New Delhi, August 29
City’s conservationists maintain that years after Sir Edwin Lutyens’ architectural pursuits robbed the national Capital of its ancient grandeur and cultural riches, the ongoing civic centre project of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi in Shahjahanabad (old Delhi) has come up as a healer. After Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) pointed certain glitches in the planning and designing of the project, the civic body has asked the Delhi chapter of INTACH to come up with their recommendations.

The representative of Delhi unit of INTACH, conservationist Prof A G K Menon said, “About hundred years ago, Lutyens had separated Shahjahanabad from the rest of Delhi, and the urban design study that we are carrying would see how Shahjahanabad can be integrated with the rest of the city.”

Adding, he said that the civic centre project should be leveraged as an opportunity to heal the wounds inflicted by Lutyens. “Shahjahanabad, which is now known as “slum” is losing its ancient cultural merit, and this project can initiate the process of healing. It is projects like these that can revive the glory of the city,” he stressed.

The 28-storyed building, standing tall is supposed to be the tallest single-complex building in the country and has already come up with a parking lot having a capacity of 2500 vehicles, and the objections raised by INTACH pertains to the traffic management in and around the area. The reason being that the area is also

expecting Metro, connecting Delhi Airport and Minto Road.

Deep Mathur of MCD said, “The building, which would house both the offices of the civic body and income tax cell, is ready. However, the allied traffic management project, which accounts an expenditure of Rs 200 crore, is awaiting the proposal of INTACH.”

Prof Menon outlined, “We have been holding dialogue with the MCD for ten days, and now we have been asked to submit a proposal within three-four weeks. The key element of the study would be its focus on the distribution of space equitability for the car users as well as buses, pedestrians and cycle riders.”

According to Prof Menon, it is vital because only 13 per cent of the travelling public use cars as a medium of transport. He observed that this design study would introduce an urban design perspective, rendering the civic centre project more human.

Urban development has become the primary objective of the government, and the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) is attracting a lot of funds. But development should not be at the cost of heritage, and a blend is essential for a successful outcome, pointed out S K Misra, chairman of INTACH.

Meanwhile, INTACH would be anchoring a seminar on “Heritage and urban renewal” at Jodhpur in Rajasthan from September 2 to 5 during which conservationists and architects from India as well as across the world would assemble to share innovative practices in urban planning. 

New Delhi, August 29
Spicy mutton vindaloo, chicken xacutti, Goan vegetable curry, Portuguese soup...all this at a place famous for its ice-creams, burgers and sundaes! Fast food joint Nirula's has kept its promise of offering regional Indian fare, this time with a Goan food fest. Most Delhiites have lingering memories of visiting Nirula's, but the restaurant chain is keeping up with changing preferences and its Potpourri outlet in central Delhi shows how.

"Our aim is to constantly innovate and give our customers a compelling reason to come back to our restaurant. It prompted a revamp of the business strategy," said Vinayak Shourie, marketing vice-president of Nirula's.

"Changing lifestyles, coupled with the growing upper middle class population, has radically impacted the eating habits of Indians. Delhiites are always keen to experiment with new flavours and cuisines," he added.

Potpourri, Nirula's multi-cuisine speciality restaurant and salad bar at Connaught Place, housed in a British era building, is hosting the festival of affordable Goan food for the Capital's "middle class which loves to eat out." It began in August and will go on till September 30.

The spread on offer is a medley of Portuguese and Goan dishes beginning with a selection of soups -- caldo verde (soup of potato and spinach) and chicken coconut soup.

The spicy starters, tangy potato chops and fish rechado, explains chef Praveen Kumar, are a prelude to the main course flavoured with freshly ground coastal spices and red chillies marinated in vinegar.

"Vinegar and red chillies are a staple in Goan food because the Portuguese marinated and preserved their meat with vinegar and chillies during their long voyages to India," the chef says.

The entrees or the main course -- served with steamed Goan red rice -- are vettana (dry peas) curry, xacutti, vindaloo, prawn balchao and Goan fish curry.

The prices have been designed to cater to the young crowd, says Tejender Singh, floor manager Nirula's Potpourri.

"At the lowest end, soups cost Rs 70 and prawns are the most expensive at Rs 385. And food is authentic. It is for Delhi's middle class which loves to experiment with food," he says.

Regional food festivals with the slogan "World of Choices" is the hotel chain's culinary USP, says its management.

Nirula's has surely come a long way. Credited with introducing Espresso coffee in India in the 1950s and popularising ice-creams and sundaes among young school and college-going crowd in the Capital, it is dabbling in the ethnic and heritage flavours of India.

One of the oldest hotels in the Capital, Nirula's forayed into hospitality in 1934 as "Hotel India" in Connaught Place with 12 rooms, a bar and a restaurant.

After introducing Indians to Espresso coffee, it set up two speciality restaurants -- La Boheme serving Hungarian food and Gufa, an Indian restaurant.

During the 1970s, the company ventured into the fast food business with a pastry shop, snack bar, hot shoppe and ice-cream parlours. The Potpourri restaurant with the first country's first salad bar was also opened around this period.

Nirula's was the first restaurant in the country to have been awarded a food preservation licence in 1947, documents in the hotel archives show. It is now a national chain, with more than 65 locations in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.

"Ice-creams, however, still remain our core business," says Shourie.

The change in branding, says Shourie, came around the time when the company was acquired by Samir Kuckreja , CEO and managing director of Nirula's and Navis Capital Partners.

"Post-merger, the brand has undergone a refurbishing and is on an expansion spree. We revamped both our quick service model and fine dining restaurant and opened the flagship Nirula's Potpourri in Delhi in 2007," says Shourie.

"Along with revamping, we also diversified into other food retail formats like Express outlets, ice-cream kiosks, fuel station eateries to make it more accessible to customers. The restaurant had to keep itself afloat," he added.

In 2007, Nirula inaugurated the country's first ice-cream museum at its Noida ice-cream plant. — IANS

New Delhi, August 29
Power, water and security crises and lack of required infrastructure and other amenities, including absence of attractive industrial incentives, have forced a good number of NCR industrial units to expand their base in Himachal and Uttarakhand.

These findings are revealed in a random survey conducted under the aegis of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) on ‘shifting of industrial units from NCR to neighbouring states’. The survey also highlights that UP has yet to be preferred by industries.

Haryana and Punjab seem to have saturated as industrial units have chosen to cash in on facilities provided by smaller states of Himachal and Uttarakhand.

D.S. Rawat, Assocham secretary general, said NCR could no longer be termed a very suitable place for establishing industry as its infrastructure was already under pressure.

“Moreover, power, water and security crises go on increasing. Even the law and order situation is not that good and conducive as it used to be until about 2005-2006. Since neighbouring states such as Himachal and Uttarakhand provide good facilities, a majority of industrialunits in NCR have grabbed this opportunity,” said Rawat.

The industries that have shifted away for larger capacity expansion and even re-starting their operations are auto components industries, engineering, plastics, pharma, IT and telecommunication industries.

As per Assocham estimates, in Noida alone over 2000 SSI units have shut their offices due to high cost of power and lack of tax benefits.

Even the companies who were adding on to their earlier capacities have either opted for Uttarkhand or else given up their expansion drive.

Companies like Lancer Foods, Priyagold, Haldiram and a number of paper and cardboard industries have already moved from Noida.

About 47 per cent respondents opined that the situation is worse in Ghaziabad and Faridabad where a large number of engineering, automobile and industrial units are functioning. Compared to Noida and Gurgaon, these two regions are facing the connectivity and infrastructure constraints in attracting the investors. 

New Delhi, August 29
In what amounts to be a major event for book lovers in the Capital, the 15th Delhi Book Fair opened at Pragati Maidan today. A large number of eager readers thronged the fair to catch a glimpse of the books on display. Union minister of state for corporate and minority affairs Salman Khursheed inaugurated the fair this morning. An array of events have been organised for the public.

Anand Bhushan, former president of the Federation of Indian Publishers, said, “We have organised many events for the coming days. These range from seminars, book releases and book readings by authors. Special events have been arranged for children too. Many leading authors and publishers will visit the fair.”

Bhushan further informed, “Over 300 publishers are participating in the fair. Penguin has joined for the first time. It will hold a special programme on August 31 — a book release-cum-panel discussion on a book.”

Saturday afternoon witnessed a charged panel discussion on banned book ‘Jinnah: India Partition Independence’ by former Bharatiya Janata Party member Jaswant Singh.

‘Kahe Nawab Kaviray’ by Nawab Shahbadi was released in the evening.

The fair has a sizeable component of overseas publishers. “Delegates from China, Abu Dhabi, the USA, Iran and Pakistan are coming for business-related discussion tomorrow. Many of them would introduce new books and authors,” shared Narendra Kumar, vice-president of the Federation of Indian Publishers and chairman of Diamond Books.

The Abu Dhabi Book Fair Authority will organise a seminar on copyright protection on August 31.

Some important events include book releases by Diamond Books and Goyal Publishers.

Another highlight event is the launch of former CBI director Joginder Singh’s book ‘How to Excel When the Chips are Down’ on September 1 by Diamond Books.

Narendra Kumar said, “We are introducing more than 100 books and authors. We recently published 21 books in Hindi titled ‘21 Shreshth Kalaviya’. We will also introduce a series of 10 books in Hindi called ‘Ikyavan Shreshth Vyangya Rachnaein’.”

He added, “People’s response has been good today and we expect much better response in coming days.”

The FIP and the Indian Trade Promotion Organisation, organisers of the fair, are also planning to host a stationary fair simultaneously. Seventy publishers will participate in it. There are special programmes for children at the fair like a programme organised by Bachpan Society for lower income kids and book releases of children books organised by National Book Trust.

Last year 290 publishers had participated in the fair. Over 2 lakh people visited the fair. 

New Delhi, August 29
A three-day-old boy born with his heart outside the chest — “a rarest of rare defects” — continued to battle for life at AIIMS today, with doctors keeping their fingers crossed.

The boy is crying incessantly. “He boy is on liquid diet and is stable. He is being treated for infection. Once the infection goes, we will do the surgery,” said Dr A.K. Bisoi, cardiologist at cardiothoracic and vascular surgery department.

“He is completely dehydrated,” he added. Bisoi said the child’s blood was infected. “His parents are lucky the baby is still alive. The infection has spread to all body parts. We are trying our best to save him,” he said.

Bisoi said the infant was suffering from Thoracic Ectopia Cordis, which is a birth defect.

“This defect occurs in five to nine cases per one million births and the mortality rate is very high,” he said. — IANS

New Delhi, August 29
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said that the government would construct more flyovers and underpasses to decongest traffic in the Capital well before the Commonwealth Games 2010.

She also announced that the transport department had placed order for purchasing 2,500 low-floor buses.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of underpass at Jwala Heri-Bhera Enclave constructed by Public Works Department, the Chief Minister said that during the last 10 years, over 40 flyovers have been completed. More than two dozens of flyovers, road overbridges and underpasses are under construction. More than two dozen subways have been completed. Twelve foot over bridges (FOB) with escalators are being constructed.

She also informed that five more ISBTs of international standard would be developed.

New Delhi, August 29
Delhi today reported a spurt in people infected with influenza A (H1N1) virus, with 38 fresh cases declared by the National Centre for Disease Control. The new cases, which include 34 indigenous cases and four with a history of foreign travel, are said to be the cumulative confirmations coming from all the diagnostic centres, including the four private labs.

The increased number of confirmed cases now is due to the promptness shown by people here in reaching out to the designated screening and testing facilities. This can be attributed to the inclusion of the four private testing centres— Dr. Lal’s Lab, Auroprobe Lab, Dr. Naveen Dang’s Lab and Super Religare Laboratories (SRL) in the list of designated testing centres of H1N1.

From tomorrow onwards, we are expecting more numbers as the pandemic has not ebbed, stated Dr Sanjeev Choudhry, CEO of SRL.

As per sources, the government is now thinking on the lines of permitting restricted sale of Oseltamivir (Tamiflu), a generic version of Roche’s Tamiflu, in the open market. And this is given the fact that the H1N1 fatalities across the country can be attributed to late reporting as much as to five days after the onset of flu symptoms.

“This would take a matter of 10-12 days, and would be taken only if situation warrants,” quoted a source from the union health department.

Also, the Drug Controller General of India Surinder Singh has said that in future it is likely that the retail sale of the anti-flu drug Oseltamivir, would be getting a go-ahead. Sources informed six companies, namely Cipla, Metco, Hetero, Strides, Roche and Ranbaxy have been granted licence for the manufacture and distribution of the drug. 

Noida, August 29
The health department raided three blood banks in the city. Some glaring deficiencies had come to light in the banks of two hospitals.

The officials said that notices would be issued to blood bank management. No professional blood donor was, however, found in any hospital.

It is learnt that after cases of blood banks without licence in Lucknow and professional blood donors were detected in Delhi, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to conduct raids on blood banks in the state to check that things are up to the mark and arrangements satisfactory.

During the last three days, raids were conducted in Prayag Hospital, Prakash Hospital and Medical Diagnostic Centre and Blood Bank by the health department teams.

Technical shortcomings were detected in two hospitals. The management in Medical Diagnostic Centre was not found satisfactory, it is learnt.

The hospitals where things were not found in order will be served with a notice by health authorities.

The raiding teams under Dr K.C. Chaudhary, technical director, blood banks, had chief inspector S.K. Chaurasia and Rohtak Kumar as members.

Greater Noida, August 29
The Javer police has arrested a sister-brother duo in connection with a Rs 1-crore loot from the family of a Dankore sarpanch.

The police has also claimed to have receovered Rs 6 lakh and a Scorpio car bearing no registration number from them.

According to superintendent of police (rural) Surinder Kumar Verma, the siblings were planning to buy land in Bulandshahr’s Jeet Makanpur with the looted money.

The arrests were made on Friday night.

The accused siblings have been identified as one Ravinder and his Nav Choli (Faridabad)-based sister Kamlesh. Verma said brother-sister duo were caught during a vehicle check on Rabupura-Sakandrabad road.

They were driving a Scorpio car that had no registeration number.

The police suspects the vehicle to be a stolen one.

The siblings had left Faridabad in the wee hours of Friday to have a look at the land that they were planning to buy.

The wad of the currency notes recovered from Ravinder and his sister bore Canara Bank’s seal on them, which helped the police to prove that it was the money looted from the sarpanch’s family.

So far, the police has arrested seven accused in connection with the loot. Four other accused are on the run. However, out of the total Rs 1 crore, only Rs 17 lakh have been receovered till now.

On July 28, Rs 1 crore was looted from sarpanch Manwasi and his family while they were going to register a land.

The criminals had indiscriminately fired at the victims.

The son-in-law of the sarpanch had sustained bullet injury in the shooting.

Verma said after the robbery the bandits, who were hired for the robbery, had stayed at Kamlesh’s house in Faridabad.

The hired criminals were , reportedly, paid Rs 3 lakh.