New Delhi, November 29
With the parking problems in the Capital increasing by the day, minister for urban development Jaipal Reddy said that multi-level parking lots have been planned in several parts of the city to overcome the parking problem. While acknowledging the enormity of the problem Reddy pointed out that there were four million vehicles in the city which was more than the combined number of vehicles in the other three metros Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.

He said the new parking policy worked out by thegovernment had several new features where standards have been upgraded and underground parking permitted in many areas. He added that parking had been allowed in all regional zones giving incentives for building multilevel parking.

It would be ensured that the handicapped have separate parking facility and the government is also considering a similar facility for senior citizens, the minister said.

He said that the construction of three multi-level parking facilities in the city would begin soon and the projects would be ready before the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

NEW DELHI, November 29
The three-day musical extravaganza, the first ever SAARC Bands festival, featuring some of the top fusion bands of the region, gets underway at the Central Park in Connaught Place from tomorrow.

The festival, which is open to the public and begins everyday at 4 pm, would be inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

The highlight of the first day of the festival, which is being organized by the Ministry of External affairs in conjunction with ICCR and Seher, would be the performances by the Bangla Fusion Band from Bangladesh and the final performance of the evening by the Strings from Pakistan.

The other interesting aspect of the festival is the participation of band from Afghanistan. It would be the first time ever after the overthrowing of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan that a rock band from that country would be traveling abroad for a performance.

The Aryan Band was formed by a group of students studying in exile in the Tehran University. But now they have gone back to Afghanistan and have been playing music all over the country. Besides they are also concentrating on mixing the traditional Pushto folk music, which the present-day generation in Afghanistan has forgotten, with the rock music to arrange a totally different kind of music.

The SAARC Bands Festival is being organized at the initiative of India as part of the SAARC Cultural Festival. With India chairing the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, it proposed to hold such a cultural festival to bring the youth of the region closer.

The first of its kind, the band festival is aimed at the youth of the country by bringing motivational music at their doorstep from some of the best fusion music bands from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan.

Each evening of the three-day festival would comprise of four-five bands with a 60-90 minutes slot dedicated to every band. While showcasing some of the biggest names in the Indian subcontinent, the festival is also a great opportunity for some upcoming young bands to get exposure.

The participating bands are Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy (Mumbai, India), Strings (Pakistan), Advaita (Delhi, India), Bangla Fusion Band (Bangladesh), Soulmate (Shillong, India), Stigmata (Sri Lanka), Raghu Dixit Project (Bangalore, India), East India Company (Assam, India), Norling Band (Bhutan), Indian Ocean (Delhi, India), Zero Degree Atoll (Maldives), Aryan Band (Afghanistan), Midival Punditz (Delhi, India) and Abhaya and the Steam Injuns (Nepal). Says Sanjeev Bhargava, Festival Director & founder of SEHER: “The festival has been curated as one of the biggest cultural fests and a big ticket event for the music lovers of Delhi.”

Noida, November 29
The Centre is likely to approve the 24 special economic zones (SEZs) to be set up in the country including, the NCR, in the first phase.

It is expected that the SEZs would create over 2 lakh new jobs in the NCR region, in the coming three years. Some companies have started their construction work, under the supervision of the Noida SEZ. The Noida SEZ would co-ordinate and control the approved SEZs in North India.

According to a senior NEPZ official, many SEZs are at the proposal stage. Out of the 24 SEZs approved, five are in Noida and Greater Noida. The construction work for these has started.

The construction of the SEZs approved for Gurgaon will be completed in three years. Though most of Noida and Greater Noida SEZs are linked with the IT sector, most of Gurgaon SEZs are being set up by M/s Reliance and M/s Uppal.

All SEZs are expected to create vast employment opportunities and scope for the growth of other ancillary units. 

New Delhi, November 29
Lieutenant Governor Tejender Khanna interacted with the first batch of traffic wardens from the air force and navy in the Capital today.

“Citizens of Delhi have an illusion that nobody can teach them a lesson on traffic rules. We have to break this illusion,” he said.

He added, “The fear of possible action should rest in the minds of road users. If it is found that they do not follow the traffic rules, they will be booked.”

Last month, Khanna had launched a scheme, where he appointed traffic wardens in each area of the Capital, to check traffic rule violators and teach them traffic norms.

Thereafter, Delhi police commissioner Y. S. Dadwal wrote a letter to the Army, Air Force and Naval force heads and appealed for volunteer service of their officers, as traffic wardens to check the traffic violators.

Twenty naval officers, 80 air force officers and a wife of an air force officer were inducted in the first batch of traffic wardens on October 7. The wardens shared their experiences with the Lieutenant Governor.

The list of traffic wardens has reached 200. It includes 50 army officers.

Khanna has planned to induct 5,000 officers in this list. Other professionals have also been offered to join the scheme.

Khanna said that a few changes were required in traffic management and traffic engineering. Commissioners of planning and engineering in the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) have been acquainted about this. Certain problems of traffic management are unmanageable like — the behaviour road users’ and pedestrians and the proper structure of roads.

The process to get a driving licence is very lengthy, he said.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that Delhi had special problems of traffic management.

She expressed hope that the scheme would help in working out the problem and would make road users disciplined. 

Ghaziabad, November 29
A special CBI court here has charged the main suspect of Nithari killings, Moninder Singh Pandher with rape and murder. Earlier the CBI had given a clean chit to Pandher in 10 other similar cases. With this, the entire Nithari case seems to have taken a new turn.

This has apparently been done on the basis of the statement of former Noida Dy SP Dinesh Yadav, who confirmed that Pandher had confessed to rape victims like Pinky Sarkar, before passing each of them to his servant –Surinder Koli.

Incidentally, this is the second case, after Payal murder case, in which Pandher will be tried for murder. CBI judge, Rana Jain had fixed murder and rape charges against Pandher, while giving decision on Bandana Sarkar issue.

So far, the court had charges Surinder Koli of rape and murder. According to Khalid Khan, advocate of the victims, that court has accepted that Pandher was guilty of murder, rape, concealing of the evidence, abduction and conspiracy.

The court has issued a non-bailable warrant against Pandher. The court will hear the case against Nand Lal, who gave false statements in the court. 

New Delhi, November 29
With the onset of winter, authorities at Delhi’s domestic airport Wednesday claimed they have made elaborate arrangements this year to avoid disruption of air traffic due to foggy conditions.

“We have learnt from the last year’s experience and are very confident that the situation will not be worse this time,” said Andrew Harrison, chief executive officer of the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL).

“We have undertaken several proactive measures after discussions with airlines, air traffic control, the Met Department, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Delhi Police. A strategy has been drawn to reduce inconvenience to passengers during the fog season,” Harrison told reporters.

The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted that severe fog will affect the flight movements at the Delhi airport between December 15 and the end of January.

“Comparing the statistics of the past 10 years, we predict that visibility will fall to less than 200 metres for at least 150 hours during the dense fog period of December 15 to January-end. At that time only CAT-III compliant aircraft would be able to operate,” said R.K. Jenamani, director of the met office at Indira Gandhi International Airport here.

Jenamani told reporters that last year all operations at the airport were suspended at least seven times in December and January.

Harrison said DIAL was working on another strategy with the airlines to systemize the movement of passengers from the extension to the check-in area and onward to the security hold area based on the departure status of their flight.

He added that in case of dense fog, domestic flights would be rescheduled to nearby airports like Jaipur and Lucknow, while international flights will be moved to Karachi in Pakistan.

Arun Arora, vice-president DIAL, said: “The domestic airport will suffer more due to fog as most of the domestic airlines have not trained their pilots for CAT-III. Pilots of international aircrafts are trained in the system as they encounter more foggy conditions in European countries.”

“For this we have asked the domestic airliners to roster their pilots trained with the CAT-III programme to the Delhi airport,” Arora said.

CAT-III is the system that allows compatible aircraft and trained pilots to land even when the runway visibility is up to 50 meters.

Last winter, foggy conditions led to complete chaos at the capital’s domestic airport for many days and airport authorities were unable to handle the mass of frustrated passengers crowding terminals as flight after flight was cancelled or delayed.

Passengers may face a similar situation this year, as many private airlines are not keen to train their pilots on the Instrument Landing System (ILS) that helps flights land and take off even in thick fog.

Among the 13 domestic airlines that operate nearly 170 flights per day, only Indian and Kingfisher are capable of flying in thick fog conditions, when visibility drops to 200m-50m.

A senior airport official said only some of their pilots are trained to operate flights with CAT-III and ILS.

“Private airlines are not training their pilots under this programme as it is very costly and the programme’s dynamics change with the advancement in technology. Airlines only prefer to reschedule flights instead of spending money on training,” the official added.

Last year, DIAL had promised precautions and measures, but despite their efforts passengers were forced to stand in long queues outside the airport building and struggle for the flight information. — IANS

New Delhi, November 29
Congress leader Jagdish Tytler Thursday got a reprieve in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) saying it was unable to find any witness to support the charges against the politician.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjeev Jain Thursday gave the counsel for the families of riot victims time till Dec 6 to present the witness who can depose against Tytler, according to the lawyer.

The families raised slogans against Tytler and the CBI in court Thursday and were dragged out by the police. — IANS

New Delhi, November 29
While acknowledging that there is little hope for HIV positive people, an overwhelming majority of the indian population still wrongly believes that there is a cure for AIDS, says a survey.

A global study conducted by the Mac AIDS Fund reveals that nearly 59 per cent of the interviewed people were living with a misconception that HIV/AIDS can be treated successfully.

The report said that 79 per cent of Indians understand that AIDS is always fatal, but 59 per cent still wrongly believe that there is a cure available today.

Indians rank HIV/AIDS as the most serious health problems facing their country, leading the next perceived issue (cancer) by 51 percentage points, the survey said.

Indians cite lack of access to information on HIV/AIDS and how it is contracted as the top issue contributing to the spread of the virus. Despite recent awareness campaigns on HIV/AIDS, people still remain uncertain of the facts and realities associated with the disease.

The study also revealed that 65 per cent reported stigma and shame to be major contributing factors and barriers in stemming the epidemic.

People in india, more than nationals in any other country surveyed, are uncomfortable interacting on intimate levels with those who are HIV positive, the report said.

It observed that 44 per cent are not comfortable sharing the same physician as someone with HIV/AIDS, while 38 per cent reported that they feel uncomfortable working alongside a person with HIV/AIDS. Forty-one per cent also said that they did not want to live in the same house as someone who has the virus.

The Mac AIDS Fund is a philanthropic arm of the Estee Lauder-owned Mac cosmetics.

The Mac AIDS Fund viewed that women can play an important role preventing the disease as the report said that a problem contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS is that females find it too difficult to discuss safe sex with their partners.

The survey results illustrate the urgent need for public access in India to information on HIV and AIDS, Mac AIDS Fund chairman John Demsey said.

The study reported that 72 per cent of those surveyed believe that the spread of the disease has grown in global urgency in recent years, and 75 per cent of Indians feel this urgency is reflected in their own country.

This is a wake-up call that not only do we need to improve basic education about the realities of the disease - including how it is contracted and how it is treated - but also need to do some serious on-the-ground work to alleviate the sense of shame and stigma that surrounds the disease and prevents people from being safe and seeking treatment, Demsey added.

As per the study, globally 76 per cent of respondents reported limited ability to get the latest drugs or treatments for HIV/AIDS, resulting the spread of the disease.

Of those surveyed in India, 59 per cent cited the lack of access to the latest drugs or treatments for HIV/AIDS to be a major issue in combating the virus, with 61 per cent reporting a limited ability to get routine testing and screening for the disease to be an additional major barrier.

The survey was carried out in the US, the UK, Russia, France, China, India, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa. — PTI 

New Delhi, November 29
Union urban development minister of state Ajay Maken said that the revised guidelines for the regularisation of unauthorised colonies in the Capital had been finalised. A copy of the guidelines has been sent to the Delhi government and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

He said that the Delhi government had informed the Centre about the issuance of public notices, inviting the layout plan and other information from residents or residential societies. However, the guidelines and modalities have to be brought before the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court.

He said that Central Ground Water Board had reported that the board with the objective of delineating aquifers worth of ground water development and ascertaining their yield characteristics carried out exploratory drilling. So far, 334 exploratory boreholes have been drilled. The maximum depth explored by the board is 308 meters below the ground level at Rajouri Garden in South West Delhi.

He added that the Centre was providing support to the metro rail project in the form of equity, subordinate debt and pass through assistance.

New Delhi, November 29
The department of social work, Jamia Millia Islamia, has recently announced admission for its post-graduate diploma programme in child rights. The course offers 40 seats. The last date of submitting the application is December 31.

Application forms for the course can be downloaded from the university’s website. The candidates should be a graduate with a minimum of 45 per cent marks.

Supported by Save the Children, a development agency from Sweden, the course was launched in February 2006. There would be two semesters. 

New Delhi, November 29
The Central Information Commission (CIC) in a significant ruling has held that action of public servants in their official capacity cannot be protected under the garb of private information.

The ruling came in respect of an RTI application of a city resident Jagdish Chander who had sought from Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) information pertaining to cases registered and action taken against its one of its managers.

Complaints made against an official that are taken cognisance of by a public authority cannot be deemed private as they concern issues raised in the exercise of his public activity by a public servant,Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said, while adding any official action taken there on was also a public activity.

The commission has directed the DTC to provide Chander information on complaints received against the official as well as actions initiated thereafter.

Noting that there was no clear definition of invasion of privacy under the right to information law, the commission was guided by a related legislation of the United Kingdom.

“If we were to construe privacy to mean protection of personal data, we have held that this would be a suitable reference point to help define the concept, Habibullah said while referring to Section 2 of UK’s data Protection Act, 1998 which specifies sensitive personal data.

The central public information officer (CPIO) of the DTC while denying the details to Chander had claimed exemption from disclosure of the information on grounds that the official concerned had raised objections on divulging any such details. — PTI 

New Delhi, November 29
Concerned about the increasing numbers of students committing suicide, the High Court on Wednesday asked all senior secondary schools in the Capital to have full-time counsellors.

Acting on a public interest petition, a division bench of Chief Justice M.K. Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Khanna ordered schools to employ counsellors to ensure that stress levels amongst students reduces.

Counsel for the Directorate of Education (DoE) J.R. Midha informed the court that they had 104 counsellors who visited schools and helped students.

“We are satisfied by the steps taken up by the DoE to combat stress levels in the students. Any other senior secondary school who wants to take help from the government can seek it. But make sure the counsellors should be there in all schools now,” the bench said in its order. — IANS

New Delhi, November 29
A minor boy driving a car knocked down a 5-year-old boy in Aman Vihar here on Wednesday.

The minor was driving his sister to her school, when he rammed the child, who was playing outside his house. The child was declared brought dead, after he was taken to a nearby hospital.

A case has been registered against the minor boy and he has been detained.