New Delhi, December 31
Rocking parties, lovely crowd, best music, exotic drinks and varied delicacies were some of the highlights of the New Year Eve celebrations in the Capital.

As the night came by, the city lit up like a bride. The places hosting parties were glamorously decorated, with people walking in dressed in their best attires.

Although, most of the parties began as early as 7 in the evening, it wasn’t before 9 o clock that the best crowd came out of their homes. Even the fog couldn’t dampen their spirits. Amplifiers and bass speakers could be seen at almost every corner of the city.

While most parties were over by 1 am, it seemed that Delhiites were in no mood to quit.

Divisha, who landed at Capitol in Ashok Hotel, Chanyakyapuri, with her group of friends, said, “The music here is just fabulous. I can’t believe that that the deadlines cannot be extended. After this party we might go somewhere else to party more.”

Kartik, who came to Delhi from Chandigarh just for the celebrations, said, “After the five-stars close their parties, we might drift towards Gurgaon to some farm parties that will be on till early morning.”

Many youngsters also thronged Come-sum and other local dhabas for late night food afterdrinks.

“By 11 pm, their wasn’t enough space to stand in the club, so we friends planned to go on a long drive. We stopped at Haveli on the Sonipat highway and had amazing Punjabi food in the chilly weather. It was the best way to end the year,” said Mavik, who partied with his group of friends.

Those who organised house parties were also not complaining as they enjoyed in the comforts of their homes without any deadlines.

Vishal, who threw a private party at his friends house in Defence Colony, said, “If you want to throw a truly memorable bash, you would want to make sure that your guests have the best time and your party goes without a hitch. And being at home, we just had the best party ever.”

New Delhi, December 31
The Combined Aptitude Test for English (CATE) for students interested in an English honours course at Delhi University is going to be an examination with a difference in 2010. CATE is going online. Not only is the entrance test going to be available online but the forms for the CATE examination are also going to be available online.

In a big convenience to students, they can apply online and sit for the examination online this year.

A teacher from the English department at Delhi University informs, “Discussions are under way at the department to make the CATE examination forms available online. The idea is to simplify the application procedure by making CATE forms available online and giving students the option of taking the test online. A meeting was held recently to finalise plans along these lines. We should have a final decision soon on this matter.”

Delhi University’s Institute of Life Long Learning is offering an option for a problem-free online examination for CATE. They recently made a presentation for an online examination before the English department and this might be accepted as a model along whose lines the CATE exam could be framed.

The online test will most likely comprise objective and short answer questions.

A senior teacher from the Institute of Life Long Learning informs, “We recently made a presentation of an online examination pattern before the English department and the response has been very encouraging. A final decision is expected within weeks and our model will in all likelihood be accepted by the English department for CATE.”

So far, around 25 colleges have shown an interest in adopting the CATE examination pattern for the 2010 admission season.

This includes colleges like LSR, Miranda House and Daulat Ram.

The number of colleges who have shown an interest in CATE is almost double from last year. In 2010, CATE is expecting an addition of some 1200 more seats under it and this will take the total number of seats available through CATE to over 1500.

Last year, CATE was held for the first time in 2009 at Delhi University and 12 colleges participated in CATE which included Hindu and Indraprastha.

These colleges adopted the CATE examination pattern which covered some 350 seats. Out of 7000 applications that came in for CATE last year, approximately 6000 appeared for the test.

New Delhi, December 31
With the increased water tariff coming into effect from tomorrow, residents of Delhi will now have to be equally careful with their water bills as they are with power bills.

According to sources, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) will take stringent action against those violating rules like installation of illegal connections and non-payment of water bills. The DJB is mulling over granting six months’ imprisonment to those using illegal connections and two months’ jail to those not paying their bills for more than two months.

The DJB will depute magistrates in each district who will keep a vigil in their areas and punish those found guilty.

“As per a proposal, we will have metropolitan magistrates in each district to look into matters like illegal usage of water. Three magistrates have already been appointed who will take charge from January,” said RK Garg, member of water supply department.

DJB officials claimed that the board had been tough on those evading taxes. This has helped in increasing the annual revenue by Rs 30 crore.

“Intensive checking over the last few months suggests that illegal tapping from DJB distribution lines is taking place in some colonies. In some cases, the connivance of field-level officials cannot be ruled out,” said a senior DJB official.

The findings of the survey conducted by Tata Consultancy Services shows that in east Delhi alone direct connections have been taken from the mainline at 18 places. “Direct tapping gives 24x7 water supply to those who have procured illegal connection and reduces water supply in nearby areas,” he said.

Consumers will have to pay two to three times more than the earlier rate, as charges for using 6,000 litres have been waived.

The DJB substantiated the raise saying that the annual expenditure of the board amounted to Rs 2,000 crore, whereas the revenue generated was only Rs 450 to 500 crore. It thus incurred huge loss.

However, with the hike in water tariff, the total revenue is expected to rise by Rs 300 to 750 crore annually.

New Delhi, December 31
A 10-day-long photo exhibition on Delhi Metro celebrating the first anniversary of the Delhi Metro Museum at the Patel Chowk station started today. A specially-made handcraft model of the Metro train was launched on the occasion.

The train model is made of high-quality plastic and is covered by transparent acrylic plastic sheets.

“The model has been designed keeping in mind all the minute details and specifications of the original train,” said Anuj Dayal, spokesperson, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

Designed to cater mainly to the Museum visitors, who would want to treasure the metallic train model as a souvenir, it has been priced at Rs 10,000 each.

“The photo exhibition is named ‘Metro through the Lens’. About seventy high resolution photographs, contributed by leading publications and newspapers of the Capital, have been put on display.

“These photographs highlight the decade-long journey of the Metro that has changed the face of the national Capital,” said Dayal. The exhibition would be open for public viewing from tomorrow till January 9, 2010. The first-of-its-kind museum in South Asia opened on January 1, 2008. The museum traces the genesis of the Delhi Metro which took 32 years to reach the operational stage from the drawing boards.

Over the last one year, the Metro museum has been enriched with more exhibits and information. Working models of the operational control centre (OCC) and a tunnel boring machine (TBM) were installed and the train model already installed there was also illuminated.

Specially designed Metro tie pins and cufflinks have also been put on sale at the souvenir’s counter.

Greater Noida, December 31
The driver and cleaner of a diesel tanker were found murdered in the driver cabin at Chhaprola area on G.T. Road under the Badalpur police area around 2 am today.

“The police team found a tanker lying along the road today around 2 am. The tyre was found punctured. When policemen opened the driver’s cabin door, they were astonished to find two dead bodies. One body had strangulation marks around the neck. Other had stab wounds on the body. The bodies have been sent for post mortem,”said Laxman Verma, SHO, Badalpur.

“The victims were identified as driver Virender Singh(30) and cleaner Sunil Kumar(25). The tanker belongs to a Meerut resident. They had started from Meerut for Noida on December 28. When the tanker did not reached destination, the tanker owner had lodged a theft complaint against driver and cleaner at T.P. Nagar Police Station on December 29,”said Verma.

“The Meerut police has been informed. It appears the truck was robbed from the Meerut area and the robbers were taking the tanker to Bulandshahr. However, due to a tyre puncture, they abandoned the tanker. But they killed the driver and cleaner as they feared they will tell the police their description and they could be caught,”said Verma.

New Delhi, December 31
The National School of Drama (NSD) wore a festive look as the Indian People’s Theatre Organisation (IPTA), Delhi, celebrated the completion of its 50 years on Wednesday.

On this occasion, IPTA felicitated theatre personalities Zohra Sehgal, Ebrahim Alkazi, Kabir Bedi and Roshan Seth who began their careers on the Capital’s stage.

Every year IPTA, Delhi, comes up with productions. This year it produced ‘Be-Libaas’ which NSD artists will be perform during the international festival of drama on January 7, 2010.

Talking about the functioning of IPTA, general secretary Aziz Qureshi said, “Yesteryear actors have become famous. But the actors we are working with are also quite promising. Theatre circuit is gathering a foothold in the Capital.”

“IPTA Delhi started much later than Kolkata and Mumbai. A dedicated group of creative and financial contributors helped it survive through the decades,” said Qureshi.

IPTA Delhi has performed more than 100 plays with over 3,000 shows across India in the last 50 years. In its crusade to promote theatre, all shows have been open houses and no government aid.

IPTA started functioning in 1943. The Delhi chapter found ground in 1958 in IPTA’s eighth national conference.

IPTA has given several Delhi-based actors a toehold in Mumbai. Actors like Pankaj Kapoor, Raj Babbar and Om Puri have had a stint with the Delhi wing before acting Bollywood films.

Others who are the valued associates of IPTA include Amar Shaikh, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Utpal Dutt, Ritwik Ghatak, Shanti Bardhan, Krishanchander, Balraj Sahni and Mohan Segal.

New Delhi, December 31
The north-east district police has managed to rescue a 15-year-old schoolboy who was kidnapped for ransom by a gang involving one of his former school students. 

According to the police, the boy was kidnapped from the Nandnagri area by a gang of four youngsters on Monday. The kidnappers were demanding Rs 2 core for his release.

The accused have been identified as Rahul Yadav and Kamal Sharma, both residents of Shahadra.

According to information, on December 28, Nitin, son of one Shyam Awasthi, went out of home to play but did not return.  

Next day, around 1.22 pm, Awasthi received a phone call demanding Rs 2 crore as ransom for safe release of his son. According to the police, initially the family could not provide any clue except the mobile number of the kidnapper.

“On the basis of the telephone number, the police team then traced the location of the criminals, and about 10 pm yesterday rescued the boy safely from Vijay Nagar in Ghaziabad. However, the accused escaped,” said a senior police official.

On the instance of Nitin, the residence of Rahul Yadav, his former school mate, and the places where Nitin was kept after kidnapping were raided. Finally, Rahul and Kamal Sharma were apprehended from an unauthorised colony at Vijay Nagar in Gaziabad. 

The mobile phone from which the ransom calls were made has been recovered from their possession.   

The accused disclosed that their accomplice Sanju is the leader of the gang, and that he along with one Santosh planned to kidnap Nitin as they believed that his father was a rich man.

The accused also disclosed that they had planned that after receiving the ransom, they would kill Nitin because he had recognised Rahul. 

Rahul Yadav is a former student of Sidhartha International School, PS Jyoti Nagar, where the victim is studying in Class VIII.  

Further investigation is in progress and efforts are being made to apprehend the remaining two accused.

Nitin’s father is a businessman.

New Delhi, December 31
The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has allegedly busted a gang of robbers with the arrest of six persons. 

The gang is found to be involved in several cases of murder, attempt to murder, armed robbery etc. this year, including some of a daring nature. 

Three firearms with ammunition, three knives/daggers and one motorcycle used in the crime have been recovered from them. 

The accused have been identified as Shah Nawaz, Shahwaj, Shahbaj Alam, Munna Thakedar,  Akram and Salim. All of them belong to Bijnaur district of UP and have been operating from rooms taken on rent in the Trans-Yamuna area. 

They were arrested from the Lajpat Nagar area last evening where they assembled to allegedly strike again.

During interrogation, they disclosed their involvement in over 20 heinous crimes of Delhi, Chandigarh, UP and Uttrakhand. They were also involved in the recent Sadar Bazar murder case in which an onlooker was shot dead when the gang opened indiscriminate fire on December 19.  This case had been widely reported in the media. On November 11, they had allegedly shot at a meat trader going on a scooter in the area of Gokal Puri police station. 

Further investigation and other antecedents of the criminals are being verified.