New Delhi, July 30
Tightening surveillance in Tihar, one of Asia’s biggest prisons, which has witnessed some high-profile escapes, authorities are installing close circuit televisions (CCTVs) in all the 10 jails there.

Nearly 100 CCTVs will be installed at the cost of Rs 80 lakh, a jail official said, adding each jail will be having at least 10 CCTVs at various sensitive points, including the gates and the place where the inmates meet the visitors.

“The installment of CCTVs have already started. Four jails have already got CCTVs, while the work is on in the rest of the jails,” the official said.

The step was taken on the basis of recommendations of the Kain Committee which was set up to study the security system after the escape of Sher Singh Rana, an accused in the sensational murder of bandit-turned-politician Phoolan Devi, from Tihar in 2004.

“The committee had recommended for installing X-ray scanner at the entry points and CCTVs at different sensitive places. The scanners are already in place, while the CCTVs are now being installed,” the official said.

Twelve undertrials had escaped on July 6, 2005 from Tihar when they were taken to be produced before a court.

The CCTVs will also be of immense help to monitor the alleged handing over of narcotics items and weapons to prisoners by the visitors, the Tihar official said.

Tihar accommodates more than 13,000 prisoners and about 5,000 visitors come to meet the inmates every day.

“We will be able to closely and extensively monitor the activities of inmates, visitors and jail officials also with the help of these cameras. The surveillance system can be tightened,” he said.

Tihar is the first jail in the country to have such a hi-tech system, he said adding specific jails can get more CCTVs also depending on the need and type of activities going on there. 

New Delhi, July 30
The North-East district police have sent a proposal to the Delhi Police to create two additional police stations in the district to cope with the increasing population and the rising crime graph in the area. The proposed police stations may be set up in the Nand Nagari and Gokulpuri areas of this district. A nod has almost been received from the Delhi Police Headquarters.

The DCP of the district, Mr Devesh Chandra Srivastava, said, “Our proposal is to convert the existing Harsh Vihar and Karawal Nagar police posts to new police stations.”

At present, the proposed Karawal Nagar police station falls in the jurisdiction of the Gokulpuri and Khajuri Khas police stations. The two police stations were set up in 1980 and 1998, respectively. Both the Gokulpuri and Khajuri Khas police stations are jointly covering a sizeable population of more than 16.5 lakh.

“In Karawal Nagar alone, a huge population of about seven lakhs is residing. The area is spread over 5 km. The area is deemed as very sensitive due to a mixed population of Hindu and Muslim,” he said.

He further said there would be many colonies and pockets in the proposed Karawal Nagar police station. “Among them are West Karawal Nagar, Shahid Bhagat Singh Colony, Ankur Vihar, Shiv Vihar Phase I to IX, Harijan Basti, Tunda Nagar, Khajani Nagar, Ram Vihar, Jawahar Nagar and Jauharipur village. There are so many unauthorised colonies in the proposed police station.

The proposed Harsh Vihar police station at present falls in the jurisdiction of the Nand Nagari police station. The Nand Nagari police station was set up in 1985. To meet the demands of the increasing population of the area, a police post at Harsh Vihar was set up in 1989. The Nand Nagari police station is covering a huge population of nine lakh. About half of this population is residing in the Harsh Vihar area. The population comprises both Hindus and Muslims. As a result, the area is equally sensitive.

“The proposed localities of this police station are Amar Colony, Meet Nagar, Saboli village, Mandoli village and Harsh Vihar,” he informed.

He said that after the creation of the two proposed police stations they would be able to mitigate crime in the area. “As a result of the proximity to the UP border, the area is very crime-prone. So it is imperative to create new police stations in the area,” he added. 

Noida, July 30
The kidnapping of young girls and minor girls from Noida are once again making head lines in the media.

An 11-year old girl is missing for the last 6 days from Nithari, Sector-30, NOIDA. In one month six minor girls have reportedly been missing from Noida town.

A resident of D-61, Sector 30, the 11-year-old minor girl had stepped out to bring some vegetables from the market but she never returned. After looking around, her father James had lodged a report with the Sector 20 police station. Another girl, 12-year-old Deepali is also not traceable. She had gone missing under suspicious circumstances.

Nine-year-old Surekha has been missing since the beginning of July. Sixteen-year-old Shrimoni, 13-year-old Neelu from Sector 5 and Deepika from Sector 37 have also gone missing under suspicious circumstances.

Nine young and minor girls had gone missing from Nithari in Sector 31 here last year also. The failure of the police to trace them had resulted in senior district police officers being summoned by the National Commission for Women.

Sectors 30 and 31 are notorious for the kidnapping of young girls who are seldom traced or recovered by the police. Residents have even held demonstrations in the police station to highlight their protest but to no avail.

SP City Soumitra Yadav said teams had been despatched for recovering minor girls. All police stations had been alerted and, hopefully, missing girls would be recovered, SP City said.

New Delhi, July 30
The Lt-Governor of Delhi, Mr R. L. Joshi, said the DDA was working in the direction of providing a better social and cultural life to the people of the Capital.

Inaugurating a community centre with a library, Mr Joshi said community halls in residential areas were a testimony to facilities used for social and cultural functions. Now, it was society’s duty to ensure that in future these buildings were used and kept properly.

He said with reference to community centres that there was a need to think about senior citizens. With the fast changing social norms, there was a change in the position of senior citizens in the existing family structure.

He said a library-cum-community centre at Gautam Nagar (Yusuf Sarai) had been constructed on a plot area of 1130 square metre with a total cost of Rs 40 lakh. The library-cum-community centre at Sant Nagar had been constructed on a plot area of 2370 square metre with a total cost of Rs 45 lakh. He said it would be beneficial for the local population as it would be helpful in organising social activities whereas libraries would provide reading and reference material to the public.

Addressing the gathering, Mr Joshi said the endeavour of the government and the DDA was to make the Capital greener.

The tree plantation programme was a step in that direction. He said the conservation of trees was an important aspect of Indian culture as apart from the government society as a whole should also be involved in maintaining the ecological balance of the city. Trees should not only be planted but also be protected to make the Capital greener.

The Lok Sabha MP (South Delhi), Mr Vijay Kumar Malhotra, MLAs Kiran Walia, Mr Parvej Hashmi, Mr Subhas Chopra, MCD councillors Aarti Mehra, Mr Virendra Kasana and the Vice-Chairman, DDA, Mr Dinesh Rai, were also present.

New Delhi, July 30
Parents of more than 60 girl students have moved the Delhi High Court seeking justice for their children who have been abruptly thrown out of the government-aided Seth Beni Pershad Jaipuria Girls Sr. Sec. School by its management.

While admitting the petition filed by parents of the affected children, Justice Anil Kumar issued a notice to the school management trust which runs the school.

According to Ashok Aggarwal, counsel for the parents, the students were studying in different classes of the school till April 25, 2006 when it closed for the summer vacation. However when the school reopened after the vacation, the management refused to admit the students.

It was alleged by the counsel that the management abruptly threw out the children as it was seeking to convert the school into an unaided institution.

The parents pleaded in the petition that the management action would deprive the girls of their academic year as it would not be possible for them to get admission into other schools since the present academic year had already commenced. 

New Delhi, July 30
The Delhi High Court directed the Medical Council of India (MCI) to strictly issue certificates to only those students who have studied in a foreign institute ‘duly mentioned and recognised in the Indian Medical Council Act 1956’.

This judgement is contradictory to what the MCI has been following all these years, Chief Executive Officer of Saraswationline.com, Mr P. S. Ganguli said.

The MCI officials have kept silence for two months after the verdict without issuing a public notice on whether the new norms and listings would be followed in the future so that the students do not choose a wrong university.

However, all these years the MCI has allowed students who wished to pursue medical education abroad if the institutes had accreditation of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Medical Education Directory (IMED).

This was justified by bringing in two following regulations–eligibility requirements and screening test in 2002.

Mr Ganguli said, “The MCI being the sole authority to monitor medical education in the country is creating unnecessary snags by not interpreting such judicial decisions. Most students can opt medical colleges listed in the IMED. So unless MCI clarifies its stand, the judgement can have wide-ranging implications in the international scenario,” he said.

New Delhi, July 30
In an effort to make learning mathematics at schools both easy and fun, Educomp Solutions Limited, an e-learning solutions provider, launched the new online anytime-anywhere learning initiative, Mathguru.com.

This math-help programme for students from classes VI to XII, follows the CBSE, NCERT math curriculum in the country.

Talking about the project, Educomp MD Shantanu Prakash said, “High-student-teacher ratio, limited problem-solving at school and even more limited homework assistance from parents at home are among the chief reasons for coming up with this.”

The solutions, developed by over 60 people in Educomp over a year, can be procured by subscribing to the portal, www.mathguru.com, and will cost Rs 1,200 per annum per student.

However, in cases where an entire school wanted subscription for the bulk of its students, the company would provide a special discount of 20-25 per cent, Mr Prakash said.

The company is also planning to expand the availability of these solutions to students from class III onwards from the next academic year.

“Right now, we are targeting only classes VI to XII, but we do plan to enter the schools from class III itself from April 2007,” he added.

Mathguru will provide detailed explanation to students in terms of practising problems, understanding the key concepts and completing homework.

Faridabad, July 30
Taking a serious note of the issue of ‘non-compliance’ of rules by the CBSE-affiliated schools vis-a-vis a rational fee structure and inability of the government to take action regarding the directions issued earlier, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has now ordered the higher authorities of the Education department of Haryana to act immediately and ensure the compliance of rules.

The court has asked the department to file an affidavit detailing the action taken before October 24, 2006—the next date of hearing. This order was passed recently in response to the contempt petition filed by the Faridabad Abhibhawak Ekta Manch against top officials of the department, including the Commissioner-cum-Director General, School Education, Haryana.

This development follows the PIL, filed by the Manch on March 11, in response to which the court had given four months to the government to take action. According to the Manch president, Mr O.P. Sharma, the Manch, when failed to get a proper response from the department concerned for over a year, filed a contempt petition.

Subsequently, the court in its order on July 11 delivered the judgment, in which it took the matter seriously and asked the Financial Commissioner, Department of Education and the Director-General School Education, Haryana to initiate an action regarding the compliance of its order.

He said the court on March 11, 2005, had directed the authorities concerned to treat the writ petition as a representation and take decision in accordance with the law.

The government was also asked to give opportunity to hear the affected parties before coming out with the decision on the implementation of various rules.

However, according to Manch, the response of the department had been unsatisfactory in a communication dated July 11, 2006, sent by the Commissioner-cum-Director-General, School Education, Haryana. It was pointed out that some schools had refused to show the record, whereas others adopted a non-cooperative attitude.

In its order, the court observed that it need not to be reminded by it as to what kind of action the Commissioner-cum Director-General, School Education, could take or ought to take against those who obstructed the compliance of the directions issued by this court, thereby rendering themselves prima facie guilty of obstructing the administration of justice.

It is added that while the helplessness shown by the authorities could not be appreciated, the respondents were expected to be aware of the law enunciated by the apex court on the issue.

The PIL had alleged exploitation of the students by hiking fee and violating other rules. The Manch has also decided to file another petition for implementation of the Haryana School Education Rules Policy- 2003, which had been kept pending by the government so far.

New Delhi, July 30
Power distribution companies in the Capital will get CISF security cover from tomorrow to check widespread pilferage of electricity, a major reason for revenue loss and cause of concern for the state government.

As many as 120 personnel will be provided to discoms as the Union Home Ministry has cleared deployment of a company of CISF men following a request by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, the paramilitary force’s Director General S.I.S. Ahmed said.

Initially, CISF will provide one company to discoms and deploy more companies after ascertaining the requirement.

The CISF personnel, to start with, would be deployed in the trans-Yamuna areas under BYPL, where power theft is reported to be the maximum.

Noting that the raiding parties of the discoms have on a number of occasions been attacked while acting against power theft, the BSES official said the CISF men would ensure the security of the enforcement teams when they carry out raids.

New Delhi, July 30
The Delhi State Industrial Development Corporation (DSIDC) will now be known as the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC).

The Managing Director, Mr Jalaj Srivastva, said the name of the corporation was being changed in view of the fact that major construction work was being undertaken.

He said his organisation had developed an industrial state at Bawana on the outskirts of the Capital where more than 16,000 industrial units had been relocated.

Mr Srivastava also informed the DSIIDC had completed a number of prestigious construction projects on behalf of the Delhi Government.

New Delhi, July 30
The Delhi zoo authorities are unfazed by the strike call given by its union over the government’s proposal to give autonomy to the zoo.

Dr Paneerselvam, Veterinary Officer of the zoo who is officiating as Director denied reports that the employees’ strike would affect the daily feed to 132 species from the animal kingdom that have a place in the zoo. These include 1,200 birds, reptiles, mammals, lions and tigers.

He expressed confidence that the animals would get their feed as the employees have decided to observe a token strike from 9 am to 11 am.

Dr Paneerselvam said that he dissuaded the union from going on strike.

He said that about 80 full-time zoo employees are entrusted with the task of feeding the animals.

But animal rights activist and People for Animals (PFA) Chairperson Maneka Gandhi is not taking chances with the daily bread of the zoo inmates. Gandhi rang up Central Zoo Authority Member Secretary B.R. Sharma on Sunday and offered the service of her volunteers in case the employees decide not to feed the animals.

“I have told Sharma that our volunteers will be on stand by. In any case, how have the animals harmed the zoo employees? If they have a problem, they should sort it out with the human beings,” reasoned Ms Gandhi.

Mr Sharma told TNS that he has conveyed PFA’s offer to the acting Director of the zoo.

“I told Dr Paneerselvam that if the need arises, he can seek the help of PFA volunteers.”

New Delhi, July 30
The Delhi High Court has issued notice to the Chief Secretary and others on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking investigations into the alleged large-scale irregularities in the procurement of articles for various children’s and observation homes in the Capital.

A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vijendra Jain and Justice Kailash Ghambhir asked the respondents to file replies in counter affidavits within six weeks and posted the matter for hearing to October 10.

Quoting the audit reports, the petition filed by Raaj Mangal Prasad, president of the Association for Development (AFD), an organization working for the cause of destitute and neglected children, alleged that several lakhs of rupees meant for purchase of articles for the children’s and observation homes were being embezzled by the officials at various stages.

There are documents to claim purchases, which are either never made or done at highly inflated prices.

According to the petition, the children were being provided with cheap clothing, disproportionate sizes of footwear and substandard food material. 

Gurgaon, July 30
The Inspector General of Police, Gurgaon Range, Mr Mohinder Lal, on Friday conducted a surprise check of police control room and found four of the personnel absent at that moment.

He has directed the district police chief, Mr Hanif Qureshi, for a departmental probe in the matter.

The IG’s check is understood to be sequel to a number of complaints that the calls, including distress call made to the control room, were not attended to at times.

The police authorities, considering the growth of Gurgaon city and the rise in population, had recently increased lines to the control room (100) to seven. While four were in the general category, three of the lines were of particular sections of society like senior citizens and women Help Line.—TNS

Gurgaon, July 30
It was sad and unfortunate that around five crore female foetuses were terminated in India last year, informed Haryana Health Minister Kartar Devi.

She had come here to inaugurate Ayush Centre, the first in the state to provide treatment using five aged old techniques, ayurveda, yoga, unani, sidha and homeopathy, on the Civil Hospital premises today.

While addressing the august gathering on the occasion, the minister said these methods may take longer time in comparison to allopathic treatment but they heal ailments permanently without having any side-effects on the human body. The Health Minister said that in the state the female to male ratio was alarming and disappointing. She said, “We must not treat the female as a burden in our families. Giving the example of Ms Indra Gandhi, she said she was the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru but enhanced the name and image of her father’s family.

She exhorted government doctors to serve society in a more responsible manner. She lamented that private hospitals and doctors adopted the profession to make a fast buck. This noble profession was meant to serve society, specially the poor and weaker sections who could not afford high expenses for treatment, said the minister.

Ms Urvashi Gulati, Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Health Services, Haryana, said the state government had increased 60 per cent budget allocation for health services. The MRI machine costing Rs 5.75 crore has been sanctioned for Gurgaon, the second in the state after Rohtak PGI, revealed the officer.

She further informed that around 300 delivery huts, out of these 16 in Gurgaon, had been made functional in rural areas of state to reduce the infant mortality rate (IMR) which was 59 per 1000 live births in the state. Ms Gulati said that 200 more delivery huts would be made in the coming year. She added the state government had planned to reduce the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) from the present level of 300 mothers per one lakh mothers to below 100 by 2010.

She further appealed to the women who were present in a good number at the function to encourage breast feeding maximum as mother’s milk carried a lot of required protein for fighting ailments for the child.

In his address, the local MLA, Mr Dharambir Gauba, said private hospitals were out of reach for the poor. Thus, it was our responsibility to provide the best possible health services to them.

On the occasion, more than 50 women under schemes like the Janani Suraksha Yojna and Ladli were given financial assistance to encourage female birth.

Dr Paramjit Singh, Director, Ayush, Haryana, explained in detail the benefits of Ayush. Dr Lal Singh Yadav, in-charge of the Gurgaon Ayush centre, revealed that medicines costing Rs 4 lakh had already been provided for the centre. Soon, one more doctor, two assistants, and four massagers would be provided for the centre.

Dr Sushil Kurana of Gurgaon Rotary Club handed over a symbolic key of a mortuary which has been equipped with the facilities of preserving the six dead bodies for some days by Rotary Club to the Health Minister. While welcoming the chief guest and other distinguished persons, the Civil Surgeon, Dr D. V. Saharan, said the Gurgaon Civil Hospital had already been upgraded to 200 beds from 120 beds. Other facilities like operation theatre, lab, digital X ray, VCCTC, had been enhanced. The department would do its best to provide the best possible facilities to the masses, claimed Dr Saharan.

New Delhi, July 30
Dr Manjit Singh, an eminent dental surgeon has become the president of the Delhi state branch of Indian Dental Association (IDA), the apex body of dental fraternity in the country.

Dr Manjit Singh has remained president of south Delhi IDA branch earlier and is a fellow of
many national and international dental forums, including FDI World Dental Federation.

Gurgaon, July 30
After having completed more than a year of its rule in Haryana, the ruling Congress has decided to be more focused on the organisational front. It plans to ensure that pro-people policies and their implementation are undertaken by the official machinery.

On the other hand, the INLD has decided to gradually raise the political temperature against the state government. Party chief and former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala is expected to return from the USA in the first week of September.

The BJP is also fine-tuning its strategy to wage a political battle on its own steam. The party think tank feels that eventually the final contest in the state will be between it and the Congress.

A growing feeling among a section of senior Congress leaders in the state is that certain younger members should be projected as the face of the party. They could be instrumental in driving the youth towards the party.

The name of Mr Deepender Singh, who is the party MP from Rohtak and the son of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, is doing the rounds towards this exercise. The general view in the party is that while he has the trappings of modernity having studied abroad and quitting a high-profile job as a corporate executive with a multinational firm. Yet, he has shown a knack for understanding the problems of the farming community. Hence, there is a feeling in certain quarters that he could act as a bridge between the government and the party and the masses.

A senior Congress leader said that what stood out in bold relief in Mr Deepender Singh’s speech in Parliament was his taking up cudgels in support of Hisar Agriculture University (HAU). The university is located in Hisar, considered to be the pocket borough of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, the bete noire of Mr Hooda.

The MP from Rohtak took up the cause of scientists of HAU and also showed spunk in pointing out errors in the Budget speech of Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. The latter had failed to take note of the contributions of HAU scientists to the Green Revolution while he praised Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana. He also urged for a central grant for HAU while heaping praise on the good works done by its scientists.

Those who root for Mr Deepender Singh feel that he has already displayed his sense of equity and justice. It is learnt that the Congress will also publicise the speech of Mr Singh at some later date when it came to taking on the Congress rivals.

New Delhi, July 30
The Delhi Pradesh BJP chief, Dr Harsh Vardhan, has accused the central government of treating Delhi in a “stepmotherly way” with regard to development work.

He alleged sufficient funds were not being provided for the development schemes meant for the city. Dr Harsh Vardhan accused the Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit, of “being weak” and not being able to procure more grants from the Centre for development work of Delhi.

Dr Harsh Vardhan has demanded that the central government should provide a package of Rs 25,000 crore for the upgradation of basic amenities in Delhi.

The Delhi BJP chief said the central government had given Delhi only Rs 770 crore for projects amounting to Rs 1400 crore whereas the Prime Minister had sanctioned a package of Rs 3700 crore for Vidharbha.—TNS

New Delhi, July 30
A 68-year-old woman, accused of possessing 190 kg ‘ganja’, has been acquitted by a city court.

Additional Sessions Judge O P Gupta let off Parwati, who was accused of selling ganja to the labourers at Shalimar Bagh in West Delhi, stating that the prosecution could not substantiate the charges levelled against her.

Parwati was facing trial under Section 20 of the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The court observed that the “secret information”, based on which she was arrested, was not conveyed to the senior officers in writing, which was an utter violation of Section 42 (2) of the NDPS Act. As many as 10 prosecution witnesses were examined during the trial while the chargesheet against her was filed on December 12, 2002.—TNS

Greater Noida, July 30
A Sub Divisional Magistrate, who had allegedly helped land shark Moti Goel with illegal transfer of land worth Rs 900 crore, had absconded a year back. He has at last been nabbed by the CBI. Ram Lakhan Singh, a former SDM of Secunderabad tehsil, was arrested on Saturday night.

The retired SDM has been accused of helping Moti Goel and his family members by transferring village society land worth Rs 900 crore.

During 1995-96, Ram Lakhan Singh had transferred 100 bighas of land in Haldona village worth Rs 400 crore in the name of Moti Goel and his relatives.

Similarly, in Kasna and Amarpur villages, too, land worth Rs 550 crore was registered in Moti Goel’s name. The land involved here was 150 bighas belonging to the government. This was illegally transferred in Moti Goel‘s name. Later, Moti Goel had in connivance with Greater Noida officials got this land transferred to the developed area for possible use.

What is laudable is the fact that the entire proceeds from this exhibition will go towards financing the education of some underprivileged children with the help of an NGO.

Icons of Russian religious life

For the uninitiated, the photo exhibition on “Religious Life and Traditions in Russia” at the India International Centre here can be an eye-opener. The exhibition, which is on till August 1, attempts to project through artfully shot photographs the icons of religious life and traditions prevalent in that country.

Organised by the Russian Centre for Science and Culture here and the Russian news agency, RIA Novosti, the photographs visually educate the viewer about the various religions, be it the Russian Orthodox Church, Islam, Judaism or Buddhism. Special effort has also been made to capture the religion related architecture of the churches, the mosques and the pagodas on photographs.

Selling art for a noble cause

Ansal API, a well-known real estate company, organised a sale-cum-exhibition of Raja Ravi Varma’s oleographs here to finance the Saraswati Kendra Learning Centre for Children with learning disabilities.

Mr Pranav Ansal, Director, Ansal API, said the company was aware of its corporate social responsibility and had been organising such events regularly to raise funds for the underprivileged of society.

Nature in all its glory

Delhi artist, Mohammed Arshad Ameen, is holding a solo exhibition of his landscapes at Triveni Kala Sangam here from July 31 to August 10. Arshad Ameen, a lecturer in the fine arts department of Jamia Millia Islamia here has over the years perfected his technique of painting landscapes. He has developed a deep affinity with nature over the years and this is reflected in his compositions and the judicious use of colours. Born in Lucknow, the Capital of Uttar Pradesh known for its cultural finesse, Arshad received his initial training at the College of Arts and Crafts there before acquiring his postgraduate degree in fine arts from the Jamia university here.

Reflection by M. Arshad Ameen