Pune: The eco-friendly Ganesh idol donation initiative, launched two decades ago with modest numbers, is fast gaining traction among Maharashtra devotees. In Pune city alone, over 1.7 lakh eco-friendly idols were donated this Ganeshotsav, accounting for around 25% of the total idols immersed in the city.In Pimpri Chinchwad, 1.6 lakh idols have been donated this…
Pune: The Pimpri Chinchwad fire brigade on Tuesday recovered the body of a 17-year-old youth who drowned in a quarry in Chikhali on Monday. The Chikhali police said the victim, Shree Chavan of Talawade, and his friends had gone for a swim in the quarry at Shelar Vasti in Chikhali on Monday. While in the…
Pune: The Baba Bhide bridge that was reopened for vehicular and pedestrian movement during Ganeshotsav will remain shut again from Wednesday to assist with the remaining Metro work.The bridge is likely to remain closed until the first week of Oct.Road users are urged to opt for alternative routes like the Gadgil bridge (Z bridge) and…
Pune: In spite of several measures undertaken by the Pune police and devotees, thieves managed to take advantage of the massive crowd and stole eight gold chains and two mobile phones collectively valued at Rs5.72 lakhs during the darshan of Lord Ganesh idol and on the day of immersion since Sept 5.Eight incidents relating to…
Pune: NCP (SP) state general secretary Rohit Pawar on Monday accused state revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule of favouring an engineering firm and revising its penalty of over Rs90 crore for illegal sand mining to only Rs17 lakh. The grandnephew of Sharad Pawar also claimed that the same firm had donated large amounts to BJP through…
Pune: Primary school teachers in Maharashtra are anxious after Supreme Court made the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) mandatory for all teachers to clear within two years or risk losing their jobs. The worry stems from the state recording low pass percentages in the exam—just 3.38% in the 2024 exam, where only 11,168 of over 3.5…
PUNE: A 32-year-old pregnant woman and her 17-year-old niece died after they were stuck between two minitrucks carrying loudspeakers at a Ganapati immersion procession at Sadgurunagar in Bhosari around 11pm on Saturday. The driver of a minitruck lost control while he was trying to join the procession and hit another truck. “Pratibha Ambatwar and her…
Pune: Faraskhana police registered a case of sexual assault on a woman against two members of a dhol-tasha troupe late on Sunday night. The woman, a 20-year-old reporter, was covering the Ganapati immersion ceremony on Saturday evening when the incident took place. According to an officer of the Faraskhana police, “The young woman and her…
Pune police have detained gangster Bandu Andekar and six others from outside Maharashtra in connection with the murder of Ayush Komkar PUNE: In an early morning operation, Pune police detained gangster Suryakant alias Bandu Andekar and six others from outside Maharashtra in connection with the murder of 18-year-old Ayush Komkar.Komkar, an engineering student, was shot…
Pune: The AI-based analytics system generated over 30,000 alerts for abandoned bags, crowded situations, and other concerns during the immersion procession on Saturday and Sunday. The system also generated 260 alerts for criminals on police records. Of these, the police succeeded in nabbing over 100 and questioning them.The AI-based system was installed by the Pune…
