New Delhi, March 24
With the general elections hardly a month away, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to woo Muslim voters.

The saffron party’s minority cell has called for schemes that would help the uplift of Muslims.

Minority cell chairperson Atif Rashid informed the party’s minority cell would pass a resolution in its convention tomorrow. It would pressurise the Congress government in Delhi and at the centre to look into the issues related to the uplift of the community. If the government fails to fulfill these demands, the BJP would launch a nationwide movement, he threatened.

Rashid alleged the Congress has been in power with the support of Muslims but it has hardly done anything for the community. It is more than 60 years that India gained independence, but the community is still backward, he said.

Rashid demanded from the government to improve the educational system, provide jobs to the community youths and remove encroachment from Wakf properties.

He said the government should open schools in Muslim localities. Most people in the community are poor. They cannot send their children to expensive public schools. He further alleged books for Urdu medium schools are not available. But the government is doing nothing in this regard.

Lakhs of Muslims live in Jamia Nagar and its surrounding areas but there is no government hospital in the area. Residents depend on private doctors or costly hospitals, he said.

The wakf department of the Delhi government, which looks after mosques and other Muslim properties, keeps records only of the wakf land. Hundreds of wakf properties have been encroached, but the government is doing nothing to remove the encroachments. The government had planned to install computers in mosques and make Imams and caretakers of mosques computer-literate. But nothing has been done in this regard too, Rashid claimed.

New Delhi, March 24
Heading the ministry of urban development seems to have given a slight edge to the outgoing MP from New Delhi constituency, Ajay Maken, over his rivals as he prepares to go in for a second term.

Even after severe allegations levelled against Maken by the BJP regarding the DDA scam, his second time nomination from New Delhi has already been announced and this obviously goes in his favour as it recognises the work he has done during the last five years.

Maken has to his credit 95.42% utilisation of the total money issued to him under the MP Land Development Fund. Out of Rs 25.80 crore sanctioned to him, he has spent Rs 22 crore on development.

After delimitation, New Delhi constituency is a composition of 10 assembly seats with varied demographic profiles.

Based on profile of voters, the constituency could be divided into five categories.

Government servants have always been an integral part of New Delhi. Prior to delimitation they constituted the maximum number of voters.

Maken claimed to have done a lot of work on the level of policy making for government servants. “Maken persistently worked to make the government agree on the policy that all Type-I quarters should be upgraded to Type-II in Delhi,” said a ministry official.

He added, “He also worked to make the government abolish 10% contribution from employees for special repairs and internal government quarter facilities. He worked towards covering the balconies of government flats for additional space.”

Officials also said they were particularly benefited by Maken’s contribution towards making the report of 6th Pay Commission applicable from back date. Maken also takes credit for the central government’s tax relief to the salaried class.

The majority population that lives in newly included areas of Lajpat Nagar, Patel Nagar and Karol Bagh are business class voters.

The burden of sealing across the Capital in Congress’ rule was borne by Maken and his voters are still nurturing the grudge against him.

His office, however, still claimed to have provided relief to residents by moving the anti-sealing bill in Lok Sabha. The ministry gave the permission for 100% ground coverage on all plots up to 175 square meters.

“He has granted permission to shops up to 200 sq feet for needs like kirana and stationery to be opened anywhere. Also, guest houses in areas like Paharganj were allowed to exist. He is the architect of Master Plan that provided relief to all sections of society,” said an official.

The MP’s office said for the first time urban and rural villages were treated at par in the Master Plan.

New Delhi, March 24
The MCD’s decision to permit advertisements on commercial vehicles will help it earn as much as Rs 100 crore annually in terms of licence fee and would at the same time reduce advertisement budgets of corporates by about 25%.

In addition, moving in Delhi will become much more comfortable for tourists during the Commonwealth Games, since Delhi’s infrastructure will be upgraded substantially and transportation beautified due to ad revenues from corporates, says an assessment of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

The assessment on MCD decision for allowing corporates to paste their ads on over 90,000 commercial vehicles, including DTC and chartered buses, radio taxis, autos, however, concludes that the annual income of Delhi Transport Corporation will alone double in the process.

Currently, DTC has a fleet of 3,500 buses and it is expected to rise to 10,000 in one and a half years by which time private buses will disappear from Delhi’s roads and therefore, one can imagine the volume of ad revenues the DTC can earn, said D S Rawat, ASSOCHAM secretary general.

Likewise, revenues of other modes of transport would increase substantially, a part of which the owners would spend on their facelift which will make Delhi commuting more convenient as the Delhi government and other concerned agencies are trying hard to improve the existing infrastructure.

Rawat added Delhi-based corporates would take the best advantage of this decision which by accepting nominal licence fee will not only add on to its annual revenues by about Rs 75 crore but also curtail their ad budgets.

According to ASSOCHAM, posting of ads on commercial vehicles is 20 times cheaper than other modes of advertisement.

As per official records, the number of registered transport with Delhi Transport Authority is around 73,000 but in practice over 90,000 commercial vehicles, radio taxis, autos are plying on Delhi’s roads and one can imagine the revenue it can generate for all stakeholders which is a welcome sign and MCD should be praised for this, said Rawat.

Ghaziabad, March 24
Four bandits in Tauri Tereh village under Bhojpur police station area of Ghaziabad, intruded into the house of Abdul Hakim and beat up his two minor daughters, Ismana, 15, and Afsana 12.

According to the younger daughter, they tried to rape them and when they could not succeed in it they poured kerosene on Ismana and put a match to it.

Badly charred girl was rushed to Khan Nursing Home in Hapur where she succumbed to her injuries.

Ismana in her dying statement to the police had named three of her four tormentors who all belonged to the same village.

According to police, the accused are Mohammed Hashim, Mohammed Arif and Jalees Ahmed while the fourth man could not be identified.

The police has registered a murder case against the accused.

SSP Akhil Kumar assured the family and the villagers that the accused will be nabbed soon.

Abdul Hamid, father of the young girls, told the police that he had gone to Hapur for some work while his wife was working in a potato field.

Thus his two minor daughters, Israna and Afsana were alone at home weaving a carpet when the criminals entered the house by using a ladder.

They beat up the young girls and when they failed in their evil designs, they sprinkled kerosene on Israna and burnt her. Before their cries could attract the neighbours, the criminals had fled away.

A large number of villagers reached the nursing home in Hapur where Israna had succumbed to her injuries.

In view of the tension in the village, a strong police team has been stationed in the village.

Faridabad, March 24
The sitting Congress MP from Faridabad Avtar Singh Bhadana is in news yet again. Bhadana’s nephew and some other persons allegedly opened fire on three persons.

Amit Bhadana, nephew of the MP, his friend Vicky, and others attacked three persons in Green Field colony near their native village Anangpur. They allegedly also shot at the victims. One of the persons, Surender, was hit by a bullet on the leg, after which he was rushed to hospital.

According to the FIR filed by Surender, his brother Binde and their maternal uncle Mahipal were attacked by Amit Bhadana and his friend Vikky and others late last night.

While Surender received gunshot, the two of his relatives were seriously injured in the alleged attack. They are currently in hospital.

According to the SHO of Surajkund police station, as per the complaint of Surender, he was shot at by Vicky.

Although the police is still investigating the matter, the presumption is that the brawl took place over business and property related matter.

Amit Bhadana has a mining office in Green Field colony. It is a well known that the Badana family is synonymous with rock mining business in the region. Amit reportedly has the official permission to collect all boulders and stones in the colony. The colony is set up on the Aravalli hills. Hence, whenever digging for construction of houses takes place, a good amount of stones and boulders are found from within the surface.

According to the complaint, Vicky and Amit Bhadana had called Mahipal to their office late last evening. But as soon as he reached their, he was attacked by the leader’s nephew and others. When Surender and Binde tried to intervene, they were also attacked.

The Surajkund police station has said that complaints have been received from both the parties and FIRs have filed by both of them.

New Delhi, March 24
The atmosphere at Delhi University remains tense with the DUTA and the teaching community at loggerheads with the vice-chancellor, Delhi University, Deepak Pental on the latter’s attempt to bring reforms to the examination system. The faculty is currently wrangling through letters flying forward and backward between the VC and the faculty on the matter. Teachers had recently voiced their protest on the issue through a dharna on March 20.

In a tersely worded letter dated March 24, DUTA president Aditya Kumar Misra informs the VC that, “the DUTA takes strong exception to your communication circulated to teacher/principal of colleges regarding some issues on examination-related work, which were neither deliberated upon nor decided in the special meeting of Executive Council dated February 9, 2009.”

Writing about the VC’s high-handedness on the matter, Misra adds, “Since it is beyond the scope of the EC to initiate debate on any issues on examination, the mention of the same as a decision of EC, is an attempt to disregard and undermine the authority of Academic Council. It is pertinent to mention that the authorities of the university (i.e. the Court, Executive Council, Academic Council) have exclusive non-overlapping defined domains to deal with.

However, as per the Delhi University Act Sec. 23, the Academic Council shall ‘have the control and general regulation, and be responsible for the maintenance of standard of instruction, education and examination within the university.”

Misra further writes that the VC has “bypassed” the university’s Academic Council on the examinations issue and is running the “university according to whims and fancies”, “also it is explicit from the Statute 6(2), which inter alia states that the Executive Council has the powers ‘to appoint examiners and moderators and if necessary, to remove them, and to fix their fees, emoluments and travelling and other allowances, after consulting the Academic Council’. As per your communication, you have not only bypassed the Academic Council on examination-related issues but also by taking directly to EC a subject which it is not entitled to discuss, you have shown your preference for running the university with your personal whims and fancies and not as per rule of law.”

Misra further writes, “As per Statute 11-G(2), the VC is ‘bound to see that the Act, the statutes, the ordinances and the regulations are duly observed.’ Your letter gives an erroneous impression that teachers do not participate in the examination duties. The DUTA is shocked by your assumption and wants to put the facts straight by asserting strongly that teachers have always participated in the examination work on their own.”

DUTA has urged that the VC withdraw the aforesaid letter in order to uphold the dignity of the authorities of the University of Delhi.

New Delhi, March 24
To generate awareness on climate change, the WWF and the Tetra Pak have recently launched a website www.youngclimatesavers.com.

The site educates people on the impact of global warming and climate change. It encourages students to participate in the Earth Hour by switching off the lights of their houses on March 28 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The website will run an awareness campaign — ‘You don’t have to be 18 to vote. You can vote by just participating in the Earth Hour and be a part of the world’s biggest movement against climate change.’

It aims at educating students on climate changes. Through them the site will reach out to a larger community and help them become ‘climate savers’.

The first phase of the Young Climate Savers Programme conducted across in India is expected to educate more than 20,000 schoolchildren.

Jaideep Gokhale, programme head of food for development office and environment, Tetra Pak India Pvt. Ltd, said, “Tetra Pak takes environment seriously. Over the past few years it has actively participated in creating environment consciousness among citizens, especially the youths and in promoting post-consumer carton recycling. On March 28, close to a billion people from 930 cities across the world will join the fight against climate change. Through our web site we want to sensitise students to join the Earth Hour drive and start saving energy for a better tomorrow.”

“Students’ participation in environment conservation is necessary. It is important they imbibe sustainable practices at an early age and are able to influence others to follow them. The YCS programme has seen tremendous support from students since its launch. We hope a large number of youngsters participate in the Earth Hour drive as well,” said Farida Tampal, AP state director, WWF-India.