New Delhi, December 4
Tis Hazari district court premises were vacated today following an anonymous call to the police about threat of a terror attack. The call triggered panic among lawyers, litigants and court staff as well as security personnel.

According to the police, a call was received at around 8.50 am that six terrorists would come under the garb of lawyers and carry out a shooting spree at the Tis Hazari complex. “The caller had said that the terrorists in the attire of advocates will carry out indiscriminate firing between 10 am and 2 pm at the court complex,” said a police official. However, the police failed to find anything related to terrorists in their five-hour search. Responding to the call, the police and security staff rushed to the court premises and cordoned off the entire area while staff, litigants and lawyers were asked to call it a day in view of the threat. Police teams, which included bomb disposal experts and sniffer dogs, sanitized every room to ensure that no terrorist was holed up anywhere while looking for any explosive at the same time.

Surender Kaliraman, a lawyer at Tis Hazari, said, “We had just reached the court premises when the Delhi police officials walked in to inform us about the threat. The court premises were evacuated while the police got on to their job of searching any explosives there.”

Kaliraman revealed that the work was suspended for the day and the cases which were to be taken up today would be dealt with next day. After checking the entire premises of the court for almost five hours, the police failed to find anything. “It was a hoax call. Nobody kills or bomb people after calling the police. But since we cannot take any chances with such calls, we had to check the entire premises and thankfully we did not find anything threatening,” said a police official.

Following the threat, all proceedings were suspended for the day at Tis Hazari. Even the Delhi High Court suspended all hearings scheduled for today. Heavy police contingent was deployed at the Delhi High Court to keep an eye on any miscreant trying to enter the court. This was a second hoax bomb call in two days after a caller threatened a terror strike in two schools in the Capital yesterday.

New Delhi, December 4
There will be no new tax on Delhi citizens in budget estimates of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for the year 2009-2010. Budget estimates will be tabled tomorrow in the Standing Committee by the municipal commissioner, said chairman, Standing Committee, Vijender Gupta.

He said that the revised budget estimates for the year 2008-09 as well as budget estimates for the year 2009-2010 in respect of general wing as well as slum and JJ Wing of MCD would be presented by the municipal commissioner tomorrow.

Gupta said that a code of conduct was in force due to elections to Delhi Legislative Assembly. As such, Delhi State Election Commission was approached whether presentation of budget estimates by the municipal commissioner would tantamount to violation of code of conduct.

Since it is mandatory under Section 109 of the DMC Act to finalise the budget estimate before February 15 of every year so that new rates of taxes, fees and penalties could be enforced from April 1.

It is, therefore, imperative that budget estimates should be presented by the commissioner before the Standing Committee up to December 10 so that these could be deliberated by the zonal ward committees as well as statutory committees before finalisation by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

Gupta said that responding to the letter of MCD, the Election Commission has given the answer in the affirmative and allowed presentation of budget estimates.

He further said that this year the budget was to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore and will touch Rs 6,000-crore mark in 2009-10, which will be an all-time record.

In the budget estimates of 2009-2010, the focus will be on all-round infrastructure development of Delhi. A considerable amount will be spent on various projects keeping in view the ensuing Commonwealth Games 2010.

Gupta further said that after presentation by the commissioner, these budget estimates will be sent to the 12 zonal ward committees for consideration.

New Delhi, December 4
The revenue earned by the Delhi Traffic police through traffic challans this year indicates that the department is on the verge of losing more than Rs 20 crore.

The data indicate that the Delhi Traffic police has generated an amount of Rs 72 crore from challans till November 15 this year. But when compared to the revenue generated till the same period last year, the department falls by about Rs 20 crore.

According to the Delhi Traffic police officials, the department had earned Rs 92 crore till November 15, 2007.

The officials believe even after the revenue earned through challans till December 31 is added to Rs 72 crore, there would be a huge gap between the revenue generated this year and the last year.

However, the officials are quick to point out that the less revenue generated by way of challans this year is not to be confused with the less number of traffic challans issued or that Delhites are showing better traffic manners.

“ In fact we have issued more challans this year. As per our records, we have already issued about 1.5 lakh more challans than the last year,” claimed a senior traffic police official adding that the less revenue was the result of Supreme Court’s stay on reducing the fine by Rs 500 on every challan this year. Therefore, in spite of issuing more challans the traffic police managed to generate much less revenue.

He informed that while 20.9 lakh challans were issued till November 15, 2007, this year the department had issued 23.5 lakh challans.

However, with the decrease in the amount of fine, the revenue figures belie the number of challans issued.

Earlier even a minor traffic offence like – if a vehicle crossed the zebra strip on red light or if someone drove a vehicle without a horn – they were liable to pay a challan worth Rs 500, the amount was decreased to a meagre Rs 100 after the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The Delhi Traffic Offences and Penal Section mentions that the traffic constable has the right to issue challans for more than 46 offences. Of these two — drunken driving (breath test) and using commercial vehicles without permit — are dealt with court challans only, while the rest fall under the preview of traffic challans.

The maximum penalty of Rs 2,000 comes from two offences — using unregistered vehicles and violating the rule related to the entry of Heavy Traffic Vehicle (HTV).

Another four offences command challan worth Rs 1,000 — using mobile phone while driving, disobeying legal directions, driving recklessly and allowing an unauthorised person to drive.

Gurgaon, December 4
No one can stop him from completing his target of touring the globe, be it the hot weather of Sahara desert of South America or deep forest of Amazon or frozen weather of Dhru. He is 55 years old and has a great passion for cycling and wants to spread the message of love, peace and equality.

Ram Chandra Biswas, from Kolkatta, started his journey on April 21, 1982 with Indira Gandhi flagging him off. He has covered more than 5,97,500 km, through 156 countries and 2283 cities, including all of Africa, south, central and north America, Caribbean island, east or west Europe, including Scandinavia, many states of Russia, the south and north poles, including Alaska, Greenland, Spitsburgen and Siberia, all Pacific islands and Australia.

He is on a mission to visit the remaining 44 countries in the next five years.

Biswas also has been photo journalist and a painter. He left his job with post and telegraph department to fulfil his mission. His parents tried to stop him but he carried on. After the recognisation he was got, his parents also gave him his blessing. To complete his mission Biswas didn’t even get married.

He started with one dollar in his pocket and knowing one language but now he knows more than 10 languages.

Coming from Bhiwari, he’ll be visiting Delhi’s external ministry and has planned to visit China.

He owns a museum where he has displayed more than 10 lakh items he gathered during his travels. Biswas is also planning to write a book on his experience once his journey is completed. He rattles off the names of the countries he has visited without a pause.

It is difficult to keep pace with the unbelievable number of places he and his cycle have visited and has changed three cycles till now. “I also got chance to meet Pope John Paul, Mother Teresa, Dalai Lama and even got to stay for five days with Edmond Hillary, the first person to conquer the Everest,  at his house,” Biswas reveals with a smile and proud.

“We can surely achieve world peace through our truthfulness and self-determination,” Biswas feels and adds, “I have received love, respect and care wherever I have visited.” He says, “Every country stores good as well as bad things and all depends on our mind.”

He has the citizenship of many countries which otherwise is difficult to get, like America, Germany, Sweden or France.

Greater Noida, December 4
Terror and unrest have captured the minds of residents as three loots and a dacoity were reported from Dadri in just three days.

About a dozen armed criminals entered an under construction powerhouse at NTPC Road in Dadri and decamped with goods worth Rs 4 lakh, after making the four security guards on duty, captives.

However, a case has been registered at Jarcha police station.

Ambuja Company is working on a 220-KW power sub-station at NTPC Road. While four security guards were manning the main gate of the under construction sub-station, about a dozen persons barged into the area after scaling the boundary wall. The intruders tied the guards at gunpoint.

They snatched the guns, cartridges and mobile phones from the security guards. When the guards resisted, they were badly beaten up.

The intruders then broke open the rooms and loaded their mini truck with goods and sped away.

When workers came to the site the following morning, they saw the tied guards and informed the site manager. The manager said in a complaint that the intruders had decamped with goods worth Rs 4 lakh.

In another such incident, a woman was looted of her valuables in the area.

Residents allege whenever victims go to police stations to lodge FIRs, they are threatened and shooed away.

New Delhi, December 4
One in 12 people worldwide is living with either chronic Hepatitis B or chronic Hepatitis C. This is far higher than the prevalence of HIV or any cancer because awareness of such diseases is inexplicably low.

An awareness campaign was arranged on the Hepatitis Awareness Day today here in the Capital, organized by the department of family welfare, government of Delhi in association with G.B.Pant Hospital, and Maulana Azad Medical College.

The chief guest for the function was chief secretary, Delhi, Rakesh Mehta. The programme was partnered by the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).

Doctors and armymen too participated in the programme to create awareness among citizens and healthcare workers in Delhi. Head of gastroenterology of GB Pant Hospital, S.K Sarin and director-general, medical services, navy, V.S.Dixit were present on the occasion.

“Hepatitis is preventable and with proper vaccination, treatment can be life-saving. This year the emphasis is on organ donation. We want the people of India to pledge the precious gift of liver for needy, sick and ailing people. In organ donation, we are three decades behind other countries, and we must think of liver donation as a noble gesture by a deceased person,” said Sarin. 

Hepatitis, inflammation of the liver is a global health problem and is amongst the ten most deadly killers in the world. There are 350 million Hepatitis B positive people worldwide. About 1 million die each year from Hepatitis B infection, making it the 9th leading cause of death worldwide. The number of patients dying of Hepatitis B in 1 year is nearly 100 times more than that of AIDS.

Hepatitis is a more common disease in India. It is estimated that nearly 45 million Indians are suffering from Hepatitis B and 15 million from Hepatitis C. These are the commonest causes of liver failure and liver cancer.

This year mass participation was done by schoolchildren. More than 20 schools from Delhi participated in the poster and poetry competition. A skit was presented by the nursing students. Even teachers, healthcare personnel and general public informed people of the disease and its cure.

Moreover, during the event blood screening and counselling for Hepatitis B and C were conducted as a part of the awareness campaign.

“Liver diseases are treatable in India, and we have all possible ways for treating 6 crore patients who are suffering from Hepatitis B and C, but the treatment is costly. We need NGOs and corporate houses to come forward to help the people in need,” said an official. 

Hepatitis A and B are preventable with vaccines and elementary lifestyle modifications. Surprisingly, India has the highest number of Hepatitis E patients and second highest Hepatitis B patients.

According to the World Health Organization, there are 400 million people in the world with Hepatitis B and 75% of them live in Asia. Similarly, a report has placed around 1.09 crore people to have chronic Hepatitis C in India with a greater proportion of cases being reported from north-eastern India.

“There is a need to spread awareness among both the public and healthcare workers about the disease and its prevention,” said teacher of St. Peters School, Archna Awasthi. 

This year the theme of Hepatitis Day was related to organ donation, specially liver. “A deceased person can pledge organ donation in life, so that the lives of others could be saved after death,” said Dixit.

During the function, a large number of people pledged to donate organs.

New Delhi, December 4
A four-day debate on climate change and related issues, especially on how it impacts our lives, concluded today at Hindu College. An awareness building exercise, the debate brought together students from abroad and the country, serving as a platform for new ideas and comment on the issue.

Some 15 colleges from different parts of India and the world took part in the 6th Oxfam India Premchand Memorial International Parliamentary Debate.

“Oxfam urges everyone to join hands and call upon rich nations to meet their commitment to reduce carbon emissions as they are forcing us, especially the poor, to continuously adapt to climate change,” said Aditi Kapoor, lead specialist (economic justice), Oxfam India.

“It is significant that this debate is happening at this time because world leaders are negotiating for an equitable global deal on climate change in Poznan, Poland” said Kapoor while announcing the winners of the debate.

“We hope that the issues that came up, such as emissions, carbon trade, oil economy, food security, alternate sources of energy, will provoke students to devote more attention to the survival of the least privileged and the marginalised in a changing global scenario,” said Parikshit Jha, president of the Hindu College Debating Society.

This year’s debate was won by the team from Ramjas College, University of Delhi, the winning combination being Vishwajoy Mukherjee and Prithvi Rohan Kapoor.

The event serves as a melting pot of students from all over the country and abroad, with interaction taking place within and outside the debating venues. The students live and eat together and get opportunities to get to know each other. 

Some of the key issues debated by the teams included issues like interlink of rivers,  clean rivers on a build-operate-transfer basis and ban on offshore drilling, investment in energy efficiency over alternate sources of energy, use of clean energy sources into human development index, whether will nuclear energy destroy the world sooner than nuclear weapons, penalizing developed nations that do not reduce carbon emissions, should the House bury the Nano (car), USA should impose stiff taxation on cars with low fuel efficiency.

New Delhi, December 4
More than 200 scholars, specialists, government officials and members of business community got together here to participate in the Third International Conference of Latin American Studies Council of Asia and Oceania.

Organised by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), the three-day conference was inaugurated today.

Nearly 100 delegates participating from Asia-Pacific region include delegates from China, Latin America, Caribbean, United States and Africa.

“The focus of the conference is to explore the potentials of multilateral economic relations between Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean regions along with the contemporary political, social, cultural and economic trends in the regions of Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Abdul Nafey, president, organising committee.

The conference will host four plenary sessions complemented by 23 parallel sessions over the three days. Around 80 formal presentations will be made on themes of economic liberalisation, political processes, developmental issues, regional integration, civil society movements and foreign policy issues.

New Delhi, December 4
The United Muslim of India (UMI) has demanded from the Delhi government to enforce recommendations to the resolution that has given second language status to Urdu in the city.

The UMI has also submitted a memorandum to the chairman of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions, Justice Suhel Ejaz Siddiqui, in this regard.

The post of Urdu officer is lying vacant in the Directorate of Information for a long time. Seats of 150 language teachers in various government schools are still vacant. Some schools principals have given in writing that there was no student for Urdu therefore, the posts were cancelled, UMI media coordinator Syed Ahmed Khan said.

Besides, 30 posts of Urdu translators are also lying vacant in various Delhi government departments.

Ahmed said that according to the rule, the names of the departments should be written in Urdu too, but in most places it was not found. For example, the name of deputy commissioner of police and police stations are not written in Urdu. The government offices do not accept applications written in Urdu.

Greater Noida, December 4
Three persons, including a call centre engineer, were badly injured when a dumper coming from the wrong side of the road hit a call centre cab coming from Delhi on Expressway near Rafiqupur village. The accident was so bad that both the vehicles caught fire.

However, the dumper driver absconded the vehicle and fled away. The injured — Rakesh Kumar Singh, Ravi Sharma and cab driver Rahul – have been admitted to Kailash Hospital here. Rahul condition is stated to be critical.

Rakesh’s family members have lodged a case against the dumper driver.

Rakesh is an engineer at a Shastri Park call centre in Delhi. He was returning home in cab no. (UP14-2208) via Noida-Greater Noida Expressway on Wednesday morning.

At about 2:30 am when his cab was at the Kasna police station area near Rafiqupur village, a dumper (HR-38N 6870) hurtling down on wrong side from the opposite direction hit it head on. As a result, both the vehicles caught fire.

Noida, December 4
Chhatarpal, accused of kidnapping 3-year-old Anant in 2006, had made ransom calls to the child’s family, alleged Anant’s mother Nidhi Gupta on Wednesday when the court took up the hearing of the case after a gap of two months.

Anant father Naresh Chand Gupta, CEO of Adobe India Ltd had recorded the phone calls made by Chhatarpal, claimed Nidhi Gupta.

The next hearing is slated for December 17.

Chhatarpal was brought in the court with his brother Jatinder and friend Pawan.

Taking a lesson from Chhatarpal’s escape during his last court appearance, four constables and a sub-inspector remained stuck with the accused throughout.

Anant was kidnapped from opposite his house in Sector-15A Noida on November 13, 2006. The police has accused seven persons in the case.