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Plan panel asks govt to revamp loss-making DTC
Hundreds fall ill after ammonia gas leak
MTNL found guilty of
poor service
Free heart check-up camp held in Vivek Vihar
Foreign urban welfare managers meet Mayor
Artscape |
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Dalits clamour for rights at Ramlila Ground
Need to educate consumers on their rights stressed
Dadri Nagar Nigam chairman in the dock
Residents to float new party
Deprived of property, engineer ends life
Every memory loss is not dementia
Awards on ecology for youths
Watch showroom burgled
Gang of robbers smashed, six held
Hapur’s ‘Natwarlal’ nabbed
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Plan panel asks govt to revamp loss-making DTC
New Delhi, December 12 The issue came up during a meeting which Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had with Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia in the recent Annual Plan finalisation exercise. During 2004-05, the net loss of the DTC has been estimated at Rs 697.25 crore. The Planning Commission viewed this with concern and asked the Delhi government to rectify the situation. According to highly placed official sources, Dr Ahluwalia also wanted the state government to reduce the average bus staff ratio in the DTC, which stood at 9.84 compared to 6.15 of the national average. The DTC incurred a loss of Rs 554.67 crore in 2003-04 and Rs 451.12 crore in 2002-03. The Planning Commission team, however, appreciated Delhi government’s efforts in replacing the DTC bus fleet with non-polluting buses. Mrs Dikshit assured the Planning Commission that her government was keen on taking steps to restructure the monolith road transport organisation. She said a study report had been prepared by a consultant which was being examined by her government. The Planning Commission pointed out
that there was a multiplicity of authorities handling different aspects of public transport, with little coordination between them. There was, therefore, a need to create a statutory authority to act as a coordinating body.
AIMA meet on public governance
The All India Institute of Management Association (AIMA) held a national convention on ‘Public Governance Dividends– The Road Ahead’ with George Mason University, USA and Indian Institute of Public Administration. IC-Centre for Government and Delhi Management Association also partnered the event, which was attended by the Union Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Shivraj Patil. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Patil said, “The issues of good governance are needed at all levels as they would help in the development of the country. Public governance will equip the individuals with the system so that right policies are made with its proper implementation and interpretation.” He added, “Cooperation to coordination are the key words to success.” President AIMA, Sunil Alagh in his address said, “Public governance has become a key issue as we need to develop a framework which reaches the grassroots. Over the years, we have mastered the art of making issues private and private issues public. The need of the hour is to make public issues public.” Among those who spoke on the occasion were Major-General Khurana, Dr Roger R Stough, Associate Dean, George Mason University, Dr. Kingsley E Haynes, Dean and Director.
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Hundreds fall ill after ammonia gas leak
Meerut, December 12 By the time the management and senior officials of the SBL could understand the gravity of the situation, a large number of people from Kasampur, New Govindpuri, Govindpuri, Shakyapuri, Sadhu Nagar and a number of soldiers from the Pine, Ram divisions and other services had already been down with the ammonia scourge. When the leakage started losing its effects, hundreds of residents of the adjoining areas protested and pelted the factory campus with stones. Later, the SBL management somehow stopped the leak of the gas after seeing the deteriorating situation. Subsequently, some senior administrative and police officials rushed to the spot to ascertain the gravity of the situation. The officials have registered a case against the management of the unit. According to some highly reliable sources of SKOL Breweries Limited, the leakage started at around 5.45 pm on Saturday evening, when the shift of workers was being changed. The SBL workers as well as the residents of the area are reportedly in a state of panic after the leak. As soon as the gas started leaking, the workers started running and crying for help. Pyare Singh, the operator of the Beer Plant, and helper Tejpal tried to control the leak but in vain. However, the gas leaked for more than 25 minutes. The SBL, a unit owned by Shaw Wallace India and SAB Miller South Africa, is a major Breweries Unit, where some of the popular beer brands like Hayward 5000, plain Royal Challenge and Castle Beer are produced. The unit is situated in a dense area while the other side is cantonment, where formation and soldiers work and live.
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MTNL found guilty of
poor service
New Delhi, December 12 “The fault history shows that the telephone had not been functioning intermittently from 1998 till 2001,” District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (New Delhi) president L C Jain and Member Janak Juneja said. The consumer court also ordered Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd to pay litigation cost and damages of Rs 5,000 to complainant Dinesh Kumar Jain. “When a telephone connection remains out of order so intermittently, MTNL is liable for deficiency in service for not providing proper service besides not giving the rent rebate for the period when the phone had been out of order for more than a week,” the court said. Mr Jain said he had installed the said phone at his office in Karol Bagh here and it remained out of order many times. Though he had lodged many complaints, MTNL did not bother to rectify the defect, Mr Jain said, adding that due to this, he suffered heavy losses in business. MTNL contended that the phone had never been out of order for more than a month as claimed by the complainant. But the consumer court rejected this plea, saying that the fault history filed by MTNL itself shows that on as many as 23 occasions, Jain’s phone was ‘dead’ or did not have a dial tone or was simply defective due to ‘cross connection’.
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Free heart check-up camp held in Vivek Vihar
New Delhi, December 12 As many as 326 persons were registered at the camp and free ECGs for 284 persons conducted. All of them were examined by the expert cardiologists of Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi. ECO tests were conducted for more than 100 persons. Over 500 people came at this camp. Chief guest Dr A K Walia, Minister of Finance, Government of Delhi, appreciated the activities of Lions Club and its president Rakesh Kumar. He advised the people attending this camp to do regular workouts and take a brisk walk for at least 45 minutes a day to keep off the diseases.
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Foreign urban welfare managers meet Mayor
New Delhi, December 12 The delegation is in Delhi to undergo a training programme organised by the Human Settlement Management Institute, HUDCO. The programme aims to equip the participants to improve their performance as urban development managers with a view to making them more effective instruments of change. The delegation members discussed at length the functioning and problems of the MCD. Mr Subhash Arya, the Leader of Opposition, and Mrs Reena Ray, Additional Commissioner, were also present.
Chrysanthemum show
The Young Women’s Christian Association organised its 56th annual Chrysanthemum Show here yesterday. YWCA president Dr Lily George and cine star Sanjay Khan inaugurated the show. This year’s collections from the event will be used for “A children’s home for the rural development project in Najafgarh”.
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Artscape
New Delhi, December 12 On this occasion, the prestigious Legends of India Lifetime Achievement Award for Fine Arts will be conferred upon a living legend for his/her selfless service and contribution to the Indian arts. A jury headed by Mr Soli Sorabjee is in the process of selecting the recipient of this award. The members of the jury are Dr Varsha Das, Mr O.P. Jain, Mr Amarnath Sehgal, Mr Krishen Khanna, Mr Muthusamy Varadanan, Prof Pran Nath Mago and Mr Vinod Bakshi. The annual exhibition for 2004 is being curated by Dr Varsha Das. Legends of India has taken care to ensure that the upcoming artists and sculptors get an opportunity to share the platform with the living legends. Canvas 2004 shall not only present the grand works of painters but also incorporate the sculptors. To name a few, the exhibition will showcase the works of Satish
Gujral, Laxman Pal, Jatin Das, Shamshad Hussain, Gopi Gajwani, Lalitha Lajmi, Madhavi Parekh, Kalpana Mohanty Rai, Sonia Rodrigues Sabharwal, Viplav Shashi, Prof S Chaudhuri, Prof Biman B Das, Ms Yuriko Lochan, Ms Shashi Arora, Partho Pratim Mandal and Chander Prakash. Legends of India is a registered society, set up in 1999. Its charter is to create awareness of India’s cultural heritage and its rich traditions in music, dance, the arts and theatre. The awardees of Legends of India Lifetime Achievement Award 2004 are Pt. Birju Maharaj for Music and Dance and Habib Tanvir for Theatre.
A treat for art connoisseurs
The Hungarian Cultural Centre here has constantly showcased works of eminent artists from time to time. This time, it presents a joint exhibition of drawings, graphics and paintings by two renowned artists, D P Sibal from India and Robert Konig from Hungary. The exhibition invites the art connoisseurs to witness the beauty of the ‘horse’ from the eyes of both the artists based in countries far away in distance but close in art and culture. ‘Horses’ symbolise power, vitality, speed, energy and beauty. Horses have been a subject for many artists and sculptors the world over, like the famous ‘Cheval de Napolean’, by Theodore Gericault which is now a part of the John Hay Whitney Collection. Edger Degas too discovered race tracks as a source of variety of subjects to paint. For D P Sibal, an architect, the subject ‘The Horse’ draws his attention to the well-cared environment of the yesteryears unlike the scenario of the claustrophobic living of the present day. For him, painting horses is an added environmentally oriented painting exercise. An environmentalist artist, Sibal’s works are in the collection of National Gallery of Modern Art, AIFACS and Lalit Kala Academy. He has been a recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including Aadrashila, Matri Shri, Indo-French Friendship Association Award, Avantika, World Green Award. The present exhibition includes one of his fascinating series consisting of 15 drawings, offering the first ‘drops’ of the respectable spiritual source for those, who have been refreshed by the beautiful sight and natural harmony of these wonderful creatures, the horses, during their lives. The exhibition will be open to public daily from December 14 to January 5, 2005 from 10 am to 7 p.m.
Contemporary artists’ oeuvre
on show
The PBC Art Gallery here is also showcasing the works of nine contemporary artists under the banner of “Colour the Art Window” from December 10 to January 2, 2005. The artists whose works are being showcased are Subroto Mondal, Amit Mishra, Manoj Nayak, Swapan Kumar Brahma, Phool Singh Bairwa, Mahesh Singh, Shambu Dayal Kuldeep, Nand Kishore and Jitender Kumar Tanwar. “Colour the Art Window” is an organisation, devoted to promoting the works of contemporary artists.
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Dalits clamour for rights at Ramlila Ground
New Delhi, December 12 The gathering sought reservation for Dalits in higher judiciary and armed forces, timebound promotions to safai karamcharis and ban on contract system for hiring employees. Among other things, they also demanded the withdrawal of post-based roster, reintroduction of 40-point roster system. A demand was also placed for providing succour to the 2,250 employees of Maruti Udyog who reportedly are yet to be compensated for seeking voluntary retirement. The confederation also sought the inclusion of leaders like Ambedkar, Shahuji Maharaj, Jyotiba Phule and Saint Ravidas in NCERT textbooks.
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Need to educate consumers on their rights stressed
Faridabad, December 12 This was stated by Dr K. P. S Mahalwar, a senior professor and Dean in the Department of Law of the Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, while speaking on the topic of ‘Consumer Rights’ at Saraswati Kanya Mahavidyalaya at Palwal town in the district today. Dr Mahalwar, who was the main speaker at the function, underscored the need for educating creating awareness among common man about the simple process of getting a grievance related to a substandard product or service addressed. Stating that while there had been numerous incidents of complaints being lodged about underhand practices of various companies, less than five per cent were taken up seriously in a proper forum. He said there had been times when consumer and shopkeepers had taken the law in their hands over the non-redressal of the complaint by the person who had sold the product or provided the service. He said consumers need not hire a lawyer or pay a hefty fee for registering a complaint at the District Consumer Forum, which had all the legal powers to prosecute the accused and provide suitable compensation to the victim. He said many people did not know that approaching the forum was not only convenient but also inexpensive, where such matters were sorted out expeditiously. The Consumer Protection Act provides protection for any service or product consumed under the sun, but the awareness had not yet touched the desired level. He asked college students to gather the required information about such rights and play the role of a catalyst in their neighbourhood.
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Dadri Nagar Nigam chairman in the dock
Greater Noida, December 12 The inquiry will also establish as to why no action had so far been taken against the chairman and who was responsible for this lack of action. Ex-Minister of state for irrigation and present MLA, Nawab Singh Nagar had accused Nagar Palika Chairman, Khalid Rehman, of having committed serious irregularities and anomalies by squandering Rs 56.24 lakh grant given to the Nagar Palika for village development projects, by using the funds for making payments for some irrelevant work. The chairman had been accused of gross violation of norms and rules squandering public funds and getting works on various projects executed in a fictitious manner by MLA Nawab Singh Nagar. After the probe, the then District Magistrate, Santosh Kumar Yadav, had found the allegation correct. Though action had been taken against some officials connected with these projects, but no action had been taken against Chairman Khalid Rehman. Mr Nagar has pointed out in the Assembly that
when District Magistrate had found the allegations correct and some officials had been punished for
their involvement, why no action has been taken against the main culprit. The state government has now taken a serious view of the whole episode. Through a letter to the state government, the Secretary (Administration) has asked the District Magistrate to find out as to why no action has been taken so far against the chairman, Nagar Palika, Dadri, for the financial irregularities committed by him.
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Residents to float new party
Gurgaon, December 12 At a meeting organised by an NGO, the representatives of various Resident Welfare Associations, passed a resolution not to support candidates of any political party in the Assembly election. The residents constituted a committee to set up
an organisational framework as a first step towards setting up a new political outfit. The speakers on the occasion expressed disillusionment with the political parties and their leaders on the horizon on counts of integrity and transparency in their functioning. Further, they expressed lack of confidence in the concern of the leaders of the political parties towards the problems of the people. The general thrust of the gathering was to field its own candidate to ensure better growth of the city and to improve its infrastructure. A similar kind of political exercise by more or less the same group was undertaken in the midst of the last parliamentary election. However, the aim of the exercise then was less radical as it pertained to supporting only that candidate in the fray who empathised with the problems and aspirations of the residents of the city. However, the solidarity of the people apparently did not show up finally as suggested by the voting pattern in the election to the Lok Sabha. The voluntary organisation, which is in the vanguard of the entire show, has been active for the past several months touching on the political sensitivity of the city through the Resident Welfare Associations.
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Deprived of property, engineer ends life
Noida, December 12 According to the police, Manish Chauhan (32), an engineer, had been living with wife, Taruna Chauhan, and a six-year-old son in the house (No. 1993) in Sector-37. He has cited his suicide note that he had been deprived of the property of Rs 30 lakh and his family gave undue importance to his wife as the reasons for his suicide. The police have registered a murder case against four persons, including
his wife and sent the body for the port-mortem examination. In the husband-wife tiffs, Manish has alleged that his family invariably sided with his wife so much so that the property in
Modi Nagar, worth nearly Rs 30 lakh, was transferred in the name of his wife, Taruna, depriving him of it altogether. According to the police, his wife had deserted him and was living in Delhi for the last three months. Manish Chauhan had consumed some insecticide to end his life. A look at his body made police suspect that the death had taken place four five days ago. The police, who discovered a suicide note by the side of his body, have registered a case against Manish’s wife Taruma, mother-in-law, father-in-law and a brother-in-law for engineer’s murder and started an investigations.
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Every memory loss is not dementia
New Delhi, December 12 Dr K. K. Aggarwal, President, Heart Care Foundation of India, Dr M. M. Mehdandiratta, Professor of Neurology, G B Pant Hospital, Dr Vinit Suri, Senior Neurologist, Apollo Hospital and Dr S. P. Tripathi, Senior Ayurvedic Physician, were the key speakers in the talk here today. One should consult a doctor to rule out minimum cognitive impairment of disease, which can lead to dementia in later life. The experts said that for dementia to be diagnosed a person should not only have significant memory impairment but also one extra-cognitive function impairment. One can check by playing bridge, chess, crosswords and memory games. According to Ayurvedic physiology, cow milk and ghee is good for delaying the onset of dementia. Nowadays, various new medicines are available for treating and controlling dementia. Before a patient is diagnosed as a case of dementia, efforts should be made to look for reversible causes like low functioning of thyroid, vitamin B-12 deficiency, chronic alcoholism and uncontrolled diabetes, blood pressure and smoking. Elderly patients should be cautious in taking drugs for prostate, anemia and cough as many drugs can precipitate dementia like symptoms.
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Awards on ecology for youths
New Delhi, December 12 In order to enter the competition, a group of five students, assisted by a mentor or a teacher, needs to present a detailed project on any significant environmental concern that directly affects their local ecosystem. The students should be between 10 and 16 years of age and have to show visible results on the impact of the project, which can be based on bio-diversity, transport, energy, waste and
water. — TNS
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Watch showroom burgled
Noida, December 12 According to the owner, Ajit Singh Tomar, the police did not come to know of the shop break or theft till morning. He was alerted by some of his neighbouring shopkeepers that the shutters of his showroom had been tempered with, Tomar said. In the morning, he found his shops ransacked and 104 Timex, 39 Titan and 30 Maxima watches were missing. Though the Phase II police say they are on the trail of the thieves, the theft in the showroom in the market, a few steps from the police post, has made the traders apprehensive and panicky.
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Gang of robbers smashed, six held
New Delhi, December 12 The accused have been identified as Rajesh (36), Ajay (24), Raju (30), Anil (21), Rashid Ahmed (24) and Salim (26). The Crime Branch of Delhi Police arrested the accused from New Rohtak Road area. The police claimed to have solved six incidents of robbery, snatching and three theft cases with this arrest. One country-made pistol and live cartridges, two knives, one scooter, five mobile phones and wristwatches were seized from them. In another case, the North district police have arrested one person Zunaid Alam (19) for selling pornographic CDs. The police have recovered 15 such CDs from him. The accused hails from Bihar and was arrested by the police from Old Lajpat Rai Market.
Seminar on spices, herbs
India, the land of spices and herbs, from time immemorial, is endowed with a rich diversity of climate for a variety of spices and herbs having intrinsic quality. The annual global requirement of spices is expected to grow at 8.5 per cent. The world trade in herbal products is also growing at a fast pace and expected to touch mind-boggling US$ 4 trillion by the year 2050. In view of such a big scope for the marketing of spices and herbal products, serious efforts are to be made by all stake holders, including policy makers, researchers, entrepreneurs, farmers, NGOs, and funding organisations in a participatory mode for the integrated development of these sectors. Development mechanism should ensure quality planting material to the farmers. The processors should aim at quality produce, higher-end value addition and creation of downstream products while maintaining international quality. The market promotion activities should be conducted on priority. With a view to deliberating these and various other issues, NNS is organising the 2nd National Seminar on Spices and Herbs here on December 19. More than 600 delegates from all over India are expected to participate in the seminar. An exhibition will also be organised at the venue.
— TNS
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Hapur’s ‘Natwarlal’ nabbed
Ghaziabad, December 12 When the housewife tried to stop the intruders from entering the house, they said they were CBI officers. Meanwhile, the Indirapuram police were informed who arrested them. Expert at changing his dresses and appearance, Arif, a history-sheeter of Hapur police station, is alleged to have committed over a thousand thefts and frauds in past 12 years, the police said. Apart from UP, Arif has been served sentences in various Delhi, Haryana and Kolkata jails for his criminal exploits during the last 12 years. Though his in-laws live in Mohalla Kazi Wada in Hapur, Arif is currently reported to be living in Seelampur in Delhi. He was released form Tihar Jail on bail. Arif had been arrested by the Crime Branch of Delhi for having stolen 200 gm gold and Rs 1.50 lakh cash from a house in Vasant Kunj, Delhi along with his companions.
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Inter-college fest concludes
New Delhi, December 12
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New Delhi, December 12
