Ghaziabad, August 1
Dhaulana near Ghaziabad is in news these days, as Imran Malik one of the four persons arrested in Udaipur for allegedly being involved in the serial bomb blasts that took place in Ahmedabad hails from this place.

Imran Malik, 20, is a school dropout. He was learning to be an occult. He had been coming to Delhi to learn the art from the past six months.

Last time he had left the house 18 days ago, his mother Saijan Khatoon said.

She is clueless about how her son landed in Udaipur. All she knows is that Imran had rented a house in Delhi, which he left after sometime. She broke down saying, “My son is innocent. He is a simple boy.”

Meanwhile, the local intelligence agency has been asked to find out if Abdul Halim who was arrested in connection with the Godhra riot accused had any links with Pilkhua, a nearby town. However, the local intelligence unit has not been able to find any link between Halim and Pilkhua, said a local intelligence official.

Pilkhua had become famous about 20 years ago as Abdul Kareem, a terrorist who had specialised in making bombs hailed from here. One of his hands had blown while making bombs. This had earned him the title of ‘Tunda’ (one-armed man).

The chemicals used by the dying industry in Pilkhua – potassium chlorate, sulphuric acid and ammonium nitrate are used to make bombs. This is what tunda had done in the 1990s. Tunda is absconding since a long time and it is said that he is dead. However, the local intelligence officials continue to visit his house. “He has not visited us in the last 12 years,” says Tunda’s sister, Tahira Khatoon who lives in Ashok Nagar mohalla in Pilkhua.

Some old people of Dhaulana recall with legitimate pride the 14 martyrs that Dhaulana, 50 kms from Delhi, had produced. They were hanged for their role in the first war of the country’s independence in 1857. But today Dhaulana is a sleepy town, where people feel ashamed as it is linked with terrorist activities.

New Delhi, August 1
Three months are left for the assembly elections in Delhi, but the BJP has started the process for selecting candidates for the same, sources said.

The party high command has directed the Delhi unit of the BJP to prefer party workers from the grass-route level as candidates.

The selection of candidates should be done carefully and fairly. Money and nepotism should not be factor for ticket.

According to the sources, the final decision about the party candidates will be taken by the election committee that is headed by the deputy leader of the Lok Sabha, Prof Vijay Kumar Malhotra.

The committee will discuss with the district committees before taking a decision about the candidates. The district committee members have better knowledge about the credibility of the candidates in the segments.

The party has also decided that inflation, sealing and demolition will be the main election issues.

The leader of the opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Prof Jagdish Mukhi, said that the rate of inflation has touched the figure of 11.98 per cent. The base of calculating inflation is the wholesale price index. The price in the retail market is much more, he claimed.

He said it was surprising that the prices of luxury goods were stagnant while there was 100 per cent hike in those of essential commodities.

Citizens of Delhi who are facing the heat of inflation will not spare the Congress government in the forthcoming elections, they feel.

Besides, the traders are upset as due to the burden of taxes they are unable to speed up their business. When VAT was introduced, it was announced that other taxes would be withdrawn immediately. But it was not done, he said.

New Delhi, August 1
A mob of around 150 persons today intruded into the colony of BSES employees, Urja Vihar in East Delhi, and went on the rampage, damaging two-wheelers and other vehicles. No one was reported injured.

The mob which was reportedly led y a local politician also snapped overhead electricity wires in the colony.

Scared residents, mostly women and children, locked themselves in their homes to escape the fury of the mob which belonged to the nearby unauthorised colony in the Mandawli area.

According to the police, the mob was protesting against loadshedding in the area which the BSES officials said was caused by overloading.

The BSES officials alleged that the mob prevented the engineers from rectifying the fault when the BSES team responded to the complaint.

Later, some local leaders allegedly instigated the residents to attack the colony.

The mob was finally chased away by policemen who were summoned by panicky residents.

The police said a case had been registered and efforts were being made to identify the suspects and the alleged leaders.

According to BSES officials, the incident occurred around 11.30 am.

The 150-strong mob intruded into the colony by scaling the boundary walls and immediately went on the rampage, damaging vehicles.

Meanwhile, the police said the security around the colony was being strengthened and a picket stationed there in case of any recurrence of violence.

Further investigations are on.

New Delhi, August 1
There may not be any grand weddings during the next two months as the stars are not right but an exhibition here unfolds just how magnificent the big day can be once the marriage season kicks off in October.

The sixth edition of ‘Celebrating Vivaha’ opened here today, and with each passing year, the exhibition is getting bigger and better — and is now venturing abroad.

“We have participation by leading national as well as international brands covering the entire gamut of all that is required for a wedding,” said ‘Celebrating Vivaha’ CEO Tarun Sarda.

Given its success here, Sarda has picked up the courage to take the exhibition to Dubai, where ‘The Grand Indian Wedding Exhibition’ will be held in Dubai from October 9-11.

This exhibition brings together the latest in the business of weddings and fashion under one roof, giving designers, exhibitors as well as brides and grooms-to-be a platform to plan their wedding in advance.

A special attraction this time is designer Vikram Phadnis showcasing his wedding collection and Bollywood mehndi queen Veena Nagda, displaying her skills.

These apart, the exhibition features a mind-boggling variety of wedding trousseaus and home accessories, as also stalls showcasing wedding planners, honeymoon destinations and whatever else is associated with a wedding.

“The best thing about this place is that one gets under one roof an idea of what to buy and what is in these days,” Soumya Gupta, a visitor said.

The exhibition started from Ludhiana in July and from here it moves to Mumbai, Indore, Bangalore, Kolkata, and Hyderabad before returning to the Capital in December. — IANS

New Delhi, August 1
Mayor Arti Mehra today called upon the mothers of newborn babies as well as expecting mothers to start breastfeeding their infants within one hour of the birth.

“Mother’s milk is a boon given by the God for healthier and hygienic development of the child,” said Mehra.

She said that mothers’ milk contains all nutritious elements necessary for the growth of child besides, raising resistance power against diseases.

Speaking at a function organised at MCD Ayurvedic Maternity Hospital Complex, Haiderpur to commemorate the World Breastfeeding Week, the Mayor called upon the medical and para-medical staff to create awareness amongst mothers to breastfeed their infants.

Mehra also stressed that doctors must train new mothers as to how to breastfeed their babies.

Chairman of the medical relief and public health committee of the MCD, Dr V. K. Monga said that MCD is observing World Breast feeding Week with an aim of sensitising expecting mothers about the importance of breastfeeding.

All 160 maternity and child welfare centers and municipal medical institutions will be organising various community programmes, competitions, interactive sessions and field activities in their respective areas to create public awareness about breastfeeding.

Chairperson of the Mahila Kalyan and Bal Vikas Samiti Rekha Gupta said that newborn babies should be breastfed by mothers since it is the natural food for infants. She added that if the practice is adopted at large scale, infant mortality could be reduced considerably. It will also reduce incidents of malnutrition, diarrhea and growth disorders amongst infants.

New Delhi, August 1
An anonymous letter threatening serial bomb blasts in the Patiala House district courts complex today was received by a magistrate court, prompting the police to further beef up the security arrangement to foil subversive attacks.

The letter was received around 12.30 pm by the court staff of metropolitan magistrate Sanjay Bansal and sent to the Delhi police for investigation. The letter said serial blasts could rock the district courts in the afternoon, court sources said.

Tilak Marg police station officials, who received the letter from the magistrate, swung into action and rushed to the court complex for a re-look of the security arrangements.

Security has been stepped up in and around the court complex while the police is busy verifying the authenticity of the threat letter, a senior police official said.

“There have been instances when some pranksters, involved in litigation at the court complex, try such tricks to procure an adjournment in their case,” said a court employee, adding that a probe would reveal the truth in this case.

New Delhi, August 1
In a major attempt to build poetry culture in the city, once renowned for its poetry and poets like Ghalib, Jamia Millia Islamia University in association with the Delhi Poetree recently announced the launch of poetry session ‘Mon Poetree Jam’.

The first session will take place on August 4 when Jamia will open its doors for poetry lovers from all walks of life. The sessions will be held on the first and third Mondays of each month.

The idea is that discussion on poetry, reading of poetry and the love for poetry should once again flow in Delhi.

After tea and introductions, a featured poet will read his work and then discussions would follow. The poetry sessions are open to the general public.

Delhi Poetree is the brainchild of the inimitable poet laureate Amit Dahiyabadshah. And the idea behind the movement is to provide Delhi with a minimum of 30 poetry readings a month, identify and honour a hundred poets and enable them to earn a taxable income from poetry in five years time.