New Delhi, April 7
A city-based businessman was killed today morning when three unidentified men on a motorcycle shot him in South Delhi, the police said, adding that a “property dispute” could have been the motive.

Arun Gupta, an electronic goods merchant, was killed at 10.40 a.m. while he was driving his car, barely a few metres from his Kalkaji home. The 47-year-old is survived by his wife and two sons.

“The rider was wearing a helmet, but the two people riding pillion were not. They first knocked on the side window of Gupta’s Wagon R car near a roundabout, signalling him to halt,” said Bobby, a witness.

“One man got down from the bike and pumped a bullet into Gupta’s head the moment he rolled down the window. I then heard one of the assailant saying, ‘the man inside the car is still alive, fire more.”

“The man then fired a bullet at Gupta’s chest and fled from the scene. I tried to stop them, even hit them with my purse,” the eyewitness said, pointing to her ripped bag.

New Delhi, April 7
The Delhi Consumer Commission has asked the University Grants Commission and other authorities, including the HRD ministry, to close down ill-equipped institutes offering courses from residential premises.

All such institutions, which are run in residential premises without having been recognised by the UGC or on the premise of ex post facto sanction (with retrospective effect), should be identified and closed down, Delhi State Consumer Commission chairman Justice J D Kapoor said.

The commission also came down heavily on the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for granting recognition to a course in aircraft maintenance offered by an institute operating from a house in Punjabi Bagh here.

Justice Kapoor’s order came while dismissing an appeal filed by the Indian Institute of Aeronautics (IIA) which offers B Tech in aircraft maintenance engineering, against an order of the district consumer forum to refund a student’s fees.

The forum had asked the IIA to refund Rs 82,500 to Diwakar Dhayani, a candidate and to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 to him for harassment and mental tension besides Rs 10,000 as cost of litigation for the B Tech course, to which he enrolled in June 2005, was not recognised by the UGC.

In its appeal, the IIA claimed having approval from DGCA to offer an aircraft maintenance engineering licence course and due recognition from JRN Rajasthan Vidyapeeth (deemed university), Udaipur, to conduct a 4-year professional B Tech programme.

It is disgusting that the government agency like DGCA has given recognition to a course being run from a house in a residential colony, the commission said.

There cannot be a worst kind of misrepresentation, unfair and deceptive practice and to play with the career and prospects of aspiring youths who after completion of such course, don’t even get salary equivalent to that of a clerk in a private or government organisation, the commission said, imposing an additional cost of rs 25,000 on the institute.

The commission said that, till date, the UGC had not approved study centres of any deemed to be university. It said ex post facto sanction (with retrospective effect) for any course was also not acceptable as per the UGC rules.

Justice Kapoor ordered that his order be sent to the HRD ministry, DGCA as well as the UGC for closing down institutes and centres being run without sanction from the UGC.

The commission also said that the UGC had notified that deemed to be universities were not permitted to affiliate any college or institute. Such universities could offer distance education programme only through their own study centres.

Deprecating the practice of starting an institute on ex post facto sanction premise, it said it is most unfortunate that the appellant, who is running a centre from only a residential house in Punjabi Bagh locality, did not have any recognised study centre approved by the UGC.

The institute was not at all competent or authorised to admit students in Delhi for a four years course of B Tech under the garb of affiliation from the JRN Rajasthan University, the commission said. — UNI

New Delhi, April 7
Gender sensitive workplaces maximise the potential of female employees, says a book released on Monday that suggests various measures like flexible hours to make offices more women-friendly.

“Engendering Workplaces: Framework for a Gender Policy”, as the manual is called, lists out recommendations that organisations should follow to retain women employees and “bring out the best in them”.

The book has been put together by Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), an NGO working on issues of governance and gender issues, in collaboration with the Gender Community-UN Solution Exchange.

Rambha Tripathy of PRIA said that among the recommendations were flexible working hours for women, travelling arrangements, especially at night, and better facilities for pregnant women, lactating mothers and those with young children.

“Besides the working hours and travelling arrangements that will ensure safety to their women employees, work places should also have a committee to look into sexual harassment cases,” Tripathy told IANS.

“With such arrangements, not only will the organisation retain its women employees but also bring out the best in them since the women will realise that their company really cares for them and peps them up to perform even better,” she added.

According to the National Human Development Report, 2001, the percentage of women in the labour force in urban areas in 1999-2000 was 24.6 per cent as compared to 78.6 per cent for men.

Since men are generally represented more in numbers than women in workplaces, firms have largely catered to the needs of men. In this context, the manual suggests that with the support of both men and women, workplaces can be made more gender sensitive.

The manual has three broad sections - the first briefly touches upon the history and challenges to women’s concerns in the public sphere and states the significance of a gender policy.

The second section suggests incorporating gender concerns through a gender policy within the organisational structure, its culture, systems and policies. The third talks about the actual implementation of the gender policy.

Said Rajesh Tandon, president of PRIA: “Qualified and educated professionals often feel that they know everything about the two sexes working together. This implies significant unlearning in order to attain gender sensitisation”.

The manual, intended for use primarily within the voluntary sector first, is designed for all organisations, both at an administrative as well as a programmatic level. — IANS

New Delhi, April 7
Scores of doctors, health workers and volunteers today participated in a unique cycle rally organised by the Delhi Medical Association (DMA) to observe World Health Day.

The aim of the rally, which began at Raj Ghat and culminated at the DMA House in Darya Ganj, a distance of about two kilometres, was to make the public aware of the importance of maintaining good health. This year’s theme was “protecting health from climate change”.

According to the DMA, human activities are the main cause of climate change and “if we create awareness among people to curb such activities that bring about climate change, our health will be benefited”. The Delhi Medical Association has more than 10000 doctors as its members.

Meanwhile, Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, regional director, WHO South-East Asia Region, highlighted six health outcomes that will be directly impacted by the climate change in South-East Asia.

The WHO has made the protection of health from the effects of climate change the theme of this year’s World Health Day.

In a press release issued here today, Dr Plianbangchang emphasized the “serious and damaging effects” of climate change on human health.

“Air quality will suffer greatly and respiratory illnesses will be exacerbated. Heat waves will be more intense and of longer duration, mainly affecting the most vulnerable population in children and elderly through heat strokes and cardiovascular complications,” he stated.

The six health outcomes which are likely to be affected by climate change in the region are: respiratory diseases, vector-borne diseases (malaria and dengue), water-borne diseases (diarrohea and cholera), malnutrition, injuries and psychosocial stress.

Urgent action is needed to strengthen the existing health systems to deal with the potential increase in health risks due to climate change.

Gurgaon, April 7
The manager of Buzz, the Gurgaon bar where an ugly brawl took place between a group of diners and 10-12 drunk youths, has been arrested for keeping the bar open beyond the stipulated time, the police said on Monday.

“We have arrested Mrityunjay Tiwari, manager of the bar, under the Indian Penal Code for not adhering to laws. He kept the bar open beyond the allowed hours,” Gurgaon police assistant commissioner Sumit Kumar said.

Late Saturday, a group of 10-12 youths in an inebriated state allegedly misbehaved with diners businessman Gursharan Singh, pilot Vikram Bal and their wives and assaulted them.

The youths also attacked another pilot, Samarjeet Singh Cheema, Kumar added. “We are conducting raids at the houses of the other youth involved and they will be arrested soon.”

According to Cheema, they were dining at the bar when a drunken youth, later identified as Gaurav, passed some obscene remarks at the women.

“When I protested, the man began fighting with us. After this, he left the pub only to return with 10-12 of his friends. They were all armed with iron rods and hockey sticks. A few were also brandishing guns and threatened to shoot us,” Cheema said.

“They beat us mercilessly and misbehaved with the women. Nobody, including the bouncers (of the bar), bothered to intervene. The assault continued till the police arrived after one of us made a distress call. But we were shocked when the police let the men go.”

The police took the victims to a private hospital, where Cheema had to undergo emergency kneecap replacement surgery. His friends were discharged after treatment. —IANS

New Delhi, April 7
Vivacious and young, Meeta Pandit is quite a contrast to the typical image of an Indian classical singer.

This scion of the Gwalior gharana knows what she wants to do - take classical music to the young generation.

“There have been times when I have been told to wear make-up and look older in order to fit into the image of a classical singer. This so-called typical image of a classical singer is precisely what I have been trying to break in order to reach out to the youth,” Meeta told IANS during a chat at her South Delhi home.

“Why does a classical singer have to look old, wear a big bindi on her forehead and always be adorned in a silk sari? My music speaks for me, nothing else. Such stereotypes have to be broken so that the youth identify with Indian tradition and culture,” the 30-something singer said.

Granddaughter and disciple of Padma Bhushan Krishna Rao Shankar Pandit and daughter of the legendary singer LK Pandit, music is much more than just a passion for Meeta. She has recently been awarded the Ustad Bismillah Khan award.

“I am a Maharashtrian, belonging to Gwalior, though born and brought up in Delhi. But I can’t identify with anything or any place more than music. I have been learning music since I was three...we were and are still a household which eats, drinks and breathes music,” she said.

An expert of such genres of music as tappa, bhajan, thumri and sufi, she admits that unlike others she has never led a “normal” childhood.

“As long as I can remember, our home used to always buzz with conversations on classical music. During the day, my father’s ‘shaagirds’ (disciples) used to come and in the evenings, his friends - all singers and musicians - used to fill the house.”

“In contrast to such an ambience, the outside world used to seem so different. And, because I used to have my ‘taalim’ (lessons) in music during my free time, I never had the opportunity to mix with other kids of my age or go for movies or shopping...and basically do what others used to do,” she said. “It used to be depressing, but I am not complaining!” Meeta laughed.

Although her first public performance was at the age of nine in Bhopal, it was after a concert in Varanasi when her father decided that she was ready for the world of music.

“I was 15 when my performance at a concert in Varanasi got a huge response. Until then, my father always felt that I should take up a profession that gives me stability in life. You see music is not an easy field to follow; it is very unpredictable

“But after that, he felt that probably I was ready for the world of music,” she said. Her life took a turn when her elder brother Tushhar died at the age of 27.

“Tushhar had it in him to carry forward the family’s legacy. He was very talented and was doing his PhD in Hindustani classical music when he met with a fatal accident. That suddenly changed the course of our lives.

“Not very sure if I would like to take up music full time, I was until then doing my graduation in commerce from the Lady Shri Ram College and preparing for an MBA. But after that I changed my mind. I did my masters in music and then completed Tushhar’s Phd, all by the age of 27,” Meeta said.

Since then there has been no stopping her. After winning national awards like – ‘The Golden Voice of India’, ‘Sur-Mani’, ‘Yuva Ojaswini’ and ‘Yuva Ratna’, she was conferred the Ustad Bismillah Khan award in March this year.

She also conducts music workshops in France twice a year, besides teaching a host of disciples at home.

“My aim is to reach out to the masses, the youth especially, with classical music. As a part of the effort, I do a programme, ‘Swar Shringar’, a music appreciation series, on WorldSpace radio. — IANS

New Delhi, April 7
The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IITF) has organised a three-week ‘Capacity-building programme on WTO-related issues’ on its campus as part of the ongoing India-Africa summit.

The programme that started on March 24 aims at promoting Indo-African relations and making African officials understand the world trade agreement better. The programme will conclude on April 11.

The programme would help African officers understand free and multilateral trade agreements with reference to issues pertaining to their country. It would also help them prepare strategic responses and face challenges specific to their countries.

IIFT director KT Chacko said, “This is one of the initiatives taken by the IIFT to work closely with African countries in trade-related issues.”

Some 18 officers from Angola, Botswana, Congo Democratic Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Sudan, Uganda and Zambia are attending the programme.

Discussions would be centred on the role of WTO in a globalised economy, framework of multilateral agreements under Uruguay round, WTO import licensing and QRS, global business environment, WTO rules, RTAs and its impact on Africa, Africa integration with global economy, regionalism vs multilateralism.

The discussions would also focus on agreement on agriculture — main provisions, GATS, current status of negotiation on agriculture in WTO, WTO & TRIMS, non-agriculture market access, agreement on anti-dumping and case studies, geographical indications, WTO and trade policy, safeguard measures, WTO and Africa: options, opportunities and risks; government procurement, issues for dispute settlement in developing countries, trade facilitation and TRIPS, PTAs —issues and challenges for Africa.

RM Joshi, professor and chairperson, management development programmes at IIFT said, “The capacity-building programme will enable us to maintain stronger synergies between the country’s intrinsic capabilities to remain competitive in the global market.”

Besides, the African officers would also be given an insight into the Indian culture, heritage and lifestyle. Union minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh will address the valedictory session on April 11.

New Delhi, April 7
Stress-related diseases like — heart disease, stroke and diabetes would lead to a further loss in the Indian National Income.

Loss in the national income is likely to increase to around $160 billion between 2008-15 from an estimated loss of $60 billion in 2005-07. The paper titled ‘Working Towards Wellness – An Indian Perspective’ stated this.

ASSOCHAM and Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC), an international company that specialises in economic-related studies jointly brought out the paper. ASSOCHAM president Venugopal N Dhoot released the paper here today.

The paper reads that because of tension due to transitional liberalisation in working and social life, the number of people with hypertension in India is expected to see a leap of nearly 127.5 million. Over 59.5 million people suffered from hypertension in the course of being a part of liberalised economy till 2007.

Dhoot added that India’s loss in terms of losing potentially productive years due to deaths from cardiovascular diseases in people between 35-60 years is one of the highest in the world. India is one of the fastest developing countries, but it has to create facilities to tackle the rising tension and high blood pressure problems that often lead to cardiovascular diseases.

According to the paper, in 2005, chronic diseases in India accounted for almost 53 per cent of all deaths. It is estimated that deaths from chronic ailments would rise by 60 per cent. It would rise from 3.78 million in 1990 to over 6 million by 2015.

Dhhot said that India’s national income is hard hit as it has inadequate health centers even for routine check-ups and most people work beyond the prescribed working hours due to heavy work pressure. This leads to more deaths, which result in greater national income losses.

The report suggests that preventing chronic diseases require reducing tobacco intake, eating a healthier diet and exercising regularly. People must change their lifestyle so as to become healthier. India is the world’s second largest consumer of tobacco resulting in huge rates of cancer, including the highest in oral cancer.

The study suggests that the government alone cannot prevent the rise in such diseases. The workplace is increasingly important to prevent such diseases. According to the government estimates, almost 66 per cent of all deaths in 2020 would be due to chronic diseases.

The government is keen to work with the private sector and civil society to prevent rise in chronic diseases and, thus, save millions of lives.

The role of private sector in India for preventing chronic diseases is of paramount importance. India’s total health care expenses is much lower than the world average of around 9 per cent.

The country’s public expenditure on health is lower than countries like — China, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the report concludes.

Noida, April 7
Three youngsters were arrested here on Monday for forging driving licences. The accused, identified as Brij Pal, Tanuj and Raj Malhotra, were booked under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), dealing with cheating.

The police recovered a dozen fake driving licences, two computers, a scanner, a printer and other equipment from their possession.

According to Noida city superintendent of police R.K. Gautam, the Sector 58 police received a complaint from Mohan Kumar that a gang of criminals had cheated him.

When he went to get a driving licence from the licensing authority, Mohan Kumar told the police, he was greeted by three boys who claimed they would get his work done in a shorter time since they had sources in the office. They demanded Rs 500 for their service.

Kumar said he paid the amount and gave the boys the necessary papers and documents and they delivered the licence to him the next day. But later he found that the licence was forged. — IANS

New Delhi, April 7
Students of School of Social Sciences (SSS) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) can now refer to books at the library of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Analysis (IDSA) via the JNU central library.

Dean of School of International Studies (SIS) informed today. The SSS students had gone on fast over a week ago for direct access to IDSA library. However, the students are not ready to withdraw the agitation.

“We want direct access to IDSA library and the rest of the demands be fulfilled. We are hopeful to achieve substantial results. If that does not happen, we would have to think about taking up other ways of protest,” said Tiainla, councillor, SIS.

He demanded, “The school computer room should be open till late, as JNU is a residential campus. Computers should be accessible if students want to work for longer hours.”

Some of the demands have shown positive results. “Our demand of allowing Priya’s registration has been met. She would be registered back to the university today,” said Divya Cherian, councillor, SSS.

Priya, a PhD student of the Economics centre at JNU was not being allowed registration to the next semester on alleged inappropriate grounds.

SSS called a faculty meeting and decided to register Priya back to the
Economics centre.

She was reportedly allowed registration following the pressure created by the hunger strike and class boycotts.

More staff has been appointed to make sure that the school library is opened for longer hours.

“We have been promised that two computers would be installed in the computer room by the end of this week,” said Divya.

New Delhi, April 7
The Delhi High Court on Monday slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on a lawyer practising in the Capital for raising petty issues and claiming an undue compensation.

Justice S.N. Aggarwal imposed the fine on advocate B. Raghunandan after he claimed a compensation of Rs 10 million from a telephone booth owner.

Raghunandan approached the court after a quarrel with the booth owner over a phone call and alleged that the owner slapped and humiliated him in public.

In his petition, the lawyer termed himself as a “whistle blower” and a representative of an educated society.

However, dismissing his contention, the court termed him as a “black mailer” and imposed the fine on him. — IANS

New Delhi, April 7
Unidentified men on Monday robbed a van, used for collecting cash from liquor shops in Delhi, and escaped with Rs 3 million.

A security guard was injured in the heist, the police said here. The incident occurred on Monday evening when four employees of CMS company went to collect cash from a liquor shop in Masjid Moth area.

According to the police, two employees went inside the wine shop while their colleagues—a driver and a guard—stayed behind with the van.

Some unidentified men approached the driver and threw red chilly powder in his eyes. The assailants also tried to take the guard’s rifle, which went off in the scuffle, injuring the guard.

“The assailants fled with Rs 3 million in cash in a Maruti car,” said a senior
police official.

The injured guard was admitted to AIIMS where his condition was stated to be out of danger. — IANS

New Delhi, April 7
The investigation into the murder of senior Delhi Police official Rajbir Singh was today handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The Centre issued a notification to this effect following a recommendation by the Haryana government.

Rajbir Singh, known as “encounter specialist” for 50-odd alleged criminals he had shot down, was killed in mysterious circumstances in a real estate dealer’s office in Gurgaon last month. — IANS

New Delhi, April 7
A city court today asked the CEO of Live India news channel to appear before it on May 29 for airing a fake sting operation that accused Uma Khurana, a schoolteacher, of running a prostitution racket.

Earlier in the day, the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjay Jindal issued bailable warrants against CEO Sudhir Chaudhary and the chairman and managing director (CMD) of the channel as they had failed to appear before it.

The warrants were withdrawn after the channel’s counsel submitted that another official would stand in for the CMD. Judge Jindal also exempted Chaudhary from appearing on Monday and set May 29 as the next date of hearing.

Khurana, a teacher at Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya here, had filed a defamation suit against Live India, holding it responsible for putting her through “mental agony, humiliation and harassment”.

The TV sting operation aired on August 30 last year purported to show that Khurana, a mathematics teacher at the government-run school in central Delhi, was running a prostitution racket involving schoolgirls.

Immediately after the channel aired it, 41-year-old Khurana was arrested on charges of immoral trafficking, sacked from her job and badly abused and assaulted by a mob.

A week after the fake sting was aired, it was found to be a hoax as the woman shown as a prostitution racket victim was not even a student but an aspiring journalist.

Live India’s reporter Prakash Singh, who carried out the operation, was arrested on September 8 last year. — IANS

New Delhi, April 7
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi today celebrated 50 years of its existence with leaders across the political spectrum hailing the contribution of the corporation in fulfilling the needs of people of the city.

Delhi Mayor Arti Mehra said ever since its formation in 1958, the MCD had made an immense contribution in making the lives of the people of Delhi better.

Leader of the House Subhash Arya expressed elation over the fact that in the 50th year of its existence, the MCD had earned the distinction of having a woman mayor who was invited to the meeting of the UN’s summit on climate change.

Standing committee chairman Vijender Gupta said it was for the first time in MCD’s recent history that it had managed to hold 50 meetings of the standing committee last year.

Calling it a mini parliament, leader of opposition Jaikishen Sharma said the decisions made in the MCD House directly affected the people of the city.

Congress councillor and former Mayor Farhat Suri said since the MCD took care of the needs of almost 96 per cent of people in Delhi, its representatives were the ones most closely associated with day-to-day problems of the public.

Expressing displeasure over certain incidents in the MCD House in the past which also witnessed fisticuffs between ruling party members and the opposition, Suri said, “It pains me to witness such incidents in the House which has given us luminaries as Aruna Asaf Ali. There is no doubt that the opposition has a right to express its objections to the governemnt policies. But at the same time, there is a need to maintain a certain decorum in the House,’’ he said. — UNI

New Delhi, April 7
The Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) of Delhi government has given its nod to two projects of the public works department (PWD). The projects are of Rs 377 crore.

Delhi finance minister A. K. Walia said that a three-level grade separator at Ghazipur crossing and a grade separator at T-point Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar would be commissioned before the commencement of Commonwealth Games 2010.

The grade separators are being constructed to provide a free flow of traffic, save valuable fuel and time of travel and check pollution.

The EFC has approved Rs 249 crore for construction of a grade separator at Ghazipur crossing which would provide free flow of traffic for Yamuna Sports Complex, one of the venues of Commonwealth Games event.

It will take 27 months to complete construction. This will include construction of an underpass at crossing of National Highway-24 and Road Number 56.

The three-level grade separator, once commissioned, would provide relief to those commuters and vehicles owners who witness a huge traffic jam daily.

This would also facilitate a smooth flow of traffic between a number of colonies of Ghaziabad in UP and Trans-Yamuna colonies of Delhi.

Walia further stated that a grade separator at T point-Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar and National

Highway-1 junction would be constructed with an estimated cost Rs 138 crore within 30 months after the award of work.

This would prove to be a great facilitator in ensuring a signal-free traffic on GT Karnal Road. This would also provide much-needed relief to inter-state commuters.

New Delhi, April 7
The Rotary International has received Rs 152 crore from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to eradicate polio from India and few other countries under its global polio eradication initiative.

This amount will be spent in one year in direct support of immunization activities. India has achieved significant success in limiting the number of polio cases and at present is undertaking a strong strategy to eradicate the virus.

Supplementary immunization rounds in the country to eliminate the virus from the remaining reservoirs would need serious financial boost.

“With new methods and more effective vaccines, we have the tools to beat polio in India”, said Deepak Kapoor, chair of India’s polio plus committee for Rotary.