NEWS IN NUMBERS

200
Number of UID cards issued by the Thane civic body on a daily basis since March
Thane, Saturday, May 14, 2011 > Pages 4 This edition is also being distributed in Mulund

AWARENESS DRIVE
Umang Foundation organised an open bus fun ride for street children to highlight the importance of education in an individuals life

CANCER CARE

Mulund hospital does its bit for cancer patients by offering treatment at affordable cost

FOR A CAUSE
With an aim to provide learning resources to under-privileged students, Rotaract Club of Mumbai Mulund South has started project Granthalaya

TOPSTORY

Vehicle owners say that they have often been fleeced by cops on violating traffic rules. Police, however, claim that 90% of vehicle owners are oblivious of the exact amount of fine specified for regular offences

Dont be fooled. Know penalty slabs

Deepa Sarna Gawli
Of late, many instances have come to light in Thane city, wherein vehicle owners have blamed the traffic police for charging fines in excess of what they should have for various traffic offences. However, traffic police top brass insists that this can easily be avoided if people know the official amount fixed for different offences. If the traffic police is to be believed, then over 90 % of the motorists are unaware of the different quantum of fines that have been fixed for breaking rules. This, they insist, gives some on-duty cops an opportunity to make some extra bucks by charging more than has been specified. Take the case of Rajeev Kulkarni from Ghodbunder Road, who was driving his car and talking over his mobile phone when a traffic cop stopped him. Kulkarni was unaware of the fine amount and was asked to shell out Rs2,000 as fine. The cop asked for Rs 2,000 as I was talking over mobile phone while driving. However, the amount was too high so I negotiated and he agreed to settle the matter for Rs500, he said. Later, he came to know that the fine for the offence he had committed was only Rs100. I was not aware of the fine and didnt want to get into any argument and create a scene. So, I settled for Rs500. I feel cheated, but at the same time wish I knew the actual

SOME OFFENCES & FINES

TYPE OF OFFENCE Driving without valid licence Allowing a person to drive without licence Driving without licence and other documents Driving two-wheeler with more than one pillion-rider Creating obstruction to traffic Parking vehicle in a no-parking zone Violating traffic signal, using wrong side Cutting lanes, using pressure horn and taking vehicle to the no-entry zone Rash driving, using musical horn Using mobile phone while driving Driving rashly with one hand Disobeying a police officers direction Giving false information to a police officer Charging excess of meter value Driving without helmet Reversing negligently Not using safety belt Using horn in silence zone Vehicle fitted with dark glass Improper number plate Driving at excessive speed Driving when mentally or physically unfit to drive Racing without permission Driving in a drunken state Vehicle without parlaying light Driving through one-way Taking U-turn in a no U-turn area Not obeying signal given by a cop Lane-cutting TYPE OF VEHICLE All Vehicles All Vehicles All Vehicles Two-wheelers All Vehicles All Vehicles All Vehicles All Vehicles All Vehicles All Vehicles All Vehicles All Vehicles All Vehicles Auto drivers Two-wheelers All vehicles Car / jeep All vehicles All vehicles All vehicles/ Auto All MVs All MVs All MVs All vehicles All vehicles/ Auto All vehicles/ Autos All vehicles/ Autos All vehicles/ Autos All vehicles/ Autos FINE 300/300/100/100/100/100/100/100/500/100/500/200/200/50/100/100/100/100/100/100/100/- 50/200/100/300/2,000/100/- 50/100/- 50/100/- 50/100/-50/100/- 50/-

Handy tips for motorists

> Only an officer above the rank of assistant sub-inspector (ASI) is allowed to collect fine from any traffic violation on the spot. A constable is not authorised to collect fine > If a driver is caught without Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate, the driver need not pay fine. Instead, he can surrender his licence to the traffic officer and take it back from him after obtaining the certificate > Not all are aware that in case of an expired licence, it is valid for 30 days from the date of expiry > Penalty for jumping signal, talking on mobile while driving, not wearing helmet is Rs 100
amount which wouldnt have given the corrupt cop an opportunity to earn the extra bucks, Kulkarni said. He isnt alone in complaining. There are many such cases that take place almost daily. Throwing light on one such instance, a traffic police officer, requesting anonymity, said, On many occasions, drivers are caught without PUC. But they dont know that they can surrender their licence with the cop, take the PUC to the officer on duty and take back his licence without paying any money. The officer added that there are offences which dont call for instant fine, an expired licence. An expired licence is valid of 30 days which many are not aware of and end up paying money demanded by the cops.

TMC set to start secondary schools in interior areas

Places like Yeoor, Patlipada in Thane lack civic body-run secondary schools
Sukhada P Khandge
Taking into consideration the need for secondary schools in the interiors of the city the Thane Municipal , Corporation (TMC) will be starting the same in areas like Yeoor, Patlipada, Kasarvadavli, Desaigaon and Sheelgaon. There are only primary schools that impart education till class VII, after which most of the students have to either leave education as they cannot afford to take admission in private schools or have to travel a long distance to attend civic run secondary schools. Suresh Gada, chairman of Education Board, Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) said, It is the need of the hour to start secondary schools in the said areas. Mostly, Yeoor as it is too far from the city Due to unavail. ability of secondary schools most of the students leave ed-

Driver having learners licence, but not using L board All Vehicles

Due to unavailability of secondary schools most of the students leave education midway or have to travel a distance
Suresh Gada chairman, Edu Board
ucation midway. Therefore starting secondary schools for class VIII to X was important. Students from Yeoor, have to come as far as Lokmanya Nagar or Shivai Nagar for further education. According to Gada, at least 40 to 45 students from every school, who have cleared their class VII exams, will get to complete their education till X in the same school. Gada said primary schools are running a full house in these areas and their record has been quite good, therefore we requested civic chief RA Rajeev to give permission to start secondary schools in the same premises, which was granted.

Mulund ground named after 26/11 martyr thrown open

Deepa Sarna Gawli
A ground named after Prakash More, who died fighting terrorists during the November 26, Mumbai terror attack was inaugurated in Mulund (east) on Thursday evening. The ground has been named Shahid Prakash More Maidan. More, who was attached to the LT Marg police station as a police sub-inspector, was a resident of Mulund. Despite, the irreparable loss that the Mores suffered, they are proud of the martyr, who lost his life fighting terrorists. More is survived by wife Madhavi, daughter Anushka and son Pratik. The ground spreads over an area of 2059 sq m and has childrens play area and sitting arrangement for the senior citizens. It is developed at the cost of Rs 35 lakhs. Another garden too was thrown open for the public. The specialty of this garden is that it will have a variety of ayurvedic herbs, informed an

Techie gives up Infosys job for a career in civil services

Puja Pednekar
Rugved Thakur, who stood first in Thane and bagged 67th rank in the UPSC exam, had quit his lucrative job with Infosys to be part of policy making frame work and to serve people. Though, Rugved lives in Thane, he has studied at St Stanislaus School, Bandra and completed engineering from Thadomal Shahani College of Engineering. Thakur gave up his attractive job at Infosys, where he worked for two years, to study for the civil service exam. After working in the IT sector, I realised that I wanted a job that would actually make a difference. In government service, I will get an opportunity to shape policies and make a difference to the people. Something, I would not have been able to do being as an engineer, he said. Thakur cleared his exam in the third

Job satisfaction scores over high pay for Thakur

Rugved Thakur
attempt. During his interview, Thakur was asked, what was one thing he would change if he was to head MMRDA? To which he replied, Currently finance and timely completion of projects are the two things ailing MMRDA. If I was made the chief, I would bring both these elements under control, by roping in more private players into infrastructure building. With his almost perfect score, Thakur hopes to get into the IAS.

The specialty of this garden in T-ward is that it has a variety of ayurvedic herbs. It is developed at a cost of Rs 17 lakh
An officer, T-ward Mulund
officer from T-ward Mulund. The garden spreads over an area of 947.4 sq m and is developed at the cost of approximately Rs 17 lakhs. Uddhav Thackeray, executive president, Shiv Sena attended the inaugural ceremony .

FIRST INDIAN TO BECOME BRAND AMBASSADOR OF SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL

Thane chef Milind Sovani makes city proud

Mewati Sitaram
It is a proud moment for Thanekars. In one of the rarest gesture, Singapore Tourism Board appointed celebrity chef Milind Sovani, as the brand ambassador and consultant for this years prestigious Singapore food festival. It is a rare honour for any Indian as it would be for the first time that a non-Singaporean has been appointed for the coveted job even since the inception of the festival since 1994. Sovani, a renowned Indian celebrity chef in Singapore and one of the director and chef in Song of India, one of the finest Indian restaurant in Singapore. His highly influential style of Indian cuisine has earned him several awards and respect from Singapore and international culinary enthusiasts and forums. Hailing from Thanes Ghantali society, Milinds menu trademark has been described as

Career Highlights
Served as a chef in the catering team of two former Prime Ministers Smt Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi Spearheaded birthday feast for Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, which was attended by over 600 hundred guests Cooked for 50,000 guests during the cricket World cup match at Jaipur, 1987 Hosted and served Singapore president, prime minister, ministers and many other high profile figures
contemporary Indian cuisine. The Singapore food festival is to be held from July 15-24. The theme for this years festival is curry and spice. Chef Milind will showcase to the world as to how spices and curries are an integral part of Singapore cuisines. Though curries are mostly identified to Indian cuisine, Singapore is home to many curries of different region that includes Perankan, Hainanese, Japanese and Thai curries etc. His main objective is to showcase Singapores unique culinary heritage on an international platform. It is a one of the most significant event as far as global food industry is concerned. Milind, possesses over 25 years of culinary expertise. He continues to surprise and delight with new looks and gastronomic experiences to Indian cuisine, through cookery shows, seminars or his multi-award winning restaurant in Singapore The Song of India. This year, my dream came true, but this is also a major success for my country since , this is the first time something like this has happened, says Milind.