New Delhi, October 5
As the prices of vegetables, especially potato and onion, soar in the domestic market, it is the onion that is specifically bringing tears to the eyes of not only housewives but also to the local retailers in the city.

Prices of these perishable commodities are not showing any sign of coming down. They are hovering around Rs 25 per kg in Azadpur Mandi, Asia’s biggest vegetable market.

One has to shell out Rs 20 for buying a kg of potatoes. So is the case with other vegetables like ginger, garlic, pea and cauliflower.

The price of potato has doubled as supplies are mainly coming from cold storages in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. During the last one week, the retail prices of potato in Delhi jumped more than 33 per cent—from Rs 15 per kg to Rs 20 per kg.

The wholesale price of potato in the Azadpur Mandi has risen from Rs 380 per quintal last year to Rs 1,330 per quintal this year. “The potato that we sold for almost Rs 4 per kg during October last year is costing us Rs 16 to 18 per kg now. The retailers are also suffering along with the common man. There is no way to make profit,” says Umesh Aggarwal, a wholesale retailer in the Azadpur Mandi.

Recently, Agricultural Marketing Information network (Agmarknet) showed that the wholesale price of potato has witnessed a hike of more than 21 per cent. The records clear that the price of potato has risen from Rs 987 per quintal in July to Rs 1,200 per quintal in the second week of September.

Around 80 to 100 trucks loaded with onions reach the city from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan every day.

“The recent flood in Karnataka has destroyed the crops. This has eventually hiked the price of onions. The position is so bad that it is not surprising if the price of onion reaches Rs 35 per kg in the coming days,” says Bishan Lal, retailer in Azadpur Mandi.

However, after the arrival of fresh harvests from Rajasthan in November, the prices may go down, he added.

According to the figures confirmed by the retailers in the wholesale market, the rate of onion during this month last year was Rs 13 to Rs 17 per kg against Rs 22 to Rs 25 per kg this year.

Though no meal is complete without onion and potato for most of the families, housewives are forced to forgo them from the list of vegetables they like to purchase today.

Anita Bura, a resident of Saket, says, “Last week, I went to buy vegetables and I spent more than Rs 100 for buying onion, potato, tomato and brinjal. How will one survive without eating potato and tomato?” says Sunita Chauhan, a housewife.

“After the prices of cereals dropped, the prices of vegetables soar. Something or the other keeps disturbing the budget of a common man,” she adds.

Raju Kishan, a vendor who sits near Mayur Vihar Phase –I, says, “Since the prices of potato, onion, tomato and garlic have gone up, the profit margin has shrunk. It is difficult for us to earn a profit of more than Rs 2 per kg in any commodity.”

New Delhi, October 5
Six students were today injured when a fire broke out in a Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) school in south-west Delhi.

The blaze was reported from the municipal primary school in Bapraula village in Najafgarh at around 11 in the morning, fire brigade officials said.

The fire broke out in an electric meter due to a suspected short-circuit. Six students standing near the meter suffered minor injuries. Two fire engines were rushed to the spot, said the officials.

The injured students were immediately admitted to a nearby hospital where they were given first-aid and later sent back home, the officials said.

The incident brought to the fore the need to improve safety measures in government and civic-body run educational institutions as the school had flouted the Supreme Court’s guidelines, which say that students have a fundamental right to education in a safe building.

The Supreme Court was appalled by the lack of safety measures in government schools, a primary factor that had resulted in similar accidents in the past.

The flouting of SC’s guidelines relating to safety of children in school buses can lead to more unfortunate incidents as the authorities have turned a blind eye to the 2009 ruling.

The accident comes close on the heels of a stampede in a government school in north-east Delhi which claimed the lives of five girl students.

Noida/ Gzb, October 5
Sunday brought tragedy to the families of seven persons who lost their lives in accidents.

Two cousin brothers were crushed by a bus, while two men lost their lives when their bikes collided head on with another bike at Manjekhera village in Greater Noida. A youth was knocked down by a truck while another was killed by a mini truck in Ghaziabad. A woman lost her life as two bikes collided in Garh Muketeshwar.

The first incident was reported from Sector 82 in Noida. Gaurav, a resident of Bhangel and his cousin Niranjan were going towards Phase-II on a bike when a Ghaziabad-Kasna bound private bus hit the bike from behind. They were then run over by the bus. Gaurav and Niranjan were injured and were rushed to the Prayag Hospital in Noida. They were declared brought dead.

The angry people damaged the bus and blocked the road. The police had to resort to lathicharge to disperse the angry protestors. The police’s intervention saved the bus from being torched. Seven persons have been arrested. Meanwhile, the police is trying to nab the absconding bus driver.

While two men were killed when a bike coming from the opposite direction hit their bike near Manjekhera village in Greater Noida. The victims Dharampal of Kheri village and Pinto were returning to Dankore on a bike when the incident took place. They were rushed to a Dadri hospital where they succumbed to their injuries.

In another such cases reported from Ghaziabad, two persons were killed in separate accidents on Sunday. Sachin, a resident of Nand Gram, was knocked down by a truck at Meerut road. He succumbed to his injuries on his way to hospital.

Another youth Kishen was knocked down by a Tata-407 in the Sahibabad area.

Amit (22) of Bhajan Pura in Delhi died after he slipped from local train.

New Delhi, October 5
To study agencies, boards, corporations, departments, schemes and programmes of the state government and municipal corporation, the Centre for Civil Society has brought together a citizen’s handbook.

With its primary objective of encouraging greater citizen’s participation in the functioning of government, the handbook has been prepared by youth who were enrolled by the centre for an annual research internship.

The handbook would contain critical information about the functioning and role of each government institution in Delhi and residents of the city could support their cases pending with these authorities by backing them with the handbook.

Twenty-one budding researchers were selected as interns this year by the organization. They gathered information from government officials, retired officers and from the people affected, positively or negatively, by these organisations.

Over 200 students have already gone through the training on social and economic issues via training in the skills of research, analysis and writing.

One of the interns of the 2008 batch has written a paper on ‘Public toilets in Delhi for women in slums and resettlement areas”. The paper received much encouragement and was consulted by the MCD.

The handbook would be released in the city tomorrow.

New Delhi, October 5
Since early morning an army of more than 500 people, including architects, engineers, supervisors and labourers, troops to a dusty 27-acre complex in east Delhi that is witnessing some of the most frenzied construction activities among the many such sites being readied for next year’s Commonwealth Games.

The area is littered with sand hills, granite, marble heaps, construction cranes and complex building-machinery. Another group of daily wage earners waits outside for day jobs in any of the 34 apartment blocks under construction by Emaar-MGF. A new road linking the complex to the south is also under construction, along with a practice arena for athletes next to the complex.

“The apartments will be ready by 2010 because the pace of work is frenzied,” said Aijaz Utsahi, a designer and supplier of tiles, marbles and plaster of paris (PoP), contracted by the builders.

Twenty-eight years ago, a sprawling village had been built at Siri Fort in the heart of the Capital for the athletes who had participated in the 1982 Asian Games. Now, finishing touches are being put to yet another residential showpiece, the Commonwealth Games Village, overlooking the Yamuna river and next to the landmark Akshardham Temple, for the athletes who will make it their home for the October 3 to 14, 2010 sporting extravaganza.

The township, unlike the Asiad Village which was rather spaced out and idyllic amid avenues, reflects the changing city-scape of the Capital.

The homes are sleek seven, eight and nine storied luxury apartment blocks laid out amid green landscaped parks, a mini golf course, a swimming pool and a club house which will be equipped with a food court and shopping mall. Each block has 12 apartments on an average. The township, taken over by the New Delhi Municipal Council for the Commonwealth Games, will be handed back to Emaar and the Delhi Development Authority in 2011, which will then sell the homes to private buyers after renovation and clean-up, said a senior official of the Dubai-based Emaar.

Emaar MGF Land Limited, one of India’s leading real estate developers is a joint venture between MGF Developments Limited and Emaar Properties PJSC (Emaar) of Dubai. Emaar is one of the world’s foremost real estate companies with operations in 16 countries. MGF has over the last 10 years established itself as one of the key players in retail real estate development in India.

The DDA will hawk 11 towers, while the remaining 23 will be sold by Emaar. “The floor areas vary between 1,900 and 2,200 square feet. The apartments are either two-bedrooms, three-bedrooms, four-bedrooms or five-bedrooms,” the Emaar official said.

Work is on in full swing at the village.

“I have supplied Italian tiles in cream and white for the rooms and matching darker shades for the baths. The finish of the walls, facade and ceilings will be textured with Italian marble grains and PoP,” Utsahi said.

A walk through a sample apartment at the Games Village was like a peek into a studio set — going by the sheer luxury of the homes. A four-bedroom apartment opened into a spacious drawing-cum-dining-cum-living room with four bedrooms (with baths attached) fanning out radially. Each bedroom gave out to a small terrace. The kitchen was a trendy built-in unit in marble, granite, tile and steel.

The bedroom floors are made with wood to give them a western look — and to ensure easy maintenance.

“The homes come furnished with air-conditioners and Italian bath and kitchen fittings keeping in mind the ethos of the international visitors in 2010,” the Emaar official said.

“Bookings started last year,” the official said. The prices of the apartments vary depending on the view. The homes facing the river are more expensive. “The homes are priced from Rs 2 crore ($420,000) onwards, with the smallest ones being the two-bedroom apartments,” the Emaar official said, adding the booking down payments for the apartments to be sold by the company range from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 40 lakh. — IANS

New Delhi, October 5
To keep a check on harassment of women during the upcoming Commonwealth Games to be held in the Capital in October 2010, the Delhi Commission for Women has decided to set up “gender help desks” around the city.

An organisation formulated by the Delhi government to create a sense of security and empowerment amongst women in Delhi, would discuss the intricacies of setting up the gender help desks in seminars and meetings.

“The issue of safety of women in public places has many dimensions to it. In context of any big public event it gets further highlighted,” said Sunil Negi, spokesperson, Delhi Commission for Women.

He added, “It is in this reference that the commission has felt a need to have a system in place for the prevention and check on exploitation or harassment women during the upcoming Commonwealth Games.”

The commission has specifically pointed out its apprehension about the exploitation of women in the labour sector as several massive construction projects would be taken up in the countdown to the games.

Human trafficking was another sector that the commission foresaw as troubleshooting.

Negi said, “Devising a system now, exactly a year in advance, shall help it gain swiftness in action by the time the games take place.”

The commission, therefore, proposed to set up the help desks where women could come up with their complaints, concerns and suggestions.

In relation to starting the formal consultation, the commission would hold meetings with police, hospitals, tourism department and Commonwealth authorities.

Noida, October 5
Not conducting P-3 round in polio campaign by the authorities has caused havoc in Gautam Budh Nagar district.

Seven cases of P-3 have been confirmed in the district this year while three out of them are from Kalaunda village in Dadri block alone. Experts feel not conducting the P-3 round has resulted in the virus spreading in the district.

In G.B.Nagar district, one child was affected by P-3 in 2003 while in 2007, two children were affected by P-3 virus. But during nine months of 2009, the number of children affected by P-3 virus has gone up to seven. If P-3 virus drops had been administered, the scourge would not have increased to his level, say the experts.

According to doctors of World Health Organization, medicines for controlling P-1 virus are being given to children for the last one year, with the result that only two cases of P-1 have been confirmed this year while not a single case of polio had come to notice in the last one year. That shows polio campaign is not being taken seriously in the district.

In Kaulanda village of Dadri block, the number of P-3 patients has become three. The first case had come to notice in February-March. Even after this, drops for P-1 virus continued to be given to children.

But with P-3 cases having increased abnormally, the state government has now decided to administer drops for P-3 virus in western UP districts. A joint team of WHO and health department is scheduled to meet the polio-affected kids in Mehendipur, Jalpura and Kaulanda soon.

New Delhi, October 5
The Delhi cabinet today gave its approval for setting up Rogi Kalyan Samitis (RKS) in place of the existing hospital advisory committees.

The decision has been taken with an aim to improve the quality of healthcare for all citizens, especially the poor and the vulnerable sections of society.

Briefing media after the meeting, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said the Samitis would ensure optimal utilisation of health institutions. They would also ensure greater powers and autonomy for medical superintendents and dispensary in-charges.

The Samitis would facilitate community participation and would monitor the functioning of healthcare facilities. They will also provide a mechanism for prioritised, rational and transparent use of funds given to hospitals and dispensaries. Each hospital, including maternity homes, will have a Rogi Kalyan Samiti.

At the state level, a state RKS cell would coordinate, monitor and carry out the administrative works. It will function under the state health society or the department of health and family welfare.

It has also been decided to set up district Rogi Kalyan Samitis under which dispensary-level Jan Swasthya Samitis will be set up.

As far as the composition of the Samitis is concerned, the hospital Rogi Kalyan Samitis will have an MLA as the chairman, DC (revenue) or a senior government official as vice-chairman, medical superintendent of the hospital as member secretary and other official and four non-official members. The number of members will not exceed eleven.

The district Rogi Kalyan Samitis would also have eleven members, including an MLA as its chairman.

New Delhi, October 5
The citizens of Delhi and surrounding areas have been enjoying a pleasant weather for the past two days. The Capital has recorded 2.3 mm of rain in these two days. The sudden change in weather is being attributed to a cyclonic circulation over the Maharashtra region.

According to the meteorological department, the weather may continue to be pleasant tomorrow as well. The sky will remain cloudy with one or two spells of rain and thundershowers, said an official of the Indian meteorological department.

The official said there was 60 per cent chance of precipitation on Tuesday, but Wednesday would see a clear sky.

"The maximum and minimum temperatures tomorrow are expected to hover around 29 and 22 degrees Celsius," the official added.

The change in weather was welcomed by residents of the city.

Vaibhav, a college student who had gone to Dehradun to escape the hot and humid weather of Delhi, returned this morning after he got the news of cool weather in the city. Similarly, Karan Singh, who works as an executive with a multinational company, said he was planning to go to a hill station, but now, with the change in weather, he had changed his plan.

New Delhi, October 5
A 27-year-old woman died today of swine flu at Safdarjung Hospital.

She was a confirmed case of H1N1 virus, said a health official and was suffering from rheumatic heart diseases. She was brought from Escort Heart Institute on September 25.

Besides, 27 positive cases of H1N1 influenza, which include 15 children, were identified today in various hospitals.

As many as 2,920 cases have been treated in designated government hospitals, out of which more than 90% patients have been discharged. Till date the figure of children falling prey to H1N1 has reached 1,535, said the official.

New Delhi, October 5
Three persons, including a woman, committed suicide in three different parts of the national Capital in the past 24 hours.

A 22-year-old woman hanged herself from the ceiling of her room at Nangloi in west Delhi last night. According to the police, Anu Devi was discovered dead today morning by her husband Rajveer when he returned from work after night shift.

"Anu hanged herself with a stole. We are investigating the reason that led her to take the step," said the police.

The couple, who got married about two years ago, lived in the Ambedkar Nagar area of Nangloi. Anu was taken to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital where a post- mortem was conducted later.

An SDM inquiry has been ordered and the police would file the case accordingly.

"In cases like this where a young bride kills herself, it is important to investigate if she was manhandled or tortured by the in-laws or husband for dowry or any other reason. An SDM enquiry will establish the reason of suicide," said a police official.

In the second case, a 22-year-old man burnt himself to death in the Bawana area of Outer Delhi around midnight yesterday.

According to reports, Rajvir poured kerosene over himself and then set fire.

"His mother who was sleeping outside the house saw smoke coming out of Rajvir's room and rushed to help him. However, she could not do much and Rajvir was declared brought dead at the hospital," said the police. Further investigations in the matter are on.

In yet another incident of suicide, a 24-year-old man committed suicide by hanging himself in Vijay Vihar Colony. Jagdish used a rope to hang himself.

His body was discovered today morning by his family members. The post-mortem was conducted at Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital and police is investigating the matter.

New Delhi, October 5
Two Delhi police personnel were allegedly beaten up by a known criminal and his associates in the Fatehpur area of south Delhi on Saturday night.

The assailants allegedly tore the policemen’s uniform, dragged them on road and hit them with liquor bottles.

A senior police official said the two policemen have been identified as constables Ashok and Ram Niwas while, the assailants have been identified as Mani, Irfan, Razzaq, Iliyas, Sabir and Sahu. Mani is the gang leader and was in Tihar Jail till recently.

“The constables were on patrol duty in the area when they saw the assailants having liquor near a wine shop at Dera Mor. When confronted, the assailants attacked the constables,” said the official.

The constables reportedly, tried to run but could not. They were beaten up for nearly half an hour.

One assailant tore the uniform of constable Ram Niwas while another hit Ashok with liquor bottle.

Ashok suffered injuries on his head while Ram Niwas received injuries all over his body, said the official.

He added Mani instructed his associates not to let the policemen go and asked them to thrash them more.