New Delhi, February 8
The required accommodation for visitors has not been made so far though not much time is left for the Commonwealth Games. The DDA has recently cancelled the allotment of five hotel sites as hoteliers failed to start construction within the given time, sources said.

The government has estimated that 25,000 visitors would come to the national capital during the Games for which thousands of rooms are required.

The government has also announced a bread and breakfast policy permitting general residents to have paying guests.

Delhi Hotel Mahasangh president Ajay said that the requirement of rooms would be met provided the hoteliers were encouraged by the government. At present, they are not permitted to construct more than three-storeyed buildings.

Land should be provided to them on subsidized rates.

He said that the luxury tax rate is 12.5 per cent. It should be reduced to four per cent.

He added that the land for hotels is very costly. If the Delhi government makes an arrangement for loan, it will be easy for the industrialists to construct the hotel buildings within the given time.

General secretary, Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association, Sanjeev Khurana said that the government policy was discouraging hoteliers from taking up the construction work of new hotel buildings. It should make amendment in the master plan increasing the building floor area ratio. The DDA is allotting hotel sites at a huge cost with a condition that there should be budget hotels. After spending a fortune, no businessman can provide rooms at the rate of Rs 1,000 for 24 hours.

Khurana said that hotel owners met the tourism secretary for certain concessions, but he has done nothing so far.

New Delhi, February 8
In an attempt to cater to the needs of disabled children, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), for the first time, has designated educators to answer to the queries of disabled students taking Class 10 and Class 12 exams. With the board exams beginning from March 2, examination stress is already building up among students.

Four special educators— three from Mumbai and one from Delhi— will help students and parents overcome anxiety and stress during the board exams. The special educators are available online as well as on telephone from centres located in Mumbai and Delhi from February 1 to April 2.

However, educators feel that maximum queries would start coming about 15 days before the exams. “The basic idea is to make the child feel confident of taking the exams despite their disability. I try to ease the extra pressure on them by making them feel comfortable about the exams and then counselling them on their specific requirements. Children with special needs require patient handling and often a good amount of attention and this is precisely what we try to give them,” said one of the educators.

Special educators are extremely attentive and polite while dealing with disabled children. They also try to talk to the parents and inform them about the facilities provided by the CBSE to such children.

The CBSE offers certain concessions to physically challenged, spastic and dyslexic candidates taking the month-long board exams. These concessions include extra time (60 minutes extra to write the exam), a writer and flexibility in selecting subjects at the secondary level.

The CBSE has also given special training to teachers on the marking criteria for such children.

Another counsellor added that disabled kids tend to be very vocal and there is a need to understand their gifted abilities. Sometimes it can be difficult to completely understand the child on telephone.

The helplines for the disabled kids are: Abha Sharma, Mumbai, 9967800337; M.R Shipley, Mumbai, 9833950896; Hetal Sayla, Mumbai, 9819209623 and Shweta Khanna, Delhi, 9717882074. For online counselling, kids or parents can visit CBSE’s website www.cbse.nic.in.

New Delhi, February 8
Aman Chawla (name changed), a student of DPS Noida, has shut himself in his room and comes out only for toilet. He is so involved in his studies that he sometimes even skips his meals. His parents are very happy with his hard work and think that long hours of study will help him fetch good marks in his board exams.

However, Aman has sadly gone into depression, said Dr Deepak Gupta, child and adolescent psychiatrist, during a workshop held at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

His mother says that Aman doesn’t sleep and does not want to talk to his friends and family members.

Experts say, “Isolation and skipping meals are one of the first symptoms of depression. This is a crucial stage, but can be handled easily if proper guidance is provided to the child at the right time. Parents should try to involve their children in meditation or yoga and should maintain a healthy, cheerful atmosphere at home rather than converting homes into a hospital ICU”.

“To curb the tension and keep stress levels under control, students must take 10-30 minutes of break after every 40-50 minutes of continuous study. During the break time, they should play outdoor games. Sports are a form of physical exercise which helps the body produce hormones like oxytocins. These hormones act as a relaxation therapy for the body and mind against the stress experienced while studying,” explains an expert present at the workshop.

“Break is very important because long hours of study defocus the mind and hence knowledge or ideas gained don’t sink in after a certain period of time. Taking a break helps rejuvenate and refocus,” adds a teacher of Green Valley School.

Making children study in groups is another interesting idea that finds favour with the experts. With schools mounting pressure on students and parents creating a curfew like situation at home, child tends to become dull and looses mental stability, says a doctor.

New Delhi, February 8
Pull out those woollens again, because after days of experiencing warm weather, Delhi will again witness a cold spell, according to the meteorological department.

“The western disturbances from the north that had cast the dry warm spell over Delhi have passed. The weather is likely to return to normal cold temperatures,” an official at the Safdarjung meteorological office said.

The minimum temperature recorded on Sunday morning was 8.6 degrees Celsius while the maximum was a comfortable 23 degrees Celsius.

“This is normal,” the official said.

Unlike Saturday’s 23 degrees Celsius, Friday’s maximum touched a warm 28 degrees Celsius. This was an indication that the winter was ‘back on track’, the official said.

Sunday morning witnessed a shallow mist, but this cleared up later in the morning.

“Visibility was 4,000 metres at 9 am,” the official informed.

The meteorological office has forecast the maximum temperatures in the coming few days to hover around 23 degrees Celsius and a minimum of about eight degrees Celsius. — IANS

New Delhi, February 8
There is a belief among the cognoscenti that art never ages if it is expressed with truth and conviction. And even the entry of newer forms of art or technology cannot dilute the magic of purity that emerges from true art.

The world-renowned French photographer Bernard Faucon, who gave up photography in 1995 because he was ‘convinced that it was over and that this period in the history of photography to which he had subscribed, “photographic staging” or “photographic settings” had come to an end.’ He also felt that ‘it was the swansong of photography, the last stage before the reign of pure, digital advertising images. It was a time when one still believed sufficiently in the power of truth of photography, when one could permit oneself the luxury of creating “true fiction”.

The works of this cameraman are being presented in a special exhibition in the capital by Alliance Franaise de Delhi and the French Embassy to showcase his retrospective selection photographs in Galerie Romain Rolland. The exhibition opened on February 3 and will continue till February 12.

The best of Bernard Faucon is being displayed in a retrospective collection of photographs over the 20 years and is divided into eight sections: “Summer Holidays” (1976-1981); “Probable development of time” (1981-1984); “The Chambers of Love” (1984-1987); “The Chambers of Gold” (1987-1989); “Idols and sacrifices” (1989-1991); “The Writings” (1991-1992); “The End of the image” (1993-1995); and “The Happiest Day of my Youth” (1997-2000).

Bernard was born in 1950 in Provence. After philosophic and theological studies, he began producing his photographic work in 1976 and stopped voluntarily in 1995.

Over the period of 25 years, Bernard has shown in nearly 250 solo exhibitions and as many group shows, from Leo Castelli in New York City to Yvon Lambert in Paris, in large museums as well as small institutions. In 1989, he received the French National Prize for Photography.

New Delhi, February 8
If you are a daily interstate commuter and are relieved that the much awaited Reciprocal Common Transport Agreement among governments of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh for unrestricted movement of taxis and autos in the National Capital Region (NCR) has finally been signed, then you are in for some disappointment.

This is because almost more than a month has passed since the agreement was signed, but no taxis or autos yet have the permit to ply as per the agreement. In fact, the fact of the matter is that autos and taxis with such permits may take around eight months to one year to come to roads.

Moreover, most of the auto and cab drivers say that they are yet to receive any information from the government about these permits.

According to cab driver Ranjit Singh, “It is not surprising if it may take a few more weeks, may be months or a year for this to materialize, as till now we have not been informed even about the procedures of filling applications for such permits”.

Also, in 1966, the Delhi government had filed a petition in the Supreme Court to limit the number of autos plying in Delhi. The apex court had then ruled that only 55,000 autos will be allowed to ply in the Capital.

But with the Reciprocal Common Transport Agreement coming into force, the number of autos will increase to around 67, 000, as according to a recent notification 4,000 autos and radio cabs from the four states will commute to and fro and hence violate the Supreme Court’s order by increasing the number of autos running on Delhi roads.

Transport commissioner K R Verma said, “To avoid such a situation, the Delhi government will have to approach the Supreme Court demanding it to increase the number of autos allowed to ply on city roads. After this, transport officials will have to decide how to select autos or taxis that would be given this special permit. It is clear that that this will be a long procedure. Application would be submitted and then there could be lucky draws for selecting the autos.”

“Moreover, these vehicles will be given a particular colour code too and before being issued, the permits will have to be get signed and registered with the transport department,” he added.

Meanwhile, officials from transport department say that they are still looking into the notification and are planning proper ways to implement it effectively.

However, a bigger issue which is yet to be sorted out is the division of tax. This means which state will get how much tax each time a vehicle crosses the border. For instance, an auto going to Gurgaon from Delhi will have to pay tax to government of which state, Delhi or Haryana.

Moreover, another facing the move is that satellite towns like Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ghaziabad have a huge fleet of autos that run on petrol, but the number of CNG-fuelled autos is too low. While the agreement says that UP and Haryana can permit a maximum of 8,000 CNG autos to ply across NCR freely, the reality is that they don’t have even one tenth of that number right now.

The present scenario of interstate travel is pathetic. Cabs, autos and taxis are either barred from crossing certain state boundaries or have to pay a hefty tax every time they cross the border. Restrictions on the movement of buses across the borders have further worsened the situation. Most of the auto drivers and cab drivers plying interstate say they have not received any update about these permits.

“I heard about the free permit notification. It will not only help us, but will reduce the cost of traveling for daily commuters too. However we are yet to receive any update on it,” says Ashutosh Shukla, an auto driver.

Noida, February 8
Some unknown persons robbed the car of an industrialist at gunpoint near Park Plaza in sector-55 last evening. Besides, two cases of snatching were reported from different places in Noida yesterday.

Driver Janeshwar Prasad said that some unknown persons overpowered him near Park Plaza and took control of the steering at gunpoint. They then speeded towards Khoda Colony. They pushed him out of the car some hundred meters away from Park Plaza and fled away with it.

“We are investigating the case from the robbery angle too,” said Pritam Pal Singh, SHO of sector-58 police station.

In the first case of snatching, Chander Prakash Bhatia, a resident of sector-34, lodged a complaint at sector-24 police station. He stated that two bike-borne youths snatched his purse while he was passing through the area with his wife. Rs 250 cash, bank cards and important papers were in the purse.

While in another such case, Ashish Kumar of Muzaffarnagar said that his purse was snatched in sector-22 last evening. He had come to Noida to visit a relative.

Meanwhile, the Noida Entrepreneurs’ Association senior vice-president Vipin Malhan alleged, “The Noida police lessen the intensity of crime by registering the cases under less punishable IPC sections. Robbery is registered as theft and snatching as missing. The Association has expressed concern over the rising cases of snatching and carjacking in the area and has written to the UP Chief Minister too.”

Greater Noida, February 8
The residents in Greater Noida feel that authorities take interest only in new projects while ignore the basic civic amenities. Industrialists also complain of lack of proper infrastructure. One of the residents Uma Sharma, a senior citizen, said, ”Greater Noida is not safe for senior citizens. Law and order has deteriorated and thefts have risen considerably. Even locked house is not safe for an hour.”

“We are experiencing long erratic power cuts. If the electricity supply is so bad at this stage when the population is far less, what will happen if more people come to the city?” she asked.

Another resident, Sandhaya Kulshretha living in Greater Noida since 2003, said, “All my dreams about the city have been shattered. Living in Greater Noida is very costly and unsafe.” 

P.P. Sharma, a senior officer of a multinational company, said, “Though development authority was constituted for the development of industries, officials have drifted from the main aim and ignore the problems of industrialists.”

“Power supply is very erratic and there is no proper firefighting facility. Due to chain and mobile snatching incidents, female employees avoid working at Greater Noida units,” said Aditya Ghildiyal, president, Association of Greater Noida Industries.

“We do not go out of the hostel alone for fear of eveteasing as rowdy boys roam around the colleges,” complained a student Nidhi Verma. “There is no shopping complex in Greater Noida. We have to go to Noida to do shopping on weekends,” said another student Mohit Bhandari. 

Meanwhile, chief executive officer Pankaj Aggarwal assured the residents of better civic amenities and improvement in power and water supply and said that the Authority has taken measures for the redressal of the grievances of residents.

Greater Noida, February 8
A B.Pharma student committed suicide at Gamma Sector in Greater Noida. As per suicide note recovered from his room, failure in love was the cause of his committing suicide.

Kasna police station, SHO, Ajay Choudhary, said, “Around 5 pm, we got information about the suicide at house number G-617, Gamma Sector. The body of a youth was found hanging from the ceiling fan hook at the second floor room. “

He said, “He was identified as Yogesh Dubey. His father M.P.Dubey lives at Kalyan Vihar in Delhi. His home town is Gorakhpur. He was studying in B.Pharma 2nd year at R.B.Northland College at Dadri. He was living in a rented room along with other class-mates.”

The SHO added, “Three suicide notes were recovered from the room. One is addressed to his lover Manika Singh in which he has stated that he will continue to love her. Destiny will not allow us to live together so I am taking the extreme step after which nobody will point finger at you. In the end he wrote ‘your mad lover Yogesh’.”

“In the second suicide note addressed to his parents, he wrote he was unable to come up to their expectations and always acted against their wishes. He told them to forgive him for the extreme step. The third note was addressed to his brother and sister,” said Choudhary.

Noida, February 8
A modern head post office was inaugurated here yesterday. A GPS-based mail delivery van was also flagged off.

Rajesh Singh, director of postal services, said, “The department has tied up with the Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWAs) for providing better and efficient services to residents.”

Senior vice-president of the Federation of Noida Residents’ Welfare Association A.N. Dhawan, said, “Over 30 RWAs have agreed to help in booking speed post parcels and selling postal stamps and envelops. Residents will now be able to buy postal stamps and book speed post parcels from RWA office. The receipt for the parcel will be issued the next day. The postal department staff will visit the RWA office every day in the evening and issue the receipt and take parcels for delivery.”

Radhika Doraiswamy, secretary to director general (posts) of the Government of India and chairperson of Postal Services Board said, “Noida is fast developing. Several residential colonies and commercial complexes have come up. E-money order and GPS-based mail delivery van have been introduced from here. Noida has been providing high revenue to the department.”