New Delhi, June 1
A Ukrainian national was killed and three were injured when a bus hit them at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here early on Sunday.

According to a spokesperson of the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), the accident took place around 1 am when a bus carrying the crew members of an international flight hit the passengers.

The driver has been arrested and the police were investigating if the incident took place by mistake or because of the driver’s negligence.

According to an airport official, the passengers arrived at the Terminal 2 of the airport on an inter-terminal transfer coach when they were hit.

“They were pulling out their luggage from the boot of the bus when another bus hit them from behind,” an airport police official said.

The Ukrainian passenger, Mikhialov, died on the spot and the injured were taken to a hospital, where two were discharged later in the day. But the condition of one of the passengers is serious, the official said.

This is a second death in an accident at IGI airport within a week. Last Sunday, a member of the ground staff of Jet Airways died after being hit by a DIAL ambulance.

Earlier on March 27 this year, a 30-year-old worker was crushed to death by a bulldozer, while in yet another accident case, a 27-year-old engineer of Air Deccan, Sanskriti Sinha, was found dead between the airport’s taxiway and the ramp in October last year.

The DIAL officials said it has taken a serious view of such incidents. “We have set a speed limit of 15 km for the vehicles running inside the airport premises. We will plan out other measures shortly to ensure such incidents do not recur,” an official said.
— IANS

New Delhi, June 1
In a gesture of gratitude to the Indian government and its people for their continued support, more than 200 Tibetan students from across the country cleaned the Delhi University (DU) campus today.

They plan to celebrate Sunday as Thank You India day. “Cleaning DU campus or celebrating Thank you India day is our way of showing gratitude to the Indian government and to the Indian people for their support to the Tibetan community,” Tenzing, a member of the All-India Tibetan College Students Mass Movement, told IANS here today.

Nearly 250 Tibetan students from 14 places in India — including Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Delhi, have been camping here since May 19.

Although most students did not know each other before they met, they got in touch through common friends and the Internet.

“The aim of our protest is to ask the Chinese government to come forward for concrete talks with the Dalai Lama. Although we arrived in Delhi more than a month ago, we have been protesting since May 19 and will continue till June 2,” said Norbu Dolma, a member of the movement and a student of Osmania University in Hyderabad.

“However, on the last few days of our protest we have decided to thank the Indian government for supporting the Tibetan community,” she added.

The student’s movement, which has been protesting at the Jantar Mantar, also held peace marches, staged street plays and organised cycle rallies.

“We will distribute laddoos (sweets) to Indians at nine key spots here tomorrow. After that we will go on a candle light march from Rajghat to Jantar Mantar,” Dolma added. — IANS

New Delhi, June 1
The Youth for Equality (YFE) has called off the indefinite hunger strike after 10 days. The organisation had gone on a strike on May 21 to protest against the new OBC quota to be implemented this year.

But the YFE has refused to end the agitation. It has demanded timely implementation of the Right to Education Act and constitution of a collegium on the acts and observations made by the Chief Justice of India regarding the implementation of the quota.

A solidarity march that started from Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) on Saturday marked the end of the first phase of the agitation.

School and college students, doctors, traders’ associations and professionals participated in the march. The YFE said that the rollback of the hunger strike was not the end of their struggle.

“This was one way to protest against the discrimination. We will gradually adopt other means,” said Harsh Bhardwaj, member, YFE.

“We have called off the indefinite hunger strike here. But protests have started across the country,” he added.

Students of Banaras Hindu University and Government Medical College in Udaipur have launched strikes to protest against reservation.

Students of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) had also decided to go on an indefinite strike on May 29 in a general body meeting.

New Delhi, June 1
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), in collaboration with tertiary care hospitals like Fortis, Apollo and Wockhardt, is introducing a new course in schools for those interested in a career as paramedics.

“Looking at the shortage of manpower in the medical field, the CBSE has decided to commence a two-year full time healthcare sciences course from the new academic session,” said Shashi Bhushan, head of the department of vocational education at CBSE.

“Students can opt for this course after Class 10 in board-affiliated schools. It would be a joint certification by the CBSE and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI),” Bhushan told IANS.

The two-year course will have five subjects, including one language and another academic elective like biology.

The other three subjects are healthcare delivery system, hospital organisation and services, medical equipment and technology (one paper); anatomy and physiology; and food, nutrition and dietics.

After Class 10, students can opt for this special course instead of science, commerce and arts. They will be regular Class 11 and 12 students.

Bhushan said the CBSE students would get trained at major hospitals like Fortis, Max, Apollo, Wockhardt and other such tertiary care hospitals affiliated to FICCI.

“Apart from their regular classroom teaching, these students will spend seven weeks every year at top hospitals to get a hands-on experience. They will assist doctors and senior nurses and pick up the fine nuances of the healthcare services,” he said.

“The aim is to facilitate the upward mobility of our students and prepare them as skilled individuals.”

Paramedics are a group of health professionals who help doctors in basic life support system, emergency care and do sundry hospital jobs like helping in the operation theatre and being a part of the ambulance service.

CBSE officials said they are also in talks with the Nursing Council of India and the Pharmacy Council of India on giving preference to students at the graduation level.

Bhushan said nearly 50 schools, mainly in cities where big hospitals are located, are taking up the course this year. Gradually more schools will adopt the course.

Asked if the current teachers in the CBSE can handle the course, he said: “We are going to train our biology teachers to tackle the special course.

“Our board is in talks with the Academy of Hospital Administration (AHA), a private body comprising senior doctors, to train teachers,” he added.

Highlighting the problems of the Indian healthcare sector, the Planning Commission has said the country faces a shortage of about 600,000 doctors, one million nurses, 200,000 dental surgeons and a large number of paramedical staff. — IANS

“There has been massive discrimination on the issue of river waters and control of head works as well as BBMB. The Congress even stabbed Sant Harchand Singh Longowal in the back, refusing to implement the Punjab Accord signed by him with his own blood,” said Kalia.

New Delhi, June 1
Both, Vikas Yadav, son of Uttar Pradesh politician D.P Yadav and his cousin Vishal, who were sentenced to life imprisonment by a city court in the Nitish Katara murder case last week, had tried to pressurize witnesses during the trial.

This was said by additional sessions judge Ravinder Kaur in her order. “The conduct of the accused had throughout been to mislead the court and put pressure on the witnesses or to give them temptations so that they do not depose against them, which amounts to an additional link in the chain of circumstances proved by the prosecution,” Kaur said.

The court, while holding them guilty, referred to various applications moved before it by key witness Ajay Katara during the trial seeking directions to the Uttar Pradesh Police to provide security to him.

The court noted that it had to issue directions to DIG, UP Police, in July 2003 to ensure that Katara was not harassed by the police officers at the behest of the accused.

Katara had to seek court’s intervention as, according to him, he was being framed in a case of violating the SC/ST Act.

“It is observed that it was a serious matter as the only witness who had not turned hostile was receiving threats from police officials,” Kaur said in the judgment.

The accused even did not spare the special public prosecutors, as legal notices were sent to them. The notices were, however, later withdrawn with the intervention of the Delhi High Court, Kaur added.

Kaur in her order observed, “It shows that these notices were served upon special public prosecutors to prevent them from conducting their case fairly.”

It was an attempt to interfere with the administration of justice and deter the prosecutors from discharging their professional duties, the judge noted.

New Delhi, June 1
Educationists, industry professionals and education managers need to get together for greater diffusion between industry and academia in technology education. 

This was the recommendation of a report released at the opening session of Edutech 2008, a one-of-a-kind fair focused exclusively on technical education that was opened at Pragati Maidan here recently.

The fair was inaugurated by Rajdeep Sahrawat, vice-president, NASSCOM and Deepak Pental, vice-chancellor of Delhi University.

Speaking at the inauguration, Sarawat said, “Highly structured and formatted education can be a barrier in the rapidly changing world of technology. To retain a globally leading edge, Indian graduates need to be exposed to real-world technology as it is being used in the working environment. NASSCOM would support and promote any initiative that increases interaction between industry leaders and academia on a common platform for a more practical-project approach to teaching.”

Vice-chancellor Deepak Pental suggested that industry adopt institutions for raising standards. “Today, IIT and IIM are brand names, but other institutions are not able to grow to their standards.  Industry could contribute to initiating research at these universities and institutions so that they become globally recognized,” he said. Pental appealed to NRIs in the field to return to their roots and contribute in education.

The opening session witnessed the release of SAITA-EFY report entitled “Technical Education as a Value Enhancer–A Perspective”. The report calls for strengthening the education ecosystem and bringing all stakeholder groups together for dialogue and discussion.

Recognizing the fact that the Indian education system produces manpower with basic functional skills and not industry-specific skills, the report highlighted the need to strengthen ties between the industry and academia and translating into reality the conceptual outcomes of research.

The report also highlighted the need of continuous monitoring and evaluation mechanism for education delivery, which would keep benchmarks high.

The report adds that developments in the global economic scenario and emerging opportunities in business and lifestyle have given birth to a range of career options, which promise to emerge as careers of tomorrow.

New Delhi, June 1
It is easier said than done. Experts say it will not be easy to give Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to Rajasthan’s Gujjar community. The process will take a couple of years even if the authorities give the go ahead.

“There are several hurdles in granting ST status to Gujjars,” a senior official in the ministry for tribal affairs told IANS.

First, the official said, the state government would have to recommend to the central government that the Gujjars needed to be given ST status.

“This has not yet been recommended. Such a decision can be taken by the state cabinet or through a resolution adopted by the state assembly,” added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The ministry of tribal affairs will then refer the recommendation to the Registrar General of India (RGI) for comments. The file will then move to the National Commission for Schedule Tribe (NCST) for comments and approval.

The RGI comments will throw light on how close socially and historically Gujjars are to other STs like Meenas in Rajasthan or vice-versa. RGI is India’s official agency to conduct census. Its 2001 Census puts India’s total ST population at 8.2 per cent.

“The matter will then be taken up by cabinet for consideration and approval. If the cabinet agrees to the proposition, then ministry of law will prepare an act to modify the list of ST through parliament, the only authority vested with power to include and exclude any caste from the list of STs as well schedule castes,” added the official.

There is, however, a rider. The matter will reach parliament only if there are no objections from RGI or NCST, the two key agencies whose comments are ordinarily binding on the government.

Has the Rajasthan government recommended the inclusion of Gujjars into the central list of STs?

“The state government had suggested to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to earmark a separate quota of 4-6 percent reservation for Gujjars. It is a complicated proposition. It is easier said than done,” the official said.

Why? There is already a Supreme Court ceiling of 50 percent on quotas. The government will have to amend the constitution to increase quota quantum.

If that is done, the government cannot afford to ignore the pending demands for quotas from Dalit Muslims. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is pitching to enhance the quotas for Scheduled Castes from existing 15 to 16.2 per cent, in proportion to their population.

The official went on: “The other option is to sub-categorise other backward classes (OBC) quota of 27 percent, but this is an equally difficult proposition. Major OBC castes like Yadavs and Kurmis will seek separate quota within quota for themselves.”

Why not to have separate quota for Gujjars in the state services? “The state can certainly have even if there is a Supreme Court ceiling of 50 per cent. Tamil Nadu has over 65 percent quota in state services,” he added.

Gujjars have actually failed in grab much of the 27 percent quota in the Rajasthan services after Jats were included in the list of OBCs through a notification Oct 27, 1999. Since then, Gujjars have been asserting their demand for ST status.

In June 2007, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders L.K. Advani and Jaswant Singh met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh but refrained from supporting the demand for ST status for the Gujjars.

Meenas make up some 12 per cent of Rajasthan’s population and they are traditional voters of the BJP. The party has a sizeable number of Meena legislators in the state, said a BJP Gujjar leader from New Delhi, requesting anonymity. — IANS

New Delhi, June 1
Paying tribute to noted playwright, late Vijay Tendulkar, and staging some of their most loved productions, the National School of Drama’s (NSD) ongoing repertory summer festival is a treat for theatre aficionados in the city.

“Our summer theatre festival is an annual affair in which we stage some of our best productions, on popular public demand. This year we are dedicating the festival to noted playwright, late Vijay Tendulkar,” said an official of NSD.

The festival that started on May 27 and will conclude on June 23.

“Some of the plays which will be staged are Prasanna’s Acharya ‘Tartuffe’, Nadira Babbar’s ‘1857: Ek Safarnama’ and M.K Raina’s ‘Banbhatt ki Atmakatha’,” the official added.

‘Kafka’, ‘Ram Nam Satya Hai’ and ‘Uttarramcharitamanas’ are some of the other plays that will be staged.

Saving the best for the last, Tendulkar’s ‘Ghasiram Kotwal’ will be staged on the last four days of the festival, with two shows each day.

‘Ghasiram Kotwal’ is such a play that no matter when or where it is staged, it’s bound to draw a huge audience. People simply can’t get over it and there are many who have watched the play many times over.

“Since this time the festival is a dedication to Tendulkar, we hope that the play will draw an even bigger crowd,” the official added.

Directed by Rajinder Nath, ‘Ghasiram Kotwal’ is acclaimed internationally for its innovative content and presentation. It had raised a lot of controversy over the depiction of the historical character, Nana Phadnavis, a revered statesman during the Peshwa rule in Maharashtra.

A Manipuri version of the same play directed by Kshetri Jugindro was staged in NSD’s Bharat Rang Mahotsav early this year. — IANS

New Delhi, June 1
Employees of the North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL) call centre have threatened to go on an indefinite strike from June 5 to protest against the alleged discriminatory attitude of the department.

The customer care, no supply and billing services will not function during the strike. I2I Telesources Private Limited manages NDPL cell centres. Employees claim that some of them have not been paid for three months.

“Employees who were recruited without corrupt means are being harassed and tortured. Jobs are being sold for Rs 15,000,” said Gaurav Sharma of NDPL Call Centre Employees Welfare Association (NDPL-CCEWA).

The Association alleges that I2I is misguiding youths on the pretext of providing government jobs. “Situation is worse in other call centres run by I2I. Employees are recruited on daily wages but are made to sign salary slips like regular employees,” said Gaurav. The complains also include harassment of women staff.

“The Association had sent a memorandum regarding the problems to the I2I head office and the chairman of NDPL. However, no action has been taken against the corrupt staff yet,” said Gaurav.

New Delhi, June 1
Lovely Public Senior Secondary School has scored 100 per cent result in CBSE class X. Nine students have scored 100 per cent in various subjects.

Forty-three students have scored 90 per cent and above in five subjects. Akanksha Chaudhary got 95.6% aggregate.

Other toppers include Mehak Malik, Shilpi Jain, Nikhil Gupta and Monika Mehta. The CBSE X results were declared on Thursday.

New Delhi, June 1
Ready to join the fashion industry, fashion design students of Pearl Academy of Fashion (PAF) on Saturday showcased their talent through -Portfolio ‘08, the Academy’s annual show.

Versatile outfits designed for theme-based sequences by the students, were gracefully portrayed by models as they walked down the ramp.

The guest of honour, eminent designer Satya Paul and chief guest Dr Sheela Bhide, CMD, India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), were present.

The other important guests from the industry included Adarsh Gupta of Liberty Shoes; Munjal family of Hero Honda Group; designers JJ Valaya, Niki Mahajan, Puneet Nanda of Satypa Paul, and DK Nair of CITI.

The students created a mesmerising collection following themes like ‘Get Tipsy – High on Life!!’, ‘A Whack Track over the Rainbow Desert’, ‘Tropical Rainforests and ‘Mesmerizing….Miasma’.

The Best Design Collection award was given to Aanchal Agarwal (theme – Architonic) and Supriya Munjal (theme - Sinuous Wraps, Fused Harmoniously In Structure and Fluidity).

The Avant Garde collection award went to Rohan Chabbra (theme - The Mavericks) while the Most Innovative Collection award went to Shubham Jain (theme - Main chor hoon!!!).

The Most Practical Collection award was given to Yamini Nagpal (theme - The Positive Power of the Negative)

Special Jury award was given to Neha Bhushania (theme - Sustainable Fashion) and Shipra Gupta (theme – Get fit while you get in!)

Addressing the media, A.K.G Nair, Group Director, Pearl Academy of Fashion said, “Portfolio is a platform for our students to unveil their best creations. We are delighted and overwhelmed with the response to our portfolio event. It was a pleasure to witness the innovative creations of the young creative minds. I am confident that these young designers would further enhance the brand name of PAF.’’ The event was choreographed by Harmeet Bajaj.

New Delhi, June 1
The MCD safai karamcharies today met Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and thanked her profusely for supporting their cause.

It may be recalled that Dikshit had requested the L-G to issue necessary directions to the MCD for giving priority to the Avjidars/ Substitute Safai Karamcharies who have been employed for several years and are familiar with the job for engagements of contract basis employees for carrying out sanitation in unauthorised colonies.

A delegation led by MLAs Charan Singh Kandera and Veer Singh Dhingan, including Akhil Bhartiya Safai Majdoor Congress met the Chief Minister today.

Both MLAs and their representative expressed their gratitude for the CM’s role in their matter and implementation of their 13-point demands.

New Delhi, June 1
The India International Centre (IIC) here is presenting a demonstration and lecture of Dhali and Raibanshe—the traditional martial arts of Bengal on June 6.

The demonstration of these now almost extinct martial arts will be given by Sarabhuj, a socio-cultural institute based in Midnapore under the guidance of Tarun Pradhan.

The word Raibanshe literally means “royal bamboo”. In the middle ages, the Bengal infantry soldiers strictly used only bamboo sticks for all fighting purposes.

Today the Raibanshe dancers carry on this martial tradition through dance and acrobatics. The dress code of these dancers is simple but striking consisting of a white “dhoti” covered with a red waist band.

Dhali is another heroic folk dance which was usually performed after winning a battle. The fatigued soldiers danced using swords in an attempt to inspire themselves for yet another battle.

The dances are traditionally performed to the accompaniment of dhol (drum) and a kanshi (a gong), Recently, however, musical instruments like the flute and the dhamsa (copper plate) have also been introduced.

Sarabhuj, the socio-cultural institution, has participated in many national and international festivals wowing audiences by its finesse. The main aim of this institution is to keep alive the traditional dances and the rustic spirit of Bengal.

Tarun Pradhan is the chief founder, director and choreographer of Sarabhuj. Pradhan holds a doctorate in drama from Rabindra Bharati University and at present teaches drama and modern mime there.