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2 more radiation sources detected
Blood tests the latest fad in Mayapuri
DJB survey to check quality
of its service
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Labourers attack cops
Protests continue in JNU against VC’s 2nd term
More Fires
Govt has gone bankrupt by spending on Games: BJP
Land Compensation
Hurdles cleared for Formula One track
2 ˝ -yr-old undergoes rare brainstem implant
‘Ambedkar was influenced by Buddhism’
Farmer shot over land dispute
EasyCabs reaches Noida
Sreedharan to be discharged today
Jamia honour for Saudi Prince
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2 more radiation sources detected
New Delhi, April 14 Two more sources of radiation, though of lesser intensity, were detected in the scrap market of area today. With this, 10 sources of Cobalt-60 have been identified. Experts have not ruled out the possibility of more such sources. The new sources, about half a kilometre from the earlier radiation sources, were detected by the Delhi team of DAE. Teams from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Narora Atomic Power Plant and National Disaster Response Force visited the spot. S.K. Malhotra, head of public awareness, DAE, said that both the sources had weaker radiation intensity. DAE officials said that they would continue to carry out more such surveys. “The Delhi team would keep surveying the area. The National Disaster Response Force will carry out the surveys and our team will be there for assistance,” said Malhotra. Officials said they were trying all to deal with people’s fear. The probing authorities believe that the radioactive material found in Mayapuri was likely to have landed in India as an import from some other country. Meanwhile, the condition of Deepak Jain, who was detected first with the illness and was the most serious among the seven victims recuperating in two hospitals of the Capital, has shown improvement. His blood count has come up, though marginally. “Deepak Jain is improving, though he is still serious,” said a source from the Apollo Hospital.
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DJB survey to check quality
of its service
New Delhi, April 14 The survey, which might take one year for completion, will be outsourced to a private company. According to DJB officials, the process of inviting tenders for the survey will be completed in the next one month. The officials said that collecting data from the residents might take more than six months. “The data will then be analysed and a colony-wise report will be prepared,” said a senior official of the DJB. “The four services would be evaluated on the basis of 34 parameters that have been defined by the government. These would include supply, losses in supply, metering, availability of services and quality etc. Delhi has been allocated Rs 9 crore by the government for the purpose,” he said. The survey will also help in mapping consumers on a geographic information system (GIS). The official said that GIS mapping for water supply had already been done on a trail basis in one area of south Delhi. Apart from this, the DJB is also undertaking a highly-extensive survey of households so that it can crack down on non-metered or unauthorised connections. “Initiating stricter measures to tackle the problem of water theft, the DJB will undertake household survey to capture the unregistered consumers and start a scheme for them to get legal connections,” said the officer. |
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Labourers attack cops
New Delhi, April 14 According to additional DCP (east) I.B. Rani the workers, who are constructing a hotel, were protesting over salary dispute between them and the contractors. “The police received a call in the morning that some labourers were protesting in the Mayur Vihar area. A police team, including the SHO, reached the spot, after which the labourers attacked them,” said Rani. “A case has been registered against the labourers and four of them have been arrested,” said a police officer. —
TNS |
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Protests continue in JNU against VC’s 2nd term
New Delhi, April 14 They want the vice-chancellor to strike out the matter from the agenda of the upcoming executive committee (EC) meeting on April 25. While teachers have started a signature campaign against the change in JNU statutes, the students have called a referendum on April 20. The students said it was the seriousness of the matter that called for an extreme public action like referendum despite the fact that Bhattacharya had made it clear to his colleagues that he had no plans to continue once he demitted his office in June. “If the vice-chancellor is serious about not extending his term, he should simply take it out of the agenda of EC meet and close the matter,” said Sucheta Dey on behalf of all students’ organisations of JNU that have given a call for the referendum, leaving aside the Right-wing ABVP. The students maintained that the tenure of Bhattacharya had been one of the worst in the history of JNU. After the present vice-chancellor’s term gets over in June, a search committee has to be formulated by the EC to search for another appropriate candidate for the position. “The search committee should have been technically formulated in the EC meeting of January 12, but the vice-chancellor did not initiate the proceedings, which indicates that he has some other plans,” said Dey. The ABVP, however, believes that the referendum is just another way of distracting attention form the violence on the campus over the Naxalite attack, for which some students are almost on the verge of being held responsible. “We don’t want the amendment, but we also don’t want to be associated with the Maoists,” said Vineet Chaturvedi, secretary, ABVP, JNU. The teachers on the other hand have launched a signature campaign against the amendment in the JNU statute. “Everyone wants to make sure that the vice-chancellor does get the message that the whole JNU community is firm against the amendment as it is unnecessary at this point,” said B.C.Tripathi, president, JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA). Earlier, Bhattacharya told Tripathi that he was not interested in extending his tenure in JNU and that at the next EC meeting he would initiate the procedure of
formulating the search committee. |
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Another in Mundka, Trilokpuri slums
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 14 A fire brigade officer said that the fire broke out in the godown located at west Phrini Road in Mundka around 4 am. “Around 35 fire-fighting engines were rushed to the spot, which took around 90 minutes to douse the fire,” said the fire brigade officer. The officer further stated that it was not the same spot where a fire on Sunday destroyed scrap worth crores of rupees. In another fire incident, around 150 slum clusters where engulfed by fire in the Trilokpuri area of east district this morning. A fire brigade officer said that the incident was reported around 8 am. “Ten fire-fighting engines were rushed to the spot, which controlled the flames in two hours. No body was reportedly injured in the incident. Bluline bus catches fire In yet another incident, a Blueline bus caught fire in the Desh Bandhu Gupta road area of central district this morning. A fire brigade officer said that the incident was reported around 8.30 am. “The incident took place after a leakage in CNG tank of the bus running on route no. 721. Four fire-fighting engines were pressed into service and they took about 30 minutes to control the blaze,” said a fire brigade officer.
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Govt has gone bankrupt by spending on Games: BJP
New Delhi, April 14 The Delhi government had written a letter to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), asking it to bear the expenses of the third phase of the Metro project, as it did not have money to fund it. The government had also asked the Delhi Urdu Academy to not spend money on cultural programmes before the completion of the Games projects. The government’s stand has raised questions about the likelihood of the Metro project, the most high profile developmental work seen in the Capital in a long time, being completed in time. Senior BJP leader and MLA Harshvardhan said the government had apparently gone bankrupt and that it was a shame that it did not have funds for developmental works while it went on splurging money on all kinds of CWG projects. The secretary of the Delhi Urdu Academy confirmed to The Tribune that he had received directions from the government asking not to spend money on any cultural function before the Games. In a letter written to the DDA, the Delhi government has said that it is short of fund for the third phase projects of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. As the DDA owns land in Delhi and earns money by selling it, the Delhi government has asked it to bear the expenses of the Metro projects. The government needs Rs 2,677.50 crore for the third phase that will run from 2011 to 2012. The sources said that when the government could not sanction finance for the projects of second phase, how it would manage the third phase. It had to arrange Rs 1,200 crore for the ongoing second phase. The third phase Metro project includes lines between Rohini and Samaipur Badli, Mundka and Bahadurgarh, Anand Vihar and Ghaziabad, Badarpur and Faridabad and Adarsh Nagar and Mukund Vihar. |
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Govt biased, says Gurjar
Ravi S.Singh Tribune News Service
Faridabad, April 14 Haryana BJP president Krishanpal Gurjar, an MLA from Faridabad, alleged that the Congress government was showing its ‘farmer biasness’ by adopting dual policy in providing compensation to farmers whose lands it had acquired through HUDA. He added that he had already raised the issue in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha and would raise it again. Gurjar said that the Haryana government had categorised Faridabad, Gurgaon and Panchkula as ‘A’ class districts. The collectorate rate fixed in these districts was Rs 55 lakh per acre. He alleged that the government had provided more than Rs 1 crore as compensation to farmers in some villages in Gurgaon. In Ulliyawas, Ghata and Kadirpur villages, the govenment provided Rs 66 lakh as compensation per acre, which is higher than the collectorate rate. Gurjar said that the ‘dual’ policy of the government against farmers of Faridabad was clear as it had announced compensation to the tune of Rs 16 lakh per acre, but the actual analysis comes around Rs 24 lakh per acre. The HUDA has acquired land in many villages of Faridabad. It has fixed different dates to announce compensation for farmers of the villages. The farmers have refused to accept the rate and have resorted to agitation demanding higher relief. The BJP leader demanded that the government must stop announcing the compensation amount forthwith. He also demanded setting up of a committee comprising representatives of farmers, MLAs and MPs of the concerned area and government to decide the compensation rate. He said that the government must provide compensation at the rate of Rs 1.5 crore per acre to farmers.
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Hurdles cleared for Formula One track
Greater Noida, April 14 The meeting has now paved the way for work to proceed on the Yamuna Expressway and the Formula One racetrack. Farmers have endorsed the decision at a maha panchayat in Atta Gujarat village. The district general secretary of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Master Sheraj Singh said all major demands of the farmers had been accepted. Money for leaving abadi land, construction of underpasses at various places and jobs and education for the children of the affected farmers are included in the agreement, he said. Additional district magistrate (administration) O.P. Arya has said that a survey would be conducted to sort out the abadi land issue. Since the demands of the farmers have been accepted, they have promised not to stop work on Yamuna Expressway and Formula One race track, Arya said. An agitation of the farmers which is on since March 27 will now be called off. |
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2 ˝ -yr-old undergoes rare brainstem implant
New Delhi, April 14 When Tsesal was six months’ old, she was diagnosed with hearing impairment at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. And it is perhaps due to the early detection that her deformity could be corrected by a rare auditory brainstem implant. Noted ENT and cochlear implant specialist Dr J.M. Hans who operated upon Tsesal at Dr B.L. Kapur Memorial Hospital here termed her case as the perfect example which highlighted the significance of early detection of hearing disability among newborns. “Two months ago, Tsesal’s deafness was identified through hearing assessment systems— ASSR (Auditory Steady State Response), ABR & OAE, followed by CT and MRI scan which threw light on her anatomical state i.e. the growth of cochlea,” Dr Hans said. Tests confirmed that Tsesal did not have a cochlea and an auditory nerve which transmits sound. “Whenever there is an anomaly in the external or the middle ear, it is corrected by normal surgical procedure. But when the cochlea in the internal ear or the auditory nerve is defective, a brainstem implant is required,” said Dr Hans, who has conducted 550 cochlear transplants and is also a Padma Shree recipient. He added, “The auditory brainstem implant entails placing a chip comprising 12 electrodes in the brainstem. The device takes around two months to adapt itself.” Brainstem implant is teamwork. The team comprises an ENT specialist, anaesthetist and audiologist or speech therapist. Dr Hans said two years ago, when Tsesal was taken to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, the implant could not be conducted there due to lack of a cohesive team and good back up for the surgery. Doctors at Dr B.L. Kapur Hospital said that Tsesal was India’s second child to have undergone the rare auditory brainstem surgery. The surgery takes four to five hours. Though the incidence of such neural malformations is just one or two in per 1,000 newborns, many parents fail to detect the defect before their child turns six years. In most children deafness is often associated with dumbness. However, doctors say that children who suffer from hearing impairment may not be dumb right from birth and they babble quite often. “Over a period of time, kids who cannot hear do stop babbling. They are unable to learn to speak as they cannot hear themselves and others around them. Unfortunately, hearing impairment in children often remains undetected till they are few years old,” pointed Dr Jasjit Singh Bhasin, who is a newborn and child specialist with Dr B.L. Kapur Memorial Hospital. In India, about two to three million people require cochlear implants and each year 25,000 infants are born with hearing disabilities. Doctors attribute the problem to reasons ranging from gene mutation, side effects of drugs taken by mothers during pregnancy and consanguineous marriages among others. |
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‘Ambedkar was influenced by Buddhism’
New Delhi, April 14 Professor Gail Omvedt, chairperson, Dr B.R. Ambedkar Chair at IGNOU announced the programme, which will start in July 2010. Speaking at a lecture— Ambedkar and Reconstructing the World— held as part of a function to celebrate the 119th birth anniversary of Ambedkar, Gail, talking about the census, said, “There is no question pertaining to caste in Census 2011. Scholars are facing a dearth of data, as there is just no information available on issues like what kinds of changes have taken place within the caste system. People who talk about caste are branded as casteist, but the ground reality is that even today, feudal and extreme forms of casteism like manual scavenging still exist.” “We all want what Sant Ravidas had imagined, ‘Begumpura’, a city without caste and taxes,” she said. Professor Tulsi Ram, a noted scholar on Dalit and Ambedkar’s views expressed that caste had been historically seen as ordained by God. “All major holy books from vedas to Bhagvadgita propagate casteism. Ambedkar challenged this concept and burnt the Manu Smriti in 1927. This gave the first blow to Hinduism,” he said. Ram’s lecture focused primarily on the role played by religion in general and Hinduism in particular in propagating the caste system. Ram remarked that according to Ambedkar, social movements should always have an upper hand over political movements, otherwise, only the ruler is overthrown and society by and large remains the same. Ram also gave various instances of how Ambedkar used Buddhism while writing the Constitution. He particularly mentioned Buddhist influence on Ambedkar and how he viewed Lord Buddha as the first emancipator in the caste struggle. Explaining the influence of Buddhism on Ambedkar, Ram said “For example, the concepts of panchsheel, democracy, human rights and majority have their roots in Buddhist thought.” Meanwhile, the vice-chancellor of the university, V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, who presented the inaugural address, remarked, “Ambedkar stressed on education as an agent of change. It is very important for all universities of the country to propagate the teachings of Ambedkar.” |
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Farmer shot over land dispute
Greater Noida, April 14 When policemen from the Kokade police station reached the spot, Iqbal’s relatives and villagers created a ruckus demanding immediate arrest of the assailants. They did not even allow the police to take Iqbal’s body, but later relented on the police’s assurances. Iqbal (45), a resident of Jhajhar town, was strolling outside his house around 10 pm yesterday when some assailants sprayed bullets on him. Hearing the gunshots, Iqbal’s brother Salim and other relatives rushed to the spot, but the assailants had managed to escape by then. Iqbal was hit on the head and chest. He died on the spot. |
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EasyCabs reaches Noida
Noida, April 14 According to Vikas Marwaha, COO Carzonrent India, all cabs of EasyCabs are air-conditioned and equipped with state- of-the-art technology like GPS (Global Position System) and GPRS (radio signal system) mobile data terminals and digitals meters. Marwaha said that one could book a cab within 15 minutes by dialing 43434343 or sending an SMS to 53030 or logging on to www.easycabs.com. Another good thing about these cabs is that the commuters would be billed from the pick-up point to the drop point. The tariff will be Rs 15 per km, Marwah said. |
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Sreedharan to be discharged today
New Delhi, April 14 Earlier, following the heart attack, significant clots were detected in both his arteries and Sreedharan had to undergo a beating bypass heart surgery. After monitoring his condition for over a week, the doctors have now allowed Sreedharan to go home to celebrate the Malayalam New Year ‘Vishu’ with his family. Doctors have, however, advised Sreedharan to keep his cholesterol level, and blood pressure low and follow a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise. |
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Jamia honour for Saudi Prince
New Delhi, April 14 "It is a matter of pride that the prince of Saudi Arabia is being conferred a doctorate degree by JMI. He is a great son of his country. Honouring him is like honouring the relationship between the two nations," said Dikshit who was the chief-guest of the function. She said that the move would further strengthen the ties between India and Saudi Arabia. She expressed hope Prince Aziz's visit would lead to exchange of scholars between the two countries and go a long way in enriching useful cooperation. While referring to the role of JMI, the Chief Minister stated that its contribution towards educating the weaker sections of the society, particularly now when higher education was becoming expensive, was remarkable. Jamia has grown into one of India's modern universities, she said. Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz termed the degree as a great honour. While accepting the honour, he highlighted the long association of Saudi Arabia with JMI. The Prince informed the gathering that Saudi Arabia had had a long association with Jamia. He expressed hope that the university in Riyadh and Jamia should carry out programmes of academic exchanges, as that will not only improve relations between the two universities, but also the two nations." "The relationship between Saudia Arabia and India are very old. Indian scholars who have visited my country have enriched it with their knowledge and experience," said Aziz. The vice-chancellor of the university, Najeeb Jung hoped that his visit would consolidate relations in the education sector. |
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After the recovery of fresh source of radioactive Cobalt 60 in Mayapuri scrap market in west Delhi last night, it seems the radiation fear has revisited the residents of the area, most of whom are seeing doctors for check-ups.
New Delhi, April 14
