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9,817 govt houses ready for the poor
Postgraduates apply for peon, chowkidar
Gender imbalance highest among India’s affluent: Harvard study
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Citizens’ Service Bureau stops issuing birth, death certificates
DU’s smoke-free campaign on road
to success
Students turn eco ambassadors
A shopping fiesta for style freak
Move to exploit Yamuna
flood plain area decried
Activists of the Save Yamuna Campaign protest against the state's decision to sell the Yamuna sandy flood plains, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Sunday. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal
Change in RPA Act demanded
Goods worth lakhs gutted
Fire in Arjun Colony house
Wintry
conditions in Delhi
3 vehicle thieves held
7 cops suspended for custodial death
DMRC gets award for energy conservation
Police still clueless in Parteek case
Defeated BSP candidate Shamsher Mehandi (2nd from right) protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Sunday. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal
SC/ST rally today
Labourer hit by crane, dies
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9,817 govt houses ready for the poor
New Delhi, December 14 The Rajiv Ratan Aawas Yojna was launched by the chairperson of the UPA, Sonia Gandhi in September 2007. In just over a year, the DSIIDC has come up with the houses in Bawana, Ghoga, Narela, Baprola and Bhorgarh that are fire and earthquake resistant as well as environment friendly. Model of these flats received widespread praise from other state governments as well as foreign visitors when it was put at the recent international trade fair. The DSIIDC will also provide community facilities such as parks, schools, milk booths, dispensary and green areas. The Delhi government has proposed to make at least four lakh such houses for the city’s homeless population. Two third of the cost will be subsidised by the union and state governments. Those allotted the houses can pay their share in installments. Allotment of flat would have been completed by now, but it was withheld due to model code of conduct enforced during assembly elections. Now, the allotment will be done shortly. The DSIIDC needs more land and finance to construct additional flats. Rakesh Mehta, chief secretary, will have a review meeting in this connection. The government also plans to construct multi-storied buildings at places where jhuggis are located. The flats would be allotted to the jhuggi dewellers. |
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Postgraduates apply for peon, chowkidar
Gurgaon, December 14 The number as well as the qualifications of the applicants was, however, much beyond the expectations of the municipal authorities. Nearly 14,000 candidates applied for the aforesaid posts, among them a number of matriculates, XII pass, graduates and even postgraduates. The candidates were originally called for the interview on December 12. However, in view of the unexpectedly high number of applicants, the MC authorities had to postpone the interviews. As the decision to postpone the interviews was taken on the preceding day of the interview date, many candidates did not get to know about the postponement. As a result, a number of applicants reached the MC office early morning. When they came to know that the interviews had been postponed, they agitated in front of the corporation office. The applicants alleged that they had travelled long distances to come for the interviews. On the other hand, local municipal commissioner Rajeev Sharma maintained that they had inserted advertisements regarding the postponement of interviews in all major newspapers. He explained that the interviews had to be postponed as the number of applicants was much more than what they expected. The commissioner, who had a tough time convincing the protesting youths, said the candidates would now be informed by post about the fresh schedule of interviews. Sharma also conceded that they would have to rethink over the eligibility criterion in view of many candidates with much higher qualifications. A committee would be formed to interview the applicants, he added. Nonetheless, according to local residents and social thinkers, this episode has exposed the hollowness of the claims regarding the provision of “ample” employment opportunities made by successive regimes in the state. |
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Gender imbalance highest among India’s affluent: Harvard study
New Delhi, December 14 In India, where families have traditionally preferred son, the male-female ratio increases with the level of education. The odds of having a boy compared to a girl is 25 per cent higher in houses where the head of the family has completed schooling. “We found that households where the head of the house has completed schooling had an increased ratio of having a male child compared to houses with heads receiving no formal education,” said S.V. Subramanian, lead author of the study released last month. The male-female ratio also increases with income, the study found. The higher income groups are 14 per cent more likely to prefer a boy to a girl while in the poorer sections the preference may be just four per cent more. “Urban areas also reported higher sex imbalance as the odds of having a boy are 11 per cent higher in cities compared to seven per cent in rural areas,” Subramanian said. The researchers used a nationally representative, population-based sample of household survey data provided by the Indian National Sample Survey Organisation (INSSO) for five recent years — 2004/05, 1999/2000, 1993/94, 1987/88 and 1983. The INSSO survey covered the whole of the India except for a few inaccessible and difficult pockets. It also reveals that the introduction of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act 1994 (PNDT) to check the misuse of technology in this field has failed to correct the imbalance in the sex ratio. “The sex ratio clearly signifies that the PNDT Act failed to check sex imbalance as the odds of having a boy increased to 10 per cent in the period following the implementation of the Act. The odds of having a boy were seven per cent in the pre-PNDT period,” Subramanian said. There are notable variations among states. Punjab continues to be the state where the odds of having a boy increased to 37 per cent compared to a girl. Karnataka has the lowest percentage with the odds of having a boy one per cent higher than a girl. According to Subramanian, a positive association between socio-economic status and sex imbalance is paradoxical given that the affluent class has been consistently associated with improved health and other well-being outcomes. “The combined effect of persistent and intense son preference, along with increasing affordability and accessibility to technologies for sex determination, however, makes the concentration of male infants among the rich somewhat counter-intuitive,” the study found. A higher incidence of giving dowry to the bride in marriage and prevailing inheritance practices favouring sons, both more common among high-income groups, are key motivations for an intense preference for sons among them. “Meanwhile, a son preference norm could simply be dormant among low income groups, as they do not possess sufficient resources to practise discrimination,” the study said. “For instance, low-income households, with reduced access to technologies available for foetal sex detection, may be less able to participate in the activities of foetal sex detection followed by selective abortion.” — IANS
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Citizens’ Service Bureau stops issuing birth, death certificates
New Delhi, December 14 The Citizens’ Service Bureau was formed for the purpose when the Congress was ruling the civic body. At that time it was easy to obtain these documents. Besides, the Citizens’ Service Bureau also booked parks and community halls for social functions. “We do not issue birth and death certificates,” said Suresh Kumar, an official at Citizens’ Service Bureau. He said, “We have a staff of five persons. Two of them are computer operators, while one was appointed yesterday only.” He added, “We are here for ground and community hall bookings for social functions and for RTI. Birth and death certificates are distributed only at the City Centre.” However, the head of the staff was not present and the PRO too was not available. Meanwhile, the Lajpat Nagar situated Citizens’ Service Bureau faces a lot of problems, as the number of staff is less and the load is far more. “We had to wait for hours. The staff is not at all patient and adjustable. The government should take some action in this regard,” said Ram Chander. “The place is responsible for distributing birth and death certificates as well as booking community halls. It is irritating to stand for so long. The number of staff should be increased,” said Amit Ghosh. There are so many computers at the office of Citizens’ Service Bureau, but there are merely two operators. Others do not know how to work on it. The government needs to update the staff with computers, said Neeta Verma. Most people in Lajpat Nagar are upset with the slow functioning of the staff. The vacant tables, chairs and computers are noticeable, as the staff is either missing or does not know how to operate computers. “We avoid going to the Citizen Service Bureau most because of its slow working,” said Kavita Chaudhary. |
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DU’s smoke-free campaign on road
to success
New Delhi, December 14 DU proctor Gurmeet Singh informed, “Delhi University’s smoke-free initiative that started in 2006 has continued to work intensively in 10 colleges and 48 departments of North Campus. The initiative that results from a unique partnership with the World Lung Foundation, South Asia, DU and Delhi police has been focusing in making DU, North Campus a smoke-free zone.” Singh further added, “We have been holding intensive educational campaigns, including hoarding at important junctions, boards in colleges, departments and at eating joints on North Campus. Each college and department has nominated a nodal officer from its faculty and tobacco-free brigades among students.” Besides, anti-tobacco activities are being carried out for karamcharis, local police station staff and rickshaws plying on campus. Delhi police DCP (North) S.P. Hooda assured stern action would be taken against those violating the anti-tobacco law on campus. Further, to generate awareness on the anti-tobacco law and campaign, intra-college declamation and painting competitions were held on campus with the message ‘Tobacco Route – A Journey to Death’. The winners have been awarded with cash and certificates. Vice-chancellor Deepak Pental sent his message mentioning that from 2009 admission forms at DU would carry the message DU campus and its colleges are smoke-free zones. One of the challenges before the university and the police is that 36.4% of smokers buy tobacco on campus and some 41.8% smoke on campus. Vigil in the identified smoking dens on campus has to be intensified and the law banning sale of tobacco within 100 yards of the campus boundaries has to be implemented strictly with support from the police. |
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Students turn eco ambassadors
New Delhi, December 14 Addressing the function, Dikshit said, “After my win in the elections, this is the first function that I am attending and it is a pleasure to be with kids who care for environment and the future generation. This is the 8th annual meet and I am happy to declare that now we have around 250 schools in Delhi who are part of this eco-club. These kids are the real ambassadors of environment.”
Some students were awarded prizes for paintings on environment. Cultural programmes were also presented by various schools. The programmes included a group song performance, a skit, nukkad natak presented on the damage done by human beings on environment, especially trees. “I am a proud member of eco-club through my performance. I wanted to spread the message to everybody that they should care for their environment before it starts killing our future generation,” said Vaibhav Gupta, a school student who participated in the event. Addressing a meeting related to environment at another place in Pragati Maidan, union minister of science and technology Kapil Sibal said, “Today people need to be aware of environment. They should know how to protect it and should also take care about the energy resources. Through such expositions, we get to learn a lot more about such things and undoubtedly it is a commendable job.” Exclusive pavilions will be set up at these twin expositions which will focus on energy efficiency and climate change. These events are being held with the support and participation of the ministry of power, ministry of environment, Government of NCT of Delhi, ministry of environment and forests, among others. The seminar scheduled to be held during the exposition are on water and waste management, energy efficiency and best practices in Indian industries, role of nuclear energy in India, air pollution management and workshop on environment management. The exposition on environment organised by the ITPO will remain open from December 14 to 17, at hall numbers four, five and six at Pragati Maidan. It will be open for general public from 10 am to 6 pm.
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A shopping fiesta for style freak
New Delhi, December 14 This outlet of the Souls Attires by the designer duo, while renovating woman’s sense of style, and attributing it with a definitive character, seems to gift quite convincingly a real soul to the attire of every modern woman. Says Arjun Prakash, “My collection is for the woman who is a diva, with a hint of sensuality. With this collection, you don’t need to accessorise much, just slip on a great pair of shoes and a clutch and you are good to go!” This store is all the more inviting due to its many-in-one nature that presents a wide range of exquisite collection designed by many promising fashion architects like Poonam Bhagat, Charu Parashar, Abdul Halder, Neeta Bharghav, Nida Mehmood, Anika Jain, Hemant and Nandita, Raakesh Agarwal, Amit and Megha, Ashish Pandey, Sonia Jaitely, Urvashi Kaur, Jyoti Gupta, all on a single platter. Intricate designing with silken threads, jewels and polished stones render a new trait to Souls Attires collections and experimenting with different styles of embroideries has helped the duo to come up with the finest and eye-captivating pieces. “We have experimented with different embroideries to create varied looks to make every line of the new collection distinctive. A large part of the collection is dresses; empire cuts still rule but have merged into higher waistlines. Gold being the toast of the season is prevalent, whilst other embellishments used are lace trimmings, mirror crystals, hand-painted stones and jewels,” says Shikha. This store would indeed be a shopping fiesta for every style freak as well as for the ones who find their taste in elegantly knitted pieces. Even the fashion bees who believe in the maxim—old is gold and who long for the class apart look might be pleasantly surprised to find the amazing reflection of yesteryear’s magic in the creations of these two designers. Gorgeous Sonalika Sahay and Mrinalini Tyagi walked down the ramp to display the duo’s selected outfits characterised by rich silks, intense overtones and luscious hues. The style extravaganza, ceaselessly celebrating the unique magic of womanhood, has a mixed composition of Indian, fusion and western wear that are aptly created for all occasions.
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Move to exploit Yamuna
flood plain area decried
New Delhi, December 14 Ironically the same sand that makes the flood plain an invaluable natural resource and city’s lifeline is seen as a kind of waste land waiting to be exploited by the DDA. “Yamuna flood plain area in Delhi is currently threatened by the builder lobby in league with the state and central governments. We need to stop them from doing this,” said Kartik Vishnoi. Moreover, an example of the avarice of the state is the construction of the Games Village for the Commonwealth Games 2010 on the same sand. “Valued several crores per flat, these developments are turning the flood plain into a concrete haven at peril to the city bringing loads of money to the agencies but destroying our life,” said Manisha Gulati, 32. |
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Change in RPA Act demanded
New Delhi December 14 “The Representation of People’s Act (RPA) should be immediately amended so that criminal elements do not enter Parliament or join state legislatures, failing which national security will always be compromised. Criminals have been indulging in heinous crimes for long to maintain their hold on respective fiefdoms,” said Pramod Chawla, president, NNFI. “Apart from amending the RPA Act, the current session of Parliament should set up a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) along the lines of FBI, to come up at the earliest so that the central government can investigate crimes that have international ramifications. The carnage in Mumbai has highlighted the need for such an agency,” he added. “An officer of integrity should be made in charge of IB and RAW. Only the most competent professionals should be appointed to head the security and intelligence agencies like IB and RAW. Such appointments should not be made to safeguard vested interests and the interest of the political party in power. The dismal showing of the agencies is there for everyone to see,” said V. Trivedi, convenor, NNFI. “The police reforms as mandated by the Supreme Court should be implemented immediately. Our security services need to be well trained, free of political interference and act proactively in curtailing crime,” added Trivedi.
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Goods worth lakhs gutted
New Delhi, December 14 However, no casualty was reported. The fire broke out at 8 am when the shop was closed. Smoke was billowing from the shop which was noticed by the neighbours. They informed the fire service officials. Within a few minutes, two firefighters reached the spot. It took at least one hour to douse the fire.
Fire in Arjun Colony house
Gurgaon, December 14 Dayal Devi was cooking food when the house caught fire, destroying doors and windows along with other household items. Devi immediately ran out of house but her 80-year-old husband was inside the house and their neighbour Gopal Kabbadi rescued him. The fire brigade reached the spot immediately and took 10 minutes to control the fire.
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Wintry
conditions in Delhi
New Delhi, December 14 The mercury in the Capital rose up to 7.3° C as against 6.7° C yesterday. The maximum temperature was recorded one degree below normal at 23° C, the minimum plummeted, from 11.8° Celsius on Friday to 7.3° Celsius, one degree below normal. Meanwhile, slight fog continues to lead to drop in visibility in the morning hours. The visibility dropped to 800 m in the early hours of morning but improved after 8:30 am. The coming days are likely to remain stable with weathermen forecasting maximum and minimum temperatures of 24° C and 7° C respectively tomorrow. The Met office has forecast a mainly clear sky in Delhi during the next 24 hours.
— UNI
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3 vehicle thieves held
New Delhi, December 14 Sarfaraz, Rahisuddin and Abid were arrested along with a stolen motorcycle from Sector 6 market in Dwarka. According to the police, during interrogation, the three disclosed that they were involved in many cases of vehicle thefts in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. |
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7 cops suspended for custodial death
Ghaziabad, December 14 Earlier, the police had picked up Yogesh Tyagi, a suspected criminal, from his Atmorta village in Ghaziabad for interrogation. He died in police custody on Saturday. The agitated people held a demonstration against Tyagi’s death. The police had claimed that Tyagi died in a hospital “due to fits”.
— IANS
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DMRC gets award for energy conservation
New Delhi, December 14 DMRC director (Electrical), Satish Kumar received the award from union minister of power Sushil Kumar Shinde at a function today.
The DMRC has already received ISO 14001 and OHSAS (Organisation Health and Safety Assessment Series) 18001 quality award certifications for good environmental management and has also been recognized by the United Nations as the first railway project to earn carbon
credits.
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Police still clueless in Parteek case
Gurgaon, December 14 DCP Rakesh Arya told The Tribune that Parteek has not talked to them yet, as doctors were not permitting Prateek to talk and they can any action only after talking to Parteek. However, according to the sources, Parteek has recorded his statement saying that he has no enmity with anyone and cannot identify the accused. But sources in the police said that it could be a case of enmity as the shooters were aware of Prateek’s whereabouts. Prateek was shot at outside his house in Dayanand Colony by some unidentified youths on Friday evening.
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BSP seeks probe into EVM functioning in polls
New Delhi, December 14 Due to malfunctioning of the EVM, the Congress benefited and emerged victorious in the election. This was done in connivance with the government, they
alleged. BSPs candidates from Rajouri Garden, Shamsher Singh Mehandi, Arvinder Singh Maken from Tilak Nagar, Virender Kumar Mahan from Moti Nagar, Prem Sharma from Hari Nagar, Mohan Lal from
Madipur, Bibi Avinash Kaur from Kalkaji, Manoj Bhardwaj from Matiala, Babu Lal Rajput from
Dwaraka, Deshraj from Janakpuri and Ashok Lakra from Vikaspuri along with their supporters participated in the demonstration. |
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SC/ST rally today
New Delhi, December 14 Chief of the Lok Janashakti Party (LJP), Ram Vilas Paswan, chairman of the National SC Commission, Buta Singh and Ramdas Athawale from the Republican Party of India (RPI) will address the rally. Confederation’s chairman, Udit Raj said that this rally will be portrayed as a protest against politicians, bureaucrats and industrialists who are opposing reservation in the private sector. The rally will begin from Ramlila Ground at about 1pm and march to Jantar Mantar. The special attraction about the rally would be that not only human beings but animals will also take part in it. |
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Labourer hit by crane, dies
New Delhi, December 14 According to police, a major part of the crane fell down and hit the victim who hailed from Vijaypur in Gurdaspur district, Punjab. — TNS |
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Hundreds of people in the city today protested against the state’s intention to sell the Yamuna’s sandy flood plains. On an average, the flood plain in the Delhi stretch of the river Yamuna is 40 m deep. The structure of the river makes it an ideal sponge for recharge of the city’s ground water.
