The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Delhi and neighbourhood

	No tax raids in festivals, Walia assures traders Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 12 State finance and planning minister A K Walia has assured traders that the enforcement staff of trade and tax department would not raid commercial establishments during the festive season. He assured this to a delegation of traders and industrial organisations today. The traders acquainted him with their demands and requested him to arrange for an online submission of quarterly returns, ensure delivery arrangement of forms through a counter at the ground floor, rationalisation of VAT rates and putting an end to harassment by the department officials. Walia informed that the department was planning to introduce e-governance. Traders would not be required to submit hard copy, after submitting their online return. The department is adopting a system to provide for the online submission of return with the digital signatures of traders. It would evolve a system for the submission of quarterly returns through online procedure against monthly returns. He said that rationalisation of VAT rates would be examined and placed before the empowered committee. As regards harassment, Walia clarified that his department had no intention of meting out such behaviour to traders. He exhorted traders to co-operate in enhancement of tax collection. It was announced that a system would be evolved that would enable traders to register their complaints. He assured traders that the government was keen to help traders and regular quarterly meetings of the VAT and the traders advisory council would be convened. The government is also interested in encouraging traders so that they could contribute in government exchequer.
	Save Yamuna campaign Students for dialogue, Sheila for monologue Vibha Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 12 The proposed Commonwealth Games Village on the Yamuna riverbed will threaten environment. This point has been argued by experts.To lend their voice to the chorus of protest a group of school students, headed by their teacher, met the Delhi Chief Minister yesterday. The meeting, however, left the group “angry and anguished” with the way Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit allegedly reacted to their appeal “for shifting the site of the Commonwealth Games Village from the proposed site at the Yamuna riverbed to an environmentally and ecologically-safer location”. In a statement Madhu Bhatnagar, head of the environment programme of Shri Ram School, Aravali, Gurgaon, and her students Priyanjali Mitra, Rohit Sharma, Shefali Kaul, Anmol Ahlawhat, Sasha.S.Jacob, Shraddha Kaur, Rohan Kumar, Anushka Patara and Vaishnavi Rao said they approached Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to appeal to her to shift the site of the Games Village and remind her the importance of the floodplains only as concerned citizens of Delhi. “We went to her with hope and trust but left with a virtual ‘slap’ across our faces….As we tried to introduce our stand, she immediately cut us out with an emphatic, ‘No no no ………’,” they said. Members of the group say they were extremely civil, polite and concerned about this cause, “but we were told that we trying to be ‘fashionable’ and indulging in ‘publicity stunts.” Madhu says as per statistics the total surface area of the Yamuna floodplain is 97 square-km and the natural depth of the floodplain is in the range of 40-100m. “Even if we take the minimum value of that range which is 40m, calculations clearly tell us that the Yamuna floodplain can sustain approximately 4000 million cubic metres of water. Even 60 per cent of that amount is more than sufficient to meet the total water requirement of Delhi. Hence, the consequences of construction of the CG village on this floodplain would be disastrous as we would be destroying many years of existence ahead of us. But somehow our Chief Minister didn’t think so and even after reminding her of the one mistake that the government made (Akshardham) she said that we should write about this to the government, clearly forgetting that she is the government,” she adds. In fact, the statement also has “a direct quote from the Chief Minister.” According to the group, the Chief Minister said: “I have 10,000 hectares at my disposal and I shall develop the CGV, come what may!” “To justify herself further, she went on to tell us that if major rivers like Thames in Europe have embankments on the floodplains and a flourishing ecosystem in the river then why cannot the Yamuna have the same in New Delhi. This defence, in our opinion, is illogical as a perennial river such as the Thames and a seasonal, monsoon -fed river like Yamuna are incomparable. Clearly, facts have not been brought to her notice or she has plainly wanted to ignore them. Embankments along the River Danube in Europe are being demolished as they are known to cause floods but in India we are going ahead with full fledged construction,” Madhu says.z “She told us I have two years to complete work and development will definitely take place,” Madhu says, questioning “Is it worth destroying our heritage and our source of survival for a mere nine-day event? Shouldn’t the youth have a say in this matter concerning their ‘risky’ future?”
	Student stripped, tortured Parmindar Singh Greater Noida, October 12 In a ragging incident here, six seniors of an educational institute in Greater Noida caught hold of a new comer, disrobed him and tortured him for four hours stamping his naked body with lit cigarettes butts last week. They also made the junior dance naked to the tune of filmi music for hours. The senior students did not stop here. They even forced Prashant Kumar Agheri to sign a suicide note. Prashant alleged that he was tortured by senior students with burning butts of cigarettes and deodorants. When the college management failed to take any action, Prashant filed a report with the police. Howeveer, all the accused senior students have absconded as soon as the complaint was lodged with police. A first year student of B. Arch in an institute at Knowledge Park–I, Prashant, hails from Uttam Nagar in West Delhi. He was called by the seniors on the pretext of a party. He was made to sign the suicide note. Later, he was disrobed and hanged from a window grill. He was also forced to dance naked to some music played by them. Burning butts of cigarette were pressed against his naked body. After waiting for one week of his complaint lodged with the college authorities, Prashant lodged a complaint with Kasna police. The incident had shocked and worried Prashant’s parents no end. The police have registered a case under sections 143, 223 and 342. SSP, G B Nagar said strong action will be taken against the guilty students. GNIDA Dy CEO P.C. Gupta said explanation is being sought from education institutions for ragging incidents. He said such ragging incidents mostly take place in institutes which do not have hostel facilities of their own.
	CM launches plantation Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 12 Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that massive tree plantation in the national Capital had been a priority for the government, and in this endeavour, nine new city forests were being created at various places in city. The Department of Forests and Wild Life has targeted to plant 72,000 saplings in South Forest Division.She claimed this launching a tree plantation programme at the Chhatarpur temple. About 300 children from Shri Adya Katyayani Shaktipeeth Primary School participated in the tree plantation programme. In addition to this 18.9 lakh saplings are proposed to be planted during the current year. The Chhattarpur Temple complex has a good tree cover. This yeaar plantation is to be undertaken at Matangi Parisar, Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, and Markanday Parisar. While Ashoka saplings have been planted along the periphery of Matangi Parisar, Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya will have native trees. Along the boundary wall of parking space in Makanday Parisar Alstonia -scholaris will be planted.
	Unexpected crime Former soldier held for murder New Delhi, October 12 Gopal Singh, 45, a former army man, who allegedly killed two persons and was involved in several robberies in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, was arrested from Kashmiri Gate bus terminal on Thursday. He reportedly had absconded from the custody of the Rajasthan police. The police said that Singh admitted that he was court-martialled and imprisoned by the Indian Army for killing a man in Mizoram in 1984. He also admitted of opening fire on his commanding officer during a routine military drill. “After returning to his village Pali, in Rajasthan, he joined the gang of Vikram Singh and started committing robberies. He later went to Uttar Pradesh and was involved in criminal activities,” said deputy commis- sioner of police (crime branch) Madhup Tiwari. — IANS
	Handicrafts and Gifts Fair from Oct 16 Our Correspondent Noida, October 12 The 24th Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fair will start on October 16 at the India Expo Centre & Mart in Greater Noida Expressway. This will be the biggest handicraft fair to be held in Asia. The fair will cover an area of more than 1,00,000 sq metres. 2,400 exhibitors are expected to participate in the Fair. 600 new companies from across India are expected to exhibit their products. The exclusive features of the Fair will be a trend forum, a thematic display of handicrafts from Uttarakhand and a pavilion of products from the North-East. M/s Pantone Inc of the USA had organised a trend forum highlighting the future trends during the last two years. This year there will be a display on designs, trend and colours in the world market on ‘Home 2008’. Around 8,000 buyers from America, Europe, West Africa, Central Africa, the Far East, West Asia and the Central Asia would be attending the fair. It is expected that the Fair would generate orders to an estimated sum of Rs 800-900 crores. As against the handicrafts fair held in other countries, the products displayed at the Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair would be of Indian origin. Rakesh Kumar, executive director, EPCH said that the turnover of buyers is expected to cross the 8,000 mark. He added that buyers representing departmental stores, speciality stores, mail order houses, category houses, retail stores would attend the Fair. Specialists like consultants, architects, distributors, agencies and importers would attend the fair. He further said that the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts had organised 23 such fairs. He mentioned that the EPCH was making logistic arrangements for facilitating buyers to visit the Fair. Saying that the IHGF had acquired the reputation of ‘the most cost-effective overseas marketing medium’ among the Indian community and ‘one-stop sourcing venue’ among the overseas buying community, he remarked that buyers who want variety would find the IHGF the most appropriate forum. The IHGF would showcase the best of Indian products, skill and craftsmanship. The uniqueness of the Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair is its diversified range of products that would be exhibited. More than 900 products of different designs would be displayed at the Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair.
	Doctors stir hits LNJP services New Delhi, October 12 Resident doctors of the state-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital shut down emergency services today, after the relatives of a patient roughed up some doctors and vandalised hospital property, alleging that the patient died due to the doctors’ negligence. The relatives allegedly manhandled five doctors, including one female, after the patient died late on Thursday. “We have called a strike and are only treating patients admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and other serious patients,” said Dr Jitendra Singhal, president of association of Maulana Azad medical college and associated hospitals. “We have met the state health secretary, but no decision has been taken on calling off the strike,” Singhal told IANS. Earlier this year the LNJP doctors, staff and nurses had called on strike, after a doctor was beaten up for the same reason. — IANS
	Rahul’s banters keep TV at bay New Delhi, October 12 Rahul Gandhi is often portrayed as reticent and unapproachable by the media, but when he sees a familiar journalist he does not hesitate to banter. He raises his guard the moment he sees an approaching television camera team. Standing beside his sister Priyanka Vadra in the tea room of the Taj Palace Hotel, where the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit was held today, Gandhi even cracked a joke at the expense of the aggressive television journalists. “Look at north Indian journalists (referring to the TV journalists), how overpowering they are; see how calm the south Indian journalists are,” he quipped as he saw them rushing towards him as he was talking to print jour-nalists. Chuckling, he told the TV journalists, “I am not holding a press conference. I will call you soon.” Gandhi told IANS that he would campaign in Gujarat during elections, if the party asked him to do so. He did not speak at the Summit, but listened to his mother, Sonia Gandhi, who impressed the audience with the way she fielded tricky questions from moderator Vir Sanghvi. — IANS
	Festival of disabled artists from today Our Correspondent Ghaziabad, October 12 A weeklong festival of the physically and mentally challenged people—artists, painters and warriors of “martial arts on wheels” being enacted on stage on the central court of Pacific Mall, Kaushambi, Ghaziabad, is starting from October 13. This is perhaps the first time ever when a commercial mall in India, the Pacific Mall in Ghaziabad has taken the initiative to bring a weeklong festival of disabled artists starting tomorrow. This unique festival will consist of five major internationally acclaimed dance theatre performances by persons with mental and physical disabilities, directed, choreographed and curetted by a renowned disabled theatre director, Guruji -Syed Sallauddin Pasha. Simultaneously, there will be weeklong painting exhibition by physically challenged artists on the Mall premises. The festival will begin at 6.30 pm on October 13, 2007, with two major performances at Pacific Mall slated for Saturday. ‘Bansal Group of Companies’ is a trusted name in setting up commercial complexes and malls, who are also dedicated to the cause of education and uplift of the under privileged children. This time they have taken this major task of week long awareness campaign of disability, says Bansal Corporation, chairman, S K Bansal. “We have specially designed this festival to showcase the abilities of persons with mental and physical disabilities through various art performances and painting exhibition.
	Annual day celebrated Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 12 Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal FH Major inaugurated the 52nd annual day of The Air Force School (TAFS) at Subroto Park in the Capital today. He enlightened them on the role of education in nurturing an individual. Zareen Major, president of the Air Force Wife Welfare Association distributed prizes to meritorious students. TAFS principal S K Aggarwal emphasised on the need to attain balance in life.
	Rahman to perform on November 17 New Delhi, October 12 Veteran music composer A.R. Rahman is all set to perform in the Capital on November 17 and thanks Fever 104 FM for making his dream come true. “I wanted to come and perform here but things did not work out, but now with the help of Fever 104 FM I will get a chance to perform and jive Delhi audience,” said A.R. Rahman at the first anniversary of Fever 104 FM.0 The concert will be held after 35 days of talent hunt, which will be conducted by Fever 104 FM, from October 12 to November 17. Of all the entries, 10 singers will be shortlisted for the semi-final round. The five, who will clear the semi-final round, will be sent to Chennai to meet the maestro, who will choose one of them to perform on stage with him. Currently, Rahman is busy with international assignments. He has composed music for Shekhar Kapur’s ‘Elizabeth - The Golden Age’, which is releasing today. He worked with composer Craig Armstrong in the film. “It has been a nice experience working with Craig and Shekhar,” said Rahman, who is also doing a project in London but he refused to talk about it. Rahman, whose songs in ‘Rang De Basanti’ and ‘Guru’ enthrals music lovers, is looking forward to Ashutosh Gowariker’s period drama ‘Jodhaa-Akbar’ for which he has scored the music. — IANS
	Special cleanliness drive Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 12 The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has launched a special sanitation-cum-cleanliness drive from today so as to ensure that Delhi wears aesthetic look during the festive season and on the festivals of Dusshera, Id-ul-Fitar and Deepawali. The Mayor, Arti Mehra, started this drive at Hauz Khas Market while Subhash Arya, Leader of House started Sanitation Drive from Block-3, Rajouri Garden. The office-bearers of various resident welfare associations and traders associations of the area as well as local residents also participated in the sanitation drive started from today. The Mayor said that during the drive, it would be ensured that the standard of sanitation was maintained by the field agencies with proper supervision at the ground level. She said that sanitation-cum-cleanliness drive could not be successful with the mere participation of safai karamcharies, but it required a concerted and collected team efforts by all supervisory staff and officers of various departments of MCD as well as citizens. Efforts will also be made to ensure that the spirit of cleanliness achieved during the drive is maintained for all time to come. Vijender Gupta, chairman, Standing Committee, has requested municipal councillors, chairmen of Ward Committees to co-operate and guide the municipal staff engaged in various works to be carried out during the drive. He has also directed the additional commissioners and deputy commissioners of all 12 zones of MCD to ensure proper implementation of the drive in their zones. Subhash Arya disclosed that officers of environment management services department were requested to ensure that all the accumulation of malba and refuge be collected from market areas, commercial or office complexes, residential colonies, religious places and disposed of at sanitary landfill sites (SLFs). Special attention on improving the surroundings be paid to the entry or exit points of Old and New Delhi Railway Stations, Inter State Bus Terminus, airport, markets, religious places and major road junctions. All public conveniences will be cleaned, washed and treated with disinfectants.