Third Circular

Greetings from the Local Organising Committee. We hope your travel plans are well advanced and under control. We give below some information that could be useful for your trip. We hope that you will let us know your itinerary as soon as it is finalised. Please do not hesitate to contact us in case you need any information or assistance.

Visa Requirements

Non-Indians need valid visa to enter India and delegates are urged to consult their travel agent or the nearest Indian Consulate, if they have not already done so. The LOC has been sending letters of invitation to delegates whenever requested. Delegates who require invitation letters and have not yet received them may contact Ms. Reena Shrikumar, Secretary, SKA 2005, ska_pune@ncra.tifr.res.in.

Reaching Pune from Delhi International Airport

Most of the international flights terminate at International Airports in Delhi and Mumbai (formerly Bombay). Delegates arriving at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, can take connecting flights to Pune from Domestic Airport. There is a free shuttle service between the International Airport and the Domestic Airport. At the Pune Airport, the LOC will make arrangements to receive the delegates.

Reaching Pune from Mumbai International Airport

Those who reach Mumbai International Airport (Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus) can also take connecting flights to Pune from the Domestic Airport. There is a shuttle service between the International Airport and the Domestic Airport. The LOC will make arrangements to receive the delegates at Pune Airport.

Since Mumbai - Pune is only about 200 kms, people also travel by road or train to Pune. Taxies and hired cars (driver included) are available at all hours from the Mumbai International Airport to Pune. A hired car covers the distance in 3-4 hours and costs between Rs 2500 to Rs 4000, depending on the quality of the car. A reasonable midsize air-conditioned car would cost around Rs 3000 and can take 2 or 3 passengers with some luggage. The LOC can help in making bookings for hired cars between Mumbai and Pune, but cannot guarantee smooth operations at the Mumbai end, especially when flights are delayed. Delegates travelling together should indicate the size of the group and the amount of luggage so that appropriate vehicle can be booked.

There is also a limousine service between Mumbai airport and Pune which charges ~Rs.500 per passenger and (nominally) leave from the airport in Mumbai at 19:00, 21:00, 23:00, 01:00, 03:00, 05:00, 07:00, 09:00, 12:00 hours. Our experience with this service has been not very satisfactory and we do not recommend this service to the delegates.

Please note that many international flights reach Mumbai late in the night and considering our past experience, we discourage use of taxi services at late nights and early mornings.

Though the train journey between Mumbai and Pune is pleasant, the Railway Station in Mumbai is quite far from the International Airport. Travelling without reservation is not advisable and reservations have to be made well in advance. Booking tickets and passing them on to incoming passengers in Mumbai is logistically difficult and cannot be handled by the LOC. Those desirous of experiencing train travel in India are advised to do so on their return journey from Pune to Mumbai.

Transit accommodation at Mumbai and transport to Pune

We have arranged with Hotel Parle International [Address: B.N. Agarwal Commercial Complex, Vile Parle-East, Mumbai-400057, INDIA. Tel: +91~22~26102122 / 26162476; Fax: +91~22~26100230; Email: info@hotelparleinternational.com; URL: www.hotelparleinternational.com] in Mumbai for transit accommodation for incoming delegates at a reasonable rate of Rs 2800/- for single and Rs 3200/- for double occupancy rooms. The hotel will pick up passengers from the International Airport starting from Saturday evening, accommodate them for the night and provide breakfast on Sunday morning. Delegates interested in using this facility should fax the {attached form} to the Hotel directly and keep the SKA 2005 secretariat informed.

If there is sufficient interest, we may arrange a bus/limousine from the Hotel Parle in Mumbai to The Pride Hotel in Pune on Sunday, October 30, 2005. The bus will depart for Pune after breakfast (at 09:00 hours) and reach Pune around lunch time. The fare for the bus journey will depend on the number of passengers but we will try to keep it less than Rs 1000/- (actual cost/number of travellers). A representative of LOC, SKA 2005 will be available at the transit accommodation from Saturday, October 29, 2005 onwards (contact number will be provided shortly).

Delegates using the above transit accommodation at Mumbai and wanting to use the transport facility to Pune may write to Ms. Reena Shrikumar, Secretary, LOC, SKA 2005, ska_pune@ncra.tifr.res.in.

The Venue

All the sessions except for the evening lecture on 31 October and the programs of 03 November (GMRT visit and Interaction with industry) will be held in the Pride Hotel where most of the delegates are staying. The hotel is centrally located, being within 5 km of the airport, city centre and the NCRA, which is in the campus of the Pune University. Arrangements will be made to transport delegates in other hotels in the morning and evening.

While breakfast is included in the hotel tariff, the LOC will arrange for lunch at the conference venue for all the participants. Dinner on 31 October will be hosted by the National Center for Radio Astrophysics and on 3 November will be hosted by the Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd. On other days, delegates can visit the restaurants on Ferguson College and Junglee Maharaj Roads, close to the Pride Hotel.

Welcome and Registration

A welcome party (light refreshments) is arranged on Sunday, October 30, 2005 at 19:00 hrs at the Conference Venue. All delegates and their spouses are invited. The registration will take place during 19:00 - 21:00 hrs at the Conference Venue. The registration will continue on Monday, October 31, 2005 at 08:00 hrs.

Scientific Programme

Please click here for scientific programme.

Facilities at the Conference Venue

The following facilities will be available at the Conference Venue:

• Projection facilities
• Computer/s with PowerPoint (Windows XP) and OpenOffice (Linux)
• OverHead Projector for Transparencies / Viewgraphs (on request)
• WiFi facility for internet connectivity in the rooms and the auditorium. Details of how to use the facility and the charges will be provided by the hotel at the time of the Registration.
• Poster Boards.

Visit to GMRT Observatory

A visit to the GMRT Observatory is arranged on November 3, 2005 starting from the Pride Hotel, the conference venue. Please note that the journey to the GMRT Observatory takes about 2 hours each way. The trip will leave the hotels in Pune at 0730 and be back in Pune at 1600 hrs. The meeting with the local industries and the special dinner will be in the Hotel Blue Diamond in Pune. Those desirous of leaving Pune on November 3, 2005 should inform the LOC in advance so that suitable arrangements may be made for them to reach the airport in Pune/Mumbai in time.

Location and Climate

Pune (pronounced Poo-nay and formerly known as Poona) is located about 170 km south-east of Mumbai (earlier known as Bombay), on the Deccan Plateau about 550 m above mean sea level. It is well connected by air, rail and road to Mumbai, the nearest international airport. It is also connected by air to Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai (formerly, Madras) with two to four flights operating every day.

Pune with a population of about 2 million, is the second largest city in the state of Maharashtra, the first being Mumbai, its capital. The local language is Marathi but Hindi and English are extensively used. It is a fairly cosmopolitan city with chaotic traffic and poor public transport facilities. The most common transport is the 3 wheeler autorickshaw which seats 3 adults and charges by the meter (minimum fare of Rupees 8 and Rupees 6 for every kilometer after the minimum). Autorikshaw drivers are often not fluent in English and one should know some prominent landmark near ones destination.

Taxis are not very common but cars (with driver) can be rented for about Rs.600 per day for driving within Pune. (All rates are subject to change depending on the price of petrol.)

The weather in Pune in October / November is generally pleasant and dry with a daytime maximum temperature of about 30oC and a night time low of about 15oC. Those who want to move out in the day, especially Spouses, are advised to bring light head covering, light walking shoes, sun screen lotions, etc.

Tours

Those desirous of taking tours and needing any help may contact Ms. Reena Shrikumar, Secretary, LOC, SKA 2005, ska_pune@ncra.tifr.res.in Special packages are available for Aurangabad (Ajanta and Ellora), Goa and Kerala.

General Information

• Electricity: The electrical supply in India is nominally is at 230 V, 50 Hz. The standard British type round pin connectors are used in most locations. While universal adapters may be provided in public places, delegates are advised to bring their own adapters if they want to use their laptops in other places. Power outages are not uncommon, but there are UPS facilities in the main conference hall and generator backup in the hotel.
• Hygiene: Tap water is not recommended for drinking. All are advised to buy bottled water and not to eat uncooked food at unknown places.
• Currency: The local currency is the Indian Rupee (1US\$=Rs 43.7 approx) which is divided into 100 paise. Notes come in denomination of Rs 1000, 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 (the last 3 being phased out) while coins come in denominations of Rs 5, 2, 1 and paise 50, 25. While larger hotels and business establishments accept credit cards, most other transactions are by cash. A foreign exchange counter is available at the Conference Venue.
• Foreign currency can also be exchanged at the Mumbai International Airport. We advice the delegates to convert currencies worth a few thousand rupees at the Airport with a few hundred rupees in denominations of Rs 100 and less, to meet any emergency .
• ATMs are available near the Conference Venue.
• Communication: Mumbai and Pune are well connected by mobile and landline telephone services. A popular means of long distance communication is the ubiquitous STD/ISD booths from where one can make calls and pay the attendant the charge indicated by the meter.
• Local calls cost Re.1 per minute (Rs.2 to a mobile number) while a call from Mumbai to Pune is about Rs 5 per minute. International calls can be made from ISD booths. While local calls are directly dialled, intercity calls start with 0, followed by the city code and then the number and international calls start with 00, followed by the country code and number. The attendant in the STD booth are used to helping customers who are not familiar with the system but it is advisable to give him the number on a piece of paper since language could be a problem.