 |
|
|
Councillors to recover house tax
Delhi gets Rs 1,240 cr
‘People-friendly budget’
Minister’s son held
for triple murder
Book on three Pak Presidents launched
|
|
|
CBSE exams begin today
Amity organises media festival
Son feigns abduction
RWAs advised on civic services
JNU science fest starts
Children’s fest opens
Huge haul of pirated DVDs
Three cops attacked by party revellers
Speeding buses crush one to death
Man acquitted in bomb case
Woman given acid to drink, dies
Husband pours acid on wife
Brahma Kumaris’ Shivaratri fest begins
Conference on citizenship, governance
|
|
Councillors to recover house tax
Faridabad, February 29 In an apparent carrot and stick policy today, it displayed names of 10 defaulters whose individual arrears are Rs 20 lakh. The MCF has also prepared lists of names of small amount defaulters and is in the process of handing them to the councillors concerned and RWAs to motivate the defaulters to come good on clearing up their dues. According to the official version, the present arrears add up to about Rs 1 crore. The Ballabgarh zone of the MCF collects about Rs 4 crore as house tax, every financial year. However, the present drive to recover the arrears is not only of the current financial year, but of the earlier entire backlog from the defaulters. The joint commissioner of the Ballabgarh unit of the MCF, Pushpinder Singh Chauhan said that the list is being given to the councillors and the RWAs to motivate the defaulters to pay up the arrears to avail of the government scheme of waiver of house tax on “self-occupied houses”. The scheme could be availed only by those house owners who have cleared all their dues in terms of house tax by this March-end. Chauhan said that the MCF was trying to reach out to the defaulters only to make them conscious of the scheme which will come into effect from the next financial year. He made it clear that those who would continue as defaulters on house tax cannot claim benefit of the scheme, even if they plead ignorance on the issue. |
|
|
Budget
New Delhi, February 29 Last year, the NCT of Delhi had received Rs 988.11 crores as central assistance. The NCT of Delhi is provided central assistance because of its limited statehood status. The central assistance plan includes normal assistance as well as additional central assistance for specific programmes like — National Social Assistance Programme including, Annapurna (NSAP), Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG), Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), National e-Governance Action Plan (NEGAP) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY). Rs 400 crore has been allocated for developing infrastructure for Commonwealth Games 2010. The Delhi Police has also received a marginal increase in its annual allocation. As compared to Rs 1,404.13 crore last year, Rs 1,525.90 crore has been allocated for its development. The additional amount is meant for modernising traffic signals in the NCT of Delhi. The national Capital has seen a remarkable growth in the volume of traffic in the last few years. This has caused considerable chaos on roads and has led to an increase in road accidents. It was felt that traffic signals in the NCT of Delhi required immediate upgradation.
|
|
|
New Delhi, February 29 The DPCC has lauded the national budget as one of the best ever. Finance minister P. Chidambaram presented the budget in Lok Sabha today. “The budget has waived off the loans of around four crore farmers across the country, bringing relief to every section of the society,” said Jai Prakash Agarwal, president, DPCC. “Another feature of the budget is that by keeping out those with annual income of Rs 1.5 lakh outside the tax net, countless people in the service sector would be benefited,” he said.—TNS
|
|
|
Minister’s son held for triple murder
Noida, February 29 “Ravinder Bhati was arrested on the intervening night of Thursday-Friday from the minister’s house during a raid,” senior superintendent of Noida Police A. Satish Ganesh told reporters. Ravinder was named along with his two accomplices - both named Ravi - and two unidentified people for killing two transporters and their driver in the Greater Noida area on February 6, the official said. Ved Ram Bhati was also named for criminal conspiracy in the first information report (FIR). He is still untraced, the police said. On February 6, the transporters, Yusuf and his brother Shahbuddin, were going in their car with their driver Suresh, when another car overtook them in Kasna area of Greater Noida around 3 pm. Ravinder Bhati and his associates got out of their car and shot the three people, according to the police. While the two brothers died on the spot, Suresh succumbed to his injuries in a hospital. Rivalry over a transport contract had led to the murder, according to the police. Ravinder Bhati had allegedly demanded Rs.20 million as extortion money from the two transporters for operating in what he claimed to be his territory. When they refused to pay, they were shot dead, according to the police. — IANS
|
|
|
Book on three Pak Presidents launched
New Delhi, February 29“This book has so much history in it and history is virtually repeating itself today in Pakistan,” said ambassador Arshad Sami Khan, at a function organized to launch his book, ‘Three Presidents and an Aide: Life Power and Politics’ in the Capital recently. Khan adds that the book “speaks not just of Pakistan but of the entire region as a whole and you cannot extricate one from the other.” Others present at the launch included I.K. Gujral, former Prime Minister of India and Capt Amarinder Singh, former chief minister of Punjab.. The book has been brought out by Pentagon Press and offers a first-hand narrative of three presidencies in Pakistan, narrated of course from a personal perspective covering the period between 1965 and 1972. The author continued on a somewhat nostalgic note that, “as two nations we have faith differences but that should not lead us to fighting wars. There is a tremendous amount of bigotry that has to be overcome.” He further specifies that, “this book is not a historic narrative but is a factual story and I have written it as I saw it happening. For me historic writing is a bit forensic, like seeing from a prison, but having lived through history as it was made under three presidencies, I was a witness to events that no historian can capture with accuracy.” “For instance while working with men who were holders of major offices, I realized that they were just common men with trials and tribulations, their shares of ups and downs and with skeletons to hide in their cupboards,” said Khan. The book was released by former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral who went ahead and said, “This is a very nostalgic evening for many of us. It brings back memories of when Nawaz Sharif and I talked for the first time in Male and Nawaaz said to me, ‘I know I cannot take Kashmir from you and you cannot give it to me but there is no harm done in talking just for talk’s sake’.” Gujral congratulated the author on the “human touch” in the book. Capt Amarinder Singh mentioned, “In sixty years, we have grown as two nations and my attempt has always been to bring the two nations closer using the great common heritage the two Punjabs share.” Capt Amarinder Singh commented on the book that, “the book has much controversy to offer but then that is a part of the writing process. I think the era of wars is over and future wars will be economic ones. Punjab can make a major contribution in bringing the two nations closer culturally and economically.”
|
|
|
CBSE exams begin today
New Delhi, February 29 ‘’The Board is fully prepared to conduct the examinations. All security measures are also in place,’’ CBSE chairman Ashok Ganguly claimed. While the class 10th examinations will be conducted from March 1 to 27, the Class 12 examinations will be held from March 1 to April 2. The examinations will be conducted across 5,018 centres of which 375 have been marked as sensitive and will have additional security measures. The National Capital Territory alone will have 1,109 centres. The board, this year, is introducing redesigned High Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) question paper for both the standards. Based on the national curriculum framework—2005, the new design includes about 10 per cent of very short answer questions and about 20 per cent of questions to assess HOTS. Advising students to stay calm, Ganguly said the new pattern will test understanding of information and the focus will be on measuring students’ abilities to reason, justify and evaluate information. ‘’If a student has understood the basic concept then he will have no problems solving the paper. But in case a candidate has tried to mug up the lesson then it will be tough,’’ he added. This year more than 7.65 lakh students will write the class 10 examination and more than 5.48 lakh the class 12 examination, which is an about eight per cent increase in the total number of candidates.
|
|
|
Amity organises media festival
New Delhi, February 29 The festival, which was inaugurated by Asha Swarup, IAS, secretary ministry of information & broadcasting, gave an opportunity to media students from various institutions across India to showcase their talents in various fields and interact with media professionals. Swarup asked media to highlight people who are doing substantial work in suburbs and villages. She also released The Beat, a magazine of Amity School of Communication. Director Amity School of Communication and Amity Institute of Event Management Col. R K Dargan- welcomed the gathering. A seminar on `Media and Social Metamorphosis’ was organised. The participants of the seminar included Alok Mehta Editor, Outlook (Hindi); Tara Sinha- member advisory council IIT and chairperson- advertising committee, ASOCHAM; Kavita Sharma- principal, Hindu College and Maj Gen Vinod Saighal, defence expert. Pricking the balloon of glamour associated with media, Alok Mehta said that journalists were often pressurized to suppress the facts as a result of which either the facts were not conveyed or distorted. He called upon the people to shun slumber and raise their voice against things that were not acceptable. Talking about the growing importance of media, Kavita Sharma said that today’s media challenges the establishment, brings out startling facts and reveals the plight of people. She said that knowledge and its dissemination was the best way to bring about social metamorphosis. Tara Sinha called upon the media to be responsible towards society. A short film, “Manjushree”, on destitute children ,made be an Amity student ,was also screened. A photo exhibition showcasing the works of students was also put up. Several colleges and media institutes including JIMS, Apeejayss, NRAI, IP University, Kamala Nehru College, NIFT, NIFD, Dayal Singh College, Atma Ram Sanatam Dharma and various Amity Institutions participated in the festival.
|
|
|
Son feigns abduction
New Delhi, February 29 On February 25, Vishnu Kumar had reported that his son Rohit Kumar, 21, who manufactures cardboard cartons at a factory in Bihari Colony, Shahdara, had been missing from his factory since February 23. A missing report was lodged at Farash Bazar police station. Next day Vishnu Kumar told the police that when he called upon his son’s mobile, somebody picked the phone from the other side and told him that Rohit had borrowed Rs 50,000 from him and unless he paid it, his son would be killed. Vishnu had agreed to pay the amount. As per the plan and instruction of the police, at about 11.00 pm next day, the complainant again called the abductor who told him to reach at the entrance gate of Shahdara Metro Station at 12.00 pm where one person would contact him and hand over the amount to him. On this information, inspector Dinesh Kumar immediately took position around the entry gate of Shahdara Metro Station along with his team under the close supervision of Kapoor Singh, A.C.P., Vivek Vihar subdivision. At about 12.30. pm, one Bhoora, alias Shiv Singh, of Balram Gali Vishwas Nagar came there and received the ransom packet from the complainant. The police team immediately apprehended him along with ransom amount. Bhoora revealed that he is a friend of Rohit who himself had planned the drama of his abduction conspiring with him and another friend Vikas Sharma of Shalimar Garden, Ghaziabad. They enacted the drama to extort money from his father as Rohit Kumar was under debts. Vikas Sharma was attending the phone calls of the complainant and demanding money on the instruction of Rohit Kumar. He was changing his voice during conversation as he is well known to the complainant. On further interrogation, accused Bhoora confessed that Rohit and Vikas Sharma sent him at Shahdara Metro Station to receive the ransom money. At the instance of accused Bhoora, Rohit Kumar was also arrested from Swaran Cinema where he was waiting for Bhoora. He also admitted to planning his own abduction conspiring with Bhoora and Vikas Sharma. Vikas Sharma is still at large and efforts are being made to arrest him. |
|
|
RWAs advised on civic services
New Delhi, February 29 She said this yesterday in an interaction with more than 40 office bearers of residents welfare associations (RWAs). The session lasted for 90 minutes. The RWA officers demanded that MCD and DDA officers should be present in Bhagidari meetings. They also demanded installing gates in colonies, co-operation from traffic police and covering of drains. They demanded that the problem of water shortage should be looked into. Besides, parks should be maintained. The Chief Minister instructed officers to involve RWAs in utilisation of ‘My Delhi I Care Fund’. Proper co-ordination between MCD and DDA was also discussed. The MCD is being requested to disseminate norms for installation of colony gates..
|
|
|
JNU science fest starts
New Delhi, February 29 The festival aims to promote inter-disciplinary research through maximum utilisation of in-house talent. Topics like — emergent technologies, Chemistry in Biology, dynamics of environmental processes, computation tools in Science, health and disease would be discussed. There would be an open session discussion on the promotion of inter-science-school-collaboration in teaching and research. |
|
|
Children’s fest opens
New Delhi, February 29 The five-day festival started with the release of two video documentaries based on the life and achievements of Amrita Pritam and Kaifi Azmi. |
|
|
Huge haul of pirated DVDs
New Delhi, February 29 The case was registered on the complaint of Indian Music Industries Ltd. Accused Ram Kumar Gupta was running an electronic video library under the name of R.K. Electronics at Ashok Nagar, Shahdara. Ram Kumar Gupta had got proper video library licence for Super Cassettes Industries and Jordern Electronics in the guise of this video library he was supplying pirated DVDs. The modus operandi of the accused is being investigated. |
|
|
Three cops attacked by party revellers
New Delhi, February 29 According to police, they had received a call around 1.50 am on the PCR that a DJ in lane number 13 of East Gorakh Park was playing and disturbing the residents staying there. As a result, ASI Jaswant Singh, 55, constable Satyanarayan and constable Subhash reached the spot and asked the DJ playing there in a marriage ceremony to be stopped. Enraged by the police interference in the ceremony, some of the revellers got into fist fight with the policemen. Their motorcycle and wireless set were broken in the melee. When the news of attack on the policemen reached the police station, a larger force was sent to the venue. Jaichand, Sandeep, Zile Singh and Satayender, alias Vicky, who was playing the DJ were arrested by the police. The four were booked for attacking the policemen on duty and a case was lodged against them. According to the Supreme Court ruling, the DJ or use of loudspeakers after 10 pm is not permitted in the Capital. |
|
|
Speeding buses crush one to death
Noida, February 29 According to the police, two buses transporting staff members of Samsung Electronics Ltd were speeding to overtake each other when they hit a man crossing a road opposite the civil courts. The deceased was later identified as Nihar Naik. Eyewitness said the buses were racing at high speed when the driver of a bus lost control and it collided with the other bus. Many passengers were also injured in the accident. Drivers of the buses are absconding. The buses have been seized anda criminal case against the two drivers has been registered. —
IANS |
|
|
New Delhi, February 29 “The unexplained, inordinate delay in defusing the bombs coupled with the unexplained delay in sending the exhibits to CFSL (Central Forensic Science Laboratory) raise doubt in the prosecution case regarding the recovery of the incriminating articles,” Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Sharma said while acquitting East Delhi resident Shammi Alam. According to the prosecution, the police arrested Alam on June 19, 1999 from the Seemapuri Chowk area. The police also seized a country-made pistol from him. A case was registered against him under various provisions of the Arms Act and the Explosive Substances Act. The prosecution, which examined 16 witnesses, however, failed to convince the court about the alleged sequence of events leading to the recovery of the firearms and the bombs. — IANS
|
|
|
Woman given acid to drink, dies
Ghaziabad, February 29 Mamta, a resident of Shaheed Nagar locality of this city, was assaulted by her husband Satish and other members of the family on Wednesday night. They demanded that she ask her parents for more money. When she collapsed half-conscious from the beating and asked for water, the husband’s family gave her acid to drink. She died in hospital later. The police have registered a criminal case against the husband, the father-in-law, mother-in-law and sister-in-law. According to the police, Mamta, who belonged to Garh Mukteswar in Uttar Pradesh, was married to Satish in 2001. Her husband began harassing her for dowry right thereafter. But Mamta pleaded that her parents were small farmers and could not give more money. But Satish, whose small shop was not doing well, kept harassing her for money. The couple had three children - Manish (6), Shivam (5) and Beenu (3). Mamta was taken to Delhi’s Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, where she died on Thursday night. Her brother Niwas Singh filed a complaint with the police. Deputy Superintendent of Police Circle Officer S.P. Singh told IANS that all the accused were absconding. — IANS
|
|
|
New Delhi, February 29 Jyoti, a 26-year-old housewife, was attacked when she was alone at her home in Saraswati Vihar, a police official said. “The divorce proceedings between the couple were on. The accused is absconding after pouring acid on his wife and police teams are on a lookout for him,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Manish Aggarwal told IANS. Jyoti was admitted to a nearby hospital with nearly 30 per cent burns and her condition is stated to be critical. The doctors are planning to shift her to Safdarjung Hospital, which has a special burns ward. On Thursday, two assailants had poured acid on a 53-year-old school superintendent. — IANS
|
|
Brahma Kumaris’ Shivaratri fest begins
New Delhi, February 29 Chief of Brahma Kumaris Rajyogini Dadi Janki and union minister of state for urban development Ajay Maken will inaugurate the festival at Sector-3 Ground, Sadiq Nagar in South Delhi tomorrow evening. Rajyoga meditation and drug de-addiction camps will be conducted on all six days. The peace festival will have lectures-cum-experimental sessions on stress-free living, meditation as medication and a Kavi Sammelan on ‘Sab ka Malik Ek.’ Shivaratri will be celebrated on the last day. A programme on ‘celebrating human greatness’ will be held at Siri Fort Auditorium here on Sunday. The programme is designed to awaken, encourage and reveal the innate positive qualities in people. Rajyogini Dadi Janki and Rajyogini B K Mohini, director, Brahma Kumaris centres in USA will address the programme. Pictures and models depicting holistic health, easy Rajyoga, 12 jyotirlingam temples, self and god realisation will be exhibited. Besides, value-games and spiritual literature will be displayed. |
|
|
Conference on citizenship, governance
New Delhi, February 29 The conference ,organized by the Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), focused on the contemporary issues that affect the marginalised sections amongst women, tribal, dalits and economically deprived. Some of the issues that were discussed during the conference included, social transformation through economic development, accountability in rural wage employment programmes, globalisation and women’s livelihoods. “India is witnessing a high rate of growth. In the present scenario, it is important to explore ways for creating an inclusive society that takes care of marginalised sections like women, dalits and poor,” said Rajesh Tandon, president, Society for Participatory Research in Asia. “The conference brought practitioners and researchers together to learn about issues to achieve citizenship and democratic governance crucial for creating an equitable society.” Some of the key speakers in the conference included Padmabhusan TK Oommen, noted sociologist, Emeritus, SSS JNU and Budd Hall, Director, University of Victoria. |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
