The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Delhi and neighbourhood

	HC blames govts for child labour New Delhi, October 31 Pulling up the Centre and the NCT governments for not doing enough to root out the menace of child labour from the country, the Delhi High Court today sought explanation from them for branding children employed in a confectionery here as neglected children without conducting a probe. How can you come to such a finding without initiating any inquiry. Is it not required to look into the matter. You cannot justify the action, a bench comprising Chief Justice M K Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Khanna asked the NCT government which refused to recognise 14 children rescued two days ago from a confectionery here as bonded or child labourers and termed them as neglected children. The bench also directed both the governments to file their response within two weeks. The problem is still going on because of connivance of your officials. Why despite repeated orders, nothing has been done to put an end to the problem, the court said also asking the NCT government to file its action taken report. The children were rescued by NGO, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, when it raided some confectionery shops in south Delhi. The bench was also critical of the governments for their lack of awareness on what was going on in the country. A US company came to know what is happening in India but you, who have the responsibility to tackle the problem, have failed, the court said, referring to international apparel major GAP recently withdrawing garments sourced from India following allegations of child labourers being employed in their manufacturing. The court turned down the plea of the city government seeking custody of the rescued children and ordered that they remain with the NGO.—PTI
	Excess of TV kills childhood New Delhi, October 31 Premature exposure to television, pornography or even adult groups can lead to the erosion of childhood, resulting in a violent society. This message was given to principals and teachers of various schools in the Capital, who attended a seminar on ‘Children without Childhood - Awareness and Action’ at the Vishwa Yuvak Kendra (International Youth Centre) in the Capital today. The Service and Research Foundation of Asia on Family and Culture (SERFAC), a Chennai-based NGO had organised the seminar. “Whenever we talk about children without childhood, the first thing that comes to our minds is street or homeless children. However, they are a part of the issue, as premature exposure of children to violence via media, at home or schools steals his/her childhood from a child,” said Catherine Bernard, founder of the SERFAC.“The child then imparts this violence to the society, as he grows up. All this can be stopped if children are empowered at the school level, where they spend the maximum time of their day,” said Bernard. Farida Vahedi, director (external affair), Bahai International and Spiritual Assembly said, “As our former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said that peace in nation originates from peace in the family. Similarly, the dark side of globalisation is the increasing violence in the society.” “If we want to establish a peaceful society, we must empower our children at the institutional level itself, so that they can choose between the right and the wrong,” she added. The speakers also stated that to achieve the goal of a peaceful society, changes in the curriculum that facilitates violence by teaching war are required. — IANS
	Work in progress at IGI Airport Workers face health hazards New Delhi, October 31 A terminal might come up at the international airport in the Capital to decongest the growing air traffic, but workers at the construction site are complaining of poor sanitation, long duty hours and, above all, mosquitoes. The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), a joint consortium of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Hyderabad-based GMR, Frankfurt Airport and Malaysian Airport, is developing a new terminal, T3 in the Capital. It is expected to be Asia’s largest runway and taxiway - with an estimated investment of Rs 300 billion (approximately $7.6 billion) till 2026 - and will handle international flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The DIAL has hired more than 8,500 workers for the construction work and has awarded the sub-tender to Larsen & Toubro (L&T). The authorities have constructed temporary residential colonies for 7,000 workers at the new airport site, but the labourers told IANS that they were not being provided healthy food or proper sanitation facilities. “We start work at eight in the morning and end up only after eight in the evening. Then we cover a distance of almost three kms, a rough and dangerous path, on foot to reach the makeshift rooms,” said Rambabu (name changed), a worker from Malda, West Bengal. The path that they have to cross is the dug-up area around the existing airport. Heavy machines, road rollers and cranes and men work there in shifts. The work is carried out continuously and no one is allowed to enter the site. Workers have been given fluorescent jackets and hard caps to be safe from any accident. Each room is shared by at least 10-12 labourers. “We have to struggle with mosquitoes. We have complained of this to our contractor and the officials concerned, but no one is bothered. Fortunately, no one has fallen ill from mosquito-borne diseases,” Rambabu told IANS. According to state health authorities, Delhi has reported nearly 100 cases of dengue this year. Shambu (name changed), a worker from Bihar said, “The toilets are in bad shape. No one cleans them. Sometimes we have to defecate in open.” He also complained of poor quality food. “The contractor responsible for providing food is not fulfilling his promises. We take Rs 300 from him to buy our food and other stuff.” Salimuddin (name changed), another worker form Bihar, said, “We have been given no wages. The contractor says that he will give us Rs 5,000 only after the completion of 50 days of work. He says that the money will be given to our families in Bihar, but not to us. ”The DIAL has denied the allegations. I. Prabhakara Rao, DIAL’s chief operating officer, said, “We are not aware of such problems. We have constructed colonies with the required basic facilities. Our officials regularly spray pesticides near the houses of workers.” “But, if they are complaining of problems, we will take up the issue with the construction company,” he added. The new terminal that they are building is expected to cater to nearly 37 million passengers by 2010 and 100 million by 2030, against the current flow of around 20.4million passengers. — IANS
	’84 riot victims Many await relief New Delhi, October 31 The government is yet to implement in toto the compensation package that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had announced for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots’ victims, a leading lawyer said today. “Although 85 per cent of the riot victims in Delhi have been paid the monetary part of the compensation, the government is yet to give them the promised employment,” advocate Harvinder Singh Phoolka said.“What is worse is the fact that the government appears to be backing out from implementing its promise of giving a liberal package in some states,” Phoolka told IANS.He identified three such states - Rajasthan, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.Phoolka, who has been fighting for justice on behalf of the Sikhs who had suffered in 1984, is planning to move the Supreme Court to force the government to implement its promise of enhanced compensation across the country.Violence directed at innocent Sikhs, after two of her Sikh bodyguards shot dead then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on this day in 1984, which left 2,733 people dead in the Capital, by the official count. Besides, many were injured.In 2006, Dr Manmohan Singh had promised a liberal compensation to the riot victims. This included a sum of Rs 3,50,000 to the next of the kin of those killed besides Rs 1,25,000 to those injured in the mayhem.He had also promised a monthly pension for the widows of those killed, besides government employment to at least one member in every family that lost a member in the mob fury. — IANS
	Gujarat genocide Tehelka is right: DUJ Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 31 Experts from literature, law and journalism today expressed their outrage at the dehumanisation of the Narendra Modi machinery as brought by the Tehelka expose. They were speaking at a seminar on ‘Ramifications of Tehelka Expose on Gujarat’. The seminar was organised jointly by the Delhi Union of Journalists and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists in the Capital. Noted jurist Prashant Bhushan talked about the importance of the Tehelka expose on Gujarat carnage in 2002. He said, “For the first time, we have seen that the truth is coming out from the mouths of perpetrators of the crime.” Former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Rajinder Sachar, who is a human rights activist, lamented at the perceptible lack of political will to fight forces of communal fascism. Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal recounted how the idea behind the expose on Gujarat originated and the work done by reporter Ashish Khaitan. Noted author Arundhati Roy said that the age of moral outrage was over. The Gujarat carnage was very much a part of the election campaign and was engineered to polarise voters on communal lines, as Modi had lost the earlier municipal elections.
	Ethics of Safdarjung’s doctors questioned New Delhi, October 31 The Delhi High Court today ordered the appointment of a nodal agency for better co-ordination between different hospitals in the Capital, so that patients are not made to run from one hospital to other, under the garb of shortage of beds. Raising the issue of medical ethics linked to the death of three patients from Agra, after Safdarjung Hospital denied beds to them, a bench comprising Chief Justice M K Sharma and justice Sanjeev Khanna said, “What are you (doctors) taught in medical ethics? Or, is it out of your curriculum? Does your ethics say that you should not admit patients when they approach you?’ The hospital defended itself by stating that there was excessive pressure on it and it is difficult to provide treatment to all patients approaching it. The hospital’s counsel also blamed the lack of co-ordination with the neighbouring AIIMS for inconvenience to patients. After hearing the contentions, the court directed the director general of health services to hold a meeting with the concerned parties and appoint a nodal agency that would co-ordinate with the hospitals of the Capital, so that patients are not denied treatment. The court’s observation came, after newspapers reported on September 11 that three patients from Agra succumbed to burns after Safdarjung Hospital denied treatment to them. Seven members of a family, who suffered burns in an LPG cylinder blast in Agra, were taken to Safdarjung Hospital which has a specialised wing for burns. Three of them died, after they were allegedly denied beds by the hospital, on the ground that there were no vacant beds available to admit them. — PTI
	Monoply of taxi operators challenged Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 31 The Radio Taxi Operators Association (RTOA) today opposed the Airport Authority’s decision to give agreement to DAIL, a taxi operator agency, to operate at the airport. This decision has given monopoly to one operator while others are not allowed to operate in the vicinity of the airport. The RTOA has been removed from the airport by the authorities concerned. The radio taxi was introduced to provide better services, more choice at a fixed rate to commuters, particularly those arriving in Delhi. It is strange that passengers pay pre-fixed fare, close to 100 per cent inflated rates and stand in long queues to get back home from the airport, said C. L. Golcha on behalf of RTOA. He said that by pre-fixing the fares to such exorbitant levels, the actual paid fare amounts to Rs 30 per km by radio taxi operating at airport.
	Three killed in Noida accidents Our Correspondent Noida, October 31 Three persons were killed in Noida in road accidents on Tuesday. A small girl playing outside her house was crushed by a speeding vehicle. A tractor had hit a bike-borne youth while a dumper collided with an auto on Noida- Greater Noida Expressway. On an average one person is hit in accidents in Noida every 20 hours During the last 24 hours in five road accidents, one minor girl and two young men had lost their lives. Near Salarpur village, two youths going on a bike No UP81 0281 were knocked down by a tractor No. HR-20C-6621, in which, Tripal, originally of Aligarh, was killed on the spot, while the other was rushed to hospital in a serious condition. In Noida Phase-II, Seema, five-year-old daughter of Muskan Khan, a resident of Sapera Basti, was crushed by an out-of-control car No. UP15E-6027. She was rushed to a private hospital where doctor declared the child brought dead. Ram Kumar driving his own auto on Expressway was hit by a dumper. The police, which reached the spot an hour after the accident, rushed him to the district hospital Noida where he died the next morning. Ram Kumar was an auto driver and was returning after dropping a passenger, police said. Besides another girl died in a private hospital after she was hit by a vehicle from the back while she was going along with her mother.
	Annual meeting held Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 31 Vidya Sanskar International School for Holistic Learning had recently organised the annual meeting of its international advisory board. Nalin Satyakam Kohli, director of Vidya Sanskar said, “Vidya Sanskar is probably the only school in Faridabad which has such international leaders on its advisory board. It reflects the global vision of the institution.” Jai Prakash Gupta, president, Vidya Sanskar and managing director of the Henna Group of Companies said, “Vidya Sanskar’s mission is to develop future global leaders by nurturing talent and harnessing the potential of every student in an academically stimulating environment based on a world-class international curriculum”. The advisory board members expressed their satisfaction about the performance of the school over the past one year.
	Rs 1,100-cr GDA plan to improve infrastructure Our Correspondent Ghaziabad, October 31 The Ghaziabad Development Authority has drawn up a plan at an expected cost of Rs 1,100 crore to strengthen infrastructural facilities for the citizens of Ghaziabad and Modi Nagar. The scheme, which has been prepared with the cooperation of Nagar Nigam, police department and district administration, will be submitted to the central government through the state administration, it is learnt. Officials are confident that with the approval of the Government of India, facilities for citizens would be markedly improved in both the areas. The problem of waterlogging in Sahibabad will become a thing of the past and water scarcity will also be done away with. The outline of the development plan was discussed under UDISSST scheme of the centre in a meeting held in GDA office with District Magistrate Deepak Agarwal in the chair. A few days ago, LR Lakha, principal secretary, Urban Development had also discussed the projects to be implemented under the Government of India scheme with officials of District Administration, GDA and Nagar Nigam. The highlights of the projects include building of a traffic park behind Mohan Nagar checkpost in Sahibabad and Transport Nagar at three places. Water drainage and availability of potable water in Sahibabad, development projects in Modi Nagar and an overbridge on road between the Modi Cloth Mill in Modi Nagar which is a big traffic bottleneck on the highway between Delhi and Ghaziabad and Meerut, Roorkee, Hardwar, Dehradun, etc.

Students miss basic hostel facilities
Parmindar Singh

Greater Noida, October 31
Living thousands of miles away from their homes, the students of technical and management institutes in Noida and Greater Noida are a much harassed lot. Even after having to spend lakhs of rupees on their education in the institutes, they are deprived of basic facilities in hostel and thousands of them even the facility of an in-house hostels. Hundreds of them live in private accommodation or as paying guests in makeshift private hostels.

Often they are forced to vent their grievances in protest marches and dharnas. The management of hostels is prompt in making tall promises that all their grievances would be addressed “petty soon” but it did not happen, grumble the students.

So much so that even during exam days, students do not get good nutritious meals, adequate water and electricity.

Mahesh, Rajiv, Rakesh, students of B-Tech II year, living in private hostels for more than a year, say: “Initially hostel managers used to promise improvement in food menu but after a month or so all such promises proved wrong.

The students are deprived of basic facilities like water, electricity and fairly tolerable food during even the exam days. Electricity supply is the most important facility from the point of view of students.

“After all we are not middle or inter-class students. We are pursuing highly professional and technical postgraduate courses. All of us have spent a fortune for getting admission to these courses–rue Manoj, Ramesh and Sudhanshu living in Knowledge Park-I Greater Noida. Food and electricity is the main problem in hostels here. Request or protest made to wardens, hostel managers or guest house owners is of no use.”

Book exhibition at GGSIPU
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 31
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University has organized an exhibition of books and journals drawing from all disciplines on its premises.

Books from the management education to biotechnology, law and legal studies, information technology, mass communication to nanotechnology, environment and public relations are on display.

The exhibition has been organized by the University Information Resource Centre (UIRC) of GGSIPU, from October 31 to November 3 and the exhibition was inaugurated today by Prof. K. K. Aggarwal, vice-chancellor, GGSIPU, in the presence of V. K. Jain, registrar of the university and Subhash Deshmukh, university librarian, among other university officials and faculty members.

The exhibition is a good opportunity for the students, faculty and staff members of the university and its affiliated institutions to browse through some of the latest and rare books on different subjects.

Almost 40 national and international publishers, including Oxford University Press, Wiley India Pvt. Ltd., Sahitya Akademi, Orient Longman, Prentice Hall of India, NISCAIR, Thomson Learning Springer (India) P Ltd., Cambridge University Press, Himalaya Publishing House, and ICFAI University Press, are showcasing their books and journals at the ongoing event.

An online presentation of E-Resources is also being held during the exhibition.

Besides, there are several books of general interest on display as well, such as Career Excellence, Indian Medicinal Plants–an illustrated dictionary, E-Governance in India, Total Quality Management, Harilal Gandhi: A Life, Human Rights, Infant Development, Modern Business Communication, Bombay Cinema and so on.