Pune, Nov 17 : U S terror suspect David Headley visited the ''Osho Ashram'' here twice during 2008 and 2009, a top police official said on Tuesday.

"Headley stayed in the city for a day in June 2008 and March 2009 and visited the Ashram, frequented by foreigners," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ravindra Sengaonkar said.

Sengaonkar further quoted Ashram officials as saying that Headley also visited the establishment at Koregaon for meditation.

Pune, Nov 16 : Sanaa Bhambri provided the silver lining to a rainy day by outplaying Indo-Japanese player Anastasia Malhotra 6-3, 6-4 to enter the second round of the $50,000 NECC- ITF Women's Tennis championships here Monday.

In other first round singles played, second seeded and 119th ranked Masa Zec-Peskiric and sixth seeded and 237th ranked Rika Fujiwara of Japan also scored one-sided wins.

Zec-Peskiric outserved Hae-Sung Kim of Korea 6-3, 6-4, while Fujiwara ousted junior compatriot Miki Miyamura 6-2, 6-1.

Pune, Nov 14 : India's Shweta Kumari Solanki, Sonya Dayal and Tanvi Shah survived hiccups to move into the second round of the qualifiers in the $50,000 NECC-ITF Women's Tennis championships organised by the Deccan Gymkhana on their club courts.

In the first round of the qualifying, Shweta scraped past Treta Bhattacharyya 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, while Sonya survived a fighting Ankita Raina 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(3). Tanvi Shah scored a
3-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Smriti Joon.

Pune, Nov. 14 : Continuing his sharp critique of the current stasis in the BJP, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has described the party “as a divided house.”

“BJP is a divided house and a divided house can''t function properly. The party should not forget its roots,” Bhagwat told reporters in Pune.

He added that he had told the BJP leadership to look for a "young" candidate who can "restore its organisational set-up".

Pune, Nov 10 - Vaishnavi Bala, 22, is happy to be back at her favourite eating joint on M. G. Road with her usual college gang. A few months ago she had fled the city due to panic over swine flu, a disease that has claimed at least 100 lives here.

Besides M. G. Road, the popular hangout place Fergusson College Road is also bustling with people. It's hard to believe that just three months ago, these very streets wore a deserted look.

Maytas Infra Private Ltd, one of the leading Infrastructure Development, Construction and Project Management Companies in India, has secured the Pune-Sholapur road contract worth Rs 790 crore from IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd.

The company has received the order for four-laning of Pune-Sholapur section of NH-9 on a DBFOT (Design, Build, Finance, Operate & Transfer) basis. The project is to be completed in 20 months.

Pune-based manufacturing solutions provider KPIT Cummins Infosystems has agreed to buy US-based Sparta Consulting Inc. for up to $38 million.

California-based Sparta, which specializes in implementing SAP AG’s business software, has generated revenue of $26 million over the period and is KPIT Cummins’ sixth buy since 2003. Sparta has operations in Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi and also in Pune.

Public sector lender Bank of Maharashtra has posted a net profit of Rs 86.68 crore for the July-September quarter, up 22.86 per cent against Rs 70.55 crore reported over the same period a year back.

The Pune-based bank's revenue jumped 14.64 per cent during the second quarter this fiscal to Rs 1,302.69 crore as against Rs 1,136.38 crore posted during the same period last year.

During second quarter of FY 2009-10, the total expenses stood at Rs 254.84 crore as compared to Rs 208.34 crore for the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

Pune, Oct. 31 : Scores of devotees jumped onto heaps of thorns to appease Lord Shiva to celebrate the annual ''thorns festival'' at a Pune temple.

According to devotees, the ritual would please the god of destruction and he will fulfil their wishes.

“I am an ardent believer of Lord Shiva, all the devotees come here to offer prayers and jump onto the heap of thorns, in order to appease the lord. We don''t feel the pain of the thorns stuck to our bodies because the belief is so strong that is supersedes the pain," said Sashikant Nigade, a devotee.

Swine flu took two more lives in Pune taking the death toll to 87. However, according to officials there has been a fall in the rate of the swine flu infection from last few days.

Thirty-six-year-old Sunita Raju Gaikwad from Sambhaji Nagar in Dhankawadi was admitted to Sassoon Hospital on October 16. She died on October 17 due to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Vijaykumar Gandhi (45) of Anthurne village in Indapur taluka was admitted to Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital where he died on October 16.

Pune, Oct 15 : Sixth-seeded French girl Elodie Rogge Dietrich knocked out top seed Poojashree Venkatesha 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 while wildcard Ankita Raina got the better of second seed Rushmi Chakravarthi 7-5, 1-6, 6-0 to enter the semifinals of the $10,000 women's International Tennis Federation (ITF) Futures tournament here Thursday.

Dietrich now takes on unseeded Prerna Bhambri who outplayed Aishwarya Agrawal 7-5, 6-3. Pune girl Raina will clash with fourth-seeded Miki Miyamura of Japan who outclassed Shivika Burman 6-2, 6-1.    

Pune, Oct 14 : Junior players Ankita Raina of Pune, Aishwarya Agarwal and Prerna Bhambri of Delhi upset seeded players to move into the women's singles quarterfinals of the $10000 MSLTA-AITA Women's ITF Tennis Futures at the Balewadi complex, here Wednesday.

In the second round matches, Aishwarya knocked out third seeded veteran Sanaa Bhambri 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 to record one of the most impressive wins of her career. Sanaa's cousin Prerna, however, kept the Bhambri family flag flying by scoring a 6-2, 6-3 win over seventh seeded Jung Yoon Shin of Korea.

Pune, Oct 12 : As Maharashtra goes to poll on October 13, expectations of voters in Pune were high from who would represent them.

Residents say that the city, coping with the country''s first and highest number of swine flu cases, has a woefully inadequate public transport system. Water and power shortages add to things getting worse.

"We want such candidates in polls who are able to solve traffic and water problems. Also, he should make sure that benefits meant for the poor section should reach them," said Pallavi, a housewife.

Pune/Aurangabad, Oct 8 : BJP leader L K Advani has termed the state of Maharashtra the record holder for most cases of suicide by the farmers.

The elections to the legislature of Maharashtra are scheduled to be held on October 13.

"In India, Maharashtra holds a record that is for the most number of suicidal cases of the farmers," said Advani in an election rally.

Swine flu turned more deadly on Monday as two more persons died of deadly virus in Pune, taking the death toll in the city to 75.

It is learnt that a 21-year-old Trupti Nanasaheb Magar admitted to KEM hospital died at 9.30 pm on Sunday night.

Trupti was a resident of Nimgaon, Malshiras taluka in Solapur. She was eight months pregnant.

The second victim, Jyoti Ankush Pardeshi (45), a resident of Hadapsar, died at Sassoon Hospital on Monday morning.

Speaking on these two deaths, Ashok Mehta, joint director of the state health services, said that both the victims had tested positive for the swine flu.

Flight has been man’s oldest dream. Ever since thought found place in the human mind, the desire to fly took place of merit. Today we have airplanes that span the breadth of the globe in a matter of hours, moving at several times the speed of sound. But for those who want to truly experience flight, there’s no better option than paragliding.

Mumbai/Pune, Oct 3 Former champions Dempo Sports Club of Goa started their I-League campaign with a thumping 3-1 win over Mumbai Football Club while East Bengal were held goal-less by newly promoted Pune Football Club.

At the Cooperage in Mumbai, Dempo took the lead in the 22nd minute through Brazilian playmaker Roberto D'Silva, who shot from close range, and three minutes later India striker Sunil Chettri doubled the lead.

Seven minutes into the second half, Climax Lawrence completed the tally after he shot home a rebound.

Dempo looked relaxed after taking a 3-0 lead allowing Mumbai FC to pull one back in the 78th minute through Peter Siddiqui.

Swine flu epicenter, Pune has recorded its 62nd human swine flu-related death.

This time, a pregnant woman has succumbed to the deadly virus in the city.

Confirming the news, the health officials said that a 27-year-old pregnant woman named Jayashri Kale, admitted to a government hospital died on Tuesday evening.

Kale was six months pregnant.

Initially, the victim was admitted to a private hospital at Urali on September 22 and later was shifted to a government run hospital of the city.

Unity Infraprojects, , one of India's largest civil contractors, has secured an order worth Rs 54.50 crore from Amanora Park Town for construction of six towers, RCC works and upto gysum finish - (R21) Sector, Amanora Park Town, Hadapsar, Pune.

The project is scheduled to be completed within next 29 months.

Pune, Sep. 29 : Over 150 volunteers from different parts of the country have initiated a massive campaign to clean up water body sources in order to make them pollution-free at Alandi pilgrimage site, near Pune.

The campaign named ''Jaldandi'' saw the participation of people from all walks of life, the old and young alike including heads of different religious faiths, doctors and engineers.