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Time of India
7 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Flyover & grade separator planned for Sangamwadi Chowk in Pune
Pune: The civic administration has put forth a plan to construct a flyover and a grade separator at the busy Bindumadhav Balasaheb Thackeray Chowk, popularly known as Sangamwadi Chowk, to ease traffic flow. A budget of Rs115 crore has been estimated for both infra projects. Vehicles coming from the Sangamwadi, Yerawada, Deccan College and Pune Airport areas crisscross at this junction, which faces significant traffic snarls during peak hours. There have been repeated demands for long from regular commuters and former elected representatives to construct a flyover at the junction. Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) last year appointed a consultant to study the traffic situation and recommend measures. Thereafter, civic officials said a grade separator was proposed for vehicles coming from Shivajinagar via Sangamwadi Road to travel towards Airport Road (Ambedkar Chowk), and also towards Yerawada. Vehicles travelling on the Deccan College-Yerawada stretch will have the facility of a flyover catering to two-way traffic. It is expected that the proposed flyover and grade separator will eliminate halting for maximum vehicles at the chowk. The PMC has floated tenders to appoint an agency for execution, and this process is expected to be completed in the next few months. Civic officials said they will initiate steps to seek necessary permissions and approvals to avoid delays in starting this project work. Residents from the Sangamwadi area said that the provision of a flyover or an underpass at the chowk has been long pending. Amol Belsare, who works in the Yerawada area, said, "The chowk witnesses a rush during peak hours. Those travelling from Yerawada and crossing the junction to travel to Sangamwadi-Shivajinagar or Deccan College spend a lot of time in long snarls. It is unlikely that the situation will improve unless the administration constructs a flyover. " Former local corporator Sanjay Bhosale said that the issue of traffic chaos at the junction was raised repeatedly in general body meetings. "The administration needs to expedite the execution to give relief to commuters as PMC is already late in proposing the flyover and grade separator," he said. Meanwhile, sources from PMC said that before executing the project, the civic body will have to take a call on Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) lanes in the area. A few years ago, the administration dismantled the BRTS on Sangamwadi Road as a failed project; however, the BRTS lane still exists on the Deccan College Road.
The Print
26-05-2025
- The Print
Who were Rajasthan's Aharians—metallurgy masters with cultural ties to Central Asia?
The Ahar culture has been identified at 111 sites in the region, including Balathal, Gilund, and Ojiyana. These settlements reveal a vibrant Chalcolithic tradition, characterised by advanced metallurgy, pottery, and a sophisticated social structure centred around copper, lead, zinc, and silver mines. This makes it a strategically important contributor to the broader Bronze Age economy of the subcontinent. Few are aware that just outside the city centre, near the historic cenotaphs and across the street from the Ahar Archaeological Museum, lies a protected archaeological site of great significance. Excavations carried out at the site in 1961 unearthed evidence of an indigenous culture rooted in the Copper Age that predates the Harappans, and also coexisted with them. The site, named 'Ahar' after the river it is situated on, has become synonymous with the Chalcolithic cultural complex of south-eastern Rajasthan, also called the Ahar culture. Udapiur, the City of Lakes, is a tourist destination known for its palaces and narrow lanes full of art and culture, defined by Mewari imprints. The city takes pride in its royal roots, but for archaeologists, the antiquity of the region goes as far back as the mid-fourth millennium BCE. The findings reveal a parallel world of Aharians, who played a pivotal role as exporters of copper and other minerals, establishing a cultural lineage that remained unbroken for thousands of years. Tambavati Nagari Characterised by the use of copper and stone, the Chalcolithic period derives its name from the Greek words chalcos (copper) and lithos (stone). It marks the transitional phase between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. Though the Chalcolithic period in the Indian subcontinent is overshadowed by the Harappan civilisation, it was far more geographically widespread and regionally diverse than the latter. Southeast Rajasthan is one of the regions where this diversity finds its imprints, first identified at the ancient mound locally called Dhulkot, later rechristened Ahar. The site was first documented by archaeologist RC Agrawal of the Rajasthan State Department of Archaeology in 1954. Archaeologist HD Sankalia of Deccan College, Pune joined Agrawal in 1961-62 and began digging at the site. Their efforts revealed a two-fold cultural sequence. The first period was the Chalcolithic period, dominated by copper objects. The second period was marked by the introduction of iron tools and Northern Black Polished Ware, characterised by a glossy surface—dating back to the third century BCE. During the Chalcolithic period, a myriad of pottery including grey ware, buff-slipped ware, lustrous red ware, and black burnished ware was in use. But it was the black and red ware that stood out to Agarwal, who initially labelled this culture as 'the BRW culture'. Predominant forms of BRW are bowls and small jars. Some were also painted using a white pigment to create designs with lines, dashes, dots, and latticed diamonds. It is important to note here that throughout the timeline of Indian history, BRW was widespread—spatially and temporally. It is also one of the markers of the Iron Age/Megalithic period in South India. Beyond the chronological sequence of the site, a key objective of the 1961 excavation was to understand the sociological background of the Chalcolithic society. And this was only possible because Sankalia excavated the site horizontally. While vertical excavation yields the chronology of a site, it can also disregard the horizontal relationships and spatial contexts necessary for sociological interpretation. According to archaeologist MK Dhavalikar, Sankalia was free from the vertical excavation syndrome of his time and could avoid this problem. The excavation revealed plinths of houses made of blocks of schist that used black and brown sticky soil as mortar. The walls of these houses were made of clay mixed with cow dung and quartz nodules, while the floors were prepared by firmly ramming the soil. According to the excavators Agrawal and Sankalia, the houses were large, often nine metres in length and partitioned into smaller rooms. Rectangular chullahs (earthen stoves) were found along with storage pots sunk into the floor. According to Dhavalikar, Ahar was the Tambavati Nagari—a settlement of copper metallurgists—indicating a flourishing copper smelting activity. This was further proven by the presence of heaps of slag at the site during the Chalcolithic phase. According to the excavators, both copper and iron were smelted at Ahar. Objects such as celts, rings, bangles, and knives were found. A metallographic study conducted by KTM Hegde on one of the axes shows that it was cast in a crude, unventilated sand or earth mould and was left in the cast condition. According to Hegde, the copper ores were extracted from Khetri mines in Rajasthan, suggesting that copper was sourced locally, from which objects were manufactured at Ahar. So, it was likely copper that attracted the inhabitants of the Banas valley thousands of years ago. Also read: Buddha's gems at Sotheby's shows Indian govt doesn't have an eye on 'colonial loot' Ahar culture Following Ahar, excavations were conducted at Gilund, Balathal, Ojiyana, and other sites. These excavations confirmed a strong presence of a distinct Chalcolithic complex in Rajasthan. They also suggested that the Ahar culture was likely the earliest agrarian–based culture in Rajasthan since the findings from Balathal and Gilund date as far back as the mid-fourth millenium BCE. In fact, at Gilund, the precursor of the Copper Age, characterised by microliths, was dated to around 5500 BCE. This timeline places these indigenous cultures at the same time as pre–Harappan sites such as Kot Diji in Sindh and the Ravi phase at Harappa itself. The Balathal excavation from 1993 to 2000 offered even more fascinating discoveries. Among them was the evidence of public architecture consisting of a fortified enclosure and a boundary wall around the settlement, indicative of organised community planning and defence strategy. Notably, a few burial sites were also found inside the fortified enclosure. Among these was an individual buried inside a stone enclosure bearing pathological markers of leprosy. This burial dates back to 2000 BCE, which makes it the earliest documented case of leprosy in India. In 2003, during the excavation at Gilund, one seal found was of utmost importance—it bore a striking similarity with the seals found at Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex sites in Central Asia. The similarity suggests possible cultural exchanges worth investigating. This legacy, therefore, offers a profound glimpse into the complex and technologically advanced society that mastered copper metallurgy and established domestic and long-distance cultural interactions. Despite these insights, there is a lingering sense that this barely scratches the surface. As archaeologist DK Chakrabarti rightly observed, we still understand very little about the authors of the Ahar culture. Future excavations and explorations may offer more clues about the lives of the people who were as mighty as the Harappans. They may have even played a crucial role in the rise of the Harappan civilisation. It is, therefore, all the more disheartening that this regional early culture remains absent from collective memory. Disha Ahluwalia is an archaeologist and junior research fellow at the Indian Council Of Historical Research. She tweets @ahluwaliadisha. Views are personal. (Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)
Hindustan Times
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
7th National Conference of RSVP at Deccan College from April 26-28
A three-day national conference will be organised at Deccan College, Post Graduate and Research Institute (Deemed University), Pune, in collaboration with Rashtriya Samaj Vigyan Parishad. The conference will commence from April 26 to April 28, said officials. 'The main theme of the conference is 'Social Sciences in Indian Perspective'. In the context of this main topic, more than two hundred research scholars and students from various parts of the country are going to present their research papers. These research papers cover diverse aspects of the social sciences and humanities,' said Prof. Prasad Joshi, vice-chancellor of Deccan College (Deemed University) and the local convenor of the conference. The chief guest for the inaugural ceremony will be Chandrakant Patil, minister of higher education and technology, Maharashtra. Other dignitaries will include office bearers of the Rashtriya Samaj Vigyan Parishad as well as Prof PVK Bhatt, vice-chancellor, Central University of Odisha, Koraput and retired Professor Rajkumar Bhatia, department of economics, University of Delhi. 'The three-day sessions will cover the discussion on topics such as culture, history, sociology, linguistics, archaeology, political science, economics, ethics, literature, anthropology, philosophy etc,' said Prof Joshi.
Time of India
25-04-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Conference on social sciences at Deccan College
Pune: India's timeless philosophies , values, and knowledge system will be the focus of the seventh annual national conference conducted by Deccan College Post-Graduate & Research Institute (deemed to be university) on the theme "Social Sciences in Bhartiya Perspective ". The three-day event will be held in collaboration with Rashtriya Samaj Vigyan Parishad , starting Saturday. You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune Addressing a news conference on Friday, vice-chancellor of Deccan College, Prasad Joshi, said, "These three-day sessions will cover discussions on topics such as culture, history, sociology, linguistics, archaeology, political science, economics, ethics, literature, anthropology, philosophy, etc., in depth and in an Indian perspective." Sessions on "Multilingual India and Language Planning" and "Gender in Indian Tradition" will be conducted during the conference.
