New Delhi, July 20
Sharing her political and personal experiences with students and faculty, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she never thought she was going to participate in electoral politics when she met husband Bill Clinton in college.

She said she was the president of the students’ council in her college and it was much later that she decided to become an active part of the American politics.

Amid tight security, Clinton addressed students and faculty of Delhi University (DU) and other universities in the Capital today in vice-chancellor’s convention hall.

More than 150 students from the management school of DU participated in the interaction.

Dressed in a formal white suit, accessorised with pearls, Clinton dealt with all the questions—personal and professional—with ease and confidence.

Connecting the issues of international relevance with her personal life, she had the full attention from the gathering.

The question-answer session was started by former DU Students’ Union president and NSUI general secretary Ragini Nayak, who asked Clinton if she was ever put at a disadvantage because of being a woman in politics.

In the answer, Clinton said in general women were being discriminated against at different levels in life. However, she herself never expected to reach where she was placed in the US politics today.

Clinton’s knowledge about India and its culture surprised everyone. She said the media was constructing stereotypes about India and America.

“People outside India think all Indians are beautiful and lived dramatic lives with happy endings because of Bollywood,” she said.

Clinton added that because of what Hollywood represents, people think “Americans don’t wear clothes”.

While talking of her differences of policy matters with President Obama, Clinton said it was the media that blew the differences out of proportion. “While you are fighting an election against someone, you must have differences on certain things. They were actually in degree and not in kind,” she said.

Clinton also spoke of her love for the Indian food. She ate so much whenever she was in India that she had to be on complete diet when she went back.

New Delhi, July 20
Students holding banners and posters today sent out a message to visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying the US should take responsibility for being one of the “biggest” contributors to climate change, before it blamed the developing world.

Siddharth Pathak of Greenpeace, an NGO that had organised the students’ protest, said, “The US is one of the biggest culprits contributing to global warming, which has led to an increase in the intensity of disasters, including the cyclone in Sundarbans, leading to a humanitarian crisis.”

“It is time they take responsibility for their actions and take concrete steps to lower the effect,” he said, standing next to students from Delhi schools near the India Gate. The students were in the age group of 12-14.

At a climate change event in Gurgaon a day earlier, Clinton, while acknowledging the US’ responsibility as the biggest historic emitter of greenhouse gases, said, “To lift people out of poverty and to give every child in India a chance to live up to his or her potential is a goal that we share with you. But we also believe there is a way to eradicate poverty and develop sustainably that will lower significantly the carbon footprint of the energy that is produced and consumed to fuel that growth.”

Pathak said, “We need strong actions globally to avert this crisis and these actions need to start from the industrialised countries.”

“Contrary to the imperative, the US has repeatedly failed to come up with strong domestic mitigation actions and is silent on the financial support for the developing countries to help the most vulnerable populations’ adapt to the impact,” he said. — IANS

New Delhi, July 20
During high-voltage discussion today in the Capital, a panel consisting of vibrant woman individuals discussed the various verticals of women empowerment. A day after women were exempted from paying fees for various national competitive exams, the subject with its focus around Women Reservation Bill (WRB) seemed to be quite topical.

In a male-dominated society, there are many women who despite having potential have not been able to make it into the mainstream.

Rajya Sabha MP and president of All India Women Congress Prabha Thakur said, “Though nearly 50 per cent of the country’s electorate is women, the representation of weaker section has never been over 8 per cent, except this time when it has gone over 10 per cent. To take the work further, WRB is imperative, and if not this then in the next session, we would see that the Bill is passed.”

The scenario has changed now and the fair sex is performing better in all the areas. Minister of state for rural development Agatha K Sangma maintains that political strengthening would act as a catalyst, especially for the rural women.

According to Agatha, the entry of women into politics would render a human face to policies, which would have a direct impact on them. “Women can usher in a new era of governance and administration, and their coming would help in weeding out corruption to quite an extent,” said Agatha.

However, animal activist and national secretary of BJP Youth Wing, Vani Tripathy feels that the root cause of women lagging behind is socio-economic deprivation rather than political representation.

There is much tokenism attached to women empowerment, and only an intrinsic leadership could effect a social catharsis in the status of women.

She said, “Presently, most of the women in Parliament and sitting for discussions like these belong to privileged families. But, nothing much has resulted out of it, and it is only a mass-level execution in rural and semi-urban areas that can effect a change.”

Various other aspects that made the session interactive and thought-provoking were hard facts surrounding female foeticide, domestic atrocities and dowry deaths.

Prabha reflected, “Against general beliefs, it is seen that the notion that a girl-child is a burden is more common among the urban educated people, who are much aware about family planning. And this mindset is embedded in families mostly of northern states vis-a-vis southern India.”

She hailed Goa as an example for others to emulate, for women are much more empowered there. In this context, Prabha informed that the Youth Mahila Congress is pushing for a property right on the lines of Goa’s Portugese Law, which declares wife an equal partner in husband’s earned or parental property.

Continuing on an emotional plane, Vani narrated with personal overtones, “Nowadays, women in rural and semi-urban areas are aware about their rights, but all is diluted when girls are still not allowed the space to take their own decisions and are clinched for marriages.”

Vani added that even though crores of rupees are pumped in the name of women through various schemes, the ground reality is that execution has been minimal.

She rued, “Though women are the providers of the world, they are not given their due honour. They are denied their basic needs and rights.”

Echoing the same sentiment, Agatha said, “The implementation has not been up to the mark even though huge allocations have been made to the rural sector.”

“Ensuring primary education for all girls till the age of 18 years along with improving access to health care can only better the living conditions of women. Grassroots political presence,” she suggested. 

New Delhi, July 20
The Delhi transport department has decided to install global positioning (GPS) and smart card fare systems in corporate buses that would run on city roads from September. Commissioner and secretary of Delhi transport department R.K. Varma said today.

The system would help in monitoring the movement of buses and is being introduced for the first time in the country.

Varma added the smart card fare system apart from being cheaper would improve the revenue of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), which is running in loss. Under this system, passengers will have to pay once a month.

Ashok Leyland and TATA Motors would deliver over 200 buses every month from August till February 2010. By February 2010, the city will have 2,500 new buses.

The department had started giving contracts to corporate houses to phase out Bluelines from Delhi roads. Contracts might be given to 17 corporate houses. Blueline bus owners are also associated with these corporate houses.

Varma said that the government had already signed a contract with Star Bus Service. It would ply buses on city roads from August or September on 30 routes.

Varma said the corporate houses would have to abide by certain norms. If they do not meet the conditions, they would be heavily fined. The DTC would employ its conductors in corporate buses.

If private operators delay buses or change their routes, an alert SMS would be sent to them, he informed.

Meanwhile, Blueline bus owners have been given six months to improve the condition of their buses.

Presently, DTC and Blueline buses ply on 300 routes. By 2010 they would ply on 650 routes, claimed Varma.

The transport department has also planned to start non-stop and lady special buses. Non-stop buses will have only two stations – the starting and the ending points. This would be mainly for Central Secretariat and Lodhi Road, Varma said.

New Delhi, July 20
Kanwarias, devotees of Lord Shiva, roughed up a bus driver over a minor row here today a day after some of them went on a rampage in west Delhi and damaged many vehicles.

Devotees of Lord Shiva offer milk and Ganga jal on a Shivling on the occasion of Shivratri in New Delhi on Monday. Tribune photo

Fakhruddin, driver of a Haryana roadways bus, was beaten up and his vehicle damaged after an argument with some kanwarias in the Burari area of north Delhi this afternoon.

“Fakhruddin asked for side when he was driving. A heated argument broke out between him and kanwarias. He was beaten up and the bus was damaged,” said a policeman.

He got injured and was taken to the Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital where he isrecuperating. A case was yet to be filed as the police was waiting for Fakhruddin’s statement.

“We are questioning eyewitnesses and probing the matter. No arrest has been made so far,” the policeman added.

On Sunday, a group of kanwarias disrupted traffic and damaged several vehicles after two minor accidents, in which two of them were injured and the Ganga water a pilgrim was carrying was spilled on the roadside.

The kanwarias, annually trek to Haridwar and walk back to their homes in distant places with water from the Ganga. — IANS

Faridabad, July 20
Shopkeepers in NH area of NIT in the city today blocked roads for more than two hours in the main market in protest against the decision of the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad to seal shops.

The shopkeepers are agitating under the banner of Faridabad Vyapaar Mandal against the decision of the MCF.

The shopkeepers blocked the chowks in markets NH-1 and NH-2 after holding demonstrations against the MCF which had come with a team to seal about a dozen shops.

The MCF sealed a shop, but had to withdraw following the protests from the shopkeepers.

The MCF in pursuance of the government policy wants the shopkeepers to procure Change of Land Use (CLU) for their commercial establishments as they were run in residential areas. The government had taken the decision in favour of the CLU as follow-up to the court's directive.

The blockade was lifted following the assurance of the commissioner of the MCF, C.R. Rana, that no shops would be sealed. However, he made it clear that the shopkeepers must fill in the forms for obtaining the CLU.

The president of the Faridabad Vyapaar Mandal, Jagdish Bhatia said the shopkeepers do not mind going in for the CLU, but the rate was prohibitive and discriminatory. According to him, recently the government fixed CLU rates ranging from Rs 300-400 per square meter on Mathura Road.

But the rate is Rs 8,000 per square meter in NH area.

Bhatia said the Vyapaar Mandal had submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and apprised him of the situation and urged for reducing the rate.

According to him, the residences and the shops in the area had come into being more than five decades back.

There was no justification in coming out with the policy penalising the shopkeepers.

The Vyapaar Mandal has cautioned to intensify its struggle if the government did not fix new CLU rate laced with common sense within a fortnight.

According to him, there were thousands of shops in Faridabad which have been functioning in residential areas for more than five decades.

The Vyapaar Mandal said that the shopkeepers were already charged with house tax on commercial rate.

Bhatia says that the argument of the Vyapaar Manda was that the shopkeepers already paying house tax at par with commercial rate structure, should be exempted from the CLU imbroglio.

Those opening new shops in the residential area could be brought within the ambit, he added.

New Delhi, July 20
Chairman of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (ACPC), Azadpur, Jai Kumar Bansal today refused to accept the demand of wholesale dealers of potato and onion of permanently allotting them bigger sheds. They were on a daylong strike today.

The wholesale dealers in potato and onion said they are shifted to bigger sheds when the supply of new crops come and when the season ends, they again come to small sheds. They demanded that the APMC should allot them big sheds permanently.

Their delegation comprising Umesh Aggarwal, member of the market committee, Virender Rana, Anil Kumar, Surender Budhi Raja and Padam Bhushan, today met Bansal to convince him about their demand.

But the chairman said that the big sheds could not be allotted on a permanent basis. This is given according to need.

Delhi minister of irrigation Raj Kumar Chauhan also refused to accept their demand, saying when new crops of onion and potato come the wholesale dealers in these vegetables are shifted to bigger sheds and when new crops of apple and other fruits come, the same sheds are allotted to the fruit shopkeepers.

New Delhi, July 20
As the world looks forward to the century’s longest solar eclipse on Wednesday, superstitions galore in India. But science experts have urged people to do away with “false beliefs” and watch the celestial spectacle — as long as they do so the right way.

“There are several false beliefs prevalent regarding solar eclipse. Some people lock themselves up in their homes to avoid ‘the bad rays’ from the eclipse,” said Nehru Planetarium director N. Rathnashree. Many take dip in holy rivers after the eclipse and some avoid cooking and eating during the eclipse. There are others who believe pregnant women should refrain from sewing during the eclipse as it can lead to deformities in the foetus.

“I have been told that during an eclipse the number of germs increase. Therefore, no food is eaten or cooked during the event, and any food cooked before the eclipse is discarded,” said 32-year-old Janaki Singh, a marketing executive.

Rathnashree said there was no cause for fear during eclipse but people should take precautions while viewing the phenomenon.

“The total solar eclipse is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It should be watched under supervision of experts. I am flooded with calls and e-mails from people who want to know the impact of solar eclipse on them,” she said.

But in the past few years people have allayed their fears and do come out in large number to watch such celestial events.

“We are organising trips to totality locations for people to watch the eclipse. People are so excited that they are ready to travel several kilometres from here to have a better view of the eclipse,” said Chander Bhushan Devgun, president of Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE).

SPACE, a Delhi-based organisation working to make science and astronomy popular among youngsters, is taking people to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Sasaram in Bihar.

The eclipse, which starts at sunrise at Surat in Gujarat, is expected to last 6 minutes 44 seconds, making it the longest till 2132. The moon’s shadow will be so large during the eclipse that even at sunrise the duration of totality will be over three minutes. — IANS

Greater Noida, July 20
A criminal case has been registered in the Dadri police station against five persons, including two advocates, for having fraudulently sold off land worth over Rs 1 crore. A woman had, reportedly, impersonated the actual proprietor of the land in the sale.

On April 21, 1983, Khazna Devi had registered her three and a half bigha land in Gulauti Khurd village in the name of Nepal Singh, son of Khazan.

A case pertaining to this land was filed in the court which had pronounced a decision in favour of Nepal Singh on May 19, 2005.

It is alleged before this decision could take effect, advocate Mahinder Singh Bhatti and advocate Anil Bhatti had got the land in question transferred in their own name by putting some dummy woman to impersonate Khazana Devi, the real owner.

Greater Noida, July 20
A 14-year-old boy who worked as a domestic help in the house of a retired IAS officer was found dead last morning. Golu, alias Karan, was found hanging from the window grill of the bathroom in the Green Woods Society house of Atish Sinha, a retired IAS officer of UP cadre.

Sinha had retired after serving the foreign ministry.

Sinha’s family claimed it was a case of suicide, but Golu’s family alleged that he had been murdered.

SP (city) S.K. Verma said, “Sinha’s daughter Anita Kaloti told the police in writing that Golu had gone to the bathroom last night.” When he did not return for long, she went to check and found Golu hanging.

Verma added, “Golu’s postmortem report stated hanging as the cause of death. This confirms that it was a suicide case.”

But Golu’s family is not satisfied with the postmortem report.

“We have informed his family that the investigation is on. Had their suspicion been corroborated with the postmorotem report, we would have lodgeod a murder case.” said Verma.