New Delhi, August 18
There is no let-up in the rising water in the river Yamuna as it has crossed the danger mark and touched the figure 205.69 metre after more water was released from Haryana today, said MCT Pareva, engineer-in-chief of the Delhi flood and irrigation department.

He said that rising speed of water is so high that it could rise up to the mark of 205.80 metre during the night.

Having seen the aggravating situation of flood water in river, chief secretary of Delhi government, Rakesh Mehta today called a meeting of the flood and irrigation department and discussed the situation in detail.

He instructed the senior officers that all arrangements should be made to tackle the situation. He also directed to close the flooding gates from both sides of the river.

There should be no jhuggi remained on the bank of the Yamuna because any time situation may worsen.

The government is keeping its eye on the Games Village being constructed at the bank of river. If water enters the construction area, huge loss of building material will happen and the construction work will delay further.

Pareva said that all the flooding gates like Vijay Ghat, Tonga Stand near Yamuna Bazaar, Metkalf House, Batla House and Badarpur have been closed as these are the low-lying areas.

On the other side of the river, Usmanpur, Chilla Village and Shastri Park have been closed, said an official of the deputy commissioner, East Delhi office.

He said that there is no sign of decreasing the water level at present. The government has made all the arrangement to tackle the situation.

It has directed the Delhi Fire Service to be ready round the clock. The government has also erected tents in various areas to house the jhuggi dwellers affected by the flood, the official added.

New Delhi, August 18
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has proposed to the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi to impose a permanent ban on the dumping of E-waste in and around the national Capital so that its toxic effects are kept to minimum to ensure clean environment for residents.

According to the Assocham, more than 2000 trucks ferry E-waste in clandestine manner and dump it in Delhi’s scrap yards at various locations, particularly in Turkman Gate, Shastri Park, Luni, Seelampur and Mandoli areas.

A recent study conducted by the organization claims over 6000 children in the age group between 10 and 15 years are engaged in various E-waste activities, without adequate protection and safeguards in the various yards and recycling workshops.

The Chamber’s estimates also reveal that the three states generate over 25,000 tonnes of E-waste through various industrial activities and in discreet arrangements with transporters dump around 50% of it at different places in Delhi, says Sajjan Jindal, president of Assocham.

He adds that the E-waste imported into Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore mostly makes its way to Delhi as there is a ready market for glass and plastic in the NCR.

In fact, waste from Mumbai constitutes a bulk of the 60-70 tonnes discarded electronics that land in the Capital’s scrap yards every day.

Estimates also reveal that Delhi alone gets 25% of the E-waste generated in the developed world which comes through cheaper imports.

In terms of total E-waste produced internally or brought from outside for recycling, Delhi’s E-waste has now touched to over 15,000 metric tonnes per year against 10,000-12,000 metric tones per year in the previous 2-3 years.

This has acquired a dimension of industry that employs nearly 30,000 workers in city’s various scrap yards and various unauthorised recycling units, the study claims.

As a result of continuous inflow of E-waste finding space in the Capital, the Delhi government has found it difficult to plant and grow saplings in the wasted land in which layers of garbage are allowed to be piled up for E-waste accumulation.

The Assocham has further suggested that these states should develop their own scrap yards so that the hazards of environment are minimised in the city.

According to Assocham estimates, Delhi and NCR also have over 40,000 industrial and medical units which are responsible for generating the electronics and bio-medical waste.

In its attempt to make the city environment-friendly, Assocham has suggested that Delhi government should plant more than 10-20 lakh saplings every year near the scrap yards units and industrial centres to minimize the environemntal hazards arising out of E-waste, medical and industrial wastes.

The scrap yard workers are unaware of the toxic substances in E-waste and hence take scant protection against any harmful effects. Instances of workers suffering from tuberculosis, asthma and skin diseases are common.

New Delhi, August 18
If you are caught using fake notes, the onus is lies on you. In case you fail to tell from where you received the notes from, it could lead you into a police entangle.

After reports of fake currency notes being found from a bank in UP, the problem seems to have shifted to the national Capital.

Rakesh Singh, 25, got into trouble a few ago when he had withdrawn some money from an ATM in South Delhi.

Some of the currency notes attracted the police’s attention, as they were fake.

Unaware of the fact, Rakesh had gone to buy some sarees from a shop in Saket. While making the payment, he gave those notes to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper found four notes of Rs 500 denomination fake and informed the police. Rakesh showed the police the receipt of the withdrawn money.

As per law, banks do not compensate for fake notes and neither are they replaced.

According to rough estimates, more than Rs 150,000 crore fake notes are in
circulation within the country. Most of these are in the denomination of Rs 100
and Rs 500.

Greater Noida, August 18
Raj Babbar and BJP leaders who had set out in support of local farmers were detained by Noida and Ghaziabad police to prevent them from reaching the condolence meeting held at Ghori Bachhera village.

The administration and police had effectively sealed the village and surrounding area so that no outsider could reach the village.

However, the farmers from the villages of the area were able to make it to the venue of mahapanchayat.

The farmers at the meeting demanded that those killed in police action should be paid a compensation of Rs 15 lakh each.

The farmers reiterated their right to sell land at the market rate to whosoever
they wanted to.

They claimed that the state government was depriving them of their rightful price by acquiring the land at dirt cheap rates and then selling it to developers and builders at hundreds of times higher rates.

The builder and developer in turn sell the same land to public at exorbitant rates, the farmers alleged.

Raj Babbar, MP, was taken into custody at Ram Lila ground near Clock Tower in Ghaziabad while the BJP leaders were arrested in Raj Nagar.

Former MLA Narinder Singh Shishodya had reached Kavi Nagar police station along with a large number of the party workers.

In Greater Noida, Nawab Singh Nagar, former UP state minister was taken into custody. Raj Babbar said the treatment meted out to farmers is barbaric.

Farmers have a right to express themselves and sell their land to whosoever they want. Government cannot acquire their land forcibly, Raj Babbar added.

Ex-MLA Narinder Shishodya said the police cannot stop him from going to Ghori Bachhera village as his relatives live in that village.

Later, BJP workers under Shishodya jammed the road in front of Collectorate in Ghaziabad. After some time, BJP leaders set out in their own vehicles. But all of them were detained at Lal Quan police post.

Nawab Singh Nagar, accompanied by 22 workers and supporters, was arrested at Greater Noida. SDM sent them in 14 days’ judicial custody.

Early on Sunday, Nawab Singh Nagar with 23 persons including Mahesh Sharma, Arvind Sharma, advocate Atul Sharma were arrested at Arya Mandir Surajpur. The deputy district magistrate said the court has sent them all to jail.

Noida, August 18
A concrete electricity pole in a jhuggi jhompri cluster in Sector-122 crashed, killing a boy under it.

The accident took place in Parthla Khanjarpur village where a group of children was playing near the pole.

Jatinder Kumar, alias Jeetu, 11, son of Mukesh Sharma, former vice-president of Parthla Khanjarpur village panchayat under Sector-58 Noida, was a Class-IV student of Pragti Public School, Chowkhandi.

He had gone to play in a park along with his brothers, sisters and some children from neighbouring houses.

The electricity pole fixed in a jhuggi jhompri cluster suddenly crashed on Jeetu, killing him on the spot.

Police from Sector-58 police station has visited the spot on learning of the child’s death. Mukesh Sharma’s relative Jatinder Sharma, a CPM MLA, alleged that the electric poles fitted in jhuggi complex were of inferior quality in which weak wires had been used.

The villagers said Noida Authority should probe the matter and punish the guilty otherwise they would start an agitation.

Jatinder Sharma said Noida Authority should adequately compensate the family who lost the child without any fault.

Faridabad, August 18
Lack of coordination between the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) and the Bharatiya Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has resulted in hardships to the residents of  Sector 21D and Indira colony.

In order to set up a sewerage line, the MCF today dug deep trenches damaging underground telephone cables in the process. The damage disrupted more than 400 telephone connections.

A large number of residents gathered outside the BSNL office located at NIT to protest the disruption of the telephone services.

The chief of the engineering department of the BSNL, D.K. Aggarwal alleged that his department was not informed by the MCF before undertaking the digging work.

“Had they informed us, the department could have taken measures to prevent damages,” Aggarwal added.

Meanwhile, the residents of the city allege that this was not the first instance of lack of coordination between two departments and that lack of integrated approach by them have taken a toll on the civic amenities.

However, sometimes it is the BSNL which is at fault when it digs trenches to lay underground cable wires.

New Delhi, August 18
The Delhi cabinet has given approval to the construction of an elevated road over Barapullah nallah from Sarai Kale Khan to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, grant of compensatory pay and ration money to the Delhi Fire Service non-gazetted operational staff.

It will also submit a revised recommendation to Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna to summon a three-day monsoon session of the Delhi Assembly from September 10.

While briefing the media, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that the elevated road over Barapullah nallah would facilitate movement of 10,000 players from the Games Village to main venue, i.e., JLN Stadium during the Commonwealth Games 2010. Rs 498 crore would be released for construction of the elevated road within 24 months.

She described this project as an important infrastructure, which would not only prove to be beneficial during Commonwealth Games but would also become a permanent link between East Delhi and Central Delhi.

It is aimed to provide free-flow of traffic and to save valuable time of commuters for movement of traffic from eastern side of Delhi towards central and south Delhi.

Apart from this, it would also ease out traffic congestion on Ring Road at Ashram, on Mathura Road and other arterial roads.

Increase in average travel speed will reduce fuel consumption, pollution and reduce the maintenance cost of road. It would serve as a dedicated corridor for the movement of players.

The Chief Minister expressed confidence that elevated road would further prove to be a marvelous piece of architecture in Delhi, which would come up within the shortest possible time as the city-government is keen to dedicate this project to the people of Delhi at the earliest. It has been decided to regularly monitor progress of work on this project.

The cabinet has also approved a proposal to grant compensatory payment and ration money to non-gazetted operational staff of the Delhi Fire Service, as they are often exposed to the hazards of fire and other calamities.

There is no provision to avail break for lunch and dinner in all categories and the leave is allowed as per the government rules.

All employees have to perform duties during holidays and leave is granted only in special cases keeping in view the availability of staff.

In all 2,476 employees including sub-officers, leading firemen and drivers would get benefit of the 13th month salary and ration money of Rs 722 per month.

New Delhi, August 18
BSES today claimed that its “Energy Conservation and Safe Disposal of CFLs” scheme has been well received by its customers.

The scheme is helping Delhiites not only conserve precious electricity, but also make substantial monetary savings in the process.

The scheme, launched in tandem with Finolex cable manufacturers by A.K. Walia, minister for power, Government of NCT of Delhi, has in just over a month,made thousands of Delhiites to buy over 60,000 CFLs.

The data collated has revealed interesting trends. The data indicates that West Delhi customers have taken the lead in energy conservation.

They have bought over 22,434 CFLs. They are closely followed by their South Delhi counterparts - buying 19,524 CFLs. East and Central Delhi customers, having bought 15,450 and 3,810 CFLs are at the third and the fourth spot respectively.

Another interesting trend observed is that 15 W CFL - having sold 26,148 pieces- is the most popular choice among BSES customers.

This is followed by the 11 W CFL, which has sold 17,832 CFLs. The 20 W CFL having sold 17,238 pieces is at the third spot.

“Savings accruing from the sale of over 60,000 CFLs will lead to a reduction in maximum demand by around 4 MW and lead to a savings of around 5.5 million units (MU). In a majority of the cases, customers also turned in their discarded CFLs and incandescent bulbs and availed additional discounts over and above the price of the special twin pack” said a BSES official.

New Delhi, August 18
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has directed the Public Works Department (PWD) to prepare an action plan to fill potholes on roads and carry repair work on war footing.

In a high level meeting today, the CM instructed the PWD to act fast as people are facing lots of difficulties due to unsatisfactory condition of roads, which is resulting in traffic jams and wastage of travelling time and fuel.

The engineer-in-chief has been directed to chalk out an action plan to fill all potholes during this month.

The PWD has also been permitted to start large-scale tendering to ensure better maintenance of roads.

Dikshit stated that Delhi being national Capital, the roads are important. It is necessary to have an instant repair mechanism.

The department assured that all roads in Delhi would become smooth before the beginning of the festival season.

The chief secretary would also contact the MCD to carry out similar exercise. This would help in projecting a better image of Delhi.

New Delhi, August 18
As many as 49 babies have died during clinical trials at the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) during the last two-and-a-half years, the reply to a Right to Information (RTI) query has revealed.

The AIIMS paediatrics department conducted 42 sets of trials on 4,142 babies - 2,728 of them below the age of one - since January 1, 2006.

Forty-nine babies died during the trials. AIIMS says the deaths amounted to a 1.18 percent mortality rate, according to its reply to the RTI query.

“A total of 49 deaths corresponding to 1.18 percent mortality among the enrolled patients were recorded in the studies. These include deaths both in the control and intervention groups, as per the designs of individual studies,” the reply says.

The reasons for the babies’ deaths, their ages or their gender are not contained in the reply - since these were not specifically asked by the applicant, Rahul Verma, founder of NGO Uday Foundation for Congenital Defects and Rare Blood Groups.

Verma, in fact, had filed separate queries with the same set of questions with the paediatrics department and the paediatrics surgery department.

He says he received an unsatisfactory reply from the latter and is going to file an appeal in the case.

Clinical trials are research studies that test how well new medical formulations work on people. Each study attempts to find better ways to prevent, screen for, diagnose and treat a disease.

If carefully conducted, clinical trials are the safest and fastest way of finding treatments that work.

In reply to a query on who the five top funding agencies for the trials were, AIIMS named the institute itself, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US.

Five foreign-manufactured medicines were tested during the trials. They were —
Zinc tablets for treating Zinc deficiency and serving as a nutritional supplement,
Olmesartan and Valsartan for treating blood pressure related problems,
Rituximab for treating chronic focal encephalitis, a condition affecting the brain, and
Gene-activated human glucocerebrosidase - for treating Gaucher disease that affects the liver.

In reply to another query, AIIMS said that before conducting the trials, it had taken clearance from its own Ethics Committee, the Health Ministry Steering Committee (HMSC) on ethics and the National Ethics Committees of ICMR and DBT.

Verma, however, maintained that there were legal and ethical lacunae in the system as permissions had to be sought from different agencies depending on the nature of the trials.

“There needs to be a nodal agency, like the Care Prevention Control for Experimental Animals (CPCEA), whose permission has to be sought before using animals as guinea pigs,” he contended.

According to Verma, “The unquestionable ease with which clinical trials can be conducted on human beings in India makes international agencies first test their products on the Indian population.”

“This prompted me to find out the details and the ethical procedures involved if any. The fact that of the 4,142 babies on whom clinical trials were conducted, 2,728 were under one year of age is scary,” Verma maintained.

In reply to a query on whether the babies on whom the trials were conducted belonged to the lower socio-economic strata of society, AIIMS said: “Children eligible for clinical studies conducted in department represents a mix of those attending the out-patient and in-patient services.

“No studies selectively target children belonging to low socio-economic status (sic). The eligibility is based on the aims of respective studies,” the reply stated.

The institute, however, was silent to a query on the number of babies from families living below the poverty line who were part of the trials. — IANS

New Delhi, August 18
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University seems to be going all out to educate the Delhi police. Around 642 newly recruited sub-inspectors of Delhi Police are all set to undergo an intensive three-month training in legal education, offered by the School of Law and Legal Studies at the varsity.

An orientation programme on course was organised today by GGSIPU along with the Delhi police at the Shah Auditorium here.

H. R. Bharadwaj, Union minister of law and justice, said, “We may have expanded in terms of the number of police personnel employed but have not done much to improve the quality of manpower.”

 Lt. Governor and chancellor of GGSIPU Tejendra Khanna told the new officers, “When you are posted at your respective areas, make a conscientious effort to win the confidence of the public.”

The new recruits of the Delhi police, who have joined the force as sub-inspectors will be provided inputs on the basics of law and legal education, covering subjects like Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, Indian Evidence Act and Constitution of India, among others, as a part of this programme, at Police Training School, Wazirabad. The officers will also get to deliberate on several case studies during their training.

Speaking about the successful collaboration with Delhi Police, K. K. Aggarwal, vice-chancellor, GGSIPU, said, “We at GGSIPU have always believed in an interdisciplinary approach, synergizing with society and offering opportunities of continuing education, which was probably missing from the university domain earlier.

This is the third kind of a training programme we have created for the Delhi police personnel and with the expansion of university, we may be able to offer a full-fledged postgraduate course in police administration for the officers, in future.”

“Sub-inspectors and inspectors are at the cutting edge of the investigation system and they must be well aware to book a person, gather evidences and process the case for prosecution. Besides offering this specialized training programme in association with GGSIPU, we are also conducting several short-term courses for the police force,” said Delhi police commissioner Y. S. Dadwal.

New Delhi, August 18
In an attempt to link education with skills and make education more practically relevant for industrial and business applications, the Confederation of Indian Industry today inked a landmark MoU with IGNOU to enhance skill development for business applications.

Sudha Pillai, secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, raised questions on what was being done to fill in the gap between the highly skilled workforce such as engineers, management and producers. She went on to applaud the CII and IGNOU on taking an initiative to train some 100,000 people and prepare India for the future.

She further stated that the ministry would be ready to help CII and IGNOU for this “noble initiative”.

Chandrajeet Banerjee, director-general CII, said, “In view of the large volume of skilled manpower requirement of the industry, CII and IGNOU have recognized the need to design, develop and deliver employment-oriented programmes and courses. CII will provide domain knowledge from industry for developing dynamic curriculum.”

“In a study conducted in India, it was found that only 5% of the workforce from labour intensive sector had certification from a credible institution in comparison to other developed countries like Korea, the US, the UK where the figure stood at 80%. If this number is increased to 10%, India’s productivity stands to double. With this vision in mind, we have chosen to partner with CII to build a dream for India’s future,” said Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, vice-chancellor, IGNOU.

The University - Industry Synergy Project seeks to create an enabling environment to develop and train students with requisite skills for employability and subsequent performance in industrial sectors.

At each step of intervention, there will be participation by IGNOU management, academic experts and industry experts and CII in order to ensure sustainability of the project and ensure ownership by the user groups.

The MoU will be implemented by creating certificate and diploma programmes in the areas identified which require trained workforce.

New Delhi, August 18
In the wake of the current chaos and volatile situation in Jammu and Kashmir, an inter-faith prayer meeting was held at Kirti Mandap, Gandi Samiti and Darshan Samiti in the Capital yesterday evening.

About hundred people had participated in the meeting. They urged the civil society to come forward and help to restore peace in the region.

The meeting aimed to form a pressure group in Delhi and a grievance committee in J&K, consisting of people from the civil society and other fields like — human rights workers, NGOs, women organisations, artists and writers.

The pressure group would discuss the matter with the state and the Central governments as well as the people of J&K valley.

The Women’s Peace Delegation had made a suggestion regarding this to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi the last week.

The grievance cell would take up issues that are pending with the local and state administration, including the ongoing Amarnath row.