New Delhi, December 24
Apparently with an eye on municipal polls to be held early next year, the city government has urged the Delhi High Court to allow it to provide sewerage facilities in unauthorised colonies here.

The government, in an affidavit filed in the High Court on December 11 in a case relating to rainwater harvesting system here, has sought permission to allow Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to provide sewerage facilities in unauthorised slums where over 30 lakh of city’s 1.4 crore population live in unhygienic conditions.

“These unauthorised colonies have already been provided with basic facilities like water, electricity and drainage. The additional provision of sewerage will not confer any additional legality to their status,” said a senior official while drawing the court’s attention to its order staying regularisation of unauthorised colonies.

In July, the Delhi government had also submitted the same plea that sufficient fund was available to provide sewerage system in unauthorised colonies.

V K Jain of Tapas, an NGO, which has been pursuing the case since 1994, said that “this is the government’s tactic to delay the matter. The court has never stopped the government from not providing sewerage facilities to the unauthorised colonies”.

For instance in its recent judgement too, the court only reminded the authorities that “the regularisation should be made only if it is possible to make available the basic services,” pointed out Jain.

But now with the MCD elections just a few months away, the government is trying to take political mileage, he claimed.

Over 30 lakh people are staying in about 1,500 unauthorised colonies scattered over different parts of the national Capital. Hailing from lower strata, these dwellers are living in acute unhealthy conditions due to lack of basic sewerage facilities.

“Untreated sewage
from these colonies is finding its way to the river Yamuna, one of the major reasons for increasing pollution level in the river,” stated the government’s affidavit. 

New Delhi, December 24
After a hibernation of almost nine years, the Tihar Jail authorities have sought help of the Delhi Police in tracing convicts who have jumped parole.

Tihar Jail authority’s desperation came in the wake of Bitty Mohanty grabbing the headlines by jumping parole in Rajasthan following his conviction for raping a German tourist this year.

The jail authorities also wrote letters and sought help from the Deputy Secretary (Home) Jails, Additional Secretary (Home) Jails, DCP West Delhi, Superintendent, Central Jail and Registrar General of Delhi High Court in tracing those missing convicted persons, who were sentenced to life imprisonment in murder cases.

Till now, at least 44 prisoners of Tihar Jail here have gone missing in similar circumstances, according to an official in Tihar Jail.

Citing some cases in the application, the Tihar Jail authorities stated that the prisoners, Rajinder Singh, Ashok and Pankaj were all sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi court in 1992.

While ordering them to surrender in Tihar Jail in 1998, the Delhi High Court granted them parole in 1997. But they allegedly did not surrender before it and are still absconding.

With 44 convicts having jumped parole during the last nine years and are still missing, the jail has brought the issue to the notice of a Delhi court through an application filed before it.

The jail authorities also on December 16, filed an application before the Delhi High Court, requesting it to interfere in this case by directing the police forces to help them in getting back the convicts.

These missing prisoners are all convicts in murder cases and had gone on parole on various occasions during the last nine years giving some reason or the other, the authorities said in the application.

“All the concerned authorities are thereby requested to apprehend the convicts and produce them on Tihar Jail premises,” it added. 

New Delhi, December 24
A chilly Christmas weekend seems to be in the offing for Delhiites with the mercury today plummeting to the season’s lowest of 6.1 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature today fell sharply to 6.1 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal. This is the lowest temperature recorded in Delhi this winter season.

The chill could persist, or even intensify, in the coming days with the weatherman forecasting a drop in minimum temperature to six degrees C tomorrow.

However, the fog enveloping the Delhi skyline over the last few days dissipated. Even though there was slight fog in the morning, the visibility levels were 500 m which is considered normal.

A spokesperson of the Airports Authority of India said the visibility levels at the international airport were normal with the result that there were no flight delays due to fog.

The weatherman attributes the sharp fall in mercury today to snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal and Uttaranchal and rain in Punjab and Haryana in the last few days under the influence of a fresh western disturbance.

They have forecast that no significant change was likely to occur in night temperature over the plains of North-West India during the next 24 hours which means the chill in the air would persist.

They have also predicted a fall in night temperature over plains of North-West India in the post-Christmas period due to another phase of snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal and Uttaranchal and rainfall in Punjab and Haryana during the next 24 hours.

The Met office has forecast a mainly clear sky in Delhi during the next 24 hours with the likelihood of slight fog or mist in the morning hours.

New Delhi, December 24
The Speaker of Delhi Assembly Ch Prem Singh and president of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) Mr Ram Babu Sharma have also extended greetings to the Capital’s residents on the occasion of Christmas.

People must take a pledge to celebrate this festival of communal harmony and brotherhood in a holy manner, Prem Singh said.

Mr Sharma said that Christmas was a glorious occasion for human bonding and amity without distinguishing between class, caste and creed.

For the people of Christian faith, he said, the birth day of Jesus Christ, was the most important festival as it was celebrated by people of all faith with reverence and piety.—TNS

New Delhi, December 24
A large number of people of Naga community will celebrate Christmas, birthday of Jesus Christ, in Delhi. But they will not feel the warmth of festival as they feel in way back in Nagaland, a state of two million population of which over 90 per cent are Christians.

Christmas outside Nagaland is quite different traditionally. Naga Christians congregate in their own community and attend the service and feast. Their feast consists of pork and chicken among other things, said a young Christian who works with a magazine.—TNS

New Delhi, December 24
A Delhi court has dismissed the bail plea of two persons who along with others were alleged to have siphoned off more than Rs 7 lakh through fraudulent encashment of cheques.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate G P Singh yesterday rejected the bail applications of Rakesh Kumar and Rajiv Kumar who had been accused to have opened different fictitious accounts in conspiracy with HDFC Bank employees, namely Nitin Anand, Rahul Kumar and Anil Kumar and siphoned off more than Rs 7 lakh from different persons.

The accused, Rajiv Kumar and Rakesh Kumar, were arrested on August 30 this year while Nitin Anand and Rahul Kumar on September 1 and Anil Kumar on September 2 after an FIR was lodged against them in police station Shalimar Bagh on July 5 last year.

In its chargesheet filed on October 27, the Economic Offence Wing, Delhi Police, alleged that they opened accounts in the name of non-existent persons like Manoj Sharma and Ajay Sagar, joint account in the name of Ajay Sagar and Ashok Kumar and current accounts in the name of Aureole Rubbers Pvt Ltd and Anu Industries Pvt Ltd.

A complaint was lodged by one Ritu Sharma, Director, Aureole Rubbers Pvt Ltd, alleging that employees of a courier company, Blaze Flash Couriers Pvt Ltd, in connivance with the officials of HDFC Bank have encashed their company cheques.

The chargesheet has invoked various Sections, including 420 (cheating), 406 (breach of trust) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC against them.

New Delhi, December 24
A man, who could not get his sister married as his banker failed to transfer Rs 5.5 lakh from his account, has been awarded a compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh by the State Consumer Commission.

Terming the act of Bank of Baroda as “unpardonable”, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission headed by Justice J D Kapoor rejected its contention that the authorised representative of the account holder did not approach it seeking remittance. It also dismissed the bank’s plea that the inordinate delay was caused for verifying the authenticity of the signature of the account holder.

“It is difficult to accept that a person who is in utter need of such a money would not approach the bank for months together,” Justice Kapoor said, allowing the complaint of one George John which was transferred to this Commission from Kerala State Commission.

Holding the bank guilty of “gross deficiency”, the Commission said, “Over caution does not mean that service provider takes so much time that the purpose of transferring the amount itself is defeated.”

New Delhi, December 24
Two Bangladeshis were arrested from a South Delhi locality after they attempted to attack the police and flee.

Ravi and Suleman were chased by a group of people who accused them of committing theft in the area. When police tried to intercept them, the duo hurled a steel container at the sleuths, which exploded.

However, the police reportedly, overpowered the two Bangladeshi men at Westend Marg and recovered a country-made pistol from them.—OC

New Delhi, December 24
Although an individual toying with the idea of suicide may not realise it, going ahead with the act reflects extreme selfishness.

What could be more selfish, after all, than giving such a shock to one’s near and dear ones besides expecting them to deal with a dead body, which – if the individual is a Hindu – must be bathed, carried to the cremation ground on a custom-built cot and consigned to the flames with all the attendant rituals and expenditure.

Besides, it’s illegal to attempt/commit suicide as per Section 309 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), which provides for imprisonment of up to one year. Neither is there any bravery or glory associated with the act, as individuals like Rajeev Goswami, who tried self-immolation in protest again the government acceptance of Mandal Committee recommendations on reservation for OBCs in 1992 under Mr V.P. Singh’s short-lived tenure as PM. It is in fact a most cowardly thing to do.

Unfortunately, all this is not enough of a deterrent, as indicated by the rising number of suicide cases attempted/reported in the Capital. Suicide cases are reported in the media almost every day, which is significant since very few suicide attempts are reported to the authorities in the first place due to the social stigma attached to the occurrence and inconvenience in the form of dealing with police, post mortem etc, and fewer yet make it to the media.

Data made available by the PRO, Delhi Police, Mr Rajan Bhagat, suggest that there has been a 63 per cent rise in suicides in the Capital over the past decade, although he went on to deny any such thing.

As many as 1,245 cases were reported in 2005, while this year, 837-odd people took their lives as of September 30 in the national Capital alone.

Moreover, media reports suggest that suicide has become the most common cause of death among youngsters who evidently give up on life and try this bizarre form of instant gratification.

“To take the extreme step is not easy. One is forced to take this step when one is unable to find any handy solution to one’s anxieties, agonies and problems,” points out Dr S.C. Malik, a senior psychiatrist consultant in Sir Gangaram Hospital.

This is on the rise due to mimicry of western values by Indians, since nuclear families, broken marriages and the concept of individualism often leads to social isolation, a path that often leads to depression.

A guilty conscience, real or imaginary, is another motivation. Dr Malik relates the case of a girl who held herself responsible for her mother’s death since she behaved rudely with her in the days leading to her death. “The girl came to believe that she will meet her mother in ‘heaven’, and tried to commit suicide, unsuccessfully,” he says.

“All these people come to view suicide as the ‘final solution’ which would solve all their problems. Many of them think that they will ‘reach heaven’ or get reborn into a new life. They fail to realise that most issues have a solution, and simply quit the battlefield of life,” he says.

Many suicide cases involve students who ‘fail’ in academics, not realising that education has nothing much to do with school. This is true even when the parents are well-educated, as in the case of the 18-year-old daughter of a police officer of Haryana cadre who shot herself with his licensed revolver, although the reason was not very clear.

Peer pressure and the sub-conscious need of parental approval often play a role.

A new trend also seems to be emerging wherein individuals blamed their superiors or extraneous circumstances for taking the extreme step, as in the case of an MCD engineer who was found hanging from the ceiling of his house.

On November 8, a 60-year-old trader in the Capital bid adieu to his life due to MCD’s sealing drive.

On November 15, a BSF commandant immolated himself outside a police station, apparently because the police failed to acting on his complaint of ‘harassment’ by a neighbour.

Medical practitioners say that suicide is often a way to ‘teach a lesson’ to one’s kin or society itself. They believe their death would teach a moral lesson to the society and would force it to take some appropriate measure.

‘Loneliness’ is however, the primary reason behind suicides. “Many people need a healthy relationship with their spouse to heal their emotion wounds sustained in the past. They don’t need advice. Family members should never take an expressed desire of suicide lightly,” he concludes.

Gurgaon, December 24
With many areas of Haryana falling in the National Capital Region and Delhi gradually acquiring common interests, a section of members of the ruling Congress in both the states has brought the focus on the youth.

The secretary of the Delhi unit of the Congress, Chaudhary Ramender Kumar, who has made several visits to various parts of the district and Mewat to study youth-related problems, said here today that he would contribute to building opinion in the party organisations in Haryana and Delhi for a common development approach for the youth.

Incidentally, Ramender Kumar, who was assigned duties by the party for election campaign of Rahul Gandhi in Rai Barailley, is considered to have given vital inputs to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on youth-related issues in Haryana in the past.

He was attached to the secretary AICC, Mr Parvez Hashmi, when the latter was assigned duties on Haryana.

Ramender Kumar praised the Congress governments in Haryana and Delhi for progressive policies on youths and women.

He said that the progress of youths and women has always been the focus of the Congress, especially since the time of the late Rajiv Gandhi, whose “look forward” and “21st century” concept in the path to progress was leaned in favour of youths and women section of society on the whole.

According to him, the nation has now realised the prophetic persuasions of Mr Gandhi on computerisation, Information Technology, reduction of voting age in our participatory democracy system of governance, and the 73rd and 74th amendment to the Constitution with regard to local self-government.

In response to a question, he said it would be ideal that the policy makers of the country expand the context of globalisation from mere economic and commercial sense to focus on the youth.

When asked to elaborate, he said that the youth of the country must be in sync with their counterparts in the developed nations.

In the political context, he said that youth in advanced countries participate in electoral processes and show deep awareness of development and substantive issues related to the daily lives of people.

It is high time that the youths here also raised development issues before all political parties.

He lamented that various political leaders and their organisations raked up only regional and emotive issues.

He singled out education, moral character and ample employment opportunities as the core issues for development of youths.

He said that the country has produced a number of saints like Shreedi Sai Baba, who embodied secularism and humanism.

Gurgaon, December 24
A three-day national level “India International Industrial Expo and Conference, 2006-Gurgaon” was held in Gurgaon in which 140 firms from the country and abroad set up stalls at the S.C.E.R.T. premises here.

As the official description of the event suggests, the occasion had international sense to it on account of foreign firms, like Yamozoki Mozok of Singapore, pitching their stalls.

The event, organised by Paramount Exhibitors, was claimed to be supported by leading industrial associations/organisations of this region like Northern Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings, Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Punjab, Autoparts Manufacturer Association (India), Punjab Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Association of Small Industries of India.—TNS

Noida, December 24
The seminar on confluence of traditions: Bhagat Bani in Guru Granth Sahib, organized by Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts and Punjab Academy, Delhi, saw some of the eminent scholars present their papers.

The seminar held in the Indira Gandhi Centre in New Delhi on December 21 and 22 was addressed by stalwarts like Dr Jaswant Singh Neki, Prof Amrik Singh as guest speakers.

Prof S.H.Qasemi from Jammu and Kashmir had spoken on the philosophy and significance of Bani of Baba Farid who contributed 116 verses in the Holy Granth Sahib.

Dr Maheep Singh, formerly of Delhi University, dwelt on the Bani of Bhagat Kabeer in Guru Granth Sahib. Dr S.S. Noor, also a former Delhi University professor, spoke on the Bani of Bagat Namdev in Sri Granth Sahib.

Dr Jagbir Singh, a well-known professor of Delhi University, had dwelt on the Bani of lesser-known Bhagats like Bhagat Pipa, Bhagat Saini and Bhagat Sadhna in the Granth Sahib. Dr Vanita of Khalsa College, Delhi, presented a paper on Bani of Bhagat Dhanna while Dr Bhupinder Singh spoke on Bani of Bhagat Trilochan.

Most scholars at the seminar on Confluence of the traditions of Bhagat Bani in Sri Guru Granth Sahib were of the view that Bhagat Bani provides an excellent example of scriptural adaptation in a cross-cultural spirit, offering a deeper understanding of religious pluralism. The bhagats whose works are contained in the Guru Granth Sahib came from different regions and wrote in different regional languages.

Folk, devotional and classical music have flourished side by side in Punjab for centuries. Sikhism, Hinduism and Islam, the dominant religious faiths of Punjab, have their distinct musical repertories, linked to a specific setting and spiritual and aesthetic needs. The four divisions of Punjab’s musical repertoire, sufiana qalam, qawwali, gurmatt sangeet and bhakti sangeet, are rooted in specific spiritual experience.

Gurmat sangeet, also called shabad kirtan, combines the bani, teachings of the gurus and saints, with sangeet, music. Elements of classical music, devotional music and folk music merge in this form that goes back to the advent of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, in the 15th century. Guru Nanak Dev himself collected and got the banis of various bhagats scribed during his journeys or udasis. The traditions of Gurmat Sangeet have been carried literally, from heart to heart, by the guru kirtaniye, raagis, dhadis, rababis and others, it was emphasised.