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HC notice to MCD over lack of basic amenities in schools
CBSE chief for change in mindset of teachers
Something rotten in mid-day meal scheme
BSP MLA’s cousin held for extortion
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‘Guard killed by wife’s lover’
Stem-cell research centre at ISIC
Traffic arrangement for Tazia procession
Drive to encourage volunteerism
Houses damaged due to leakage of pipelines
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HC notice to MCD over lack of
New Delhi, February 19 A Division Bench comprising Judges B. C. Patel and B. D. Ahmed issued notice to the Delhi Government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and asked them to file their replies by March 4. The application filed by Ashok Aggarwal of the Social Jurists submitted that a majority of state-run schools in the Capital lacked proper drinking water facilities and separate toilet blocks for boys and girls. He said that in October 2002, the city government had told the High Court it would replace tin sheds in government schools with concrete roofs, but this had not been done. Aggarwal also stated that the High Court had earlier set up a committee comprising the Delhi Chief Secretary, the Municipal Commissioner, the CEO of the Delhi Jal Board and the Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department and asked it to submit recommendations to improve basic amenities in state-run schools, but so far nothing had come to the court from it. The petitioner has also highlighted the absence of schools in various areas, particularly in the resettlement areas due to which hundreds of schoolchildren are unable to have access to school education. It is submitted that in Delhi alone, more than 15 lakh children are out of school, out of which more than two lakh are working in hazardous employment and more than three lakh are working in non-hazardous employment. The petitioner highlighted that Mukandpur colony in North-West Delhi, which is part of Bhalaswa-Jahangirpuri Assembly, with a population of about 1.5 lakh people, has no government school in the entire area. There is only one MCD primary school, where about 3,000 children (1,500 in morning shift and 1,500 in afternoon shift) are studying.
BJP for cancellation of licences of new wine shops
The Delhi Pradesh BJP today demanded that the Sheila Dikshit government modify its excise policy and cancel the licences of new wine shops, threatening to launch an agitation if the demands were not met. “If the Delhi Government does not modify its excise policy and make it mandatory that a no objection certificate be taken from the area MLA for a liquor shop to be opened, we will launch a non-stop protest from Tuesday till our demands are met,” Delhi Pradesh BJP President Dr Harshvardhan told reporters here. He alleged that the government had relaxed the rule that necessitated obtaining an NOC from the concerned MLA to “oblige its party workers”. The BJP chief claimed that a new liquor vend was opened in his Krishna Nagar constituency without any prior intimation to him. “I have also got information that two more wine shops are being opened in the heart of my constituency and there are half-a-dozen more in the pipeline,” he said. “This policy is harming the society. The Delhi Government needs to be reminded that the Jessica Lal murder was a result of serving liquor till late at night,” Dr Harshvardhan
said. — TNS
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CBSE chief for change in mindset of teachers
Gurgaon, February 19 Delivering an inaugural address on the occasion of 4th Annual Conference of Gurgaon Progressive School Council, Mr Ganguly said that the school curriculum along with the traditional style and mindset of the teachers and school operators will have to undergo a change in tune with the changing times to make the education delivery system more topical. The Gurgaon Progressive School Council is a body that has members from the private schools operating in Gurgaon, affiliated to the
CBSE. Big banner schools like DAV Public School, Delhi Public School, Ryan International and Salwan Public School are members of the council. At present, the number of schools associated with the council are 14, but today’s event was attended by the representatives from wider sections of the schools. The theme for today’s Annual Conference of the Council was “Disha-The
Directon”. According to the organisers, the theme was chosen keeping in mind the changing cultural values in the present generation of school-going children and to deliberate on how best a suitable education modality could be evolved to prepare the students academically, morally and physically in the modern context. Mr Ganguly stressed injecting “Alternative to homework” scheme. According to him, the CBSE has implemented the scheme at the lowest level of schooling system, but plans to take it to higher classes. He was also in favour of “Curriculum Organising School” scheme for the benefit of the students so that they are not stuck up with just “class work-home work” syndrome and for those who showed less fascination for book-reading. He stressed the importance of “Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation”
(CCE) model for evaluating the students. He expressed reservations against the present system which had the danger of erring on the apt evaluation of the intelligence and performance of the students. The final judgement on a student should be cumulative of the evaluations done in every aspect of his life in school, conducted periodically throughout the academic session. According to him, the CBSE has already introduced the scheme till standard IV in its schools, but the same will be introduced in higher classes, he added. He expressed the view that all the CBSE schools should have a “mathematical laboratory” where mathematical equipment, models, etc could be exhibited to the students.
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Something rotten in mid-day meal scheme
Meerut, February 19 Besides, the teachers also seem to be more interested in supplying mid-day meal to the students. According to some sources in the district Primary Education Department, as many as 1,000 primary schools distribute mid-day meal to their students in rural areas.
The village pradhans supervise the preparation and distribution of mid-day meals. But in the urban area schools, two NGOs are involved in the whole exercise. According to reports, the mid-day meal scheme in both the areas has not failed to achieve its aim. The meals do not reach in schools on time. The whole exercise of meal distribution takes a lot of time. As the schools have fixed a 40-minute recess for the meal, the process of distribution and finishing the meals takes at least one and a half hours. Even after the recess is over, teachers find it hard to make students concentrate on studies. The problem is more endemic in schools in remote areas where Dalit or poor students have least interest in education, rather they use books, notebooks or school stationery to have food. Moreover, the primary schools in rural and remote areas have no separate rooms to prepare food. And it is being cooked in an unhygienic condition. As per the nutritional standards fixed by the government, a child student should get 300 calories of food and there should be a difference in the menu in all six days. However, the students in rural areas just have khichri or dalia, and that too without salt.
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BSP MLA’s cousin held for extortion
Ghaziabad, February 19 The arrested man, the police said, was also wanted in the cases of murder, loot, extortion as well as under Goonda Act. SP City Umesh Srivastava said the man, Sonu Pathak of Kailash Puri, is in Jahangirabad police station area of Bulandshahr. He confessed that he had purchased the property of Ashok Batra who was found involved in the recent post office scam, running into crores of rupees. He was also involved in buying shops and property from the traders at half price and getting agreements signed from them after holding out threats to them. This had created a terror among the traders in Jahangirabad area. During investigations, the police found the charges correct. The police inspector in charge of Kotwali police station, CP Singh with his team had arrested the extortionist from Nai Basti. SP City said Sonu Pathak was wanted in 13 cases of loot, assault, extortion and under Gangster Act in Jahangirabad and Debai Kotwalis. Sonu Pathak had demanded extortion money from sugar trader Mangal Sen, Chander Shekhar, proprietor of Bharat Medical Store, Delhi Gate and Satish Seth, steel merchant of New Market after threatening them with dire consequences, inspector SO of Kotwali said. A case has been registered under IPC 386, 504 and 506 against Sonu Pathak. Inspector CP Singh said Sonu had confirmed during interrogation that he is first cousin of a BSP MLA.
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‘Guard killed by wife’s lover’
Noida, February 19 He was found wounded at Mayur School on Expressway on December 16. The injured man stayed in a guard’s room for seven hours without getting any medical help. It was only in the morning he was handed over to the police who took him to a hospital where he died after a few hours. The police, it is alleged by Jagdish’s family, had not bothered to know as to who had injured
Jagdish. The cause of death was not clearly brought out in the investigation, which has further complicated the matter. Three guards were arrested by the police and then let off. Jagdish’s family alleges that his wife Babli had got him eliminated with the help of her lover. His wife deserted him and was living with her lover in Delhi, but Jagdish maintained contacts with her because of their children. Jagdish and
Babu, Babli’s lover, had clashed many times. The police have failed so far to trace Babli after Jagdish’s death. She was living in Nangloi area of Delhi, the police
say. — OC
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Fake engine oil unit unearthed
New Delhi, February 19 The seized products include MG servo, ‘Servo Pride’, Servo drums, sealing machine, screen printing machine and oil dispensers.
As many as 16 children who escaped from Bal Sudhar Grah in Khakori, Lucknow, were nabbed by the police last night in Old Delhi Railway Station when they arrived in Delhi by the Bareilly Express. The police said that they spotted the children in one group and wearing similar clothes and when questioned they could not reply satisfactorily. Later, they disclosed that they were lodged in Bal Sudhar Grah under Juvenile Act from where they escaped on February 17. The police later offered them food and informed the authorities in Lucknow about the rescue of the children. The children in the age group of 10-12 told the police that from Lucknow they had gone to Malliabad and then reached Bareilly.
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Jagjit Singh to give voice to mental health issues
New Delhi, February 19 The singer in collaboration with Snehi, an organisation for psycho-social support and mental health care, is aiming to highlight the issues related to mental health. Agreeing to sing for the organisation to raise support for the cause, Mr Singh said, “I am not against reservation, but the government has to think of something else. There can be financial aid…instead of reserving seats.” Lamenting that even the students with over 90 per cent marks find it difficult to secure admission, Mr Singh said, “There should be no reservation for the professional courses like medicine as when it is a question of life and death, you cannot give preference to caste. Everything should be based on merit.” Mr Singh expressed concern over the neglect of mental health. He said, “We have even failed to recognise the importance of taking proper care of those afflicted. Either we ignore the symptoms completely or in extreme cases send the affected to a mental asylum, which is so absurd. What is needed is acknowledging its existence and working towards its removal, as it is a curable disease.” It was pointed out that with the increasing competition, the levels of stress are also increasing and with not much attention paid to mental health, the situation is likely to worsen. “By conservative estimates, India alone has a population of 20 million people who have one form or the other of mental disorder…stress, depression etc. Besides, there is a disparity between the professional help being offered and the numbers that need it,” said Director, Snehi, Abdul Mabood. Snehi that runs helplines for students has seen an increasing number of people seeking help. “There is a marked improvement and increase in the number of those who seek counselling. Earlier, if it was only students, now we have more parents seeking answers,” said Ms Jyoti of the
Snehi.
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Stem-cell research centre at ISIC
New Delhi, February 19 It is believed that in the case of spinal injuries, the grafting of a stem cell directly into the damaged area in the spinal cord can speed up the recovery process. A high-level delegation headed by the Minister of External Affairs, Government of Italy, that visited the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre recently, expressed a keen desire to support this initiative, resulting in medical advancements in both the countries. Under this effort, the ISIC will be the nodal point for the treatment programme and an Indian scientist will head the scientific research centre. Speaking on the occasion, Margherita Boniver, Minister of External Affairs, Government of Italy, said: “ISIC represents one of the highly valuable intervention Italy has supplemented in India. Such initiatives represent an important step towards what I usually call ‘the globalisation of health’. We need to follow the path and create new forms of integration between national medical structures, exchanging competence, information and technical skills.” The stem-cells are the original embryonic cells. These undifferentiated cells have the potential to develop any damaged tissue, be it muscles, nerves, etc.
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Traffic arrangement for Tazia procession
New Delhi, February 19 The procession will start from Pahari Bhojla and pass through Chitli Qabar, Matia Mahal Chowk, Jama Masjid, Chawari Bazaar, Chowk Hauz Qazi, Ajmeri Gate, Pahar Ganj bridge, Chelmsford Road, Sansad Marg, Red Cross Road, Krishi Bhawan, Raisina Road, Krishna Menon Marg, Tuglak Road, Aurobindo Marg, Jor Bagh and reach Karbala. Since the procession is likely to begin at 11 a.m., the traffic police have advised the motorists to avoid these roads.
Govinda regales students
The annual sports day of DPS, Mathura Road, was a colourful event. The programme ‘Rhyme and Rhythm’ by the junior school students included yoga and PT display by over 1,500 children. The three-hour programme was appreciated by the audience. Actor and MP Govinda was the chief guest on the occasion and regaled the audience with his hilarious
comments. — TNS
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Drive to encourage volunteerism
New Delhi, February 19 Popular cricketers and brand ambassadors for Karm
Yuva, Murali Karthik and Aakash Chopra were part of a programme held recently. Eminent personalities including Mike
Pandey, Amit Killam (Indian Ocean band), D.J. Narain (Aryans), Shabnam Hashmi and Arun Seth (CEO-
Spicenet) were associated with the programme. Karm Yuva is an innovative membership and loyalty programme that benefits both donor and recipient at the same time. Young people between 16 and 28 years of age can enroll as Karm Yuva Cadet Corps at a nominal annual subscription and a one-time entrance fee. The funds thus collected go towards the communities supported by the
programme, who also get the added benefit of having a ready pool of volunteers on stand by. In return, KYCC members are entitled to exclusive privileges, benefits, scholarships, career-support and placement support services offered by corporate houses and educational institutions participating in the
programme.
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Houses damaged due to leakage of pipelines
Faridabad, February 19 It has demanded a proper compensation for the residents, whose houses had been damaged in the past few months. In a statement here today, the president of the Association, Mr Trilok Chand Gupta said it was shocking that while many houses had been damaged and were hardly of any use, the local authorities had even failed to assess the damage and pinpoint the fault of the department concerned. Claiming that the issue had been taken up with the officials from time to time in the past few months, but the department had been overlooking the development, he said. He said about a dozen houses had become unsafe as the roofs and walls of some of their rooms had already caved in.
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Mystery shrouds death of hotel guard
Noida, February 19 The police had shown Naiyamuddin’s family the CD of a close circuit camera in the hotel. After seeing it, when the relatives of the deceased went around the spot, they were shocked to see a red spot near the terrace on the 7th floor, alleging that it was Naiyamuddin’s blood. The guard had been killed there and his body thrown down from the spot, they said. Whereas the hotel management said it could be primer, not blood. The police’s stand on the whole matter is vague. The SSP Mordia had also inspected the site on Friday. It could be a suicide, an accident or even a murder, the police felt. Their statements have been changing. Police SO Jamal Singh said the bloodstains normally turn dark after a while, but the spot on the seventh floor has not turned dark.
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Lok Adalat settles 63 cases
Faridabad, February 19
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