New Delhi, June 18
Fearing that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) might make inroads in the Congress vote bank of Muslim areas in the nearing assembly elections, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has started meeting Muslim NGOs, imams and other minority groups.

Considering improvement in madarsa system of education, Dikshit assured that computers would be installed in madarsas. Dikshit assured this to a member of the Allama Rafiq Trust yesterday.

Scores of madarsas run across the Capital, but computers are installed only in one of them. There is hardly any job for madarsa students. They work either as imam or, muazzin in mosques or teacher in Islamic seminaries.

If they are imparted computer education and other modern education along with the Islamic theology, they will have access to better jobs. Their economic condition will improve, said a member of a washermen delegation.

Chairman of the Delhi Wakf Board and Congress MLA Mateen Ahmed had led the delegation.

Addressing a gathering of washermen and other members of the Muslim community, the Chief Minister said that skills were essential in today’s competition. Computer knowledge would empower youths to face challenges in the fast-changing world.

She exhorted the Muslim community to take up other employment-oriented professions and not just restrict themselves to traditional trades.

The UPA government at the centre has for the first time created a separate ministry for minority affairs. The Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) has been rendering substantial contribution in safeguarding the interests of Muslims.

She also talked about a plan relating to low-cost houses for the poor. There will be no discrimination on the basis of religion or caste while allotting plots. The applications for allotment of such flats would be called soon. The scheme would benefit the poor Muslim families in Delhi. 

New Delhi, June 18
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit along with her cabinet colleagues today thanked Union urban development minister S. Jaipal Reddy for empowering the city government to provisionally declare any colony authorized.

The state government has been given this power with a condition to complete all formalities required within a year. This decision of the union government would help in speedy developmental works in unauthorized colonies, the Chief Minister said.

She assured that the Delhi government would leave no stone unturned for the development in unauthorized colonies in time-bound manner.

Meanwhile, Jagdish Mukhi, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Legislative Assembly, has said that the statement of Delhi government to give provisional regularization to unauthorized colonies is a political stunt only.  Keeping an eye on the forthcoming Delhi Legislative Elections, the government has invented a new word “Provisional Regularization”. 

He said that terms and conditions to get an unauthorized colony regularized as published in the gazette of India in March, 2008 were so tough and unpractical, it was foresighted that the same could not be fulfilled. Despite this the Congress leaders have misguided Delhiities by installing hoardings in every nook and corner of Delhi and win appaulased for regularization of unauthorized colonies. 

Delhi unit chief of the BJP Dr Harsh Vardhan said that terms and condition given in the master plan for regularization of unauthorized colonies are stern. It cannot be given before completing all the formalities. The announcement of provisional authorization is an election trick of the Congress party.

Gurgaon, June 18
Haryana’s one of the busiest city Gurgaon, bordering the national Capital, has become the first city in the country to start the online traffic challaning system in north India.

Giving this information here today, Gurgaon police commissioner Mohinder Lal said the traffic defaulters would be given computerised smart challans instead of handwritten challans as the traffic police would be provided with hand computers with thermal printer so that the challan is issued on the spot.

This computer would also have the data of regular defaulters and would have inbuilt modem which would enable it to connect with the central server. 
He said Haryana police had also started a Short Message Service (SMS) facility at 9717595423 for the residents of Gurgaon district for quick registration of their complaints to the police. He further said these SMSs would be received by the top officials of the police department.

According to Lal, an easy number would be issued by the union ministry for communication on the request of Gurgaon police, so that people could remember the number easily like they the police helpline number 100. The police commissioner said through SMS, people would be able to register incidents of eve-teasing, rape, illegal liquor, drugs, militancy, road accidents and chain snatching. The informers’ name would be kept secret and investigation would be ensured after receiving the complaint.

He added that the residents going out of station could send an SMS ‘’locked house’’ to the department so that police is deployed in that area. Mohinder Lal further said the local police was well equipped with the mobile users database and more and more people would be informed about natural calamities, road blocks and about the diversion of the traffic.

He also added that that the police has launched its website www.Gurgaonpolice.Net and people would be able to register their complaints through the internet on their website and they would not have to go to the police station to lodge their complaints.

He said that the complainants would be able to know the status of their registered complaints online and the information regarding passport verification, gun license and domestic servant verification would also be updated on the website regularly. — UNI

Ghaziabad, June 18
The body of an unidentified accident victim who died in a private hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district was dumped in a roadside ditch by the compounder and the driver of the hospital ambulance, a police official said here on Wednesday.

“During patrolling on Tuesday night, a body was found lying in a ditch with fresh bandages over it. Looking at the bandages, the policemen suspected that the dead body could have been dumped by a hospital,” said Vijay Bhushan, superintendent of police (city).

On investigation, the police found that the dead man had sustained critical injuries last Friday at Ghaziabad railway station while getting down from a train.

Fellow passengers took the injured man to the Raghuvir Hospital at Dasna town of Ghaziabad district.

After four days at the hospital, the victim succumbed to his injuries.

The hospital management contacted the person who had admitted him, but he refused to take charge of the body.

He said that he had admitted the victim on humanitarian grounds.

The hospital management then told the hospital compounder to take the body to the home of the person who had admitted him.

The compounder took the body in an ambulance and contacted the person at his Lal Kuan (Ghaziabad) residence.

Then the compounder and the driver allegedly threw the body into a ditch alongside Grand Trunk Road.

The police has arrested the compounder of the hospital Imran and are planning more arrests.—IANS

New Delhi, June 18
A Japanese delegation consisting 20 persons, expert in urban transport and infrastructure, led by Hiroaki Taniguchi, vice-minister for Engineering Affairs, MLIT (ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism), Japan, on Tuesday visited the BRT corridor stretch from Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand.

Accompanied by senior officials from the Delhi Integrated Multi-Model Transit System (DIMTS), RITES and IIT (Delhi), the delegates reached the corridor in the morning and boarded a DTC low-floor bus from Pushp Vihar to have a first hand experience of travelling on the corridor.

Taniguchi was keen to know the project details including the studies conducted before its implementation, time taken to construct the corridor and the challenges faced during its construction and thereafter.

The officials from DIMTS, RITES and IIT briefed the delegation on their queries.

They were also informed about the kind of buses operating on the corridor.

The delegates remained on the corridor for over 90 minutes.

“This project is wonderful. Effective use of stock is important. I hope this project is expanded,” Taniguchi said.

Counsellor of Japan Embassy Yutaka Odagawa said, “The BRT system here is well managed.”

“Wonderful bus lane system,” said Naoyuki Yamane, director of International Policy Unit for Infrastructure, Policy Bureau, MLIT.

“I am very happy to see the wonderful BRT project,” said Hideo Matsuda, director of Urban Development and Improvement Division, City and Regional Development Bureau, MILT.

New Delhi, June 18
A whopping Rs 1,400 crore is spent annually by about 40,000 industrial units located in and around the National Capital Region (NCR) on diesel for running generator sets to meet their production targets. This is because of the paucity of power in the area which averages to about eight to 10 hours daily.

This was discovered by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) during a brief study conducted in the region recently.

Releasing the report of the study today, ASSOCHAM secretary general D. S. Rawat said that in the process these industries consume as much as 35 crore litres of the precious fuel which otherwise could have been used for running road transport.

Also, running the generator sets for long hours cause environmental and noise pollution.

The report said that industrial units had no other option, as because of the erratic power situation in the area, without the use of generators they would have been unable to meet their targets.

According to the study, the excess consumption of diesel for running these gen sets has made the industry in the region incompatible as their margins have shown signs of shrinkage because of the high cost of diesel.

On an average each small, medium and large industrial unit spends as much as Rs 18,000, Rs 70,000 and Rs 1.20 lakh per month respectively. The Business Process Outsourcing offices (BPOs) located in the region, however, spend the maximum amount, about Rs 1.35 lakh on diesel because of their 24 by 7 working schedule.

New Delhi, June 18
The retail market has to be regulated to avoid extinction of the unorganised retail segment threatening the very existence of many small retailers.

This was the upshot of the panel discussion on ‘Impact of Organised Retailing on the Unorganised Sector’ which was held recently by the Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) at the Assocham auditorium here.

The panelists, drawn from different political spectrums, organised and unorganised retail sector, consumer activist organisations and political think-tanks, have endorsed the view that there should be a de-politicisation of the issue to arrive at a pragmatic policy frame-work on retailing.

Kick-starting the discussion, Dr Ashwini Mahajan of Swadeshi Jagran Manch, expressed concern about the ICRIER report, keeping the domestic retail and organised retail on a par. Sooner or later, foreign retail chains would have an upper hand in the Indian retail scene. He also said that the body of evidences collated across the world clearly indicated that the price differential in the organised retailing was short-lived.

Echoing his sentiments, Praveen Khandelwal, general secretary, Confederation of the Indian Traders Association, said, “The ICRIER report had also indicated that 1.7 per cent of the traders would have to close shop on account of the entry of the organiszed retail chains. In the Indian context, this would work out to about two lakh shops per year.”

“This is a matter of great concern and none of the successive governments have given any thoughts to enhance the efficiency of the traditional distributive trade and neither is there any institutional credit available to the small traders,” he added.

He mentioned about the predatory pricing that would be resorted to by the organised retail sector by offering attractive discounts. The end result of this would be an unequal playing field which could push the ‘self-organised’ retailers out of business.

Tapan Sen, general secretary, CITU, mentioned about the social cost that would be incurred by displacing the traditional retail trade. There should be adequate measures for rehabilitating them and also for regulating the functioning of retail chains in India so that they are not being given an unfettered freedom.

He made it clear that his party was not against the opening up of the retail sector but was extra-cautious about the social backlash that such policy decisions can create if it is not properly orchestrated and the decisions are not taken in the most democratic manner.

Sumit Sinha, CEO, Aditya Birla Retail, said there were a lot of misconceptions about the organised retail trade in India. It would leave enough space for traditional retailing and kirana shops, since the focus of the organised retail sector would be to sell multi-products like furniture, electronic gadgets, textiles, etc. through one window. He also referred to the price advantage, lower transaction costs, scaling down of wastages and better remuneration to the farmers, by the induction of organizsed retailing. He mentioned that Walmart in the US co-existed with a large number of mom and pop stores, which is indicative of the co-existence of both in a harmonious manner.

Reflecting the same sentiments, Dr Shriram Khanna, consumer activist and professor in the Delhi School of Economics said there was a very high degree of politicisation of the retail trade. He wanted a fair and transparent discussion on these issues of national importance. The consumer, he said, is for organised retail since he gets the price advantage, quality material, redress of grievances and elimination of deceptive prices. 

New Delhi, June 18
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has decided to give on lease a portion of the upcoming civic centre near Zakir Hussain College to the Income Tax department.

The decision was taken today after a meeting with senior officers of the Income Tax department.

Standing Committee chairperson Vijender Gupta said that the MCD and Income Tax Department had decided to respectively lease out and acquire the commercial office space in the upcoming civic centre building. Moreover, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has given green signal to the Income Tax Department for acquiring the space in the building and fulfilling the necessary formalities.

The portion will be given on lease for a period of 99 years. This is going to be the biggest agreement to be negotiated by the corporation. The MCD has worked out an indicative cost of Rs 2,400 crore for it.

Vijender Gupta said that that the MCD would ensure smooth flow of traffic on a long-term basis in the area. A detailed traffic management programme incurring an expenditure of Rs 200 crore has been prepared. The technical committee of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has approved the programme.

Traffic in the vicinity, New Delhi railway station, the proposed metro station linking Indira Gandhi International Airport and Minto Road as well as the adjoining areas of Rajiv Chowk, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Old Delhi have also been studied.

The traffic plan comprises one flyover, three underground passes, one travelogue and intersections. The MCD is going to invite tenders for the execution of traffic management plans. It is expected that the traffic plan would be implemented well before the beginning of the Commonwealth Games in 2010. 

New Delhi, June 18
The investigation team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will look into the circumstances that led to fire at J.J. Camp in Shaheed Basti, Lahori Gate, in the Capital on June 14.

The commission’s move came on a petition filed by the Rashtriya Shoshit Parishad. The petition alleged that the staff of the Divisional Regional Manager (DRM), Northern Railway (NR), came with a police contingent to J.J. Camp on the day of the incident and rained lathis on the inhabitants, set jhuggis ablaze and razed hutments with a bulldozer.

The petition alleged that the affected persons were still squatting at the spot. It further said that the action was inhuman and violated the provisions of the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Ordinance, 2007, which required that status quo should be maintained till December 31 this year. The complaint also highlighted that those who occupied the locality prior to 1998 were entitled to an alternative residence according to the policy of the urban development ministry. Following this, the commission issued notice to DRM (NR), Delhi police commissioner and secretary, Urban Development Ministry.

New Delhi, June 18
The South West Police yesterday arrested Ramesh Bahadur alias Deepak and two of his accomplices for a robbery that took place on June 7 in a house at Anand Niketan. The accused worked as a servant in the house.

He had decamped with the jewellery and cash after drugging his master Charanjit Singh and his son Raunak.

After arresting Ramesh Bahadur, the police nabbed Raju Thapa and Surender Bahadur who run a placement agency for domestic helps. The two had recommended Ramesh Bahadur to Charanjit Singh.

Faridabad, June 18
Father of a rape victim today committed suicide at Durgapur village in Palwal.

Members of the Balmiki community (Scheduled Caste) from which Mange Ram (name changed) hails today held demonstrations outside the Badshkhan Hospital where his body was brought for conducting postmortem. They were protesting against the government and the police.

His daughter Naina (name changed), 16, was raped by a youth of the village last night. She was allegedly taken out of the house at a knifepoint.

The agitating members alleged that Mange Ram ended his life because of the humiliation and torture he would face.

The relatives of the culprit had threatened Mange Ram not to lodge a complaint. The culprit is said to be a recognised anti-social element. He has been arrested.

The agitating members alleged that though the government claims to provide security to the members of Scheduled Caste, but in reality, they are a threatened and harassed lot.

New Delhi, June 18
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has decided to develop the Yamuna river bank to provide a better picture of the city before the visitors during the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

A meeting was held here today to find out the ways to develop the river front and maintain ecosystem.

The DDA specified that only green development will be permitted and that too will be limited to specified greens such as biodiversity parks, bird sanctuaries, etc.

Meanwhile, in connection with conversion charges for change of permissible land use in industrial premises given in the Master Plan-2021, a DDA official said that amendment in the Master Plan had been proposed to the Union urban development ministry. All charges will be fixed by the ministry itself.

The DDA has also approved a proposal to allot a plot measuring 100 acres at village Maidan Garhi for South Asian University.