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By:

Prithvi Asthana

20 August 2025 at 5:20:30 pm

Desi method saves LPG at RSS camp

Use of biomass wood stove helped in reducing high cooking cost Mumbai: When the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) decided to hold a 21-day training camp in Jalgaon in the first week of May one of the biggest concerns for the organisers was availability of fuel. The organisation needed two LPG cylinders of 19 kg each for making three meals for 255 participants and 50 managers daily. It would have cost them Rs 6,000 daily and the cost for 21 days on meals on would have touched Rs 1,26,000. It...

Desi method saves LPG at RSS camp

Use of biomass wood stove helped in reducing high cooking cost Mumbai: When the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) decided to hold a 21-day training camp in Jalgaon in the first week of May one of the biggest concerns for the organisers was availability of fuel. The organisation needed two LPG cylinders of 19 kg each for making three meals for 255 participants and 50 managers daily. It would have cost them Rs 6,000 daily and the cost for 21 days on meals on would have touched Rs 1,26,000. It was a time when availability of LPG cylinders was a concern and a costly affair. India’s LPG supply was hit because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The government had hiked the price of commercial LPG cylinder by Rs 993. Then came a desi solution. The RSS decided to use a biomass wood stove that uses renewable energy rather than LPG. The main fuel for this stove was ‘wooden blocks’ prepared from cotton, cow dung or turmeric trees (turkhati). The market rate of the ‘wooden bricks’ is Rs 3 per kg or Rs 150-200 per sack. An RSS swayamsevak from Dhule Rahul Kulkarni has designed this biomass wood stove. He operates an industrial machinery manufacturing company called as ‘Essential Equipments’. The company manufactures renewable energy products like solar thermal systems, bio-gas plant, biomass wood stove, etc. The biomass wood stove proved to be a high success. Its use reduced the daily cooking cost to mere Rs 300 saving around Rs 1,19,700 during the camp period. Not only it helped in reducing cost but also to protect the environment being a source of renewable energy. “We had put a lot of research and development behind this stove, and it was already available. Amid the crisis the stove came in handy to us, and I am happy that we were able to solve this problem. It helped in reducing the cost drastically,” Kulkarni told ‘The Perfect Voice’. Dattatreya Hosable, General Secretary of RSS, who visited the camp for three days, also acknowledged the innovation in cost cutting and saving environment. “I appreciate the efforts taken by the swayamsevaks amid the LPG crisis. Henceforth, RSS will use this method in training camp across the country and I myself will take this solution to all the places,” he said.

Kolhapur Police corruption broker exposed

Khaki, Black Money - Part 1

Crores allegedly traded for transfers and promotions; seven bank accounts under scanner

AI Generated Image
AI Generated Image

Kolhapur: Kolhapur has stumbled upon a rare moment of truth — and possibly a historic reckoning — within the police force. An alleged broker in the police establishment, Satish Panekar, was caught red-handed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) a few months ago for demanding hefty bribes in return for transfers and promotions. After spending time behind bars, Panekar is now out on bail. Departmental and ACB probes are formally underway, and he is expected to face trial.

 

Yet, the central question remains deliberately unanswered: who was Panekar working for? Who is the real architect of this racket — the invisible hand that turned postings and promotions into a marketplace?

 

If that “big fish” is netted, the shockwaves could rattle the upper echelons of Maharashtra’s police hierarchy. This is not merely about one middleman. It is about dismantling a system that has converted the uniform into a licence to mint black money. Whether this opportunity is seized or squandered will determine the future credibility of a police force already battered by corruption.

 

Big Scandal

The Panekar case has now become the most talked-about scandal within the Kolhapur police. He allegedly acted as a broker for transfers and promotions, with a woman police officer accused of identifying and funneling “clients” to him. Officers seeking favourable postings or career advancement were directed to Panekar, where the “rate card” was fixed. Once the payment was made, the desired transfer or promotion allegedly followed — as if by divine intervention.

 

What was earlier whispered in corridors is now openly discussed: the racket is believed to have handled transactions running into several crores of rupees. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) deputy leader Sanjay Pawar has formally alleged that Panekar parked this illegal wealth in multiple bank accounts held in his and his family members’ names. He has submitted details of seven such accounts to the district police chief, demanding a thorough probe.

 

The ACB, too, has reportedly sought permission from the Reserve Bank of India to access details of these accounts. If pursued honestly, the coming days could reveal the true scale of black money generated through police transfers and promotions — money extracted under the very authority meant to uphold the law. The biggest challenge, however, remains untouched: the arrest and exposure of the real mastermind.

 

Suspicion Widens

Investigators believe the money collected by Panekar runs into several crores. The locations of the bank accounts raise further suspicion. Unlike ordinary citizens, who typically open accounts close to home, these accounts are spread across branches of nationalised and private banks in areas such as Kasba Bawda, Radhanagari and Gandhinagar. A pressure-free investigation could expose how deeply the police force has sunk into this cesspool — and who has been shielding whom.

 

The needle of suspicion, meanwhile, points towards a senior police officer in the state. Since Panekar’s arrest, this officer is said to have visited Kolhapur on three occasions. There is talk that the officer even met Panekar while he was in custody at the Rajarampuri police station and stayed in the city for three days. Who is this officer? How much wealth was accumulated during his tenure in Kolhapur?

 

If Panekar begins to speak candidly before the inquiry committee, these answers may no longer remain buried. But for that to happen, the committee needs more than procedure — it needs protection. Protection that can come only from the Chief Minister himself.

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