Web Blog of Shankar Kotkar

High heels and laptop spell death for Swati Naage

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:16:00 +0000

Wearing high heels in a packed local train probably cost Swati Nage her life.29 year-old assistant manager with Kingfisher Airlines fell to her death from the footboard of a local train compartment between Malad and Goregaon stations on Monday morning.According to police high heels and a heavy laptop may be reason for losing her balance.She was on her way to work at Vile-Parle,was travelling in the second class compartment when she slipped off the footboard.Her roommate Aarti Roy did not witness the accident as she was inside the compartment.Several women shrieked when Swati fell,but nobody pulled the chain to stop the train.Aarti got down at Goregaon and went back to Malad to tell the railway police about the accident.Nage was rushed to Bhagwati Hospital where she was declared dead.

Anil Savne puts his life in danger to save Stranger.

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Sat, 31 May 2008 11:47:00 +0000

On 3rd December2005 after doing a 12-hour shift at work,a delivery man in a two-wheeler showroom,got himself shot in the face trying to save two stragers from the thieves.Dr.Anjali Mudgaonkar of Lokmanya Tilak Hospital was sitting in her car outside the hospital chatting with a friend at 10.30 p.m.Suddenly a sturdy hand intruded her car through the window and tried to snatch her car keys..First she thought a friend was playing a prank,but as the man on the window whipped out a revolver she knew,she was in trouble.Soon another man appeared on the other side of the car and two colleagues were trapped.A voice shouted from behind:Whatthe hell are you guys doing?The robbers turned back and shouted:Get lost or be shot dead.Savne lunged towards the robber and held him by his shoulder shouting at him asking him to let go of the woman.An agitated robber removed the gun from Anjali's temple and the man in his face.Savne collapsed on the spot.Thinking that he had died ,the robbers ran away.Anjali and her rushed Savne to the hospital.The bullet had broken Savne's jaw and lodged itself in his neck.It took six-hour long operation by Anjali to get the bullet out andfix his jaw.For the next three months Sanne survived on liquids.Savne's wife Sujata was upset when she heard the news but was not surprised,as during their marriage of 10 years,he's done this often.

The Miracle Man

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Sun, 25 May 2008 07:11:00 +0000

S P Premchandra Rao is a water diviner who has spotted more than 20,000 bore-wells across the country.His gift was recognised by the villagers when he was 10,they would take on their shoulders to help to locate the ideal spot to dig a bore-well,to find a prennial source of water.After completing his graduation,he served as a white-collar job for some time,then he became a professional water diviner. forty five years on,he has a 90 per cent success rate and has been instrumental in locating spots over 20,000 bore-wells across the country,from Orissa to Rajasthan,from Himachal Pradesh to Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.He holds his faithful copper rod,with a little glass bowl of water from the Ganges tied to one end,walking in silent absorption,followed by a motely group of villagers-their eyes bright with a hope.When a rod remains static and does not rotate,a sigh goes up.When a rod starts rotating ,then excited muttering begins behind him.Rao explains that it is the electro-magnetic energy in his brain that catalyzes the process. Appreciation has poured in for Rao's yeomen service,he has the Gem of India,Rashtriya Gaurav Award(1997).In India .water divining is still consider as a primitive art,while in places like Europe and Russia it is highly respected and treated as professional art.

Railways' dial-a-ticket to start from June.

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:45:00 +0000

In a major boost towards improving passengers amenities,Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation(IPCTC) is going to introduce its' unique "Dail-a-ticket"programme from next month.According to the new programme,passengers can dial a unique number and book their ticketa over the phone.Once booking is completed.the tickets would be personally handed over to the passengers at their homes.As per initial plans,the Railway has applied for a dedicated three digit number from the department of Telecommunication.This number can be used all through the country and will not need a STD code.Once a passenger call this number,their call centre executives will book an availabel ticket for him and also arrange for its delivery.

Pillion rider not entitled to third party claim,rules supreme court

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Mon, 19 May 2008 06:25:00 +0000

A Pillion rider who dies or gets injured in a road accident is not entitled to third party insurance claim,the Supreme Court has said.If a vechicle is covered only by a third party insurance,neither yhe owner nor the passengers are covered,unless the contract of insurance is specific that it would cover others too,a bench of justices S.B.Sinha andL.S.Panta said.The bench passed the ruling while quashing the Rs1.18 lakh compensation awarded by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal(MACT) in Kerala to the kin of a woman pillion rider who died after falling from the scooter on which she was travelling.The Kerala High Court also upheld the MACT's decision following which Oriental Insurance Company filed the appeal in the Apex Court.Upholding the insurance company's plea,the apex court said that in terms of Section147 of the MV Act,only in regard to reimbursement of the claim to a third party.

Waiter from Chennai ranks 156th in IAS.

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Sun, 18 May 2008 07:17:00 +0000

Battling poverty,Jaiganesh has fought his way up to emerge the 156th rank holder in the UPSC Civil Service exam 2007.For the last eight months Jaiganesh served food to hungry customers at a small eatery next to Satyam Cinema.Now he will continue to serve people in a different capacity-as a civil servant.Born in an impoverished,backward class family in a remote village,Vinavamangalam near Ambur in North Tamil Nadu.He acquired a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Periyar Institute of Technology in Vellore.He tired unsuccessfully thrice to appear for Civil Service examination from his village,then he came to Chennai to join All India Institute for IAS Coaching at Anna Nagar.To get time to study for IAS examination,he moved from one job to another before landing up as a waiter in a small eatery.

Teen Spiritual Leaders.

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Sun, 18 May 2008 05:21:00 +0000

Namasvi a student of Mithibai college,majoring in Philosophy and Samakti who just given 12th exams are Spiritual speakers who've addressed gatherings,conducted workshops and arranged seminars around the world are 18 and 16 respectively.They said that they've not renounced their normal lives and have not become sages.They set aside a week to ten days a month for their spiritual activities.As part of the Samakti Foundation,they not only carry out their discourses in Mumbai,but also in the US,UK,Singapore and Far East.Bhupendrabhai Pandya their father is guiding light who is revered spiritual leader.Half of their audience are under 30 years old.The rest is mix. They also hold workshops for children and collegians.They have package called Learn Management through Gita for them.To connect better with the youngsters they use quizzes and Q-A sessions.

52-year-old woman becomes first to deliver twins at Kolkata hospital long after Menopause.

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Wed, 14 May 2008 04:14:00 +0000

Sarbani Pal is the country's first woman to have successfully delivered twins at a post-menopausal 52 years of age.At a very young age,she married Sital Das about 35 years ago.Sital's sperm count was low and egg donation with intra cytoplasmic sperm injection was advised.Rohit Gutgutia IVF consultant at Genomee explained them the entire process.At 50-plus the blood vesselsbecome resistant the uterus loses its flexibility.Thus it was a difficult situation to take over said Chakraborty who oversaw the pregnancy till the delivery.All went well,but in the 32nd week,Sarbani developed pregnancy-induced hypertension and cholestate jaundice,so the doctors performed an emergency caesarean on Sarbani on April 29.The two babies developed slight respiratory distress in the first week,but theydid not need any ventilation.

Owner finds stolen car with the help of MicroVBB software in Bond style.

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Wed, 14 May 2008 03:45:00 +0000

On May 11 around 4.32a.m.MicroVBB fitted in his Scorpio informed Rajesh Ajmera that his car was stolen from C-Road in Churchgate,he immediately rushed to MarineDrive police-station and narrated the incident but the police refused to believe him when he kept them informed of the movement of the car as it passed almost every landmark of the city towards the central suburbs.They kept on asking him how a car was replying to its owner about its whereabouts.Toprove he keyed in the word find on his cellphone and sent it to the equipment in the car and pat came the reply,Kalyan.The police team went with him by train and within an hour and half,they found the car deserted on a bridge in Kalyan. Ajmera said that the equipment cost around Rs15000.

Woman chases mom's chain snatchers.get them arrested.

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Mon, 12 May 2008 06:01:00 +0000

Meena Shah and her daughter Sarla,a homemaker from Andheri,after an evening of shopping on Bandra'sHill Road,was waiting to board an autorickshaw around 8p.m. on Sunday.All of a sudden two men zipped in on a motorbike,snatched Meena's gold chain and began to speed away. They were shaken but only for a second.Sarla decided that she would not give up that easily.She not only chase the duo and caught up with them by their collars till help arrived in the form of passer-by and the police.A police van was patrolling ,rushed to the spot nabbed two robbers,identifiedas Aarif Hussain,23 and Musharaff Khan,22,residents of Khae-Danda area.

Heart attack risk can be heard as well as seen

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Sun, 11 May 2008 13:53:00 +0000

US researchers said people with a bruit from the carotid artery in the neck were twice as likely to suffer an attack and more than two and a half times as likely to die from heart disease,than those without it.A carotid bruit is heard when using a stethoscope to listen to blood flow in the artery,which brings blood to the head and neck.Scientists said nurses or physicians usually notice the sound by chance during a medical check-up of otherwise healthy people.

Coaching classes may spur flights to Kota.

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Fri, 09 May 2008 05:42:00 +0000

Kota is the small town on the bank of the river Chambal in Rajashtan which has recently turned into India's coaching class hub.Instead of an overnight journey by a train from Mumbai or a tortuous six-hour bus ride from Jaipur airport,tere's a chance that AirIndia may starts flights from Kota to Mumbai and Delhi.AirIndia authorities held a meeting with several industrialists,coaching classes directorsas well as those in the fertiliser industry.
Kota the small town in Rajasthan which has recently turned into India's coaching class hub. Air India may start flights from Kota to Mumbai and Delhi to avoid the overnight trin journey from Mumbai or 6hour tortuous bus ride from Jaipur airport.AirIndia hheld a meeting with coaching classes directors,industrialists and those in fertiliser industry to find out their support for starting direct flights.Local administration including the additional district magistrate,the meeting was chaired by the district collector.They supported AirIndia.AirIndia will start 40 seater plane to being with,if there is a respone they would increase the capacity.They want to strat flights early morning or late in the evening to beat the high temperatures.

2engineers jialed for building crash.

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:03:00 +0000

A session court has sentenced two engineers of MHADA to four and half years in jail after holding them responsible for the collapse of Sadaf Manzil at Temkar Street in 2005 that left 11dead and 24 injured.Engineers,Narayan Mahajan and Arun Katarki were found quilty of causing death due to negligence.The court was informed that barely three weeks

Indian scientists claim advance in stem cell research.

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Wed, 07 May 2008 06:34:00 +0000

Two Indian researchers have taken regenerative medicine research several steps forward by independently establishing the presence of adult stem cells in the entire female genital tract and isolating them using non-invasive methods to develop cells of other organs.Kolhapur based gynaecologist Satish Patki and NCCS_PUNE senior scientist Ramesh Bhonde-are now planning to file a patent.Thet said Medical Hypotheses a reputed journal published in US by Elsevier,has accepted their findings for publication.Elsevier is the world's largest publisher of medical and scientific data.Patki and Bhonde told newspersons in Kolhapur that they have also demonstrated that stem cells could be obtained from the female genital tract by using non-surgical methods.

Examiners want immediate correction.

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Wed, 07 May 2008 05:54:00 +0000

Students alone donot suffer from examination fever.Examiners too get jitters as they brace themselves to face the toughest part of their jobs,correcting answer sheets in a cramped,hot and humid rooms for a partly sum of Rs6 per corrected sheet.Every year during April-May,examiners tavel the length and breadth of the city to reach Kalina,some have to travel all the way from Thane,MiraRoad,Kalyan,Kasara,Raigad,Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.They are paid Rs80 as a travel allowance per day which not sufficient according to them.They are not provided an adequate infrastructure,such as chairs,tables and rooms for correcting the answer sheets.Outside examiners are put up at the University's guest house.One room is shared by more than six examiners,the conditions are extremely unhygienic.The Vice chancellor has promised them he will hold a meeting on May9 to discuss the revision of theirs remuneration.

Examiners want immediate correction

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Wed, 07 May 2008 02:20:00 +0000

Students alone do not suffer from examination fever.Examiners too,get the jitters as they brace themselves to face the toughest part of their jobs correcting answer sheets.Ttough a lot have been written about the stress levels of students,little light has been shed upon the plight of examiners who toil hard as to correct answer sheets in cramped,hot and humid rooms for a partly sum of Rs6 per corrected sheet.Examiners have to travel length and breadth of the city,some even have travel from Thane,Raigad,Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg to Kalina to correct papers.They are given a daily travel allowance of Rs80 per day which not sufficient according to them.They have not been provided with adequet infrastructure,they do not have enough chairs,tables and rooms for correcting the answer sheets.

Indefinite doctors' strike hits government hospitals.

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Wed, 07 May 2008 02:20:00 +0000

Empty wards ,dead bodies piling up for post-mortem and patients being discharged arbuptly is the scene at various civil hospitals and public health centres across Maharashtra state.Medical services have come to standstill ever since over 2500 medical officers went on indefinite strike on May2.Ofthe 40 civil hospitals,about 30 have been completely paralysed.79 public health centres which conduct at least25 post-mortems everyday have also completely stopped functioning.Doctors have been demanding regularisation of thier services.Some of them have been working on temporary appointments for 10-15 years.Many doctors have not seen any promotions or increments in last 10 years or more.They have been deprived of leave benefits and even provident fund.About 10,278 posts of medical officers were lying vacant for 10 years.

Video link speeds up hearing of 51,000 trials.

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Tue, 06 May 2008 04:50:00 +0000

The Maharashtra government's decision to link select jails and courts through video-conferencing has paid off.Not only has it ensured a speedy hearing for the 51,000 undertrials,but technology has also helped the state government save Rs 8 crore,which would have been spent on shuttling prisoners to the courts and back.Maharashtra was amongthe first states to announce the video-conferencing link-up with 3 jails-Arthur Road,Byculla and the Thane prison-withas many as 14courts.Home Minister R.R.Patil had then said that the use of technology would save time,manpower and money spent on moving prisoners to the courts.This systemwas launched in February2006 till May 2007 the Home departmentsave Rs8.57crores.Legal

Team effort helps Mumbai Indians script 29-run Upset win over Delhi's Daredevils.

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Mon, 05 May 2008 13:07:00 +0000

Led astutely by Shaun Pollock,the Mumbai side made 4 changes,all of which worked,got their basics right and turned in an amazing display in the field with local lad Yogesh Takawale at the centre of it.Takawale with his keeping made bad throws look good,he was also standung up to Pollock and Bravo which meant the batsmen couldn't give the bowlers the charge.Takawale playing his first match gave the early momentum with a 46 run opening stand with Sanath Jayasurya at over nine an over.When Pollock came to bat the team slipped from 102 for 2 to 112 for 6 and struggling to get any momentum,but he showed his immense ball striking ability when carted Mohd.Asif for 3 sixes in the last over which cost 22 runs.He also took 2 wickets for 16 runs in 4 overs.The accurate bowling and good fielding Mumbai Indians bowled out Daredevils in 18.5 overs.Nehra,Kulkarni and Pollock were the main wicket takers bowlers.

S.Tanvir toys with Chennai,claims six.

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Mon, 05 May 2008 11:25:00 +0000

With every IPL match,Shane Warne's team Jaipur seem to be getting better.That they are strong Semi-Final contenders became more apparent on Sunday when seamer Sohail Tanvir took six wickets for 14 runs as team Jaipur defeated Dhoni's team Chennai by eight wickets at Sawai ManSingh Stadium.The match tyrned out to be one sided affair as chennai opted to bae were skitted out for partly109 runs in 19 overs.S.Raina and A.Morkel were the main scorers with 27 and 42 runs.Jaipur raced to the target with 34 balls to spare,withG.Smith and S.Asondkar putting on 78 runs for the first wicket.

Work robs parents of time with kids.

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Mon, 05 May 2008 06:35:00 +0000

Working parents have more reason to feel guilty about their kids.A survey says that couples where both partners are working do not spend more than 30 minutes a day with their children.Even more alarming is the finding that fathers may not even get that half an hour to interact with their kids.The survey carried out on a sample 3000 working couples in various companies across New Delhi,found that couples spent a majority of the time in office.A Working Woman spends nearly 10 hours in office,2-3 hours travelling,6-7 hours sleeping and 3 hours doing household chores.This leaves her barely 30 minutes in a day for her kids.Parents who work long hours are not available for children after school,to help with the homework,not able to attend school functions or sports days.

16 killed in Expressway Mishap

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Mon, 05 May 2008 06:00:00 +0000

16 people from a marriage party were killed in a nightmarish accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway when the jeep in which they were travelling rammed a triler early on Sunday.The overloaded Trax Jeep got stuck in the rear axle of the trailer with 14 wheels and was dragged for 7 kilometres as the triler driver did not realise what had happened.16 dead inclued 3 children,10 women and 3 men,including the driver.While 7 died instantly,nine died died in hospital.The Jeep which can seat 8 adult passengers,was crammed with 19 persons.Only 3 passengers in the ill fated vehicle survived.The accident occurred around 4 a.m. at Kalamboli near Navi Mumbai,almost where the Expressway ends.It was only at the Kalamboli exit,at the Asudgaon stretch of the Expressway,that another tempo carrying othermembers of the marriage party stopped the trailerand badly beat up the driver for not stopping after the collision.He was admitted to the MGM hospital in Kalamboli.

Rs 1.4cr. gold stolen from Jewellery unit

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:31:00 +0000

A 36 years old women, mother of school going children has been accused of stealing gold ornaments worth 1.42crore from a jewellery manufacturing unit in Kandivli where she was employed as a manager.as per police she has been working for the last six years at the factory.The factory was owned by Ravindrapal Singh also from Kandivli.Karpe's responsibilities included handing out specific portions of loose gold to workers and later collecting the designed oranaments made by them,which she would keep in the safe,locked.According to Singh's statement to the police there were 2 sets of keys,one was with Karpe and other with the owner.On Saturdaymorning whenshe did not turn up for work,Singh checked the safe with his keys and found the ornaments missing.He then lodged a complaint with the police.

Starbust in London

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:55:00 +0000

The roar could have deafened a hundred fighter planes -but then,when you have Shah Rukh Khan performing with Kareena Kapoor,Saif Ali Khan,Vidya Balan and others at the glittering Zee Cine Awards on Saturday at the Excel Centre in London.7000 strong crowds cheered them during the 4 hour long programme.Many stalwarts like M F Hussain,Rakesh Roshan entire Kapoor khandaan and others were present there. Shilpa Shetty made an emotional speech after she won Best Supporting Actress award for Life in a Metro.Kareena's electrifying performance towards the end of the show was a huge hit.The loudest cheers were reserved for Shah Rukh Khan.Besides the regular awards,Lifetime Achievement awards were given to Zeenat Aman and Feroz Khan.

Surgery cure for OCD patient

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar Kotkar) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 03:23:00 +0000

Washing hands under a running tap was never enough for Jyoti Salunkhe,a 32-years old from a village in Jalgaon taluka. She would follow it up with an arcane ritual-filling her mouth with water,spitting it out at four distinct spots on her left hand and anotherfive on her right hand.It would take 50-at times,90-such rounds of washing hands every day to fears of contamination.Doctors from Sion Hospital's new neuropsychiatric surgery service operated on Salunkhe,free of cost,on April11.The operation was the first for a public hospital as well as in Mumbai health establishment.Neurosurgeon Alok Sharma and psychiatrist Nilesh Shah said that they are pleased with how well she has responded to surgery.