New Delhi, January 10
Two-judge-bench of the Delhi High Court today directed the Election Commission, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Delhi Government and the MCD to submit the schedule of the municipal election programme by January 25, along with an affidavit that by which dates the polls shall be completed.

The direction was given by judges Mr Swantra Kumar and Ms Hem Lata Malhotra on a petition filed by BJP councillors Mr Subhash Arya, Leader of Opposition in the MCD, Mr Vijender Gupta, Standing Committee member and Ms Arti Mehra appealing that municipal election should be held in time.

Having received the court order, the BJP Delhi Pradesh President Dr Harsh Vardhan said, “The Delhi High Court has checked the attempt by the Congress to run away from the elections by foiling the Congress conspiracy to postpone the MCD elections. This is a great victory for the people of Delhi and the BJP. The journey of the defeat of the Congress has started from today itself.”

In the petition filed in the Delhi High Court, the councillors alleged that the Congress wanted to postpone the MCD elections on the pretext of new delimitation. In the petition, it was demanded that the government, MCD, Election Commission and Lieutenant Governor of Delhi should be directed to hold the elections on time.

Terming the court order as the victory of truth, justice and of the general public, the BJP Pradesh President said that the work of delimitation of the seats for MCD had been going on since the last five months. The Congress was mum on it, he alleged, adding that but when the time for holding the municipal elections before the April 7 was approaching, the Congress found a new excuse to “avoid its shameful defeat” by introducing the MCD Amendment Bill 2007 for increasing the number of MCD seats between 272 to 300. The Central Government had also given its tacit support to this Bill, he further alleged. 

New Delhi, January 10
In a reaction to a news item published in the NCR edition of The Tribune on January 8 titled “Uphaar case: Summon senior police official, demand victims”, the then DCP (licensing), Delhi Police, and now the DGP, Arunachal Pradesh Mr Amod K. Kanth has clarified that he was being made to suffer ostensibly because of his pro-active policing in the Licensing Branch at that time.

“I was the only one in the history of the branch to have acted so firmly to ensure the safety of the cinemagoers. Besides, the fact that during my period, the Licensing Unit was able to restore the maximum possible safety conditions, like never before or after,” he claimed.

“Between 1979, when I was DCP (licensing), and in 1997, when the tragedy took place, that cinema hall was completely renovated and an altogether new licence issued, inspected by licensing and technical authorities at least 17 times, besides subjected to several high-powered and extraordinary inspections,” he added.

“In one of such inspection got conducted by the then Lt. Governor, numerous safety inadequacies were found in the mid-80s and the license of Uphaar got suspended. In fact, during a major period between 1979 to 1997, Uphaar was running on temporary license issued through the intervention of the Delhi High Court. Considering all those facts, there is no question of my accountability for that tragedy,” he maintained.

New Delhi, January 10
Foreign direct investment and big industrial houses in retail trade, the sealing exercise in Delhi and other states, making India a free trade zone, the abolition of central sales tax and a road map to goods and services tax (GST) are certain burning issues of the trading community, which will form part of an elaborate discussion at the two-day national conference beginning here tomorrow under the umbrella of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).

Leaders of trade bodies from different states will be attending the meeting, which will be chaired by CAIT national executive president B. C. Bhartia, who is also the president of the Nag-Vidarbha Chamber of Commerce, Nagpur.

CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said Union Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy would inaugurate the conference. Senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra will deliver the keynote address at the conference tomorrow.

Mr Khandelwal informed the disparities and anomalies in VAT taxation system, simplification and rationalisation of tax structure, abrogation of outdated tax and other trade laws, participation of traders in governance and strengthening of internal trade were the other major issues which would be discussed at the two-day conference. It would also draft a pre-Budget memorandum on behalf of traders and declare the launching of a national movement against FDI and restoration of dignity to the trading community.

The CAIT secretary general further said the two-day conference would also release a traders’ charter for “Absolute trade sovereignty — Sampurna Vyapar Swarajya’, demanding total freedom for internal trade, which was passing through very hard times. 

Gurgaon, January 10
The continued expansion of Gurgaon city has pushed the police authorities to expand the civic infrastructure for the constabulary, including setting up schools for children of the personnel as well as police staff quarters.

According to sources, the Standing Welfare Committee as well as the Police Housing Corporation are actively considering the welfare schemes.

The move is understood to be based on strategic thinking as the authorities anticipate increase in the manpower in the district police force in the immediate future. As it is the authorities are focusing on traffic policing. Much focus that has already been laid on traffic policing, the Director General of Police, Haryana, Mr

R.S.Dalal is in favour of starting 24-hour policing at various key junctions in Gurgaon city.

According to the official version, presently there are 370 personnel put on traffic policing duties. There is plan to add about 100 more personnel to the existing strength.

Also, the authorities have already sent proposal for additional manpower in the district police force to bolster the overall policing system.

The need for more manpower is understood to have also cropped up during a recent meeting of the DGP with the police chiefs of the districts falling in Gurgaon Range along with the Range’s Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohinder Lal.

In the meeting, the DGP laid emphasis on Gurgaon and urged for extra vigil on the part of personnel in the face of modernisation and expansion of the city along with the available of modern technology used by the criminals.

New Delhi, January 10
The police have made elaborate arrangements for gurdwara elections slated to be held on January 14.

All possible security measures have been put in place to ward off any untoward incident on the voting day. All arms’ licence holders have been ordered to deposit their arms well before the elections. Sources revealed more than 150 revolvers had so far been deposited in West district alone. About 50 revolvers and rifles had been deposited in South district.

“We are mostly targeting those who are in the voters’ lists for this month’s elections. At the same time, we are also carrying out another drive to nab anti-social elements”, said the officer.

The maximum voting centres had been set up in West district. Out of 239 centres here, 11 are most sensitive.

“We are constantly monitoring activities around those centres to ward off any untoward incident during the voting hours. Five to six battalions of the CRPF had also been deployed at all sensitive locations around the voting areas”, informed the officer.

The police also claimed to have registered 75 cases of posters being put up on the walls of those areas. A total of 45 such cases in South and 19 in West district had been registered.

The police are also constantly in touch with all gurdwara committees for the peaceful conduct of elections. 

New Delhi, January 10
The Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit, visited the NCC Republic Day Camp here today. She inspected a guard of honour presented by a contingent of immaculately turned out cadets from the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. Ms Dikshit was deeply impressed by the discipline, unity and patriotism exhibited by the cadets.

The Chief Minister acknowledged the role of the NCC in grooming the citizens of tomorrow and added India’s future was in safe hands. She exhorted the cadets to do their best towards the conservation of environment and resources to make India the country of our dreams.

She described the NCC as a medium of social change and called upon cadets to become role models. While referring to the ensuing Commonwealth Games 2010 being hosted by Delhi, Ms Dikshit asked the NCC Cadets to offer their services during the Games when a large number of sportspersons, sports lovers and tourists would be visiting the Capital.

Ms Dikshit visited the flag area, the Motivation Hall Ship and Aero Modelling Halls, where models of ships and aeroplanes of various kinds made by cadets were on display. She took keen interest in the activities and listened to the briefing of cadets. 

New Delhi, January 10
Sale of tickets to the general public wishing to witness the Republic Day Parade at Rajpath and the beating retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk has commenced and will continue till January 28, it was officially announced yesterday.

The tickets for the Republic Day Parade on January 26 are priced at Rs 300 and Rs 150 for reserved seats and Rs 50 and Rs 10 for unreserved seats. The tickets for the full dress rehearsal of the beating retreat ceremony on January 28 are priced at Rs 50 and Rs 20, respectively, and will not have reserved seats.

Non-departmental sale counters have been set up for this purpose at ITDC travel counters at hotels Ashok and Janpath, and DTDC counters at the coffee home at Baba Kharag Singh Marg and the Foods and Crafts Bazar at Dilli Haat, opposite the INA Market.

The tickets will also be available at Shri Gandhi Ashram, Chandni Chowk and with the Mother Dairy outlets at M-block market, Greater Kailash - Part 1, main market (near taxi stand) Defence Colony, C-Block, Friends Colony (East), community shopping complex, Sec-B, pocket 10, Vasant Kunj, among others.—OC

New Delhi, January 10
A DMRC employee was killed and three others were injured early yesterday when the vehicle in which they were travelling was hit by another near Kashmere Gate.

A. K. Sahu (24), along with other Metro employees, was returning in a mini-truck from work at Delhi University station when the vehicle was hit by another mini-truck, when it was turning onto the Ring Road near Kashmere Gate, a DMRC spokesperson said.

Sahu, a track maintainer hailing from Orissa, died on the spot. Three other DMRC employees were injured in the accident. While one of the injured employees was hospitalised, two others were discharged after first aid.—OC

Ghaziabad, January 10
Five members of a family in Prashant Vihar, Loni, who had gone to bed with an ‘angithi’ burning to keep the room warm in intense cold, were found dead in the morning due to asphyxiation on the night of 8- 9 night. Those killed included a man, his wife and their three children.

Chander Chud Sharma, 50, his wife Laxmi, 45, and three children—Gulu, 16, Babli, 13, and Dolly, 5, were found dead in their Prashant Vihar rented house. Chander Chud hailed from Ferozabad, Begum Serai in Bihar, and had been living in this house for last eight months. An accountant in a leather unit in Roop Nagar industrial area, Chander Chud had reached home at 11 p.m. His wife had kept the ‘angithi’ burning in the room to ward off the cold.

After taking dinner, the family went to bed after closing the door.

Next morning when two colleagues came to collect the keys of the factory, they called his mobile phone number and when no body answered, the door was knocked. When some persons pushed the door open, they were shocked to find Chander Chud’s family dead. There was dense smoke in the room.

S.P. City Govind Agarwal said on first look, the family appeared to have died due to asphyxiation in the room. The bodies have been sent for postmortem. 

New Delhi, January 10
Terming a lawyer-convict as pervert, a Delhi court sentenced him to ten years’ rigorous imprisonment for subjecting his wife to cruelty and abetting her suicide over dowry demands seven years ago.

“It is a case where the deceased committed suicide and took the extreme step in presence of the convict. Instead of helping her and saving her, he chose to run away. He is, therefore, a very callous and perverted person,” the Additional Sessions Judge, Mr Narottam Kaushal, said.

Awarding the maximum sentence under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) to Madal Lal who used to practice at Tis Hazari courts, the ASJ also imposed a fine of Rs 13,000 on him.

Relying on the deposition of his seven-year-old son Harsh, the court said that he saw his father locking the back gate of house and running away on the fateful day.

“He (Harsh), is therefore, a witness to the conduct of the accused shortly before and after the occurrence. He also establishes the presence of the accused on the spot,” the judge said.

Harsh also deposed that his father used to quarrel with the deceased and play cards and scold his mother in front of guests, the court noted, saying that this established the charge of cruelty against the accused.

On August 24, 1999, one Sanjeev lodged a complaint with Uttam Nagar police station in West Delhi that his sister, who was married to Madal Lal, had been burnt to death by the accused a day before.

He also accused Lal of beating his sister shortly after the marriage for dowry demands. The accused who was arrested nine days after the incident remained in judicial custody since then. 

New Delhi, January 10
The CBI today filed a chargesheet against a former registrar of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) here in a corruption case.

The accused O. P. Sharma allegedly leased his own properties to the institute and obtained the rent money.

The chargesheet filed in the court of special judge I. K. Kochhar has accused O. P. Sharma of executing lease agreement with effect from January 3, 1999 to September 30, 2000 for his property in Paschim Vihar between the NIFT and Kamla Devi without disclosing that she was his mother.

According to the chargesheet, he also executed another lease deed on his property in Vasant Kunj between the NIFT and a fictitious person S. P. Sharma and signed it himself.—OC

Gurgaon, January 10
The residents in Gurgaon are having a harrowing time on account of growing incidents of thefts and burglaries besides autolifting.

The police claim that they are doing their best and have busted several gangs, but the reality is that the criminal incidents continue. With regard to the vehicle theft, the police claimed that they had busted a dozen such gangs.

Motorcycles and Maruti 800 cars appear to be the prime targets of vehicles lifters.

According to many, both these categories are sold quickly on the market. Besides, there is much demand for these vehicles in cities as well as the hinterland in various parts of the country.

According to an officer involved with law and security, the vehicles stolen in Gurgaon are mostly sold in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana besides Assam. There are reports of the stolen vehicles sold in Nepal.

A statistic provided officially will reveal that the scourge of vehicle lifting has been on the increase year after year. While the total number of cases registered last year was 1,540; it was 1,462 in the preceding year. In 2004, it was 1,045, it was 819 in 2003.

There were four cases of vehicle lifting last week. While a Maruti 800 was stolen in Palam Vihar, motorcycles were lifted in Sector 45, Rajinder Park, Sushant Lok and DLF area.

The scourge of burglaries in houses is no less. Residents are scared to leave their houses unguarded. Significant point is that the cases of vehicle lifting and burglaries are generally spread over new Gurgaon city areas.

According to many, there are both sociological and policing angles related to menace.

In the new areas, the inhabitants are from various parts of the country, and they observe the lifestyle of a metropolitan city. There is no community bonding or socialising of neighbours.

Added to the problem is the growing number of working couples or old couples living all by themselves in palatial houses. In both the cases, the houses are vulnerable.

In the new city areas, there is growing cult of malls and markets. The vehicles parked here become easy pickings for the criminals.

Noida, January 10
In spite of government plans and efforts to achieve better sex ratio, the life span of women in UP is the shortest in the country, followed by Bihar. The UP health watch, in its annual report, has highlighted that the statistics pertaining to women’s health in Uttar Pradesh were not very satisfying. As per this report, Uttar Pradesh tops the list of states with less life span for women. UP is followed by Bihar. Health watch had also critically analyzed the state of women’s health in UP.

The women in UP are also increasingly dependant on the ultra sound tests to know the sex of the unborn child they are carrying.

Even in the villages of Gautam Budh Nagar district, which is considered a show window of UP, the health infrastructure for women is far from satisfactory.

Women’s pregnancy has been made the basis of this year report, keeping in view the targets for women health up to 2015. A survey of health services in other states has also been included in the health watch report keeping in view the facilities available for women health.

Tamil Nadu state comes out with best health infrastructure for women, according to this survey, with UP at the bottom of this list with the least life span of women among all states. The fatality rate of women at child birth in UP has been listed at 40 per cent while most women in rural areas are still dependent on mid wives for delivery.

In towns and cities, however, better medical facilities have been of some help to women. But the facility of ultra sound is being largely used for the increasing number of premature termination of female foeticides.

According to the report, a large number of women are becoming prone to female diseases and reduced body resistance due to frequent pregnancies and their terminations.

About 33 per cent women are resorting to sonography to find out the sex of the unborn babies they are carrying and about 60 per cent women are losing capacity to conceive due to frequent abortions, the report said.

According to this survey, condition of women in 15 districts of UP is not good. These include Agra, Alam Garh, Etawa, Aligarh and Gautam Budh Nagar. The health programmes being run for women are found inadequate and not up to the mark.

New Delhi, January 10
An HIV+ woman running her own floriculture business and earning a living in the process has become a reality, thanks to the decision taken by the Centre for Social Research (CSR) to integrate any HIV+ member associated with it in income generating activities in its development project areas in UP.

The CSR is now planning to replicate this isolated case of a woman fighting HIV and have more such role models by intensifying the process called external mainstreaming of victims of HIV/AIDS, whereby it is creating awareness among the project staff and participants, developing ways to fight stigma and discrimination at the level of family, community and village, establishing referral network to link to service providers and integrating HIV AIDS victims to project activities.

The woman, whose husband died of HIV/AIDS as well, was left with a small piece of land and four children to support after she was diagnosed with HIV. Her lone battle took a turn when she got training in floriculture and marigold plantation by the centre. She is now able to support her family and make a living by growing marigold flowers on her land.

While advocating the need for the HIV/AIDS policy for civil society organisations and government offices, the Centre for Social Research (CSR) is also considering the idea of having an HR policy to address the concerns of any HIV+ employee / programme officer/member working on the field to implement its projects.

“We feel it is important for government organisations and NGOs to have clear-cut policies on HIV/AIDS because they tie up with several individuals and organisations across the country to implement their programmes. Such a policy will ensure the HIV+ persons not only earn a living but also get adequate cover against this deadly disease,” says Dr Ranjana Kumari, Director, Centre for Social Research.

New Delhi, January 10
A thick blanket of fog enveloped the Capital this morning, but air traffic remained unaffected even as Delhiites continued to shiver under intense cold wave conditions.

Though the fog reduced the runway visibility range to around 900 metres, yet the air traffic at the Indira Gandhi airport remained unaffected and all flights operated on schedule. The Met Office said the fog reduced the normal visibility to 400 metres in the morning.

Today’s minimum temperature was recorded at 3.8 degree Celsius, three notches below normal. The mercury had yesterday plummeted to 3.2 degree Celsius.

However, the Capital, which shivered at 2.6 degree Celsius, the lowest of the season so far, two days ago is in for warmer days ahead.

The Met Office forecast said the minimum temperature would hover around five degree Celsius in the next two days with a partly cloudy sky.

There would be shallow fog or mist in the mornings, the Met Office added. 

New Delhi, January 10
Two living legends of jazz, pianist Herbie Hancock and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, will be in India from January 11-17 for performances supported by the United States Department of State and respective American Centre in New Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta.

The duo, backed by nine musicians from the US-based Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz, will give concerts, hold master classes with young Indian musicians and engage in outreach activities to promote HIV/AIDS awareness.

This is the third consecutive year the American Centre in India has supported public-private partnerships to bring American jazz greats to India. Previous tours have included special performances in India by renowned jazz singer Al Jarreau, guitarist Earl Klugh and Grammy-nominated saxophonist Kenny Garrett.

In Mumbai, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter will play at the National Centre for the Performing Arts on Saturday evening, January 13, in a concert organised by private sector partner VH1.

In Calcutta, the performers will play at the Dalhousie Institute on Sunday evening, January 14.