New Delhi, July 13
Delhi University Academic Council has rejected the proposal of the University Grants Commission (UGC) to re-employ superannuated teachers who have reached 65 years of age or more.

The Academic Council took the decision today. The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) and the Academics for Action and Development (AAD) welcomed the Academic Council’s (AC) decision while calling the proposal discriminatory.

“DUTA is mobilising the university community in particular, the members of AC
and executive council against the proposal,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra,
president, DUTA.

In a press statement released by DUTA, the association said that the provision of reemployment would exacerbate the problem of pending vacancies.

While predicting that the proposal would create conflict of interests among
teachers and departments on the selection of the teachers to be re-employed,
the association said that the proposal would have disastrous affect on the morale
of young teachers.

DUTA also welcomed the AC’s decision to grant employment to ad hoc teachers after the session starts from July 16. The decision would affect more than 500 ad hoc teachers employed in the university.

New Delhi, July 13
It has become a tough task for the meat traders to fulfill the conditions laid down by the licensing department, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

A majority of the traders are unable to fulfill the conditions, said Mushrafeen who is in the business of retail meat trade.

There are 19 conditions. Of them three conditions are to install refrigerator, geyser and fly killers. These are very costly electrical appliances. An average trader cannot afford this, he said.

Akram who has a shop in Karol Bagh, said that he had been directed by the authorities concerned to close it as someone has constructed a temple at a distance of 49 metres.

According to rule, meat and liquor shops should be at a distance of at least 50 metres from religious places. But he has been running the shop for the last 60 years when there was no religious place.

Another shopkeeper said that he has a shop in a multi-storeyed building in Rajender Nagar. The height of the shop is nine feet.

Now the official who came to inspect the premises said its height should be nine and a half feet high. The question is how the height of the shop can be increased.

Secondly, the butchers have to pay bribe when the licence is issued. They have to face the same process when it is renewed after one year.

This process increased illegal slaughtering and selling of meat. If the government makes process of getting trade licence easy, it would prevent illegal selling of meat.

To avoid harassment by the officials of the department, traders indulge in either illegal acts or leave the profession.

As far as traders dealing in white meat, they do not keep licence though they should also be asked for the legal document.

They open shop wherever they feel easy. It is discrimination with the traders dealing in mutton and beef, the shopkeeper said.

New Delhi, July 13
India Inc. has finally woken up to environmental issues and now aggressively started responding to matters relating to ‘Climate Change and Global Warming’ with nearly 21 per cent of domestic companies taking initiatives to mitigate the negative effect of the greenhouse emissions.

However, it is still way behind the average 55-60 per cent of the global ratio, according to the findings of a recent Assocham survey. Two years ago, the ratio of India Inc. initiating steps to fight global warming was below 10 per cent.  

The Chamber Survey has taken views of 180 top corporates and 240 employees engaged in companies vigorously adopting measures to mitigate after effects of climate change.

It reveals that 21 per cent of corporates have committed measures by partnering with developed world to respond to the needs of climatic changes in blocs such as US, EU, ASEAN etc.

The initiatives taken by domestic corporates to address the issue are being wholeheartedly supported by over 60 per cent of the companies in these regions, says Assocham.

Releasing the findings, Assocham president Sajjan Jindal said that a mere 7 to10 per cent of employees working in various government and private sectors had taken the issue seriously and are keen to work closely with industry and society.

This segment holds that government, corporates and NGOs have to effectively
launch the climate change and global warming campaigns in every metro, town
and village.

However, about 79 per cent of domestic corporates still first prefer to take their expansion and diversification drives in their respective corporations to logical conclusions as the issue of climate change and global warming is the second best preference for them, said Jindal.  

The survey reveals that the majority of corporates are now realizing the importance of climate change and are willing to campaign in a coordinated and cooperative way to understand the implications of climate change and are working on strategies needed to cope with adverse effects of the same.

Saplings are being planted at various manufacturing units as per prescribed norms and sites coming up for dumping industrial wastes to prevent corporates causing hazards to environment and ecologies.

Over 70 per cent of respondents were found to be extremely sensitive to problems arising out of environmental degradation and its impact on climate changes including agriculture, forestry, transport and energy as dependence of Indian economy will grow larger on these sectors.

About 75% corporates stressed the need for finding alternatives to fossil-based fuels by switching over to natural gas and renewable energy, adopting energy efficiency measures, cleaner technologies and better utilization of waste.

These measures would not only help India in following the path of development but would also help in reducing the overall environmental impact of operations on society and the nation to prepare itself against climate change impacts.

Apart from these efforts, investment in research and development of new and clean technologies leading to reduction in GHG emissions is being looked into as one of the options to tackle the problem of climate change, feels the respondents.

Greenhouse gases (like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapour, ozone), re-emit some of this heat to the earth’s surface.

New Delhi, July 13
A North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL) consumer has been arrested for obtaining metered connection on forged documents.

The case gains significance since the accused Aseem Gupta and his wife Neelima Mirchandani of Shadi Khampur had outstanding dues to the tune of Rs 10,75,000 pending against them. As they failed to pay the dues, the NDPL disconnected their power supply.

Thereafter, the accused managed to get power supply on the same premises on which the dues were pending by submitting fake documents that mentioned a different address.

An FIR was lodged by the NDPL against the accused and the case was brought up before the special courts for electricity last week.

The court rejected the bail application and ordered the arrest of Aseem Gupta and Neelima Mirchandani.

“It is unfortunate that an NDPL consumer had indulged in fraudulently. We have
filed a police complaint against the accused. Such practices will not be
tolerated and strict action will be taken if any such activity is detected,”
said an NDPL spokesperson.

Ghaziabad/Greater Noida, July 13
The body of an eight-year-old boy, Aditya, abducted from Vijay Nagar in Ghaziabad on Friday evening, has been found in the jungles of village Atteda in Greater Noida under Bisarakh police station area.

The body bears multiple marks of injuries. Besides, the deceased had bled from his mouth. Police says the child was mercilessly beaten up and after his death, the body was dumped here. He appears to have been abducted and killed out of enmity.

The child Aditya, alias Lucky, son of Brahm Singh Sengar, a resident of House No K-123 in Vijay Nagar Sector in 9, had gone missing in mysterious circumstances while playing out in the park. Aditya was a class-III student of a local school.

The family had lodged a missing report in Vijay Nagar police station on Friday evening. He was the only child of his parents.

Meanwhile in Greater Noida, the body of a child was found in a ditch near village Ateda under police station Bisarakh. Some villagers had informed the police about it.

The Bisarakh police found that the boy had been savagely beaten up and there were marks of injuries all over his body.

To identify the body, the police had sent messages to all the police stations in G.B. Nagar and Ghaziabad area.

A police team from Vijay Nagar also reached Bisarakh police station and immediately recognized that it was the body of the same 8-year-old boy Aditya, who had gone missing from Vijay Nagar.

Noida, July 13
In a sensational incident, a 16-year-old girl, studying in XI class was abducted from Sadarpur village in broad daylight.

Irked by police inaction in the case, angry villagers gheraoed the Sector-39 police station yesterday.

Father of the abducted girl and villagers alleged that the police was not interested in taking any action in the case.

The father said his daughter was studying in a school in the same village. He alleged his daughter was kidnapped on July 9 by Ravi, 28, son of Krishan of the same village.

When he went to lodge a written complaint with Sector-39 police, his complaint was just kept without putting a ‘thana’ stamp on it. No receipt was given to him.

The father of the abducted girl went to meet the SO in-charge of the police station with high hopes but here also he was in for disappointment.

The SO, Anil Somanyia allegedly told him to go and search the girl himself. After going from pillar to post for four days, the parents of the girl were joined by a large number of villagers who all gheraoed the police station.

The villagers were allegedly told that the police would register the case on the basis of girl’s statement when she returned home.

According to girl’s father, the accused had been sent to jail once by Phase-II
police station earlier. At that time he had harassed a girl student of Bhivani
Shankar Inter College.

All that the police has done so far is to shoo away villagers by holding out threats, the villagers alleged. They plan to meet the SSP and the DM in this connection.

New Delhi, July 13
Studio Vasant in Hauz Khas village here is presenting “Divine Light of Lord Buddha”, an exhibition of paintings by Prince Chand from July 11 to July 26.

India has had the privilege of being home to many great religions, sects and cults. Buddhism has been the most international face of all the religions from India. In ancient times, Buddhism found home in large parts of South and South East Asia.

Buddhism evolved and appropriated the local cultural elements in all these lands. Chinese, Tibetans Japanese, Thais and Sri Lankans evolved their own version of Buddhism. Even within India it acquired different strains.

Thus from early times Buddhism subsumed local cultural flavour. All these factors affected the art and religious rendering of Buddha. 

Before the Greek invasion of India led by Alexander the Great, the artistic style that flourished was called the Mathura style.

Greek influence brought the realism in rendering Buddha image and especially the Grecian rendering of the folds of chivar—the cloth length Buddha covered himself with. Later developments led to a still more beautiful image—that of the Sarnath Buddha. Thus the artists tried to convey not an image but certain bhavas—karuna, abhaya, wisdom, etc.

The historian of early cinema, Anthony Slide has described it as the largest collection of its kind built by a private individual. Others have praised Leonard Schrader for the meticulous care with which he put together his collection showing a great sensitivity to historical nuances and aesthetic considerations.

The prices of all essential commodities have risen by 50% after the budget. Nowadays, inflation is the major issue but the government tried to divert the people’s attention from inflation to nuclear deal.

Had the government shown its seriousness to control the price rise, it would have got success, he said.

New Delhi, July 13
Students from the Vidyarthi Yuvajan Sabha today burnt the effigies of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh at Jantar Mantar to protest against the Indo-US nuclear deal.

The protestors including several artists and political activists said that all conditions and regulations related to the controversial nuclear deal have been framed in America to suite its interests.

“If the UPA government wins the trust vote after the withdrawal of the Left, this would be an insult to lakhs of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for India’s independence,” said Prem Singh, member, Samajawadi Jan Parishad.

“This deal is being finalised at the cost of the country’s interest. Even before the date of the confidence motion, the parliament has been reduced to an arena of horse-trading,” said Piyoli, general secretary, Vidyarthi Yuvajan Sabha.

The protestors called on the people to oppose the deal to ensure India’s sovereignty and security.

Cultural activist Shamsul Islam’s theatre group Nishant Natya Manch also performed a street play.

New Delhi, July 13
After the fourth list came out with the 10% relaxation for OBC’s, admissions in this category are proceeding swiftly.

Colleges across Delhi University are registering a better response from OBC students and seats are filling up though there are still many more to go.

For instance, out of a total of 70 seats reserved for OBCs at Hindu College, at least 30 were filled by Friday which is a big move forward.

The faculty at Hindu College is pretty satisfied with the response and is hoping for a better turnout on Monday.

The Science courses, which were witnessing a low turnout, also saw admissions take off briskly after the fourth list.

Colleges including Hindu, LSR and Kirori Mal among many more are expecting seats in the Science courses to be filled easily by Monday.

The university framework permits a difference of up to 10 per cent in eligibility criterion between the general category and OBC candidates.

New Delhi, July 13
Anand Khare, a class X student of DPS R.K. Puram has been invited as a child delegate to the Tunza Children Environment Conference to be held in Norway from July 16 to 20.

The conference is being sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme and Youth agenda 21.

He was also selected as one of the few presenters to deliver his views and project ideas on water conservation.

According to the school, Anand has throughout been a topper. He had received an International Roll of Honor in November last year for achieving hundred percentile in mathematics at the international level at ACER.

His name appears in the Hall of Fame for getting the top rank for two consecutive years in NASA-sponsored Mathematics Challenge Project, USA. He is a keen tennis player and a C++ programmer.

New Delhi, July 13
A student of Jawaharlal Nehru University here has been evicted from the hostel for killing a dog in his room, but students of the university and animal rights activists are not satisfied with the punishment meted out.

Yoronso, a fifth year PhD student, and two others killed a stray dog in his room three days ago and was on Thursday asked to leave the hostel.

But other students are calling for stronger action against him as Yoronso, who was already staying on a one year extension period in JNU, was due to leave after submitting his PhD this month.

“What difference did the eviction make to Yoronso? He was going to leave the hostel any way since he is due to submit his PhD on July 20. Stronger action that would discourage him from repeating this mistake is what is required,” said Abhinav Sharma, who is doing his masters from the university.

However, Soumen Chattopadhyay, warden of Kaveri hostel where Yoronso stayed, maintained that the authorities have taken necessary action against him.

“As a warden, I did what I could do. This incident happened on July 8, after which some students lodged a complaint to the police and then informed us. Following that I immediately recommended an eviction notice to Yoronso and asked him to pay a fine of Rs 2,000. He has now left the hostel,” Chattopadhyay said.

“Since some of the students also complained to the police about the incident, an inquiry is also going on. If need be, the chief proctor of the university will constitute a committee to look into the matter further,” he added.

V.K. Jain, the acting dean of the university, said Yoronso had stated “self-defence” as the reason for his action in his letter of apology to the authorities.

In the letter, Yoronso had said that the dog entered the room and tried to attack him when he attempted to shoo it away.

Said Anupa Das, a student, “It’s not the first time that something like this has happened in the campus. About a year back, there was a similar incident of a stray dog being butchered outside a hostel. We complained about it to the authorities but no action was taken.”

Animal rights groups, infuriated at the incident, said that mere action against one student was not a solution to the problem.

Seema Kaemra of the Circle of Animal Lovers (CAL), a Delhi-based animal rights group, said that a mass protest against such incidents that would sensitise people is the call of the day.

“Merely taking action against the student or complaining to the police is not the solution. Informing people about the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and sensitising them to a more humane behaviour towards animals is what is required.

“In this case, a campaign with the JNU authorities and with help from the media is what would be more fruitful in the long run,” Kaemra said. — IANS

No one was present at the house at that time. A case has been registered at the local police station.