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Delhi in grip of HIV epidemic
Police concerned over increased inflow of cocaine
‘Court permission needed to dispose of trust property’
Man jailed for unauthorised construction
Demand for a separate Bill on quota in private institutions
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Premchand Literary Centre to be set up at Jamia Millia
Mesmerising show by Amity kids
Cheat promising loans to youth in police net
Cell phones looted
Body found from Shangri-La Hotel
Indo-US engineers review quake safety measures
IGNOU to launch ‘Dairy Farming Awareness’ programme
Transport sammelan today
Machines worth
Rs 6.50 lakh looted
Student gets two admit cards
Pali power station still a dream
Effective measures needed to curb crime: DGP
A painting by Devajyoti Ray.
Woman tortured for dowry
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Delhi in grip of HIV epidemic
New Delhi, December 11 Among patients of sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), a major high-risk category for HIV/AIDS prevalence, while 0.8 per cent were tested positive in 1999, it has jumped to 7.4 per cent in 2004, according to the report ‘HIV/AIDS in Delhi: Meeting the Challenge’. In another high-risk group — intravenous drug users (IVDUs), the percentage of HIV infection has gone up from five per cent in 2000 to 17.5 per cent in 2004. With more than five per cent of the people in the high-risk groups in the Capital testing positive, the chart book terms Delhi not only as a “moderate prevalence state” but also as a “highly vulnerable state.” In Delhi in 2004, it was estimated that 0.3 per cent of adults were infected with HIV. Since 1993, there were 945 reported cases of AIDS. The report has been jointly prepared by the Population Foundation of India (PFI) and Population Reference Bureau (PRB), a Washington based NGO, in collaboration with the Delhi State AIDS Control Society (DSACS). Noting that HIV infection often begins with high-risk population such as men who visit sex workers and needle-sharing drug users, the study states that these groups act as a “bridge” to the general population. “There are indications that this is now taking place in Delhi, threatening a generalised epidemic,” it warns. However, among the low-risk groups, such as pregnant women, tested over the years for ascertaining the trends on the spread of the disease, the numbers have remained static. While in 1999, 0.3 per cent of the women in ante-natal clinics tested positive for the virus, the number has remained around that mark in 2004.
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Police concerned over increased inflow of cocaine
New Delhi, December 11 While, heroin continues to be a favourite drug for the addicts, cocaine seems to have overtaken the good-old ganja and opium with high-profile party-hoppers preferring the expensive narcotic, the police said. The anti-narcotics cell of the Delhi Police has so far detected nine cases of cocaine smuggling this year, compared to none last year and one in the year before, a senior police official said. The police has seized around 280 grams of cocaine, worth over Rs 11 lakh in the international market, and arrested 15 people, including two Nigerians, in this connection. “In the 80s, drug smuggling was all about heroin, but now the focus is shifting towards cocaine and proliferation of night clubs is one reason for the spurt,” a senior police officer said. According to the police, cocaine mainly reaches the national Capital from African countries like Nigeria and South America through Goa. This is supported by the recent arrest of two Nigerians and confessions made by several arrested persons. But the new phenomenon is creating problems for the police as unlike heroin and opium users, consumers of cocaine are “high-profile” and are difficult to nail. In its effort to tackle the situation, the police are now adopting high-tech surveillance systems to keep track of various gangs operating in posh areas of the Capital. Meanwhile, heroin and opium flow into the national Capital has registered a dip this year compared to last year and the year before. The police have seized over 89 kilograms of heroin, worth lakhs in the international market, this year and arrested around 100 people in this connection while last year it had recovered nearly 130 kilograms. In 2003, the police had seized nearly 100 kilograms of heroin. Last year, the police had recovered over 130 kilograms of opium and 85 kilograms the year before.
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‘Court permission needed to dispose of trust property’
New Delhi, December 11 The order “would operate against all trusts irrespective of whether they are religious or not, including properties belonging to the church, temples, wakf, etc,” Justice Vikramajit Sen said. The order came on a petition filed by one Ashok Mehra seeking direction to the authorities not to oppose mutation of a piece of land in West Patel Nagar area of the Capital, which he bought from ‘Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha’ and where a primary school was being run. In fact, the 200 square yards in question (3/12, West Patel Nagar) was given to one Chandrawati, widow of late Lala Puran Chandra Nayar of Lahore, on a 99-year lease by the then Governor General of India on April 6, 1950. According to the petitioner, Chandrawati executed a will on May 22, 1968, including this property as a part of her estate and Delhi District Judge granted probate and thereafter the authorities substituted in their books name of ‘Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha’ through Ram Gopal Shal-Wale, President of the Sabha, as administrator of the property with full rights to dispose of the same in any manner. The Sabha leased the property to a primary school and by way of a registered sale deed dated November 17, 1984, it sold the same to the petitioner. However, when he approached the land authorities for mutation, his plea was rejected. Observing that the case required consideration, the court admitted the petition for hearing and allowed Mehra to file an additional affidavit in support of his plea.
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Man jailed for unauthorised construction
New Delhi, December 11 Additional Sessions Judge I K Kochhar also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Gurcharan Singh, dismissing his appeal for a modification of the sentence, observed that the appellant had deliberately and intentionally not disclosed that he had already been convicted by a trial court for another, similar offence. The court added that the appeal was without any merit and that the appellant deserves no leniency in sentence. Counsel for MCD Rajpal Kasana had argued that the accused did not come to the court with clean hands, and had withheld vital documents to gain advantage, which the court conceded. Singh had appealed to this court against the judgement of a trial court which had convicted him of offences under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act in 2002. Singh had obtained a probation order from the Delhi High Court in that case, which was later dismissed by the Supreme Court, where the MCD had gone on appeal. In the present case, Singh was found supervising unauthorised constructions on Nicholson Road at Kashmeri Gate, without any permission, in 1991, when MCD officials arrived at the premises for inspection.
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Demand for a separate Bill on quota in private institutions
New Delhi, December 11 The demand to this effect was raised at a rally organised by the
Confederation at Ram Lila grounds here today, which was attended by Dalits from all over the country. Confederation Chairman Udit Raj said, “The Bill is not properly drafted because the reservation Bill meant for SCs and STs and OBCs is combined, whereas there should have been two separate Bills each of the two groups due to variation in rules.” Demanding the passage of the Bill in the current session of Parliament, he said the “confusion” on reservation in these institutions should be removed. He criticised both the UPA and NDA governments for not being “sincere” in implementing the reservation policy and filling up the backlog of reserved posts in various government departments. “Though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had promised to the Dalit leaders that 80 per cent backlog of reserved vacancies would be filled by December 2005, but various government departments even do not have statistics ready on backlog,” he claimed. While the NDA government had drastically reduced job opportunities in government sector by slashing staff strength by 10 per cent, the UPA government had also not done anything substantial to “revive” the recruitment of reserved categories, he said He said that the confederation had also submitted a memorandum to the US President seeking his help in ensuring reservation for Dalits in US businesses in India. The Dalits are highly dismayed with the UPA government not doing anything in the past one and a half years, he said. The NDA government had lost in the elections because it disinvested several public sector enterprises, which provided employment particularly to Dalits, he alleged. He alleged that the Scheduled Caste Commission and the Scheduled Tribe Commission were not able to further the cause of Dalits because they lacked judicial, administrative and financial autonomy. He called upon the government to ensure compulsory and equal education, time-bound promotion of safai karamcharis, ban on contract system and making caste certificate of one state valid in the other for the purposes of reservation. The inclusion of Dalits in the Army would strengthen it and their representation in the judiciary would ensure that judgements have views of all sections of the society, he said. The rally and the spill from the India-Sri Lanka test match at the Ferozeshah Kotla grounds caused considerable traffic snarls in the evening, particularly in the areas around the venues.
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Premchand Literary Centre to be set up at Jamia Millia
New Delhi, December 11 The archives will house under one roof literary materials on Premchand including books, original letters, his diaries, newspaper clippings on his work, journals and photographs. The literary centre will also conduct discussions, organize talks and lectures on literary issues. Prof Mushirul Hasan said that plans are already underway to collect all of Premchand’s writings as also to collect biographies and critical works on Premchand. Jamia is also planning to hold a week- long festival devoted to Premchand in February 2006. Currently, Jamia has committed Rs 69 lakh towards developing the complex that would house this archival and literary center on Premchand. Interestingly, Premchand wrote ‘Kafan’, during the course of his stay at Jamia. In an attempt to promote indigenous and Urdu literature, Jamia held a rare photograph exhibition along with a display of unpublished works of the fiery Urdu poet, Asarullah Majaz, on the occasion of the poet’s 50th death anniversary in early December. Majaz, better known as the Keats of Urdu poetry, was indiscriminate in his passion for life, writing compulsively but never maintaining a careful record. Much of what he wrote was written on wayward scraps of paper handed to friends, admirers or those he favoured in a generous moment. Many of his greatest nazm’s remain unpublished and many are lost, so this unpublished collection of Majaz’s works was truly an unusual literary event in
the city. In the latter half of November there was a memorable talk by Dr Frances Pritchett, an ardent Ghalib authority from Columbia University in
the USA. Earlier in the year, Jamia had held a 3-day seminar on the Progressive Writers movement, inviting luminaries from India and Pakistan on the subject. Jamia’s attempts to provide a platform for the works of progressive writers like Majaz, Ghalib, Sardar Jaffri and many others have been consistent this year. With these steps, the University might end up rendering a rare service to regional and Urdu literature, a much- neglected stream in India’s current academic world, said a professor at Jamia. The Vice Chancellor has made an appeal to the public to come forward and donate any material they might have on Premchand, especially original papers, letters, photographs, mementos etc. In effect, Jamia is making an effort to acquire the personal collections of literary giants for their ambitious literary archives.
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Mesmerising show by Amity kids
New Delhi, December 11 The chief guest, Mr Rachid Sator, lauded the performances of the little ones and complemented the untiring efforts of the teachers and the parents behind the mesmerising presentations. He advised the teachers and the parents that high energy of these students should be channelised in the right direction, which will make them the great leaders of tomorrow. The event had a special theme. Kalpana- A peep into the world of Imagination unfolded with the unique blend of soothing Indian and vibrant western music Taal Mel with orchestra/choir and dance Jugal Bandi performances by the young kids. The main attraction of the evening was a play, Fast Food, Healthy Food by Nursery kids highlighting the importance of a Healthy body, healthy mind, pious soul that is the call of the day. Tiny tots tried to depict this through their item followed by Disney Parade by K.G. children. The Wonderful Body theme was expressed by class Two students who presented an item in which through their body parts like eyes, ears, mouth, hands, legs and brain, they showed that each one of us should make proper use of what God has given us and thank him in return. Farmers of the World theme wonderfully presented by the students in the form of a skit by students of class III showcased the activities of the farmer that they sow, they rake, they irrigate, they till, they harvest and yet they are always happy, conveying to the world that if we take pleasure in our work, work becomes pleasure. In an inspiring and thought provoking address Mr Atul Chauhan emphasized the need of quality education for the betterment of future society. He appreciated the work done by Amity School in providing good education and overall development to the students. Dr Amita Chauhan, Chairperson, Amity International School described the efforts of the Amity School in giving best theoretical education clubbed with practical exposures.
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Cheat promising loans to youth in police net
Noida, December 11 Naresh Chauhan used to charge Rs 6,000 as file charges for getting a loan sanctioned from HDFC within three days. After three days, he would charge another Rs 5,500 on the pretext of getting documents completed for the sanction of loans. In this way, Naresh Chauhan had allegedly received Rs 1,27,700 from Rajinder Kumar Mishra, Rs 1,32,375 from Dr Sunil Kumar Sharma from Jharkhand, Rs 1,400 from Ram Gopal, Rs 12,500 from Dev Raj Singh and Rs 12,000 from D. S. Saini. The police have registered a case of cheating against Naresh Chauhan and arrested him on the charge of defrauding these people. Chauhan used to entice unemployed people by inserting advertisements in newspapers. The police are looking for his accomplices in this business of fraud and cheating.
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Cell phones looted
Ghaziabad, December 11 Increased power cuts seem to have increased the incidents of theft and loot in Ghaziabad. The Kotwali police are trying to trace the thieves with the help of EMI numbers, a source
said. — OC
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Body found from Shangri-La Hotel
New Delhi, December 11 The deceased was a telephone cable line worker, the police said. While the local police have registered a case of murder, the reasons behind his death are still to be identified. The police have sent the body for the postmortem. The preliminary investigations revealed that the person was strangled to death. According to the police there are strangulation marks on the neck. The police said that personal rivalry might be the reason behind the murder. Meanwhile, the hotel administration said the body was found at a shopping plaza near the hotel. “The body was found in the Kanishka Shopping Plaza and not in the hotel premises,” a hotel manager said. The police are further investigating into the matter.
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Indo-US engineers review quake safety measures
New Delhi, December 11 This initiative, launched in April 2005 by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, was supported by the US Agency for International Development
(USAID) in collaboration with the Union Home Ministry. The project, which was also assisted by the US-based NGO GeoHazards International, had already accomplished much towards strengthening the existing buildings in the city and enhancing the skills of Indian engineers. Five buildings in the Capital under review are: Delhi Secretariat and Delhi Police Headquarters in Central Delhi, Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital in East Delhi, and Ludlow Castle School and the Divisional Commissioner’s Office in North Delhi.
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IGNOU to launch ‘Dairy Farming Awareness’ programme
New Delhi, December 11 No formal educational qualification is required for the two-month programme, which will start from January 2006, an IGNOU release said. In the first stage, the programme will be launched in Bihar and Rajasthan where several milk cooperatives have been identified as study centres. The medium of instruction for the course would be Hindi and classes would be held on Saturdays and Sundays. The University proposes to train cattle breeders through multimedia with fourteen units (books) prepared by it in collaboration with the Ministry of Rural Development. Those who can read and write and have interest in animal husbandry and milk production activities can seek admission in this programme.
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Transport sammelan today
New Delhi, December 11 The Transport Minister of Delhi, Mr Haroon Yusuf, will inaugurate the convention. According to the president of the organization, Mr Deepak Sachdeva, hundreds of representatives from various transport associations across the country are expected to participate in the event. He said that their community was facing a very tough time due to rise in crime on highways. “Our fully loaded trucks are being hijacked and the recovery rate is just 5 per cent. In 1993, the Home Ministry had instituted a body to check this menace under the supervision of a joint secretary level officer. At that time, it had been decided that the body would review the situation after every three years. Due to the government’s apathy, that body never came into practice. We will raise all these issues in the convention,” he added.
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Machines worth
Rs 6.50 lakh looted
Noida, December 11 The criminals loaded the machines in their Sumo vehicle and fled. One of the criminals had been identified by the guard, but the police had let him off and are instead interrogating the security guard after arresting him. The machines used in garment manufacturing units were looted from SS Mechanical Works and SP Repairing Centre in Harola market. According to owner Suresh Agarwal, the miscreants had broken the locks on the shops and beaten up security guard Ravinder when he opposed them. They also took away 15 machines worth Rs 4.15 lakh from his shop and three machines from SP Repairing Centre.
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Student gets two admit cards
Greater Noida, December 11 The students who have not yet got their admit cards have protested to the UPTU for its defective examination system. The annual examinations of UP Technical University are starting from December 12 and the university has made Galgotia College a nodal centre and set up examination centres in seven other institutions in Noida. For the first time, the university had issued admit cards to students via the Net and instructed institutions to download the admit cards after allotting them passwords. After a long delay, the students’ admit cards were made available on the university website. The students have to suffer the results of the slipshod manner in which admit cards were prepared by the university. For example, in place of five papers, only four papers are mentioned on admit cards. Further, admit cards of only 58 students of APJ Institute were displayed on the site of the university on Saturday whereas the member of students is 60. Thus, two students were left in the lurch and nobody was available when the hapless students were frantically trying to contact some university officials. A B-Tech first year student, Vinay Kumar Shukla, was, however, favoured with two admit cards by the UP Tech University mandarins, it is learnt.
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Pali power station still a dream
Greater Noida, December 11 The one ray of hope for the people of the area, the commissioning of 400 KV Pali power station, has again been postponed by another two months. During the past about two years the commission date of Pali powerhouse has been shifted about half a dozen times, making it look like an illusory oasis in a desert which always looks further and further. Meanwhile, the farmers whose land had been acquired have yet to get the compensation for the land given. The 400 KV Pali power project, being constructed by UP Power Corporation, was to be commissioned in June 2004. Then the agencies involved in the construction had struck work, saying that the rates of cement and iron had increased and asked for higher amount than they had contracted for. After resolving the issue, work was restarted and then May 2005 was fixed as the commissioning date which was later fixed at October 15 and then December 15, 2005, respectively. But work on the project is far from completed. Even the land over which high-tension cables have to pass has not yet been acquired, it is learnt. The farmers have yet to get the compensation payment. The District Magistrate has instructed the ADM (Land Acquisition) to speed up the process of land acquisition. But it is reported that the whole process will take another six months. In a nutshell, the dream of the people of Noida and Greater Noida for 24 hours’ uninterrupted power supply has once again receded into hazy background.
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Effective measures needed to curb crime: DGP
Gurgaon, December 11 Addressing a joint meeting of the district police chiefs of
Gurgaon, Rewari, Mahendergarh, Mewat and Faridabad districts, Mr Singh said he wanted higher-level of efficiency from the force in tackling crime. He hinted of punitive action against those found wanting or indulging in corrupt
practices. — TNS
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Artscape
New Delhi, December 11 The unveiling ceremony will be held at the Lokayata in Hauz Khas village, a trust which Dr Anand spawned and nurtured to encourage art and literature. The day will also see the launch of a tribute exposition of 101 paintings by 101 artists. The exposition will continue till December 21 followed by the annual show from December 23 to December 30 as part of the centenary celebrations of the legend who put the country on the world’s cultural map.
He wields a brush as well as a baton
Devajyoti Ray is one of those privileged few who can wield a brush and a baton with equal ease and finesse. An Indian Police Service officer in Karanataka, Devajyoti has been painting for the last few years and his creations have been widely acclaimed by critics. The artist, who is considered as one of the most promising among the new generation, is now holding an exhibition of his paintings at Lalit Kala Akademi here. The exhibition was inaugurated on December 5 and will continue till December 12. What strikes the viewer about his paintings is the liberal use of colour to bring about a new reality. For instance, trees are often painted blue orange, people have green faces and red hands while dogs have striped backs and cows have violet eyelids. According to critics, the colours create a new balance of pseudo realism. Born in 1974, Devajyoti studied economics in Presidency College, Kolkata, and later at Jawahar Lal University here before joining the Indian Police Service. This is his second solo exhibition.
CD on Ajanta Caves
Art Konsult here is also holding an exhibition of select works of some of the well-known contemporary artists entitled Joie de Vivre. The exhibition is on till December 12. Dr Kapila Vatsyayan, President of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and Chairman of the Cultural Advisory Board of the Government of India, released a unique CD- ROM prepared by the Centre on Ajanta Caves last week. The CD-ROM presents a virtual walk through most of the caves with an integral view of the famous monument. The three-hour CD contains video, photographs, images of paintings, the sculptures and the architecture of the famous monument. The CD also carries the stories that help in understanding the Jataka art of
the caves.
Painting classes at IHC
The India Habitat Centre here has started a unique creative experience by organising oil painting classes with the well-known artist, Kavita Jaiswal. The programme, which started on December 2, will continue till February 25. The classes will be held on Fridays from 11 am to 1 pm and on Sundays from 2 pm to 4 pm.
Josef’s poems on canvas
The Hungarian Information and Culture Centre here is presenting an exhibition entitled, ”Consciousness” of illustrations based on the poems of the famous poet Atila Josef. The exhibition, which was inaugurated on December 9, will remain open for the public till January 9. The exhibition is part of the birth centenary commemorations of the 20th century Hungarian poet.
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Woman tortured for dowry
Ghaziabad, December 11 The police registered a case against the ‘greedy’ in-laws after the harassed women made a plea before a court. However, none of the accused has yet been arrested. Nazra of JJ colony under Ashok Vihar police station, was married to Shaukin, a resident of Jamalpura colony under Loni police station six years back. Though Nazra’s parents had given some dowry, her in-laws had been putting pressure on her.
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Seminar on human rights
New Delhi, December 11
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Artscape
