New Delhi, February 3
The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA), the pollution monitoring arm of the Supreme Court, today issued directives to ensure implementation of CNG bus safety regulations in Delhi.

First and foremost, it asked the Delhi Government to set up a mobile facility for safety inspection to check gas leakage and other safety-related parameters for random on-road surprise inspection by February 7. Besides, it also issued directives for bus manufacturers, including Tata Motors.

The EPCA’s action comes in the wake of an incident of fire aboard a CNG school bus in the Capital on January 27.

On January 27, an incidence of fire was reported on a converted bus (DL IP 5993), ferrying schoolchildren. While the bus was badly burnt, fortunately all occupants of the bus, including the driver and conductor, escaped unhurt.

The EPCA investigated the incident and has now issued a new set of directives designed to plug safety lapses. In its report, the authority has called for stricter implementation by government agencies while targeting the Delhi Government, bus manufacturers and bus operators.

The CNG bus programme in Delhi is among the largest in the world. It helped lower the peak air pollution levels of the 1990s and stabilise the problem. Globally, CNG vehicles are considered safe and clean. However, the lack of proper implementation of the safety regulations must not be allowed to compromise the quality of the programme, which has enormous potential to clean up the air and public health of the city, says EPCA Chairperson Bhure Lal.

The EPCA has been monitoring the implementation of CNG bus safety regulations in Delhi over the past few years. It has also issued appropriate directions to improve safety related engineering parameters and components in CNG buses, inspection and maintenance of CNG buses, enforcement of safety rules and regulations and also the specifications of CNG fuel quality.

While a number of these directives have been implemented and considerable progress has been made in building infrastructure for safety inspection in the city, some serious lapses still remain.

“We are deeply disturbed as safety regulations are not being fully enforced,” said Mr Lal.

The committee after carefully examining the burnt bus, its documents and circumstances leasing to the accident has submitted its findings. As per the report, it is clear that the 13-year-old converted bus did not go for its requisite quarterly inspections for over seven months. To prevent any such incident in the future, the authority has released a set of directives which, it says, “must be enforced with zero tolerance for lapses”.

The directives include introduction of mobile facility for safety inspection and making quarterly safety inspection mandatory. As per Mr Lal, the Department of Transport should set up a mobile facility for safety inspection to check gas leakage and other safety-related parameters for random on-road surprise inspection by February 7. The EPCA will do a monthly review.

In addition to the annual fitness and third party that all buses have to undergo currently, the transport department will institute a system of quarterly safety inspections. For this, the department must issue notices stating that certificates quarterly inspection obtained from these centres will be mandatory for getting annual fitness certificates and permits.

New Delhi, February 3
A senior executive of a private bank was seriously injured late last evening when he allegedly attempted suicide by shooting himself using a security guard’s service weapon.

Harmeet Singh (27), an employee of HDFC bank, suffered a bullet injury in his stomach and was admitted to the Bara Hindu Rao Hospital in a critical condition after the incident late last evening.

Singh, who worked at the bank’s Roop Nagar branch in North Delhi, underwent a surgery and his condition was stated to be critical.

According to the police, Singh asked the private security guard deployed at the bank to fetch some refreshments for him at around 8:45 pm. He then shot himself using the rifle left behind by the guard.

A suicide note recovered from Singh said nobody was responsible for his death, but his colleagues claimed he was upset over the treatment meted out to him by his seniors.

Faridabad, February 3
Farmers and owners of agricultural land in Jhajjar district and nearby areas of the state have got prosperous following the process of setting up the Special Economic Zone (SEZ). They will also be benefited by the rehabilitation plan launched by the state government that would change the entire region in a few years. This has been the claim of the spokesperson of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC), Mr Ved Prakash Vidrohi, in reaction to the allegations made by certain leaders of opposition parties regarding the SEZ move in the state.

Describing the claims of various leaders opposed to the ruling Hooda government’s policy on the SEZ, as totally absurd, Mr Vidrohi stated in a statement issued today that only those political persons had been trying to raise a hue and cry who had personal interest in the area and such leaders had failed to give any valid reason to substantiate their claims.

He said one of the leaders had even got the detailed information under the RTI Act regarding the 240-page agreement between the Haryana government and the Reliance Group, but had not come up with any lacunae on the part of the present government.

He said it was during the rule of the leaders who had been opposing the SEZ plan now, that premium land was acquired in the Gurgaon district at a rate of just Rs 4.60 lakh per acre from the farmers for setting up the Industrial Model Township (IMT), just a couple of years ago and the present government had released over Rs 24 lakh per acre for the land acquired by it in the recent past, which was about five times more than the previous compensation.

He said over 1000 acres had been acquired for this purpose during the regime of the previous government.

“All the allegations made now were part of the campaign by vested interests who wanted to encash the property boom,” he added.

Claiming that Haryana was perhaps the first state to implement the rehabilitation plan for the farmers, the party leader said that as per the policy of the Hooda government, at least one job to a member of the family whose land was purchased would be provided by the company, besides the reservation of a total 25 per cent of jobs to the local residents in the SEZ.

He said the SEZ developer would also provide basic civic amenities to the villages falling under its periphery and this would result in better civic infrastructure in the rural parts also.

He said the majority of the chunk of land in Jhajjar and Gurgaon district where the SEZ was coming up was barren and this had been a part of the land which could give a single crop round the year.

Stating that the farmers after getting hefty compensation had purchased land which was several times more than previous holdings, in other districts or other states, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh, where the agricultural land had been cheaper.

It is reported that about 8000 acres has been purchased by the SEZ company so far with the agreement that the government would acquire not more than 25 per cent of land to maintain continuity of the land patch.

New Delhi, February 3
The State Consumer Commission has asked Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre to pay Rs 50,000 compensation to a man whose wife died of liver cancer which developed due to negligent care at the hospital where she was recuperating from colon ailments.

Ordering the cancer institute to pay the amount in a month, the Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission headed by justice J D Kapoor held it guilty of negligence during the post operation period when the deceased developed liver cancer after undergoing corrective surgeries for colon cancer.

As is apparent from the (post-operation) discharge summary, the condition of liver, ovary, uterus was normal and it was due to negligence in and after the surgery resulting in development of anastomosis leak indicating that the patient had developed liver cancer, the commission said while allowing the complaint of one K C Makhijani, husband of the deceased.

The commission reversed the District Consumer Forum’s verdict which had earlier dismissed Makhijani’s complaint holding no case of medical negligence was made out against the hospital.

As per Makhijani, a resident of Lajpat Nagar here, he came to know in 2004 that his wife was at an advanced stage of carcinoma of transverse colon and took her to the hospital where she underwent two successive corrective surgeries which were conducted by expert oncologists.

After the discharge, her condition worsened and later, she died of liver cancer which shocked Makhijani as he was told that his wife’s liver and other vital organs were free from any ailment.

New Delhi, February 3
Jamia Millia Islamia University organised the first Walter Sisulu Memorial Lecture on Friday to honour the memory of Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu, a South African anti-apartheid activist and a member of the African National Congress (ANC), the inspiration and hand behind all the great campaigns for liberation in South Africa in 1950s. This lecture is the effort of the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

The Lecture titled, ‘The Life and Times of Walter Sisulu’ was delivered by A M Kathrada, an ANC leader and a veteran of the South African liberation struggle. He is one of the famous Rivonia trialists and has spent over twenty-six years in prison as the trusted confidant of Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu. In his lecture, he traced the life and times of Sisulu, his trials and tribulations and his commitment to the cause of a non-racial democratic South Africa.

Kathrada aptly quoted a Shakesperean verse on Kathrada’s life saying that, “his life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him that nature might stand up and say to all the world – this was a man.” Sisulu was a mentor to Nelson Mandela and the moving spirit behind the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa in the 1950’s.

Sisulu had natural gifts, a deep political seriousness from a life of struggle as a youth and an unconcern with the usual status symbols of educational and social success. Sisulu passed away in 2003.

New Delhi, February 3
An initiative of the rare kind was begun by a dynamic animal lover, Irani Mukherjee, to help animals in distress in and around Delhi. It was the death of her dog during her childhood that became a turning point for Irani and she vowed to devote her life to the care of animals, especially the neglected ones left in distress on the streets of Delhi.

Despite an early marriage and its pressures, Irani, struggled hard to realize her dreams and it was in 1992 that she founded a much-needed organization, Circle of Animal Lovers or CAL, this has been proactively engaged in rescuing animals in distress and in their upkeep. What began as a small initiative now has spread into the running of several shelters in Delhi and Haryana, animal hospitals with fully equipped veterinary clinics, competent veterinary doctors, ambulances and mobile clinics looking after dogs, cats, monkeys, donkeys and mules.

In Delhi, CAL monitors its work through its three animal hospitals-cum-shelters located at Neb Sarai. The shelters are spread across three different plots which include buildings housing the animals, a hospital with well-equipped veterinary facilities that also offers a well-equipped pathology laboratory, X-ray, operation theatre and intensive care unit.

CAL also offers boarding facilities for pets when their owners are travelling. Further, three ambulances run day and night in the streets of Delhi to pick up abandoned, abused and wounded animals. In addition, CAL has a shelter located in Sohna district, near Gurgaon and here the shelter houses abandoned cows, donkeys, dogs and cats.

The shelters function round the clock. CAL has four competent veterinarians attached to these shelters, also radiologists and pathologists for the laboratories. The main focus at CAL is on providing animal birth control and anti-rabies vaccinations which specifically target on the wild roaming animal population in Delhi. Assistance is also provided to injured and stray animals found in the streets.

To help generate funds, the Circle of Animal Lovers, is holding an ‘Evening with Kavita Krishnamurti’ and the programme is scheduled for the 15th of February at the Siri Fort Auditorium. 

New Delhi, February 3
To mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome which established the European Economic Community (EEC) and to recall the vision and contribution made to European unity by the exceptional personality of Jean Monnet, a number of events are being organised at the India International Center here.

The program includes an exhibition, a lecture by Dr Karan Singh on India and the Ideal of Human Unity followed by a seminar-cum-round table.

The exhibition, on till February 10, provides a glimpse into the extraordinary life and achievements of a Frenchman little known in India, Jean Monnet. He was called by John F. Kennedy a ‘statesman of the world’ and was credited by the famous economist Keynes for having shortened World War II by a year. He made the cover of the Time Magazine and an article described him thus in 1961: “There lives today near Paris an ascetic, unobtrusive Frenchman who may ultimately succeed where others, from Charlemagne to Napoleon, ultimately failed. He commands no armies or popular following, but his work is worth uncounted divisions to the West. He has neither title nor portfolio, but he has privileged access to every chancellery of Western Europe. He has no formal higher education, but the world’s most brilliant economists regard him as their peer. He has never joined a political party, but parliamentarians across

Europe flock to his summons. His name is Jean Monnet, and he is the practical apostle of European unity...”

Jean Monnet’s life is in itself an inspiring story. Man of action and philosopher, philosopher in action, he embodied some great values which can be described as universal but which happen to be very much at the core of Indian tradition. Using Monnet’s own words as well as rare photo archives, the exhibition recounts that story.

New Delhi, February 3
The Earth is in great crisis today. The disappearance of the tiger is just a symptom of a greater damage to come. The remarks came from internationally renowned film-maker Mike Mandey whose new environment series Earth Matters is being telecast by Doordarshan from tomorrow.

The first series of 108 episode, made by Mike, winner of three green Oscars, was telecast in 2001 and had evoked massive response.

The 26 episodes to be telecast under the second series will be a treat for environment and wildlife lovers and sensitise the general public towards the threat confronting the ecosystem of the country and the world.

The series will take the viewer on a journey across India, looking at some of the biggest issues facing the country and the world and giving the viewers a panoramic view of the many wonders that nature has.

Mr Pandey, who was present on the occasion, said, “Earth matters takes us on a journey from the underwater world of corals and exploring our marine life to a look at the endangered species including the tiger and other threatened ecosystems of the country in addition to taking up various health issues related to environment.”

“The ecosystems of Asia are under great stress. Almost eight per cent of the coral reefs of the continent which support a variety of marine life are gone and our children need to know all this,” he said.

New Delhi, February 3
Unusually warm climate is maintaining a steady trend, as Delhiites cast aside their woolens for lighter garments. Mercury continued to soar in the Capital today despite chilly winds.

Mercury climbed up to touch 26.6 degree Celsius, which is five degrees above normal and this is the maximum during the last 24 hours, the MET department informed. The minimum recorded temperature was 9.8 degree Celsius, one notch above normal.

There was shallow fog in the morning which vanished as the sun began its ascent. The visibility recorded at airports has been above normal and more then 1500 metres and the air traffic has been smooth. The weatherman forecasts mainly clear skies for the next 24 hours with mist or shallow fog in the evenings.

New Delhi, February 3
In a letter to the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the United Muslim of India today demanded action against communal forces spreading across the country.

The association also said that government should take strict action against the people who were involved in communal riots in Eastern UP.

New Delhi, February 3
With the help of State Industrial Cell of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, Dr Balwant Rai Sachdeva Memorial Trust organised a health camp for free check up of teeth at the premises of Rajiv Bhawan, Rouse Avenue.

About 700 patients visited and took benefit of free camp. Dr Rakesh Sachdeva, head of the trust, said that cleanliness of the oral cavity was very important to keep the teeth healthy. —TNS