Gaur was speaking at the two-day 21st Indian Convention of Food Scientists and Technologists organised on the theme ‘Innovations in food science and technology to fuel the growth of the Indian food industry’. Swapan Kumar Datta, deputy director general, Indian Council for Agricultural Research, New Delhi, Vasudha Kamath, vice-chancellor, SNDT University, Mumbai, and G Venkateswara Rao, acting director Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore, were present for the convention that started on Friday.

He said, “The proposed labs are meant to undertake tests to check whether the adulteration is chemical, physical or microbiological. Physical category means substandard particles mixed in a product. The 125 primary labs will join the existing 72 labs in the country. Apart from these, there are four central food labs, working as referral labs to the primary labs, providing information about various research projects, their findings and usefulness of technology in the food industry.”

Another emerging market is flavoured drinking water, for which there are no guidelines so far, he said. The authority has urged the Union government to initiate a procedure to form guidelines for flavoured drinking water, as there is definition of drinking water, bottled and packaged water, Gaur added.

The FSSAI has also appealed to the government to upgrade and modernise existing food testing labs and open them to packaged food manufacturers, consumers and researchers. The old machinery and lack of funds are limiting the functioning of the labs and their scope, he added.

When asked about the recently released national milk sample survey, in which 70% milk samples were found adulterated, Gaur said, “Out of them, 14% samples had detergent in them, which is a serious health concern. Adding skimmed milk powder or water does not pose any threat, but chemicals could cause serious health problems. The mechanism to check all types of adulteration is in place, but there are issues regarding effective implementation.”

S M Naikare, president, Association of Food Scientist and Technologists, Pune chapter, told TOI, “The government has not emphasised processing of ethnic food items that are in huge demand. The copying of western food products has a limited response as food habits of Indians are different. The proposed labs would help keep a check on adulteration and would empower consumers.”

Salma’s husband, Abbas Ahmedali Vakharia (75), son Hujefa Abbas Vakharia (40) and Hujefa’s employees Sanjay Meshram (35) and Shivkumar Kondeshwar (31) were injured, two of them seriously. They are being treated at a private hospital in Nigdi.

Police inspector Sanjay Nikam of the Talegaon Dabhade police station said the incident took place when the truck, which was carrying a road roller, suddenly took a turn on the expressway. “The truck was heading towards the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium,” Nikam said. “The median there is broken for the convenience of vehicles heading towards the stadium from Pune,” he added.

The three-day conference will begin at Yashada on January 27.

Diagnosis and certification of civil and criminal cases, animal assisted therapies and folk healing practices in India will be some of the topics of discussion at the meet.

“Every year, the conference holds elaborate discussions on psychological issues and their management that are relevant to western countries. The need of the hour is to look at indigenous problems like farmer suicides, stigma attached to mental illness, treatment practices that give importance to ghosts, spirits, and the like and try to and search for local ways of resolving them,” said clinical psychologist Radhika Bapat, the organising secretary of the conference.

The conference will feature symposia and workshops focusing on grassroots level interventions and innovations, self-sustaining programs for rehabilitation, telemedicine and other novel ideas for spreading mental health facilities in rural areas along with academic presentations exploring the realms of clinical psychology, health psychology and neuro-psychology, Bapat said.

The conference aims to bring together professionals working in areas ranging from mental healthcare and the neurosciences to engineering and design to find practical and lasting solutions to the problem of accessibility.

“It will attempt to bring together a convergence of clinical psychologist, neurologists, paediatricians, non-specialist health workers, lawyers, teachers, parents, speech therapists, occupational therapists and caregivers from across the country to speak on innovative ways and means of tackling psychological issues specific to India,” Bapat said.

Topics that arouse one’s curiosity like folk healing practices in India and their contemporary relevance as well as healing in a spiritual context will be dealt with by experts on the first day of the conference, Bapat said.

“The lower income group like some of our farmers or people who work on daily wages cannot afford the expensive treatment currently available and we need to work towards providing affordable psychological solutions to the common man. Hence we decided to support this cause being undertaken by Sahyadri Hospital’s Child Guidance Centre,” said neurosurgeon Charudatt Apte, managing director and chairman, Sahyadri Hospitals.

In the last decade, the population grew by 34.28 %, but the highest decadal growth (51.73%) was between 1971 and 1981, while the lowest (29.93 %) was between 1951 and 1961.

An urban agglomeration (UA) is the continuous urban spread constituting a town and its adjoining outgrowths, or two or more physically contiguous towns together with or without outgrowths. Pune’s urban agglomeration includes the city as well as neighbouring Pimpri Chinchwad and the city’s fringe areas which are in the municipal limits.

The union ministry of urban development which recently put out the provisional population figures of cities and towns, has given Pune (UA) population at 50,49,968. Of these, over 26.59 lakh are men, and over 23.9 lakh are women. Pune ranks fifth behind Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.

However, high concentration of population in select urban agglomerates, is not a good sign of development, say experts. On the contrary, decentralizing the growth of population in a few cities would allow other cities to grow, they added.

High growth in population in certain cities brings with it an imbalance and increased disparities in urban development. Urban growth is inevitable, according to social experts. Many perceive it as a stepping stone to prosperity boosting economic growth, but it can also lead to poverty, unemployment, lack of proper housing and sanitation.

With better implementation of policies, a good and balanced picture of growth of all cities can emerge, population studies’ expert from the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics Sanjeevani Mulay said. Three cities in Maharashtra — Pune, Thane and Nashik– are growing, she added.

“The population increase is not due to natural growth, but due to the migration of people in large numbers. Pune has good job opportunities, the IT sector has grown here and there are several multinational companies. It is well-connected to Mumbai, the weather is good and various resources are easily available here,” Mulay said.

In Maharashtra, besides Pune, Nagpur, Nashik and Aurangabad are urban agglomerates. Mulay said though Nagpur and Aurangabad have good infrastructure, not much growth in population is seen. They need industrial growth to boost better employment opportunities. .

National census figures reflect three metros-Delhi , Greater Mumbai and Kolkata-with a population of over one crore with the highest population in Greater Mumbai, the National Capital Region coming second, followed by Kolkata.

The population of Pune district is 94,26,959. There are 57,39,716 urbanites (60.89 %) including Pune and other small towns.

Industrial growth in information technology and the coming of multinational companies has attracted talent here which is one reason for the growth in population, said Anant Sardeshmukh, executive director-general of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture ( MCCIA).

Such expansion had generated better employment opportunities which has been supported by civic infrastructure and the culture of the city. “One can look at industrial growth in Chakan and other developments that have taken place in that area,” he said.

However, faster implementation of civic infrastructure projects to support the growth of the city agglomeration was necessary. The formation of Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority has been pending for several years now. We should get started on this. The city needs to have a development plan. Much time is being wasted on planning projects. We need a metro rail, airport and an international industrial exhibition centre which will not just benefit the city, but also western Maharashtra.”

Ganguly had signed up with the outfit after the start of the tournament last year. He had been a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the first three editions of the Twenty20 event and had led the side in 2008 and 2010.

“We are privileged to have a player of Sourav Ganguly’s calibre in our squad. He has been one of India’s greatest and most inspirational cricketers. We have no doubt that his presence in the team will boost the team’s prospects in the IPL, and motivate the boys to excel themselves,” Abhijit Sarkar, Pune Warriors director, said.

IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said the presence of veteran such as Ganguly enhances the league’s appeal.

“Sourav Ganguly’s record speaks for itself. Icons like him only enhance the phenomenon that is the IPL. He has always set high standards for himself, and we can expect some outstanding performances from him in the tournament,” Shukla said.

Elsewhere, Kings XI Punjab have signed David Miller, the middle-order batsman from South Africa, for the next two seasons.

The IPL’s fifth edition will start on April 4.

His arrival may have a telling difference on the city’s political arena though there are just 28 days before the civic election. His own party is in a tizzy__ supporters are upbeat and have demanded that the party withdraw his suspension, but the anti-Kalmadi faction has warned that his active participation would ruin the party’s chances at winning seats.

“Why should we discuss someone who is not part of the party?” party spokesperson Anant Gadgil said.

Kalmadi was arrested on April 26, 2011 for his alleged role in awarding the contract for installing the Timing-Scoring-Result system to Swiss Times Omega at an exorbitant cost of Rs 141 crore, allegedly causing a loss of over Rs 95 crore to the exchequer. Following his arrest, Kalmadi was suspended from the Congress party the same month.

Political parties including the Nationalist Congress Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena have said that Kalmadi’s presence or his participation in the poll campaign will not affect them. “We remain unaffected by his (Kalmadi) release from jail. Pune’s voters are intelligent and know who is what. We don’t need to explain. We will face our voters with the positive work we have done in Pune for the last five years,” deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar said.

However, celebrations erupted with crackers being burst and sweet distributed in the Congress Bhawan, the party’s headquarters in Shivajinagar on Thursday morning. Slogans like ‘Sabse bada khiladi- Sureshbhai Kalmadi’ rent the air even as party workers danced.

The city Congress has started the process of selecting candidates for the civic polls. The 20-member co-ordination committee formed by the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) on Monday will conduct the interviews. However, Kalmadi’s supporters feel he may not take the reins of the city unit.

Kalmadi supporters celebrate

“See these celebrations by Congress workers. He (Kalmadi) has represented Pune in Parliament for long and worked for the development of the city. Party workers will get strength from his release,” Congress city unit chief Abhay Chhajed told reporters.

On whether the Pune Congress unit will press for withdrawal of Kalmadi’s suspension from the party, Chhajed said, “We will wait for the high command’s decision. He is an influential leader with a mass base in Pune. There is no Kalmadi faction or anti-Kalmadi faction in Congress. We are working together and everyone knows about Kalmadi’s strength as a mass leader.”

Former mayor and Member of Legislative Council Dipti Chawadhari said, “There is massive support for Kalmadisaheb and Congress will come back strongly in the civic polls with his support.”

Sources said that Kamladi supporters are building pressure on the leadership to withdraw his suspension. They will soon meet All India Congress Committee (AICC) in charge of Maharashtra, Mohan Prakash and are banking on Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh’s support.

Detractors frown

Anti-Kalmadi faction leaders in Pune said the party will have to face ‘serious consequences’ if the Kalmadi’s suspension is revoked and he is allowed to actively participate in the poll campaign. “Why should we discuss someone who is not part of the party? Pune’s voters are clever and know whom to vote. We are contesting the election as a unit and there is no question of dependence on any one,” party spokesperson Anant Gadgil said.

Another leader said, “The party will have to pay the price if Kalmadi’s suspension is revoked. People have not forgotten the bad name he brought to the party.” They have already approached the state leadership against withdrawal of his suspension. Thursday’s celebrations after Kalmadi’s release on bail would not go down well with Pune’s voters, they said.

MPCC plays it safe

The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has gone cautious. MPCC president Manikrao Thakre said the party will not involve or invite Kalmadi for the campaign as he had been suspended. However, he can campaign for candidates, he said, adding that there is a feel-good factor among Congress workers after Kalmadi’s release.

State minister Patangrao Kadam said, “He (Kalmadi) is my friend and I welcome the high court’s decision to grant him bail. Any decision about withdrawal of his suspension will be taken by party high command”.

Another state minister Harshawardhan Patil said, “We have nothing to say. It is up to the state and national leadership to decide on Kalmadi.”

We remain unaffected, says Ajit Pawar

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar told reporters in Beed city of Marathwada region that he would not comment on the court’s decision. “It is not important for us to take cognizance of this development (release of Kalmadi). Pune knows what they have done when they were in power in the civic body. Our campaign will focus on our work,” he added

BJP MLA Girish Bapat said, “A special speed court should be set up to hear cases in CG scam. Pune’s citizens will not accept a tainted leader who has defamed the city.” City BJP chief Vikas Mathkari said their poll prospects would not be affected. Shiv Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe said, “Shiv Sena has its own agenda for the elections.”

Of the 178 mega-industrial projects that have started production in the last five years, 37 industries have invested Rs 37,700 crore in Pune district. Raigad and Nagpur districts follow with investments worth Rs 26,008 crore and Rs 8,657 crore respectively.

The policy will expire on January 31, 2012. Speaking to TOI on condition of anonymity, a senior official of the state industries department said, “Since 2007, Pune district has received 52 investment proposals from industries of which 37 industrial units have gone into production. The total proposed investment from 52 proposals submitted under the megaproject policy is Rs 46,658 crore.” Aproject involving a minimum investment of Rs 250 crore is categorized as a mega-project. The state had declared the policy so that investment proposals could be dealt with speedily. As of now, 298 proposals have been received, of which 178 have gone into the production stage. The estimated investment from 298 mega-projects is Rs 2,50,581 crore.

The units of Tata Motors, Bharat Forge and Bajaj Auto and their suppliers have encouraged other auto companies, both Indian and foreign companies like General Motors and Volkswagen to invest in Pune district.

The Pune police have registered 12 cases so far against aspirants for taking out rallies without permission. Major traffic congestions have occurred in the central Peth areas and other arterial roads in Sahakarnagar, Karve, Jangli Maharaj, Fergusson College roads, and on the highway stretch from Shivajinagar to Pune station.

Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Vishwas Pandhre said police stations have been asked to register offences against those who took out rallies without permission and for using more than three vehicles. The rallies, he said, are causing problems for citizens and increased hassles for the police, he added.

All roads leading to Congress Bhavan at Shivajinagar had traffic problems on Friday as interviews of aspirants are being held. Indiscriminate parking in violation of no-parking rules, and haphazard movement of vehicles carrying supporters harassed other road users.

The road stretch from Wakdewadi to Engineering College Chowk, and from Sancheti bridge to S G Barve Chowk (Modern Cafe junction), Shivajinagar station to Sancheti bridge, and traffic on Dengle bridge was severely affected for over four hours.

People complained that many supporters jumped traffic signals and some cars had more than the carrying capacity and people waving party flags dangerously. Some of the aspirants had brought their supporters in private buses. Besides use of two-wheelers and four-wheelers in the rally, the aspirants and their supporters are also using autorickshaws in the vehicle rallies.

Police are carrying out video shoots of all rallies and other violations by the aspirants and their supporters to initiate action. Four offences have been registered in Kothrud police station on Thursday. Police officials said party leaders must appeal to aspirants not to cause inconvenience to citizens.

Meanwhile, DCP (zone I) Dnyaneshwar Phadtare on Friday said that a list of 300 persons having criminal records has been made and that police are maintaining a vigil on their actions. “We will start taking preventive action against them,” he added.

CAB is the principal policy making body of Childline at the city level. The meeting was attended by representatives from the departments of women and child development, health, education, labour, Pune Municipal Corporation, police, Rickshaw Sena and other NGO networks. Deepak Walokar, director, Karve Institute of Social Services, chaired the meeting.

While discussing the major decisions taken in the meeting, Anuradha Sahasrabuddhe, director of Childline and Dnyana Devi, said that the organization has received a government resolution from the collector that permits formation of Balsena – child right groups of children – in schools. “However, English medium and private schools do not co-operate. Hence, we requested the PMC’s education department to conduct a meeting of school principals and secure their co-operation. The PMC education authority agreed to do so.”

When Balsena representative Gautami Joshi said that autorickshaws carry more children than the prescribed limit, Rickshaw Sena representative Keshav Kshirsagar showed willingness to have a meeting with parents and rickshaw drivers to address the issue.

Rajani Paranjpe, founder president of NGO Door Step School, said that children of migrant workers, people staying in unauthorized slums and on streets should be the potential beneficiaries of ‘Every Child Counts’ campaign, which aims at enrolling all six-year-old children in schools. Co-operation from the police and the education department was sought for successful implementation of the idea.

“All the departments concerned have agreed to provide details of one official from their respective department, who will be recognized as the ‘officer to be contacted’ for taking immediate cognizance of the cases and problems reported by Childline,” Sahasrabuddhe said.

It was agreed that a team of representatives from NGOs, Childline, police and other government departments will be formed to review orphanages and shelter homes in the city. A list of such registered organisations will be provided by the women and child development department.

“It was also decided that when a child beggar is produced before the child welfare committee, the case should be referred to Childline to ensure that the child is not handed back to unfit parents,” said Sahasrabuddhe. A partnership protocol will also be prepared to ensure networking and collaboration between Childline and government departments.

The Karve Institute of Social Services is Childline’s nodal organization in the city. NGO Dnyana Devi is its collaborative organization and anchors the service for Pune.

Cold and chilly weather conditions prevailed for the better part of the day despite the day temperature going up to 27.2 degrees Celsius on Friday as against 25.1 degrees Celsius recorded on Thursday.

Both the maximum and minimum temperatures have shown noticeable variations over the last six days. For instance, the maximum temperature remained below normal between January 9 and 14 before going 2 degrees Celsius to 3 degrees Celsius above normal from January 15. It was recorded at 31 degrees Celsius on January 17.

The maximum temperature started dropping 3 degrees Celsius to 5 degrees Celsius below normal mark in the ensuing days. On January 18, it was 27.9 degrees Celsius and went down to 25.1 degrees Celsius on Thursday, which was 5 degrees Celsius below normal. However, it increased to 27.2 degrees Celsius on Friday.

Similarly, the minimum temperature touched the season’s lowest at 6.6 degrees Celsius on January 13 and gradually increased over the next six days. On Thursday, the minimum was 9.9 degrees Celsius.

India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) director for weather central Sunita Devi said, “The variation in the temperatures was mainly on account of the moisture caused by persistent fog that prevailed over the north-east Arabian sea and the adjoining east-central Arabian sea extending up to the western parts of Maharashtra. The temperatures went up due to the moisture and clouding, but the effect of the fog has now reduced and this has resulted in lesser humidity, leading to the temperatures going down.”

“We expect the present weather conditions to continue for the next two to three days. The maximum temperature may go up slightly while there will be slight variations in terms of rise and fall in minimum temperature,” said Devi.

“According to the predictions by the IMD’s dynamical weather model, a fresh western disturbance, which currently lies over north east Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan, is expected to move over Jammu & Kashmir and north west India by June 23. This will bring a little bit of moisture and increase in temperatures,” said Devi.

According to the IMD’s all India weather summary, cold wave conditions prevailed in some parts of the central Maharashtra belt, which stretches from Jalgaon/Nashik in the north and Kolhapur down south with Pune at the centre; the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions. Night temperatures were appreciably below normal, that is, a difference of 2 degrees Celsius to 3 degrees Celsius from the normal mark, in these areas.

Nashik recorded state’s lowest temperature at 5.8 degrees Celsius, which was 4 degrees Celsius below normal. Ahmednagar was second lowest at 6.8 degrees Celsius, which was 6 degrees Celsius below normal. Satara recorded 8.8 degrees Celsius while Malegaon recorded 9.6 degrees Celsius (-2). Mahabaleshwar recorded 9.8 degrees Celsius (-4).

In the Konkan and Goa belt, Ratnagiri recorded 14.6 degrees Celsius (-4) and Dahanu recorded 14 degrees Celsius (-3) while Parbhani in the Marathwada region recorded 9.5 degrees Celsius (-5). Akola in Vidarbha region recorded 9.5 degrees Celsius (-5) followed by Buldhana at 10.4 degrees Celsius (-6), Amravati at 11.6 degrees Celsius (-4) and Yavatmal at 12.4 degrees Celsius (-4). Nagpur recorded 12.6 degrees Celsius.