|
|
|
|
Rashtrapati Bhavan goes
eco-friendly
Wait for MCD’s new HQ gets longer
Now, roam free in Haryana |
|
|
Mission Gurgaon Development to open office today
Much-awaited Koyna girls hostel opens at JNU
Ragging not the rage at Jamia
CAG tells schools to file audited report
King Khan back as quizmaster
Actor Shah Rukh Khan shakes hands with an IIPM student on the institute’s campus in New Delhi on Saturday. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal
Man gets 7-yr jail for killing brother-in-law
Hemant Kumar made Haryana Cong secy
Hospital staffer robbed of Rs 1.24 m
Gurgaon to host Urja Diwas function
|
|
Rashtrapati Bhavan goes
eco-friendly
New Delhi, August 1 And this has been achieved by a one-year-old ‘Roshini’ initiative. The initiative was started on the President’s recommendation to help transform the presidential estate into a green, energy-efficient and zero-waste model township. According to Christy Fernandes, secretary, “The Rashtrapati Bhavan estate is a living heritage and microcosm of what India is. What we have accomplished here in eco-friendly terms can be emulated elsewhere in the country. The Rashtrapati Bhavan can serve as a model estate for the rest of India.” Some 13 projects have been undertaken over the past year to help make the estate eco-friendly. These include the construction of vermi composting pits to dispose of garden waste and produce organic manure. Some 96 composting pits have been constructed and they are being worked by women from the Self Help Group at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. A tree plantation drive has been undertaken on a large-scale to enhance the tree cover on the estate and along this line, a tree census has also been undertaken to find the status of trees. In most residential units on the estate, a piped gas connection has been set up to help residents save money. A sewage treatment plant has also been set up on the estate. Rainwater harvesting has been undertaken on a large-scale to help recharge the ground water level. Further, a field survey of the national bird has been undertaken to study its habitat to help enhance its population. Fernandes says that a decision was also made to eradicate the use of plastic bags. Recycled waste paper is being used to produce paper bags. An energy audit has been undertaken at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and a decision taken to harness solar energy for streetlighting and lighting the auditorium. A large number of solar panels have been placed on the roof of the auditorium.
|
|
Wait for MCD’s new HQ gets longer
New Delhi, August 1 The deadline for the completion of new headquarters of the MCD, which was March 31, 2009, has now been extended to December 31, 2009. According to MCD officials, the delay in the construction of 28-storeyed institutional complex at Jawaharlal Nehru Marg is because of the private contractors involved in the work. In fact, when the proposal for the construction of the civic centre was announced, the MCD leaders had claimed to complete the structure by December 31, 2008. The deadline was then extended to March 31, 2009 in view of the slow progress of the construction work. The corporation was slated to move out of Town Hall to the new office in July. But the current status of the work implies that the civic agency would actually be able to shift in the new office only in March next year. The MCD had also finalised its shifting plans, scheduled to take place in six phases. The engineering department will be the first section to move into the new headquarters. The MCD officials feel that having more knowledge of the construction, the engineering department would be able to take care of initial teething problems. However, the corporation had decided to move the deliberative wing in the last. “The decision to shift the offices of councillors has to be taken by the municipal secretary’s office. Also, once the departments start operating out of the new office, it will be easier to shift the councillors,” said an official. The total budget for the centre, which is spread over 1.16 lakh square metre, is Rs 550 crore. While the land for this project was allotted in 1983, work began only in 2005. Once the centre is complete, nearly 11,000 people are expected to visit the centre during peak hours every day.
|
|
Now, roam free in Haryana
Gurgaon, August 1
He said from now on, there would be no roaming charges for the BSNL mobile subscribers from any part of the state visiting the NCR districts of Gurgaon and Faridabad and Panchkula district bordering the state capital. Vice-versa, the Dolphin subscribers of Delhi will now be exempt from roaming charges while visiting the rural parts of Gurgaon and Faridabad districts. Till now, the BSNL mobile customers of Haryana, except the said districts, had to pay roaming charges while visiting these places as the Gurgaon and Faridabad districts fell under the Delhi circle and Panchkula under Punjab-Chandigarh circle. “At the same time, we will ensure that mobile as well as landline phone connections and sim cards are readily available to the people,” Hooda said, adding that three new BTSs to improve mobile services in the district had been commissioned at Garhi Harsaru, Shahpur Jat and Jaurasi villages. Hooda further informed that booking as well as installation charges had been waived for BSNL landline and WLL (CDMA) connections for a period of 90 days from July 28 to October 24, 2009. He said under Project Udaan, they had constituted four teams to cater to individual prospective customers at their doorstep. “Any local resident desirous of having a BSNL landline, broadband, CDMA FWT, EVDO or NIC data cards can now get these on just a phone call, sms or e-mail,” Hooda said and added that the interested persons could call at 1500, 1504, 0124-2313666; sms the requirement to 9416004242 or e-mail it to Udaan_ggn@bsnl.co.in. Hooda said BSNL broadband connections could now be booked at Gurgaon, Hailymandi, Badshahpur, Sohna, Nuh, Firozpur Jhirka and Nagina. He revealed that for the benefit of the rural consumers, the BSNL was offering a personal computer on a subsidised rate along with a 10 per cent discount on broadband plans. Hooda maintained that to improve the telecom services in Mewat, the BSNL had recently commissioned the OFC Ring for the district. “The BSNL customers can deposit their bills at Bhora Kalan, Khandsa, Jharsa, Pataudi, Hailymandi, Farrukhmagar, Sikanderpur, Wazirabad, Carterpuri, Sector 4, Gurgaon main and Shivpuri branches of the Gurgaon Gramin Bank. He asserted that BSNL had set up a new customer service centre at IMT, Manesar, adding that marketing camps were being organised for the benefit of customers in Gurgaon and Mewat districts.
|
|
Mission Gurgaon Development to open office today
Gurgaon, August 1 “We are inviting all citizens of Gurgaon to the inauguration of the office and to join hands and support this movement by becoming members,” R.S. Rathee, a core committee member of Mission Gurgaon Development, and president of Gurgaon Citizens Council (GCC) said. Mission Gurgaon Development is a joint initiative of the Gurgaon Citizens Council (GCC) headed by R.S. Rathee and the Federation of Residents Welfare Association (FORWA) headed by Dharam Sagar. “The office has been opened to facilitate ‘single-point’ contact with the people,” Rathee mentioned. “Our objective is to make it easier for the residents of Gurgaon to be able to contact us at a central point with their suggestions on how Gurgaon can be made the best developed city in India,” he added. “Citizens of Gurgaon can even file their grievances here, which will be recorded and taken up with the authorities on a weekly basis,” Rathee affirmed. A suggestions/grievances form has been designed which residents can fill in and file. Very soon the office will be developed to act as a resource centre for Gurgaon citizens, who can seek information about the various issues concerning our city. It is also proposed to open other sub-offices in other parts of the city in near future. “There is complete failure of governance in Gurgaon. Multiple agencies have created chaos in this city, with no accountability to the citizens,” said Sagar. “Everyone is fed up with the manner in which the city is being governed. Infrastructure, policing, transportation, environment, power and water – nothing is being run efficiently. Gurgaon is fast becoming an ugly and chaotic city. People are fed up and they want to change this. Everyone wants a better city,” he added. |
|
Much-awaited Koyna girls hostel opens at JNU
New Delhi, August 1 As the university gave five extra points to girl students, the gender ratio at JNU has changed drastically, resulting in shortage of hostel seats for girls. However, the authorities expect that Koyna would solve the hostel crisis to some extent. Last year, the university could provide hostels to only 67 per cent girls. The university has even started allotting rooms in the hostel from this academic session. More than 270 girls have already been allotted rooms in Koyna. The university is planning to fill remaining seats with freshers. Koyna has come as a big relief for girls, especially for some who have been waiting for a hostel for the last six months. However, JNU dean of students said the university never promised a residential facility to all students, who applied for it. The university prospectus states that hostel facility would primarily be provided to students from reserved categories, including SC/ ST and physically handicapped students. Besides, the central university has a considerable number of foreign students. The administration said its responsibility was to ensure that the foreign students also had an accommodation on campus. According to sources, most of the freshers have applied for a hostel and the number of hostel seats available at JNU would not be enough to accommodate the rush. This would increase due to the implementation of OBC quota. Presently, the university has 16 hostels of which three are for girls, seven for boys, four are mixed and two are for working and married scholars. |
|
Ragging not the rage at Jamia
New Delhi, August 1 She adds, “There has been no incident of ragging so far. However, we have put up notices for the benefit of students at large. But there is no need to worry on the ragging front at Jamia.” Students here do not believe in ragging. Imran, a second year student at Jamia said, “There is no ragging on campus. Instead we welcome freshers and help them attune to life at Jamia. Students stay busy with their studies or with extra-curricular activities. No body has time for ragging.” Afzal Khan, a fresher, said, “Since the time I have joined, we have had no ragging. Seniors are very helpful. Of course, we have had introductory sessions and mixing with seniors but there has been no ragging. I was very nervous about ragging and am relieved to see that there is nothing like this here at Jamia.” Students interact with each other and there is no threat of ragging any where on campus. Yasmin, a second year student, shared, “There may be strikes at Jamia. Students may get rowdy now or then, but I have never seen any ragging here. We believe in helping juniors. Seniors help freshers with the procedures during admission. We share amicable relations with juniors. We believe that every person has his or her rights which cannot be encroached. On the whole life is peaceful on campus. People stay busy with their own work.” Another student Rohit Garg said, “We believe in friendly and peaceful interaction with freshers. Freshers are invited to introduce themselves and that’s it. We never had ragging on campus and it continues to be the trend at Jamia. In fact we believe in helping freshers cope up with the university life and give their best.” |
|
CAG tells schools to file audited report
New Delhi, August 1 The CAG said that according to the rule 170, accounts of fees and contribution collected by a school should be maintained at the school office. The accounts would be inspected by the director, CAG or any person authorised by him. The CAG also said that huge public money was involved in running the unaided recognised private schools. Keeping this in view, the CAG provisions were incorporated in the legislation to ensure that the public money was not misused by the schools. The Delhi High Court also observed in its judgement, “The question of commercialisation of education and exploitation of parents by individual schools can be authoritatively determined on thorough examination of accounts and other records of the schools. The tuition fee cannot be fixed to recover capital expenditure to be incurred on the properties of the society. The schools can take voluntary donations not connected with the admission of wards.” In keeping with the larger public interest and observation of the court, it has been proposed to conduct audit of unaided schools in coordination with the directorate of education, government of Delhi. The Auditor General, Delhi, in the first phase selected 25 schools for audit. |
|
King Khan back as quizmaster
New Delhi, August 1 Thanking the institute for providing him an opportunity to hold a quiz competition, Shah Rukh said, “I have always enjoyed quizzing, be it onscreen or with my kids, and I believe quizzing helps in expanding one’s knowledge.” Chaudhuri said, “We have always worked towards creating some of the greatest B-School events and Dare’09 would not be different. This is an initiative to take B-School quizzing to a new high by making it globalised and more appealing.” “Shah Rukh’s presence will add glamour and brand value that such a world-class event so dearly deserves,” he added. Teams participating in the quiz have come from various Indian business schools like IIM-A, IIM-Indore, DMS IIT, IIFT, to global leaders like NUS, Columbia Business School in New York, China Europe International School from China and Cambridge University. The winning team will get Rs 2,50,000 as prize money, while the first, and second runner up would bag Rs 1,50,000 and Rs 1,00,000, respectively. |
|
Man gets 7-yr jail for killing brother-in-law
Noida, August 1 The senetnce in the case came after 18 long years. Aamir, son of a Khurja resident and Shabanam, sister of one Mohd Rafi, had got married against the consent of their families. Shabanam’s brother did not accept the marriage. He had tried to forcibly bring Shabanam back to his house a few times. However, after some time relations between the two families normalised. On May 25, 1991, Mohd Rafi took Aamir to Khurja for getting ghee, but Aamir never returned. A report was lodged with the Khurja police about Aamir’s disappeareence. After a few days, Amir’s body, which was cut into pieces, was recovered from Jahangirpur’s forest. The police registered a murder case against Mohd Rafi and seven others. According to assistant public prosecutor Prem Singh, the other seven accused did not appeare in the court, so the court issued arrest warrants against them.
|
|
|
Hemant Kumar made Haryana Cong secy
Gurgaon, August 1 Businessman and socialist DP Kaushik has been appointed the general secretary of the business cell. The announcements were made by Aasha Sharma, state president of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, here today. She said the Congress fully trusted the youngsters and felt that they had the energy which was required to work. “They will definitely solve the problems faced by people. Congress is proud of these youngsters,” she retreated, and added that the young leaders will definitely complete the work given to them. |
|
|
Hospital staffer robbed of Rs 1.24 m
New Delhi, August 1 M.L. Raut, an employee of Batra hospital in south Delhi, along with a guard was going to the Oriental Bank of Commerce in the area when he was attacked by three motorcycle riders. “The incident took place around noon. The bikers tried to snatch the bag carrying cash. When Raut resisted they fired in the air and fled with the money,” a senior police officer said. Nobody was injured in the firing.
— IANS |
|
Gurgaon to host Urja Diwas function
Gurgaon, August 1 Deputy commissioner Rajender Kataria today directed the concerned officials to make all arrangements for the programme. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will be the chief guest. He will inaugurate Rajeev Gandhi Akshay Urja Park near Leisure Park in Sector-29. He will honour the panchayats of villages adopting renewable energy appliances to the maximum. Kataria said a run to conserve energy would also be organised on the occasion. Over 5,000 students from class VIII to XII would participate in
it. — TNS |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Classified Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
The King Khan of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan was in the city today to host a quiz competition at the management school IIPM.
Details of the inaugural quiz, Dare’09, were shared by speaker Chaudhuri and Shah Rukh Khan at a press briefing.
This was disclosed by R.C. Hooda, the general manager of telecom, Gurgaon, here today.