New Delhi, November 27
In a deterrent move to check dereliction of duty and absenteeism amongst the teaching community in municipal schools, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) today suspended one principal and 18 regular teachers.

Dharam Veer Singh, the principal of MCD primary school in Shahdara north zone, was placed under suspension.

The MCD initiated regular departmental action against him. "During the inspection today, it was found that the school was having poor sanitary conditions. The discipline was not found up to the mark. It was the duty of the principal to ensure proper cleanliness and sanitation as well as discipline on the school premises," a senior MCD official said.

Besides, seven regular teachers of the school have been placed under suspension with immediate effect as they were found absent without intimation.

"Contractual appointment of 14 teachers have been terminated with immediate effect as they were also found to be absent without intimation. Explanation of the school inspector concerned has been sought as he had not visited the school for the last four months," he said.

The above action follows an inspection of the school by the director (Education), deputy commissioner, Shahdara (North) zone and members of the monitoring committee appointed by the Delhi High Court.

In a related action, 11 regular teachers of MCD primary school at Mukundpur second shift in civil line zone have also been placed under suspension with immediate effect as they were found to be absent without intimation.

The action was followed by an inspection of the school by the deputy commissioner and deputy education officer of civil line zone.

The MCD authorities have warned that dereliction of duty will be viewed seriously and absenteeism in delivery of primary education will not be tolerated.

New Delhi, November 27
It was an overcrowded scenario with irresistible sales on the last day of the India International Trade Fair today as more than one lakh visitors thronged the fair. With the Delhi Metro accessible to residents of Noida and Gurgaon this year, the fair saw a large number of visitors.

THE LAST-DAY RUSH: A huge crowd was seen at the India International Trade Fair in New Delhi on Saturday. (Left) Commuters caught in a traffic jam near Pragati Maidan. Tribune photos: Mukesh Aggarwal

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New Delhi, November 27
Two days after the police in Delhi and Haryana thrashed men packing Delhi Metro's women's only coaches, women passengers said today that the situation had dramatically improved.

While some men were still seen in the train's first coaches that are reserved for women, most chose to stay away -- clearly fearing yet another police onslaught.

"Thursday's incident has certainly made things easier for us," said Aditi Singhal, a student who said she had "a breeze of a ride" from INA in south Delhi to IFFCO Chowk in the neighbouring Gurgaon.

Bank employee Anupama Chaturvedi agreed. "Today, there is a change... Earlier, they used to pick up fights with us and use abusive language if we asked them to move down."

The Metro reserved the first coach of every train for women on October 2. While most men kept away from the women's coaches, many continued to board it despite the threat of Rs 200 fine.

On Thursday evening, policemen and women barged into the women's coaches of a few trains, dragged out the men and thrashed them -- in full view of television cameras.

The incident was the first incident of an organised assault in the hugely popular Delhi Metro since it was introduced in 2002.

Most women agreed the unusual tactic appeared to have worked.

A security official at Rajiv Chowk Metro Station said that men were not intruding into women's coaches.

When a group of youngsters tried to enter the coach of a train at Pragati Maidan Metro Station, Metro marshal Shabana remarked, "Don't you remember what happened to people like you?"

The group silently ran to the next coach. — IANS 

New Delhi, November 27
With the arrest of two persons, the Delhi police today claimed to have solved the sensational murder-cum-sodomy case in the Bawana area. The accused have been identified as -- Satish Sharma of Sonepat and Devender of Bawana.

Two days ago, an unknown body of a man (about 20 years of age) was found in Ganda Nala at main Kanjhawala Road in Bawana. The victim's throat was allegedly slit.

Initially, the victim could not be identified. However, later, he was identified as Sagar from West Bengal. He worked as a domestic/ office help in Bawana.

As the police made arrests, the weapon of offence i.e. a blood-stained sharp-edged dagger, mobile phone of the deceased and the blood-stained clothes of both the accused that they were allegedly wearing at the time of the offence have been seized.

The accused have confessed to have murdered Sagar and dumped his body in a drain. They disclosed that they were addicted to liquor and sulfha. On the night of the murder, they had allegedly consumed liquor and sulpha with Sagar. Then, they allegedly sodomised him. Fearing disgrace if caught, they allegedly killed him. They thought that neither his body would be identified, nor would they be arrested as there was no eye-witness to the incident.

New Delhi, November 27
The Delhi police today released the sketch of another accused in the gangrape of a Mizoram woman three days ago and sent its teams to the neighbouring states of Haryana and Rajasthan.

DCP (south) said that the police got some information which has narrowed down their focus. However, he said that he could not disclose anything at this stage.

The police parties also visited fuel pumps, which were on the way the accused was taken on the fateful night, to find out if they could get any clues.

As Delhi simmers over yet another rape case, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today rebuffed the media said, "If you have any advice, you suggest it to me and I will work on it."

Dikshit has expressed her displeasure over the functioning of the Delhi police and the fact that she has no executive control over it. 

New Delhi, November 27
Obesity contributes to infertility and women who have put on fat around their hip and tummy are at an increased risk of developing pregnancy-associated complications, including polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD) and even resulting in miscarriages in many cases, said infertility experts yesterday which is Anti-obesity Day.

"A majority of the women having PCOD are found to be obese and the tendency is more noticed among those in North India due to food habits. Though the exact cause of the condition is still under research, there are studies suggesting that obese women are at a greater risk of infertility," said Dr Hrishikesh Pai, infertility expert of Fortis La Femme, Delhi, and Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai.

"Though there are no definite pin-pointers to the causes of PCOS, it is believed that night shifts, increasing stress, consumption of junk food and strong family history of diabetes add to it," underlined gynaecologist and IVF specialist at Gaudium IVF and Gyno Solution, Dr Manika Khanna.

According to Dr Khanna, if polycystic ovarian syndrome when a woman has delayed periods or does not make healthy eggs in every cycle owing to hormonal imbalance is left untreated, she may develop obesity, which in turn leads to increased chances of infertility.

Experts believe that during the deliveries of obese women, the risk of stillbirth is two or three times more vis-a-vis normal weight women and the infant being underweight is also considerably greater. Besides, chances of miscarriage and Caesarian go up in case of expecting women who are obese.

The worrying fact is that these days the incidence of PCOS has become more common, with the number of females in the reproductive age group of (20-27 years) going up. "Being at risk of having difficulty in conceiving babies, women with central obesity are also likely to develop long-term health problems, in the form of diabetes, increased blood pressure and uterine cancer. They may develop diabetes after they turn 40," said Dr Khanna.

"Timely intervention in the form of going for weight loss measures, including proper exercise and reduction on fatty food intake, could be of help. Keeping the body-mass-index below 25 can check obesity, which in turn would check other associated diseases, like diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases," stressed Dr Pai.

Thus, at a time when sedentary lifestyle and changed eating habits have exposed over 2,15,00000 lakh people -currently living with obesity in India- to a host of health troubles, keeping a tab on the body weight could actually go a long way in fighting obesity and associated ailments.

A girl sells toys in a New Delhi area on Saturday. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal

Rajnikant-starrer ‘Robot’ had also an almost similar character and, no surprises, that many were comparing V. Shera with the film’s hero. The young and the old thronged the Delhi Pavilion to get glimpses of Shera in his new avatar and see it welcome visitors with a 'Namaste' followed by a speech.

L-G vs CM: Over to the Centre

With Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit deciding to challenge the powers of Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna head-on, power circles are abuzz over the fate of this battle between the two most powerful functionaries of the Capital's administration.

Dikshit thinks she can change the dynamics of power in her favour because she has her MLAs' backing. Khanna believes that the L-G is vested with more powers in constitutional scheme of things. It is now almost certain that the Centre would take a final call on this feud. The CM, despite being instrumental in leading the Congress to successive victories in the Assembly and Parliament polls, has many detractors in the Centre and it may disadvantage her. There is a general view that the democratic government should be given more executive powers, but internal politics of the ruling party may prove to be a spoiler for Dikshit.

Parking owners ride gravy train

The owners of parking lots near Pragati Maidan have made a killing courtesy the trade fair, which has attracted tens of thousands of people. The rush has been so huge that parking spaces located quite far off the fair have seen vehicles making a beeline to them.

While some private parking lots from India Gate till Rajghat were charging on per hour basis, the closest parking place at Pragati Maidan Metro station was charging the minimum of Rs 75. If you were a bit late, you would have to pay up to Rs 150 to park your car. The owners of a parking lot flashed a big grin when asked about the profit he was making. "Sab khuda ka shukra hai (It's all due to God's mercy)," he said, quite humbly.

Woman breaks the glass ceiling

Craftsmanship is considered a citadel of men, but Shaheen Anjum from Seelampur in the city has done her gender proud by bagging the national award for contribution in preserving and promoting the work of fine wooden carving, an art pioneered by the Mughals.

However, a part of credit goes to her husband Md Maqbool, who has received numerous national and international awards. Anjum’s work adorns the walls of various embassies in Delhi. The fine wooden carving in which she specialises is called 'filigree'.

She says her husband as her teacher. Maqbool, though, says it is all her hard work and talent. So, here is a couple who are as much in love with each other as with their art.

(Contributed by Charu Singh, Syed Ali Ahmed, Jyoti Rai, Himani Chandel)

New Delhi, November 27
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said that appropriate measures will be taken to root out problem of spurious drugs.Addressing a seminar on measures taken to combat counterfeit drugs here, she said there should be total intolerance to such drugs as they are hazardous.

"It is also the need of the hour to have an adequate testing laboratory to ensure that the suspected samples are tested expeditiously," said the Chief Minister.

Dikshit said the State Drug Control Department will be strengthened and prepare an action plan after duly examining the recommendations made by Mashelkar Committee.

She urged the All India Drugs Control Officers Confederation to make every effort to check the manufacture, sale and distribution of spurious drugs.

She said that Drugs and Cosmetics Act should be enforced effectively to curb this practice and the pharmacists must ensure that their sources of supply of drugs are reliable.

Delhi health minister Kiran Walia who was also present on the occasion recommended starting a toll-free helpline to receive complaints about spurious drugs.

India is the third largest producer of pharmaceuticals in the world and 13th in terms of value. "Recently the Union ministry of health and family welfare conducted a nationwide survey which reveals that the extent of spurious drugs in retail pharmacy is only 0.046 per cent, that is 11 samples out of 24,136 samples," she said.

New Delhi, November 27
With the arrest of Balraj, a resident of Haryana, and Amit, currently residing in Bawana, the police at Shahbad Dairy has recovered 35 cartons of Haryana-made liquor along with a Santro Car that was used in transporting the illicit liquor.

A picket was set up near the Holambi Kalan railway crossing and during checking of vehicles at the picket, a white Santro car by two men was found to be loaded with cartons of liquor. Both the accused were arrested and an FIR was registered.

New Delhi, November 27
It's a long leap ahead for India to be complacent in making available living and deceased's donor organs to nearly 5,00,000 people who die annually due to end-stage organ failure.

In fact, the country's organ donation picture is very discouraging and among the lowest, with only 0.3 donors per million population vis-a-vis 35 donors per million population in Spain, 22 per million population of the USA and 14 donors for every million people in the UK.

The gap between the requirement and number of transplants remains wide, with only 4,000 transplants being done annually even as the demand stands at one lakh transplants.

This even as India unarguably stands a rich-resource of potential donors, with fatalities due to road traffic accidents being as high as 1,60,000 of which one lakh are owing to brain death alone. In the national Capital, there were only 20 donors available in 2009.

In response to the urgency, the union health and family welfare ministry has initiated a National Modular Organ Collection and Donation Programme and plans are afoot to include the willingness to donate organs in driving licence.

"A nationwide organ donation card and registry would also be launched so that interested donors can pledge their organs on the website," said health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today, while adressing a gathering of audience and experts from across the world at the 6th World and country's first-ever Organ Donation Day.

In this directon, as reported earlier by The Tribune, the minister confirmed, "A comprehensive Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994 for ensuring optimal utilisation of harvested organs and bringing a provision for networking all organ retrieval and transplant centres is now under consideration of Parliament."

With concerns being raised from several quarters regarding organ donation becoming a trading business, the penalities for unethical practices have been raised both in terms of fine and imprisonment, and very soon, the new law would be enacted with the proposed amendments already gaining wide acceptance in Parliament, he added.

Stressing the need to better the outcome of the organ donations, the World Health Organisation's representative from Geneva, Dr Luc Noel said, "There is a need to develop donation from deceased donors. Inclusion of organ donation in school curriculum can be of imense help."

Globally, the organ transplant models of Spain, the UK and the US are considered to be the best.

"Pledging organs for donation can save many lives. A single brain dead person can donate as many as 30 organs and tissues and save as many as six lives. Mobilisation has to be increased towards convincing people for pleding their organs after death," said Dr Harsha Jauhari, chairperson of Renal Transplant Surgery at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

A significant amendment to be made in the Act is covering transplant of tissues and with this the new Act would be enforced as Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, said the health secretary and chief coordinator for organ donation program, Sujatha Rao.

To start with in and around Delhi, seven centres, including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Army Research and Referral Hospital (RR), Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital along with three private centres-Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Fortis Hospital and Artemis Health Institute, have been considered for organ donation networking, said Dr Sanjay Agarwal, head of department of nephrology at AIIMS.