Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday made it clear that his party would oppose the removal of Dadoji Konddev’s statue from the Lal Mahal in Pune.

Pune mayor Mohanshingh Rajpal had on Wednesday said that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) would remove the statue of Konddev, the Brahmin tutor and mentor of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Konddev’s statue in Lal Mahal is a part of the larger sculpture where Jijamata and Shivaji can be seen tilling the soil of Pune with a golden plough.

PUNE: Eight people died of the H1N1 influenza here on Tuesday and Wednesday, taking the toll in the city due to the contagion up to 331 since August last year.

As many as 46 people tested positive on Wednesday. Twenty-five patients are in a critical condition and have been put on the ventilator in various hospitals, the district information officer said.

A ten-month-old baby, Raj Narayan Aadmani, of Satavnagar, died of swine flu at Sassoon hospital on Wednesday. The boy was suffering from cold and cough for five days and was admitted to hospital on Tuesday.

The Shiv Sena has appointed Neelam Gorhe as its spokesperson here. She is the first woman to hold the post in the party.

Ms. Gorhe said she was proud to be the party's spokesperson in a city that has had a tradition of women's liberation. “I am an heir to a glorious history led by women. I will aim to take it forward,” she told reporters here on Saturday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists staged a demonstration here on Thursday demanding resignation of Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi for allegedly patronizing corruption in projects related to the 2010 Games.

Calling Kalmadi the 'King of Corruption', the BJP supporters said by indulging in financial malpractices, Kalmadi has let down the prestige and honour of his hometown Pune.

The protestors later turned violent and burnt Kalmadi's effigy.

PUNE: The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded that the property tax distribution system should be revamped as citizens are not getting bills on time.

The BJP delegation, under the leadership of party vice president Sandeep Khardekar, submitted a memorandum to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) property tax department chief, Vilas Kanade, on Friday.

PUNE: Minister of state for home Ramesh Bagwe on Tuesday said that he will meet Pune and Pune rural police officials to review undetected and pending crime cases before August 15.

Bagwe told TOI that the deputy commissioners of police of respective zones will be asked to monitor investigations in serious crimes like murder which have remained undetected for a considerable period.

According to Bagwe, a special team comprising police officials who are good in detection will be formed at zonal levels to investigate cases. Chargesheets will be filed against the suspects at the earliest.

PUNE: The last word on the fate of the bio-diversity parks (BDPs) in the 23 merged villages has not been uttered as yet.

The city Congress leaders on Saturday said that the party stands by the 'green development plan' and will oppose any move to permit construction in the BDPs.

"The Congress remains firm on its earlier stand to support the BDP project. We will discuss it with MP Suresh Kalmadi on Saturday and decide the next course of action," Congress leader and standing committee chairman Arvind Shinde told TOI on Saturday.

New Delhi/Pune July 11: Kashmiris staying in New Delhi and Pune staged peaceful protests on Sunday demanding an end to spate of killings in the Valley.
In New Delhi, Kashmiris businessmen, students, doctors, academicians and several other professionals converged on Parliament Street near Jantar Mantar this morning demanding end to the violence in the Valley.

Mumbai, Jul 5 (PTI) About 100 public transport buses were damaged in Mumbai and Pune today by activists trying to enforce the 'Bharat Bandh' called by Opposition parties, officials said.

"The protestors stopped 78 BEST buses and threw stones damaging their windowpanes at several parts of the city.

Kandivali, Antop Hill, Santacruz, Parel and Mahim are among the areas where buses were targeted and damaged," said A S Tamboli, spokesperson of BrihanMumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), the city's transport wing.

NAGPUR: BJP Maharashtra unit president Sudhir Mungattiwar, leaders of opposition, Eknath Khadse (assembly) and Pandurang Phundkar (council) will lead the protests against rising prices and petro price hike in Mumbai, Pune and Aurangabad respectively.

The July 5 Bharat Bandh call given by BJP and supported by Shiv Sena, MNS and PWP and RPI is expected to evoke a good response, state BJP spokesperson, Girish Vyas, told reporters today. He, however, could not clarify which faction of RPI was supporting the bandh call.