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Poor education imparted by schools in Capital: Report
Dadri project: Work on boundary wall begins |
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Norms changed for DUSU polls
Delhi Govt inks three deals for 5000 MW power
B Com student’s death costs city hospital, doctors Rs 7 lakh
Ministry withdraws exemptions under Act
MPs’ ignorance on HIV facts: Time for reality check
In Parliament
Traffic management plan in Faridabad in a limbo
Roof caves in at MCD school, 5 hurt
Examination fever claims another life
Workshop on foreign trade policy
Seven held for bid to extort money from factory owner
Police station gheraoed in minor rape case
Two students go missing
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Poor education imparted by
New Delhi, August 24 The report was released today by the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The report said that 37 per cent students in the government schools and 16 per cent in private schools in the age group of 7-11 could not read even simple words. Besides, 40 per cent students in the government schools and 20 per cent in private schools in the age group of 11-40 were unable to do a class 3 arithmetic exercise. This is despite the fact that Delhi has established one of the largest school systems in the world. In 2004-2005, close to 93,000 teachers were teaching three million children enrolled in more than 2,500 schools in classes from standard first to twelve. In 2003-2004, the Delhi Government spent Rs 927 per child on education as against the national average of Rs 749. The report also pointed out that public safety had emerged as a major concern of Delhi’s residents. Seventy-nine per cent people feel unsafe in the national Capital due to increasing crime rate. Delhi ranks first among 35 cities for crime against children. Crime against women is also very high. Even public transport is not safe for women commuters, the report added. In connection with the shortage of drinking water and power crisis, the report identified four areas for action–plug water losses, careful and strategic planning to reduce the need of water in homes and factories, examination of the waste economies of cities, and information to conserve water. This can be done through Bhagidari approach, the report emphasized. It pointed out that Delhi needed to improve power supply and availability. The power situation is bad, particularly in summer. The government has taken several steps to improve the situation, but much more needs to be done. Besides, the government needs to regulate power distribution and respond more effectively to public pressure for ensuring better functioning of the power supply companies in Delhi. The report has commended the Bhagidari (public-private partnership) approach pioneered in Delhi in 2000. The Chief Minster on her part said all figures given in the report were two years old as the report was prepared on the basis of the data provided in 2004. Had the survey been done recently, the figure would been different, she said. “Our aim is to make Delhi a world-class city. Delhi has to be a global city for the country. It is a challenge for the government,” she said. |
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Dadri project: Work on boundary wall begins
Ghaziabad, August 24 The UP government had informed the Legislative Assembly yesterday that work on the project would start on August 24. Ghaziabad’s District Magistrate and SSP had visited Dholana to review the security arrangements. It may be recalled that 2,500 acres of land was acquired by the government from eight villages of Dholana block in Hapur Tehsil, including Bijhora Khurd, Jadopur, Nand Lalpur, Dehrampur, Dholana, Dehra, Kakrana and Madhopur. But the farmers are demanding better compensation for their land. Former Prime Minister VP Singh and MP Raj Babbar have also symbolically ploughed the land as part of the protest for poor compensation given to the farmers. MLA Munna Singh Chauhan of RLD, who is supporting the UP government, had raised questions in the Assembly yesterday as to why farmers had been paid a compensation at Rs 150 per sq yard when Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav had declared that the farmers’ land would be acquired at Rs 300 per sq yd. Transport Minister Naresh Agarwal, speaking on behalf of Energy Minster Shish Pal Singh Yadav, had replied that the land had been acquired with the consent of farmers who had not expressed any resentment on this issue. Mr Munna Singh also questioned why the project needs 2,500 acres of land when Tata Power Project had demanded only 350 acres for it. The RLD MLA also alleged that the government was developing Greater Noida Phase-II in Dadri just to help the Reliance company.
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Norms changed for DUSU polls
New Delhi, August 24 Much before the race for winning the polls begins, candidates in the fray for elections to the DUSU compete against each other in a contest of a different kind. In this contest, the candidate with the maximum ‘As’ prefixed to his or her name gets assigned ballot number one. But the authorities have now laid down stringent dos and don’ts this year, so that the nomination list will no longer contain names like AA Deepak or AAA Kapil. Candidates will have to stick to their given names or opt for a change of name as per the law. “While we cannot stop students from changing their names, we have made it explicitly clear that the students who wish to do so will have to go through the correct legal procedure. We will not allow verification of name change by college principals,” said Prof. Gurmeet Singh, Chief Election Officer at DU. Since the legal name change process is cumbersome, candidates are likely to retain their names. The pre-condition imposed by the university has not gone down well. “The candidate who is allotted ballot number one gets between two to three thousand floating votes. Students who do not remember the ballot number of the candidate they wished to support often cast their ballot in favour of ballot number one. The condition put forth by the university will make a significant difference,” said a worker of a students’ organisation. While parties are clearly upset by this impending loss of votes, they are reluctant to say so openly. “The NSUI does not depend on such gimmicks. We will win all four seats on the basis of the work we have done,” said party spokesperson, Kuntal Krishna. |
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Delhi Govt inks three deals for 5000 MW power
New Delhi, August 24 Delhi Transco Ltd signed an MoU with the DVC for the purchase of 2,600 MW and another with the NTPC Ltd for 1,000 MW to be made available through capacity augmentation of the Badarpur thermal station. In addition, the Governments of Delhi and Haryana along with the NTPC signed a pact for setting up a 1,500 MW plant in a joint venture. The coal-fired plant would be constructed and managed in Haryana by the state-run company on long-term contractual arrangement. Haryana and Delhi would each get 750 MW of power from the plant. “These measures would help the national Capital meet its rising demand and curtail power cuts,” Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told reporters after the MoUs were signed. “Besides these three arrangements, NTPC would also upgrade the 840 MW Dadri power plant by adding another 960 MW, taking the total power to be procured to more than 5,000 MW”, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said. The measures would help meet the Capital’s rising demand that is expected to touch about 7,000 MW by 2012 from a peak demand of about 3,500 MW at present. The city generates less than one-fourth of its demand as of now and is substantially dependent on the Northern Grid, but will be able to meet more than three-fourths of its requirements by 2012. |
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B Com student’s death costs
New Delhi, August 24 “This judgement should be an eye-opener for doctors who play with the lives of patients... the opposite party by their medical negligence has cut short the life of the patient, who was educated and had a bright future,” District Consumer Forum (North) comprising President K K Chopra and members Neeru Mittal and R K Prabhakar said. The complainants, Veena and Vijay Chopra, the parents of the victim, Shweta, had approached the forum accusing St Stephen’s Hospital, resident surgeons Y Paijore and R Vakil of failing to “give the minimum care required of reasonable, prudent doctors”, leading to the death of their daughter. A resident of Naveen Shahdara, Shweta was diagnosed with intestinal TB and admitted to St Stephen’s on July 24, 2003. The next day, doctors, while doing a diagnostic laparoscopy of the intestine, stepped way out of line by carrying out a biopsy of the patient’s liver - which was functioning normally - contrary to expert medical opinion. As a result, Shweta developed excessive bleeding and her condition deteriorated rapidly. She died on July 28 even as her parents ran pillar-to-post to catch a glimpse of Paijore and Vakil, who were both mostly “not available”. |
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Ministry withdraws exemptions under Act
New Delhi, August 24 There should be no banquet halls in residential areas, no trade activities involving any kind of obnoxious hazardous, inflammable, non-compatible and polluting substance. Besides, there should be no retail shops like building materials, firewood, coal and any fire hazardous and other bulky materials, repair shops of auto mobile, cycle rickshaw repair, tyre resoling and re-treading and battery charging, godowns, junk shops, liquor shops, printing, dyeing and varnishing in the residential areas, a spokesman of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi said. Meanwhile, the MCD today announced that it would begin sealing of commercial units falling under these categories from September 1. A statement to this effect was made by MCD
commissioner A K Nigam at a meeting of the Standing Committee here. |
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MPs’ ignorance on HIV facts: Time for reality check
New Delhi, August 24 More than half of the 250 MPs interviewed by researchers recently for a survey by the Indian Association of Parliamenatarians on Population and
Development (IAPPD) said that the HIV could spread by sharing clothes, food and utensils. Most of the respondents did not know that sexually transmitted infections were related with HIV-AIDS. They blamed this on the media that covered STI and HIV AIDS separately. The extent of ignorance on HIV-AIDS came as a shock for university and college students who were engaged to conduct a “knowledge, attitude and practice survey”. Data collected at the end of a six-month-long survey was analysed by the technical committee of the Indian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development
(IAPPD). The IAPPD is a well-known political advocacy non-government organisation committed to development issues, particularly population. It is one of the few NGOs listed on the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
(ECOSOC). Such ignorance on the part of 163 representatives of the people and 87 from the Upper House is serious given the fact that India has the largest number of HIV cases in the world after South Africa. A large amount of money is spent by the government every year on the Information Education Communication campaign to spread awareness on HIV AIDS. |
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In
Parliament
New Delhi, August 24 “The DDA has reported that it would not be prudent to cancel lease deeds of a large number of schools as it would affect a large number of students,” Union Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken today told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. He had been asked why the DDA had not cancelled the lease deeds of a large number of schools not providing free education as required under the land allotment norms. “Further, the Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi Government to evolve a consensus among schools for implementation of the freeship,” he added. |
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Traffic management plan in Faridabad in a limbo
Faridabad, August 24 The 75-km-long passage of the National Highway number two popularly known as Mathura Road, which passes from the city and the district has been rated as one of most accident prone zone, due to the large number of accidents occur here each year. It had been announced in April this year by the district authorities that a comprehensive traffic management plan had been prepared and was soon to be implemented to regulate the traffic. Some meetings, including those headed by the Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Transport, Haryana, had been held early this year to chalk out the plan and the strategy to put the plan in place. According to the plan, while the traffic police headed by a DSP rank official was to check the violations on regular basis by posting of traffic cops at various points and imposing challans and penalty on the violations thereof, besides towing away the vehicles parked at unauthorised place or spot. It had been decided that all the unauthorised cuts on the main highways were to be closed from Badarpur border to Seekri village in Ballabhgarh subdivision.
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Roof caves in at MCD school, 5 hurt
New Delhi, August 24 The police said that a case of negligence had been registered after receiving a joint complaint from the parents of the injured students of Ali Vihar Primary Girls School. The president of a local social service organisation, Sawera, Mr Anand Sharma, said, “It is a matter of total negligence by the government. We have written so many times regarding the renovation and maintenance of the school to the authorities concerned, but of no avail,” he
reacted. — OC |
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Examination fever claims another life
New Delhi, August 24 The 14-year-old was a student of Bharti Mata Public School in Narela and was to appear for an examination today. |
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Workshop on foreign trade policy
Gurgaon, August 24 Speaking at the opening day of two-day workshop on ‘Foreign Trade Policy and Customs and Excise Procedures’ organised by the NCR Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the former Chairman of Board of Excise and Customs, Mr K.L.Verma, pitched in for strong implementation of the law. The former Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFP), Mr Lakhan Pal, said that while the country was showing great resilience and excellence in the field of export, the public in the industrialised countries like the USA were showing open resentment against the WTO regime. Contrary to the earlier impressions, it was the country like India and its economy that were meeting the challenges up front and also excelling in the process, he added. However, he also made out a strong case for having trained cadre of executives in the companies so that they become cognoscenti in sensing the demand of a product at the international market and who also become well-versed in documentation which is inevitable part of the international trade. Speaking on a sub-theme: ‘Anti Dumping Countervailing Measures’, the joint Director General of Foreign Trade, Mr. S.K. Samal said that dumping from outside the country took place when products from outside were exported at a price below the normal value in that country (exporting country). |
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Seven held for bid to extort
Noida, August 24 According to SP (City), one Taran Jain, who owns a factory in Sector-63, had received a phone call from someone claming ties with a senior political leader who demanded Rs 2 lakh from him for sparing his life. When the extortionists reached the pre-determined spot to collect the cash, however, a police team was already waiting to nab them on Wednesday afternoon. Three of the seven men constituting the gang were identified as Jatinder, a resident of Sarfabad, Devinder Singh Yadav and Sunil.
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Police station gheraoed in minor rape case
Noida, August 24 The police said the accused had gone absconding after the crime. Nine-year-old Sadhvi (name changed) had gone to buy some items from the shopkeeper, Joga Singh, who allegedly called her inside the shop and raped
her. — OC |
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Two students go missing
Faridabad, August 24 Madhav (11) and Vikas (12), reportedly failed to reach home after taking an examination. The police have registered a complaint by both sets of
parents. — TNS |
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