New Delhi, October 6
With one more person succumbing to dengue in the national Capital, the death toll from the disease rose to 18, even as the number of people afflicted with the disease reached close to 750.

As dengue cases kept pouring in from within and outside Delhi, the number of people getting afflicted with the disease touched 743, an addition of 70 cases since yesterday.

Of the 18 deaths, 11 were confirmed and the rest put in the ‘suspected dengue’ category and were being verified, a Delhi Government spokeswoman said.

Of 743 cases, 469 were from the Capital and the remaining 274 from neighbouring states, she said.

The worst-hit area in the Capital is Najafgarh in South-West Delhi where 69 cases had been reported, followed by Central Delhi (52 cases) and Karol Bagh (48 cases).

The AIIMS alone received 30 new dengue patients since yesterday, she said, adding that at present, 114 people, 26 of them from the institute’s campus, were being treated there.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s son-in-law and two grandsons, admitted to AIIMS with symptoms of dengue, were stable and recovering, the institute’s spokesman said.

The Delhi Health Minister, Mr Yoganand Shastri, would hold a meeting of civic agencies and health officials on Monday to take stock of the situation, the spokeswoman said.

The menace of dengue continues to grow in Delhi despite the Municipal Corporation of Delhi incurring lakhs of rupees every day on various measures to control the disease.

Lakhs of rupees are being spent daily by the MCD for fogging various areas of the Capital to prevent mosquito breeding.

“At present, over 300 fogging machines are in operation in various parts of Delhi and lakhs of rupees are being spent by the MCD in incurring expenditure of petrol and diesel for vehicles indulging in such operations,” Leader of the MCD House, Mr Jitender Kochar, said in a meeting of the Standing Committee here today.

The Medical Health officer of the MCD, Dr N K Yadav, said, “Rs 10 lakh are being provided to each zone for hiring autos for fogging operations in the Capital. In case, there is an additional requirement for the purpose, more money is provided.”

However, despite this enormous expenditure, the threat of dengue remains unabated.

However, the MCD Health officer said criticism from various quarters of the MCD’s efforts was unjustified as more than the efforts by the administration, it was the active participation of the public that was needed to control the spread of the disease.

“For example, despite our regular reminders, large sections of the public have failed to clean water coolers,” Dr Yadav said.

Speaking at the meeting, the Chairman of the Standing Committee, Mr Jai Kishen Sharma, expressed the hope that the impending onset of winter would help in preventing the mosquito breeding.

Noida, October 6
With two more dengue deaths, one each in Greater Noida and Dankore, one of them being a student, the government’s efforts to counter dengue seem to be still confined to official files only. And now malaria too appears to have made its entry in Noida.

Some 46 malaria patients are admitted to various hospitals, but in view of the dread of dengue, nobody has bothered about these patients. All the 46 are reported to be confirmed cases.

Four patients of encephalitis are admitted to Kailash Hospital. Forty-one cases of malaria have been reported by pathological lab of government hospital in Sector-30 Noida. These cases came to light during blood tests in the lab. Thirty-nine cases out of these 46 are reported to have been admitted during September.

Meanwhile, disease of 146 of other patients admitted to Kailash Hospital is not known yet. Dr Mahesh Sharma of Kailash Hospital said, “Encephalitis or brain fever is the most dangerous form of malaria which is caused by mosquitoes.”

In the meantime, Ragunandan Singh Yadav of Solid Waste department said that there was no let-up in the authority’s efforts to counter the disease, while the residents are making a hue and cry in the town about the absence of fogging, etc. Unhygienic conditions, polluted water and air have been the bane of Noida, despite claims to the contrary.

New Delhi, October 6
Around 1,200 delegates and faculty from 19 countries are participating in the conference, being held at the Minimal Access and Bariatric Surgery Centre at the hospital, for the first time in India.

A live workshop on herniology will be held on October 8.

Different surgical approaches (conventional and minimally-invasive) for the treatment of hernias will be demonstrated live and relayed to the conference centre at Hotel Taj Palace here.

The SGRH’s technique of hernia repair is well-recognised across the world. A book on this technique has also been published and about 3,000 surgeons from across the world have been trained in this. This technique will be demonstrated during this live workshop.

Hernias occur due to a weakness of the abdominal wall leading to protrusion of abdominal contents into the hernial sac. Across the world, one in 10 people suffers from hernia sometimes during their life. Groin hernias occur predominantly in males, whereas ventral hernias are seen more often in females. Several treatment modalities are in practice for hernia repair with varied results. 

Faridabad, October 6
Faridabad is among those districts of Haryana, where the ratio of girls to boys is quite low in comparison to the national or state average. There are fewer than 750 girls to 1,000 boys in at least 12 villages of the district here, while this ratio is even lower when the total number of girls in the age group of up to 6 years is considered.

The district has a total population of over 21 lakh at present, of which around 14 lakh reside in the urban and semi-urban areas. Though the government introduced a ban on sex determination test of the foetus, there is hardly any change in the sex ratio in the region. This has been the conclusion of a survey conducted by the Census Department of the state recently.

According to details made available by the department, there are several villages in Faridabad district where the sex ratio is very poor. The number of girls is down to 750 or even less for every 1,000 boys.

Experts believe that this is due to the mass use of ultrasound techniques to detect the sex of the unborn child, especially in the semi-rural and rural areas.

The health department has issued licences to as many as 160 ultrasound machines or laboratories in the district and it is learnt that there is misuse of these machines in the majority of the centres. Though the government had introduced PNDT Act several years ago to ban these tests, the official apathy to the issue has led to an increase in the misuse of the ultrasound machines, sources in the department claimed.

There has been no raid on the clinics misusing such facilities in the district in the past about four years, barring the recent raid on a clinic operating in the NIT area where the owner of an ultrasound clinic was caught red-handed while taking Rs 5,000 for sex detection from a decoy customer sent by a team of the health department. Though the department is still to file a case against the accused, this was the first such case detected this year.

It is claimed that several dozen clinics or ultrasound centres would be caught if such a drive was carried regularly. The reports suggest that the sex detection tests are thriving as the customer is charged between Rs 3,000 and Rs 7,000 depending upon his financial condition.

The literacy level in Faridabad is over 70 per cent as per the census of 2001, which include 81.52 per cent literacy in males and 56.31 per cent in females. 

New Delhi, October 6
The Delhi Chief Minister’s residence at 3, Moti Lal Nehru Marg here would now have ‘little’ visitors twice a week.

The World Wide Fund (WWF) under Green Education Programme has set up a nature trail-green canopy and an activity room at the premises where children can come every Tuesday and Friday to peek into the world of nature.

Surrounded by rare species of trees providing habitats to bats, birds, reptiles and small mammals, the lush green bungalow is a perfect ‘school’ for the young minds to feel and relate with the varied flora and fauna in the green ambience.

“They would also be able to feel and watch different colours of nature,” the Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit, said today at a function while exhorting the children to affectionately protect nature to ensure better future of Delhi.

Expressing satisfaction that a nature trail for children has been commissioned just in the midst of a “jungle of concrete,” she said, “It would also inculcate a sense of discovering in the students and to motivate them to take up further enquiry enabling them to contribute in overcoming grave problems relating to deteriorating environment.”

She also announced a plan to launch a wasteland development campaign involving children in making wasteland fertile and green.

“There exist 59 species of birds which live in close harmony with each other in the bungalow. A pond has also been developed to highlight crystal clear picture of life on water i.e. fish and turtles to help little visitors to get acquainted with natural environment and learn about the importance of birds and animals,” said a government official.

New Delhi, October 6
A group of students aspiring for the civil services, who filed a writ petition in Delhi High Court against the UPSC’s decision of not divulging details regarding this year’s preliminary examination under the Right to Information Act (RTI), have been asked by the Central Information Commission (CIC) to appear for a hearing on October 16.

The applicants have already met the Central Information Commissioner and filed their appeal against the UPSC decision not to publicise the answer key, individual and subject cut-off marks of the 2006 civil services preliminary examinations.

“Today, during the hearing, the court asked us to make CIC a party to our case. The CIC, in turn, has clubbed our case with another and asked us to come for a full panel hearing on October 16,” said Sameer Panda, an applicant.

Expressing concern over the CIC’s decision to call a meeting after October 13, when the UPSC will conduct the Civil Services (Main) Examination, Panda said, “We were hopeful that there will be some relief for us. We filed the writ petition thinking that those of us who have filed the RTI will be allowed to sit for the mains”.

The applicants want the CIC to hear their case prior to the conduct of the October 13 examination so that they can be allowed to appear for it.

Meanwhile, the UPSC announced that admission certificates to all eligible candidates for the October 13 examination had been sent and rejection letters issued to those candidates who were not eligible.

The Commission has advised eligible candidates, who have not received their admission certificates yet, to contact the facilitation counter at the UPSC building. Venue details are available on the UPSC website,.

New Delhi, October 6
The BJP Delhi Pradesh President, Dr Harsh Vardhan, has demanded from the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to break his silence over the case of Afzal Guru, who has been awarded death sentence in the Parliament attack case, and apprised the people of the country about the opinion of the government in this regard.

In a statement issued here today, he said that it was a very sensitive issue. The Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Gulam Navi Azad wrote a letter to the Prime Minister and afterwards personally met him and requested him to remit the capital punishment of Afzal and influence the president. “If the capital punishment of Afzal is remitted or pardon is granted to him, then there will be a flood of terrorist incidents in the county again,” he pointed out.—OC

New Delhi, October 6
A CBI court here today directed the investigating agency to further re-investigate into the case against three MCD engineers, who have been charged with making a payment of Rs 4.71 lakh to one Gopal
Das without receiving the material.

The Special CBI judge rejected the CBI’s closure report in 2005, giving all the accused a clean chit.

The three MCD engineers — A C Garg, Gurdip Singh, R C Kaushik —were booked by the CBI in October 2003 under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Gurgaon, October 6
The police here have failed to verify the servants, maids, drivers and other helpers who belong to other parts of the country while they work and stay in Gurgaon.

During the last one year, the police received around 40,000 forms submitted by various corporates, industries, RWAs and individuals. But the police have verified only 5,000 forms while 35,000 forms are still pending at various stages in the department.

Bhawani Shankar Tripathy, general secretary of Joint Action Forum of Residents Association (JAFRA), said that the verification of servants and other employed persons should be made mandatory for everyone. And this law must be implemented strictly, which would act as a major deterrent, especially to small-time criminals, opined Mr Tripathy.

The local deputy commissioner confirmed that the administration, finding an increase in the incidents of thefts, robberies and even murders involving domestic servants, had directed all persons to get their servants’ verified by the police.

It is noteworthy that the public has come forward to submit the prescribed form which carries the photograph and thumb impression or signature of the servant. But the police show apathy in getting the servants verified, complained Mr Kulbhushan Bhardwaj, a senior advocate based here.

It may be mentioned here that Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda considered the verification of migrants very important, and suggested providing identity cards to every Indian citizen and introduce the system of work permits for Bangladeshi migrants to improve the security in the country.

According to a communiqué issued by Haryana chief secretary, two things have been made compulsory for Gurgaon and Faridabad districts: To apprise the police of the tenants, and verify the antecedents of servants through the police department. But the direction has been taken lightly by the police department, the DC rued.

Mr R S Rathee, president of DLF Qutab Enclave Residents Welfare Association, lamented that out of 35,000 pending forms, around 10,000 forms were filled by the residents of DLF City. The police must act fast and get the maximum forms verified on a priority basis, he suggested. 

New Delhi, October 6
Activists of the All India Confederation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes would raise their demands for reservation and equal participation for Dalits at a function here on Sunday.

The participants at the ‘Dhamm Diksha Golden Jubilee function’ at Dr Ambedkar Bhawan would demand “equal participation for Dalits in all government and private organisations,” the chief convenor of the function, Mr A R Joshi, said.

The function, being organised to mark the 50th year of attainment of ‘Bhoddha Dhamm Diksha’ by Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, is likely to be inaugurated by the Delhi Chief Minister, Ms Shiela Dikshit.

New Delhi, October 6
A 52-year-old man died in police custody in Mayur Vihar police station in East Delhi, allegedly due to torture. However, the police denied the allegation saying the deceased, Inder, alias Bengali, died a ‘natural death’.

“Inder, who had allegedly been involved in more than 20 cases and a drug addict, was arrested under the Arms Act yesterday night. After he did not wake up this morning, we took him to the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital where he was declared brought dead,” said a senior police official.

Involved in several cases of rape, attempt to murder, dacoity and other crimes, Inder had allegedly been convicted in seven cases, the police claimed.

“He wanted some drugs last night before going for sleep, but we did not give him,” the official claimed.

“The body has been sent for a post-mortem and an ADM enquiry has been ordered,” the official said.

However, sources said no case had been registered against Inder in the last one year as he was trying to mend his ways. For this, he had opened a grocery shop and was fully involved in his business.—OC

New Delhi, October 6
The BSES’ campaign to educate consumers against power theft seems to have begun showing results. Customers are not only increasingly leaving anonymous tip-offs on BRPL and BYPL enforcement numbers, but are also willingly assisting the officials in raids to help catch power theft offenders.

Recently, a customer from Nangloi assisted the BRPL in apprehending a gang that was allegedly indulging in meter tampering.

The consumer reportedly informed the BSES that he had been approached by some persons who claimed that they were BSES officials. They told him that his meter was tampered and threatened him with a penalty of Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 lakh. Then, they allegedly offered a ‘settlement’ for Rs 25,000, which included withdrawing the case and replacing his alleged tampered meter with a new electronic metre.

The consumer, however, suspected that something was amiss and contacted the BSES. Thereafter, a team of BSES’s Vigilance and Enforcement department, along with the consumer, planned an operation to catch the ‘imposters’. They struck a deal for Rs 15,000 with one of the ‘imposters’, Paras Nath Bhardwaj, who came to collect the first installment of Rs 5,000.

Bhardwaj was caught red-handed by the Vigilance Team. The consumer also identified Jagdeep Singh – an outsourced engineer working for the BSES – as the person who had earlier visited him, threatened him about the tampered meter and proposed a ‘settlement’.

The two accused were arrested under sections 415, 416, 420, 424, 441, 383, 34 of the Indian Penal Code and 138 (d), 140 and 150 of the Indian Electricity Act. The duo was later remanded to 14 days’ police custody. 

New Delhi, October 6
A Nigerian national has been arrested at the airport here allegedly with 84 grams of high-quality cocaine worth Rs five lakh in the international market.

Linus Oguchi (35) was intercepted and nabbed on his arrival from Mumbai last night by a team of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials.

He had allegedly swallowed eight capsules filled with cocaine to evade detection and DRI had prior information about his arrival, sources in the agency said.

Oguchi had landed at Mumbai on October four from Lagos and he had taken a connection flight from there to Delhi.

Unlike heroin, seizure of cocaine is very rare and anti-narcotics agencies have so far this year recovered about 2-3 kilograms of the contraband from across the country. He was produced at a local court, which remanded him to 14 days in judicial custody.

DRI has begun an investigation to find out his clientale in the national Capital.—OC