Pune, Sept 21 : Orra, a world known diamond company, showcased an idol of Lord Ganesha made of 514-karat diamond in Pune.

The idol is made of a single piece of diamond and was found in one of Orra''s factories in Africa by a foreigner. He was surprised to find that the diamond resembled Lord Ganesh.

Pune, Sep 20 : The nine-day festival Navratri is being celebrated as a low-key affair in the swine flu hit Pune city.

Pune witnessed over 50 deaths due to the swine flu in last couple of months.

The festival which started on Saturday and is dedicated to Goddess Durga who is also known by several names such as Chamundeshwari, Parameshwari, and Mookambika among others.

Residents of Pune are celebrating the festival but with precautions. Devotees could be seen with facemasks while going to the Chatushangi Temple to offer prayers.

In a significant move, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has served notices to 31 banks in the city.

These banks were not paying octroi on the gold coins sold in their banks over the last many years.

Apart from this, the octroi department has also sought details from many banks about their transactions regarding sale of gold.

According to the department, most banks get the gold coins from outside the city, but they have not been paying octroi.

Swine turned more deadly on Thursday as two more persons died of deadly H1N1 virus in Pune, taking the death toll in the city to 46.  

Confirming the development, health officials said that Kashinath Ghanshetty (40) and Shankaramma Taylor (56) died at government hospital on Wednesday.  

However, their H1N1 test reports became available only today.  

Meanwhile, as a preventative measure, the health officials have decided to launch a screening drive in the city and rural areas.  

Swine flu turned more lethal on Thursday as five more persons died of deadly virus in Pune, taking the death toll in the city to 40.

While informing the media persons, the health functionaries stated that a standard I pupil of a zilla parishad school in Junnar taluka and a girl studying in a preschool at Bhosari besides a 3-year-old kid and a 17-year-old boy were among five people who lost their lives owing to the H1N1 flu in the city on Thursday.

Pune (Maharashtra), Sep 9: Seventeen new positive cases of swine flu were reported from Maharashtra’s Pune district on Wednesday.

All the cases have been reported from B K Birla School’s hostel at Shirgaon in Pune district, where 17 students have tested positive for the deadly virus and are undergoing treatment at various hospitals.

According to officials, all students infected with the virus have shown improvement in their condition following treatment.

The hostel houses around 500 students and most of the parents have taken their wards home after the spread of the infection. (ANI)

Pune, Sep 8 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National General Secretary Gopinath Munde charged the Maharashtra Government with attempting to change history by negating the glorious role of Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Commenting on the communal tension prevailing in the state’s Sangli District Munde blamed the State Government for it.

Munde has been prevented from entering Satara and Sangli districts in the western part of the state.

Munde has said that he is ready to court arrest with regard to the issue.

Pune, Sep. 2 : Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor on Wednesday criticized Pakistan for stockpiling nuclear weapons in the name of protection, and said the country is going beyond the degree of deterrence.

Four more persons succumbed to H1N1, raising the total number of swine flu fatalities in Pune to 31.

Ashok Ladda, joint director of the state health department, informed the media persons that a nine-month-old boy named Mohammad Mehboob Shaikh, admitted to the paediatric isolation ICU of Sassoon hospital on August 26 died in the wee hours on Sunday and a 15-month-old girl named Nikita Shendge in KEM hospital on the same day.

Vilas Padale (42) and Anil Nikam (26) succumbed to the virus at KEM hospital and Bharati hospital respectively on Sunday.

The number of people losing their lives due to swine flu has reached 31. Four people died due to swine flu on Sunday. Around 15 swine flu patients are critical and fighting for their lives in various hospitals in Pune.

Four recent deaths due to swine flu included a nine-month-old from the Kasewadi slums in Bhawani Peth who was admitted to paediatric isolation ICU of Sassoon hospital on August 26. He died at 7.30 on Sunday.

The number of swine flu victims has reached 26 in Pune including the pregnant women who recently lost her life due to H1N1 virus.  The deadly virus has taken three lives in Karnataka.  

Rupali Jori (28) of Malkhed village in Haveli taluka who was 20 weeks pregnant died on Friday in the ICU. She showed symptoms of cough, fever and breathlessness. She was tested positive for the H1N1 influenza.

In the meeting of heads of different departments on Thursday, Pune Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Zagde asked them to accelerate the work going on the various developmental projects under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).  

Zagade reviewed the ongoing projects. Deadlines were also set for various departments for the completion of the development work. PMC is planning to submit new proposals under the JNNURM to union government after completion of ongoing projects.

Pune, Aug 26 : One more swine flu death was reported in Pune on Wednesday, taking the city toll to 25.

Shabana Shaikh, a middle-aged woman, died here at the Sassoon General Hospital. She had been put on ventilator since her admission to the Hospital on August 22.

On Tuesday, a 44-year-old woman died at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, taking the city toll to three and national toll to 76.

Usha Jain, a resident of Faridabad, was admitted to the hospital on August 21 with symptoms of fever, breathlessness and joint pain.

Pune, Aug 26 : One more swine flu death was reported in Pune on Wednesday, taking the city toll to 25.

Shabana Shaikh, a middle-aged woman, died here at the Sassoon General Hospital. She had been put on ventilator since her admission to the Hospital on August 22.

On Tuesday, a 44-year-old woman died at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, taking the city toll to three and national toll to 76.

Usha Jain, a resident of Faridabad, was admitted to the hospital on August 21 with symptoms of fever, breathlessness and joint pain.

Immediately after being admitted, she was shifted to the ICU and put on a ventilator.

Pune, Aug 24 : Schools in Maharashtra’s Pune city reopened on Monday after remaining closed for at least two-weeks following the increased risk of deadly H1N1 virus spreading in the city.

Schools were closed as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of swine flu among students, which claimed at least 60 lives across the country with the maximum cases coming from Pune. Twenty-three deaths were reported in the city.

Though the virus has subsided, school authorities are still monitoring each student for flu-like symptoms.

Pune, Aug 24 : A two and a half year old baby girl died of swine flu here on Monday.

The total number of viral related fatalities in the city has risen to 23.

According to sources, the child was suffering from a liver disorder and was admitted to the Command Hospital on August 21 after testing positive for the H1N1 virus.

She succumbed to the deadly infection last night, sources said.

Earlier, two middle-aged women had died of the infection in two different hospitals in the city.

The government of Maharashtra on Sunday decided to extend closure of schools, colleges and multiplexes till August 23 in Pune.

Speaking with the media persons, state chief minister Ashok Chavan said that though the situation in the city had stabilized, but it is yet to come under complete control after the outburst of swine flu that claimed 12 lives in the city.

The Health Ministry of Sri Lanka has asked its citizens to avoid visits to India to safeguard themselves against the deadly H1N1 virus.

Dr. Paba Palihawadana, Chief Epidemiologist of the Epidemiology Unit of the Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry, requested her fellow citizens to desist from visiting Mumbai and Pune in India.

Speaking with the media persons, Palihawadana said: "Persons who cannot avoid trips to India should take all precautionary actions to prevent from getting infected."

Notably, over 27 people have so far died due to swine flu in India.

It seems that Punekars are in a catch 22 situation.

On the one hand, they need climate to be hot and dry to cut short the spread of swine flu virus and on the another hand, they also need rain to fill their unfilled water reservoirs.

The city will once again have to deal with water shortage with insufficient rainfall leaving reservoir storage levels unsatisfactory.

Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar has announced a 30% water cut for Pune and 20% cut for Pimpri-Chinchwad Sunday onwards.

Pune, Aug 17 : Three more died of the deadly swine flu virus taking the country''s swine flu death toll to 28.

A 36-year-old woman succumbed to the virus at the Sassoon General Hospital in Pune late on Sunday night. This is the thirteenth swine flu death in Pune.

Two women, both aged 27, succumbed to the deadly virus in Bangalore.

Meanwhile, 152 fresh cases of swine flu have been reported from different parts of the country.

The maximum 97 cases were reported from Maharashtra, of which Mumbai reported 60 and Pune 18.