The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Delhi and neighbourhood

	DU 2nd cut-off list Arts seats filled; com marks dip Charu Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 1 The hustle and bustle could be seen on various college campuses of Delhi University (DU) as students had gathered to view the second cut-off list that was put in colleges today. The second cut-off list brings with it a motley result, for instance surprisingly admissions in most popular colleges for courses like — history, political science and English are closed. However, percentages have dipped in commerce in most colleges and there is a substantial dip in almost all science courses in various colleges at Delhi University. For most commerce programmes, the second cut-off shows a diverse lowering of marks. In Acharya Narayan Dev College, the second cut off for B. Com stands between 90% to 85.5% for general category and 83-88% for OBC. While in B.R. Ambedkar College it stands at 85% for general and 83% for OBC, in Daulat Ram College it has dipped to 91-95% for general and 89-92% for OBC, at Hans Raj it stands at 93.75-94.75% for general and 91.75-92.75% for OBC, at Hindu College it varies from 93.5-96.5% for general and 89-92% for OBC, at LSR 94% for general and at SRCC. The cut off for commerce at most popular college has had a marginal dip from 94-98% for general and 89.25-91.25% for OBC. Economics (hons) has also shown a marginal dip in most colleges. At Daulat Ram it stands at 91.25% for general and 86.5% for OBC, at Hindu the cut off varies from 90-94% for general category showing a marginal dip, at LSR 93%. Most women’s colleges have shut admissions for arts courses like — English, history, political science and psychology. This includes Kamla Nehru, Miranda House. Though at LSR, seats are available and cut off has been lowered. Then Daulat Ram has shut admissions to most arts courses. Hans Raj has closed admissions to English though the cut off has been lowered in history to 79-85%, at Hindu admissions have been completed for political science honours but are open in other subjects where cut off has been lowered like English at 88-97% and history at 85-94% for general category. In all science subjects the cut-off has substantially dipped and seats are available in almost all colleges. The admission process has to be completed by July 4 following the second cut off list.
	Gurgaon Land Compensation HPCC promises help to farmers Tribune News Service Gurgaon, July 1 In an attempt to prevent the opposition from exploiting the issue of land compensation, the state Congress unit today assured government help to the agitating farmers belonging to five villages in Gurgaon. Their lands were acquired by the Haryana State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) during the INLD rule for developing Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in collaboration with Reliance. Explaining the state government’s stand on the issue, the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) spokesperson Ved Prakash Vidrohi today said that if the aggrieved farmers decided to move the court for enhancing their compensation, the state government would provide all help to them. Around 1,400 acres of farmers belonging to Khandsa, Narsingpur, Mohmadpur Jharsa, Garauli Khurd and Harsaru village have been acquired. The landowners were given notices under Sections 4 and 6. Vidrohi said that Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had already announced the new policy regarding land acquisition, under which the floor rates were increased manifold. Farmers of the five villages were also benefited by this policy as the rate of their lands was raised from Rs 12.50 lakh to Rs 15.00 lakh per acre depending upon the location. As a result, they were paid compensation ranging from Rs 20.70 lakh to Rs 24.90 lakh per acre that the Chautala government had acquired at the rate of only Rs 2 to Rs 4.5 lakh per acre. He added that according to the policy, the farmers were given the option to accept the compensation which majority of them availed. As such they received almost six times more compensation than they would have got during the Chautala regime. Not only this, the CM had also announced that the farmers whose lands were acquired by the HSIIDC after the Congress came in power would be given a royalty of Rs 30,000 per acre till 33 years in addition to the compensation. This royalty would increase by Rs 1,000 per year. According to Vidrohi, the benefits of the royalty scheme would also be extended to the farmers of the five villages, though the process of acquiring their land that was started during the previous regime. He said that the state government would also ensure that at least one eligible member of each family would get employment in industrial units that would come up on their lands. Even after these benefits, if the court gives any further relief to farmers, the state government would implement it without any reservations, Vidrohi said. He alleged that the INLD was trying to make an issue out of the land, which was initially acquired during its regime and that too at very low prices. He said that since the farmers had already taken the compensation, it belonged to the HSIIDC and they should have no objection on whomsoever it shares the land with. He claimed that those who were objecting to land acquisition were not farmers, but, in fact, they were either INLD workers or property dealers engaged in real-estate business in Gurgaon.
	Cops warned against wrong detentions SHO must have ACP’s nod for arrests, orders Dadwal Sandeep Yadav Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 1 The Delhi Commissioner of Police Y.S. Dadwal has recently issued instructions to all police officers dealing with cases under Section 107/151 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to follow certain guidelines after a spate of undue harassment and wrongful detention by some officials came to light. As per the new orders, before making an arrest under Section 151 of the CrPC, an SHO must have the prior concurrence from the concerned assistant commissioners of police (ACsP). Only after this, the SHO can arrest without the magistrate’s orders or warrant. Putting the ball in ACsP court, Dadwal has also issued instructions for them. “The ACsP should not give their approval in mechanical manner, but act strictly as per the law to ensure that there is no misuse of the provisions,” reads the order. The main objective of Section 107 and 151 of the CrPC is preventive in nature. Under this section, an executive magistrate can issue a showcause notice to a person to execute a bond with or without sureties about whom he has information that such a person is likely to disturb the public tranquility by indulging in a wrongful act. These provisions are to prevent the commission of a cognizable offence. As they relate to the liberty of a person, the police department has often been at the receiving end of various courts. In the Purshottam Rumnani vs. Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, the Delhi High Court had held that the informant, who called at ‘100’ to the police and registered a complaint about somebody breaking the locks of shops in his area was wrongly arrested under Section 107/151 of the CrPC. Last year in June, Sanjay Singh, 25, had jumped from the first floor of Connaught Place police station and had received multiple fracture while he was being booked under these Sections. So much so that the Delhi High Court had taken a suo motu action in a complaint and directed all detenus under Section 107/151 of the CrPC to be released on personal bond to avoid overcrowding at Tihar Jail.
	Sheila govt on sop-giving spree Effort to counter inflation, incumbency factors Ravi Bhatia Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 1 Will the Congress government of the NCT of Delhi succeed in countering the double “I” factor (inflation and incumbency) with the string of sops being offered to the minorities in the run-up to the assembly elections scheduled for later this year? This is the question which is being hotly debated in the political circles here as the parties finetune their respective election strategies for the elections in the Capital. Ever since its defeat in the recently held Cantonment Board elections, ostensibly because of the rising cost of items of daily consumption, the Congress-ruled Delhi government has been on a virtual sop-announcing spree for the welfare of the minorities and the underprivileged in an attempt to woo its traditional vote bank. Over the past two months, the Delhi government has promised to provide computers for all madrasas, appoint part-time Urdu teachers in various institutions and their remunerations enhanced substantially. The Dikshit government has also promised to make available substantial funds for the promotion of Urdu language - the language which has been associated with the composite culture of the city. Along with this, the Delhi government has announced its decision to speed up the work of regularising the over 1400 unauthorised colonies by providing the basic facilities at a huge expense and thus make these colonies a better place to live in. It has also announced the opening of numerous schools in these resettlement colonies and has also enhanced the amount of monetary assistance for raising the girl child for Below the Poverty Line (BPL) families. At the same time, the Delhi government is continuing with its decision of opening of free kitchens (Aap ki Rasois) in various parts of the sprawling metropolis to provide at least one free square meal to the destitutes. So far, the Dikshit government has opened eight such centres with the help of private parties by appealing to their social responsibility sensibilities. Simultaneously, the Delhi government with the backing of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) has directed all MLAs, office-bearers and ground-level party workers to explain to the electorate that the high cost of consumerables was a global phenomenon and not because of their policies. The Chief Minister took the lead in this and recently claimed that inflation was the lowest in the national Capital as compared to other metropolitan cities. This was followed by the announcement of the finance minister, Dr A. K. Walia that the city had the lowest unemployment rate as well and this was because of the numerous opportunities offered by the local Congress government. The skeptics within the DPCC, however, are of the opinion that unless the government can manage to bring the spiraling prices of essential commodities under control, offering of all these sops would go in vain. The opposition parties will exploit inflation and incumbency factors to the limit as these are expected to be the main poll planks.
	Advertisers shifting base to Delhi, NCR: Assocham Syed Ali Ahmed Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 1 After Kolkata and Mumbai, the Capital and its neighbourhood (NCR) have emerged as the advertising hub. In view of the rising business opportunities, big advertisers or advertising agencies have started shifting their base from Mumbai to Delhi and NCR. As a result, the advertising business has shown an annual growth of 35%, says a report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham). Earlier, the business was growing at over 15% in Delhi and NCR, points out the Assocham assessment. In 2006, the ad business in Mumbai showed a growth of over 30%, said D.S. Rawat, secretary general, Assocham. The reason behind the shifting of advertising firms to Delhi is that it is the media hub. Most publications and periodicals including TV channels and FM radio stations have their headquarters here. This provides huge ad space and ad-related information is disseminated better in this region. This, thereby, provides wider business avenues, which is not the case in Mumbai. The metro construction and the modernisation of airport in Delhi have provided ample opportunities for the display of advertisements in Delhi and NCR. The shifting to Delhi is also due to presence of grand malls, metro and high disposable incomes of people in the northern region. This inspires ad players to flourish their businesses by making NCR their base, said the Assocham secretary general. Trade promotion centres, export promotion councils and various other avenues for airing advertisements at reasonable rates are available in this region. The ad industry had recorded a growth of 22% in 2007. It reached Rs 196 billion and, thus, contributed 38% of the industry’s revenues. In 2008, it is likely to go beyond Rs 215 billion by showing a growth rate of 25-27%, said Rawat. The TRAI has recommended to city government to allow news broadcast on radio and increase the FDI limit among other provisions. These would make radio more favourable with advertisers.. Big advertisers in automobiles (Maruti and Hyundai), consumer durables (LG and Samsung), beverages (Coca-Cola and PepsiCo) among others have their headquarters in the North. Even new agencies entering India are also setting up their bases in Delhi. Wieden and Kennedy (W+K), the global agency for Nike and Nokia, entered India the last year. It was no surprise that W+K selected Delhi as its base, as Nokia has its headquarters in Delhi. Moreover, Coca-Cola’s marketing division has shifted its base to the Capital due to the presence of advertising firms in the NCR, says the Assocham assessment.
	Moolchand cardiologist gets Dr B.C. Roy Award Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 1 Well-known city cardiologist and physician Dr K.K. Aggarwal was conferred the prestigious Dr B C Roy National Award by President Pratibha Patil in a special ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today on the occasion of Doctor’s Day. This is the highest national recognition for a medical professional by the Government of India after the Padma awards. Head of cardiology department at Moolchand Hospital Dr Aggarwal is known for his splendid achievements in the fields of practice, research and social welfare. He was honoured with the award today for his outstanding service in the area of ‘Socio-Medical Relief’. Dr Aggarwal was instrumental in starting the clot dissolving streptokinase therapy for acute heart attacks in 1984 and started the technique of colour doppler echocardiography in North India in 1988. To create health awareness among the masses, Dr Aggarwal conceptualised and organised ‘Run for your Heart’ in 1991 and the first ever ‘Perfect Health Mela’ in 1993. Both the events continue till date. And, interestingly, on both these occasions, the Government of India released the National Postal Commemorative Stamps. He has served on many government committees, both at the Center and at state levels, and is consulted by them on issues of health and medicine. He is credited with 14 international publications and has contributed to the famed International Textbook on Echocardiography. Besides, his research papers have appeared in as many as 115 publications in Indexed National Journals and over 350 publications in review Indian Journals. Dr Aggarwal holds various positions in different medical bodies of the country including the national finance secretary of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), member, Delhi medical council, former president, Delhi Medical Association, editor-in-chief IJCP Group of Publications and former chairman, National IMA Academic Wing. He has written several articles on vedic sciences and their relevance to the field of medicine.
	Special prayer in Aarushi’s school, students still shocked New Delhi, July 1 A special prayer was held for Aarushi Talwar at her school when it reopened on Tuesday. Aarushi was a class IX student of Delhi Public School (DPS), Noida. The school had been closed for summer vacations when her murder was discovered on May 16, shocking people, especially students and teachers. The special prayer was held during the morning assembly. The school also observed a one-minute silence in her memory. Students coming to the school were aware of the huge media spotlight on the case, which has been splashed on the front pages of newspapers as the ‘Noida double murder’. Parents who had come to drop their wards to the school chose not to talk to the media. Simran, a class X student who was more forthcoming, said, “I knew Aarushi but I was not very close to her. Initially I was shocked by the news and was so scared that I was not able to sleep alone. “However now, after so many weeks, I feel better. There should be counseling sessions for students. We all are waiting for the culprit to be caught.” Another student, Abhinav, said, “When I first heard the news, I was very shocked that something of this kind had taken place involving my schoolmate.” He too felt that students needed counseling to deal with the fear created by Aarushi’s murder. Some parents said their children were refusing to sleep with them because Aarushi’s father Rajesh Talwar is still a suspect in the case. One such parent who didn’t wished to be named said, “I don’t know what to do. My child now seems afraid of me.” The Noida Police had initially named the Talwars’ domestic aide Hemraj as the prime suspect but retracted the statement after his body was found on the terrace of the house the next day. Her father Rajesh Talwar was arrested on May 23, and the police said he killed his daughter in a fit of rage. The CBI is now probing the murder. A second arrest in the case was made on June 13 when the CBI held Talwar’s compounder Krishna. On Friday, Rajkumar, the domestic aide of Talwars’ doctor friends Praful and Anita Durrani was arrested and his bloodstained T-shirt and bicycle seized. The case only seems to be turning more mysterious, with the CBI not stating if has established a motive behind Aarushi’s murder. — IANS
	All MCD school kids to get midday meals Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 1 The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has decided to extend the midday meal facility to students studying in its schools. Earlier, it was provided to the schools in J.J. clusters and resettlement colonies. This is being done on the directions of the Supreme Court to provide mid-day meals to all students in government schools. There are a total of 1800 corporation schools in which 10 lakh students are enrolled. The corporation has given contract to various NGOs to supply meals. The objectives of the scheme are to improve the nutrition of poor children, encourage them to go to school and provide nutritional support to children in drought-affected areas during the summer vacation. The work of providing cooked meals to children was started in July 2003 in a phased manner. The contract to supply the meal was given to 11 NGOs from their semi-automated kitchens. The food should contain a minimum 450 K calories and 12 grams of protein for which the MCD pay Rs 2 per child per day in addition to the supply of free wheat or rice that is 100 gram per child per day.
	Metro ridership rises by 25% in a year Tribune News Service New Delhi, July1 The Delhi Metro ridership has recorded an increase of almost 25% in June this year from the corresponding month in 2007. The ridership has increased by almost 10% in just a month from May to June 2008, DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal said “The rise in ridership comes in wake of the opening of Shahdara-Dilshad Garden line of Phase II from june 4 this year, Delhi University admissions and the spread of Metro feeder buses services,” he added. In June this year, the average daily ridership has been 702,731. The ridership remained more than 720,000 on each working day of June. In June 2007, the average daily ridership stood at 563,095. Thus, in just a year, the daily ridership increased by 139,636 and recorded a rise of 24.79%. The corresponding period also recorded a rise of 31.62% in daily average revenue (from Rs 62.63 lakh in June 2007 to Rs 82.44 lakh in June 2008). From May to June 2008, the ridership rose from 641,463 to 702,731. It increased by over 9.55%. In this period, the daily average revenue increased by 11.49 % (from Rs 73.93 lakh to Rs 82.44 lakh). The DMRC is also operating 97 feeder buses on 16 routes.
	DTC to start e-ticketing in 3 more depots Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 1 In its continuing efforts to improve the general image and make it more attractive to commuters, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) is planning to overhaul its ticketing system. The corporation will provide hand-held electronic ticket machines to conductors, making it commuter friendly, in at least three more depots soon, a senior DTC official said. The three depots selected for this modernisation are Mayapuri, Sukhdev Vihar and Hasanpur. At present, these hand-held machines being used in over 100 buses operated from Subhash Place Depot. According to the DTC, this system will also help to enhance efficiency and accountability of the corporation staff, besides making the ticketing system commuter friendly. The DTC has already trained the conductors on handling the machine. The gadget is easy to handle and is particularly handy for new conductors as it also carries a route map. One e-ticketing machine can vend as many as 3,000 tickets in an eight-hour shift. The DTC has already introduced sleek low-floor buses, both ordinary and airconditioned, in the National Capital Territory of Delhi to encourage the general public to use public transport instead of private vehicles to help decongest the roads.
	8th Aap Ki Rasoi opens at Karol Bagh Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 1 Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today opened the eighth centre of “Aap Ki Rasoi” at Regarpura, Karol Bagh. She described it as a noble joint venture of the city-government and Taj Group, who has come forward to offer a helping hand in eliminating hunger from the Capital city. Intensification of the hunger-free Delhi campaign would go a long way in curbing malnutrition as it is sometimes noticed that some children try to find edibles out of garbage. The Chief Minister stated that the city-government would continue to facilitate NGOs or business houses in distribution of cooked food at specified centres. Fresh food would be provided everyday between 12 noon to 3 pm at the centres. The government under its new initiative would give permission to utilise night shelters for the distribution of cooked food whereas the donors would bring hygienically cooked material for distribution to the poor, she said. The hunger-free Delhi campaign is aimed at the hapless destitute population which often goes to sleep empty stomach on the city streets. Seven such centres at Nizamuddin Basti, Jhandewalan, Chandni Chowk, Yamuna Bazar, Guru Gobind Hospital, Raghubir Nagar, Shahdara and Janpath have been inaugurated by the Chief Minister. Corporate, business houses, well-to-do individuals and organisations have been exhorted to adopt one of the sites for providing meals to the destitute.
	Nitish Katara Case Mother demands death for killers New Delhi, July 1 Neelam Katara on Tuesday moved the Delhi High Court demanding death penalty for influential Uttar Pradesh politician D.P. Yadav’s son Vikas Yadav and nephew Vishal Yadav who were convicted of killing her son Nitish Katara six years ago. The trial court on May 30 awarded life imprisonment to the two for bludgeoning Katara to death and burning his body. They have also been slapped a fine of Rs 1,60,000 each. Challenging the quantum of sentence, Neelam Katara through her counsel Kaushik De said that the convicts need not be given any leniency as the murder was committed in a gruesome manner and they showed disrespect to the dead body. The lawyer also cited the criminal records of the two in the petition, which is expected to come up for hearing on Wednesday. — IANS
	709 cases solved in Lok Adalat Our Correspondent Noida, July 1 Seven law officers solved 709 cases in a special Lok Adalat convened in district courts here on Sunday. The court ordered a compensation of Rs 8.50 lakh while deciding various cases. Besides penalties of Rs 1.25 lakh was also recovered. Additional session judge Sanjay Harkoli ordered payment of Rs 4.25 lakh as compensation to the victim in a case of motor vehicle accident. Additional session judge Tanveer Ahmed had ordered compensation of Rs 2.10 lakh in another road accident case. Chief judicial magistrate (CJM) Ashok Kumar Singh had disposed of 588 small cases and 62 other cases. He pronounced Rs 1.19 lakh as economic penalties. Additional CJM disposed six small criminal cases. Eight small cases were decided in the court of judicial magistrate T.P. Singh, while additional district magistrate decided five stamp fee cases of Rs 2.20 lakh value.