New Delhi, October 21
In an unprecedented move, Delhi University (DU) has increased examination fees for different courses by more than double in one go.

In a circular issued by the university administration, students have been asked to deposit the fees along with the examination forms.

The examination fee for graduation courses has been increased from Rs 50 to Rs 100. The fee for masters courses has been increased from Rs 75 to Rs 150. A drastic hike has been introduced in the thesis fee of PhD students from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000.

Also, the fee for re-evaluation of marks has been hiked from Rs 200 to Rs 500 per paper and from Rs 100 to Rs 300 for rechecking. The university has started charging the students Rs 10 per examination form, which was previously given to the students free of charge.

Even for the students, who submitted their examination forms before going for Divali holidays have been asked to deposit fees according to the new structure.

“This undemocratic move has come in the wake of human resource development (HRD) ministry’s notice to the universities regarding cutting down on the expenses spent on the students,” said Robert Rehman Raman, Delhi state president of Students’ Federation of India (SFI).

The students alleged that immediately after receiving the “austerity drive” note from the ministry, the DU vice-chancellor Deepak Pental issued a circular on September 19 informing the students of the hike.

“As the university was close for the festivals, the circular went unnoticed. With the examination process starting now, there is a lot of resentment amongst the students,” said Robert.

According to the new fee structure, the students have to pay Rs 100 for the statement of marks that was earlier given to them at Rs 50. To cap it, there is major hike in late examination fee.

“Our seniors paid Rs 2 per day as late fee while depositing the examination form and now, we have been asked to pay Rs 25 per day which also would increase after two months of the given time,” said Nikhil Malik, student, Arts Faculty in DU.

The students added that the fee hike was against the basic idea of making education egalitarian. “The responsibility of the university administration was to look into the interest of the students and not follow ministry’s orders blindly. While doors are being opened for the deprived sections like OBC in the university, increasing fee at this level would only block them away,” said Mahavir, an MA student from Ram Lal Anand College.

The DU faculty has also joined hands with the students in opposing move on fee hike.

The members of the university Academic Council (AC) and Executive Council (EC) said they were not even consulted before issuing the circular.

“Our colleagues in the EC have raised the matter in the meeting and opposed it vehemently. The vice-chancellor did not even think it necessary to consult the key bodies,” said Shaswati Majumdar, former president, Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA).

As part of the notice, the students would be asked to deposit Rs 600 per semester as examination and evaluation fee.

“With the vice-chancellor also pushing for the semester system in the university, the students would be submitting Rs 600 after each semester,” said Majumdar.

In a joint meeting of several students’ organisations on the university campus today, the students decided to come to the streets to oppose hike. Students’ organisations would hold a demonstration at the vice-chancellor’s office on October 29.

New Delhi, October 21
The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has imposed a fine of Rs 1.68 crore on the BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) for the unprecedented loadshedding in June.

The commission has held the company guilty of violating 672 provisions of the Indian Electricity Grid Code (IEGC) and Delhi Grid Code (DGC) and for indulging in overdrawal of power from the grid.

The action was part of an interim order by the electricity regulator after it took suo motu cognisance of the ‘unprecedented loadshedding’ in June, 2009, especially in the areas served by BRPL.

The commission has also levied Rs 1 lakh penalty on the then BSES CEO, Arun Kanchan, after finding him guilty of non-compliance of the provisions. The penalties should be remitted before November 15.

According to the commission, three distribution licensees BRPL, BYPL and NDPL were responsible for the load shedding of 32.655 MUs, out of which BRPL had done load shedding to the tune of 24 MUs.

However, officials concerned said the orders were being studied. “Any reaction would be given only after studying the orders,” they added.

“The Commission has found that BRPL was dependent on overdrawal of power from the grid in violation of the provision of Indian Electricity Grid Code (IEGC) and Delhi Grid Code (DGC),” an official of DERC said.

The Commission, in its interim order, also said the CEO of BRPL did not take steps for arranging adequate power like purchasing from the power exchange that had led to the unprecedented loadshedding.

It has directed BRPL to maintain uninterrupted power supply in future and inform the consumers in advance about the anticipated disruption in supply due to reasons beyond control.

“A penalty up to Rs 5 lakh for every two lakh KWH units unserved can be imposed by the commission if the electricity could not be served,” he said, adding that this implies to all discoms.

Earlier, the commission issued a notice on August 6 to show cause why actions like suspension of distribution licence should not be taken against them for failure to maintain grid discipline and indulging in persistent overdrawal from the grid.

A committee of experts has also been constituted to probe the actual quantum of loadshedding, which still remains unverified, and based on the report (which will be submitted within a month), action will be taken in this regard.

The electricity regulator also decided to install a terminal of the SCADA system on the premises of the commission to monitor the functioning of the discoms.

New Delhi, October 21
Come December, over 100 elite commandos of the country’s best crack force, the National Security Guard (NSG), will be deployed for round the clock anti-terrorist and anti-hijack operations in the Indian Capital and its surrounding areas.

According to highly placed sources, the decision was taken in the aftermath of the audacious 26/11 Mumbai terror attack nearly a year ago in which Pakistan-based militants killed over 170 people. With the exception of one, all the terrorists were gunned down by the NSG commandos, also known as Black Cats, in an operation that lasted over 60 hours.

“The decision to keep 120 NSG commandos on 24X7 standby was taken after the Mumbai attacks. In August, we acquired some land adjacent to Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. The construction of 120 barracks, which will house the commandos and their officers, is on in full swing,” a senior security official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

“We expect to complete the construction by December this year. These barracks would be pre-fabricated or semi-permanent. An office is also being raised from where the commandos would be functioning. Construction is also being carried out to keep weapons and gazettes and equipment,” the official said.

Sources said the presence of NSG men round the clock would save at least two hours and make the force more lethal and potent.

“We had our men deployed at the airport. But these men were going home after performing their duties and others were replacing them. Now they can be permanently positioned there and perform round the clock,” said another security official.

“These men would be so close to the airport that they just have to open a gate to carry out operations full throttle. A helipad is also being constructed to airlift the commandos for swift action,” the official added.

The officials said these men would not be restricted to the Delhi airport. They would be sent to any place in the national capital or, say, in the northern part of the country, wherever their need is felt.

“These first 120 commandos would be the first to react or reach in any terror or hijack situation. They would be the first to be dispatched to the incident site. Simultaneously, the second or third team would be sent from our training centre in Manesar in Haryana to back them up,” said the official.

“It would help us in cutting our response time significantly and help in quick mobilisation of troops. We have learnt our lessons from the Mumbai terror attacks where we reached seven hours after the firing had begun,” the official said.

During the Mumbai attack, a lot of crucial time was wasted as the NSG commandos were called from Manesar to the Delhi airport - a drive of 40 minutes.

More valuable time was lost as the NSG team had to first load their weapons, gazettes and equipment into the truck from Manesar to Delhi, then offload it at the airport and again re-load it in an aircraft. Finally, it was off-loaded at the Mumbai airport. Again, the weapons, equipment and gazettes had to be put in public buses at the Mumbai airport before being finally taken to the terror site.

Learning lessons from the Mumbai tragedy, the government has opened four NSG hubs in Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai, each having strength of 241 personnel.—IANS

New Delhi, October 21
Even as the Punjabi language is spreading globally in countries as far as Canada and the USA, the language has become unpopular among children and youth in the national Capital. Actually, it has been reduced to a language that is only used and seen on signboards on roads.

The number of students learning Punjabi is constantly declining and no non-Sikh institution teaches the language any more. The language is dying a slow death in Delhi and this is what is worrying the teachers of the language.

In fact, a majority of institutions in Delhi do not offer Punjabi as a course at the school and college levels. On the contrary, by 2011, Punjabi is set to become the fourth most popular language in Canada, after English, French and Chinese. This was said by the Canadian immigration authorities a few days ago.

In Delhi, only the institutions run by the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) or other Sikh bodies are struggling to keep the language alive. Private schools in the Capital do not offer Punjabi as a course and government schools don’t have this facility as they do not hire Punjabi teachers.

Students are reluctant to learn Punjabi, says Professor Harinder Pal, vice- chairman, Gurmat College. He adds “The condition of Punjabi is sad in the Capital. The primary culprits are Punjabi women who do not talk with their children in Punjabi and so, children fail to develop a bond with the language. The younger generation is drifting away from Punjabi and has little or no exposure to the language.”

“It is no surprise that children do not want to learn Punjabi. Youngsters feel that Punjabi is a hurdle in their progress,” added Pal.

Punjabi is taught in 13 public schools run by the Committee in Delhi.

Parents show interest. However, children are reluctant to learn Punjabi, opines a professor.

Harmeet Singh, director of Guru Nanak College of Education in Delhi says, “We have started teaching Punjabi from this year. However, only 15 students have enrolled for the course.”

“With Punjabi providing no job opportunities, the interest is waning. Perhaps the only job option after studying Punjabi is to teach in the handful of schools. The salary is often very low. I do not see the interest picking up in near future,” said Harmeet.

Professor Harvinder Pal echoes the sentiment. “Students believe there is no future with the language. No jobs are available on the basis of Punjabi. Even in few colleges where jobs are available, there are no takers,” he said.

The director of Bhai Vir Singh Sadan, Mohinder Singh, says, “Young minds have drifted away from Punjabi. It is an uphill task to bring them back.”

The Sadan is one of the few bodies who are trying to keep the dying language alive. Programmes to promote the language include translating stories written in other languages into Punjabi and preparing special CDs of Punjabi rhymes. The Sadan also runs Punjabi classes on Sundays. There are approximately 35-40 students for these classes. The Sadan also organises summer camps for school-going children where they are taught popular Punjabi stories, shown documentaries and are made to interact with eminent Punjabi scholars.

New Delhi, October 21
The South district police has arrested three burglars/robbers, who were wanted in several cases in Delhi and the NCR and recovered stolen property worth lakhs, including mobile phones and gold and silver coins. 

They have been identified as Gajjan (25), Mithun (20) and Nandu (27) and are residents of Guna district in MP and belong to the Pardi tribe. The three were arrested from Guna after the investigation in some farmhouse robberies pointed towards their involvement.    

During interrogation, Gajjan disclosed that he came to Delhi several times with his gang members and mainly operated after midnight and targeted farmhouses or lonely houses. They used to enter the house by climbing the outer wall and overpower the inmates by showing firearms and knives and tie them with ropes. They mainly looted cash and jewellery.

New Delhi, October 21
A local court today dismissed the bail plea of top-rung Naxal leader Kobad Ghandy and directed the AIIMS to find out whether he is fit to undergo a narco-analysis test as requested by the police.

While dismissing the bail application of arrested CPI (Maoist) polit-bureau member Kobad Ghandy, chief metropolitan magistrate Kaveri Baweja asked the medical superintendent of AIIMS, New Delhi, to form a panel to decide whether the narco-analysis test could be performed on Ghandy.

The panel would submit report by October 29, the day when Ghandy’s (59) judicial custody ends.

The court passed the order after Ghandy’s lawyer opposed the plea of the Delhi police for conducting the test on grounds that he was suffering from heart disease and could not withstand any such test.

Expressing its inability to obtain information from Communist Party of India-Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy, the Delhi Police had sought court permission yesterday to conduct narco- analysis test on him.

The police also said it could not extract the useful information due to his non-cooperation.

Counsel for the accused, Rebecca M John, contended that consent of the accused in conducting such tests should be mandatory and said the issue of whether consent of the accused was necessary for such a test was still pending in the Supreme Court.

Public prosecutor Naveen Kumar told Kaveri Baweja that Ghandy was a senior functionary of the banned CPI (Maoists) and was involved in their plans to establish a red corridor in India with help from Nepali Maoists.

Kumar also said the killing of Jharkhand police inspector Francis Induwar, who was beheaded after being abducted, was also linked to Gandhy as there were reports that the Maoists had sought his release in exchange for the safety of Induwar.

However, Ghandy’s counsel Rebecca M John had denied the charges against him.

The Maoist leader, who was in charge of expanding the proscribed organisation’s influence in urban areas, was arrested on September 21.