New Delhi, June 1
On the first day of the sale of admission forms for undergraduate courses at Delhi University today, the admission information booths had to work overtime as the queue of aspiring candidates did not break till evening.

Students from different parts of the country poured in at 16 admission information booths created in all corners of the Capital to collect the common pre-admission form. A total of 27,610 forms were sold today and 800 students deposited their forms.

The university authorities claimed that the arrangements were successful and the distribution of forms went well.

“We tried to provide forms to all students who came to the university today. The admission information booths were kept open till the students were there on the counters,” said Gurpreet Singh Tuteja, deputy dean, students’ welfare, DU.

In a deviation from previous year, this year, students seemed more interested in professional courses. Aspirants were more interested in courses that could provide jobs and not just an academic life.

While the distribution of forms at the general counters went smoothly, confusion prevailed at the admission booths for SC-ST students. “The admission form is too complicated. Students coming straight out of school would find it difficult to fill this form. Also, the university has not provided any counselling for the SC-ST candidates,” said Natasha, a volunteer at the booth for reserved categories.

Several SC-ST candidates had to return empty-handed, as they were not issued admission forms due to non-availability of the mark-sheet. “I have studied under Haryana Board and have not yet received my mark-sheet. The university has denied me a form asking me to get a provisional certificate,” said Jaiveer from Sonepat.

Students from Northeastern states also faced similar problem. “Northeastern students who appeared for the state board exams have not yet received their marksheets and so were denied forms. The university should have taken an exception to it. The documents could be checked at the time of admissions,” said Monen Ishwary from the All Bodo Students’ Union.

The university administration, however, said they could not do much. “We have provided for a ‘result awaited’ column in the common form for the general category. We can not delay the admission process till results of all states come out. The candidates belonging to the reserved categories can collect the forms when their results com out,” said Tuteja.

Groups of anxious outstation students were seen camping around the information booths. “We have come from far off to apply for my daughter. As per the official timings we have only three hours to buy the form and deposit it. We have no place to stay in Delhi and the university does not accept the forms sent by post,” said Yusuf, who had come from Jammu and Kashmir.

This year, the university administration has banned student organisations from putting up admission assistance booths. “This year only the students’ union has been allowed to put up assistance booths. But the volunteers sitting at these booths are mostly outsiders who themselves do not know anything,” said Promod from the Students’ Federation of India (SFI).

Meanwhile, university helplines also witnessed a busy day today. “Many students call up to ask for directions to reach different colleges. There is also confusion about vocational courses,” said a helpline volunteer.

The admission forms would be sold and accepted till June 15. The first

cut-off list for the admissions would come out on June 25 and payment of fees in respective colleges for this list would start the next day. Notification of second cut-off would be issued on June 30 and payment of the fee for this list would start on July 1. The third list would be announced on July 9 and payment of fees would start from July 10.

The helpline services offered by DU can be accessed at 011-27662507, 011-27662508, 011-24119832 and 011-24114634. Students can also log on to the university web site www.du.ac.in for queries.

New Delhi, June 1
On the opening day of admission process in Delhi University (DU), 13 physically challenged students applied for the undergraduate courses today.

DU offers around 1,200 seats reserved for the Physically Handicapped (PH) category students.

“I welcome the physically challenged students to Delhi University. Every year many seats remain unfilled in some of the most sought-after courses and colleges,” said Seema M. Parihar, deputy dean, students’ welfare, Delhi University.

Total 900 PH category students passed out of class XII in CBSE in Delhi this year. “We would like all these students to register themselves in DU. The university can provide them with every kind of guidance and offer the courses of their choice,” said Parihar.

Out of the Delhi-based physically challenged students, hardly 200 students opt for the central university.

Out of the total seats reserved for the PH category in DU, around 60 to 70 per cent remain vacant. The university has also taken up steps to create additional infrastructure to make the colleges disabled-friendly.

“We had sent guidelines to the colleges and they have been implemented since then. However, I believe that it is the overall sensitisation that is more important than the ramps and other infrastructure,” said Parihar.

Colleges that come under DU have also reserved seats for the physically challenged students in their hostels.

New Delhi, June 1
It was the first day of the admission procedure at the colleges on North Campus. As in the past, incidents of eve-teasing came to light today.

Girls complain of lewd gestures and vulgar comments of people in broad daylight. Eve-teasing, hooliganism and pickpocketing are a common sight here.

The girls pointed out that the boys harassed them without any fear of consequences because policemen took their own sweet time to take any action or register complaints.

The area in the north campus is notorious for being unsafe.

“Boys just walk off, touching us here and there. And their comments are so coarse. It is disgusting and irritating even as people are mute spectators” said a girl who came there for her admission.

Because of heavy crowd of new students during this time, boys and middle-aged men take advantage and try to molest girls.

According to the girls, no action is taken in the cases of molestation and eve-teasing on the campus.

The huge number of police personnel on duty there was no deterrent.

“I feel there should be more lady cops on the university campus to whom we can approach without any hesitation in the time of trouble” said a student. — Danish Khan

Ghaziabad, June 1
The police today arrested an All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) lecturer for allegedly helping two students appearing for the premier institute's 2009 MBBS entrance test cheat by promising to provide them a copy of the "leaked" question paper for a huge amount of money.

Additional superintendent of police Happy Guptan said Ratna Srivatava, the mother of Ankita Srivastava, one of the two students, complained to the police that Meena Agrawal, a senior lecturer in the AIIMS nursing department, phoned her daughter Ankita and offered to provide her a copy of the question paper for Rs 500,000 to Rs 1,000,000 in cash.

Agrawal also offered another aspirant, Tarang Goel, with a copy of the paper for the same amount.

Guptan said Agrawal, who runs a 50 room hostel here, also published an advertisement in newspapers that any student coached by her would get a sure success in the medical entrance test and the police were also investigating this. After her claim, the two aspirants - Ankita and Tarang - paid part of the money to the accused and assured her they would pay the balance amount in instalments. Earlier, an anonymous call was received at the Sahibabad police station informing them of the paper leakage and the lecturer was brought to the police station for questioning. However, the case was transferred to the Kavi Nagar police station as her residence came under its jurisdiction.

After her confession, the police recovered some question papers from her possession which were sent to AIIMS for verification.

Agrawal has been arrested under Section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code. — IANS

Greater Noida, June 1
The Greater Noida Authority Board has revived the residential scheme, Amlatas, abandoned in 2003. Besides, the process has been set in motion for Ganga Jal scheme and setting up a sports complex in the city.

Not only have the schemes for industry, IT, commercial, institutional and residential been

approved, their terms and conditions have also been made flexible.

According to GNIDA chariman Lalit Srivastav, action for laying pipe lines and setting up a water treatment plant has already been initiated.

This project which will cost Rs 70 crore, will be completed in 18 months. Bids for the schemes will be opened on June 18 and July 3.

The process for acquisition of land for the purpose has also been started, he informed.

The chairman said that the residents of Phase 1 can expect to receive Ganga Jal within two years. The first phase of the Rs 11,127 crore project will be ready by 2011.

He said bids worth Rs 89.32 crore will be floated for pipe-laying, primary treatment works near Tehra on Upper Ganga canal and a water treatment plant in Palka between June 17 and July 2.

About 45 cusecs Ganga Jal will be supplied to Greater Noida in the first phase while in the second phase, 85 cusecs Ganga Jal will be made available.

The chairman said a sports complex was ready in Greater Noida for which a governing body had also been set.

Its 107 allottees could now collect their allotment letters.

The conditions of payment for residential, commecial, industrial and institutional schemes have been simplified and made more allottee-friendly, Srivastav said.

Under the new dispensation, allottees have been allowed not to deposit their instalments up to two years with interest as against the earlier conditions of depositing 10 per cent of total amount within 60 days.

An option to exchange industrial and institutional plots has also been offered, the chairman added.

New Delhi, June 1
The Delhi government in its cabinet meeting today permitted DTC to purchase 1000 semi-low floor buses.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that the cabinet had given its nod for the purchase of 1000 semi-low floor buses to the DTC in order to enable it to strengthen its city fleet. This was in addition to an earlier permission granted for the purchase of 2500 low-floor AC and non-AC buses, she added. 

“Low-floor and semi-low floor buses have same features except floor height from the ground. Semi-low floor buses would provide relief to the passengers and would also be able to cater to the needs of the increasing number of passengers,” Dikshit said.

The Chief Minister said semi-low floor buses would ply on narrow roads of the Capital. “Twenty-five per cent of these buses will be air conditioned,” she said.

Later, transport minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said the supply of these buses would be prompt and each bus would cost Rs 15 lakh less than the low floor bus. Lovely said during the Commonwealth Games, the city would have 5,000 low floor and semi-low floor buses. 

Delhi was supposed to get the next lot of 2,500 low floor buses by March this year, but it has not arrived yet.

Although, the Delhi government has pulled up the manufacturers for the delay, the two companies supplying the buses said they needed some more time to deliver the buses as they had limited capacity in their plants. The delay in supply of low floor buses has in turn delayed the phasing-out of the Blueline buses.

New Delhi, June 1
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) today asked the Delhi government to hand over charge of Delhi Jal Board to the civic body.

The Delhi Mayor Kanwar Sain said that since most of the essential services are being maintained and controlled by the corporation, it would be easier for it to coordinate the work of Delhi Jal Board and ensure better output.

“I can assure that we will draw a concrete plan and ensure that all the problems related to water and sewerage will be solved in no time, if we get charge of DJB,” said the Mayor. 

In this regard, the Mayor pointed out that there are various departments and bodies under the aegis of government of NCT of Delhi, including Delhi Jal Board.

“The residents of Delhi come in contact with DJB sometimes and face a lot of difficulty in getting their work done be it related to the supply of water, the quality of water or maintenance of sewers, which are under the control of the Board. However, not a single issue has been resolved in the last decade or so,” he said.

Hitting hard at Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Sain said that she is not able to make the organisation function properly.

“Delhi is suffering at the hands of insensitive and inefficient officials of Delhi Jal Board and the Chief Minister has not been able to take any step to improve the functioning of Delhi Jal Board,” he added.

Ghaziabad, June 1
The Sahibabad police has arrested 19 persons for trying to marry off a minor girl. Those arrested are relatives of the bride and the bridegroom.

The girl has been sent for a medical examination to ascertain her age and the accused have been booked under the Child Marriage Act.

The incident happened on Satuday night at Nandgram, where 13-year-old Akriti (changed name), a resident of Sahid Nagar, was being married to Ajay (20) (changed name). The marriage party had reached the marriage venue at Nandgram when some neighbours, who were aware that Akriti was a minor, tipped off the police.

On receiving the information, a police team from the Sahibabad police station reached the venue and arrested 19 persons.

Sahibabad police station incharge Yogesh Pathak said the police was trying to determine the actual age of the girl for which she had been sent for a medical check-up.

Pathak said Akriti’s father had separated from his first wife long back and his second wife had three children from her previous marriage.

Gurgaon, June 1
The city got its new deputy commissioner (DC) and municipal commissioner (MC) today. Rajender Kumar Kataria joined as DC and Rajesh Khullar as MC.

Kataria is an IAS officer of 1996 batch and this is his fourth posting as deputy commissioner. Prior to this posting , Kataria functioned as director, Elementary Education, Haryana.

Khullar is the second MC after Rajeev Sharma and functioned as MC in Faridabad earlier.Incidentally, the Gurgaon Municipal Corporation came into existence on June 2 last year and its first commissioner Rajeev Sharma joined on June 4 then.

Kataria on the very first day of his joining, took a meeting of district officers. He reviewed the progress of development works in the district and said that if any officer faced any problem in implementation of the development works, he should report to him but if there is “no problem and no work, it would not be tolerated”.

The deputy commissioner also listed his priorities and said that he would focus on improving infrastructure l in the city.He would also try to solve the problem of flooding in urban areas during monsoon season and take care of sanitation problems. While replying to a question, he said, “The responsibility of Gurgaon administration as proactive state during Commonwealth Games would also be taken care of.”

On the other hand, Khullar called a meeting of joint commissioners Arun Sharma, Anju Choudhary and YS Gupta.