting allegations against him, Pawar insisted that he had quit on his own after the allegations were hurled.
“Nobody sought my resignation but I gave it on my own,” he said. He said he resigned to ensure a “fair inquiry” into the irrigation scam.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar Friday ruled that Ajit Pawar’s resignation would be accepted.
After Ajit Pawar resigned, all 19 NCP ministers in the state also sent their resignations to state party chief Madhukarrao Pichad, sparking off a crisis in the Congress-NCP coalition government.
Tags: Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
Posted in National, Politics | No Comments »
Written by admin on 09 July 2012
Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), July 9 (IANS) A four-year-old boy fell into a borewell in a village in this Maharashtra district was safely rescued in a three hour joint effort by police and local residents, an official said.
In a tragic repeat of the Gurgaon incident where three-year-old Mahi lost her life, Manoj Ghorpade fell into a borewell while he was playing near it in Kadangaon village of Rahuri taluka, around 45 kms from the district headquarters of Ahmednagar.
However, unlike Mahi who died after struggling for 84 hours, Manoj was saved.
“Manoj has been rescued with the efforts of a team of policemen, along with help from local residents, who dug another pit parallel to the borewell and brought him out safe,” an official from Rahuri Police Station told IANS.
Manoj fell down into the 270 ft borewell this afternoon, but however stuck at a depth of around 24 feet where his voice was still audible to people who tried to rescue him.
JCB machines were pressed into the rescue operation and army had been alerted. However, he was saved and barring a few bruises, a medical team declared him to be fit and fine, the official said.
Tags: Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
Posted in National | No Comments »
Written by admin on 09 July 2012
Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), July 9 (IANS) In a tragic repeat of the Gurgaon incident where three-year-old Mahi lost her life, a four-year-old boy Monday fell into a borewell in a village in Ahmednagar district here, police said.
The incident took place in Kadangaon village of Rahuri taluka, around 45 km from the district headquarters of Ahmednagar where Manoj Ghorpade fell down the borewell Monday afternoon while he was playing near it.
“Manoj fell down into the 270 feet deep borewell this afternoon. However, he is stuck at around 24 feet and we are still able to hear his voice,” an official from Rahuri Police Station told IANS.
JCB machines have been pressed into the rescue operation and the army has been alerted. Local residents have also plunged into helping with rescue operations, the official said.
Tags: Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
Posted in National | No Comments »
Written by admin on 17 June 2012
Ahmednagar, June 17 (IANS) As Pakistan released five Indians from jail Saturday, the family of 58-year-old Bhanudas Karale from Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district were the first to reach Amritsar to welcome him home. No one is sure how Karale ended up in a Pakistani jail. Neither is Karale, who is mentally imbalanced.
An elated Karale, while speaking to IANS over the phone, said he was glad to be back.
“I’m in good health and I will be at peace now that I’m with my family in my country. It feels so good to be back,” he said in a choked voice.
“I just want to go home to my village and rest and spend time with family,” he added.
Karale, however, said his time in jail in was getting unbearable even after his release orders were issued.
“I did not face any hardship per se, but it was a jail in a foreign country after all. It was even more difficult to stay there after the knowledge of the fact that I’m being held up here due to lack of appropriate documents,” he said.
It has been a long journey for Karale, said activist Jatin Desai.
“I had spoken to him after his release. I thank to everyone who made this possible,” he said.
Karale was arrested Aug 28, 2010, for illegally entering Pakistan. He was granted bail on September 21, but had to wait to be actually released from the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore.
But Karale’s family was unaware of his arrest. He went missing in January 2010 in a state of mental imbalance. His wife Nanubai and sons Vijay and Rohidas and nephew Nitin left no stone unturned to find him.
Karale, a resident of Wadgaon village in Ahmednagar district, had lost his way and ended up on a train to Pakistan without the knowledge of where the train would take him.
However, when in August 2011, the family got a letter written by Karale, they came to know that he was in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail. Karale had sent the letter with Gulab Singh who was released from the same prison after he served his term.
Luckily, help came from advocate Asim Sarode who, after learning about Karale’s plight, pledged for his release.
Sarode gathered all legal documents to verify Karale’s nationality and sent it to Pakistani human right activist Asma Jahangir.
“It did take us a long time to gather all documents including the missing person’s complaint in the local police stations and my uncle’s voter identity card to be sent to the Indian High Commission verify his identity,” Nitin told IANS.
“But now that my uncle has been released and I have held his hand, I’m glad the bad days are over,” he said.
Karale had lost his mental balance after the company, Garware Nylons Ltd, where he worked, shut down in 1996.
(Mauli Buch can be contacted at mauli.b@ians.in)
Tags: Ahmednagar
Posted in National | No Comments »
Written by admin on 15 June 2012
Ahmednagar, June 15 (IANS) Social activist Anna Hazare Friday celebrated his 75th birthday with hundreds of children at a rehabilitation centre in Ahmednagar, around 40 km from his hometown Ralegan Siddhi.
Hazare’s associates said he preferred not to have elaborate celebrations for his birthday owing to the drought in Maharashtra.
Hazare spent time with children of Snehalaya, an NGO that runs a rehabilitation centre for HIV-positive patients, the activist’s close aide Suresh Pathare told IANS.
Hazare also laid the foundation stone of an English-medium school in Ahmednagar.
Hazare had earlier told reporters that he wanted to celebrate his 75th birthday without any fanfare.
“However, he accepted the invitation from Snehalaya as it is for a social cause,” Pathare said.
The NGO also runs rehabilitation projects for prostitutes and their children, orphans and other underprivileged children.
The proposed school will provide free education to underprivileged and differently-abled children.
The NGO also organised an ‘Amrut Mahotsav’ ceremony in honour of Hazare.
Several other NGOs from the Ahmednagar district also jointly distributed one lakh books about Hazare’s life and his message to the youth.
Tags: Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
Posted in Education, National | No Comments »
Written by admin on 29 April 2012
Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), April 29 (IANS) Union Agricultural Minister Sharad Pawar Sunday renewed his criticism of Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan for not doing enough for the drought-prone areas in the state.
Pawar alleged that the drought-prone western Maharashtra had not received the required aid as it was being channelised to other regions.
Earlier this month, he slammed the governor for not touring the drought-prone districts to verify the ground situation before announcing the budgetary allocation for irrigation and water projects for the year.
Around nine drought-hit districts are facing water scarcity. Nearly 7,555 villages in western Maharashtra, Marathwada and North Maharashtra have been affected.
‘Maharashtra is the only state in the country where the governor has been given powers to allocate this budget in a bid to make up for the backlog to backward regions of the Vidarbha and Marathwada (regions),’ Pawar said while on a visit to Ahmednagar district and surrounding areas.
‘However, it seems that western Maharashtra has not got the required allocation for irrigation and water projects. The governor should also announce relief packages for the drought-hit regions, including western Maharashtra, which is being ignored,’ he added.
Pawar said that now that Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had also visited the drought-prone regions of the state, the governor should pay more attention to proper allocation of irrigation and relief packages.
Pawar’s visit to Shrirampur village in Ahmednagar district was marred by protests from onion and sugarcane farmers.
Hundreds of farmers waved black flags as Pawar entered the village and demanded an increase in the minimum support prices.
They criticised Pawar responsible for the rising food prices.
Tags: Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
Posted in Business, National | No Comments »
Written by admin on 31 October 2011
Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), Oct 31 (IANS) Nationalist Congress Party’s Maharashtra unit president Madhukar Pichad’s youngest son died in a freak accident Monday, party officials said.
‘Pichad’s youngest son, Jitendra, had gone for a bath this afternoon following which he was found in an unconscious state,’ Pichad’s aide told IANS.
‘He was rushed to the hospital, but could not be saved. Initial medical reports said that he might have lost consciousness due to excessive gas that spread in the bathroom from the geyser,’ he added.
The incident took place at Pichad’s native residence in Rajur village of Ahmednagar district, around 150 km from the district headquarters. Police said they are awaiting medical reports and post-mortem examination details to get a clear picture of the incident.
Jitendra, 32, was the youngest of three brothers and is survived by his wife and a three-year-old daughter.
The state NCP conference scheduled Nov 1-2 has been cancelled owing to the incident, a party official said.
Tags: Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
Posted in National | No Comments »
Written by admin on 21 September 2011
Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), Sep 21 (IANS) A three-member Pakistani delegation Wednesday met social activist Anna Hazare at his village to seek his opinion on starting an anti-graft drive in their country.
Former Pakistan law minister Iqbal Haider, Pakistan Supreme Court’s former judge Nazir Aslam Zahid, and trade unionist Karamat Ali also invited the 74-year-old activist to visit Pakistan to initiate a movement similar to the one he launched in India.
The meeting was held at Hazare’s hometown in Ralegan-Siddhi.
‘Hazare’s movement has become a topic of great significance in Pakistan and other countries in the world. On behalf of the people of Pakistan, we congratulated him. We have invited him to Pakistan and he has accepted it,’ Justice Zahid told reporters after the meeting.
The meeting was organised by NGO Sarhad.
‘The delegation had an over three-hour long discussion with Annaji about starting a similar movement in their country because both have similar problems of corruption and terrorism,’ Sarhad head Sanjay Nahar told IANS.
Hazare went on a 12-day fast in the capital last month to press his demand for a strong anti-graft bill, attracting the support of a large section of people.
The visiting delegation also apprised Hazare of Pakistani social activist Raja Jehangir Akhtar, who has been on hunger strike in Islamabad since Sep 12, seeking an anti-corruption legislation in the country.
The delegation urged Hazare not to limit his anti-corruption crusade to India, but extend it to all over South Asia.
While agreeing that there was a need for similar movements in neighbouring countries, Hazare said the success in India was mainly due to the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi.
The delegation, which arrived in India Sep 16 to take up the cause of Indian fishermen languishing in Pakistani jails for years, will leave for home Thursday.
Tags: Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
Posted in National | No Comments »
Written by admin on 07 September 2011
Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), Sep 7 (IANS) Social activist Anna Hazare Wednesday challenged terror elements and groups to ‘come out in the open and fight’ rather than target innocents in terror strikes.
Speaking to media-persons in his home village Ralegan-Siddhi village Wednesday evening, Hazare said that terror groups should not hide and fight by targeting innocents.
‘Come out in the open and fight. Don’t target innocents in this manner,’ Hazare declared, expressing his sympathies for the victims of the terror attack in New Delhi.
He said that in his opinion, the victims who lost their lives have died for society. ‘After all, they were innocents who had done nothing wrong to anybody. They have given their lives for the society,’ Hazare said.
At least 11 people were killed and 76 injured in a powerful bomb blast at Delhi High Court in the morning.
Tags: Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
Posted in National | No Comments »
Written by admin on 02 September 2011
Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), Sep 2 (IANS) Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare is still feeling ‘a little weak’ after his hunger strike but is set to address a rally here later Friday.
D.G. Pote, who examined Hazare at his home in Ralegan-Siddhi village Friday morning, said his blood pressure and other vital parameters were normal though he felt weak following the 13-day fast in New Delhi.
‘He is taking normal diet with a lot of fruits and vegetables and there is no cause for concern,’ said Pote, Hazare?s private physician.
Hazare is scheduled to address a rally here Friday, and organisers expect more than 10,000 people to attend.
Pote said he had advised the 74-year-old to speak briefly at the rally and refrain from meeting or speaking to people individually to avoid straining himself.
Ralegan-Siddhi, Hazare’s village in Ahmednagar district, is around 75 km from Pune.
Hazare went on a fast Aug 16 in support of a strong anti-corruption legislation. The campaign, during which he was briefly sent to jail in the capital, ignited nationwide solidarity protests.
He ended the hunger strike after the Lok Sabha agreed to consider his three key demands: Lokayuktas in all states, including lower bureacracy in the Lokpal, and citizen’s charter for all government departments.
Tags: Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
Posted in National, Politics | No Comments »
Written by admin on 16 August 2011
Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), Aug 16 (IANS) Residents of Gandhian activist Anna Hazare’s village Ralegan Siddhi Tuesday took to the streets to protest the detention of the anti-corruption crusader in New Delhi. There were demonstrations in Pune and Mumbai too.
Scores of people trooped out of their homes soon after news of the arrest of Hazare and his team members reached the village, about 230 km from the state capital Mumbai. There was a spontaneous shutdown in the village.
Flaying the arrests, many villagers, including women, marched to the local Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation bus depot and raised slogans against the government.
The state police had deployed tight security in the village and all the roads leading to it from Pune, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad and Nashik.
While thousands of activists staged a march in Pune, a large number of protestors started gathering near Dadar in Mumbai to chart out the further course of action.
The main agitation is planned at Azad Maidan in Mumbai later Tuesday where prominent activists, including Medha Patkar, are expected to congregate.
Hazare, activist Arvind Kejriwal and former cop Kiran Bedi, besides 250 other supporters were arrested Tuesday morning by the Delhi Police before starting their protest against an anti-corruption bill.
Tags: Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
Posted in National, Politics | No Comments »
