New Delhi, August 8
In a bid to deal with soaring prices of foodgrains in the national Capital, the Delhi government is planning to sell essential items at Mother Dairy outlets at much cheaper prices.

The government will hold a meeting next week in view of the rising prices of essential foodgrains and will decided about the measures to be taken against hoarders.

The meeting is likely to be presided by Delhi food and supplies minister Haroon Yusuf.

“We are looking forward to sell essential foodgrains at around 400 Mother Dairy outlets spread across the Capital. The proposal will be passed in a meeting next week. The items that will be sold at the outlet will include pulses and sugar but, eventually other items will also be included,” said a senior government official.

The sale of foodgrains at Mother Dairy outlets will be apart from the sale of pulses at existing government outlets.

The prices of pulses on sale at Mother Dairy outlets will be cheaper than those at the stalls set up by the government few weeks ago.

The arhar dal that is being sold at Rs 75 per kg at the government outlet would be sold at around Rs 70 per kg at Mother Dairy.

“The wholesalers are overwhelmingly coming forward to support the government in keeping the prices in check. Along with the Dilli Dal Association, the sugar wholesalers have also approached the city government to sell sugar in 1-kg packets directly to the consumers,” added the official.

The city government is making efforts to sell foodgrains at around 25 per cent less prices than the retail rates.

“The intention is to minimise the price hpike due to intermediaries and inventory cost. The wholesalers have told the government that they can directly handover the foodgrains in 1-kg packs. If need be, the government can also include edible oils among the items being sold at cheaper rates,” said the official.

Last year, the food supply department had busted a rice hoarder and had released 6,000 quintal rice into the market.

The Delhi government will intensify raids and inspections against hoarders of the foodgrains following drought-like situations prevailing in most parts of the country and will decide steps to be taken against them.

New Delhi, August 8
To bring about order on Delhi roads, the traffic police last night waged a surprise check and challaned 542 people, including 301 for drunken driving.

According to the traffic police, they had identified 40 points around pubs, bars, restaurants and major thoroughfares for checking against drunken driving. Teams from the enforcement wing of the Delhi transport department also assisted the traffic police in the drive. The checking, which took place between 9 pm and 12 night, caught many unaware.

Seventy-six persons were challaned for dangerous driving and 64 vehicles were impounded during the checking.

The driving licenses of all the drunk drivers were seized by the traffic police and the state transport authority. The state transport authority has initiated the process for suspending the licenses. The names of the violators will be regularly forwarded to the state transport authority so that their driving licenses are suspended/cancelled.

Noida, August 8
The exquisitely chiselled bronze elephants, with ceremonial bells and adorned with garlands, atop the stone pillars at Noida’s upcoming Bhimrao Ambedkar Memorial Park may present a visual treat for visitors, at first sight. But they are not in a welcome pose.

The common charge is that these elephants, with their trunks lowered, are a replica of Bahujan Samaj Party’s official election symbol. The elephants, it now appears, could spell trouble for the Noida Authority and the Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam.

The matter is under consideration of the apex court, the CEC— which recently examined the site in Noida for possible violation of the environment law as also if it posed any danger to the Okhla Bird Park and Wild Life Sanctuary. The Election Commission has also asked the BSP to reply by August 12 why action should not be initiated against the party for spending precious public funds to build elephant statues – referring to the party’s symbol at parks all over the state.

However, reacting to the EC’s directive, BSP general secretary Satish Mishra on Wednesday had clarified that “the trunks of elephants installed at the memorial sites were raised and in a welcome mode, which was different from the party symbol.”

The elephants installed at Lucknow’s Ambedkar park have their trunks raised, but this is not the case at the Noida Park, it has been pointed out. The rationale needs to be spelled out, it has been pointed out.

“The elephants at the Noida park resemble the BSP symbol with their trunks down. We will complain to the authorities concerned,” said Noida resident Anand Arya, who has petitioned the Supreme Court against the construction of the park.

Arya further alleged that around “25 elephants statues that were lying in a section of the memorial park till Wednesday were removed on Thursday when the committee members were to inspect the site as directed by the apex court”.

Noida, August 8
Public schools in Noida and Greater Noida have been ignoring a government order issued in 1991 reserving 10 per cent seats for SC/ST children. Interestingly, the administration also did not bother to check the compliance of the order all these 18 years.

The deputy secretary, education, Uttar Pradesh, had on Novemebr 30, 1991 issued a circular to all CBSE and ICSE affliated schools in the state, instructing them to reserve 10 per cent of the total seats for children belonging to the SC/ST category, failing which the state government would cancel the no objection certifactes (NOC) issued to them. The schools were asked to charge the same fee from such students as charged by the government schools.

For 18 long years, private schools in Noida and Greater Noida have not thought it fit to implement these instructions nor have the government functionaries ever thought of checking its compliance.

There are nearly 150 private schools in Noida and Greater Noida but, none of these schools has reserved 10 per cent seats for ST/SC students nor are the students charged as per the government school fee structure.

Ex-president of the Noida Parents Association A.K. Singh and president of the Noida Students Welfare Samiti Manoj Kumar said the neglegence tantamounts to cruelity to SC/ST students.

Some schools go to the extent of denying that they even received the circular.

Principal of Ryan International School Anuradha Sharma claims that her school opened in 1993, two years after the order was issued, so it is not covered by the order as it never received it. "However, we never never deny admission to any SC/ ST candidate," added Sharma.

Principal of Modern School Savitri Devi says no SC/ST students ever come to them for admission.

New Delhi, August 8
Launching another round of pulse polio immunisation drive today, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said it is to be ensured that no virus of polio enters the territory of national Capital.

She said that Delhi is hailed as a pioneer in the Pulse Polio Programme. The Chief Minister added, “Our state has shown better results in this field and with people looking up to us it is important that we should commit ourselves to eliminate polio.”

She complimented the Delhi Health Department officials for their efforts, and urged parents to come forward and bring their children up to 5 years for immunisation at polio booths.

Delhi health minister Kiran Walia said 8000 polio stations, would be opened at railway stations, ISBTs and public places, including major temples, metro stations, Millennium Park, zoo etc, from 9 am to 4 pm tomorrow to administer polio vaccine to children.

New Delhi, August 8
What is it about Connaught Place, the sprawling entertainment and business hub in the heart of the Capital that makes Delhiites so nostalgic and draws thousands of people every day?

Keventers, the quaint pre-Independence milk bar, says Delhi artist Megha Joshi.

Joshi has captured the essence of Connaught Place with a solid three-dimensional installation of flowing milk made of over 200 Keventers milk bottles. She is one of the 25 artists at a unique art residency project called “Connaught Place: The Why Not Place” at the Religare Arts .I Gallery in Connaught Place from Aug 8-27.

The 25 artists have been working round-the-clock at makeshift studios created in the gallery since May 27.

“When I was researching on Connaught Place, I realised that food bound Delhiites to Connaught Place, which is dotted with eateries. Most old-timers remembered Keventers, the rundown milk bar next to Wenger’s Bakery. Keventers is known for its iced milk and shakes served in oversized glass bottles,” said Joshi.

She has created a twisted river of milk through a complex pattern of bottles — from the wall to the floor. The bottles have been cemented with glue. A shard of glass shaped like a droplet of milk flows out of the last bottle that touches the ground.

For artist Pratibha Singh, Connaught Place is like a shrine. Her installation combines a series of small format art works in fluorescent colours that shows the bustling city centre through the eyes of a visitor from outer space.

The canvases with hazy maps of CP and its surrounding energy fields are placed in a shrine of white chiffon strips — which takes off from the small temples found in the back alleys of the area.

“I imagined I was a space traveller coming down to P. First, I saw nothing but pure energy fields and then a hazy outline of a bustling shopping centre. I used to walk around CP twice a day and I discovered that almost every tree had a shrine at its base with wish threads tied around them,” said Singh.

The idea for the residency project, a part of the gallery’s plan to set up a 360-degree arts platform, came up in October 2008 when “we were looking at activities for the lean summer months that don’t see much of art-related events”, said Mukesh Panika, director of the Arts.I gallery.

“We decided to use the gallery space as studios and conduct a residency programme for the first time. We wanted to explore group dynamics of artists working together and conduct a thematic experiment. CP emerged as the theme as it is (one of) the Capital’s oldest business districts,” said Panika.

A central collaborative art work of Connaught Place by 25 artists is a 70-foot-diameter circular layout of CP with three concentric layers of art depicting the outer circle, inner circle and central square.

Radial art panels fan out of the circle showing the roads leading out of CP. Hanging on top is a fleet of “happy cars” suspended by strings. The cars have wings and tails.

The nameless and faceless population of Connaught Place ride an installation of a fancy iron rickshaw painted white by Megha Joshi, while a canvas compares the din of CP to the sound of the sea heard through a conch shell.

Medico-turned artist Sanjay Sahai gives CP a rural feel on his canvas that shows “a tea stall and life in the underbelly of CP early in the morning”. Artist Satadru Sovan, who calls his works cyber-scapes — a psychedelic style which draws from images in cyber space — shows CP as a land of “cool dudes, hot chicks and flying birds floating in waves of bright neon colour bands through the huge white art-deco pillars of the inner circle”.

“My works have been inspired by a Facebook group known as Connaught Facebook that packs in information about the capital’s most happening stretch,” said Sovan. — IANS

New Delhi, August 8
With the arrest of one Sunil Kumar (23), the south district police has claimed to have solved 12 cases of snatching and vehicle lifting carried out in different parts of Delhi. Gold chains worth Rs 35,000, loaded countrymade pistol, a motorcycle stolen from Jamia Nagar and a mobile phone have been recovered at Kumar’s instance.

According to the police, Sunil was yesterday arrested from J-Block in Saket. One loaded countymade pistol was recovered form his possession.

During interrogation, Sunil disclosed that he had come to Pushp Vihar to commit some crime.

He also disclosed his involvement in various cases of snatching and motor vehicle theft.

Kumar has been arrested several times in the past also. While in jail, he came in contact with other criminals and formed a gang.

He was apprehended second time in 2004, and two stolen vehicles were recovered from him.

He continued his criminal activities after his release and was once again apprehended in New Friends Colony in 2007 after a brief encounter when, in order to escape, he had fired at the police.

“That time after coming out from jail, he became more active in his criminal activities and was again apprehended at Kalkaji in September 2008. Twelve stolen vehicles were recovered at his instance. Last time, he was released from jail in June 2009. This time, he changed his crime pattern and started snatching,” said HGS Dhaliwal, DCP (south).

The names and addresses of his associates have not been disclosed as the police is still looking for them.

Efforts are afoot to arrest the remaining members of his gang and more recoveries are likely to be affected.

New Delhi, August 8
With the arrest of five persons, the south district police has claimed to have busted a gang of interstate vehicle thieves active in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Sixteen stolen vehicles, one countrymade pistol, 120 duplicate keys, key making instruments and number plates of stolen motorcycles have been recovered from them. The accused have been identified as Pawan, Ravi, Naveen, Jitendra and Dinesh, all aged between 19 and 25 years.

The arrests were made on the basis of secret information. Based on a tip-off, the police team had asked two boys riding a Hero Honda Splender motorcycle to stop near Aurbindo Market. But, they tried to escape. However, they were arrested and later identified as Ravi and Pawan. The two could not produce the ownership paper of the motorcycle. On interrogation, they told the police that they had stolen the motorcycle from Kalkaji.

On their instance, one of their associates named Naveen Kumar was arrested. Later, one Jitendra, alias, Jitte was also arrested from Khurja in UP. The fifth accomplice Dinesh Kumar was arrested from Malviya Nagar. He was held driving a stolen Swift car. A countrymade pistol was also found from his possession.

All the accused have been remanded to police custody.