The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Delhi and neighbourhood

	Child’s age for pre-school 3 yrs Children admitted to nursery last year will be promoted to pre-primary class Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 7 Delhi Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely today announced that age of a child for pre-school is three years and for pre-primary four years. Children admitted to nursery classes last year would be promoted to pre-primary class this year without undergoing the grind of readmission. There would be adequate availability of seats in pre-school class in every recognised public school and every child completing three years of age on March 31, 2008 would get admission in the pre-school class. There will be no interview or interaction this time for the parents or the child for admission and the parents can only be called to school for the limited purpose of verification of documents. The guidelines prescribed by the government will apply to all the recognised private schools including minority schools whether in the domain of the Directorate of Education, NDMC or MCD. The school management has been given liberty to formulate their own criteria for admission for the pre-school and pre-primary class which has to be clear, unambiguous and non-discriminatory and the criteria has to be approved by the Directorate of Education. The admission criteria should have a minimum three on which basis the child has to be assessed on the scale of 100 points. The minority schools will be allowed to have minority community status as one of the parameters to prefer minority community child. The schools that do not have pre-primary class have been given three years’ time to start. The government will de-recognise the schools if they failed to follow the admission guidelines given by the Directorate of Education, the minister warned. Under the common schedule for admission, the distribution of registration form will be available from December 15 to December 31 and they will be accepted till January 7. The first list for admission will come out on February 1. The submission of fee for the list will start from February 15. The fourth list will come out on March 15 with submission of fee till March 25.
	3-yr-old afflicted by HIV Parmindar Singh Noida, December 7 The three-year-old child, Akash (changed name), was given blood transfusion but now the same blood appears to have become the biggest risk for his life. Little Akash has become a victim of HIV due to the blood transfusion. His parents had taken him to a hospital for treatment, where though he was saved from the ailment, but he became afflicted with HIV. The parents are at their wits’ end as to how their child had contacted the disease and how they can now save his life. After the positive blood test report, they are going around different hospitals to somehow save their son. Four days ago, Ramkishore and his wife Sarita had brought their son Akash to ESI hospital in Sector-24. Here a sample of child’s blood was sent for investigation into the laboratory so that the results of blood test in private hospital could be confirmed. The report is expected to be received after two weeks. Director ESI hospital, Dr Rajiv said parents had already brought a blood test report in which his being a HIV-afflicted child had been confirmed. But now ESI hospital, on its own, has sent the new sample of Akash’s blood for lab test. On receipt of CD and VD report, it can be determined whether Akash is really suffering from HIV, Dr Rajiv said. The treatment of the child has already been started in AIIMS New Delhi, where he was admitted three days ago, Dr Rajiv added.
	Streetlights to be streamlined Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 7 The Delhi cabinet today cleared a proposal for upgradation and modernisation of streetlights on Delhi PWD roads over the length of 443 km. It also gave its nod for construction of Haj Manzil at Dwarka. Besides, the cabinet cleared the proposal of restructuring of Idraprastha Power Generation Corporation Limited and Pragati Power Corporation Limited (PPCL) and also approved merger of Gas Turbine Power Station with the PPCL. Briefing media after the meeting, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit stated that the streetlights on roads in the Capital needed upgradation. The present level of illumination does not facilitate safe driving during the night hours thereby leading to accidents, which are avoidable. The government is committed to providing world-class wide roads in the city to facilitate smooth flow of traffic in all parts of the city. The Delhi government had constituted a committee of experts to give recommendation for upgrading the streetlights in the city keeping in mind the width of roads, which varies from four lanes to eight lanes and also to cater to the requirement of the service roads. Based on the recommendations of the committee, the PWD prepared an estimate for upgrading the streetlights. The cabinet approved upgradation of streetlights on PWD roads over a length of 443.83 km as against 364 km with distinct colours on different roads at a cost of approximately Rs 198 crore. The streetlights would, therefore, be provided on the roads and also on the flyovers and adjoining service and slip roads. The streetlighting would be completed within 15 months after award of work. The Chief Minister further stated that Delhi being the national Capital had always been an important embarkation point for tourists and pilgrims alike. Keeping in view its commitment towards all religions in the city, the Government of NCT of Delhi has been facilitating several important pilgrimages through the Revenue Department, which include Urs Mela and Haj pilgrimage. Most of these pilgrims start from Delhi and they badly need accommodation. The government had requested the DDA to provide a suitable space measuring 5000 square metres at Dwarka. In this regard, the DDA has allotted space in Sector-22 Dwarka at a cost of Rs 94.24 lakh approximately. The commissioning of modern, spacious and well-maintained Haj Manzil near IGI Airport would facilitate Haj pilgrims. She stated that the cabinet has given its approval for merger of Gas Turbine Power Station (GTPS) with Pragati Power Corporation Limited (PPCL) and winding up of IPGCL. As per the plan, the coal plants have to be shut down in a phased manner and the company has to be wound up.
	1,50,000 homeless in Capital New Delhi, December 7 An estimated 1,50,000 people are homeless in the national Capital, nearly 10,000 destitute women have not even one designated shelter, and with a harsh winter forecast, matters are only going to get worse, say the NGOs campaigning for the homeless. “In a city that prides itself on its inspirational ‘world-class’ status, it is a glaring failure of the state that so many people continue to be forced to live on the streets without any available recourse,” says Paramjeet Kaur, director of Aashray Adhikar Abhiyan (AAA), which aims to empower and mobilise the homeless. “Even more horrifying is the fact that there is not even one shelter for the city’s over 10,000 homeless women.” Though the city tends to blame the homeless for their own plight and washes its hands of all legal and moral responsibility to protect and provide for them, it fails to address the structural and systemic factors that lead to homelessness, maintains Indu Prakash Singh, theme leader (shelters & housing) of ActionAid. “The most critical of these are the non-existence of low-cost and public housing, large-scale eviction drives and slum demolitions, without adequate livelihood-based rehabilitation and resettlement, and shift in land-use towards intensive infrastructure development such as highways and shopping malls,” asserts Singh. “The government’s current focus is on rapid urban renewal and city beautification at the cost of the poor.” Activists point out that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) runs only ten permanent shelters for the homeless catering to around 2,500 people, leaving over 98 per cent of the city’s homeless to fend for themselves or be provided for by the NGOs such as AAA, which runs seven shelters. In contrast, the MCD, supposedly India’s richest civic body, runs not a single shelter. The only shelter for homeless women in Delhi’s Yamuna Pushta, which was being run on a contractual basis by the AAA for the MCD, was closed in June this year on grounds that the space was needed to store material for building a city centre nearby. — IANS
	SAARC food festival: A gastronome’s delight New Delhi, December 7 With Pakistan’s simmering ‘chappal kebebs’ and Sri Lanka’s tempting fish ‘ambulthiyal’, Maldives’ delicious ‘masbai’ and Nepal’s spicy ‘maasu bhaat’ - the food festival chapter of the South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation (SAARC) cultural festival is a cauldron of flavours of South Asia. Open to the public from December 7-9, the food festival - organised by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) at the Ashoka hotel, is one place, where the best of chefs of the eight SAARC countries - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan, come together to whip up some of the best loved delicacies of their countries. External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, who inaugurated the festival on Thursday said, “Food is a product of centuries of evolution, it is the window to the culture we belong to. In this food festival, one will see that there is a great deal of common things that we, the South Asian countries share.” “Whether it’s our spices, our cereals, the form of cooking or the traditional form of service, everything is very similar. This festival reinstates the fact there is unity in diversity”. All foreign ministers of the SAARC countries were present. They had starters served on a common silver plate, symbolic of the belief that breaking bread from a common plate increases kinship. On the first day of the festival, Afghanistan presented its specialities – ‘ashuk’, ‘Afghani tandoori chicken’ and ‘kubli pulao’. Asif Ali Yousufi, the chef said that Afghani food is generally non-spicy. “Afghani food is not as spicy as Indian food. ‘Ashuk’, for instance is steamed and not at all spicy. It’s a flower which is found in places like Afghanistan, Iran and Turkmenistan,” Yousufi told IANS. Bhutanese food, on the other hand, is very hot and spicy. “Ema dati, for instance, which is made of chillies and cheese, is a delicacy and it’s very spicy. Similarly, ‘ra-cha’, which is a mutton delicacy is again spicy,” said Regina, the host at the Bhutan stall. If you love gorging on fishes, then a visit to the Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh stalls is an absolute must. “Hilsa and prawn dishes are a speciality and we are going to make a range of fish dishes. The green Bengal chicken is another speciality, which one must try,” said Tommy Miah, chef at the Bangladesh stall. “It’s rich green colour is because of the spinach and mint and not because of any artificial colour,” Miah added. Besides, the Bangladesh stall also had ‘shadkora gosht’, ‘masala jhinga’ and ‘llow ghoota’. Similarly, the Maldives stall had lots of fish dishes like ‘masbai’, which is rice-flavoured with tuna and pepper and ‘theluli rihaakuru’, another fish dish, while the Sri Lankan stall had fish ‘ambulthiyal’. Manoj Amardeepti, the Sri Lankan chef, said that their food is spicy, but uses less oil and lots of herbs. And, then, of course you have Pakistan and it’s aromatic fare simmering on the hot plates. ‘Kadai gosht’, ‘kohati bhindi bhujia’, ‘chappal kebab’... the tables decorated with all of this and more looks inviting and tempting. But how is any meal complete without a sweet lacing the end? So Maldives stood forth with its special ‘paan’, Afghanistan with ‘sheu pera’ Afghanistan with ‘aft mewa’, Sri Lanka with a jaggery dessert ‘wattalappan’ and Pakistan with its ‘phirni’. — IANS
	Italian orchestra to woo Delhi New Delhi, December 7 For all music lovers in the Capital, a wonderful ‘winter gift’ awaits—Italy’s famous Parma Royal Theatre Orchestra will be performing in the Capital’s Purana Quila on December 10. The orchestra, whose musicians were among the best throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, had performed in Delhi and Mumbai to a great success last year. Delhi Tourism chairperson Sanat Kaul, who in association with the Embassy of Italy and the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) is organising the concert for the second time, said such initiatives would help establish Delhi as an international city. “This concert is one of the defining moments of Indo-Italian cultural relations. These events help establish Delhi as an international city.” “Why we organise such concerts in archaeological sites is because these sites are a part of our cultural heritage. That’s why for various annual festivals like Ananya or Jehan-e-Khusru the venue is the Qutb Minar, Humanyun’s tomb, Quli Khan’s tomb or the Purana Quila,” Kaul told IANS. Patrizia Raveggi, director of the Italian Cultural Centre, added that archaeological sites were always used in Italy for cultural programmes, theatre performances and cinema screenings. “It’s a tradition in Italy to hold cultural programmes in archaeological sites in the summers. Since India is as culturally wealthy as Italy, it was decided that the concert should be held in the open air, in an archaeological site. “Also the fact that the Italian ambassador, Antonio Armellini, was absolutely thrilled after going to a concert held at the Purana Quila,” Raveggi said. The 67-member orchestra will perform a number of classical arias from well-known operas by some of Italy’s best musicians such as Verdi, Donizzetti, Puccini and Rossini.Opera began in Italy at the end of 17th century after intellectuals gathered in Florence to revive Greek drama. Initially, the opera was recited, but since Italians loved music and melody that flavour was generously blended into it later on. — IANS
	JNUSU, AISA demand Haryana govt’s apology Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 7 The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) and the All India Students’ Association (AISA) have condemned the Haryana government’s alleged casteist advertisement published in national dailies on December 6. The JNUSU and the AISA have asked the Haryana government to apologise. The advertisement reads, “Haryana sarkar ka yeh ailan, Daliton ko mile pura samman.” The scheme announced that over 11,000 people belonging to the Scheduled Caste would be employed as safai karamcharis in 6,764 villages. “The JNUSU does not think lowly of the work done by safai karamcharis. In fact, it is one of the toughest jobs. But, the question is that whenever the issues of Dalit rights and honour to the community arise, why is the amelioration seen only in terms of job opportunities as safai karamcharis? This is an open endorsement and perpetuation of the age old casteist hierarchy dictated by the Brahminical ideology of the division of labour,” said Sandeep Singh, president, JNUSU. The JNUSU believes that the states should take relevant steps to abolish the age-old caste hierarchy. “Instead of doing this, the state is sponsoring casteist ideology. It is shocking that the Haryana government is proudly announcing its endorsement in the name of positive intervention for Dalit rights. What was always there as an implicit bias in the functioning of the Indian state, now finds place as explicit official state policy.” “Whether it is Gohana, Jhajjar or other incidents that go unnoticed, Dalits have always faced the brunt of casteism. But, when the government endorses casteism as official policy, it is like adding insult to injury,” added Sandeep. Ravi Rai, general secretary, AISA, says, “The recent announcement of the Hooda government has gone a step ahead. It has junked its pretensions and made proud announcements of the deep-seated casteist bias in the name of ameliorative state policy. This is nothing but state-sponsored casteism.” Awadhesh, president, AISA/JNU said, “What else can be expected from the perpetuators of Gurgaon and Gohana, and the sponsors of land grab for SEZs across Haryana?” added Unit.
	Sudhir Mishra talks about ‘Khoya Khoya...’ Subhash K. Jha Director Sudhir Mishra denies that his film ‘Khoya Khoya Chand’, which is set in the Bollywood of 1950s, is based on Guru Dutt’s life. “I’ve people, incidents and films from the 1950s in the background. I’ve captured the essence of the times, by using my characters as an entry point into that era,” Mishra told IANS. Starring Shiney Ahuja and Soha Ali Khan, the film released today. Heading towards his 60s, Mishra is now getting mellow in his work. For now, he has had enough of hard-hitting political dramas. “‘Khoya Khoya Chand’ is my most intensely romantic film to date. I’ve tried to put aside the dark brooding political parable of ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi’. My biggest problem here was how do I enter the film industry, as it existed in the 1950s?” Mishra says the film is lavish by his standards. “The producers Adlabs have left no stone unturned to give me the financial freedom to recreate that era gone by. Also, Shantanu Moitra’s music really helps in recreating the aura of the era.” He raves about his leading lady. “Soha has evolved into such a wonderful actress. She’s been an amazing revelation. Soha has worked very hard.” After ‘Khoya Khoya Chand’, Mishra is all set to do one more romantic film. This time, it would be ‘Devdas’. “I’m trying to challenge myself into a state of intense romanticism. Not get bogged down in a predictable pattern. I don’t want my filmmaking to convey reflexes that have become second nature to me. “I enjoyed going down an unexpected route in ‘Khoya Khoya Chand’. It’s a bit more like my ‘Chameli’ than ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein....’,” said the director of films like ‘Calcutta Mail’ and ‘Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin’. — IANS

Schools not satisfied with guidelines
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 7
Many private schools spread across the Capital have shown their dissatisfaction over the new nursery admission guidelines issued by the Education Department of the Government of Delhi. School authorities feel that there are certain points in the clause, which go against the autonomy of the schools.

Most schools are not satisfied with the clause stating that no formal or informal interaction with the child and parents is allowed at the time of admission. The private aided and unaided schools have thus decided to request the Department of Education, Delhi Government to extend the time limit for submission of guidelines for pre-primary sections and also review the clause that prevents formal interaction of schools with children and parents.

“We have decided to request the Education Department to extend the deadline of submitting guidelines for admission. We will also request the department to review the clause that prevents formal interaction of schools with children and parents. We should be given autonomy to know about the financial and socio-cultural background of students,” said SL Jain, secretary of National Progressive School Conference, a body of 300 schools.

Lok Adalat to settle pending traffic fines

New Delhi, December 7
The Delhi Police is organising a mega Lok Adalat, people’s court, on December 9 and 16 to give an opportunity to traffic violators to settle their pending fines.

Joint commissioner of police (traffic) Qamar Ahmed today said, “After seeing the response from the earlier Lok Adalat that helped clear many pending challans, we are again organising it.”

The Lok Adalat, jointly organised by the Delhi Legal Service Authority and the traffic police, will be held on December 9 and 16 at Tis Hazari, Karkardooma, Patiala House and Rohini courts.

“Till date, more than 2,00,000 cases of challans are pending in the Capital. I appeal to people to use this opportunity to settle the challans. Metropolitan magistrates will be handling the cases at the four complexes,” said Qamar Ahmed.

The first Lok Adalat in September had settled 44,852 challans. — IANS

Groom’s face blackened for demanding dowry

Ghaziabad, December 7
Enraged over sudden demand of dowry, villagers and relatives of a girl’s family yesterday blackened the face of her prospective groom and carried out a procession in Simbhawli village near Garhmukteshwar, police said. The groom, Sonu Prajapathi refused to marry her unless he was not handed over the sum following which his family members and relatives were locked up in a room. The bride then asked the groom to pay the marriage expenses incurred by her father as a virtual ransom. The father of the groom, Dayanand prajapathi then rushed back to his house and paid Rs 1,36,000 for releasing the members, they said. — PTI

Nine-day plan to spread Vedic message
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 7
To spread the ancient Vedic wisdom of global understanding, peace and ideal human civilization, Akhil Bhartiya Rajacharya Sabha is holding a nine-day programme titled Ved Kamdhenu Vishwa Vijay Yag (December 9-16, 2007) at Arya Samaj Diwan Hall, Chandani Chowk here.

Being a unique programme of its kind in the country, a large number of erudite Vedic scholars, eminent academicians and personalities have given their consent to participate in this event.

Elaborate preparations and arrangements are being made for meaningful deliberations, debates and discussions on the significance of Vedas for peaceful existence of human civilization.

The programme is being convened by the president, Akhil Bhartiya Raj Arya Sabha, Mahendra Singh Arya.

Four get life imprisonment
Our correspondent

Ghaziabad, December 7
Four young men murdered an old man under the influence of liquor. The man’s only fault was that he had advised them to give up drinking. The four were awarded life imprisonment by the court of Additional District and Session Judge, Ghaziabad, Rajinder Babu Sharma.

The court fined them Rs 5,000 each, the non-payment of which will further extend their imprisonment by another six months.

According to the assistant public prosecutor, Brijender Kumar Tyagi, Anil Kumar was standing in front of his house in Rajiv Garden, Loni along with his father Jagdish Prasad on November 6, 2002. At about 7 p.m. his neighbours, Pradeep, Nitin, Ashwani and Hira Lal started creating disturbance there. They were carrying lathis and batons.

Jagdish Prasad advised the young men against consuming liquor. Angered at this they assaulted the old man and fled from the scene. Jagdish Prasad breathed his last while being rushed to hospital.

Contractor robbed in Gurgaon

New Delhi, December 7
A labour contractor, Mukesh Jain was today robbed of Rs 1.5 million by some unknown men from his car in Gurgaon.

Jain had withdrawn Rs 1.35 million from Canara Bank, Bhim Nagar branch, in Gurgaon. He had kept Rs 2,00,000 in his car, as he had to make some payments.

While returning, Jain stopped at his office to collect papers. Some unidentified men, who had been following him from the bank, broke the window of his car and fled with the money. “We have registered a case of theft and are investigating the matter. According to preliminary reports, some persons were following Jain from the bank till he reached his office,” said a senior police official of New Colony Chowki, Gurgaon. — IANS

Mercury rises slightly
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 7
A day after the national Capital witnessed the coldest day of the season, the mercury rose slightly today morning with a thin layer of fog enveloping the city.

Minimum temperature rose to 8.8 degree Celsius against a minimum of 7.3 degree Celsius, the lowest so far recorded yesterday. The maximum visibility was 600 meters in the morning and flights took off as per schedule.

One held

Noida, December 7
Police yesterday arrested one Rohit Tandon from Mamura area here who was allegedly involved behind several petty thefts.

He admitted to have committed over 40 snatching cases in Noida. — PTI