New Delhi, February 7
De-sealing of illegal commercial establishments in the Capital will be renewed with greater vigour. The civic authorities today held a meeting and discussed a blueprint to hasten the process.

“Senior officials met on Thursday to work out an effective action plan for de-sealing unauthorised constructions. We will advertise in print and the electronic media to let people know the types of unauthorised constructions which will be de-sealed,” Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) spokesman Deep Mathur told IANS.

He said de-sealing would pick up momentum once the civic authorities were ready with the blueprint. “The de-sealing has not been put on hold,” he said. No properties, however, were de-sealed on Thursday.

“Just because no unauthorised property was de-sealed on Thursday does not mean that de-sealing has been put on hold. It will be incorrect to draw inferences,” Mathur said.

The civic authorities on Wednesday launched de-sealing drive in south Delhi, following a government notification issued January 30. Only one property was de-sealed. The notification has frozen all sealing activities till December 2008.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi February 5 filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court apprising it of the de-sealing process and the central government’s January 30 notification.

Over 3,000 properties that were padlocked under the Supreme Court order for violating the Delhi Master Plan 2021, are expected to be covered under the government notification. Over 1,500 unauthorised colonies in the capital will also get some respite.

Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy January 30 notified, “Notwithstanding any judgment, decree, or order of court, steps will be taken by the local authority to maintain status quo as on January 1, 2006, in respect of encroachment or unauthorised development, including de-sealing.”

The Supreme Court is going to review Delhi’s Master Plan February 13. The plan will sanction new areas for commercial activity. — IANS

New Delhi, February 7
In order to ensure better safety on the Capital’s roads, a motorcycle -borne Delhi Traffic Police contingent was introduced today. The contingent, comprising a fleet of 200 motorcycles with accessories such as PA system and siren , was flagged off by Tejendra Khanna, Lieutenant General, Delhi, at the India Gate in presence of Y.S. Dadwal, commissioner of police, and other senior police officers.

These officials can prosecute the violators while patrolling between the corridors allocated to them. This will check traffic violations between corridors. Besides prosecuting the violators, these officials will clear off any kind of hindrance that may occur due to an accident, vehicle break-down. They will ensure disciplined behavior of bus drivers and commuters at bus stops. They will also check offences such as lane indiscipline, overtaking from left, zig-zag driving, unauthorized parking, triple riding, riding without helmet, defective number plate, driving on wrong side, beggars/hawkers, red light jumping, using mobile phone while driving, without seat belt, jaywalking.

On the occasion ,a fleet consisting of 121 PCR Patrol Riders was also inducted. The PCR Patrol shall take care of law and order, specially in busy market places and other important corridors. They shall be under the charge of PCR and shall assist in reducing response time in attending the calls. The staff shall be provided by police stations concerned. Their services shall be utilized to attend PCR calls in such areas where PCR vans are unable to reach due to congestion or otherwise.

New Delhi, February 7
The much-debated issue of banning smoking in cinema has left a Delhi High Court bench divided, forcing it to refer the matter to another court today.

The division bench comprising Justices Mukul Mudgal and Sanjiv Khanna was to pronounce the verdict today, but could not do so as the two judges had formed different opinions on whether smoking scenes be shown in films. They had reserved the ruling for more than six months.

Justice Mudgal in his judgement has stressed the point that banning smoking in films will hamper the right to freedom of speech and expression.

“The blanket restriction put on the scenes of smoking in all films and television serials even with the editorial justification cannot be sustained, as it is, in my view, unreasonable and violates Article 19(1)(a) for that reason,” said Justice Mudgal in his order.

Such a blanket ban would clearly proscribe the depiction of what actually transpires in life in this country and curb artistic expression and creative freedom contrary to the law laid down, he said. Justice Mudgal cited examples from the TV serials based on Mahabharata and Ramayana, in which scenes of gambling, kidnapping and deceit were shown, and said such depictions cannot be legitimately prohibited to promote a morally idealistic society.

“Imagine a film where all is well and every character is moral and obeys the laws and is happy and contended. Such a script, apart from being very boring, also necessarily has to be very short,” said Mudgal in his order.Justice Khanna completely differed from him and referred the matter to the chief justice’s court for February 14.

The high court July 25 last year reserved its order on the petition of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt challenging the validity of the Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production and Supply Act, 2003. — IANS

New Delhi, February 7
The South District Police has rescued Mohit, 2, who was kidnapped from his father’s tailoring shop in the Greater Kailash area on October 22, 2007, from Virar in Mumbai.

A woman named Mohitan alias Anjali, 32, has been arrested in this connection.

She worked at Mohit’s father Rajbir Singh’s shop for about five months. Rajbir Singh suspected Mohitan behind his son’s kidnapping, as he was last seen with her.

The police failed to nab Mohitan, but traced her brother. His mobile phone details revealed that he had received a call each from Mumbai and Pune.

Following a tip off, a police team went to Mumbai and Pune.

It was found that the call had been made from a STD booth at Nala Sopara East near Virar, Mumbai. The STD booth owner said that a lady had made the call. However, he could not provide any other clue.

Later, it was learnt that a dark complexioned lady had recently shifted with her husband and a two-year-old boy in Sainath Chaal, Krishna Nagar, Nala Sopara East, near Virar in Mumbai. Mohit was with her. The police nabbed the lady and rescued the boy.

Noida, February 7
Uttar Pradesh minister for home guards Ved Ram Bhati and his son are among the four who have been named Thursday in the case of murder of two businessmen brothers and their driver.

Unidentified men shot the two businessmen, Yusuf and Shahbuddin, and their driver Suresh with semi-automatic weapons in Kasna town, near here Wednesday.

Superintendent of police, Greater Noida, Avdhesh Kumar Vijaita told reporters that the murder was a result of a feud over a transport contract.

The police have registered a murder case against Bhati, his son Ravinder and four others.

According to sources, local transporters resented the entry of Noida-based Yusuf and Shahbuddin bagging contracts from Greater Noida-based manufacturing companies.

Local transporters had earlier demanded Rs.20 million as extortion money from Yusuf and his associates. Their refusal to pay up led to the murder, the sources said.

Bhati’s portfolio was changed some time back when his son was found involved in an extortion case.

On Thursday, the victims’ families staged protest at sector-12 and 22 crossing here and blocked traffic. After much effort, the district administration succeeded in convincing the families to perform their last rites in the afternoon. — IANS

New Delhi, February 7
Health minister Anbumani Ramadoss today inaugurated a test tube baby centre at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here. This is country’s first such centre in any government-run institution.

The test tube baby centre medically known as In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) centre will help tens of thousands of women suffering from infertility to conceive at “an affordable price”.

“Nearly eight per cent of couples in India suffer from infertility problem and this centre will certainly help them in getting a baby,” Ramadoss said after inaugurating the centre.

“This is the first IVF centre in the public sector and another milestone for the prestigious AIIMS,” he added.

He said the centre would also do research in areas like embryonic cell and stem cell therapy.

Suneeta Mittal, head of the department of gynaenecology, heads the centre.

“This is an important facility at AIIMS, which will not only help the poor people of the country who suffer from infertility but also serve as a platform for comprehensive research in the field,” she said.

While the major reasons of infertility in males are decreased sperm counts and abnormal sperms, in females blocked fallopian tubes, inability to ovulate and abnormalities in the genital tract are the major reasons for it.

“There has been a great need to develop a facility for assisted reproductive technique especially for the poor. The IVF facility is available in the private sector but is not within the reach of the common man due to its high cost. — IANS

New Delhi, February 7
The mercury in the Capital today dropped to 6.4 ° C, three degrees below normal from balmy 8.8 °C yesterday.

The Met office attributed the drop in mercury to the absence of the thick cloud cover, which had caused a rise in temperatures in the past two days.

Meanwhile, after a dense fog yesterday, which plummeted visibility levels and caused flight delays, near normal visibility levels were observed in the city today.

There could be a slight increase in minimum temperature tomorrow with the weatherman forecasting a rise to 7°C. The Met office has forecast a partly cloudy sky in during the next 24 hours with a possibility of slight mist in the morning. 

New Delhi, February 7
The eyebrows and the width of the face determine how you will conduct yourself on meeting a person. If his eyebrows are close to the eyes then he will be keen to be close from the word go. If the eyebrows are high above the eyes, then the person will keep a distance. 

The shape of the eyebrows allows you to assess whether a person is logical, likes to be the centre of attention, sees himself in the role of a skilful puller of strings or is a perfectionist.

Author of book entitled ‘Genetic Face Reading - The Secret Key to more success as a boss, salesman, colleague and in your private life’ Wolfgang Decius said this at the release of the book yesterday.

The width of the face reveals whether the person is more like a lion or a gazelle. The broader your face, the more lion-like the person. These people instinctively feel equal to others in just about every situation. The gazelle-like person registers possible threats very quickly and will become stresed if they feel they are not being supported.

He said that the book reveals how each facial feature, of which there are 17 variations, determines exactly how a person will behave emotionally in a given situation. “If you develop the right skills, you will be able, for example, to determine the outcome of a business negotiation”, he added.

He said that if you consider all 17 variations of features you will be able to conduct your business negotiation, successfully. The skill of being able to interpret facial structures is applicable to every aspect of a person’s life, from business negotiation to interacting with your employees and colleagues, to interacting with your partner and children.

Our genetic make-up determines our face structure, how we behave and react emotionally. He said that the brain has an area, which is specially related to facial recognition and we utilize this function subconsciously, but without having the skill to interpret its meaning.

Director of National Book Trust Nuzhat Hassan releasing the book at the 18th New Delhi World Book Fair, 2008 here, said the book shall go a long way in understanding the human behaviors.

Subhash Goyal, chairman, Stic Travels and Balraj Nandwani, director, The Skills Academy, spoke about wide applicability of the book for the people from all walks of life and across the globe. The publisher of the book, Ashwini Goel was also present.

New Delhi, February 7
The ninth annual cultural extravaganza ‘Anugoonj-2008,’ got underway at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) on Thursday on the university campus. The festival will run from February 7 to 10.

Inaugurating the four-day students’ festival, Pavan Kumar Verma, the director general, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, urged the students to remember their ‘Indianness’ and culture and not become mere photocopies of others. A Shiva Stuti was performed by Kathak danseuses Nalini and. Kamalini.

Seventy toppers of the common entrance tests conducted by the university were felicitated by vice-chancellor Prof K. K. Aggarwal with a certificate and a scholarship amount of Rs 10,000 each.

Students participated in the various competitions, such as, Light Vocal (Indian) singing competition, Footloose – free style dancing, Painting competition, Collage making and Hindi Debate, on the topic, ‘Kya bhoomandalikaran ke karan Bharat ki pehchhan kho rahi hai?’ (Is India loosing its identity due to globalization?). A Kavi Sammelan was held.

New Delhi, February 7
Pragya Gildiyal, 23, paraplegic peer counselor at the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC), was confined to a wheelchair after an accident shattered her dream of becoming a yoga teacher. Post spine surgery she used the hospital wheelchair for nine months. It weighed 27 kgs and needed an assistant to move it.

Pragya was given a light-weighted wheelchair with removable armrests and footrests. Now she can even do wheelie (a wheelchair position on two rear wheels, which is specially needed for pressure relief and climb small obstacles) and she can also move on uneven terrain without anyone’s assistance.

Pragya is now teaching yoga to other patients at ISIC and leading a productive life.

Nekram Upadhyay, HOD, Assistive Technology Department, says that assistive technology develops a technical environment around the patient according to his/her lifestyle. “We design customized assistive devices keeping the Indian physical environment in mind and affordable to common man,” adds Nekram.

Another customized wheelchair user, 27 years old Rajiv Virat from Delhi was almost confined to the house after suffering from multiple sclerosis. With ISIC’s active user wheelchair, Rajiv says, “I can perform variety of things now as my wheelchair is portable and compact. I carry my wheelchair into my hand driven car independently and go out with friends and family members. I play various outdoor sports. Even my family is quite confident now that I am safe with this wheelchair and can handle small little things on my own. Additionally, I have a gel cushion, which is specially designed and customized as per my needs and sitting posture. Now I can sit for longer hours without any fatigue. I am enjoying and living my life to the fullest, thanks to these assistive devices”.

Forty year old Karamchand from Gurgaon is paraplegic and runs his own STD/PCO booth. Sitting for long hours on the wheelchair has increased risk of getting bed sores as he doesn’t have any sensation below the waist. Since he cannot afford the high tech air cushion that cost around Rs 23,000 he was given a low-tech customized cushion by the assistive technology department that hardly costs around Rs 250. He is using this assistive device since 8 months and has no complaints of bed sores. “The technology remains the same but we make it affordable to the common user. We bring adaptive features to the existing devices and make them usable for differently abled,” says Jyoti Vidhani, Programme Manager, Assistive Technology Department, ISIC.

According to the national statistics on disability there are 8 million potential wheelchair users in India (National Sample Survey Report 2002) at present. A majority of them, who already possess these devices, are unable to use them due to inappropriate configuration resulting in pain, fatigue and secondary injuries.

To gather empirical data regarding the suitability of customized wheelchairs, ISIC will now be embarking on a study comparing the usage patterns of individuals using hospital type and custom-fitted wheelchairs in collaboration with the Human Engineering Research Laboratory (HERL) at University of Pittsburgh, USA between January and May 2008. The research will focus on the changes in quality of life of wheelchair recipients at ISIC, after assistive technology (AT) has been provided and the impact different types of wheelchairs have on the mobility of differently abled. The work is funded by the National Science Foundation, a US Government facility.

New Delhi, February 7
Sangita Khanna, 52, suffers from diabetes. She is apprehensive about treating herself to a pedicure in a parlour, and rightly so.

A badly handled pedicure leading to cuts on the feet or minor burns from prolonged exposure to hot water can cause bacterial infections and non-healing ulcers in diabetic patients, as wounds take longer to heal in diabetic patients. Due to loss of sensation in their feet, diabetics often don’t come to know about such injury early enough.

Unfortunately, in India, beauticians as well as diabetics are mostly unaware of such threats.

After speaking to 10 premier beauty parlours in the city, IANS found that only four took special care in doing pedicures for diabetic men and women.

Banita Verma, who heads the Gurgaon branch of VLCC, a recognised healthcare centre, said, “Our clients don’t tell us if they are diabetic or not and we never ask them. But in case they are bruised or have any specific foot-related problem, we ensure utmost care in doing the pedicure.”

Nilisha Mehta, manager of the Lakme Beauty Salon, said its pedicurists are especially trained to refrain from massaging inappropriate pressure points for diabetics as well as heart patients and take all precautionary measures required for the safety of diabetic patients.

In India, almost 40,000 legs are amputated every year due to diabetes alone, says Ashok Jhingan, diabetologist and chairman of the Delhi Diabetes Research Centre. Ignorance, he says, is the major cause.

“Feet and vision are the worst-affected body parts of a diabetic. Due to a gradual decrease in vision, patients tend to wound themselves. And, due to a simultaneous loss of sensation in the feet, they do not feel the pain and hence the wound is ignored, causing a prolonged infection,” Jhingan said.

Anoop Misra, director and head of the department of diabetes and metabolism at the Fortis Group of Hospitals in Delhi, said, “Beauticians don’t have a clue to the adverse effects that pedicures can have on a diabetic patient. They use non-sterilised equipment, which can be a source of infection.”

But who is to be blamed for this ignorance?

“Doctors can be blamed. We are usually able to devote only 10 minutes per patient, in which case we can’t possibly diagnose, medicate and also educate them about foot care,” Misra said.

Misra revealed that according to preliminary data collected for an ongoing “foot care” awareness research, almost 80 per cent of diabetic women in Delhi lack basic knowledge about the importance of foot care.

Some experts are trying to generate awareness about the cause.

Meena Chhabbra, a diabetologist, who runs a private clinic in the Capital, distributes pamphlets and brochures packed with information about diabetic healthcare, including foot care, to her patients.

Explaining how pedicures cause infections, she said, “In a beauty parlour, limited equipment often compels their repeated use for every other customer, irrespective of the hazards of this practice. — IANS