New Delhi, January 23
There seems to be no respite for city residents from the blinding fog till the end of January.

The India Meteorological Department has predicted fog to hover around the city skies during the next week.

Even today the national Capital remained in the grip of intense fog dragging the visibility in the early morning hours to near zero.

The visibility improved marginally at around 9 am, though it was less than 100 meters. The air and rail traffic, to and from the Capital, remained hit due to thick fog in the early morning.

The fog disrupted schedules of nearly 45 flights and as many as 120 trains that ran behind schedule.

Nine domestic arrivals and 22 domestic departures were delayed and one flight was cancelled.

Eight international departures and 16 arrivals were running late, some delayed by over eight hours.

“The fog has badly affected trains since last night. Nearly 45 trains have been cancelled due to foggy conditions. Around 43 trains have been rescheduled and over 120 trains are running late by three hours or more. Some are delayed by more than 24 hours,” said a northern railways official.

“Western disturbances one after the other in the regions of higher altitude are to be blamed for this prolonged spell of fog,” said a meteorological department official.

It appears that the city residents have got used to the snail-paced traffic during the office hours now. From schoolchildren to those working, everyone has altered their schedules according to foggy conditions.

The national Capital today recorded the minimum temperature at 7.7 degrees Celsius, a notch below average for this time of the year.

While the maximum settled at 18.7 degrees Celsius against yesterday’s maximum temperature of 18.6 degree Celsius.

“The moment you step out of the house aiming to reach somewhere, it has to be planned in advance. Once you are stuck in the traffic jam, it is impossible to reach anywhere on time,” complained Madhvi, a housewife.

New Delhi, January 23
The city government has decided to facilitate the extension of Metro line from Jehangirpuri to Bawana via Samaypur Badli.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit announced this in a felicitation ceremony organised by local MLA and her parliamentary secretary Sundra Kumar at Bawana. She said that power generation in the upcoming 1,500 MW Bawana Gas-based Power Plant would start much before the Commonwealth Games begin.

Saying that the government could fund development activities in the city, Dikshit said that development programmes of rural development board would be carried out in the area.

“Low-floor green DTC buses have started plying to villages in Bawana. Soon low-floor AC buses will soon be introduced in the area. Roads in Bawana will be broadened along with the construction of some roads,” said Dikshit.

Assuring villagers of settling issues like— permanent building for Aditi Mahavidyalay and complications in the formalisation of 20-point programme plots, she said that there had been a substantial increase in employment opportunities for villagers with the coming up of the largest industrial estate in Bawana. 

New Delhi, January 23
Ahead of the National Girl Child Day tomorrow, members of civil society groups and NGOs have expressed dissatisfaction over the government’s efforts to curb female foeticide and have called for stricter implementation of the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 (PNDT Act).

According to women organisations, given the plight of the girl child that has worsened in the past decades, a review of the act is a must. The groups said the poor state of girl child in India was reflected in the skewed sex ratio (age group of 0-6 years) which fell from 976 girls per 1,000 boys in 1961 to 927 girls per 1,000 boys in the 2001 census.

Director of Centre for Social Research and president of WomenPowerConnect Dr Ranjana Kumari said, “We need to evaluate the existing administrative, enforcement and monitoring provisions and put in place mechanisms that can tackle sex determination and foeticide.”

Adding that many states have registered a disturbing decline in the number of girls, she said, there was a need for stringent laws and a vigilant monitoring and evaluation committee to curb sex-selective abortions. “For this, the health ministry in consultation with states should work to devise strategies to ensure that the PNDT Act leads to positive outcome,” she stated.

She said, “It is unfortunate that the PC & PNDT Board has not met since the formation of the current government, while many instances of sex-selective abortions are coming to light.”

It was pointed out that gender discrimination results in malnutrition of girls. “Fifty-six per cent of Indian girls between 15 and 19 years of age suffer from anaemia and another 45% are facing stunted growth as opposed to 20% of the boys,” said Kumari.

Surveys suggest that adolescent girls in India do not achieve their potential weight and height due to inadequate diet. In rural areas, 35% of adolescent girls weigh below 38 kg and their heights range below 145 cm. Gynecologists caution that undernourished girls grow into undernourished mothers and create a vicious inter-generational cycle of under-nutrition. 

New Delhi, January 23
India’s premier institute for higher education, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been waiting for its special school of Indian languages for the last six years.

The founders of the university had decided that a separate school of Indian languages would eventually be started out of School of Language, Literature and Cultural Studies (SLLCS). With an understanding that studies should be encouraged in regions and languages of the country, it was decided that new centres would be opened with time, said university sources.

The JNU’s Centre for Indian Language in the SLLCS had initiated a proposal to introduce new centres in Indian languages as early as on April 23, 2004. The university administration had approved the introduction of four languages Punjabi, Bangla, Tamil and Marathi as part of the school. The Punjabi chair remains to be started.

“Most of the Indian languages have a huge body of literature as well. Some of them like Tamil have a status of international classical languages,” said Prof. Chaman Lal, chairperson, Centre for Indian Languages.

He said it would be appropriate for a university of international standards to focus upon this vast source of knowledge.

Initially, the centre offered courses in only Hindi and Urdu. In a meeting of the faculty of the centre held on December 2, 2009, the faculty resolved that though many other groups and centres established after the Centre of Indian Languages have split into many centres, the centre had been continuing as one unit for too long. The faculty is now anguished over the delay in approving the “unanimous resolution of School Board of Studies for creation of the new school. A copy of this resolution is with The Tribune.

“There is a delay in the establishment of the school even though there are no apparent reasons. It would only facilitate the studies in our own languages in a university famous for research in several foreign languages,” said Chaman Lal.

The faculty of the centre has proposed the introduction of courses in several Indian languages in a phased manner as

part of school of Indian languages. The centres of languages suggested to be introduced in the first phase are: centre of Punjabi studies, centre of Hindi studies, centre of Urdu studies, centre of Tamil studies, centre of Bangla studies, centre of Marathi studies, centre of Assamese studies and centre of translation and comparative Indian literature studies.

“Since all these languages and programmes have already been sanctioned for the centre, they may be established in the first phase at the earliest. The Punjabi language was approved to be introduced and negotiations are on with the Punjab government,” said a source in the centre faculty.

On the issue of seeking consensus within the academic and executive council, he said the process of new centre formation should begin without waiting for the final outcome of school formation issue.

According to the faculty, the second phase of introduction of centres would see courses in Kannada, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Telugu, Oriya and Malayalam. Besides, two other centres, centre for study of tribal languages and centre for study of north-eastern languages have also been proposed.

The JNU administration has sent the proposal of the centre faculty to all other schools and centres. A deadline till February 10 has also been set for receiving suggestions. 

Greater Noida, January 23
The Greater Noida police was not able to get any clues to the ICICI bank ATM robbery till today. “In the absence of visuals of culprits due to non-functioning of the CCTV cameras at the ATM, we are preparing the sketches of the culprits on the basis of description provided by the guard. The robbers were not traceable till Friday evening,” said Shailender Lal, deputy superintendent of police.

“We have made a list of suspects and police teams have been send to trace them. Some persons were detained for questioning, but released later as their involvement was not found. The bank staff are also being questioned,” said Lal.

“When asked about the improper fitting of the small ATM and lack of working of CCTV cameras, bank officials said they had given the work to a contractor. They, however, admitted that it was their duty to inspect and maintain the CCTV network properly,” said the deputy superintendent of police.

“The guard posted at the ATM was not armed either. Now the bank has deployed an armed guard,” added Lal.

Robbers had robbed the ICICI bank ATM containing Rs 31.45 lakh last Saturday from Sector Alpha commercial area.

Faridabad, January 23
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today launched the first phase of city bus services here. The bus would connect various parts of the city and felicitate connectivity with Delhi, Gurgaon and Palwal.

The bus service has been started under a central scheme called Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. In the first phase a total of 150, including 45 AC buses have been sanctioned. All are low-floor buses. Besides, 20 mini buses have been included in the bus services for the city.

Principal secretary and financial commissioner, transport department, Haryana, Sameer Mathur and Haryana transport commissioner Anand Mohan Sharan said that 125 bus stands would be built in Faridabad. Eighteen routes have been identified in the city. The buses as well as bus stands would be laced with geo-positioning system (GPS) which would display the location of buses on routes.

Speaking at the function, Hooda said that his government was committed to restore the past glory of Faridabad. Faridabad which was set up by former Prime Minister late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was once celebrated as one of the most industrially advanced cities of northern India. However, the city could not develop in the past few years.

Hooda identified projects like Industrial Model Township (IMT) coming up in Faridabad as well as the laying of sewerage for Faridabad.

Moreover, the Chief Minister’s visit brought cheers for residents. After a long time, residents found the city clean. There was virtually no road in the city which had any garbage.

Some residents confirmed that scavengers of the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad had been applying broomsticks on the city roads for the past 48 hours. 

New Delhi, January 23
Daily snacking on pistachios, also known as skinny nut, could keep many ailments at bay, including cancer and cardiac-related. Containing high amounts of fibre and protein, the low-calorie nut has also been recommended by the recently released country’s dietary guidelines to cut the risk of chronic diseases. So, all those who like to munch snacks can include pistachios in daily diet and stay healthy.

The health guidelines, brought in by the department of science and technology in collaboration with the Diabetes Foundation of India and National Foundation of Diabetes, Obesity and Cholesterol Disorders, suggest that 30 pistachios could make a delicious, healthy snack for about 100 calories.

Given the low level of calorie and fat content, doctors and nutritionists these days have increasingly started prescribing the fibre-rich nut as it helps in weight management along with controlling blood sugar.

Renowned health consultant Naini Setalvad said, “Regular intake of pistachios can help people stay away from obesity, diabetes and many other diseases. A 30g serving of pistachios has 3g of fiber, more than most other snack nuts and more than many pieces of whole fruit.”

A new epidemiological research in Texas Woman’s University, Houston Center, says pistachios are a good source of gamma-tocopherol—a form of vitamin E—and daily dose could cut down the risk of lung cancer to a significant extent.

Vitamin E provides a degree of protection against certain forms of cancer and a 30g serving of pistachios contains 6.73mg of gamma-tocopherol – offering more than most other snack nuts.

Besides, gamma-tocopherol has received research attention indicating that it also has potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Chairperson of Medical Oncology & Hematology, Medanta Cancer Institute, Dr Ashok Vaid said studies suggest that regular intake of pistachios could provide heart-healthy benefits by producing cholesterol-lowering effects and providing the antioxidants that are typically found in food products of plant origin. They are protective against certain forms of cancer. 

Noida, January 23
A 52-year-old property dealer allegedly set himself ablaze between City Centre Metro station and Senior Mall stretch in the Sector-32 area. He died on the spot.

The victim reportedly poured kerosene over himself and set himself on fire around 7:15 pm yesterday. Commuters passing through the stretch went to his rescue but he died before being taken to a hospital.

“I was going home in Sector-25 when I saw the man burning. I stopped my car and ran towards him to save him. We put soil over him. But he was completely burnt by then,” said Jitender Sharma, an MNC company executive.

“Two mobile phones were found with the victim.The deceased has been identified as Raju Louis, a property dealer. He was a resident of Sector-12. We are investigating into what forced him commit suicide. We are also looking into the case from other angles like— some other person might have set him ablaze,” said Ambesh Tyagi, deputy superintendent of police.

“Initial investigations revealed that he was debt-ridden and was unable to repay the amount. He was afraid of the creditors. But we can nail the exact cause of the death only after talking to his family members,” said Tyagi.

New Delhi, January 23
A 31-year-old man was beaten to death by some rogue elements of the area after he objected to one of them urinating on the wall of his house in the Khyala area of west Delhi last night.

According to the police, Gurvinder Singh was beaten with bat and sticks by one Manoj and his three friends. While Manoj has been arrested, Rinku, Vivek and their fourth accomplice is absconding. The incident took place around 11 pm in gali number 2 of Vishnu Garden Colony.

“Gurvinder was beaten to death by the four accused when he asked one of them not to urinate on the wall of his house. The four were making noises outside his house after consuming alcohol. Irked by his objections, they attacked Gurvinder with sticks and bat. Gurvinder’s brother Parvinder, who rushed to help his brother, was also beaten by the four. Gurvinder was declared brought dead when taken to hospital, while Parvinder was left with a broken arm,” said the police.

Gurvinder worked as a motor mechanic and stayed with his brother Parvinder and their family.

According to information, the assailants work in a chemical factory close by and often created nuisance in the area.

“Manoj and his friends would often deface the walls of his house and Gurvinder would protest about it. The two had had several arguments in the past also,” said a neighbour close to the deceased. The locals alleged that the police has been complained about them in the past, but no action was taken.

A case of murder has been lodged.