New Delhi, May 29
Normal life in the National Capital Territory of Delhi and adjoining areas was disrupted today as scores of agitating Gujjars blocked roads and threw stones at vehicles and the police during the one-day bandh called by the All-India Gujjar Mahasabha. The Gujjars are demanding ST status for the community.

According to the police, over 120 protesters were detained in various areas of the Capital. Besides, some vehicles were damaged in stone-pelting incidents. Some cases of arson were also reported.

At Aya Nagar near Mehrauli-Gurgaon border, a Gujjar youth attempted self-immolation. When the police tried to stop him, the crowd pelted stones at it. The police had to use tear gas to disperse the crowd. Some policemen and protesters received minor injuries in the fracas.

People had a tough time in commuting from one place to another. The agitators took to the streets and blocked all roads and highways entering the national Capital.

The worst affected areas were the borders of the Capital including Ghazipur, Loni, Badarpur and Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road where thousands of commuters were stranded for hours because of blockades.

Trains including Gujarat Sampark Kranti Express (Nizamuddin-Ahmedabad) and Maharashtra Sampark Kranti Express (Bandra-Hazrat Nizamuddin) were cancelled and many routes were diverted, the Northern Railway said.

A protest march was held in Mayur Vihar in East Delhi this morning while protestors blocked traffic on the Noida Express Highway and NH-24. Besides, a passenger train was stopped in Loni near Ghaziabad.

The agitators also blocked traffic near the Akshardham Temple in East Delhi for several hours in the morning. However, a police contingent managed to clear the road.

Traffic on roads leading to the airport was also affected because of blockades causing many passengers to miss their flights. Passengers had to suffer despite the fact that they had started much earlier in view of the bandh. Traffic on the BRT Corridor between Ambedkar Nagar and Moolchand was also affected. It took a couple of hours for the police to clear the traffic.

The agitation also spilled over into some Gujjar dominated areas in East, South and West Delhi, where small groups of agitators blocked roads an forced shops to close.

The police and paramilitary forces were seen controlling the situation throughout the day. The police said that most markets remained opened. The bandh just affected the traffic.

Because of road blockades in some areas, many people were unable to reach their offices in time. Even some government offices reported thin attendance, as many opted to stay away fearing violence in wake of the bandh.

Thirty-nine people were killed last week in clashes between the police and protestors in Rajasthan. 

Noida, May 29
The Gujjar agitation considerably affected the satellite town adjoining the national Capital. Commuters had a tough time as all roads connecting it to Delhi remained blocked for hours.

The Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) Expressway, NH-24 and NH-58 that connects Ghaziabad to Delhi were blocked. This led to heavy traffic snarls. Vehicular movement in many areas of western UP was paralysed. National highways connecting Ghaziabad to Dehra Dun and Lucknow were blocked at various places. While train services suffered due to demonstration on tracks near Dadri railway station. Over two dozen trains on the main line were stuck between Aligarh and Ghaziabad.

“It is a long wait. The police looked helpless and did not try to control the situation,” said Buddh Sagar Singh, who was stuck on his way to pick his mother-in-law from Dadri railway station.

The protest has been successful. “The youth made the protest a success. All major roads including the Noida Expressway and DND flyover remained vehicle-free for almost three to four hours,” said Teja Gujjar, president, Kisan Morcha, BJP. He added that Gujjars across the party lines supported their brethren in Rajasthan.

With heavy Gujjar population in villages around Greater Noida, the NCR –Roko protest had a major impact. The centre of the city, Pari Chowk, witnessed heavy Gujjar gathering in the early hours hampering vehicular flow. “All strategic points in the city including smaller towns like Dasna, Dadri, Tilpat, Ksana faced a curfew like situation. Villagers came out in full support and the protest was successful,” said Ved Pal Bhatti, district president, Lok Dal.

The protest also affected trade, as the prices of essential commodities soared high and cinema halls remained closed almost throughout the day. Vegetable vendors could not reach residential areas in Ghaziabad, Noida or Greater Noida leading to shortage. “I had gone to Spice PVR to watch a film, as I had nothing to do. However, I was surprised no film was being screened. Perhaps, there could be some evening show,” said Ajit Singh Chokkar. 

Faridabad, May 29
The bandh got a good response in Gujjar-dominated areas of the district. However, no untoward incident has been reported.

The protesters blocked the Delhi-Agra national highway at Rajiv Chowk in Old Faridabad for about an hour leading to disruption of traffic. Police personnel in large numbers were deputed along the Delhi-Agra national highway, as many Gujjar-dominated villages are located there.

The protesters burnt an effigy of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and raised slogans against the Rajasthan government.

The Haryana Gujjar Arakshan Samiti headed by R.S Chandila held a dharna at Rajiv Chowk. Chandila criticised the Rajasthan government for not recommending the case for giving ST status to Gujjars to the Centre. He also condemned the police firing on agitating Gujjars in Rajasthan in which 39 people lost their lives.

The bandh received full support from Tigaon, a Gujjar-dominated village, where all markets, shops and academic institutes remained closed. Roads in villages like — Munjedi and Machgarha wore a forlorn look. Roads connecting villages to the Capital like — Tigaon-Ballabgarh Road and Mohana-Ballabgarh Road were blocked.

The bandh badly hit the supply of milk and vegetables.

The district adminstration had made elaborate security arrangements to control the situation. Two extra battalion of police force was requisitioned to deal with emergency situations. 

New Delhi, May 29
Nikita Khattar of Amity International School, Noida, has topped the Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) merit list by securing 98.4% aggregate marks in the Class X CBSE results declared today.

Two other students — Aagosh Kapoor and Parul Verma scored 96.6 per cent and 96 per cent, respectively. According to the school, out of the total number of 300 students, who appeared for the examinations in March, 77 per cent secured more than 75% aggregate marks.

Four students of Manavsthali School here secured a perfect score of 100 out of 100 in mathematics. In all two students scored more than 95%. Thirty-three students secured between 90-95% while 170 others managed to score between 75-90%.

Among the CBSE toppers are Prerna Khattar who secured an aggregate of 96%, Kanika Gupta- 95.2%, Anjali Kriplani and Gunjan Nagdev- 94.6 % each, Divya Goel – 94.4 % and Palak Suri- 94.2%.

Ishan Chawla of Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram, secured 98%. Son of doctor parents Mohinder Kumar Chawla and Vibha Chawla, Ishan had been a top student of the school for couple of years.

Four students of Apeejay Institutions here also found their names in the merit list. Rahul Malhotra of Apeejay School (Pitampura) scored 97.2% while Ayush Jindal scored 97%. Their counterparts at the Apeejay School (Sheikh Sarai) Arpit Gupta scored 94.8 % and Devash Sood scored 94.2%.

Aditi Khanna  of Apeejay School (Saket) scored 94 % while Jitin Kohli scored 92.8%.

Further two students of Apeejay School (Noida) Chaitnya Kansal and Mridul Sharma scored 95.6% each while Samyak Dutta of the same school scored 95.4%.

New Delhi, May 29
Delhi government schools have again done well on national level in 10th class examination results with an improvement of 6.56 per cent. The result was declared today.

Like last year the girls have outshined boys this year also. Overall pass percentage of boys is 82.10 per cent with an increase of 5.35 per cent over last year whereas pass percentage of girls is 83.75 per cent with an increase of 6.07 per cent over last year.

The results of government schools have gone up from 77.12 per cent to 83.68 per cent showing remarkable improvement whereas the results of public schools have increased marginally from 91.5 per cent to 91.10 per cent.

Five students of Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya (RPVV) were in the list of this year’s toppers. Himanshu Sharma of RPVV of Suraj Mal Vihar secured 95.8 per cent, Jitin Sridhar and Falak Singh RPVV Shalimar Bagh 95.6 per cent and 95.4 per cent respectively, Shubham Sulania and Nitish Gupta of RPVV Suraj Mal Vihar 94.4 per each and Deepika Sharma RPVV Kishan Ganj secured 91.4 per cent marks.

Jitin Sridhar said that she did hard work but credit of securing good marks went to his teachers who were very co-operative and always ready to work out students problems. “I used to study three hours every day. This was my schedule that I had never broken,” he said.

Shubham whose father is a teacher in government school prepared for examinations strategically by devoting five hours a day. His father used to teach him mathematics and science. He never had tuition. Now he is taking coaching for medical entrance examinations after completing his senior secondary.

Deepika Sharma belongs to a humble background. His father does a private job to run his family. She also never had tuition for examinations’ preparation. But she did hard work.

Ten years ago in the year 1997-98 the pass percentage of government schools was only 32.10 per cent but this year’s result has shown the growth of approximately 52 per cent, said education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely.

Hundred schools achieved 100 per cent result, 426 schools 90 per cent, 590 schools 80 per cent and 781 schools 60 per cent. Schools located in villages like Tikri Khurd, Alipur, Khera Khurd, Narela, Palla, Auchandi, Bijwasan etc have also secured 100 per cent result.

The government was upset having seen poor result of government schools and discussed this with the SCERT. Seminar was organised to update the teachers about school students’ psychology. Teaching modules were prepared and emphasis was given on practical parts of science subjects. Emphasis was also given on other activities that help develop students’ mind, the minister added. 

New Delhi, May 29
Admission fever is catching on at DU as large numbers of students availed themselves of open house counselling for undergraduates held at the SP Jain Centre at South Campus on Thursday.

Dinesh Varshney, deputy dean, student welfare informs, “We had counselling today from 10 am to 4 pm and on the whole it was pretty successful. Counselling was inaugurated in the morning by Prof Malashri Lal, jt director, South Campus. Students and their parents were given in-depth information on courses and colleges concerned and we especially told the students to select their courses rather than choosing the colleges.”

Varshney further explains, “Students were also informed of our colleges possessing e-esource centres equipped with 40 computers each, also we provide free internet facilities and a large number of journals.”

Currently, some five open house sessions have been held by Delhi University specifically for undergraduates with both teachers and student counsellors participating. The counselling was for courses in humanities, sciences, commerce and mathematical science and some 500 students have attended these sessions.

Aarti Misra, one of the students who attended Thursday’s session informs, “I am very glad I came for the open house counselling session, it is a big help. My first choice is mathematics (Hons). Let’s see what happens in June. I am very nervous let’s hope I get the college of my choice.”

Preeti Singla on the other hand is interested in Economics (Hons), “All my friends and I came down for today’s session and on the whole we are satisfied. However, the cut-offs in June are likely to be high and I am very nervous let’s hope I get the college of my choice. The counsellors here have been very kind explaining everything in detail.”

Varshney comments, “Interestingly, we received a lot of queries on issues like academic difference between B.Com Pass and B.Com Hons, B.B.S and B.B.E, B.Com Hons, Economics Hons-Mathematics Hons. Also, a large number of questions were also asked about courses like history, psychology, B.A Hons, courses in journalism, computer science.

A lot many questions were also asked on career perspectives of different courses. Today’s open house counselling was also attended by a large number of students from outside Delhi like Agra, Moradabad, Faridabad, Nanital, Bareilly, Meerut, Hodal, Chandigarh, Gwalior, etc.

As the university prepares for the beginning of the admission process, confusion still prevails amongst the aspiring Delhi University (DU) students over Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation.

The university authorities have decided to implement the seat increase in three phases. Total 18 per cent seats were increased for the year 2008-09.

“Another 18 per cent seats would be increased next year and the rest 18 per cent of the total 54 per cent would be introduced the following year,” said Deepak Paintal, vice-chancellor, DU.

The maximum phone calls received by the admission counsellors relate to the confusion surrounding OBC seats. “Most of the OBC students want to know if they can apply through the centralised form,” said one admission counsellor.

Provisions have been introduced in the centralised forms to make it useful to the creamy layer and non-creamy layer OBC students. Apart from writing the caste certificate number, the candidates are not required to attach any document with the centralised form.

However, there is still uncertainty regarding the cut offs for the OBC students. “We have heard that the university has given 10 per cent relaxation to the OBC candidates. But this could not be limited to a particular percentage of students, which is 27 per cent in this case,” said Natasha Narwal, student, Hindu College.

Even the admission counsellors had limited knowledge about the cut-offs. “I think individual colleges have separate guidelines on OBC reservation, taking into account the course one has applied for,” said admission counsellor on the DU admission helpline. — TNS 

New Delhi, May 29
Amity Centre for Science Olympiads (ACSO) in collaboration with Sriniwasa Ramanujan Institute for Mathematics Olympiad conducted a weeklong mathematics olympiad workshop from May 18 to 25 at Amity University in Noida.

Students proved their creative and analytical skills. Chief guest Anuj Sinha awarded certificates to the winners at the valediction ceremony.

Anuj Sinha is the advisor and head (scientist - G), department of science and technology, government of India.

Speaking on the importance of mathematics, Anuj Sinha said that the nuances of the subject have been used extensively in all space research programmes right from the beginning when Russia and America started their space explorations.

Talking about the way science and mathematics are taught in our country, he asserted the need to revamp the teaching methodology. He urged students have high principles in lives.

Aseem Chauhan, chancellor, Amity University, Rajasthan lauded the students who had attended the workshop and motivated them to excel in national and international olympiads.

S.C Arora head, department of mathematics, Delhi University said that with the basics clear in science and mathematics, a person could grapple with every problem. He compared mathematics to a factory where tools are produced and supplied to the society.

He narrated examples of renowned mathematicians and scientists including, Dr George Boole who gave ‘Boolian Algebra’ to the world. 

New Delhi, May 29
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has chalked out a plan to construct parking sites in various areas of the Capital.

According to sources, emphasis has been laid on parking sites in the Master Plan — 2021, as the number of vehicles in Delhi is equal to their combined number in Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata. The Supreme Court had also given direction to develop new parking sites in the Capital.

Altogether 16 parking sites have been planned. Out of the 16 sites, the MCD has invited tender for five. The Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) and the RITES have been asked to survey the sites. The MCD has also asked the Delhi government to sanction fund for the sites on grant-in-aid basis. The sites would be completed within two years.

Further, technical experts have been appointed to develop 24 underground car parking.

According to sources, the MCD plans to develop parking sites in residential areas on a built operate and transfer basis with resident welfare associations (RWA). The Greater Kailash RWA has agreed to it.

BJP councillor Meera Agarwal said that the MCD would survey commercial, mixed land use and residential areas. Parking sites in markets developed by the DDA long time ago does not have enough space to accommodate the ever-increasing number of vehicles. The MCD or agency concerned should develop it further. There is no parking arrangement in mixed land use areas. The MCD should survey the areas to find out vacant places for parking sites.

Moreover, private persons are running illegal parking sites. This should be checked.

Amiya Chand, in-charge, parking, said that presently the Corporation had 187 commercial parking sites. But this is not enough. The corporation has chalked out plan to construct multi-level parking sites. As far as illegal parking is concerned, this is in the MCD’s knowledge. A proposal has been submitted to the court and the Bhure Lal Committee to make illegal parking legal.

New Delhi, May 29
The crime branch of the Delhi Police yesterday arrested gangster and sharp shooter Mahavir Don of Krishan Pehlwan gang who had escaped from judicial custody in December 2003 after drugging his police escort. He had been on run since then.

Don was arrested from near Surakhpur Village in the Najafgarh area following an exchange of fire. A .38 webley scot revolver along with 4 live cartridges and a stolen Honda City car was recovered from him.

Sub-inspector Virender Singh was hit by a bullet during the operation. However, he is safe as, he was wearing a bulletproof jacket.Don has about 20 cases of murder against him.