New Delhi, April 13
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has stressed on conserving water as a cost-effective solution to the problem of water scarcity and the depletion of freshwater resources, particularly groundwater resources.

Speaking on the occasion of the third Georgian Car Rally (North) at her residence, she emphasised that there was an urgent need to change people’s attitudes and habits towards water conservation.

While pointing out the steps taken by the Delhi Government to ensure adequate water supply, she elicited the cooperation of the people for water conservation.

Ms Dikshit had faced stormy scenes on Thursday in Delhi Assembly over the insufficient water supply in Delhi. This had prompted the Chief Minister to come out with a detailed reply on the situation, for which she blamed a meager 60 million gallons per day (MGD) raw water supply to the 140 MGD Sonia Vihar water treatment plant from Uttar Pradesh. Ms Dikshit said due to short supply of water, the Sonia Vihar plant was supplying only 28 MGD to East Delhi and 32 MGD to South Delhi.

She had said that the Sonia Vihar plant had not been able to solve the water problem as it has not been receiving adequate supply of raw water from UP. At the moment, a total of 720 MGD of water was being supplied in Delhi and the per capita consumption depended upon area to area, she said.

Ms Dikshit had also detailed the steps initiated by the Delhi Jal Board to augment the water supply. She said to check leakage from the canals the Delhi Government had undertaken ‘deposit work’ through Haryana Government for providing one reinforced cement concrete lined channel from Munak to Haiderpur. Regretting that this work had got delayed despite full payment having being made to Haryana, she said, once complete, this would augment the water supply by around 80 MGD.

Then four water treatment plants of 45 MGD capacity each are being constructed of which two would be commissioned this year while the other two would become operation in 2008,

Since there is major loss of water in Delhi, Ms Dikshit had said the repair of all the leakages had already begun. Also, she said, rainwater harvesting and conservation of water would be promoted to augment water supply in Delhi.

At the function in question, the Chief Minister praised the Georgian Association (North) for the innovative idea of organising a car rally for spreading the message of water conservation far and wide.

The car rally was later flagged off by Mr Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav, Union Minister of State for Water Resources, from the Infantry Unit, Sher Shah Suri Road, India Gate. Mr Yadav highlighted the water scarcity was being caused due to urbanisation, industrialisation and increasing population pressure. The effective answer to the freshwater crisis was to integrate conservation and development activities from water extraction to water management at the local level.

He congratulated the organisers and participants for the fervent zeal shown to spread the message of water conservation.

Rajya Sabha MP Satyarat Chaturvedi suggested no single action, whether community-based, any legislation, traditional water harvesting systems or reliance on market forces, would alleviate the crisis in India.

The alumni of military schools in India are grouped under the umbrella organisation known as Georgian Association. The rally, whose participants are mainly officers of defence forces and other passouts of military schools, will pass through Panchkula, Pinjore, Solan, Kandaghat, Shimla and Kufri before culminating at Chail. The slogan of the car rally is “Jal Hai to Kal Hai”.

New Delhi, April 13
The Central Information Commission has directed the Delhi Directorate of Education to disclose information relating to the job details of two teachers of a private city school after a query was raised under the RTI Act.

The panel, in a recent order, asked the Directorate of Education, Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, to disclose information on the job details of the teachers of the city-based Mamta Modern Senior Secondary School.

Information sought regarding teachers in the school was established to be accessible to the Director under the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, and hence to every citizen, said Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah.

Rejecting the contention the school was private and hence exempted from the RTI disclosures, the commission said the information sought was accessible to the state-run Directorate of Education.

The commission, which noted the provisions of the Delhi School Education Act applied to all recognised schools (in the Capital), had extended the purview of the RTI Act to many private schools in the Capital.

The CIC, which was hearing the appeal of one Surendra K, has ordered the state Directorate of Education to disclose the information within a period of 28 days.

Surendra, in his application, had sought information seeking complete job details of Vandra Purang and Pallavi Sharma, serving as teachers in the school.

New Delhi, April 13
The Communist Party of India (CPI) today demanded the government should take over power distribution services in the National Capital Territory of Delhi by annulling the agreement with Reliance Energy, claiming that the privatisation move had been a complete failure.

The much proclaimed purpose of privatisation, which was to reduce the financial losses being suffered by the then Delhi Vidyut Board and reduce tariffs due to improved efficiency and competition, had proved to be a complete failure, party general secretary A. B. Bardhan said in a statement here.

Mr Bardhan, who is also president of All India Federation of Electricity Employees, said the two Reliance Discoms - BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd (BYPL), had demanded another dose of subsidy from the Delhi Government failing which they would further increase power tariff.

He said a subsidy of Rs 3,450 crore was paid to Reliance when the two sectors of the DVB were handed over to them in the course of privatisation. This subsidy was for five years starting 2002-03, but the companies managed to eat up the amount within three years. Thereafter, they again managed to arm-twist the state government into giving them an additional subsidy of Rs 90 crore per year.

The government was never so liberal with the DVB and had continued to blame it for the accumulated losses, he said.

The CPI leader said despite the increases in tariffs in the last few years the consumers were still facing prolonged power cuts and blackouts. The people were angry. It was time the privatisation agreement be annulled and the DVB restored.

New Delhi, April 13
According to the latest Census, the country had around 6105477 disabled people and the physically disabled population constituted about 27.87 per cent of the country’s total disabled population, said Dr Rajendra Kumar, a global expert on physical disability.

He was addressing a seminar on ‘Various Dimensions of Disability’ organised by Endolite Prosthetic and Orthotic Centre at Naraina here today.

“Although the central and state governments have formulated several policies for persons suffering from physical disabilities like scholarship, tax benefits, reservation in jobs, concession facilities in travelling, the area needs more attention and promotion to put them into the mainstream of society,” he added.

“Until now, the manufacturing technology in physically challenged solutions was primarily driven by European and American firms but now some Indian firms have made good entries in this field. Now, there are carbon fiber composite products in the domestic market which are extremely lightweight and easy to mould,” he asserted.

New Delhi, April 13
A migrant Kashmiri pandit, who stood guarantor to a close friend in a multi-crore rupee voter I- card project, stands to lose his only shelter in the Capital after being ‘duped’ by his friend.

While his friend and family members have fled to the US, law has closed in on Chand N Iangar for what he says, “trusting a friend” who has settled abroad along with his family members.

According to petitions filed by Mr Iangar, a cancer patient, with the President, Prime Minister, Finance Minister, secretaries of Finance and Banking, the CVC, the CBI and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the authorities are allegedly ‘shielding’ the main culprits.

The main borrowers belonging to reputed families of Hyderabad and Mumbai and having considerable clout in the government, “are roaming scot-free and I am being tortured unnecessarily for being a guarantor,” he said in his appeals sent on March 30.

Mr Iangar had stood guarantor to a company S R Imaging Systems, Hyderabad, in a voter-identity card project financed by the Punjab and Sind Bank.

About 500 boys and girls were recruited by the company and 400 computers and 100 video cameras were installed at the office to produce photo-identity cards for the Election Commission.

The office was shown by the defaulters as being operated from the premises of Mr Iangar in Delhi, which, he said, was not true.

In a letter to the Chairman of the Punjab and Sind Bank, Delhi, he alleged that the Directorate of Revenue and Taxation (DRT), Delhi, had cancelled the arrest warrants issued against the main culprits under various sections, including 138 of the IPC. This had been done in collusion with some bank officials and the DRT, Hyderabad, he alleged.

He has urged the government to initiate action to book the company owned by the main borrowers at Atlanta in the US whose address is known to the bank.

New Delhi, April 13
Auto major Tata Motors today said it had bagged the order for supplying 500 non-AC, state-of-the-art, low-floor CNG buses to the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).

The company had won the global tender floated by the DTC, matching world-class specifications and standards, the company said in a statement. It, however, did not disclose the value of the order.

Noida/Ghaziabad, April 13
Noida and Ghaziabad had almost 100 per cent peaceful and incident-free polling, though the percentage of voting in both the districts in western UP had been low to very low for the UP Assembly elections this time. A few instances of minor disturbances were, however, reported from some areas.

In Noida, it was from 32 to 35 per cent up to 3 pm today. According to the election commission office, the voting in the district had picked up a little after 3 pm and an average of 43 per cent to 45 per cent of voting has been recorded. The input from Javer had not been received up to 7 pm.

Only in Dadri, it was about 40 per cent with Badalpur village of Ms Mayawati reportedly polling almost all the 1,117 votes to the BSP candidate, Satbir Gujjar. In urban pockets, it was from 32 to 35 per cent, while in the rural areas it was 30 to 32 per cent till 3 pm.

In community centre of sector 11 in Noida, voters clashed with the authorities. The voters alleged that they were not allowed to cast their votes though they were carrying the voters’ identity cards.

In Challera village, hardly 10 per cent of voting was recorded up to 3 pm. In Dadri, however, there was slightly heavier voting – up to 45 per cent. According to observers, the voters did not appear enthusiastic to come out to cast their votes this time particularly in the interior rural areas.

Bahujan Samaj Party and the Bhartiya Janta Party appear to be cornering most of the votes. The main contenders in the field in Noida- Dadri constituency are Satbir Gujjar of BSP, Nawab Singh Nagar of BJP, Raghuraj Singh of Congress, Ashok Chauhan of SP and Sameer Bhatti from Rashtriya Lok Dal.

In Ghaziabad also, the same was the story – peaceful but low voting. In Ghaziabad Mahanagar, BSP, Congress and BJP appear to be in the lead. The voting average was around 43 per cent in the Ghaziabad district, including urban and the rural areas as well. There are about 27 candidates in the fray but the main tussle appears to be between Sunil Sharma of the BJP, Surinder Munni of Congress and Suresh Bansal of BSP. Samajwadi Party has fielded Jatinder Yadav. It may be added that Surinder Munni had switched his loyalty from the Samajwadi Party to the Congress almost at the eleventh hour.

Nithari, April 13
Even as voters in 58 constituencies in Western Uttar Pradesh cast their votes today, many of those who lost their children in what has come to be known as the ‘Nithari case’ had no option but sit by the side and watch the proceedings. That’s because Nithari, which did not even figure in the itinerary of many politicians during their campaigns, is home to a large number of migrant labourers who don’t have a vote in the area.

Nithari had become a huge issue after Moninder Singh Pandher and his man servant, Surendra Koli had been accused of sexually abusing and murdering a large number of children in the area.

The grisly case has taken many twists and turns since then with allegations like necrophilia, organ trade and cannibalism doing the rounds.

Badly shaken by the ghoulish serial killings, several families living in Nithari village have started fleeing the area.

On February 15, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) jumped into the fray demanding to know why only 19 cases had been registered when media reports stated that at least 38 children were missing from the area.

In the first chargesheet, the CBI had given a clean chit to Pandher, saying he was not aware of the killings that had taken place in his D-5 Sector 30 residence.

The CBI had slapped lesser charges on Pandher that included indulging in prostitution, bribing police and destruction of evidence.

The CBI probe concluded that Pandher wasn’t in his house when Koli committed the murders, and that he was unaware of the killings.

The last word in the case, however, is yet to be said.—Agencies

Faridabad, April 13
In order to prevent fire mishaps in fields during harvesting season, the district authorities have asked the farmers to remain vigilant and avoid several actions, including smoking and resorting to illegal connections from the main supply lines.

The Deputy Commissioner, in a press release, has pointed out that there are several measures and precautions that could avoid any accident usually takes place due to carelessness. He said while the people engaged in harvesting work should take care that either they do not smoke or be careful in diffusing the ‘cigarette’ or ‘bidi’ and the matches, so that it does not ignite the dry crop or fodder lying nearby.

He also cautioned that even the fire in traditional ‘hookah’ could become a cause of mishap if it was being used in the vicinity of the crop stock.

The district authorities cautioned the farmers to follow the precautions, which could considerably reduce the chances of fire incidents. It is suggested that over-use of tractors, thressar machines and combines should be avoided as these tend to get heated up and required a proper break.

They appealed to the farmers to carry out the work of cleaning of crops at a spot, which was far away from a power line, transformer or electric poles as short circuit from these sources could ignite fire.

Cautioning them against the use of ‘kundi’ connections (direct connection from the supply line), the administration officials said that this might not only lead to loosening of wires but could cause electrocution and fire incidents, risking the lives and property.

The farmers have been asked to avoid loading of crops near the place close to power transformer or line and ensure that there is no overloading of tractor trolleys, while moving from one place to another.

The state government has also publicised this time that harvesting with combine machines be avoided by farmers as it leads to pollution and fire incidents.

The agriculture department has claimed that a machine had been developed for harvesting the wheat crop, which does not leave long stem of the crop in the field as caused by a combine.

It is claimed that cutting the crop from near the root was the best option as it gives adequate dry fodder to the farmers and avoid the option of burning the stem part left by the machine.

“The open burning of the crop remnants in the fields often leads to major fire and huge loss to standing crops in the neighborhood,” said a farmer of Chandavali village.

About 20,000 hectares of land in the district had been used this year for the wheat crop, which was the main Rabi crop in the region, said an official.

Noida, April 13
A woman and her two-year-old daughter were charred to death in their sleep in a devastating fire that broke out in a 4th floor flat in Aravali Apartments in Sector-52, Noida yesterday morning.

According to the police, the exact cause of the blaze could not be ascertained, but a short circuit was suspected to have caused the fire. The husband of the woman had gone to Patna on official tour when the flat was gutted.

Vasidev Rao, originally from Vishakhapatnam in AP, used to live in the flat along with his wife Laxmi, 30, and their two-year-old daughter, Sneha. Vasudev, an accounts officer in a private company in Sector-16, Noida had been in Patna for the past four days.

Gurgaon, April 13
The Minister for Urban Development, Haryana, Ms Savitri Jindal, has directed the concerned authorities to remove all polythene from the city and removal of all encroachments on roads.

Apparently dismayed over reports of the city being literally turning up into garbage dumps of polythene packs, the minister took the initiative to make the city environment-friendly. The Minister specifically said that the two bodies, the Municipal Council and Haryana Urban Development Authority would be responsible for clearing of polythenes in their respective areas of jurisdiction. The Executive Officer of the Council and the Estate Officer of HUDA have been assigned the duties in this regard.

The Minister is also firm on removing the encroachments from roads, which result in bottlenecks at several places. Private individuals have also been roped in to coordinate with the Council and HUDA for removal of the encroachments. This measure also stems from grievances raised by the public from various quarters and forums, the last being in a meeting of District Public Relation and Grievances Redressal Committee, held yesterday.

New Delhi, April 13
Police officer Kiran Bedi, veteran radio and TV commentator Jasdev Singh, ace athlete Milkha Singh (his 47 years old 400 m race record is still unbroken), renowned heart surgeon Dr Naresh Trehan, veteran singing film heroine Pushpa Hans, Urdu litterateur Gopi Chand Narang (Chairman, Sahitya Academy), Punjabi litterateur Kartar Singh Duggal and innovating educator Vinay Pasricha were amngst the 20 Punjabi personalities who personally received the First Punjabi Bhushan Award from Dr Karan Singh, President, ICCR at a function organized by Punjabi Kala Sangam on Thursday at Kamani Auditorium here.

English litterateur Khushwant Singh, veteran film producer BR Chopra, veteran film villain Pran and CMD of MH One TV Network Mahinder Bathla had deputed their relatives to receive the award on their behalf, as they were not well. CMD of Bharti Enterprises Sunil Bharti Mittal had to fly out of country and his award was received by his General Manager.

Punjabi Kala Sangam was founded in 1976 and has organized 24 Kala Shree Awards Functions in the last 30 years. However, this was its first Punjabi Bhushan Award.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Amarjit Singh Kohli, president, Punjabi Kala Sangam, regretted that the younger generation of Punjabis has started speaking Hindi not only in metropolitan towns but even in Punjab. Gen Secretary Mr Narender Handa and Vice President Nikhil Tripathi felt that even in Punjabi medium schools the students are not being made to learn multiplication tables in Punjabi. Others who received the award personally included author-educator Shiv Khera, Kanwar Harbhajan Singh of International Institute of Gurmat Studies, USA, 8 times national table tennis champion Indu Puri, Bishop of Church of North India Rt Rev Karam Masih, veteran music director Kesar Singh Narula, fashion designer Harmeet Bajaj and upcoming Punjabi singer Ashok Masti. 

Gurgaon, April 13
The Deputy Commissioner today visited several places during his field visit with one point agenda: to consolidate the ongoing measures to root out possible female foeticide and also to give ideological and philosophical push against the society’s historical prejudice against birth of a girl child in the district. He presided over joint meetings of doctors, paramedics, Aanganbadi workers and other members relating to the health department at several places, including Sohna, Farukhnagar and Pataudi-parts of the hinterland of the district.

He clarified in the meetings on the administration’s decision to provide a sum of Rs 50,000 as award money to those who blew the whistle against doctors or cases where female foeticide and illegal pre-natal test were conducted. By way of clarification, he expanded the scope of potential beneficiaries by including even government personnel in the ambit.

He also issued a fiat that henceforth all births should be conducted in the medical institutions where two ANS have to be compulsorily posted. He also directed that all “delivery huts” set up by the Health Department in the districts – 16 already functional and six to come up soon – be provided inverters and ample provision of potable water within six weeks.

As if to iron out all the fault-lines and scope of possible female foeticide, he said it was mandatory to register all cases of pregnancy at the nearest government health centres, failing which the concerned medical officer and multiple purpose health worker would be held accountable. He also cautioned strict action against negligence on reporting birth and death cases within 21 days of the incident.

Dwelling on government policies, he said that health department’s centres would not charge a penny for pre-natal and post-natal care till the time of six months of the delivery from a female patient. He cautioned that cases of newly-born child or death of patients will be scrutinised minutely and severe punishment would be meted out to the culprit in case of negligence on his part.