New Delhi, August 6
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has decided to sign a pact with Agha Khan Foundation Trust to clean and revamp the 23-km-long Bara Pullah Nullah, one of the most polluted drains here, in an endeavour to bring down pollutants in the Yamuna.

The Trust is a non-denominational, non-governmental development agency founded in 1967 by Agha Khan IV and is based in Switzerland. The Trust will not charge money from the MCD for cleaning the drain, which goes through Lodhi Road, Nizamuddin and falls into the Yamuna.

“This is a first in the history of the corporation when desilting, sewage water treatment and reconstruction work of a drain will be done free of cost”, sources said.

The Trust has conducted a survey of the drain to chalk out a plan to commission the work. The Trust representative in India, Mr Rateesh Nanda, has discussed everything in detail with the Mayor, Mr Farhad Suri, the MLA, Ms Tajdar Babbar, and the Congress MP from New Delhi, Mr Ajay Maken. They have also decided to construct sewage treatment plants somewhere between Lodhi Road and Yamuna Bank to prevent the fall of sewer water into the river.

Greenery would also be developed on both sides of the drain, the sources said.

Besides taking care of the sewage, the treatment plant will generate water that can be used for watering plants along the drain and parks located nearby.

The Agha Khan Trust will also do the restoration work of heritage buildings in and around Nizamuddin. Earlier, it had done the restoration work of Humayun Tomb and Green Burz located at Nizamuddin roundabouts.

The Trust is consulting with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to begin with the restoration work of the historical buildings, including Dargah Nizamuddin and a number of mosques. The Trust has also decided that residents living in the area will not be uprooted in the name of development. If need be, they will be rehabilitated by the Agha Khan Trust itself.

It provides grants to selected local organisations in impoverished communities attempting innovative solutions to problems concerning health, education, rural development and civil society. 

New Delhi, August 6
Finding a local private nursing home guilty of “gross medical negligence”, a city consumer court has asked it to pay Rs 75,000 as compensation to a woman whose baby died in the womb as the doctors did not opt for a caesarean.

The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission held the Vasant Vihar-based Goyal Medical Centre (GMC) guilty of “taking chances” when they were required to resort to the safest course to save the baby of Mrs Reena whose uterus got ruptured as she was not operated upon for taking out the baby alive.

“The safest course should have been adopted by the appellant instead of taking a chance in making the delivery normal by inducing artificial labour pain instead of resorting to the lower segment of caesarean section,” said the Commission Bench comprising Mr Justice J. D. Kapoor and the member, Ms Rumnitta, rejecting the GMC appeal.

The private nursing home had appealed against the verdict of the District Consumer Forum which had asked it to pay Rs 2 lakh to the complainant on account of negligence that resulted in the death of the child in the womb and the rupture of her uterus.

The commission, while upholding the forum’s order, scaled down the compensation amount to Rs 75,000. Mrs Reena, in her complaint filed in 1998 before the forum, alleged that after conceiving a baby she had been visiting the hospital for regular check-ups.

On July 23, 1998, she was admitted there following immense pain and bleeding. But, strangely, the doctors at the hospital did not try to save her baby, she alleged. 

Gurgaon, August 6
Gurgaon Range Commissioner and the officiating president of the HUDA Gymkhana Club, Sector 29, Dr Avtar Singh has terminated the services of club manager Jasbir Singh on charges of committing embezzlement, disobedience and gross indiscipline.

Jasbir Singh’s contract with the HUDA club had expired four years ago, July 31, 2002, but he allegedly managed to remain on the prestigious post illegally.

During the investigations, conducted by HUDA, it was found that Jasbir Singh had allegedly committed a fraud of lakhs of rupees with the club during his illegal tenure. 
On the basis of the enquiry conducted by Mr R S Goyal, Account Officer, HUDA, Dr Avtar Singh issued orders on August 4 saying “he is no more contract employee of HUDA Gymkhana Club, Sector 29”.

He has been barred to enter the club premises, which is one of the most prominent clubs of the city having around 1300 elite members. In his inquiry report, Mr R S Goyal has stated that no manual cash book had been maintained, neither a hard copy of computer generated cash book duly attested by the competent authority had been kept in the records of the club during the tenure of Mr Jasbir Singh. In such a situation, the possibility of addition, alternation or deletion of entry cannot be ruled out.

Mr Goyal further stated that the receipt books of other activities of the club were safe and intact, while the receipt books of wine bar sale for 2002 – 2003 had been eaten up by white ants.

He added that the matter was serious and it was very difficult to assess the quantum of loss and misappropriation.

There is a difference of amount of around Rs 7 lakh in the cash book and the amount deposited in the bank during 2002. It has also been pointed out that a sum of Rs 4.3 lakh has been incurred without the approval of the competent authority on various dates. 
The enquiry officer also revealed that the bank accounts were not reconciled as pointed out in the audit report, which is a serious lapse on the part of the club officials.

Another officer, Mr R D Singh, who is now the manager of the club, in his fact-finding report, stated that Jasbir Singh was creating indiscipline among the other employees and instigating them to work against the interest of the club.

Mr R D Singh had proposed strict disciplinary action against Mr Jasbir Singh to improve the image and working of the club. Mr S P Gupta, administrator of HUDA, informed that an FIR would also be lodged against Mr Jasbir Singh and an accountant of the club on charges of committing financial embezzlement. Denying the charges levelled against him, Jasbir Singh alleged that senior officers of the club had decided to remove him on political ground.

He said that Mr Goyal had nothing to do with the club and so he could not conduct enquiry on the financial irregularities. 

New Delhi, August 6
If the University of Delhi has its way, candidates will need more than money and muscle to even contest for the Students’ Union elections.

The University has mooted a proposal to bar the students who have failed in their courses from contesting polls. While a decision is still awaited, the University is confident that the idea will not be shot down, considering the fact that there has been over the years a demand for improving the face of students’ elections.

The step is also in consonance with the process of streamlining university elections in the country that is already underway. A committee headed by former Chief Election Commissioner, J M Lyndogh, constituted by the government in December last following a directive of the Supreme Court, has already submitted a report indicating a slew of reforms that need to be introduced to prevent the criminalisation of students’ elections.

“There should be no objections to the proposal. As of now we already have a provision that disallows students above 25 years of age to contest, this suggestion too should be approved by the students and the faculty alike,” said Professor Gurmeet Singh, who has been appointed the Chief Election Officer for the forthcoming DUSU elections.

With the University elections being considered the bedrock of aspiring politicians, students nursing ambitions to make a career in politics often take readmission to remain eligible to contest polls.

“There is a tendency among candidates to take re-admission in courses like Buddhism just to stay on in the University and contest elections. Some of these students who have already completed BA in a particular stream, enroll in another stream, they manage to get past mandatory attendance requirement and scrap through examinations,” rued a senior faculty member.

And while the authorities await the go ahead for their proposal, students’ eagerness to participate in their efforts to spruce up the image of university politics should allay all apprehensions.

“We have always maintained that there is a need to promote genuine student leadership. A student leader should set an example for others to follow,” said Nakul Bhardwaj, State Secretary, ABVP, and a former DUSU President, who is also pursuing a degree in law.

While he agrees to the idea of “some necessary preconditions”, he adds, “there should, however, be no minimum marks required to contest. It would be unfair to judge a leader on the basis of his or her marks. Leadership is a quality and has nothing to do with scores in examinations.”

New Delhi, August 6
With the aim of enhancing visitors’ experience when entering the national Capital, the Delhi Government has decided to develop the city’s entry points and equip them with various facilities.

The Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) has been entrusted with the task of developing the eight entry points. Each entry point will have a different look, but they will all have facilities such as trade and tax department, toll collection booths, petrol pumps, food courts, tourism kiosk and weigh bridges.

“When you enter Delhi, you should get a feel of the place and the fact that you are entering the national Capital. The project has been taken up to enhance this feeling,” said

DSIIDC Managing Director Jalaj Shrivastava.

The entry points would be a sort of a facilitation centre where different facilities would be available at one place, he said.

“This would be made on a BOT basis,” he added.

Gurgaon, August 6
In view of the Independence Day celebrations, security will be beefed up in the areas surrounding Delhi, especially those falling in the National Capital Region. The police will be taking inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Union Home Ministry.

A broad strategy was evolved at a joint meeting held in Delhi at the weekend by top police officers, including those from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and the IB. The Inspector-General of Police (IG) from Gurgaon and Rohtak ranges as well as their counterpart from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh were among those who took part in the meeting.

While Gurgaon Range encompasses Gurgaon, Faridabad, Rewari and Mewat districts bordering Delhi, the Rohtak Range covers, among other districts, Rohtak, Jhajjar and Sonepat, all close to Delhi.

There was a discussion on the movement of various terrorist groups.

Security agencies feel the national Capital has been the target of terrorists. Constant vigil was also needed in Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ghaziabad.

New Delhi, August 6
The Tirath Ram Shah Hospital here has recently started External Counter Pulsation (ECP), a revolutionary, non-invasive treatment for cardiac patients.

This non-invasive technique provides augmentation of diastolic blood flow and coronary blood flow similar to the intra-aortic balloon pump, utilising the serial inflation of three sets of cuffs around the calves, thighs and buttocks of the patient. Inflation and deflation are timed to the patient’s ECG which is fed into a computer and the arterial pressure wave thus created is monitored non-invasively through an electronic monitor either on the earlobe or on one of the finger tips.

According to the doctors who have been using this treatment for cardiac cases, the overall effect on blood circulation is such that it augments the diastolic blood pressure. This, in turn, leads to increase in coronary perfusion pressure. According to the doctors, this helps in unloading of the systolic cardiac workload and consequently decreases the oxygen demand in the myocardial. The veinous return also improves and as a result cardiac output also improves.

Noida, August 6
Pollution here is on the rise. This has now been corroborated by the latest report of the Pollution Board compiled after monitoring the level of pollution in different sectors of the town.

With the increased pollution levels, people have to tackle breathing problems.

Surprisingly, pollution seems to be under control in the industrial sectors. In the residential sectors, the suspended particular matter (SPM) ratio has more than doubled of late.

According to available information, the average SPM ratio in residential sectors has risen to 438 micron cubic metre while the board norms for it are between 200 and 238. The reading up to June was 468. This should have been around 268.

The SPM ratio since June till date stood at 30 cubic metre. The Pollution Board area officer, Mr Paras Nath Vishkarma feels increased vehicular traffic is responsible for the rise in pollution levels.

He strongly recommends CNG should be used for vehicles here. There is hardly any check on vehicles contributing to pollution. The second factor, Mr Vishkarma said, was the extensive use of generators in the city these days.

Senior scientific officer of the board, Dr K .K. Pande, has advised two-wheeler drivers to cover their mouths with a piece of cloth to keep out SPM.

New Delhi, August 6
From August 10 to August 12, the Pirojsha Godrej National Conservation Centre at the WWF-India Secretariat in Lodhi Estate here will come alive with a unique photo exhibition, “Tryst With Trees—Punjabb’s Sacred Heritage”.

The exhibition is a pictorial documentation of sacred Sikh shrines named after native species of trees. While trees have been associated with various religious texts, Sikhism is unique in the sense that some of the sacred shrines have been named after the local species.

The exhibition is a collection of photographs by Mr D. S. Jaspal, a Punjab government civil servant who after painstaking and extensive research completed the pictorial documentation of about 48 Sikh shrines commemorated by the names of 17 species of native trees.

The photographic series in the exhibition include pictures of the shrine with the tree in the composition accompanied by a description of the botanical features of the tree and its historical and religious significance.