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Extended College Scheme stays, but norms laid down New Delhi, January 15 The UGC had earlier sent letters to various colleges informing them about the decision to withdraw the scheme. The announcement had caused a furore in the university as it meant an additional financial burden on the colleges. While the UGC clarifies that it had “never meant to withdraw the scheme,” it refuses to concede that the decision has been revoked. “It was a case of wrong interpretation”, Secretary UGC, Prof. Ved Prakash, told the NCR Tribune. He pointed out that “the UGC will continue to finance the Extended Colleges.” The Commission, he reiterated, “does not intend to withdraw the facility to existing extended colleges. But the colleges will have to seek the approval of the UGC before increasing the enrolment of students and before the appointment of any teaching as well as non-teaching staff”. The prior approval conditionality, Prof. Ved Prakash clarified, was “to enable the UGC to make provisions in the budget”. He said the clause should not be perceived as “arm-twisting”, rather it was an exercise to help UGC prepare its budget and make the necessary financial provisions. “ The UGC will meet its 100 per cent financial assistance guaranteed under the scheme, but we will have to be informed about the increase in the numbers”, Prof. Prakash said. He added, “The UGC will continue to remain committed to encouraging the increase in the enrolment in colleges. We will not even deny any colleges the grants under the Extended Colleges Scheme. If more colleges wish to come under the scheme, they will be granted the funds, provided they adhere to the prior approval clause”. At present, there are 30 colleges, which come under the scheme, out of which 14 are trust maintained, 12 are maintained by the Delhi Government and four by the Delhi University. The Extended College Scheme is limited to Delhi University. Under the Extended College Scheme, an institution with more than 1500 students on its rolls is eligible for a grant. The UGC pays the colleges 95 per cent of the expenditure for the first 1000 students and above that it pays them 100 per cent. |
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Daily ritual: Trains held up by fog New Delhi, January 15 The New Delhi-Bareilly Intercity Express, the New Delhi-Amritsar Express, the Patna-New Delhi Magadh Express, the Howrah-Delhi Express, the Kalindi Express and the Lal Quila Express remained cancelled for now over two weeks. According to a Northern Railway release, the New Delhi-Rajgir Shramjeevi Express has been rescheduled to leave at 17.30 hrs, as against its scheduled departure at 13.15 hrs. The New Delhi-Varanasi Kashivishwanath Express will depart at 15.30 hrs, instead of 13.30 hrs, which is its scheduled departure time. The New Delhi-Guwahati North-East Express will leave at 19.30 hrs, as against its scheduled departure at 06.40 hrs and the Delhi-Katihar Mahananda Express, schuduled
at 0635 hrs, will leave at 1616 hrs. Besides, the Azamgarh-Delhi Kaifiyat Express was running late by 11 hrs, the Patna-New Delhi Jansadharan Express by 15 hrs and the Guwahati-New Delhi North-east Express by 14 hrs while the Darbhanga-Amritsar Shaheed Express and the Amritsar-Darbhanga Saryu Yamuna Express of yesterday were indefinitely late. |
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Sikh leaders rake up 100-year-old issue New Delhi, January 15 Prime gurdwara land was then acquired by the British Government to build Parliament and the secretariat, when the latter shifted the Capital from Calcutta. (At that time, the entire area was a village housing Gurdwara Rakab Ganj.) This plea was made to the NCM chief in a special meeting held here last evening, comprising of community leaders cutting across political lines, entrepreneurs and NRIs. It was felt that there is a need to revive the compensation issue, settled 95 years ago when the British awarded 384 acres to the Sikhs in West Punjab, now in Pakistan, in lieu of the acquired land. After Partition, the Indian government awarded land of a corresponding size to the Sikhs in Haryana, which is deemed useless by the community as it lies in an abandoned area. The community now wants the Centre to review the compensation order and make a fresh award, providing them with the land in Delhi. Mr Chandok pointed out that if the Centre did not heed their request, they would hold morchas to press for the demand. The DSGMC chief also announced in the meeting their decision to use a Rs three crore worth building, located on the Gurdwara Rakab Ganj compound, as a Guru Granth Sahib Research Centre and a Sikh museum. In his speech, the NCM chief promised to take up Mr Chandok’s appeal for land compensation with the government, but said the process would be a long-drawn one. He announced the formation of a Guru Granth Sahib Committee headed by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to mark the 400 years of the compilation of the primary Sikh scripture. |
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Ban on headphones, too, while driving New Delhi, January 15 A penalty of Rs 1,000 — the highest for a traffic violation — is currently being slapped on motorists using mobile phones while driving. In another measure, aimed at bringing order on the chaotic roads in the Capital, the Traffic Police plans to enforce lane driving and lane discipline in 2004. To inculcate road safety awareness among the masses, the four priority areas of the police will be: regulation, enforcement, education and engineering. According to JCP Qamar Ahmed, on one hand, the population is increasing and, on the other hand, the number of private vehicles on the roads is growing by leaps and bounds. While the population increased from 142.28 lakh in 2002 to 149.22 lakh in 2003, the number of vehicles had increased from 38 lakh in 2002 to 41 lakh in 2003. The Delhi Traffic Police is woefully short of men, compared to the other three metros. While the percentage of traffic policemen per km of road length in Delhi is 0.16, it is 1.48 percent in Mumbai, 1.55 percent in Kolkata and 1.31 percent in Chennai. In 2003, traffic police was deployed for 4091 VVIP movements, 563 demonstrations, 456 religious functions and 303 other functions in the Capital. The police also raised Rs 41.54 crore by issuing 33,92,309 challans to erring drivers on the spot; it made Rs 7.77 crore by online prosecution. The JCP said that the majority of the offenders in 2003 were found either using their mobile phones while driving or found without their seat belts. |
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Nipped in the bud New Delhi, January 15 He also announced that resettlement colonies, villages and residents of slums will not be subjected to property tax under the Unit Area Method that would be in force from April 1, 2004. The Municipal Commissioner, Mr. Rakesh Mehta, had proposed four new taxes – betterment tax, professional tax, transfer duty fee and parking tax – for earning an additional Rs 258 crore from the next financial year. Delivering the budget speech, the chairman of the standing committee rejected the municipal commissioner’s proposals as they would place an extra burden on the citizens of the Capital. He maintained that he corporation can enhance its income by exploiting existing resources. The corporation has a number of commercial plots on prime locations and, according to an estimate, Rs 250 crore alone can be raised by constructing commercial buildings; also, revenue from advertisements can be increased Rs 50 crore by improving the existing policies. Besides, he said the corporation had to recover arrears of Rs 500 crore from private power companies and Rs 50 crore as misuse charges from commercial as well as residential property holders. The House Tax Department has to recover Rs 350 crore from the defaulters. Also, by introducing the new parking policy the corporation can earn crores of rupees. There is, therefore, no need to introduce new taxes, Mr Mukesh Goel said. |
Haryana BJP for snapping ties with INLD Jhajjar, January 15 Stating this, Mr Veer Kumar
Yadav, general secretary of the state unit, said that these rallies were being organized in the run up to the ‘Samast Haryana rally’ scheduled to be held at Jind on March 14. He said the state unit of the BJP was trying to convince its central leadership that snapping its alliance with the ruling INLD in the state would be advantageous to the party. The BJP leader said that an eleven-member committee of the state unit has been constituted to impress upon the Central Parliamentary Board to snap the alliance with the INLD as it has proved to be a liability. The committee would apprise the central leaders about the prevailing political conditions, mood of the electorate and the wishes of the party workers in the state, he said. Mr Yadav expressed the hope that the ‘high command’ would respect the wishes of the state unit and allow them “to go it alone” during the forthcoming Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections. The BJP in the state was capable of coming to power in Haryana on its own, he claimed. Mr Yadav said that the rallies to be held in Ambala (February 1), Karnal (February 8), Sonepat (February 10), Faridabad (February 11), and Mahendragarh (February 13), would showcase the strength of the party in the state and also pave the way for the grand success of the ‘Samast Haryana rally’. Two committees headed by Mr Ram Bilas Sharma and Mr Kishan Singh Sangwan for urban and rural areas respectively would present their reports on the problems being faced by the people in the state on January 18-19 at Kurukshetra. Moreover, the future course of action would also be decided in that meeting. The meeting of the conveners of Assembly constituencies would held on January 15 and January 16 in Kaithal and Jind respectively to discuss the scenario in their respective areas. The workers would hold padyatras in all the 2,600 centres and 11,600 booths in Haryana before the March 14 rally to mobilize the people as well as to highlight the achievements of the NDA government. He informed that the BJP had set a target of enrolling five lakh members in the state before the general elections. The BJP leader said that his party had been opposing the ‘anti-people policies’ of the state government.
Criticising the Congress party for being busy with infighting, he pointed out that the Congress leaders were holding rallies such as ‘Adhikar rally’, ‘Hisab
Chukao’ rally or ‘Lalkar rally’ against their own party leaders in the state. It was unfortunate that the party had forgotten to take up the issues concerning the people in the state, he said. |
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Rs 197 cr for linking 600 districts Sonepat, January 15 This system will be linked with Inset-3 and V-set, which would facilitate the exchange of information in seconds. A sum of Rs 11 crore would be spent on the cable radio system which has been started from the Sonepat police headquarters. In the first phase, this system has been linked with the police stations of Sonepat city, Ganaur, Kharkhauda and Rai. In the second phase, a similar joint control room would be set up at Panchkula, which will start functioning within a week. Later, the police stations at Hardwar, Dehradun, Gurgaon and Faridabad will be linked with the central control room. It would be much cheaper to send messages through fax. This system will be handled by officials of the rank of an inspector. The police officials would be able to get all sorts of information regarding inter-state criminals. It will also have special secret codes so that these messages are not read or stolen by outsiders. This system will be different from other communication systems, as it will not be linked with the country’s landline telephone system. Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police, Telecom, Mr Kamlesh Devika, inaugurated a joint control room at the district police headquarters here. According to a report, this is the first joint control room set up in Haryana and is equipped with modern facilities, such as teleprinter, an ETP, VHF and Internet facilities. The main aim of the control room is to keep a tab on the activities of various inter-state criminal gangs. As many as eight police stations would be linked with it in the first phase. In the later phases, this control room would be linked to the other police stations in the country. A number of police officers from other states took part in the inauguration ceremony. Trains disrupted due to fog:
Almost all the long-distance and suburban trains were running late, stranding thousands of passengers, at various railway stations on this section. Long-distance trains including the Unchhar Express, Bhatinda intercity, the Amritsar Superfast were cancelled for the day. The Shaheed Express (popularly known as the Flying Mail) running between Darbhanga (Bihar) and Amritsar was behind schedule. Traffic on the National Highway No. 1 and other state highways remained disrupted following a series of accidents involving at least 40 vehicles and causing injuries to at least 20 persons. More than a dozen injured persons were immediately hospitalised, but were stated to be out of danger. The police have registered the cases and further investigations were in progress. Meanwhile, Sonepat city and its adjoining areas experienced clear skies after two days of severe cold and dense fog. However, weather experts warned that fog may return after couple of days. The people heaved a sigh of relief as the sun came out in the morning. The severe cold wave in the district has claimed three lives in the district. Cold winds swept the region forcing people to remain indoors. Youth killed while boarding train A youth was killed on the spot while trying to board a moving train at the railway station here. According to a report, the Government Railway Police (GRP) has sent the body of the youth, identified as Pawan Kumar, for the postmortem examination. |
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Sugarcane farmers sore with new payment guidelines Sonepat, January 15 According to official information, in a circular issued to the managing directors of a dozen cooperative sugar mills in the state, the government has advised them to initially make payment at the price of Rs 80 per quintal to those farmers supplying their sugarcane at the mill gate and Rs 70 per quintal to those supplying at the purchase centres. About the balance payments of about Rs 30 per quintal, the government writes that it would be paid at the end of the season. But it is not clear in the circular as to who will make the balance payment. It is pertinent to mention that the cooperative sugar mills have been incurring losses reportedly since 1999 crushing season when the chief minister announced and fixed the procurement price of Rs 110 per quintal, the highest in the country and nearly double the price fixed by the Central government. And since then, the farmers have been getting the same price of the sugarcane supplied in the cooperative sugar mills. On the other hand, with this highest purchase price, the sugar mills started getting hard pressed as the income of the mills fell short of the payments made to the farmers and this trend started deteriorating the financial conditions of the mills. Moreover, due to the open sale of the sugar in the market and its arrival from the neighbouring states at cheaper rates, the sugar produced in the state’s cooperative sugar mills lost the market. It resulted in the over-stocking of the sugar. Besides, the mills have also been forced to spend a lot of amount for proper storage of the sugar stock lying in godowns. The cooperative sugar mills purchased 3,58,71,480 quintals of sugarcane and produced 3,51,953 tonnes of sugar during 2002-03 crushing season.
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city scan New Delhi, January 15 “In the field of alternate fuels, ethanol-blended petrol has been introduced in certain states and ethanol diesel blends are also being seriously considered. In spite of these efforts, the day when other sources will completely substitute petroleum is far away. Therefore, the option for the present and the immediate future lies in reducing the oil consumption. Technology, innovative methods and habits as well as a sense of commitment can yield substantial benefits,” said the minister. The Oil and Gas Conservation Fortnight 2004 during the next 15 days, will be marked by the activities in mass awareness campaigns, workshops, clinics, media campaigns, “Save oil women’s two wheeler rallies”, children’s painting and essay competition. All these programmes will be meant to cover the maximum number of consumers. “PCRA and the public sector oil companies have been observing the oil conservation fortnight every year since 1991 to spread mass awareness on the importance of promoting oil conservation through efficient utilisation of petroleum products by all consumers,” revealed Ms Leena Mahandale, Executive Director-PCRA, in her welcoming address. Stating the importance of conservation, she said, “Conservation serves the dual purpose of direct monetary savings plus environmental benefits. It is a matter of national pride to be called efficient.” She asked the children to be prepared to take the challenge of changing the world for better. PCRA’s TV serial ‘Khel Khel Mein Badlo Duniya’, telecast on DD-1 every Sunday at 3.30 pm, is focused on this issue. “With the increased usage of gaseous fuels in the country and the established eco- friendliness of natural gas, it was proposed to rename ‘Oil Conservation Fortnight’ as the ‘Oil and Gas Conservation Fortnight’, said Dr Avinash Chandra, Chief Consultant, DGH and OIDB. “The OGCF in the coming years will serve as an effective forum to create the necessary commitment to conservation in all the energy-consuming sectors—transport, industry, agriculture and households,,” he added. The occasion was marked by the release of a book “Boond Boond ki Baat” which is a compilation of some of the episodes of PCRA’s radio programme “Boond Boond Ki Baat” broadcast on AIR FM-Gold, every Monday at 9.00 am. The inaugural session was followed by an oath-taking ceremony wherein all the invitees, including thousands of schoolchildren took the pledge of oil conservation. That was followed by the release of balloons and the formation of a human chain. Finally the Chief Consultant, DGH and OIDB, flagged off the publicity van which would carry out the PCRA’s conservation messages through TV/audio visual aids to the masses in the remote
areas. |
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ncr briefs Sonepat, January 15 According to a report, the police believe it to be a case of murder as the body bore multiple injuries inflicted by some sharp-edged weapons. The body remains unidentified and the police have sent information to about a dozen villages for his identification.
Man gets life term The Additional Sessions Judge of Sonepat, Mr J S Jangra, has convicted Rajesh of Noorganj (Bihar) under Section 302 IPC and sentenced him to imprisonment for life with a fine of Rs 5,000 or in default to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for six months. According to a report, the judge also convicted the accused under Section 201 IPC and sentenced him to undergo two years rigorous’ imprisonment with a fine of Rs 1,000 or in default to undergo further three months rigorous imprisonment. According to the prosecution story, Rajesh was employed with Ranbir Singh at Garhi Sarainamdar village and he demanded money from him for going on leave. But Ranbir Singh declined. This led to the clashes between them. After some days, Rajesh kidnapped the seven-year-old son Prashant of Ranbir Singh and strangulated him at a deserted place. The accused buried his body in a pit and returned home. Thereafter, the police registered a case against him in February 2002 and arrested him consequently.
Mother of
former Rotary chief dies Mrs Ramditti Sachdeva, mother of Mr S P Sachdeva, a former president of Rotary International died here yesterday. She was 100 and leaves behind two sons and three daughters. A large number of people from all walks of life attended her funeral.
Demo against atrocities
on dalits Jhajjar: The All India Khet Majdoor Union and the Communist Party of India held a demonstration and dharna at the Deputy Commissioner’s office here today in protest against the atrocities on Dalits and deteriorating law and order situation in the state. Capt Inderjeet Singh, state secretary of the CPM, while addressing the activists, expressed concern over the prevailing conditions in the state in which the people feel insecure. The CPM leader appealed to the state government to take strict action against the accused in the alleged kidnapping of the sarpanch of parhawar village in Rohtak district as the police have failed to locate the sarpanch even after six months. Capt Singh held that common people, especially Dalits and women are feeling unsafe in the state. Earlier, the activists of the AIKMU and the CPM took out a
demonstration in the town and gave a memorandum to the DC making 10 demands. |
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delhi digest New Delhi, January 15 The accused Safiqudeen, resident of Kali Masjid and Mohammad Wasim, resident of Shish Mahal were apprehended near Delight Cinema hall. The gang members used to operate from five different premises in the Turkman Gate. Units using ISI mark
without licence: During the raids, the officials seized some fake products without the licence of BIS. Delhi branch of
Bank of Rajasthan: Mr P K Tayal, Chairman, Bank of Rajasthan, said, “We have opened the Delhi branch as Delhi figures prominently in our growth strategy. We also believe our bank will give a world-class banking facility, coupled with the traditional Indian service to the customers.” Birth anniversary
of Romanian poet: The function was presided over by Prof. S P Singh, former Vice-Chancellor, Lucknow University and Chairman, Free Legal Aid India. Prof Gouri S Gupta, Ex-Dean, Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi was the guest of honour. Power cuts:
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Murder of truck driver
solved, 2 held New Delhi, January 15 The suspects were identified as Satya Narain who worked as helper with the victim and Shiv Ram. Truck loaded with tea bags have been recovered, police said. According to the police, the victim got his truck loaded with tea bags at Transport Centre, Punjabi Bagh and left for Ghaziabad at about 2 am along with his helper on January 12. They had to reach transport company Ison Carrier in Ghaziabad but they did not arrive. On January 13, owner of the transport company reported a missing case in Punjabi Bagh police station. During investigation of the case, the police recovered the truck from near Lal Gumbad Camp, Malviya Nagar. The helper Satya Narain was found present in the truck. During interrogation, he confessed to have killed the driver. His interrogation led to the arrest of his associate Shiv Ram. He told the police that he offered omelet mixed with poison to the driver while he was driving the truck. After eating the omelet, he became unconscious and Satya Narain drove the truck to Lal Bagh jhuggi cluster where he used to live a few years back. He went to the cluster and disclosed his plan to Shiv Ram for killing the driver. The duo drove away the vehicle to Tughlakabad where they killed the driver and threw the body in jungle. The motive of the murder was robbery of the tea bags. He planned to sell the tea bags at Rs 11 lakh. Truck loaded with the tea bags have been seized, the police said. |
New computerised telephone exchange Sonepat, January 15 According to a report, the subscribers would be given telephone connections on demand with the commissioning of this exchange. With underground cables being laid for this telephone exchange, the subscribers of Bandepur village and its surrounding areas will be given telephone connections on demand. Two such computerised telephone exchanges were functioning at Murthal and Ganaur. The existing telephone pairs would be used in other parts of the city where the demand for new connections was much higher. According to another report, the Postal Department has decided to abolish all post offices in this district, which were running in lose. The officials of the department have started the scrutinising of the financial record in this connection. This action followed the directive issued by the union directorate of the department. There were 179 post offices in Sonepat district, including one Head Post Office at Sonepat, 140 branch post offices and 38 sub post offices. Of the 160 post offices functioning in the rural areas, 50 of them were running in lose and unable to meet the expenditure and salary of its staff. The department has already stopped the recruitment of new staff for the last five years or so. |
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It’s fun unlimited for Noida children! New Delhi, January 15 Spread over three acres, the park is located opposite the Film City and has been designed to cater to the requirements of the children. The park designers have also taken care to provide children with clean and hygienic surroundings. The security and safety has been taken care of and helpers have been recruited to guide children. The park was inaugurated by noted social activist Nafisa Ali along with schoolchildren from Noida. Describing the park, managing director, International Recreation Park, Rakesh Babbar said, “Noida Children’s Park is a fun place for children and parents, we have installed the best swings, slides and see-saws and these have been specially designed for kids between two and 12.” He added, “Our garden maze, which will be the only one in the NCR, will be specially created with an appropriate height and design for the children. There is ample space in the park for the children to run around and play.”
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