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Hectic lobbying on for Mayor’s post
Call centre manager found dead near JNU
Financier jumps to death from 8th floor
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Driver missing from police custody
National Parents Forum to protect child’s right to education
Rai students block traffic at ITO over affiliation
DJB headache: unavailability of tamper-proof meters
Speaker unhappy with poor attendance of MLAs in House
Water-borne diseases stare Faridabad in the face
Yoga camp in Noida from April 10
March to give voice to the disabled
MCD functioning improved during my tenure, claims Verma
Dharna against proposed winding up of CGHS
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Hectic lobbying on for Mayor’s post
New Delhi, April 6 The sources said that the main contenders are Satbir Singh, Leader of the House, Ashok Kumar Jain, Suresh Yadav and Farhad Suri, all Congress Councillors. Mr Satbir Singh is considered close to the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Mr Ram Babu Sharma and the Outer Delhi MP, Mr Sajjan Kumar. Mr Ashok Kumar Jain has been Mayor during the second term of the corporation and Farhad Suri is “playing the minority card” for grabbing the Mayor’s post. According to the DMC Act, the post of the Mayor for the first year is reserved for a woman, second year for general category, third year for the reserved category while the fourth and fifth years are again open for the general category. This is the fourth term of the MCD, which came into being in 2002 when the Congress party came to power. The first woman Mayor was Jaishree Panwar followed by Ashok Kumar Jain during the second year. A. R. Verma was elected as the Mayor in the third year. According to sources, the coveted post was categorised after the 74th Constitutional Amendment in 1993, which was implemented in 1997 when the BJP was in power and Ms Shakuntala Arya was the Mayor. Earlier, there was no reservation for the post and once elected, the Mayor served for the full five-year term of the civic body. It was precisely for this reason that the then Congress leader, Mr Mahender Singh Sathi, occupied the post for seven years from 1983–1990. The corporation was superseded from 1990–1997. In 1997, elections were held and the reservation policy was implemented.
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Call centre manager found dead near JNU
New Delhi, April 6 While the police are investigating into the matter, the preliminary investigations revealed that it was a case of suicide as the car was found locked from inside. The DCP, South West district, Mr Dipender Pathak, said that the police are investigating into the matter. He further said that the body of the deceased was found with a wound of gunshot on his temple. Pathak said that it appears to be a case of suicide as the car was locked from inside and a pistol has also been recovered from the vehicle. However, the police are not ruling out foul play in the case. The body has been sent for the post-mortem examination, the police said.
Poppy powder, opium seized two held
The Delhi Police have seized 9.2 kg of poppy straw powder and four kilogram of opium in two different incidents. The police have arrested three persons in this connection. The accused have been identified as Surat Singh, (55), Mahavir Singh (45) and Karan (20). In the first incident, the North West district police arrested Surat and Mahavir with opium from Kanjhawala Chowk. During investigation, the accused disclosed that they brought the opium from Jodhpur. In another case, the North district police arrested Karan with 9.2 kg poppy husk powder. The police are investigating into the
matter. — TNS
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Financier jumps to death from 8th floor
Ghaziabad, April 6 S.O. Indirapuram police station S.P. Singh reached the spot on getting the information at about 9.30 am and started investigation into the cause of suicide. A building by the name of Royal Tower is part of Shipra Sun City in
Indirapuram. Anil Kumar Pandya, 50, lived in Flat No. 809 along with his family. He has left behind his wife, three daughters and a son. CO police, Dr Dharam Veer Singh said Anil Pandya had jumped to his death at 9 am from the 8th floor of Royal Tower and died on the spot. The deceased had said in a brief suicide note that he had been forced to end his life by force of circumstances and that he did not want to bother any relative with his problems, Dr Dharam Veer
said. Pandya belonged to Haldwani in Uttar Anchal. He had probably lost huge money in financial business and then shifted to
Ghaziabad. He had been talking of starting some business. Anil Pandya who had a keen interest in literary pursuits had lately been thinking of starting a hotel, his neighbours said.
Body of bank agent found in
Loni
The decomposed body of a Delhi bank agent has been found from a closed railway crossing near Behta Hajipur village in
Loni. The deceased bore a number of wounds on his body and his head had been badly crushed. The Loni police said the victim had been murdered somewhere else and his body dumped here later. Local people spotted the body of a youth near the locked railway crossing yesterday morning. The police found some visiting cards in the pocket of the deceased, indicating that he was Rajesh, an agent of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Punjabi Bagh Delhi branch. After examining the scene, the police said that Rajesh seems to have been murdered somewhere else and his body dumped here later. The police are contacting the bank officials to know more about Rajesh, whose body has been sent for
autopsy. — OC
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Driver missing from police custody
Ghaziabad, April, 6 A large number of residents, his friends and relatives gheraod the police station after hearing the news, alleging that the detained driver, Nadin, had perhaps been murdered by the police. The people raised slogans against the police and jammed the road in front of the police station. The gherao was lifted only after the police circle officer (Border) had assured the people that an inquiry was being conducted into the matter. Twenty-five-year-old Nadin, son of Sabbir, hailing from Bijnore, was living in one Yogesh’s house in Ashok Vihar Colony, Loni with his two wives Shabana and Mehtab. Two policemen–Arman and Suraj—had taken him to Loni police station for questioning on Friday at 11 pm, alleging his involvement in a theft
case. His wife Shabana who had taken lunch for her husband was told by the policemen yesterday that Nadin was not in the police station on Friday night. However, his wife said that she had met her husband on Monday and also given food to him. When Shabana told the colony residents about the police version, hundreds of livid people walked to the police station. The SO of Loni police station, Haider Raza Zaidi, said that Nadin had escaped from the police station. The people accused the police of having killed Nadin and then disposed of his body clandestinely. When the angry people jammed the Saharanpur-Delhi national highway and raised slogan against the police, the CO (Border), Dinesh
Yadav, rushed to the police station and assured the people that the matter would be probed and if any policemen were found
guilty, strict action would be taken against them. “We are trying to locate the missing driver,” the
CO added.
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National Parents Forum to protect child’s right to education
New Delhi, April 6 The National Parents Forum (NPF) initiated by Social Jurists, a civil rights group, will provide succour to the parents who find themselves at the receiving end owing to the issues like unwarranted fee hikes or denial of admission on flimsy grounds. “There is a pressing need for the parents to come together and take up the issues that concern them all. There are many schools that have Parent Teacher Associations, but in most cases a harassed parent does not know where to go and who to approach,” said Advocate Ashok Agarwal, president of the forum. The NPF is planning to hold its two-day national convention sometime in August and is expecting delegates from all the states and union territories. The delegates will deliberate upon the rights of the children and chalk out an action plan to protect them. The emphasis would be on the right to education of the children, which includes complete abolition of child labour in all its forms, integration of children with disabilities in the mainstream, against apartheid in education and commercialisation of education. The NPF, which is currently accepting applications from people wishing to join, says Agarwal, would be a, “pressure group that would ensure that schools do not get away with arm-twisting tactics”. Citing examples, he said, “The recent freeship issue has been a bitter pill for the private schools to swallow and some of them despite the High Court’s order are devising ways to harass parents. If one school goes ahead and flouts the order by not giving out admission forms, others want a proof of income duly signed by the SDM each year.” The NPF, which is getting a favourable response from various states in the country, will also provide a platform for people fighting for the rights of the disabled and the child workers. “It will be a movement…those who are actively involved in taking the cause of integrated education and are fighting for the eradication of child labour can all come together through the NPF and strengthen their resolves,” said Mr
Agarwal.
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Rai students block traffic at ITO over affiliation
New Delhi, April 6 “Our career is being spoilt, the authorities instead of doing something to resolve the issue has asked us to leave,” said an agitated student. With classes being suspended for more than a month now and most centres virtually shut down, the students are angry that the Rai Foundation has not even considered taking affiliation from recognised universities. “The IP University was considerate enough to offer us affiliation, but even that offer has not been accepted. We cannot live by their promises…they say they will provide us recognised degrees, but what we want to know is when. Some of us were about to finish our courses,” said another
student. Agitated students also pointed out that the authorities have even asked them to withdraw their admissions. “Some of the students have left because of the pressure from the management. Others have been told that they can choose their own course and withdraw their admission here,” a student of B.Tech said. He went on to add, “is it possible for us to start all over again. Some of us are already 26, can we begin from scratch now. Besides, which college will admit us.” The students also rebutted the Foundation’s claims made recently that existing students of the Rai institutions will get affiliation to the government- owned Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla University in Raipur. “The statement was made and the students were optimistic for a while, but there has been no progress on that front and instead of resuming classes there are indications that some centres will eventually be shutdown,” complained students. The Foundation had issued a statement here that quoted Founder Chairman Vinay Rai communicating that affiliation process is expected to be complete within a month and examinations would be held as scheduled from April 20 onwards. It was also pointed out that owing to the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the defective law in Chattisgarh, the Rai Foundation has now sought university status for its colleges from the state governments of Maharashtra, MP, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Punjab, Rajasthan, Orissa and Haryana, apart from Chattisgarh.
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DJB headache: unavailability of tamper-proof meters
New Delhi, April 6 For water thieves, it is just a matter of using a simple screwdriver to take off the dials of mostly obsolete meters and reverse the settings. Some plumb a pipe into water lines and obtain a deluge of free supply with an electric booster. A DJB official, who requested not to be named, said he had seen people swiping water using a cheater pipe replacing the meter. If they know what time officials read the meter, they rerun it for few weeks and replace the meter before it is read again. The DJB, however, not only finds it difficult to check every property in densely-populated Delhi, it is not certain about the extent of water pilferage in the Capital. There is, however, a law that makes it a punishable act. ‘’First of all I should know how much water is being pilfered,’’ DJB CEO Rakesh Mohan said. His second problem is what he claims to be the non-availability of tamper-proof meters in the market over the last seven years. ‘’They (tamper-proof) meters are not there in the market
for the past five or seven years.’’ The DJB chief said water thieves, unlike power stealers, fear no electric shock to deter them, and therefore operate with impunity. But in some countries, billing departments of the water utilities spot thieves by tracking usage by their customers, a method yet to be adopted by the DJB. Officials in those countries promptly visit such properties for inspections if they find a considerable drop in their average monthly water usage. ‘’It’s difficult to visit homes for inspections in a city as populated as Delhi,’’ a senior DJB official remarked.
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Speaker unhappy with poor attendance of MLAs in House
New Delhi, April 6 “The bell kept on ringing for 10 minutes so that the MLAs could assemble and the quorum could be completed. This is not a good thing,” he told a press conference. Singh noted that although both the ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP need to cooperate to complete the quorum, the ruling party had a greater responsibility in this regard. Asked about the expulsion of 13 BJP MLAs from the House for three days, he criticised the party legislators for disrupting the business of the Assembly, saying, “It is their right to walk out in protest. But when they come back, they should participate in debate. “Important issues such as the liquor policy and working of MCD and DDA, which they had put forth, could not be discussed when they were expelled due to their disruptive behaviour,” Singh said. He also emphasised that ministers should come well-prepared for the Question Hour and give complete replies. “If the minister is well-prepared and gives a complete reply, there will be less number of supplementary questions and less time will be wasted,” Singh said. On DDA Vice-Chairman failing to come to the House during a discussion pertaining to the authority, the Speaker said as per rule, any officer required during the discussion could be summoned, adding it was the duty of the government to call the officer.
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Water-borne diseases stare Faridabad in the face
Faridabad, April 6 Dozens of cases of jaundice and other similar diseases have been reported from various parts of the city in the past few weeks. While hundreds of victims have reported at both the private and civil hospitals, a couple of deaths have also surfaced, though the authorities concerned do not agree to the seriousness of the problem. At least 25 cases of jaundice have been reported in the NIT zone alone in the past few days and this was confirmed by a team of the health department which visited the affected colonies. As there was no official record of the cases of the water-borne diseases in the Ballabhgarh and Old Faridabad areas so far, the number, according to reports, could have been several dozens, as the majority of the patients have approached the private clinics and hospitals. According to Dr Tarun Kashyap, who runs a clinic at Sector- 7-10 market, he had attended a large number of patients with the symptoms of water-borne diseases recently. Some of them had been suffering from jaundice also, he said. According to one Harprasad, a resident of Sector- 8 here, his whole family comprising five members fell victim to jaundice recently and they had to switch over to the packaged water supply instead of the drinking water supplied by the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF). He claimed that this was all due to the contaminated supply. The pipelines of water and sewerage had been intermingling at various places as the waterpipes laid several decades ago had broken and were not replaced by the civic body. According to similar reports from Sector-15-A and Ajronda village located near this sector, several residents of the area had become victims of jaundice and viral infections in the past few weeks. One Rajender Singh of the Ajronda village, who fell victim to jaundice recently, said that it was a harrowing experience not only for him, but also for the whole family, as he remained bed-ridden in the hospital for about three weeks. An 18-year-old girl had also been suffering from the same disease in his neighbourhood. The Congress leader, Mr Rajkumar Gaur, claimed that several cases of water-borne diseases had surfaced in the area and said that it was mainly due to the supply of contaminated water. He claimed that a person identified as Rajvir Singh aged about 35 years had died of such a disease recently at the village. Dr Vinod Kaul of the Vibles Pathological Laboratory in Sector-14 also confirmed the increase in the number of such cases and added that it was mainly due to the consumption of unclean water and eatables kept in the open.
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Yoga camp in Noida from April 10
Noida, April 6 According to yogi acharya Om Prakash
Maharaj, Yoga offers peace of mind and provides a solution to ailments which have become inseparable from the modern way of life.
Schoolkids, men, women and the aged—all need to practise yoga these days.. Regular yoga exercises can help us get rid of tension, control our breathing, blood pressure, blood sugar, asthma and even cancer. He said yoga is part of India’s rich cultural heritage which has benefited people around the world. When body is free from disease, mind will also be healthy, the yogi acharya said. Through Pranayam
Yog, we can make both our body and mind healthy. Diabetes, the acharya said, is not only caused by sugar, but tension also contributed to it in a significant measure. Those attending the camp pay a minimum sum for seven days and the schedule will be from 5 am to 7 am and from 5 pm to 7 pm daily. People were advised to come in simple loose-fitting garments and bring a bedsheet or mat along for yoga. Simple and vegetarian diet was also advised for the duration of the camp to participants.
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March to give voice to the disabled
New Delhi, April 6 This march will bring to attention the plight of a population of over 1,68,000 intellectually challenged persons and their mothers in Delhi alone. Most of them are excluded from the strategies of health, education, transport and employment. The intellectual disabilities constitute an invisible disorder. Unlike others, such persons are unable to voice their needs. Yet, how often have the administrators of Delhi cared to hear their cries—pounding on the doors of hospitals, begging for the issue of a disability certificate that should have been given as a matter of routine.. Research indicates that mental retardation is 10 times more common than cerebral palsy, and is 25 times more prevalent
than blindness. Says Dr Vijay Agarwal, Pediatrician, “The perceived burden of care can only be reduced when a standard of quality education for this group of children is aimed for, and this is possible by special schools being affiliated to the National Open School.”
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MCD functioning improved during my tenure, claims Verma
New Delhi, April 6 The Mayor said that after getting a negative remark from All India Congress Committee president Mrs Sonia Gandhi that “the city is dirty”, he went to SELCO International Plant in Hyderabad which produced power from garbage. He convinced the Municipal Commissioner, saying that the garbage in Delhi could also be used for power generation and submitted a report. Such a project is now likely to be set up in Okhla Industrial State. He claimed that he also made efforts to implement the Unit Area Method scheme to assess the property tax and end the “inspector raj”. After implementing the scheme, the MCD would benefit from the new scheme. He visited a number of foreign countries to study development work in their metro cities.
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Dharna against proposed winding up of CGHS
New Delhi, April 6 Initially, the police forcibly prevented employees from staging the dharna and confiscated all banners and “durries”. Later, however, the employees gathered in a large number and held a dharna. The participants demanded immediate withdrawal of the proposal of the Planning Commission to wind up the CGHS. Commenting on the Planning Commission’s move, the leaders including Mr. A. K. Mazumdar, General Secretary of the All India Committee of the JPA, Mr R. B. Pandey, President and others said that this move was part of the policies of liberalisation and privatisation of the government, which was hell bent on to hand over all pubic services to the monopoly capital houses and multi- national corporation.
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Contest on ‘Relevance of Dandi Today’ held
New Delhi, April 6 The day was to mark the volunteer action taken by Gandhiji to mobilise thousands of people across the country. The stress was given on the point that a similar volunteer action is needed today to tackle the various social evils. The contest was held at Gandhi Darshan, Rajghat. Swati was conferred with a certificate, a memento and cash prize.
— TNS
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Anti-VAT protest
New Delhi, April 6 On the occasion, he said that the government has failed to deliver on its promises. The government, he said, has fallen flat on its face because the prices of essential commodities like vegetables, medicines, stationery and clothes had sky-rocketed within five days of the introduction
of VAT.
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