Pune, November 23 Colleges and institutes starting courses without completing affiliation formalities with the University of Pune in the hope of getting affiliation once students start taking admissions, better think twice.

The UoP is now putting its foot down. Most such institutes start their sessions late, often in August. The university, which had been granting affiliation to such institutions in view of the future of students enrolled, noticed that such institutions are unable to complete the number of working days as required, as the sessions start late.

Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) plans to lease out land along the 94-km Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Bidding process to auction five of the 23 short-listed locations will be held soon.

Opened to traffic in 2002, the eight-lane Mumbai-Pune Expressway is one of the most utilised stretch in the country. Connecting Mumbai with Pune, about 12,000 vehicles ply on the Expressway every day. The MSRDC owns about 400 hectares of land on either side of the Expressway from Kalamboli right up to Pune.

PUNE: The city crime branch sleuths nabbed two suspects on Saturday for allegedly threatening and demanding Rs 25,000 from software engineer Gautam Shyamnarayan Patel (31) of Kharadi.

The suspects are Nitin Ramesh Bhosale (35) of Kasba Peth and Avinash Ashok Chavan (40) of Rasta Peth. The complaint in this regard was lodged at the Yerawada police station by Patel, who hails from New Delhi. A police team, led by inspector Ram Pathare and assistant inspector Sunil Shinde laid a trap and nabbed the duo.

PUNE: Dispelling speculations of a possible reduction in realty prices in the city, the Promoters and Builders Association of Pune (PBAP) stated
on Sunday that they have already bottomed out and it is highly unlikely that developers would lower prices further.

The PBAP stated, "Prices in Pune have already corrected to the maximum possible extent and, in some areas, the correction has been as much as 25 per cent."

Members of Hindu right-wing organisation Abhinav Bharat, accused of carrying out the Malegaon blast, plotted to kill senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders who they thought weren’t doing enough for Hindutva, show investigation reports accessed exclusively by Hindustan Times.

PUNE: A special drive against drunken driving on Wednesday night has led to the arrest of 147 people, including a large number of government officials, software engineers and students.

Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Manoj Patil said traffic officials and senior police officials participated in the drive conducted between 9 pm and midnight to keep a check on drunken driving.

While 15 people were arrested at Brehmen chowk, 17 each were nabbed at Chandni chowk and Koregaon park. The police
pressed into service five breath analysers and a speed gun for checking the motorists.

PUNE: Malegaon blast suspect Sameer Kulkarni and two others, who were arrested for allegedly attacking pastor Peter David Silway, were granted
bail on Thursday.

Kulkarni and his accomplices Rajendra Ramhari Lonari (37) and Santosh Kisan Kasbe (25), both from Moshi, were released on a solvent surety of Rs 25,000 each.

The Khadki police had obtained Kulkarni’s custody from a Nashik court and brought him to Pune on a transit warrant. The others were arrested on the basis of information provided by Kulkarni on late Wednesday night.

Mumbai: Malegaon blast suspect Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit was on Wednesday remanded to two days police custody till November 21 by a Pune court in a case of forgery.

The Pune Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is investigating the case. Inspector Peter Lobo said the complaint against Purohit was registered by Milind Date. Mr. Date came to know Purohit in 2003. In 2005, when Mr. Date wanted a pistol, Purohit offered to get a licence for him citing his Army background.

Pune, November 18 Domiciled in Pune will now mean 66 per cent concession in the tuition fees for under-graduate and 50 per cent for post-graduate courses at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), a state university of USA.

In effect, it means a Pune student will have to spend approximately Rs 2 lakh per year as tuition fees as against Rs 6 lakh for his/her counterpart from anywhere else in the country. The concession is part of Pune-Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB), Alaska, USA Sister City relationship.

Pune, November 18 In a bid to reduce traffic snarls on M G Road and East Street area, the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) on Tuesday decided to initiate a plan from Monday under which the entire M G Road stretch will be converted into a one-way starting from Golibar Maidan Chowk up to Ambedkar Chowk near hotel Aurora Towers.