Latest news with #Godse
Time of India
29-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
This plant-dad does all he can to save tree cover on Pune's hills
1 2 3 Pune: Amey Godse is a software engineer by profession, but at heart, he is first a plant-dad. Since 2014, he has dedicated every spare minute to protecting trees and saplings on Pune's hills. His day starts at 6am, when he makes his first stop at Taljai to check on saplings, water them and remove weeds. He then goes to the office to do some software engineering. After work, he's back at Taljai to finish watering the plants and wrap up any tasks he couldn't do earlier in the day. "Plantation is important but ensuring the saplings survive is even more crucial," said Godse, who is a trustee member of NGO Green Hills Group, established in 2004 to protect forest spaces in the city's urban areas. You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune "Our elders have always been working on planting trees and protecting the hills that Pune is so proud of. I am simply following in their footsteps. There are multiple plantation drives that various groups hold throughout the year. But once the drive is done, there is no thought given to those saplings. This is what I want to change," he added. Godse started with Chatushrungi hill and shifted his focus to Taljai in Dec 2023. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo So far, Green Hills Group has ensured the survival of over 15,000 trees on Chatushrungi alone. "Our previous generations have for years taken water in cans to the top of the hill to ensure plants are being watered. Now, we start by first clearing the plantation area and removing any weeds or unwanted invasive species. Next, we make arrangements for a regular water source, followed by digging pits. This makes ensuring their survival easier," he said. "Deweeding" is crucial as it can prevent forest fires from spreading, especially in the summer months, he said. According to the Forest Survey of India (FSI), Maharashtra recorded 1,245 fires between Jan 1 and April 7 this year — 515 more than those during the same period last year. Godse said he relies heavily on corporate social responsibility funding to conduct plantation drives and to increase the saplings' survival rate. "Recently, a third-party audit conducted by a company that had given us funding found that 94% of the saplings planted on Taljai in 2024 survived. These figures are not just encouraging for the companies, but also for volunteers, who brave the heat and spend their weekends on the hills, planting saplings" Godse added. The NGO also consults with senior botanists to understand the kind of soil required for particular plants, and the specific species that must be planted based on the location. This helps increase their chance of survival. Only species local to Pune hills are planted, he added. "This year, the plantation target is 1,500 on Taljai. The soil work has been completed, and the drip system was installed next. Plantation is now in progress. Each year, the load increases slightly. Not only do we plant more trees, but we also look after those sapling planted in previous years. The plants become self-reliant only after five years, " Godse said. The NGO does not buy saplings from nurseries that use chemical fertilisers as these plants have a lesser chance of survival when moved to different soil. "Tekdis have a harsher environment. So, the kind of saplings you choose also determines their life-span," he added. Multiple groups across the city are doing their best to increase the green cover, Godse said. He added that each effort is equally important. After all, one of the biggest problems faced by Pune during summers, especially this year — unbearable heat — can be attributed to the city's depleting tree cover, whether they are axed for development work or uprooted for other reasons. "Not only those who are a part of the group, but often residents living in areas around the hills or locals who come to the hills for their walks help us," Godse said. "We have had RSS volunteers, college students and even citizens who wish to spend their birthdays or anniversaries in nature lend a helping hand. Forest department officials are also cooperative, and they even give us saplings on some occasions. It is a combined effort," he added.
New Indian Express
29-06-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Busybee's Buzz is to Bee or Not to Bee
On any given day in Pune, Amit Godse fields up to 20 calls—not from colleagues in a boardroom, but from strangers desperate to save a swarm: from a hive on a high-rise balcony, to a queen clinging to a café awning. At 40, Godse has become an unlikely guardian of India's most overlooked pollinators—a former software engineer who traded code for colonies, and office cubicles for buzzing balconies. It didn't start as a mission. It started with smoke, a burning hive, and a moment that refused to let go. It was late 2012 when Godse first witnessed a beehive being torched in his apartment complex in Pune. 'It shook me,' says the founder of Bee Basket, an initiative devoted to rescuing and relocating wild bees across India. 'I kept thinking—why were they killed? Was there really no alternative? Why do we want the honey but not the bees?' The burning hive led him to Google, and Google led him to a little-known fact: Pune houses the Central Bee Research and Training Institute (CBRTI). The irony wasn't lost on him. 'Even in a city with India's central bee institute, people still kill bees,' he says. 'If they weren't safe here, what hope was there for the rest of the country?' In December 2012, he signed up for a five-day awareness course at CBRTI. The programme focused on domesticated Apis cerana indica, bees bred for honey. But Godse found himself drawn to wild honeybees—the ones people feared, misunderstood, and destroyed. By 2014, he had enrolled in a more intensive month-long course. 'The bees people consider pests are vital to our ecosystems. And no one was protecting them,' he rues.
India Gazette
08-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Congress MP Surjewala says RSS
Jhajjar (Haryana) [India], June 8 (ANI): Congress MP Randeep Surjewala on Sunday, alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had aligning with the British during India's freedom struggle and opposing the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. Speaking to reporters here, Surjewala said, 'RSS never participated in the country's freedom struggle. They were with the British... Crores of people in this country contributed to the freedom struggle, and their leader was Mahatma Gandhi. I know RSS hates Mahatma Gandhi and worships Nathuram Godse.' He further framed the current political discourse as a clash of ideologies, stating, 'In this country, there is a battle between the ideologies of Godse and Gandhi. On one side, there is the ideology of Gandhi, which created India. On the other hand, there is an ideology of Godse who wants to divide the whole country based on regionalism, caste, and religion.' His remark came after RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat emphasised the collective nature of India's freedom struggle, stating that the country's independence was the result of widespread efforts beginning with the 1857 uprising, and not the achievement of any single individual. Addressing a book release event in Nagpur as the chief guest, Bhagwat said, 'There is always a debate about due to whose efforts the country attained independence. But the reality is that this independence didn't come about due to just one individual. Efforts for this started in 1857, and the fire ignited everywhere; after that, the fire never died down. The efforts continued, and with everyone's collective efforts, we attained independence.' Explaining the importance of collective thought and construction, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said, 'The direction of the Sangh (RSS) is decided by collective thought, the work of the Sangh is not the work of one or two people, the Sangh whatever one does and whatever one says, it is a collective decision.' Earlier on June 5, the RSS chief strongly condemned the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, and lauded the Indian Army's swift and effective response while urging all political forces to maintain the spirit of unity that emerged in its aftermath. (ANI)
Time of India
04-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Former MP tests Covid-positive in Nashik, quarantined
Nashik: Amid rising Covid cases in the state, the city has also reported its first patient. Former MP Hemant Godse tested positive and has been quarantined at his home. He had returned from Mumbai just two days ago. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Godse told TOI that he tested Covid-positive and is quarantined at his home. Nashik Municipal Corporation's (NMC) health department confirmed the same. Godse is staying at his other residence in Deolali Camp outside city limits, and the district health department has been informed in this connection. Meanwhile, NMC has set up a special ward with 10 beds each at two civic hospitals — New Bytco and Zakir Hussain — to treat patients if Covid cases rise in the city. "We have taken precautionary measures. Besides the special wards at two hospitals, we also have adequate stocks of medicines at both facilities for such cases," said a civic official. A senior health officer of NMC told TOI, "We have urged the state health department to provide at least 1,000 antigen kits for rapid Covid tests at the earliest." The NMC health department is also procuring 10,000 antigen kits on its own. A proposal has been submitted to NMC commissioner Manisha Khatri for approval. "Once we get the civic chief's nod, the proposal will be tabled at the meeting of the general body of NMC for its nod," said another civic official. NMC limits host 30 urban primary health centres (PHCs) across areas. Instructions have been given to the medical staff at these centres to conduct antigen tests of suspected Covid patients and also create awareness among people coming to outpatient departments (OPDs) about precautions to take. NMC has appealed to people to wear masks if they are going to crowded places.
Scroll.in
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Bombay HC criticises Maharashtra government for arresting student over post about Operation Sindoor
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday criticised the Maharashtra government for arresting a Pune student for an allegedly objectionable social media post about Operation Sindoor, PTI reported. A division bench of Justices Gauri Godse and Somasekhar Sundaresan directed the student's counsel to file a bail petition, adding that it would be granted immediately. The bench also criticised the 19-year-old's college for rusticating her for the social media post, saying that educational institutes need to help students and not turn them into criminals, Live Law reported. The court was hearing a petition filed by the engineering student challenging her rustication. The bench said that the student had already faced the consequences after being rusticated by the college and that she must be released. The 19-year-old is a second-year information technology student at Sinhgad Academy of Engineering, a private unaided college affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University. On May 7, she had allegedly reposted a post on Instagram from an account that criticised the Indian government, PTI reported. The post was related to military tensions between India and Pakistan after Operation Sindoor, according to Live Law. She had deleted the post and apologised after receiving threats online. However, she was arrested on May 9 following protests against her post, according to PTI. She was rusticated by the college on the same day. In its rustication letter, the Sinhgad Academy of Engineering claimed that the action was justified as the student had brought disrepute to the institution. She had anti-national sentiments and posed a risk to the campus community and society, PTI quoted the institute as having alleged. The student had challenged her rustication in the court, terming it a gross violation of her fundamental rights, PTI reported. In her petition, she urged the court to quash the rustication and allow her to appear for her semester examinations that was scheduled to begin on May 24. During the hearing on Tuesday, Justice Godse verbally questioned the action taken by the college. 'You are ruining the life of a student?' Live Law quoted Godse as having asked the counsel representing the college. 'What kind of conduct this is? Somebody expresses something you want to ruin the life of the student? How can you rusticate? Did you call upon an explanation?' Godse asked if the purpose of an educational institute was 'only to educate academically'. She said that the college cannot stop her from writing the examinations. 'Let her appear for the remaining three papers,' Godse added. Additional Government Pleader Priyabhushan Kakade, appearing for the state government, alleged that the girl's social media post was against national interest, PTI reported. The court responded that national interest would not be hurt by a post by a student who had realised her mistake and apologised. The bench said that 'such a radical reaction' by the state 'will further radicalise the person'. 'You need to reform her and not convert her into a criminal,' Live Law quoted Godse as having said. 'What does the state want? It doesn't want the students to express their opinions? You want to convert students into criminals?' The court permitted the student to either convert the matter into a criminal petition or file a fresh petition, adding that it would hear it on Tuesday evening and order her release. 'Educational institutes need to help students but not help them become a criminal,' it said. Kakade also told the court that the student can appear for her examinations with police escort, Live Law reported. In reply, Godse stated: 'She isn't a criminal. She cannot be asked to appear with police around her. She has to be released. She cannot be stopped from appearing in exams. She cannot be asked to appear with police around her.' Student's plea In the petition against her rustication, the student said that the order passed by the Sinhgad Academy of Engineering was 'arbitrary and unlawful', PTI reported. The petition added that the order was issued without a show cause notice or giving her an opportunity to defend herself. 'The action [of rustication], triggered solely by a social media post expressing personal opinions, was taken without affording the petitioner any opportunity of hearing and is hence in gross violation of the principles of natural justice and fundamental rights under Article 14, 19(1)(a) and 21,' PTI quoted her petition as saying. While Article 14 of the Constitution pertains to the right to equality, Article 19(1)(a) guarantees the right to free speech and Article 21 right to life. The student also said that she had reposted the social media post without ill-intent and had immediately apologised. Tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad had escalated on May 7 when the Indian military carried out strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what it claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The strikes were in response to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which killed 26 persons on April 22.
