Gurgaon, January 1
Despite recession and terrorist attacks, people of the city welcomed the year 2009 with enthusiasm here on Wednesday.

DJs of various discos enthral the public with the latest music. Many enjoyed the gathering at their farm houses.

Not many celebrities were seen performing here this time. But people thronged malls for the shopping today. The malls saw huge crowd as the mall owners were giving heavy discounts.

While speaking to The Tribune, Ajay Chandowk, office manager, Wet n Wild, said, “We didn’t do much this year compared to last year but people did celebrate. Many resorts had arranged the party and they got good response.” He added that they did not do anything special due to the recession and the recent terror attacks.

Abhishek Jain, marketing and sales manager, Aapno Ghar, said that they had kept a low profile this time but still the response was good.

Deepak, a college student who was present at a disco with his friend, said that though they were afraid of terror attack, they cannot sit still at home as what has to happen will happen. Why not enjoy the moment, he added.

Ditto for Meenu, who feels that one should live in the present and should not think of what is going to happen in future.

New Delhi, January 1
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh requesting him to direct the urban development ministry to come out with an ordinance against sealing. “We have asked him to give directions to the urban development ministry to provide a three-year relief from sealing. A permanent solution has been sought in this regard to take necessary measures,” said, deputy mayor Divya Jaiswal. “It will also ensure that the development works being carried out in connection with Commonwealth Games-2010 by the Delhi government and MCD continue without interruption. The three year breather will give time to find solution and implement the proposed provisions and measures,” he said.

Jaiswal said that the protection under the Special Provision Act 2007 ended yesterday, and now lakhs of properties are facing the threat of sealing. The central government is yet to come out with an ordinance aiming at providing relief. “Delhi residents running activities of commercial nature have now been exposed to sealing. Besides, people living in village abidi and their extension and unauthorised colonies and number of other areas are also facing sealing threat,” he added.

New Delhi, January 1
The food and civil supply department, Delhi government, has decided to enforce global positioning system to monitor movement of trucks that transport cereals to public distribution system (PDS) ration shops, sources said.

This decision was taken after a report received by the department that truck drivers delivered the cereals and other items to godowns of wholesale dealers in connivance with the owners of PDS ration shops.

Delhi food supply and industry minister Haroon Yusuf said that once this system was implemented, black-marketing of subsidized food items would be controlled.

He said that involvement of truck drivers in this racket came to light during raids conducted a few months back at godowns of wholesale traders of cereals.

The minister said that earlier people were facing problems in getting ration cards. They used to approach touts. Very soon all the offices of the department will be computerised and connected with the head office of the food and civil supply. The assistant commissioner will be in touch with the food supply officers in districts. He will monitor their activities on computer.

He admitted that touts are active in the district offices and they charge hefty amount for getting the ration card. But with the implementation of latest technology, the role of touts will be checked, he said.

He also said that the department has re-launched the scheme of below poverty line (BPL) ration cards. In 2007, 1.55 lakh BPL cards were issued. In 2008, the department found that around 80,000 cards were not renewed that suggested that these people did not need the BPL cards.

The department decided to issue 80,000 cards to other people who were still below poverty line. They will be given ration commodities on subsidized rates.

Application forms are available from the food and civil supply office, Vikas Bhawan.

New Delhi, January 1
Jamia Millia Islamia has put out a rare collection of Arab and Indian art at an exhibition currently under way at the M F Husain Art Gallery at the university. Renowned artists from across the Arab world are exhibiting at the gallery, from Egypt, to Libya and Syria , Palestine and UAE along with distinguished Indian painters such as M F Husain, Satish Gujral, Ameena Ahmad and others.

A work of great depth graphically depicting the horror of war and terror is the painting, ‘Intefada’ by Palestinian artist Waleed Ayub, the painting is rather imaginatively executed in a unique even perfect modern abstract style. Ayub bares the horror of terror and war on canvas in a painting done like a collage throwing together newsprint fragments, the shadow of a young boy caught in the crossfire, a green tank looming in front of him, red drops of blood smattered across the painting. It is gripping both in terms of starkness and honesty reproducing war, mayhem and the toll it takes on human lives.

Another arresting set of paintings is the works of Egyptian artist, Sameh Ismael, bold calligraphic letters stare out of the canvas against a backdrop of cream with touches of sunset yellow here and there.

This set of paintings is refreshing, influenced by calligraphy, there is an intensity about them which immediately catches the eye. All three paintings compliment each other and are beautiful works of art.

Zikrur Rehman, director of the Indo-Arab Cultural Centre at Jamia Millia Islamia informs, “we have brought in some of the top artists from across the Arab world and they are exhibiting side by side Indian artists like M F Husain, Satish Gujral, Ameena Ahmed to name a few. These artists represent current art trends in the Arab world, the idea was to give people here an idea of art being produced in the Arab world.” The exhibition has been organized by the Indio-Arab Cultural Center, Jamia Millia Islamia.

‘Khouada’ the word and the painting both have an old world air, this delightful painting showing a traditional scene in a residential area in Morocco is a work by a Moroccan artist. The painting is somewhat like a lithograph in style, executed in black brown ink on a cream background it shows an old gateway flanked by houses in Morocco. Executed in classical style it has a lot of promise. Yet another painting that immediately grips your attemtion is ‘Tears’ by Egyptian artist, Sami Salem, the painting immediately strikes an emotional cord depicting the portrait of a child, a young girl, with a single tear rolling down her cheek. The painting is executed in dark and light shading, black on white, in chalk on paper and is striking work.

The exhibition opened on Thursday and will be running till January 10. The minister of state for external affairs E Ahamed inaugurated the exhibition.

New Delhi, January 1
Confounding the predictions of the weatherman, a thick fog enveloped the capital this morning. While a large number of flights and trains were delayed or cancelled, road traffic moved at a snail’s pace as visibility dropped to 50 metres.

“The general visibility was 50 metres. Thankfully, however, runway visibility hovered between 150 and 250 metres. Some flights have taken off as scheduled, but most have been delayed or cancelled,” an official at the capital’s Indira Gandhi International Airport told IANS.

At least nine domestic flights were cancelled and eight were delayed. Four international flights were also delayed.

Vehicular traffic also moved at a sluggish pace due to the thick fog. However, no road accidents attributed to the fog were reported on Thursday morning.

Joint commissioner (traffic) S.M. Srivastava said the full force was working to ease the traffic situation.

“Our force is limited but has been working around the clock since yesterday. A majority of the personnel worked till 2 am and people were deployed to tackle the morning fog. Those who had worked late will return to work by noon,” he said.

“Since a majority of people were awake through the night, the traffic is thinner this morning. But yes, the little traffic is moving slow,” Srivastava added.

Many trains to and from the capital were also running late as much of northern India was covered by fog.

While the minimum temperature on Thursday morning was recorded at 8.5°C, the next few days are likely to see a dip in the minimum temperatures by three degrees, an official from the Safdarjung meteorological office said.

“The maximum daytime temperatures have already dropped to 16° C from 20.8° in just two days, the chill is still setting in,” the met official added. — IANS

New Delhi, January 1
Harvinder Singh, a 1984 anti-Sikh riot victim, today demonstrated at Jantar Mantar and submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmoham Singh demanding that a case should be registered against Congress leader Sajjan Kumar.

Harvinder Singh, a resident of Dera Bassi in Punjab, accompanied by his family and a few others, had organised the demonstration under the banner of the All India Sikh Students Federation. The chief of the Delhi unit of the Federation, Narender Singh also took part in the demonstration.

Singh demanded that the CBI should register a case against Sajjan Kumar who led a mob in the Uttam Nagar area in 1984 during the Delhi anti-Sikh riot that followed the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. His father Sohan Singh and brother-in-law Avtar Singh were killed in the violence.

Harvinder, who then lived at Gulab Bagh in Uttam Nagar, claimed that he witnessed the murder of his father and brother-in-law.

Singh threatened that if his demand was not accepted, he would demonstrate again in February.

He added that in February, thousands of Sikh would come from Punjab to support him. 

New Delhi, January 1
The Delhi traffic police booked 353 people for driving dangerously and under the influence of alcohol in the Capital on New Year’s Eve.

According to information available, a total of 492 ‘challans’ (traffic tickets) were issued by the police as part of its drive to check violation of traffic rules during the night of revelry.

Of these, 274 people were prosecuted for drunken driving while action was taken against 79 for dangerous driving.

The maximum number of offenders under the dangerous and drunken driving section was booked in the Connaught Place area, the heart of Capital and hub of popular bars and restaurants.

The fine for drunken driving is Rs 2,000 or imprisonment up to three years for first-time offenders. For subsequent offences, the fine is Rs 3,000 or two years of imprisonment or both. In the past 15 days, over 600 people in Delhi have been fined for drunken driving.

The traffic police had made arrangements for on-the-spot blood testing in case of alcohol consumption and two magistrates were stationed at the Parliament Street police station to fine the offenders and, if necessary, put them behind bars.

Delhi police had also tied up with hospitals in the city to conduct blood tests of those caught for drunken driving during the festive season while mobile labs from these hospitals were deployed on several roads of the Capital to conduct the tests.

Staff equipped with breath analysers and alcometers were deployed near pubs, malls and hotels as part of a drive to check dangerous and drunken driving during the festive season.

Police Control Room (PCR) vans were also pressed into service to ensure hassle-free flow of traffic.

“We were satisfied with the arrangements made by the police to discourage drunken driving and as a result no untoward incident happened,” said owner of a popular bar joint in Connaught Place. 

New Delhi, January 1
With the arrest of four persons, the Badarpur police has claimed to have busted a gang of mobile thieves and pickpockets. On the instance of the accused, fourty five stolen mobile phones were recovered from different places.

Amit, Vijay, Mahavira and Ramesh were arrested from Mathura Road in Badarpur on the basis of information received under the ‘Ears and Eyes’ scheme of the police.

The gang, Amit alias Pichku gang, used to operate in Blueline buses from Badarpur to Punjabi Bagh.

During interrogation, the accused disclosed that they used to board crowded buses during peak hours. The “thekbaz” used to “search” passengers and used “thek” to divert their attention. In the meantime, one of the other members stole mobile phones, purses and other valuables and passed it on to the other member. The person who had the stolen phone use to get down at the next stop.

All the four arrested have previous involvement in other crimes.

New Delhi, January 1
With the arrest of three persons— Vikas Kumar (28), Rajesh Kumar (35) and Deepak Gupta (24)— the South West district police has claimed to have busted a gang involved in making fake identity proofs.

According to senior police officers, in view of the recent instances of use of fake identity proofs by terrorists, the police staff in the district was sensitised to keep a watch on any such activity under a scheme called ‘eyes and ears’. In the process, it was learnt that a gang operating in the Dabri area was actively involved in preparing forged documents.

Acting on the information, the police reached Shiv Main Market in Dabir, where, a constable acting as a customer contacted one of the accused—Rajesh. Constable Kalu Ram struck a deal with Rajesh for getting a fake voter ID card made at a cost of Rs 800. After some time, his other two partners— Vikas Kumar Kashyap and Deepak Gupta handed over a fake election ID card that bore Ram’s photo and false name and address. The three were immediately arrested and the amount paid for the card was also recovered.

Further, a computer, printers, pen drives and several fake documents were also recovered from their possession.

On investigation, it was found that Vikas Kumar, a graduate from Delhi University and Deepak Gupta, a matriculate, use to sell fake ID cards, while Rajesh Kumar used to work as agent luring customers for them.