New Delhi, June 14
“No medical test is mandatory... private tour operators are not as strict as government,” said the private tour operator in the Capital that is in the news for its callous treatment of its clients and leaving them in the lurch during the pilgrimage to Mt. Kailash and Mansarovar.

“We don’t conduct medical tests on our own. We ask our clients to give us a certificate. There is no specific rule as to who should (agewise) go on this pilgrimage,” said Pradeep Kumar, assistant tour operator of Shrestha Holidays in the Capital.

IANS correspondents, seeking information as pilgrims, expressed their desire to take a 78-year-old man on the tour. To this Kumar said: “Is he fit, can he walk? He just needs to muster his will power. If yes, then there is no need of worry.”

“In fact some in south India consider death during pilgrimage auspicious. Some travellers have died in the recent trip. We consider it unfortunate, but in such a large group such incidents happen,” he added.

“The process on government tours is very cumbersome and long drawn out. They make you submit all sorts of papers and conduct their own health check-ups. For us, we just need a medical fitness certificate - a government hospital is not necessary,” said Kumar Chhetri, vice-president of Shrestha Holidays.

A group of 56 pilgrims who went under the banner of Shrestha Holidays had alleged ill treatment, lack of medical attention and emergency evacuation when many fell ill. At least seven persons, including an 83-year-old woman from Chennai, lost their lives due to hostile weather conditions and inadequate medical attention.

The 56 pilgrims, who flew back to India on Saturday, had tales of horror. Of them, only 15 made it to Mt. Kailash, the rest either fell sick or lost their morale and opted not to go farther.

While Mt Kailash rises 6,638 m above sea level, the nearby Mansarovar Lake lies at 4,556 m.

They are held sacred by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains alike.

Situated in a narrow lane in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar, the travel agency’s Delhi office has been organising Mt. Kailash tours for the last 15 years. A well decorated office with religious paintings adorning its walls, the agency gives an impression that it means business.

Unlike government organised tours which are heavy on paper work and fitness assessment, the agency asks its clients to fill up a one page booking form with an undertaking that the pilgrim accepts that “due to the nature of travel in Mt. Kailash and due to certain terms and conditions imposed by Shrestha Holidays, by principal i.e, Chinese travel Authorities, the traveller will not be eligible for any refund of the cost....”

In fine prints, their brochure says: “We recommend that you ensure (sic) yourself against sickness, emergency rescue, accident hospitalisation etc. We are not liable and responsible for any damages or extra expenses that may arise from mishaps and loss of their belongings during the pilgrimage.”

The tour operator officials also said that as their 16-day-tour package, costing Rs 80,000 per head, was overland, pilgrims should not expect helicopter evacuation in case of emergency. “It is not feasible,” said Chhetri. He said an 11-day helicopter tour costs at least Rs 1,60,000.

The pilgrimage organised by the Indian government passes through Uttarakhand and pilgrims are put through exhaustive medical fitness tests prior and during the trip. Private tours pass through Nepal and Chinese territory. — IANS

New Delhi, June 14
Want to keep heart disorders at bay? Join in the regular repeat blood donation movement as doctors suggest that regular blood donation reduces the risk of heart arrests by one-third. And this is not all, for if donates blood for hundred times, he/she may avail a lifetime free AC II class train pass.

The railway incentive might take its own course and time, but as a satisfactory recognition of contribution of voluntary blood donation, some blood donors were felicitated today here at India Habitat Centre in commemoration of World Donor Day.

General secretary of the Indian Society of Blood Transfusion and Immunohaematology (ISBTI), Dr R. N Makroo said, “This donors are true national heroes, for at times they save lives without even knowing anything about the receiver. They should be recognised and for this, ISBTI has proposed the railway ministry to grant free AC class II passes.”

Fifty-two-year-old Munni Godara, a resident of Rohtak, who has donated blood 50 times, donated blood for the first time at the age of 22 years in order to help a woman who immediately required blood due to excessive bleeding during her delivery.

And following the footsteps of mother, Munni’s son Ajay Godara (32 years) also donated blood and till now has donated 15 times. The Godara family sets a trend of celebrating birthdays by donating blood. “Thus, we not only remain healthy but also extend a helping hand to others. Everybody should overcome the fear that by donating blood they grow weak,” said an encouraging Munni.

Similarly, V. N Hurkat, a resident of Pant Nagar and senior official with Punjab National Bank, is another example of voluntary service to society. He holds the credit of donating blood 138 times. In India, there are 250-odd centurion blood donors.

Dr Rajesh Bhatia of World Health Organisation pointed out at a shortage of 2.5 to 3 million units of blood each year despite the fact that India has a big human resource, to the tune of 1.2 billion.

“Annually our national blood collection is just 6 million units as against the need of about 8.5-9 million units, and it’s sad that India is importing blood components to meet its requirements of blood,” he said.

In our country, the voluntary plasma donation is just 60 per cent as against the aim of 100 per cent, which is in fact the underlining theme of this year. And the primary reason behind this, feels Dr Makroo, is that most voluntary blood donors are one-time blood donors.

On the occasion, Shiv Khera, motivational orator and author of personality development books, said, “Blood donation is one of the noblest ways of selfless service , but many times we don’t realise the significance of this voluntary act till we are victims of such a situation.”

New Delhi, June 14
A new heritage tourism route linking at least 30 big and small historical monuments in this capital city is in the works. It is the first step to help Delhi bag UNESCO World Heritage City status.

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) - the country’s leading non-profit organisation dedicated to the conservation of heritage - last week completed a blueprint of the route between the Red Fort and Humayun’s Tomb along the busy Mathura Road.

“The route will link at least 30 big and small historical monuments as part of a mega project, Delhi Heritage Route, designed to put the Capital in the list of 220 heritage cities worldwide in a bid to preserve the city’s 1,000-year old cultural and historical wealth,” said A.G. Krishna Menon, convenor of the Delhi chapter of Intach.

The monuments along the route can be accessed by a special hop-on-hop-off heritage bus and cycles from the Cycle Society.

“We have spoken to the Cycle Society to loan us bicycles so that tourists can visit some of the monuments that will be inaccessible by the heritage bus,” said Menon.

The pilot project has been funded by the World Monuments Fund (WMF), which has pitched in with $200,000 as a start-up grant.

“This stretch of the Mathura Road has several important monuments like Feroz Shah Kotla, Purana Qila, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and several smaller structures. These will be beautified with aesthetic landscaping, attractive signages, lights and fancy street furniture as well as cafes so that they become friendly spaces. The aim is to best showcase the cognitive heritage of the Capital to attract global attention,” Menon said.

The project divides Delhi into seven heritage precincts between the ridge and the river. The Intach report has been sent to the Delhi government for implementation.

Intach had signed a heritage pact with the government of Delhi in 2008 for sustainable development of the Capital’s cultural heritage that will help it become a World Heritage City.

The World Heritage City status is granted by UNESCO after a complex screening of the heritage conservation of a city and its history. Some major heritage cities include London, Rome and Jerusalem.

The project should not run into hurdles because it has been cleared by the Delhi government and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), said Menon.

The heritage route will be spread across a 50-km stretch from the Coronation Park in the north, where the durbar commemorating the coronation of King George V of Britain took place in 1911, Red Fort, Chandni Chowk, Nizamuddin, Daryaganj, Feroz Shah Kotla, Purana Qila (Old Fort), Lutyen’s Delhi, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Mehrauli, Sultangarhi and even Tughlakabad. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has also asked Intach to restore the derelict Coronation Park as part of the pilot project.

“Once we identify the rest of the routes in a year, it will enable us to push for Heritage City status for Delhi at the UNESCO,” Menon said.

The Delhi Heritage Route project was one of the four projects that WMF supported in 2008.

“We support anything creative that promotes sustainable development of heritage and tourism. We hope to see ourselves as a catalyst of change in Delhi so that it becomes a World Heritage City. The state should fund the rest of the routes,” said Amita Baig of WMF.

Intach also plans to set up audio-visual interpretation centres at the archaeological sites along the routes to “enhance the visitors’ knowledge of the monuments”, set up a women’s museum at Qudsia Palace in Qudsiabagh near Kashmere Gate and chronicle the oral history of the capital based on the memories of the old residents as part of the World Heritage City campaign. — IANS

New Delhi, June 14
The residents of satellite towns like Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad are switching to Delhi market for shopping to save themselves from paying ‘extra tax’. In Uttar Pradesh, the tax rate is much higher than in Delhi.

Navneet Jha, an engineer working in an IT company in Dwarka, says, “I make sure to get my tank full from a petrol pump in Delhi as it is cheaper to buy petrol here instead of Noida. One litre of petrol costs Rs 43 in Noida while it is Rs 40 in Delhi. Most of my colleagues too prefer filling their tanks from Delhi,” he adds.

While officials confirmed that the sales tax on petrol, in Noida, is around 20-22 per cent, prompting a lot of vehicle owners to get their tanks filled in Delhi where the tax is 12.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, the recent increase in the taxes levied on consumer goods in Uttar Pradesh has almost compelled the residents of satellite towns to look into the markets of Delhi for shopping household and other products.

In Delhi, VAT is 4 to 12 per cent while in UP, it is 4.5 to 13.5 per cent. Moreover, there are several products in which there is 4.1 per cent tax in Delhi while it is 13.5 per cent in the towns of UP.

Manager of Big Bazaar in Noida, Sec -18, says, “Consumers have become smart in tackling the problem of paying the additional tax. They have started buying products from Delhi. Delhi is certainly taking over the market of the adjoining towns.”

Even the retail showrooms and shops are facing a tough time. Owners of stores in Atta market, Sec-18 of Noida, say that they are afraid of the sudden slowdown these days. With the implementation of the new tax rates in UP, this gap has widened.

Shopping in Delhi has become a need rather than a choice for the people, says Aarti Bhagat, a housewife living in Noida, Sec-1.

She adds, “I have started shopping from Kondli to save money and this month I have saved around Rs 1,500. If the government is bent upon increasing taxes like this, there is no other option left for us.”

A group of working boys in Noida, says, “Since VAT was implemented in UP on January 1, we have started buying our ration and everything else from Delhi. This costs us 10 per cent cheaper”.

New Delhi, June 14
The Delhi police has helda security guard of a shopping mall in South Delhi for allegedly stealing mobile phones from the mall.

The accused, a 22-year-old science graduate Govind Kumar, was posted at the Shoppers Stop’s Saket branch. He was arrested on June 11 when he went to Saket to sell some of the stolen phones.

According to police sources, the thefts took place on June 1 and June 6, when Kumar broke into the showroom through a glass door. About 59 mobile phones, bags and some garments were stolen in the two thefts.

During investigation , the police zeroed down on Govind, a resident of Bihar, and got a tip-off about his visit to Saket. He was deployed at the outlet by Tiger Security Services that hired him on reference.

In his confession, Govind revealed that he had committed the first theft along with his brother-in-law Gautam and his friend Sandeep. He told that he hid the stolen items in his security cabin and took them home by hiding them in his clothes.

Five mobile phones were recovered from him at the time of his arrest and 15 other phones were recovered from his residence.

New Delhi, June 14
The Delhi police today arrested four robbers, including two minors, allegedly involved in 18 cases of snatching.

According to the police, two of the accused— Kuldeep and Ashok Kumar (in their 20s)— were operating the gang along with two minors.

The accused were arrested while riding two stolen motorcycles with fake number plates. On verification, it was established that the motorcycles were stolen from Vasant Kunj in Delhi and Chandigarh.

The police sources said three gold chains worth Rs 40,000 and a mobile phone were also recovered from their possession.

Noida, June 14
A conductor has been killed by the bus contractors for demanding arrears of his salary for the past two months. His body, recovered from a drain, has since been identified by his family members. The police has registered a case against the contractors, but no arrest has been made yet.

Madan Mohan, the bus conductor, a resident of New Ashok Nagar, adjoining Noida, had been missing for the past two days. As the bus was parked in sector 37, his relatives reached there looking for him. They were told that sector 39 Kotwali police had fished out a body from a drain in sector 43. The relatives identified it as that of Madan Mohan.

During investigations, police came to know that Madan Mohan had not received his salary for the past two months. On June 11, he had demanded it from the bus contractors, Anil and Sunil. Both took Madan Mohan to sector 43 where all of them consumed liquor. Later Anil and Sunil threw Madan Mohan into the drain after beating him up.

Anil and Sunil then drove the bus to ISBT New Delhi and after parking it there, they absconded. On getting a written complaint from the family members of the victim, the sector 39 police has registered a case against Anil and Sunil. The police is now trying to nab the duo. The bus which Anil and Sunil had taken on contract is owned by a Delhi resident, Nanak.

Ghaziabad, June 14
A minor girl was allegedly raped in the Sarla Vihar Colony of Loni.

According to the mother of the victim, the police refused to register her complaint and so she has written letters in this regard to the DGP, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the National Commission for Women and National Human Rights Commission, demanding justice for her daughter.

The woman, Ramktori (name changed), who lives in a rented house in the colony, has in her letter stated that on the day of the incident, she had gone to her native village for some work. In her absence, a woman living as a tenant in their building enticed her minor daughter Champa (changed name) and took her out.

At some distance from the home, the local councillor and a youth were waiting for her in a car. The woman along with Champa got into the car that stopped at the office of a property dealer, where her daughter was raped by both the men at gunpoint, Ramktori alleged.

Afterwards, her daughter was left at a secluded place and warned not to utter a word about the incident or else her family would be killed, Ramktori’s letter stated.

When contacted, the local ASP H.Guptan said that the case was three months and needed to be brought to the knowledge of senior officers.

Ghaziabad, June 14
Verinder, alias Happy, an ex-serviceman, of village Dayanatpur in Hapur, was shot dead by two persons on a motorcycle on G T Road on Saturday afternoon.

Verinder had left his home for Babugarh on his bike at 3 pm yesterday. As he came on G T Road near Sambhawli Nursery, two youths on a bike started firing gunshots at him from behind. One bullet hit him in the chest.

The assailants stopped their bike near Verinder, stood there for sometime and then waving their revolver in the air, sped away towards Kutchesar Chopala. As some wayfarers found Verinder still alive, they informed the police which reached there and rushed him to the hospital. But the doctors declared him dead.