Slinging scribbles

A series of low intensity blasts on August 1 left the residents of Pune in a tizzy. For a city that is still reeling under the after-effects of the German Bakery Blasts, the minor explosions at Jangali Maharaj Road, Balgandharva Theatre and Garware Chowk were a perfect demonstration of how the terror could strike at any moment to ruin a place that is touted as the Pensioner’s Paradise and the Oxford of the East amongst other eminent titles . On February 13, 2010, a bomb carefully wrapped in a knapsack, went off at the city’s crowded place, Koregaon, an iconic area which left 17 dead and 64 others injured. Post the blasts, as always, the police swung into action and ordered for 300 CCTV cameras to be put up across Pune’s strategic locations. The state Anti-terrorism squad (ATS), in one of its prompt replies arrested Mirza Baig, a suspected Hizbul Mujahideen member, in the same year and a case was registered against him in the District and Sessions Court of Pune. However, till date,...

With hours taking up to fill fuel, the rare-in-sight Compressed Natural Gas stations seem to be the perfect gathering for frustrated Auto-Rickshaw Drivers. The rain gods are yet to be pleased as it is a typical hot and humid afternoon at the Shivaji Nagar Compressed Natural Gas Station in Pune. A horde of rickshaw drivers systematically organize themselves in queues in order to fill up the precious CNG fuel.  A handful of barricades lie around the station to aid the rickshaws and regulate the traffic at the ever-crowded CNG pump. In addition to that, pair of security guards mans the Pumps, merely to facilitate a fair disposal of the gas. But with all the arrangements in place, does the traffic really move? A few candid hours at the Shivaji Nagar Pump, one of the five rare species in Pune to distribute the CNG fuel and it is tough to spot if the three wheelers have actually moved closer to the pump stations. With only two pipes and an approx. 2000sq foot spac...