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Games 2010
Restore mobile
phone network fast: Pilot
Artists back Shah Rukh
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Bus Mishap: Probe ordered
Govt allows division of residential plots
Buy sugar at Rs 41 per kg from today
Inculcate reading habits in children: Kalam
DU campaign to kick cancer stick
Board Exams
Public, pvt joint efforts must for cancer treatment: CM
3 get life term for murder
Woman burnt for dowry
Road mishaps claim 2 lives
70 per cent tehbazari files missing, says CIC
Traffic cops claim fewer accident deaths in Jan
2 students held with 10 musclemen
Woman hangs self
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Games 2010
New Delhi, February 4 Officials at Games Travel Office said that 40,000 rooms across the national Capital region were needed to house visitors. But to their disappointment, hotels that are expected to provide between 11,000 and 12,000 rooms are still under construction and some may not be ready by the deadline. The projects are being taken up by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and private builders. Besides, guesthouses in Delhi that would offer 7,000 rooms are supposed to get an image makeover as per the international standards before the mega-sports event starts. The renovation, most of which is to be carried out by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has not even kicked off at majority of the places. There are 800 guesthouses in Delhi with over 7,000 rooms. As per the statistics given by the officials, about 25,000 rooms would be made available through the ‘bread and breakfast’ scheme launched by the government exclusively for visitors while the existing hotels will provide only around 11,000 rooms. The apparent shortage of rooms has made the Delhi tourism department and Commonwealth Games organising committee think of alternatives and back-up plans to meet the demand. As an alternative, the Delhi tourism department has developed a proposal to set up luxury tents to lodge visitors. “The government is planning to create luxury tents build on the lines of three to five star hotels for visitors. The government has started identifying sites for putting up tents,” said a senior official of Games Travel office. However, the Commonwealth Games organising committee is confident of providing the best lodging facility to foreign delegates, officials, members of CWG Federation, observers, broadcasters and sportspersons. “Games Village which would provide accommodation facility to athletes is heading towards completion. Stay for sports ministers have been arranged in hotels like ITC Maurya and The Taj Palace,” said the officer.
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Restore mobile
phone network fast: Pilot
Noida, February 4 The seminar began with the minister expressing concern over the issue of sealing towers in Delhi and NCR, especially Noida. He averred, “The issue is between the telephone operators and the authorities. It has nothing to do with my ministry. The law of the country should be followed and all the operators should work.” “At the same time, the authorities should seal the towers only after physical verification,” the minister added. The operators and the authorities should resolve this issue fast since the consumer is suffering,” he said |
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Artists back Shah Rukh
New Delhi, February 4 In a press statement released by Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust
(SAHMAT), it has been alleged that the recent attacks on Shah Rukh Khan were only the latest in a series of campaign by many rightwing Hindu organisations against actors, singers and artists. “The state on its part has always capitulated to these forces instead of taking them head on,” the statement said. In the statement signed by eminent photographer Ram
Rehman, actor M.K.Raina, artist Vivan Sundaram and academician Indira
Chandrasekhar, the artists salute the courage shown by Khan in standing up to these threats. “He should know that the entire creative community stands by him and is willing to protect his right to have his films screened anywhere if the government is unwilling to ensure this,” the statement said. The artists have also urged the cinema house owners to screen Khan’s films.
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Bus Mishap: Probe ordered
New Delhi, February 4 The government has asked the transport department to submit a report about the incident within a week. Transport minister Arvinder Singh Lovely told The Tribune that the inquiry committee had been constituted. It would find out whether these buses have been customised to create more space to accommodate more passengers, which many say is the case with RTVs. He said such RTVs would be identified and the government would cancel their permits. The minibus that met with an accident yesterday morning was reportedly overloaded. Its design made it all the more vulnerable when one of its tyres burst, spinning it out of control. The accident has also put traffic police personnel into action. Joint commissioner (traffic) Satyender Garg said the traffic police would focus on RTVs and other minibuses. “We will concentrate on RTVs, as most of these buses are involved in breaking traffic norms. Overloaded buses are common in the Trans-Yamuna area. A special drive against these has been launched in the Trans-Yamuna area,” said Garg. Garg said the traffic police had challaned many RTVs and would strictly deal with RTVs violating road rules.
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Govt allows division of residential plots
New Delhi, February 4 The decision was taken at a meeting today. Senior officers of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Development Authority (DDA), planning department and urban development department attended the meeting. It was decided to allow sub-division of plots in special areas, implement the development schemes of DDA and provide an opportunity to allottees to effect justified and formal division of property to their heirs. This is being done to facilitate planned development of all colonies, including unauthorised ones. It would not only boost construction in the city but would also overcome the problem of corruption apart from increasing the revenue of the MCD and DDA, said Delhi urban development minister A.K. Walia. Besides, it will help reduce legal cases related to division of property. The DDA has allotted small plots measuring 22, 25, 50 and 100 square yards. A senior official of the DDA said that the government should specify the size of plots, especially in case of big plots. If small plots are divided, there will be problem of sewerage and water supply. He added that the decision had been taken after a demand was made by the BJP for big industrial and residential plots. The court had also asked the government to come up with a solution regarding division of plots at Rama Road near Patel Nagar. But instead of taking decision in case of industrial plots, the government has decided to divide residential plots. He said that after division of plots, floor area ratio (FAR) would also be changed. Without changing of FAR, division of plots would not be possible. |
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Buy sugar at Rs 41 per kg from today
New Delhi, February 4 This is being done to protect citizens of the national Capital from inflation that has shot up to 20 per cent, said Delhi food supplies minister Haroon Yusuf. Sugar and onion will be sold at 285 outlets of NAFED and its mobile vans from tomorrow. Sugar will be available at Rs 41 per kg and onion at Rs 16 per kg. The retail price of sugar in market is Rs 47.50 per kg. The Delhi government will sell pulses and rice from Mother Dairy and Kendriya Bhandar outlets from February 10. The government is already selling five types of pulses– rajma, moong washed, arhar, chana dal and chana. Now six more varieties– kabuli chana, urad whole, masoor malka (lal), masoor malka (kali), urad washed and urad black will be made available. The minister said that chana dal is likely to be sold Rs 33, rajma chitra at Rs 41, kala chana at Rs 32, kabuli chana at Rs 46, arhar at Rs 66, urad washed at Rs 58, urad whole at Rs 47, moong washed at Rs 58, masoor malka (lal) at Rs 55 and masoor kali at Rs 46. The proposed rate for rice is Rs 20 per kg. A few days ago the Delhi government in a meeting with senior officials of NAFED had decided to sell pulses from its outlets. But today the government withdrew the decision as NAFED demanded Rs 12 crore subsidy, the minister said. |
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Inculcate reading habits in children: Kalam New Delhi, February 5 Inaugurating a three-day international conference on “Children’s Libraries— building a book culture,” Kalam said, “Children, both in rural and urban households, need to be exposed to books of different cultures, religions and socio-economic systems. To gain a better foothold in the market, excellent pictorial representation and water-tight editing of the books is required. The content we serve to children cannot be compromised upon and so it should be of premier quality”Kalam also emphasised on connecting six lakh villages across the country through the mobile arm of an existing children’s library.Asking authors, librarians and publishers to evolve strategies through which children’s libraries can become an effective tool for promoting human values, he said reading was essential for children as it helped them “develop initiative, originality and character”, besides providing instruction and invaluable experiences.The conference, participated by foreign delegates, children from remote areas and teachers from across the country, has been organised by the Association of Writers and Illustrations for Children (AUIC). “Reading books, especially if done just for the joy of it, reinforces literacy and creates a reading nation. By making available books to children who have no other reading material, libraries can play a crucial role in spreading education and developing literacy,” said Neeima Sinha, president, AUIC. “This conference will hopefully lead to better and more children libraries around the world. We sincerely hope that the presentations from eminent experts will inspire and motivate NGOs, school authorities and governments to make books available to all children through a network of libraries, public or otherwise. The conference would discuss issues like difficulties and problems in developing children libraries and making these libraries attractive by providing attractive and interesting books,” she added. |
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DU campaign to kick cancer stick
New Delhi, February 4 “Once these cessation clinics are set up, they will cater to the needs of students as also citizens of the Capital. Over the past few years, our anti-smoking campaign has met with a lot of success on campus, but a few hardened smokers have been unable to give up the habit and these clinics are targeted at them,” says proctor Gurmeet Singh at a press conference in Hans Raj College. The cessation clinics will be equipped with both the doctors and clinical psychologists. “More than 20% of global TB incidence may be attributed to smoking and controlling the tobacco epidemic will help check TB,” says Dr D. Behra, director of LRS Institute of TB and Respiratory Diseases. The university has also decided to go in for strict implementation of the law banning tobacco products on campus. The law is going to be implemented not only for students but also for faculty, karamcharis and all those present on campus. The proctor said, “While our primary tools for implementing the law will continue to be education and motivation, our nodal officers have been empowered to levy a fine of Rs 200 on violators. However, punitive measures remain the last resort for hardened smokers only.” The varsity has 500 voluntary members of a tobacco-free brigade to help educate, build awareness and implement the anti-smoking campaign. Each college has at least 10 workers and a nodal officer to keep an eye on smokers. The brigade workers have been using seminars, debates, declamation contests and street plays to create awareness. Delhi University’s smoke-free initiative began in 2006 and now extends to all the 83 colleges. This year it is being extended to affiliated institutes as well.
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Board Exams
New Delhi, February 4 A teacher of the Vasant Valley School who did not want to be named says, “There is no doubt that with the board exams approaching nearer, my class is working at a feverish pace and many students are nervous. My advice to them is to carefully plan their study hours and set a timetable that gives enough time to all subjects.” The teachers say that students must take stock of their strengths and weaknesses. “Students must give extra time to their weak subjects, but at the same time they must not neglect their strong subjects, as taking any subject for granted may prove to be dangerous.” A teacher from D.P.S. R.K. Puram suggests, “I have been telling my Class XII students the importance of being properly prepared. Preparedness does not come just from the quantity of hours devoted to study, but from the quality of study.” “If a student pays attention to the revision exercises being conducted in the class, he or she will definitely benefit from it. Similarly, no matter how hard one works, a student must build up speed in answering the question paper. Ideally, the answersheet should be revised at least twice before handing it over to the examiner. This saves the students from making careless mistakes.” Meanwhile, anxiety is building up among students. Amit Jain, a Class XII student of Vasant Valley School, says, “I have been working hard for my exams and began preparation a month back. My teachers and family are of great help. My teachers are helping me in my preparation and my family is helping me to manage my nervousness. I am confident I will do well.” Reena Chhabra, another student from the school, expresses, “I am nervous as the exams are very close now. My teachers and friends are helping me a lot. I and my close friends have formed a group to study together. This helps us share the exam pressure and help each other in study.” |
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Public, pvt joint efforts must for cancer treatment: CM
New Delhi, February 4 Launching cancer screening facilities in Delhi State Cancer Institute (DSCI) at Delhi Secretariat today, the Chief Minister stated that tremendous changes have taken place in cancer treatment with a lot of advancements in this field. It is essential to go for screening and scanning after the age of 35. |
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3 get life term for murder
New Delhi, February 4 Holding the convicts guilty under Section-302 and 394 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), additional sessions judge Vinod Kumar awarded life term to them. He also slapped a fine of Rs 2,000 on each of the accused— Vijay Kumar, Sunil and Ram Chander. The three had murdered their friend Pawan Kumar on June 25, 2005, as he had refused to pay them for liquor. Vijay Kumar, Sunil, Ram Chander and Sarju had taken Pawan Kumar to a nursery MCD park at Ashok Vihar. They asked him to give them some money for purchasing liquor. Pawan, a drug addict, told them that he had to buy smack. This made them angry and Sarju gave Pawan Kumar a knife blow on his face. The other three smashed his face with earthen pots kept in the park. They then robbed him of his wallet that contained Rs 600. Sarju, who could not be arrested, has been declared a proclaimed offender. |
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Woman burnt for dowry
Greater Noida, February 4 “Bala Devi was married to Rajinder Singh of Amka village about 12 years ago. Her father, Veer Singh, today lodged an FIR against her husband and in-laws stating that they poured kerosene over her and burnt her on January 22. On getting information from her neighbours, they rushed to her house and took her to a hospital in Delhi. However, she died on January 29, said Mritunjay Singh, station house officer, Surajpur. “Veer Singh alleged that Bala’s in-laws were demanding Rs 1 lakh and a scooter. He claimed he had given enough dowry at the time of marriage and later also met several dowry demands,” said Singh. “The FIR registered under sections 302 (murder) and 498A names Bala’s husband Rajinder and four others. All accused were absconding till late evening today,” said Singh. |
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Road mishaps claim 2 lives
Noida, February 4 “The victim was Shashank Mani Pandey, a resident of Mayur Vihar ,” said Hari Mohan Singh, SHO, Sector 58. |
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70 per cent tehbazari files missing, says CIC
New Delhi, February 4 Information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi said this while hearing the plea of one Harish Kumar who moved it after he did not get any satisfactory reply from the MCD. Gandhi also imposed a penalty of Rs 25,000 on central public information officer. Gandhi said Kumar had been following information related to ‘tehbazari’ with zeal and consistency and he had discovered that 6,554 files were missing out of 9,499 such files. “This is a very scandalous affair and the MCD must take action to correct this,” Gandhi said. |
Traffic cops claim fewer accident deaths in Jan
New Delhi, February 4 According to data provided by the city traffic police, January saw 25 fewer deaths from accidents compared to fatalities in January 2009. “We have recorded 152 deaths in January this year. In the same month last year, 177 fatal accidents were recorded. However, we are not satisfied with this and would work to bring the figures further down,” said Satyender Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic). As per information, 2,165 people lost their lives in 6,752 accidents in the Capital last year. The figures for 2009 were high by 238 fatal accidents compared to 1,927 deaths in 2008. Garg, said although there were fewer accidents in 2009 compared to 8,108 accidents in 2008, the traffic police has launched special drives against drunken driving, autorickshaws, Blueline buses, commercial vehicles and driving by minors. Garg said, “We have currently launched special drives against the autorickshaw drivers and would follow it up with surprise drives against drunken driving, commercial vehicles and Blueline buses. There would be no respite for traffic offenders.” Meanwhile, the officer also insisted the habit of following traffic norms should start from home at an early age. “It is sad that two siblings were killed in a motorcycle accident yesterday. The boy was just 17 and did not have a driving licence. A young life could have been saved if the elders in the family stopped him from driving,” believes Garg and hinted at drive against minor drivers soon.
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2 students held with 10 musclemen
New Delhi, February 4 A few days ago, the two students Rohit and Vijay had indulged in a fight in college. Today too both had called their musclemen to settle the score. However, before they could indulge in fight, the police came to know about the matter and arrested Rohit and Vijay along with their men. Rohit, Vijay along with Anil, Pramod, Kuldeep, Satish, Sandeep, Vijender, Maha Singh, Vijay Dahiya, Dilbagh and Sunil have been held under section 107/151 of IPC. |
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Woman hangs self
New Delhi, February 4 Roshini was found hanging in her house in Madipur around 8 pm yesterday by her mother. “Roshini’s mother found her hanging when she returned from work. The body has been sent to the DDU Hospital for postmortem,” said the police. |
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New Delhi, February 5
Delhi University’s anti-smoking campaign is proceeding in full swing. The varsity with the help of the World Lung Foundation has decided to set up a network of tobacco cessation clinics in the Capital this year.
