New Delhi, November 22
Keen to improve public transport system in the Capital, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today ruled out any rethink on the controversial high-capacity bus system (HCBS) corridor and said that its implementation has been faulty.

She said that the HCBS corridor under construction was a pilot project and if it were not successful, the government would not go ahead with the other five proposed corridors.

There will be no rethink on this particular corridor, Dikshit told PTI.

Rebutting the criticism of the HCBS corridor, she said, “It is not a technology that is outdated or not suited to the Capital... It is a bit of bold decision. If it works then in addition to the metro, you will have a very good bus system.”

Dikshit said that the HCBS would improve the frequency of buses and traffic management on roads, noting that the project would entail change in mindset and would ultimately have to be accepted.

I think we need better traffic management on Delhi roads, as we have around 28 kinds of vehicles plying on our roads, she said.

The implementation of the project has been faulty, she said, adding, “If we find that it is a total failure, we won’t carry on with the other five corridors.”

The 14.5 km HCBS corridor, from Ambedkar Nagar to Delhi Gate, is being constructed with the aim to create a dedicated circuit for buses and in the process streamline public transport system.

As the Blueline buses have come under severe attack over their high rate of accidents, the HCBS system is being projected as a viable, safer and efficient alternate mode of transportation.

On the criticism of the project, Dikshit said that such a reaction is seen whenever a new concept is launched. In this regard, she referred to reservations expressed by some sections when the Metro rail project was initiated a few years back.

“Whenever you do something new, there are always doubts about it,” she said. “The HCBS corridor is something that people don’t understand yet. It is only in the middle of 2008, when we will have it all ready that instead of brickbats we hope to get bouquets,” Dikshit underlined.

Elaborating on the need for improving the implementation of the project, Dikshit said that from first-hand experience she was appalled to see poor lighting on the under-construction project.

Dikshit said that the project was in keeping with the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, which requires Delhi and cities like Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Indore to undertake it. — PTI

New Delhi, November 22
The High Court today observed that the bar council could not impose a rule barring law graduates above the age of 45 years from enrolling for practising legal profession in the Capital’s courts.

While disposing of a petition challenging the bar council’s decision, a bench headed by Justice Vikramajit Sen said that the lawyers’ body had withdrawn the circular and, therefore, the decision could not be implemented.

Council’s chairperson K.K. Manan submitted a copy of the circular before the bench.

“All members unanimously believe that the rule made on July 21, 2006 that a member above the age of 45 years will not be enrolled as an advocate is now scrapped with immediate effect. The members are free to be enrolled to pursue the legal profession,” read the circular.

A group of law students had filed a petition before the High Court challenging the bar council’s decision saying that it infringed upon their fundamental rights and discriminated against people above 45 years of age.

“This rule not only prohibited those people who wanted to join the legal profession after retirement, but puts a blanket ban on all those who had attained the age of 45 years and were otherwise qualified to be enrolled as advocates,” the petition stated.

The petitioners also questioned the power of the bar council to introduce such a rule and said that neither the bar council of India nor, the state bar council could debar people above the age of 45 years from getting registered as lawyers if they were otherwise qualified.

The court was informed that the bar council of Tamil Nadu had also introduced an upper age limit for registration as lawyer, but the rule was struck down by the Madras High Court. — IANS

New Delhi, November 22
The Delhi court’s verdict that held the Ansal brothers guilty of negligence in causing the Uphaar fire tragedy, claiming 59 lives, a decade ago, has triggered demands for harsher punishment to those who cause deaths by rash and careless acts.In the Uphaar fire tragedy case, the Ansal brothers - Gopal and Sushil were convicted on Tuesday under Section 304 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on charges which pertain to causing death by a rash and negligent act.

The conviction entails a maximum of two years in jail. It is the same section that is often used in road accidents.

Reacting to the verdict by additional sessions judge Mamta Sehgal, leading criminal lawyer K.K. Manan said, “It’s time that the Parliament amended the law to make the punishment under Section 304 A of the IPC more stringent. The lawmakers must provide for a punishment of at least 10 years in cases of causing deaths due to any rash or negligent act.”

“The Russian laws prescribe death penalty for loss of lives in hit-and-run cases, which is described here in India merely as an offence of causing death by negligence. And, even the sentence for it is quite mild.”

Former additional solicitor K.K. Sood echoed Manan’s view, though the maximum jail term he wanted was seven years, not 10.

“The punishment prescribed under Section 304 A of the IPC should be increased from the maximum of two years to seven years,” said Sood. — IANS

New Delhi, November 22
The Supreme Court today upheld an order for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the irregular allotment of 1,250 residential plots in Noida to a host of prominent personalities in 2005.

Upholding an October 2005 ruling of the Allahabad High Court, a bench of Justices H.K. Sema and Aftab Alam also endorsed the cancellation of plots and holding of a fresh draw.

In late 2004, the Noida authority had mooted a housing scheme for citizens and had invited applications for the allotment of 1,250 plots of various sizes, ranging from 100 sq m to 500 sq m in various sectors of the satellite town on the outskirts of the national Capital.

The application fee was fixed at Rs 1,00,000 or more depending upon the size of the plot.

The draw for allotment was supposed to be held within three months of the last date of application, December 31, 2004. But, when it was eventually held after repeated postponements, only the influential from amongst the executive, the legislature and the judiciary and a few from the media could make it.

People who were allotted the plots included former Chief Justice of India Y.K. Sabharwal’s daughter-in-Law Sheeba Sabharwal, Samajwadi Party MPs Toofani Saroj, Rewati Raman Singh, Rasheed Masood and Jai Prakash. Others included state legislators, senior bureaucrats, police officers and lawyers.

Following a hue and cry in the media, the Noida authority had cancelled the entire allotment. On some public |interest lawsuits, the Allahabad High Court ordered a CBI probe into the matter to fix the criminal liability of officials and politicians in the scam. — IANS

New Delhi, November 22
The UN has lauded the total sanitation campaign being run by the Indian government and the NGO, Sulabh International, at the beginning of the International Year of Sanitation, 2008.

Chairperson of the UN Secretary General’s advisory board on water and sanitation, Prince of Netherlands Willem Alexander said at the UN headquarters yesterday, “In India, I saw the positive results of the total sanitation campaign, a good example of social innovation implemented by the government.”

“Sulabh International has proved how effective small-scale solutions can be and how they can be extended all over the country within a short time span. Thousands of ‘pay & use’ public toilet-cum-bath complexes and more than a million pour-flush latrines in private houses have been built (and are maintained), and they are used by more than 10 million people every day.”

“By doing so, Sulabh has restored human dignity and a new future to thousands of untouchables,” Alexander was quoted by a Sulabh spokesperson as saying.

For more than three decades, Bindeshwar Pathak, who founded the Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, has been promoting toilets that are cheap to build and don’t require a sewer connection.

Pathak, inspired by India’s freedom icon Mahatma Gandhi, kicked off his mission, after he lived with a community of ‘night soil scavengers’ for a few months in the 1970s.

Alexander said, “Relieving yourself in hazardous places means risking everything from urological disease to harassment and rape. Many examples show that self-esteem begins with having a safe and proper toilet facility.”

“Everyone has a right to sanitation,” he reminded policymakers.

Sanitation for all by 2015 is one of the millennium development goals (MDG) of the United Nations. “But, at the current rate of progress, we will not reach our 2015 MDG target on sanitation before 2026,” Alexander remarked.

In the International Year of Sanitation, Alexander wanted to “raise awareness of the importance of sanitation and its impact on other millennium development goals”.

He described water supply and sanitation conditions in slums as “downright appalling”.Alexander wanted to “encourage cheaper small-bore sewerage systems, pit emptying facilities, low-cost septic tank sludge treatment methods and the development and marketing of biogas technologies, which can help supply many poor households with energy”.

He reminded his audience of the contribution of sanitation to development.

“Every dollar invested in water and sanitation triggers seven dollars worth of productive activity. And, good money can be made from sanitation, through the production of fertilisers.” — IANS

New Delhi, November 22
Jamia Hamdard is going to start an MBBS course from the next academic session. Rs 400 crore would be spent on it. With this, it will become the first university in world, where two pathies will be taught on one campus.

The institution has completed all formalities required by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the union ministry of human resource development, said vice-chancellor Shamim Ahmed.

Jamia Hamdard is known for teaching and research in Unani medicines. The university will have a separate faculty, administration and building for allied sciences.

The proposed medical college and hospital would emphasise on using virtual reality-based techniques of image reconstruction, modeling and simulation to facilitate training and diagnostic in clinical teaching and research and replace the usage of animals and human organs, Shamim said. It would also use the basic concepts of nanoscience and technology to integrate modern and traditional medicines.

Besides, courses on food technology and nutrigenomics, bio informatics, bio electronics and instrumentation, polymer technology and nanobiotechnology would soon be introduced in the university.

He said that nanoscience and technology-based approach was going to influence human healthcare activities through areas like drug delivery and drug discovery, medical diagnostics and imaging, genomics and proteomics, tissue engineering, cosmetics, surgery and food. 

New Delhi, November 22
The Max Devki Devi Heart and Vascular Institute here today claimed to have become the first hospital in Asia where angioplasty has been performed through Impella pump.

According to Dr. Ashok Seth, chairman and chief cardiologist of the Institute, the miniature pump is just like a water pump and is placed in the heart vein through the Femur. Once in place, it can pump up to 2.5 litres of blood per minute from the left ventricle to the Aorta thus reducing the work load of the vital organ.

The 4mm broad pump revolves at 50,000 revolutions per minute (RPM) and works with an electronic motor attached to 3mm broad wire. This is connected to a battery outside the patient’s body and looks like a small lap top.

The entire procedure is done without any surgery and is generally risk free.

New Delhi, November 22
State education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely has assured that the government would take all necessary steps to ensure better performance of poor students studying in government schools.

This would help students to nurture their dreams for a better future and inculcate a scientific temper in them.

He stated that the government was thinking over revising the uniforms of Sarvodaya and Sarvodaya Pratibha Schools.

He said, “Each government school has a uniform decided by the principal of that school. It means that there are thousands of uniforms within government schools, thereby, depriving students of a distinct identity at the state level.”

The National Institute of Fashion Technology would design the uniform for students studying in government schools, to provide a distinct identity to them. The Sarvodaya Pratibha School’s uniform would be of red colour.

He added that geometry box and other educational aids would be provided to them free of cost, so that they could compete with the students of public schools.

Noida, November 22
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati visited Noida yesterday to bless the recently wedded niece of BSP leader Satish Chander Mishra. It is her first visit after she became the CM of the state. With this, she has shunned the 13-year-old jinx attached with the visit of UP Chief Ministers to Noida.

Tight security measures were maintained in view of her visit.

Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav was the last Chief Minister to visit the district. He lost power soon after visiting Noida on April 9, 1994.

While in power, Mayawati had inaugurated the Gautam Buddh Nagar district centre from Ghaziabad in 1997. While, former CM Rajnath Singh had opened the Delhi-Noida-Delhi toll bridge from the national Capital in 2000. Former Prime Minister V.P. Singh had visited Noida in 1982 as UP CM to inaugurate the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute. In 1988, CM Vir Bahadur Singh had opened the Noida Film City. In 1989, CM N.D. Tiwari had inaugurated the Nehru Youth Centre in Sector 12 here. CM Kalyan Singh had visited the district in 1992 to inaugurate the Industrial Development Plan. And, CM Mulayam Singh Yadav had opened Khaitan Public School here in 1994.

The Noida visit had cost them their chair and government, and, since 1994 state Chief Ministers attached a jinx to the Noida visit. 

New Delhi, November 22
Nakul, 13, studying in class eight at Balak Ram Higher Secondary School in the Capital was killed, after a speeding Blueline bus plying on route number 108 between Hari Nagar and Nehru Vihar hit him at the Wazirabad traffic signal today.

With this, the toll this year has reached to 107.

Nakul was crossing the road at the traffic signal in the morning.

New Delhi, November 22
To make Sanskrit popular in the world, a world Sanskrit meet is to be held in the Capital soon. A high -level committee has been constituted by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit .The committee will decide the date.

Distributing awards to 1100 Sanskrit teachers the Chief Minister said that the meet would be able to disseminate message of relevance of the language in today’s world. The awardees were able to achieve 100 per cent results in CBSE exams.

Dikshit described Sanskrit as mother of all languages. It has earned recognition as a language of rich literature, science, jyotish and astronomy. It has also been

able to convey the message of peace, development, co-existence and harmony.

She was also felicitated on accepting chairmanship of the All India Sanskrit Sammelan. Former Prime Ministers Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi had also served on the post.

She stated that her felicitation has, in fact, enhanced glory and relevance of the Sanskrit language. The state government would continue to support promotion of Sanskrit at all levels. General secretary All India Sanskrit Sammelan Ramakant Goswami stated that hosting of the World Sanskrit Meet in Delhi would help in promotion of this language.

Delhi Health Minister Dr. Yoganand Shastri presided over the function. He expressed confidence that the Sanskrit Academy Delhi would continue to function with same mission and zeal. Large number of Sanskrit scholars including Chancellor Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan Dr Kutumb Shastri, former director Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan Dr. Ram Karan Sharma and Vice-chancellor Lal Bahadur Shastri were present. 

New Delhi, November 22
Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram, under the aegis of the DPS Society and in collaboration with the UNA-USA will be hosting the Model United Nations Conference DPS MUN 2007 from November 24 at the India Habitat Centre.

The Conference is sponsored by Merrill Lynch, one of the world’s leading financial management and advisory companies, which offers a grant of US $ 35,000 per annum for this event.  This office of Global Philanthropy also sponsors students and teachers to attend the Model UN UNA-USA Conferences held annually at New York . 

The underlying philosophy behind the DPS MUN is to recognize the importance of the United Nations as a forum of international opinion, and also provide a unique educational experience through simulation for students.  This helps participants to understand a multicultural view of world affairs, developing debating skills and learn the art of negotiation. 

While globalization brings people closer, it also requires children to develop certain skills to enable them to understand the interconnected world.  Global classrooms help today’s youth to become tomorrow’s global ambassadors and business leaders.

 This year, the DPS MUN 2007 Conference will host 700 High School teachers and students from all over India and other countries, including Sharjah, Dubai, Nepal, Kuwait, Pakistan, U.K.  and China.  140 countries of the United Nations will be represented at the simulation of nine committees which include the General Assembly, Security Council, ECOSOC,  Human Rights Council, General Assembly Plenary, Historical Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Asia Pacific, Committee on Science, Technology & Development and the Commission on Status of Women. 

New Delhi, November 22
The six-day 8th International Children’s Festival of Performing Arts – 2007, will start tomorrow in the Capital. Over 100 young cultural ambassadors from over 30 countries would perform in the festival. The theme of the festival is ‘Let’s give peace a chance’.

Ryan International School and the National Bal Bhavan will host the festival. Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee will be the chief guest at the ceremony.

The festival would start with a global dance on the beats of “Vande Matram”. The theme song of the festival is “India My Love.” Over 600 dancers would welcome foreign delegates to India.

This year’s festival will witness shows from Canada, Croatia, Estonia, Germany, Israel, Iran, Malaysia, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the West Indies, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Bangladesh and Venezuela.

The mega event brings together more than 5000 young cultural ambassadors from across the globe. Music maestros Aman Ali, Ayan Ali and other prominent people shall also grace the festival.

The festival will witness more than 200 performances in dance, drama, music, mime and puppetry at the Kamani Auditorium, the Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts, the National Bal Bhawan and the LTG Auditorium from the November 23to November 28.

New Delhi, November 22
Yogesh, who carried a reward of Rs 20,000 on his head and was wanted in several criminal cases, was arrested at Hanuman Temple near Tilak Bridge yesterday. He had been absconding since 2004.

He was apprehended while he was waiting for one of his accomplices at Hanuman Temple near Tilak Bridge.