Aurangabad, Oct 1 : Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary AB Bardhan has said the Central Government must respect the opinion of the people regarding the Lokpal Bill legislation, if it claims to be democratic.

"The people expressed their opinion and indignation during the movement (for the Ombudsman Bill). If any government claims to be truly democratic, it must keep the people''s sentiments in mind during further legislation on the Ombudsman Bill," Bardhan told the media.

Maharashtra's Aurangabad district is at the moment in the flash light for the prosperity of its inhabitants obvious by the reality that they franchised almost 150 Mercedes Benz cars a day.

A cluster of young entrepreneurs including the builders, industrialists, doctors, and many other professionals had reserved these cars on a one single day. These cars shall be transported to them simultaneously.

German luxury car maker Audi has started assembling its sports utility vehicle (SUV) Q5 at its Aurangabad (Maharashtra) manufacturing facility.

The Q5 is the company's third model after the A4 and A6 to be manufactured in the Indian market.

Audi has decided to make 1,500 units on a yearly basis.

Frank Dreves, Audi board member for production stated, "The production of the Q5 is part of our long-term growth strategy in India."

"The Indian market for automobiles will grow very rapidly, and the Q5 is the right automobile at the right time," Frank added.

Pharmaceutical major Lupin will establish a research and development (R&D) unit in Aurangabad to make generic drug products to fulfill the growing demand in Latin America, Africa and Australia.

The company will employ around 50 to 60 people for its new research and development facility, which is likely to be completed by the next in three months.

Mr. Nilesh Gupta, group president and executive director said that the company presently has an R&D team of 700-plus scientists.

Running hard with a view to change the image of the Aurangabad region as one of the underdeveloped and backward regions, the industrialists along with lawyers, doctors and even media persons have come together to change the image once and for all.

The city is situated in the backward Marathwada region of Central Maharashtra and is better known as a tourist destination for the world famous Ajanta-Ellora caves and Daulatabad fort. However, the past years have seen companies like Skoda, Bajaj and Videocon entering the region and setting up their units.

Aurangabad, Nov 24 : Onion prices have fallen with rains halting in Maharashtra.

Farmers earlier could not bring their onion stock to the market due to heavy rains, resulting in a steep rise in the prices of onions.

With the weather being favourable now, the farmers have now started selling their stocks, sending the onion prices crashing.

"Due to rainfall last week the farmers could not take out onions for sale. Earlier due to scarcity of onions, the price had gone up to Rs 2,000- 2,700. Now the the price has fallen to Rs 800-1,200," said Ilyas Jamadar, an onion trader.

Aurangabad (Maharashtra), Nov 20 : Recent heavy unseasonal rains in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad district have destroyed crops, including cotton, maize and sugarcane.

The nine sub-districts of Aurangabad district have received a total 14.15 mm rainfall, in the last a few days and many farmers of the region went for a tizzy as incessant rains lashed their crops.

They claim that they have incurred losses and are thus demanding compensation from the Government.

Aurangabad, Nov 16 : PepsiCo India, the country''s leading food and beverage company, on Sunday announced plaus for the construction of 13 check dams and 100 recharge ponds at Wahegaon village in Maharashtra''s Aurangabad District.

PepsiCo India will create a recharge potential of over 700 million litres of water, as a result.

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.

Aurangabad, Sep 15 : Aurangabad, popularly known as the ''City of Gates'' for having as many as 52 gates, is suffering due to government apathy as most of the gates are in a dilapidated state.

Out of 52 only 4 main and 9 subordinate gates have survived. The most famous, oldest and biggest of them being the Bhadkal Gate near the Naukhanda Palace of Nizams.

Videocon Industries, an Indian multinational and a global force in Consumer Electronics, has decided to acquire a 12.50% interest in a Production Sharing Contract with the US-based Anadarko Petroleum for an Indonesian offshore oil and gas block at $11.1 million.

Today, Aurangabad-based firm has entered into an agreement with Anadarko Indonesia Nunukan Company for acquiring a 12.50% stake in the PSC.

Aurangabad, Aug. 13 : Sugar mills in Maharashtra's Marathwada region are on the verge of closure following a shortfall in sugarcane production.

Farmers blame the sharp downfall on scanty rainfall and low procurement prices.

Farmers have planted less sugarcane for the second successive year due to these factors.

The Chatrapati Sambhaji Raje Sakher Sugar Mill in the Adul area of Aurangabad district continues to remain closed for the last one year. And this year too, the management is unsure if the mill will reopen.

Aurangabad, July 24 : The white tigress, which had escaped from its cage during the early Friday morning, has been recaptured after a three-hour long operation.

The 18-acre zoo in the Siddharth Garden of Aurangabad is always choc-a-block with people.

However, since it was early in the morning when Rani (tigress’s name) broke the cage, a big tragedy was averted from taking place.

Rani was corralled and brought back to the cage after a three-hour joint operation by the zoo, municipal and forest departments.

Aurangabad, May 25 : The recent untimely heavy rains and hailstorm in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, have left behind a badly affected yield of mangoes, papayas, and pomegranate.

The most affected are the farmers who took to horticulture.

Hundreds of orchards of papaya and mango fruits have been adversely affected due to three-days of heavy rains in the region.

"Because of unexpected rains and thunderstorm, the trees and produce of pomegranate, papaya and mangoes have been extensively damaged to the extent of 80 percent

Aurangabad, May 2: A major fire engulfed a motor garage in Aurangabad on Saturday.

The fire which broke out around 7:00 a. m. gutted one car completely while causing serious damage to three other cars in the garage.

The oil cans kept in the garage aided the fire to spread rapidly.

"Due to the oil kept inside the garage, two three cars are burnt," said an unidentified fire official.

The fire officials put down short circuit as cause behind the fire.

Aurangabad/ New Delhi, Apr 20 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Rajnath Singh vowed to stop a controversial Sethusamudram shipping canal project, if voted to power.

Religious groups say the project will destroy a mythical bridge of sand made by Hindu god, Lord Ram.

The recent attacks on Dalits and other backward classes (OBC) is being seen as an attempt by the dominant Maratha caste to suppress the voice of Dalit/other backward classes for having opposed reservations for the Marathas.

In Beed, two women were paraded naked in their village while an activist was brutally beaten up for raising his voice when talking to so-called upper caste leaders. In Parbhani, an old dalit woman was killed over a land dispute and on Tuesday, a young Dalit boy was killed in Aurangabad for allegedly teasing an upper caste girl. 

Upper-caste men allegedly punish him for attacking a Maratha girl

The simmering Dalit-Maratha tension in Pal village of Aurangabad district took a gruesome twist on Monday when villagers allegedly tied a 20-year-old youth to an electric pole and stoned him to death for "attacking" a girl from their community.

According to the police, angry villagers tortured Rohidas Pandit Tupe by rubbing salt and chilli powder into his wounds.

Aurangabad (Maharashtra), Nov 2: President Pratibha Devisingh Patil on Sunday urged students to develop special skills and use education for the welfare of mankind.

Patil was speaking at the concluding ceremony of the golden jubilee function of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University at Aurangabad, in Maharashtra.

The President said that universities should produce globally competent students to make the nation proud.

“Producing globally competent students is the biggest challenge before universities in the country and global thinking is needed to achieve this goal,” she added.

Global wire and cable solutions provider for the power and telecom industry, Sterlite Technologies Limited, has received an order worth Rs 254 crore from Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL).

Under the contract, the company will supply Sterlite's ACSR Moose power conductors to Power Grid Corp.

As per PGCIL's requirement, about 60% of the contract value would be executed within this year.