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Security tightened for peaceful Holi
Lt-Colonel booked for extortion
Two held for credit card fraud
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Another nine-year-old kidnapped
Traders burn VAT’s effigy
DOTS fails to check rising TB cases
Rai students to get valid degrees now
NCERT to provide Urdu textbooks
Seminar on organisational leadership
Arya Samaj leaders vow to root out social evils
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Security tightened for peaceful Holi
New Delhi, March 25 On the eve of Holi, the North district police claimed to have arrested nine persons and recovered illicit liquor from their possession during a special drive in different parts of the district. The police have also seized a motorcycle from them. Warning the miscreants in Delhi, the police said that those found carrying weapons during the festival would be punished under appropriate sections. All the district DCPs have been directed to deploy policemen at strategic locations, residential colonies and some sensitive areas. “The local police of every district will be doing special patrolling on Holi and hooligans would be taken to task,” said a senior officer. Besides, the entire PCR fleet will be on alert to identify miscreants on the roads and attend any emergency calls. Since the chances of smuggling illicit liquor and drugs are more, the police have erected several pickets at various vantage points. Traffic police have also been directed to deploy traffic personnel across the city to check the overspeeding of vehicles and also drunken driving. The police at the borders are asked to check the vehicles coming from across the borders to stop suspicious elements from entering
the city. Meanwhile, some experts have warned that the so-called herbal dry colours flooding the markets this year can cause severe skin reactions and permanently scar sensitive skin like those of the babies. Herbal colours of only reputed brands should be trusted as the authenticity is very important, says Dr Rishi Parashar, Skin Specialist at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. ‘’Every year there is 15 to 20 per cent increase in the number of patients with Irritant Contact Dermititis just after Holi, some even with eye injuries’’ he said. Dr Parashar said most colours contain industrial dyes and metallic substances, which can cause itching, rashes, blisters and sometimes the entire body swells in reaction to these substances. According to the National Society for the Prevention of Blindness, gulal contains lead chromate which causes eye irritation, blue colour contains cobalt nitrate which causes skin allergies, yellow colour causes photo-sensitivity, green colour is Metachile green or nickel sulphate which can cause dermititis while purple colour is chromium iodide which is carcinogenic on prolonged exposure.
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Lt-Colonel booked for extortion
Meerut, March 25 Lt-Colonel C. M. Shukla had been posted here earlier with the HQ Meerut Sub Area as an Additional Quarter Master General (AQMG) with ‘A’ branch for over two and half years. He left the Sub Area for his assignment as Commanding Officer (CO) NCC in Dhule, Maharashtra, on March 16, 2005. According to some sources with HQ Meerut Sub Area, Lt-Colonel C. M. Shukla, AQMG, HQ Meerut Sub Area, had been involved in extorting money from various tea states managers and other businessmen with the help of ULFA and NSCN (IM), during his tenure in Assam in 1994 and his second posting in 1997-2000 onwards. He had allegedly extorted money by posing himself as ULFA and NSCN (IM) designate. He had extorted money by masquerading as Capt Robert and Capt Thakkan. He had extorted over Rs 85 lakh from one Subhas Chandra Gupta, a tea state manager in Assam. Sources also said that the official developed close links with several militant outfits there and had also been involved in timber smuggling while he was posted in Silcher, Sriban Army Camp and in Amrenda. Sources close to the HQ Meerut Sub Area confirmed that Lt-Col C. M. Shukla had been continuing his nefarious activities during his posting there. He even remained in touch with ULFA and NSCM (IM) Cadre. During his tenure with HQ Meerut Sub Area as AQMG, Lt-Col Shukla was OIC-CSD, Bulandshahr, and made several lakhs of rupees by giving major canteen contracts without any tender. Lt-Col Shukla also developed his links with several liquor company executives and their agents and promoted brands like OIC, CSD, as he had a prerogative to demand for a particular brand. Sources added that he promoted Segrams and UB Groups and made a fortune for himself. According to some confidential sources, he amassed property worth several crores of rupees. Presently settled in Nasik, Lt-Col Shukla has two bungalows in posh colony in Nasik and Devlali worth over Rs 2 crore. He has ornaments and cash over crores. According to a senior official here, Lt-Col Shukla indulged in these corrupt activities with the connivance of the Sub Area Commander Brig Rana Goswami VSM and erstwhile Sub Area Commander Brig (Retd) K. T. G. Nambiar, who has already been facing GCM proceedings for financial irregularities. Both the officials provided safe passage to Lt-Col Shukla for carrying out these activities. Possibility of involvement of other senior officials of HQ, Meerut Sub-Area, CSD Depot and UB Area cannot be ruled out, sources said. While this reporter tried to get in touch with Col G. S., HQ Meerut Sub Area and Col Bharat Bisht in this regard, the officials showed ignorance by saying
that they know nothing. Even the Sub Area Commander Brig Rana Goswami refused to speak in
this regard.
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Two held for credit card fraud
New Delhi, March 25 The accused have been identified as Parminder, alias Prince, and Deepak Sharma, residents of Krishna Nagar. Two of their associates, identified as Amit Suri and Sanju, are absconding. Acting on a complaint from one Suresh Gupta, resident of Paschim Vihar that his credit card had been fraudulently used for paying mobile bills, the police arrested the accused. One of the accused Parminder was already found involved in three other cheating cases. During interrogation, the accused told the police that they used to lure people for payment and settlement of their mobile bills. While paying the amount, they used to pay through the credit cards of other persons by non-swapping method.
Pirated CDs seized
The South-West district police today claimed to have arrested one person and recovered pirated CDs, VCDs of Hindi films along with some equipment from his possession. The accused identified as Parveen Kumar (24), resident of Palam, was found in his possession several pirated VCDs of Hindi movies, three CD writers, one computer, CD player, 1,070 inlay cards, 1,770 packing material, 1,508 CDs and 317 blank CDs. Acting on a secret information, the police raided Odeon Plaza in Dwarka and seized the pirated CDs from his shop.
— TNS
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Another nine-year-old kidnapped
Faridabad, March 25 A resident of Santosh Nagar locality of the Sarai Khawaja area here has complained that his son, Raju, also aged about nine years, has been kidnapped by five persons for a ransom of Rs 6 lakh. The police had earlier booked a case that the boy had been missing since January 30 last. The case got a new turn yesterday when Kameshwar Prasad, father of the missing boy, told the police that he had received a call from some persons, who demanded a ransom of six lakh from him for the release of his son. The accused, according to the complainant, are - Narender Bhati, Bachchan, Murari, Dhara Singh and Bunti. It is reported that the accused were known to Kameshwar and not seen by the family since the boy went missing. The police have desptached teams at several places, including the neighbouring UP, to trace the boy and arrest the accused. The complainant is a mason and has been working here for the past several years. A fresh case has been registered against the accused. Meanwhile, the police have failed to make any progress in the case of the nine-year-old Anand, alias Golu of the DAV School at Hodal town, who has been missing since February
7.
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Traders burn VAT’s effigy
New Delhi, March 25 They carried a small earthen pot used during a Hindu funeral
and burnt a VAT effigy on a mock pyre. Trade leaders Ram Lal and
Kashimri Lal Narang shaved their heads during the protest which, they
said, was joined by more than 200 trade organisations of the
Capital. Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) chief Vijay Goel
expressed fears that VAT would trigger a tax war among the states as it
was not being uniformly implemented around the country. “There will
certainly be migration of trade from VAT states to non-VAT states
because taxes in non-VAT states will be lower,” he said. The CAIT
also called a three-day market strike in the country from March 30. In
a separate statement, the Forum of Delhi Trade Associations said its
pro-Congress members would distance themselves from the Sheila Dikshit
government if it persisted with implementing VAT on April 1.
Only 2%
cases will call for scrutiny: Walia
Delhi Finance Minister AK Walia
has said only one to two per cent cases will attract scrutiny under the
Value Added Tax (VAT) regime that comes into effect from April
1. Replying to queries by members in the Delhi Assembly, he said
because of the inherent system of the multi-point tax on value addition,
few cases would call for scrutiny than those under the Central Sales
Tax. Comparing the penal provisions under the CST and VAT, the minister
said punishment under VAT was the same as under CST but penalty was
more, he added. Countering the Opposition’s allegation that Delhi may
lose its distributive character of trade due to VAT, Dr Walia said since
exports and imports under VAT was zero-rated, it should give impetus to
the distributive character. The Delhi Government had also set up a
website ‘delhisalestax.com’ that would act as a taxpayer’s guide
log and publicise the Delhi VAT Act and draft rules. Besides, a 24-hour
helpline (phone number 9604 444 444) for any enquiry on VAT was also set
up. A lot of publicity about the working of VAT was being given out
through the media. — TNS
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DOTS fails to check rising TB cases
Faridabad, March 25 According to the district health officials, the number of patients that had approached the government hospitals for treatment of TB had been 1,399 in 2000. It went up to 3,634 in 2004. The number of TB patients identified for treatment under the DOTS programme by the Civil Hospital in 2001 had been 2,978 and 3,402 in 2002. In 2003, the number of such patients had been maximum at 3,715 in the district. According to the civil surgeon here the success rate in this drive had been about 82 per cent in the district. The number of TB patients identified and being treated this year had been around 593 in the district. The Revised National TB Control Programme had been launched in 2000. The number of patients receiving treatment at private hospitals and clinics has not been included in the figures quoted here, which means that the number of such patients could be much more. Describing TB as the disease of the poor, well-known physician and TB specialist, Dr Raman Kakar, says that the success rate of the TB cure needed to be improved drastically as he claimed that the uneducated and poor residing in the remote areas do not know the importance of the treatment programme, which he said had been a bit longer and required a patient treatment in a very sincere manner. Dr Kakar, who authored a book, ‘A death every minute’ in year 2002, and who made an award-winning film on the disease, claims DOTS is a highly labour-intensive programme and it is the duty of the authorities concerned to ensure that the patients do not stop visiting doctor or taking the drugs . Stating that there are over 1.4 crore TB patients in the country, he said one third of the global burden of the TB patients are in India alone, and this disease has claimed more people in India than the HIV, STD, malaria, leprosy and tropical disease combined.
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Health parade for mother and children
New Delhi, March 25 A number of free check-up camps have been organised on this occasion. The parade would be flagged off in the Capital at 10 am on March 27, from DMA headquarters at Darya Ganj and would culminate at Daryaganj at 1 pm, after covering a distance of 50 kilometres. Dr K. K. Aggarwal, President, HCFI, said that each year half a million women die of pregnancy related causes and 10.6 million children also die, 40 per cent of them in the first month of the life itself. Former
Miss India, Manpreet Brar, who was also present at the press meet
said: “Healthy mothers and children are the real wealth of the
society.” — TNS
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IGNOU extends its reach to China
New Delhi, March 25 The university is currently offering its courses in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in West Asia and in Mauritius and Seychelles in the Indian Ocean rim. In South-East Asia, it has presence in Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar and in the SAARC region, it is also running programmes in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan. In Africa, IGNOU has presence in Kenya, Namibia and Ghana. Programmes in the areas of management, computer and information technology, tourism studies, library and information sciences teacher education, distance education, journalism and mass communication are running in 30 countries it was pointed out.
— TNS
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Rai students to get valid degrees now
New Delhi, March 25 In a statement issued here today, it was communicated that students can now look forward to getting proper degrees. The Founder Chairman Vinay Rai said, “We are happy that a critical issue like quality of education being imparted by a college/institution got raised through the Supreme Court.” He said he would “personally like to see compulsory yearly quality audit checks on all institutes/colleges irrespective of whether they are in private or government sector. Transparency in information about quality is the fundamental right of every citizen”. The affiliation process is expected to be completed within a month and examinations would be held
as scheduled from April 20 onwards. It was also pointed out that owing to the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the defective law in Chattisgarh, the Rai Foundation has now sought a university status for its colleges from the state governments of Maharashtra, MP, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Punjab, Rajasthan, Orissa and Haryana, apart from Chattisgarh. Rai Foundation is also seeking a deemed university status from the UGC and they claim to be ready “to face any quality inspection from UGC, AICTE, NAAC or any other regulatory body”.
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NCERT to provide Urdu textbooks
New Delhi, March 25 Most of the books have already been published and the remaining will soon hit the market. The MCD, the largest consumer of the NCERT Urdu books, has already been provided with Urdu medium books for class I to class V. All the language books from class VI to X have already been published and made available in the market to help the students. The rest of the Urdu textbooks of different subjects are being published based on the recommendations of the Quick Book Review Committee, set up by the Executive Committee of the NCERT. The books will be distributed through the regular distribution channel of NCERT and the largest distributor of the Urdu textbooks, URDU Academy nationwide, apart from making them available on the sales counter of
the NCERT.
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Seminar on organisational leadership
New Delhi, March 25 The seminar highlighted strategies based on Leadership Challenges- Globally and in India; Global Competition, Technological Advancement, M&A’s, Corporate Governance, Customer Understanding and Cost Competitiveness. The seminar aimed at strengthening the view of Indian organisations of being successful and stable on the home turf and the need to continuously evolve and occasionally re-invent themselves in order to compete successfully in this new environment. Also, to make students familiar to the industry know how in the chosen field. The seminar was divided into two sessions and speakers discussed topics including Corporate Values and culture, leadership and emergence of leaders among others. They also discussed the competitive landscape in which Indian corporates find themselves that has changed significantly over the last 10-15 years. It was pointed out that Indian companies now have to fight tough battles with international giants. While Asian companies compete on cost and efficiency, European and American companies are competing primarily on strong, established brands and high-end niche features.
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Arya Samaj leaders vow to root out social evils
New Delhi, March 25 The congregation pledged to intensify its drive against social evils and its effort to protect environment. Addressing the gathering, Mr G. P. Chopra said that the campaign would be carried in line with the high tenets set by Swami Dayanand to eradicate illiteracy among all the sections of the society. Thousands of participants first converged at the Jantar Mantar and later submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Minister, expressing concern over the erosion of social values in society. Religious leaders from the region also addressed the gathering that gave a call to the public to wage a war against the social evils.
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