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Mona Suri dies
Dussehra celebrated with fervour
Criminal killed in encounter
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CPM decries milk price hike
CM reviews traffic management
‘Keep Yamuna clean’ campaign launched
Bank ordered to compensate customer
CM stresses skill development
New VAT rates in UP
SEZ approved in Noida
Award for Konkona and Jaspal Rana
It’s all about loving
big luxury cars
Bollywood
‘Adopt spirituality for inner peace’
Annual day celebrated
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New Delhi, October 21 Her family has demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death. “Mona was declared dead late Saturday after her heart stopped functioning,” said Sanjeev Bawa, Mona’s brother. Throughout Saturday, Mona’s family denied media reports that she had died. The family members insisted she was alive but that her condition was serious due to kidney failure. She was placed on a ventilator. Mona alias Tarveen, 35, was allegedly attacked on Aug 11 outside her up market Greater Kailash-II home by two unidentified men who poured kerosene on her and set her on fire. Her husband Naveen Suri, who works for a travel agency in Gurgaon, was away in Goa at the time. She was staying in the house with her in-laws and two children. She was first rushed to the Holy Family Hospital and later shifted to Safdarjung Hospital. Mona had alleged that her husband was having an affair with a colleague, Rachna, and that she had been receiving threat calls from her. “Rachna was asking me to stay away from Naveen,” Mona had said in a police statement. Rachna was also not in town at the time of the incident. The police had in August questioned her husband and Rachna, but failed to get any breakthrough in the case. Mona’s family members have alleged inaction by the Delhi Police and want a CBI probe. “Initially, they were probing the case properly, but after some time they apparently lost enthusiasm and stopped investigation. We demand A CBI probe into the matter, and action against the culprits,” Bawa said. — IANS
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Dussehra celebrated with fervour
New Delhi, October 21 Hundreds of Ravans were set on fire as the sun went down. The festival symbolises the victory of good over evil. It is believed that Ram killed Ravan on Dussehra and the 10 faces of Ravan depict 10 evils of his character. The festivities of this season started with the navratras and will end with Diwali. Though the festival was celebrated almost all over, the real action took place at the Ramlila Maidan. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi attended the event this year along with lots of other political bigwigs. Sonia Gandhi extended her greetings to the nation on the occasion. “May this beautiful festival, which celebrates the triumph of truth and righteousness, usher in goodwill, tolerance and understanding among all our people, and peace and prosperity and progress throughout the country,” she said in her message. Kalibari area in the central Delhi saw a lot of movement throughout the day. On the occasion of ‘murti visarjan’, the area was crowded with vehicles carrying the Durga idols. All the idols were immersed in the river Yamuna. The fire department also put its stations on alert as the festival was celebrated in all the localities. “We have sent one van each at the functions that would be attended by the VVIPs but overall all the stations are put on alert,” said a firebrigade official. With the markets crowded, Delhi Police was also on its toes this festive season. Market places are given special security considering the recent terror attacks around the country. Untouched by the tension over Ramsetu, the common people celebrated the festival with the message of communal harmony.
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Criminal killed in encounter
Ghaziabad, October 21 His accomplice was wounded in the operation but managed to escape from the spot. The gangster had a reward of Rs 20,000 on his head and even managed to escape from police custody three months back. Vikrant Chaudhary was the main accused in at least four murder cases, including the murder of the of a woman polytechnic college principal in Murad Nagar. He had escaped from the Meerut police custody on July 16 this year. The police also recovered a .38 caliber revolver, a diary and motor bike from the spot Vikrant was shot dead by a police team under SSP Ghaziabad, Deepak Rattan. He and his accomplice were on a motorbike when the cops intercepted them. According to the police, Vikrant suddenly opened fire on the team injuring SI Rajesh Varma in the stomach. The cops fired back killing Vikrant and injuring his friend who managed to escape. Police recovered the bloodstained clothes of his companion were recovered by the police from the Loni residence of Yogesh Gujjar. In the meantime many police teams from different police stations in the area rushed to the spot. IG police V.K. Gupta announced that the Meerut Division had been freed from the menace of one of the most dangerous criminals in this encounter. Modi Nagar SOG team under Deepak Kumar was trying to nab Vikrant Chaudhary for the past three months.
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Dy Mayor Bajwa passes away
New Delhi, October 21 He was 52 years old and is survived by his wife and two sons. Bajwa, who fell from the first floor of his house in Savita Vihar after a group of monkeys reportedly, attacked him and he backed off in panic, died after suffering a heart attack this morning, the sources said. Bajwa was yesterday admitted to the intensive care unit of the Apollo hospital with serious head and other injuries.
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CPM decries milk price hike
New Delhi, October 21 The CPM announced that this “hike, the third in a little over a year, comes in the backdrop of unprecedented rise in prices of items of daily consumption.” It further add that, “the UPA government is brazenly claiming significant fall in the rate of inflation. The falsity of this is cruelly demonstrated to the people of Delhi on a daily basis while purchasing grain, vegetables, pulses and edible oils.” The CPM lambasted the government for saying that this situation is the direct result of policies, which encourage hoarding, and blackmarketing of essential commodities. They further blame the government for the collapse of the Public Distribution System that has only contributed to making the situation worse. The CPM demanded that the government take immediate steps to curb the runaway spiral in prices of essential commodities. This requires strict action against hoarders, banning forward trading in food grain and desisting from administered hike in prices of essential commodities like milk.” |
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CM reviews traffic management
New Delhi, October 21 She reminded the Federation of Delhi Bus Operators of the MoU that it had signed with the government, in the earlier meeting. They had assured of adopting a Code of Conduct to ensure discipline and reduce road accidents. The CM directed them to execute the MOU by the next week. The Federation requested Dikshit to review their record and apprised her of their needs like dedicated bus-lanes. Besides, it requested that the police should not challan the buses to inflate their figures. The Federation claimed that most of the fatalities involved motorcyclists or pedestrians and appealed road users should be cautious. It assured ‘full cooperation’ to the government to furnish the draft MoU within two days. The transport commissioner apprised the CM of deploying 1,350 civil defence and home guards personnel at 300 bus stands and bus que-shelters so that commuters do not crowd the carriage-way, when buses approach bus bays. Dikshit emphasised color-coded jackets and bands for the deployed personnel so that they could be identified easily. She said that the deployment plan should be widely publicised. She appealed commuters to maintain civic discipline at bus stands. In order to ensure adequate availability of trained drivers, the CM agreed to relax the existing condition of residence in Delhi for the issuance of PSV badges. It would enable trained drivers of the NCR to obtain the PSV badge so that they could drive in the Capital. Transport minister, chief secretary, commissioner (transport), chairperson of the DTC, principal secretary to the CM, H S Kalra, president, Federation of Delhi Bus Operators and other senior officials attended the meeting.
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‘Keep Yamuna clean’ campaign launched
New Delhi, October 21 The campaign has been launched todissuade people from polluting the river during festivals and other occasions. “Festivals such as Navratri, Dusshera, Durga Puja, Dipawali, Holi and people throw tonnes of puja refuse, idols, polythene bags in the water. Every day tonnes of flowers, godly waste and other garbage are dumped in polythene bags into the river,’’ said Sahil Sinha, organising secretary, serve people society. The government had erected iron railings on the several bridges across the river to prevent people from polluting the river but it did not have the desired impact. He said people have made gaps between the iron grills and throw waste materials into the water. He said that the campaign, which began at 10 a. m. today at the Nizamuddin bridge, was being organised at all important bridges like the ITO and Wazirabad bridges and the three idol immersion sites. Banners would be placed on the bridges and immersion sites urging people not to throw the refuse into the water. Pamphlets would be distributed among the people urging them to keep the river Yamuna clean. The NGO’s volunteers would be deployed at the entry points of the bridges to collect the refuse from the people. Also, baskets would be kept at the entry points of the bridges for the collection of garbage. |
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Bank ordered to compensate customer
New Delhi, October 21 Whenever cheques are presented by a person, it is the duty of the bank to compare the signatures on the cheque minutely, particularly when the cheque issued is in favour of self and is of higher amount, the consumer panel presided over by justice J D Kapoor said. It also ruled that if a bank finds variations in the signature giving room for suspicion, it must play safe and return the cheque to the bearer. In the present case, the commission held Dena Bank guilty of deficiency in service, noting that an unknown person had fraudulently got cleared two bearer cheques of complainant Ashok Sharma as it failed to compare his signatures with the specimen signatures available in the records. Close perusal of the order as well as various documents and a large number of cheques issued by Sharma in favour of self from time to time, shows that the signatures on the aforesaid two
cheques, are altogether different and have no similarity with the specimen signatures, it observed in a recent order. Dismissing the bank’s appeal against a consumer forum’s order in march this year, the commission said the subsequent action of lodging an FIR for cheating could not wriggle it out of its act of deficiency in
service. The commission has now directed the bank to pay Sharma, a resident of Ashoka Park Extension here, Rs 87,000, that shall include the financial loss suffe-red due to erroneous
clearing of cheques and compensation. |
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CM stresses skill development
New Delhi, October 21 It is important to acquire skills to gain perfection in various fields. She was speaking recently in a felicitation ceremony organised to award certificates to the first batch of trainees under the modular employable skill courses imparted in eight institutions in 11 different modules. The certificates were awarded to 11 toppers. Over 1,000 students were imparted training under the modular employable scheme. The training and technical education department under the Delhi government offers various skill development courses. Skill development has become imperative even for small trades. The scheme aims at providing short duration courses to less educated youth so that they could earn their livelihood. The department will introduce such schemes in future also. Presently, training is being imparted in 11 branches.
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New VAT rates in UP
Noida, October 21 However, some traders feel that the VAT rates, as valid in the Capital should be enforced in UP. Traders would stage a Dharna at district magistrate’s office if technical flaws are not removed from the rules before VAT is implemented in UP. Sanjay Bali, president of U.P. Udyog Vapar Mandal, Noida Mahanagar said that the district would derive the maximum benefit from VAT due to its proximity with the national Capital. Bali wants to study the VAT report from other states, before announcing VAT rules for Uttar Pradesh.
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SEZ approved in Noida
Noida, October 21 The Noida SEZ is among the 10 SEZs, which have been finally approved while three others were given a nod, in principle, it is learnt. According to CEO Balvinder Kumar, the first Noida SEZ will be a Perfect IT SEZ spread over 10 hectares. Perfect IT SEZ could clinch the approval as it already was in possession of 10 hectares of land on which this SEZ will come up while approval for DLF and Uniteque proposals for SEZs in Noida were postponed for the time being, Noida CEO said. With the approval of IT SEZ in Noida, industries are expected to get a big boost as also attract sizeable foreign investment in private SEZs. The new SEZ will be quite similar to the software technology. Companies will be able to come to the area and directly start their SEZs. They will however have to obtain approval from the state government before starting their SEZs. With new SEZs coming in the area, infrastructure is also expected to register a great improvement.
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Award for Konkona and Jaspal Rana
New Delhi, October 21 Organised by the Beam Global Spirits and Wine, the fourth largest spirits company in the world, the award honours those who have excelled in their respective fields and have set an example for others to emulate. The awards are given in the fields of sports, entertainment, theatre and business, with five nominees in each category. Noted actor Irfan Khan, singer Shaan and directors Vishal Bharadwaj and Rajkumar Hirani are the other nominees in the entertainment category. In the sports category, besides Rana, the nominees are Abhinav Bindra, Chiranjeev Milkha Singh, Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Viren Rasquinha. In theatre, actors like Dinesh Thakur, Mahesh Dattani, Nadira Babbar, Piyush Mishra and Vinod Nagpal are the nominees. Chanda Kochhar of the ICICI Bank Ltd, Neeraj Kanwar of Apollo Tyres Ltd, Sulajja Motwani of Kinetic Motor Company and Vinita Bali of Britannia Industries have been nominated in the business section along with Screwvala. Harish Moolchandanai, CEO and managing director Beam Global Spirits and Wine, India region, said: “It is a matter of privilege for us to recognise and honour talent and achievement in the country.” —IANS
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It’s all about loving
big luxury cars
Ghaziabad, October 21 The city now has a total of over 50,000 cars on its roads. On a daily average over 30 new cars are bought and added on city roads, most of them being luxury cars. In this regard Ghaziabad has over taken Noida, the more fashionable and trendy city. There was a time when racing bikes were the craze of the people but now large, big and stylish cars have fast replaced them as the latest status symbol. According to a rough estimate 50101 cars are running on Ghaziabad roads as compared to 47725 in Noida followed by Bulandshahar with 3020 cars. According to sources a large number of cars are being bought from neighbouring states to beat higher tax rates in UP. Interestingly the number of cars with a price tag of Rs. 10 lakh and above has rapidly increased in past two years. The craze for luxury cars among people has brought about a boom for car sale. From April 2007 to August 2007 4100 cars were registeredin Ghaziabad while it was 3869 in Noida. According to transport officer Lalji Chaudhari the sale of luxury cars has increased in Ghaziabad. Besides high priced cars are being bought from other states too. “Ghaziabad appears to have left neighbouring districts way behind in the matter of purchasing luxury cars,” he added. However, this craze has resulted in the immediate formulation of a traffic plan to ease vehicular movement and prevent congestion. |
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IIC fest to showcase a potpourri of programmes
Ravi Bhatia Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 21 According to the organizers, this year the festival will showcase a wide range of programmes, including presentation of Kathak and Odissi dance recitals, Hindustani and Carnatic vocal recitals, poetry readings, Viennese dances, songs and contemporary folk dances from Israel. Other major attractions of this annual event will be three separate exhibitions of photographs, installations, images and objects. The theme of this year’s film festival will focus on adaptation of literary works into cinema. And to top it all, the IIC will offer a very specialized cuisine each evening to tickle the taste buds. Two exhibitions at The Anant Art Gallery here is presenting two exhibitions of recent works of artists Amitava and Jeram Patel on its premises in Lado Serai. The exhibitions will remain open till October 27. “Nature’s Labyrinth”
The Vadhera Art Gallery here is presenting “Nature’s Labyrinth”, an exhibition of the recent works of Paramjit Singh who excels in painting nature on canvas. The exhibition is on till October 26. JNU exhibition
The School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University here is holding an exhibition, “Ramkinkar in Focus” through the eyes of Devi Prasad. The exhibition has been curated by Naman P Ahuja and the students of the School of Arts and Aesthetics. It is on till October 29. Bharatnatyam
Arangetram
Geeta Chandran, founder president, Natya Vriksha, is presenting Bharatnatyam Arangetram performance of her disciple, Aakansha Maheshwari at the Chinmaya Hamco auditorium, Lodi Road here on October 25. Egyptian troupe to perform
On the Occasion of the Egyptian Cultural Week, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt are presenting a performance by the Egypt’s leading troupe, Rea Folkloric Dance and Music at Kamani Auditorium on October 23. Noted artist Rishi is holding an exhibition of his paintings which have been inspired by the Samkhya philosophy at the Lalit Kala Akademi here from October 18 to October 25. The exhibition “Prakriti Purusa”, curated by Dr Kamal Rustomjee, will continue at the Dhoomimal’s city gallery on Aurobindo Marg from October 26 to October 28. ART ELEMENTS Gallery here is presenting “Tales of Textures”, an Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures and Functional Art by some of the well-known artists like SH Raza, KS Radhakrishnan, Thota Vaikuntam, Suryaprakash, Vinod Shah, Nagji Patel, Mahedra Pandya, Indrapromit Roy, Rini Dhumal, Rameshwar Singh Rajput, Seema Kohli, and others at Travancore House (Gallery 1-9) from October 29 to October 30. The exhibition shifts to The Art Elements Gallery, Haus Khas Village from November 1 to November 20. As a part of its social responsibility, sales proceeds will be donated to “Pratham”, an NGO dedicated to child development issues. The Indian Cancer Society is presenting Rama Vaidyanathan in a dance performance in the Bharatnatyam style at Kamani Auditorium here on October 31 under the banner of “Artistes Against Cancer”. This will be Rama’s second performance under this banner. The Indian Cancer Society has been regularly involving prominent artistes to raise fund for cancer patients over the last several years. This year Rama will perform “Aum”, a newly created programme exploring inherent spirituality. |
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New crop no challenge to stars’ hegemony
Priyanka Khanna
New Delhi, October 21 Even as a new lot of models and scions is ready to debut in the month ahead, collections of films like “Bhool Bhulaiyaa” make it more than evident that stars like Akshay Kumar can make even a bad film work on account of their massive popularity. At the same time the poor box-office performance of Rani Mukerji-Abhishek Bachchan-starrer “Laaga Chunari Mein Daag” goes to show that the two are yet to achieve the elusive quality called superstardom. Producers Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar and lead man Akshay are having the last laugh with “Bhool Bhulaiyaa” sweeping the box-office though it was disparaged by film reviewers. According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh the Priyadarshan film has benefited from the pre-release marketing strategy and the festive season. He says Akshay has emerged as a major star today and a huge box-office draw. His previous two releases this year — ‘Namastey London’ and ‘Heyy Babyy’ — are amongst the biggest grossers of the year. Another plus was the untiring promotion of the film. At the last count, the producers had put out two types of promos of the film that were beaming from TV channels around the clock. More are expected. On the other hand, Yash Raj Films’ “Laaga Chunari Mein Daag” has not done well at the turnstiles. Though the film was released in the middle of Eid festivities, it has not captured the imagination of the public at large. Though Bollywood producers and distributors are today convinced it is not the star but the story that clicks, their options continue to be limited to the three Khans and to some extent Akshay to draw in the crowds for less-than-magnificent films. An Abhishek Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt, Aishwarya Rai, Sunny Deol, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Ajay Devgan, Viveik Oberoi, John Abraham, Arjun Rampal, Fardeen Khan, Bobby Deol, Aftab Shivdasani, Bipasha Basu, Amisha Patel, or Jimmy Shergill and even Amitabh Bachchan cannot salvage a poorly produced, marketed or packaged film. And the newer entrants like Tusshar Kapoor, Esha Deol, Riteish Deshmukh, Shiney Ahuja, Kangana Ranaute, Riya Sen, Konkana Sen Sharma, Kunal Kapoor, Kunal Kamthe and others not only need a good script backed by great marketing and production team but they are usually cast in multi-starrers. The Bollywood horizon may now be dotted with sons, daughters, nephews and nieces with famous last names, but the hegemony of the superstars is unchallenged. Like wine our Bollywood actors today seem to be getting better with age. Actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Anil Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt or Aamir Khan are the top slot actors of today and all have been around for decades. When Sanjay Dutt or Shah Rukh entered the big bad world of Bollywood in his mid-20s, it was a long way to go to gain the stature of superstars. The same goes for Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan or Akshay Kumar for whom climbing the Bollywood ladder has been a struggle. In today’s world when the opportunities for entertainment are many, an actor’s shelf life is extremely short and public memory even shorter; it is indeed commendable that these stars continue to rule the roost. Unlike Hollywood, Bollywood actresses always had a shortlived career, once married they were typecast to roles of the actresses’ sister or even the hero’s mother. But now things are slowly changing and Bollywood actresses are making what is called a comeback. — IANS
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