New Delhi, May 25
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has instructed the states to develop a mechanism under which parents of missing children will be regularly updated about the efforts being made to track them.

The states have been asked to take immediate steps to make special cells which will keep record of the information about the children going missing.

The NCPCR also expects the states to develop a mechanism to provide periodical information to the parents about the developments being made in regard to tracking their missing children.

According to Sandhya Bajaj, Member, NCPCR, the Commission found in its study the trend of parents only filing a complaint of their children going missing to the police rather than lodging FIRs. “We went to Punjab after receiving several complaints about missing children. As per our study, most children have gone missing from the industrial belt of the state which has huge population of poor migrated labourers from Bihar and UP”, she said.

“The police has not lodged any FIR there; instead they believed the claims of the parents about their children going missing. Police have to take these matters seriously and locate the children,” Bajaj added.

Based on its experience, the Commission has decided to take steps in the direction and has asked states to create special cells tracking information regarding to missing children, she said.

New Delhi, May 25
Delhi’s traffic infrastructure is all set for a makeover for the Commonwealth Games 2010, with “intelligent” video cameras at major intersections to help manage traffic.

To implement the scheme, the Planning Commission has approved an outlay of Rs 2 billion for the period of 2007-12 and Rs 320 million for 2008-09.

“Through this system we will be able to communicate through live video images from traffic intersections to the control centre, which will give us a clear picture of situation and we will be able to tackle the situation easily,” said a senior traffic police official.

The system will also have an inbuilt enforcement system against violations of red signals, lane driving and speed limits.

“Installation of variable message signs to inform road users about the traffic situation is also a part of the intelligent system,” added the officer. — IANS

New Delhi, May 25In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, BJP Delhi Pradesh president Harsh Vardhan has demanded that the oil and gas industry should be opened to the private sector so that the monopoly of government companies may come to an end.

He has made five suggestions in the letter and claims that if implemented, they would improve the performance and help reduce the price of fuel and cooking gas.

Dr Harsh Vardhan has suggested that like the aviation sector, the oil sector should be opened to the private sector so that the monopoly of government oil companies may come to an end. This will create a healthy competition which will benefit the consumers.

He also suggested that there be a complete ban on the export of oil by the government and private oil and gas companies like the ban on export of steel, cement, basmati rice etc. At present, oil and gas are being exported from India in large quantities even as government oil companies are conspiring to increase the price of oil.

He also suggested the abolition of custom and import duty on the import of oil and gas because the duty protection to the government companies is too much.

The 50-year-old cost fixation system should be changed. It may be mentioned that the government oil and gas companies are showing loss by manipulating in lakhs whereas income from the total products is higher and the expenditure is less. The companies provide subsidies only on petrol, diesel, cooking gas and kerosene, but it earns heavy profits by selling ancillary products. Dr Harsh Vardhan also demanded a total overhaul of the management system of the oil and gas production companies so as to check extravagance.

New Delhi, May 25
Alleging wide-scale rigging in the Delhi Cantonment Board elections, former councillor Anil Kumar Mittar, organised a demonstration at Jantar Mantar today.

The protesters shouted slogans against Brig HPS Dhillon, alleging that he had tried to exploit the army against the government by directing troops to vote for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates.

“Earlier also we have sent photographs of Brigadier Dhillon, where he was seen with LK Advani and the local BJP MLA,” said Mittar. “On the polling day he was present in the booths in uniform, giving directions to junior army officers.”

The protesters alleged that Brigadier Mittar provided army trucks and buses to bring army personnel to cast their votes for the BJP, especially in ward number five.

“Two polling stations were purposely installed in the army area, which was not listed before,” said Mittar, while demanding an inquiry into the issue. 

New Delhi, May 25
Amid the indefinite hunger strike at Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), the Youth for Equality (YFE) is gearing up for nationwide protests, demanding a rollback of caste-based reservations.

Students from MAMC, University College of Medical Sciences, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences (MAIDS) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) are sitting on an indefinite hunger strike since Thursday under the banner of YFE. As more than 40 students have been rushed for medical assistance, the number of agitators has come down to 60 that include 25 girls.

With many colleges across the country willing to join the agitation, the YFE is prepared to organise a bigger agitation. The Resident Doctors’ Association would fund the nationwide agitation launched by the YFE. “We have received positive reactions from state-level medical colleges, where students are ready to spark off similar protests,” he said. “A state-level protest march would be organised in a few days.”

“We realised that our voices were not being heard and a united action was required,” said Anirudh Lochan, founding member, YFE. “All assurances given to us are fake,” he added.

Apart from the rollback of caste-based reservations, the YFE has demanded implementation of the Right to Education Act that guarantees free and compulsory education to all.

It has also sought for a Collegium against the Chief Justice of India. “The Supreme Court had vacated the Kolkata High Court’s order staying the implementation of OBC reservation on postgraduate level. It did not have the authority to vacate the order,” said Anirudh.

The Central government’s decision on increasing seats in institutes has not pleased the anti-reservation sections.

Considering the caste-based reservation as wrong, the YFE believes, “Seat increase is a bribe by which the government is trying to please us with. We are not fighting for our seats as we are already enrolled,” he said.

The organisation has alleged that the Delhi Police is under being pressurised by the government to check the demonstration. 

New Delhi, May 25
Manas, a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) today launched a weeklong campaign to commemorate the “World No Tobacco Day on May 31” under which fake cigarette packets with explicit pictorial images depicting the ill-effects of tobacco were being showcased.

Fake paan kiosks would be set up at five locations in the NCR and street plays be staged to create awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco on youths. Many participatory games giving message of ‘quit smoking’ would be played, said Naveen Kumar, psychologist and trustee of the NGO.

Exposure to tobacco in any form causes diseases like cancer, cataracts, bronchitis, stroke and cardiovascular problems. About 90 per cent of all cases of lung cancer are caused by smoking. In India, tobacco kills between 8 and 9 lakh people each year almost 2220 deaths a day and one death every 40 seconds, he pointed out.

Numerous studies in youths have shown that tobacco use is prevalent and increasing in them. Lifetime prevalence of cigarette smoking and use of other tobacco products among medical students was 28 per cent and 22 per cent respectively. Among the male students of Delhi University, 28 per cent of the surveyed samples were found to be smokers. Stress scores were significantly higher among smokers than non-smokers.

The campaign focuses on reducing experimentation and initiation of tobacco use in youths. The campaign this year will use the principle of creating cognitive dissonance, which is the emotional distress that is experienced when a person does an act opposite to his strongly held values.

Thus, when a smoker takes this pack from the kiosk, it will be hard for him to ignore the harmful effects of tobacco. It will bring about an attitudinal change to think proactively about his health and well-being.

Manas has been working for the cause of mental health in Delhi through a multidisciplinary team of professionals. It works to generate awareness and make psychological services available to as many people as possible. The NGO believes that smoking is like any other addiction and causes physical and psychological dependence and breaking this habit is more of a psychological process than a physical one.

A sustained effort is required to control and restrict the increasing tobacco epidemic in the country. The seven-day anti-tobacco campaign is an initiative in this direction.

Ghaziabad, May 25
After his arrest by the Noida police on Saturday on the charges of having murdered his own daughter, Arushi and the domestic help, Hem Raj on May 15 night, Dr Rajesh Talwar was sent on a 14-day judicial remand by a Noida court. The police had lodged him in the Ghaziabad district jail, Dasna at 5-30 pm the same day.

The jail doctor had examined Rajesh Talwar and found him all right. Jail superintendent V K Singh refuted the rumours that Dr Talwar had to be shifted to a private nursing home as he was taken ill.

Dr Talwar changed into the prisoner’s dress—a kurta and pyjamas and was lodged in an ordinary barrack no 7 in the jail and has not been given any special category in the jail, Mr Singh informed. Rajesh Talwar had refused to stand in the queue with other prisoners for meals at 9-30 pm but later collected his ‘thali’ in the prescribed manner. He took light meals in the jail.

Jail officials also denied that Dr Rajesh had demanded any religious book like the Ramayana or some English books. Religious books are available in the jail and if somebody demands a special book, the jail administration considers the request, added VK Singh.

Talwar told jail officials that three years ago he had developed asthma but the medication had been stopped now. On Monday the Noida police is expected to request the court for police remand of Dr Talwar so that the instrument of murder and the cell phones of Arushi and Hem Raj can be recovered.

Noida, May 25
The Noida police, according to sources, was under extreme pressure to wrap up the Arushi murder case urgently as the state government had taken a decision to shift the SSP A. Satish Ganesh. The police administration did not want him to go leaving the case in its amidst as that would have created many more problems.

So the cops were in a hurry to tell the media and the world that they have solved the murders although there were alarming loose-ends in the police story. All this denotes a sick mind set, according to experts.

IG Police Zone, Gurdarshan Singh is being accused of having come to the media with a half-cooked version of the case with many gaps and holes in the police version. He is also being criticized for making an objectionable comment at the press conference that “Dr Rajesh Talwar had killed Arushi, though he himself was a man of bad character”.

Again when Dr Talwar returned home on May 15 at night he found his daughter and the family domestic help in an “objectionable position but not in a compromising position”.

According to criminal lawyer, Kamini Jaiswal, “IG should be sacked immediately as it is character assassination of the girl who is no more. It just displays a sick mindset.”

“It is very irritating that two people have died and the police are misguiding every one,” says another advocate Pinky Anand. “The little girl might have looked upon Hem Raj as a father figure and confided in him,” Police should have never said all this when the testimony of the mother was yet to come,” she said. 

New Delhi, May 25
A special screening of a documentary and photo exhibition on The Red Ribbon Express campaign was held at the Press Club here yesterday where different aspects and photographs relating to AIDS were on display.

During the programme, a documentary was screened showing the on-board activities and associated facts and figures while travelling along with The Red Ribbon Express in different parts of the country touching millions of hearts through its message at the grassroot level.

On this occasion, Shakeel Ahmed Khan, DG, Nehru Yuvak Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), presented the broad objectives of the Red Ribbon Express which are to provide a complete communication, counselling, treatment and care package to the target population, especially in rural areas with special focus on youth and other vulnerable groups, so that they stay away from the ill-effects of this illness.

Nafisa Ali said that RRE is a revolutionary movement where the target is every individual from any caste, religion or community. She also praised highly the efforts made by all the agencies involved and the people behind this unique concept and movement. During the programme, M. Bilal (consultant, RRE, NACO) and Sharda Ali (director, ministry of youth affairs & sports, Govt. of India) were also present.

The Red Ribbon Express is a unique rural communication campaign on train which was launched on December 1, 2007 on World AIDS Day. Congress president Sonia Gandhi flagged off the ‘Red Ribbon Express’ from the Safdarjung Railway Station here.

Red Ribbon Express (RRE) Project is a national campaign to highlight the issue of HIV/AIDS through a specially designed train travelling to different parts of the country for one year. About 180 major railway stations/halting points will be covered through this campaign traversing over 27,000 km at a stretch in a Bharat Parikrama pattern.

Each of these days will see multi-level activities. A multi-sectoral project to spread awareness on HIV/AIDS, the campaign aims to promote safe behavioural practices. The vision behind the project is to mainstream HIV/AIDS within the context of overall socio-economic development rather than merely as a medical/public health issue.

Originally conceptualized by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation as a multi-partnership national campaign, its execution is being spearheaded by National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) and the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS).

New Delhi, May 25
Of late, doctors from all over the world, including developed nations like — Sweden, Singapore and Italy, have been vying to get training at the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here.

Doctors at AIIMS say the trend is not very old. In the last couple of years, nearly 20 medical professionals from countries like — Sweden, Australia, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Romania, Nepal and Bangladesh have received training here.

“India is now a country oozing with confidence — be it economy or healthcare. Earlier, foreigners coming to India to get trained was almost unthinkable but now it is a fact,” said D.K Gupta, head of the department of paediatric surgery.

Surgery, particularly paediatric surgery, is one of the most sought after fields among the foreign doctors coming to AIIMS.

“At any given point of time, we have 10 to 15 applications pending with us. Currently, at least 11 applications are with us, including three each from North Korea and Saudi Arabia and two each from Italy and Romania. One application has come from the US,” Gupta told IANS.

AIIMS is said to be the best public sector medical college and research centre in India and treats nearly 8,000 patients daily.

Many health experts and even Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss have alleged that students get quality education for a subsidised fee at AIIMS but leave the country for greener pastures like the US and Britain.

Gupta, who heads the Asian Paediatric Surgeons’ Association, however, said those who are coming to get trained at AIIMS are not students.

“They are senior doctors and professors. They are ready to come to Delhi at their own expense, take care of their boarding and lodging and get trained in our institute,” said Gupta, who has trained over 10 such doctors.

“The training for these foreign doctors ranges between one to three months. They interact with us, attend our classes and observe the surgeries in operation theatres.”

“Out of a number of applications, we select two to three names for training at any point of time. The amount of work they observe (in sheer numbers) gives them huge exposure, the like and range of which they are unlikely to get in their countries. Even some diseases are unique in this part of the world that foreign doctors want to know about to keep themselves updated,” he added.

“The world community is keen to utilise the excellence of India. For many, we provide the best first-hand learning experience,” Gupta said. — IANS

New Delhi, May 25
The Indraprastha Apollo Hospital has been asked to pay Rs 500,000 to a patient for unfair trade practices. It had demanded more money despite offering a package.

The Delhi State Consumer Redressal Forum, while slapping the fine, ruled, “A hospital cannot demand more money if a patient is going for a treatment under a package deal. If a hospital does that, it is liable to compensate the patient.”

It also advised patients to approach consumer courts in large numbers so that unfair practices adopted by hospitals could be curbed. The case dates back to November 1996, when Mohammad Afzal, a native of Allahabad, had approached the hospital complaining of stomachache. He was told by the hospital that his treatment would cost Rs 37,500 under a package deal.

Afzal agreed to the package deal and went for the treatment.

But during the treatment, the hospital asked him to shell out Rs 160,000 more besides the package. The hospital also carried out two operations, which failed and he had to undergo a third operation.

“The hospital cannot befool patients by luring them with package deals and then taking more money,” observed Justice J.D Kapoor, president of the forum. — IANS

Pranab Kumar Biswas

An extensive traveller, Manisha’s experiences from her journeys are revealed through in her work. It resounds with the hues that are awash with the dazzle of deserts and pinnacle of mountains. Her work was selected to be part of the 2006 National Exhibition of Art organised by Lalit Kala Akademi, the national academy of visual arts in India. The work was exhibited at Bharat Bhawan in Bhopal. She has held art exhibitions across the world. In her solo show – ‘Parallel Realities’ held in New Delhi and Hyderabad in 2007, she explored the multi-dimensional aspects of inter-personal communication. 

Hindustani recital

Pranab Kumar Biswas from Mumbai will present a Hindustani vocal recital at the India International Centre (IIC) here on May 29. Born in Kolkata and groomed under the tutelage of Pt Rajan Sajan Mishra, Biswas has done his MA and M. Phil in music from Delhi University.

Photo exhibition

The Peace Institute and Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE) had organised a photo exhibition on May 24, 25 in the Capital.

The photographs were shot during the Agri Cycle Yatra from Kanyakumari to Dehra Dun. The photographs were taken by an 11-member team led by Padma Shri Anil Joshi.

The team had left for the Yatra on bicycles on January 12 this year. It reached Dehra Dun on March 16 after traversing 3,800 kilometres across 65 districts and around 7,000 villages.