Noida, July 12
The population of Noida has increased so much so that the district has doubled its population within 17 years. GB Nagar now occupies 15th rank in UP in the population.

Despite the rapid increase in population, the health department is not serious about family planning programmes in the district. With this pace of increase in population, there will be 50 per cent increase in population by 2011.

According to 2001 census operation, the district had a population of over 11 lakh which has increased to 16.50 lakh now, a 35 per cent increase from 2001. In 1991, the district population stood at 8.77 lakh which is roughly half the current population.

In 1991 census, the population for sq km was 247 persons which increased to 939 per sq km in 2001.

The district has not achieved even 50% of state family planning targets. In 2005 only, 69,057 persons went in for tubectomy. In 2006-07, tubectomy figures further went down.

This year only 3,087 could get tubectomy operations done while for 2007-08, this figure was 3,462. This poor performance under the family planning programme is indirectly responsible for rapid increase in population in the district.

New Delhi, July 12
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today inaugurated a community centre at Old Seemapuri and laid stone of another at Dilshad Colony under the Seemapuri assembly segment.

The centre is three-storied with ample covered area and open space for social gatherings. The centre at Old Seemapuri has been constructed in an area of 1,721 sq metres. Rs 142.5 lakh has been spent on it.

Rs 147.5 lakh has been allotted for the construction of the community centre at Dilshad Colony. It will be spread in an area of 1,599 sq meters.

Dikshit said that East Delhi is poised for large-scale infrastructure development, which would turn it into the most developed area of the Capital. The upcoming Games Village has proved to be catalyst in increasing the pace of development. More community centres will be set up in East Delhi to provide ample space for social, cultural and other gatherings.

This would help in maintaining social harmony and cementing bonds of brotherhood.

The community centre at Old Seemapuri has a hall, office room, kitchen area, separate bathrooms for ladies and gents on the ground floor; library and store-room on the first floor and another hall, kitchen area, separate bathrooms and store-room on the second floor.

The community centre at Old Seemapuri will also spare little space for an office of the department of social welfare.

Chairman of the Trans Yamuna Area Development Board Narendra Nath, deputy mayor Divya Jaiswal and local MLA Veer Singh Dhingan were also present. 

New Delhi, July 12
The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESI) is constructing a new state-of-the art 100-bedded hospital in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, for the benefit of the large number of industrial workers.

Oscar Fernandes, minister of state for labour and employment (independent charge), laid its foundation stone last week

The proposed hospital will be equipped with sophisticated equipments like MRI/CT scan besides dialysis treatment, bed strength of 100 with an expert team of medical and paramedical personnel. The building will be constructed with the state of art design having all amenities to provide better services to the beneficiaries attached with this hospital at Bhiwadi.

The hospital is aimed at catering to the needs of the employees and family members of Rajasthan. At present, there are about 1045 employers covering about 35,553 employees and 38,822 IPs in the industrial areas of Bhiwadi, a spokesman of the ESI Hospital said.

The Employees State Insurance Corporation runs a social security scheme which has the feature of an insurance organization as well as service provider for health related needs of the insured persons under the scheme.  The corporation has the largest team of medical and para-medical personnel in India and also has one of the largest medical infrastructures in the world. It has huge infrastructure of 144 hospitals, 42 hospitals annexes, 1388 ESI dispensaries, 1942 panel clinics, 300 diagnostics centres, 813 branch/pay offices and 45 regional/sub-regional/divisional offices.

New Delhi, July 12
In two separate incidents of firing in the Lajpat Nagar area of South Delhi last night, three people were shot by motorcycle-borne two unknown gunmen. While Arshneet, 28, and his friend Hardeep, 26 were gunned down in Amar Colony, Sanjeev, 32, was killed nearby Andrews Ganj flyover by the same shooters. The incident took place around 9 p.m. when vehicular movement was heavy on the road. Arshneet and Hardeep who were also on a bike were attacked while they were going towards Lajpat Nagar IV.

According to some people, there were four attackers riding on two motor cycles. While others say that there were only two attackers. The police said that the attack was well planned and nothing was looted.

The police suspects personal enmity as the reason behind the murder of Arshneet and Hardeep. “The victim and the attackers were probably known to each other. Prima facie it appears to be a result of personal enmity. Things will, however, be clear after investigation,” said DCP (South) H.G.S Dhaliwal. The police has also detained one person in this connection.

Arshneet died on the spot while Hardeep succumbed to his injuries at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) today afternoon. The assailants had been reportedly chasing the two for a long distance before shooting them near Shiv Shakti Ashram at Amar Colony in Lajpat Nagar.

After firing at the two, the assailants fled towards Andrews’s Ganj flyover where they snatched a motor cycle from another person. Even as they were in the process of snatching, a bystander Sanjeev got into an argument with the assailants. They shot Sanjeev in the chest. Sanjeev died before he could be taken to the nearby AIIMS.

Greater Noida, July 12
The police has identified the bodies of two women found near Nal Garha village on Noida Expressway a week ago. They have been identified as mother and daughter, Mohinder Kaur and Gulshan Kaur, respectively.

The bodies were identified after employees of Doordarshan, Delhi, where Gulshan worked as a production assistant, responded to the pictures circulated by the police for identification.

The mother-daughter duo lived in a rented accommodation on Kanal Road in Delhi, which falls under Roop Nagar police station.

According to the police, the two were beaten up and killed by their house owner and his men and their bodies were later dumped on the Expressway.

The police has arrested three persons including the house owner Rajesh Gujjar, his cousin Kala and servant Kamlesh.

The bodies were recovered on last Sunday. The older woman was about 70 years old while the younger one was 45 years. The bodies bore several injury marks.

According to SP rural, Babu Ram, the police team constituted to solve the case found that the two women lived on rent in Gujjar’s house for the last 8 years. There was no other member in the family.

On July 4, Rajesh Gujjar forcibly tried to evict them. But, Gulshan called the police, which sorted the matter for the time being.

However, next day, Rajesh Gujjar, in an inebriated state entered their room and started beating them up. He, along with Kala and servants took the mother and daughter to his room and beat them up mercilessly.

Mohinder Kaur died on the spot after being hit with an iron rod on the head, while Gulshan became unconscious. Rajesh then killed Gulshan by slitting her throat.

He, then, along with Kala and servants loaded the bodies in his Safari and dumped it on the Expressway at midnight.

New Delhi, July 12
A 20-year old youth was killed while his friend was injured today morning when the motorcycle they were riding was hit by a truck from behind.

The incident took place at around 4 a.m. near the Azadpur Mandi area in North West Delhi.

The deceased has been identified as Rahul Kumar, a resident of Mangol Puri. Rahul’s friend Sourabh has suffered fractures in his hand and leg.

The police has lodged a case of negligent driving and has arrested the driver of the truck.

New Delhi, July 12
The inaugural ceremony of the 10th Osian’s-Cinefan Film Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema here saw prominent members of the film fraternity, including some Bollywood celebrities, walk the red carpet.

Actor Konkona Sen Sharma entered without creating a flutter followed by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who caught all the media frenzy leaving Nandita Das out of the camera frame.

A horde of people queued up outside the main auditorium at Siri Fort to attend the opening ceremony that commenced with a dramatic overture by actor and compere-auctioner of the Osian’s Connoissuers of Art, Rajit Kapur.

An audio-visual clipping tracing the nine years of the Osian’s journey was showcased. Founder-chairman of the Osian’s Connoisseurs of Art Neville Tuli later came up on the stage to retrace the birth and evolution of the gala.

The CM opened the film fest by lighting the lamp along with Tuli, Aruna Vasudev and other dignitories. — IANS

New Delhi, July 12
As Delhi University (DU) gears up to start yet another session from July 16, the authorities claim to be prepared against any nuisance in the name of ragging.

While the R.K. Raghavan committee announced its firm intentions in the form of recommendations once more, the message was conveyed to the colleges by the DU administration.

Anti-ragging squads have been set up at the university level. The squads would patrol around the university-affiliated colleges to make sure that the freshers are not harassed.

Further the university, in collaboration with the Delhi Police, would put up check posts around colleges to ensure that no incident of ragging takes place. “The anti-ragging measures are to be implemented by all the colleges.

As part of the recommendations, complaint boxes would be put up around the colleges for students who do not wish to reveal their identities,” said M.M. Rehman, deputy proctor, DU.

Colleges have been asked to formulate redressal committees to deal with the complaints of the freshers within given deadlines.

No guests would be allowed inside college residences in the initial phase. Several colleges have decided to have separate hostel blocks for the first year students. Any senior student visiting the block would be asked to make an entry in visitors’ register.

Some colleges would distribute booklets containing information regarding ragging and activities that comprise ragging.

In a review meeting held in the Capital recently, the Raghavan committee asked the educational institutes to take strict measures to ensure zero-tolerance towards ragging.

New Delhi, July 12
Maximum schools of study at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) displayed lists of candidates selected for M.A., M.Sc. and M.C.A.

First lists for selected candidates for B.A. at the School of Languages (SL) were also published before the weekend. The only school offering a bachelor degree in the university chose its classes in different languages for the next academic year.

All candidates selected for first year graduation and post-graduation courses on the basis of written tests have to take admissions between July 21 and July 25. The university administration would withdraw the admissions after the given date.

JNU departments also put a list of candidates kept in waiting. The waiting list candidates would be considered for the vacant seats after the admissions

of primary list are over. A second list of the waiting list candidates would be released on July 27.

The university administration dispatched the admission letters to the selected candidates. However, the admission lists were put up at the administration block at the university campus. Outstation students can check their results at university website, www.jnu.ac.in. 

New Delhi, July 12
There is disappointment among the butchers who are employed with the Idgah slaughterhouse. They fear they will be jobless after the commissioning of modern slaughterhouse at Ghazipur.

One thousand men work as helpers like skinner, cleaner and cutter, but the new abattoir needs only 180 such men. In the modern abattoir that is likely to be started soon, the majority of the work is done by the machine, said president, Delhi Meat Merchant Association, Mohammad Aqil Qureshi.

He urged the government to continue both the slaughterhouses.

The price of meat can also be hiked as the capacity of the new slaughterhouse is low and cannot meet the demand. The demand of goat is 10,000 and buffalo 5,000 while the capacity of Ghazipur slaughterhouse is only 8,000 goat and 1,000 buffalo and they will be cut in two shifts, said Qureshi.

Secondly, in old slaughterhouse the fee is Rs 5 for goat and Rs 10 for buffalo while at Ghazipur it will be Rs 50 and 150 respectively. Meat lovers should be prepared to shell out more money or shift to chicken and fish, warned the president of Delhi Meat Merchant Association.

Authorities of the modern slaughterhouse are likely to submit the trial report to the court. Once the report is accepted, the abattoir will be started. However, there is no arrangement for the basic needs of the workers. There is neither a shade for their rest nor a toilet, said vice-president of the association, Sadaqeen.

Besides, there is no proper arrangement to stock animals. The MCD said that the stock market would still be maintained at Idgah. But this is not feasible as transportation cost will be too high. For 4,000 goats and 500 buffaloes, the government needs 90 trucks and if these vehicles are parked at Idgah, the area will be like “Transport Nagar”. It will cause traffic chaos.

This is costly also. Butchers cannot bear the transportation cost as Rs 2,000 is charged for one vehicle in which only 100 goats or five buffaloes can be loaded. Total transportation cost for one shift will be Rs 1.80 lakh and there will be two shifts in each day.

Retail meat traders generally finish their work till afternoon. People also prefer fresh meat. The animals slaughtered in the second shift will not have more buyers, added Sadaqeen, vice-president of the association.

New Delhi, July 12
Pooja, 25, would often encounter black specks, lines or cobwebs before her eyes or even sometimes feel sudden sensations of light where there was none.
She ignored it for years. But when its onset increased she contacted a doctor and was diagnosed with retinal detachment. Many of us, like Pooja ignore these flashes and floaters as normal, but experts say they could be the beginning of a more serious problem and could even lead to a loss of vision.

There are about 50 patients a year who are diagnosed with retina tears after they come to us for floaters and flashes, says Dr Rajeev Jain from Centre for Sight.

As more and more people are becoming aware of these and they are reporting to us, we are diagnosing more tears. Floaters and flashes themselves are harmless. It is the changes in the eyes that accompany flashes or floaters that may lead to loss of vision, says Dr Rajeev Jain.

These floaters and flashes usually do not cause any harm, it will bother you if you pay attention to it, says Dr Harbansh Lal of Sir Ganaga Ram Hospital. He further adds that by the age of 40 over 40 per cent population suffer from this problem.

Floaters occur when the gel-like vitreous in front of the retina begins to liquefy and contract. It forms clumps or strands inside the eye which appear as spots while when this vitreous pulls the retina then one experiences flashes.

Most of the time the vitreous separates from the retina without causing any symptoms. In some cases the retina can tear if the shrinking vitreous gel pulls away from the wall of the eye. A torn retina is always a serious problem, since it can lead to retinal detachment, says Dr Rajeev Jain.

Most floaters and flashes are innocuous and only 15 per cent from them develop into retinal tears, says Dr Tushar from the AIIMS.

According to global statistics, retinal detachment is more common in those with severe or extreme myopia, as their eyes are longer and retina is stretched thin. The lifetime risk increases to one in twenty. Myopia is associated with 67 per cent of retinal detachment cases.

Flashes and floaters are bound to occur as one grows older but if it occurs at in young age then it is worrisome, says Dr Harbansh Lal. The condition is serious when there is a sudden increase in occurrence of these in the eyes. This is when it turns into a pathological condition and needs to be consulted for, says Dr Tushar.

The chances of sudden increase when it becomes serious are only 2-3 per cent, says Dr Harbansh Lal.

Flashes and floaters occur due to changes in physiological conditions of eyes but certain pathological conditions may be responsible for it as well. These can occur due to some hemorrhage and infections as well, says Dr Lal. — PTI

New Delhi, July 12
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today distributed awards to various journalists at a function organised by the Journalist Association of India.

Special correspondent, The Tribune, Ravi Bhatia, has been conferred with the Best Male Journalist award in print media.

Others in the award list are: Lifetime Achievement Sports Journalism award to Kewal Kaushik of Times of India, Lifetime Achievement award (all round) Prakash Bhargav of UNI, Best Crime Reporter (male) Neeraj Thakur of ZEE TV, Best Journalist (female) Sarita Barara and Best Current Affairs Critic Karan Thapar (ITV), said a press release.