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Delhi turns into fortress
DU students, teachers stress importance
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Schoolboy in coma after beating
Gzb admin warns of action against marriage revelers
Govt mulls law to
control commodity prices
Delhi to get SEZs for IT, jewellery
Holi colours to be made with flower waste of Yamuna
Delhi court likely to hear Sajjan Kumar’s bail plea today
IGNOU to start course in
dialysis medicine
Girl killed in freak accident
Govt fails to shift polluted industries
Chilly morning greets city
10 held for robberies, rape in Gzb
Prof shot at, robbed of car
Guard found dead
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Delhi turns into fortress
New Delhi, February 14 Policemen were deployed in large numbers at all public places, including markets, malls, cinema halls, recreation parks, clubs, Indira Gandhi International Airport, railway stations, inter-state bus terminals and Metro stations. Besides, quick reaction teams (QRTs) and anti-riot vehicles were put on stand for any emergency call. “The home ministry has issued a red alert in Delhi. We are taking all precautionary steps. The city is being mapped. There is nothing to fear about,” said a senior police official. He added that QRTs and anti-riot vehicles had been stationed at strategic locations in the city, while random checking of vehicles were being carried out to ensure that no untoward incident took place. “Residents have to cooperate in thwarting the designs of terrorists or criminals. They have to act as the ‘eye and ear’ for security agencies and intimidate us immediately if they come across anything suspicious,” he said. The home ministry has issued red alert in Delhi, Indore and Kanpur, besides sending general advisory to all states to be on alert in the backdrop of last evening explosion at German Bakery in Pune that left nine dead and 57 injured. According to sources in the Delhi police, Metro stations are being seen as major terrorist target. Plans are on to upgrade security status here. However, an official said, “No we have not received any tip off that Metro stations would be targeted next. These things create panic. But precautions need to be taken and additional forces were deployed at Metro stations today.” Crowded markets of the Capital came in for special attention with senior police officials of each district making rounds to check security status. The police is also sensitising hotels and guesthouses across the city. A team of officials from local police stations are checking inmates at hotels in their area. Security agencies also conducted a mock drill at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium this morning to check security preparedness of various agencies in incidents like— bomb blast. The stadium would host the upcoming World Cup Hockey. “It was just a mock drill,” confirmed a police official from New Delhi district.
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DU students, teachers stress importance of love
New Delhi, February 14 This march was organized by the All India Students Association and the All India Progressive Women’s Association. “The past few years have seen a resurgence of attacks by fascist and patriarchal forces on the rights of women such as the shameful attack on women in a pub in Mangalore, attacks by the Shiv Sena on couples celebrating Valentine’s Day, or the patently illegal diktats by ‘khaap panchayats,” said Rajrani, vice-president, AISA. The purpose behind the rally was to reassert the importance of love in our times. “As a political act this is all the more important when we consider the increased spate of attacks by fundamentalist forces on women,” said Sunny, general secretary, AISA. “These groups seek to control women, and they reinforce their diktats in the name of upholding ‘Indian culture’. This is the case whether we think of female roles in consumer culture or the horrific judgments of khaap panchayats, or even the recent declarations made by the courts on upholding a woman’s ‘virtue’ and ‘chastity’,” said Sucheta, general secretary, AISA, JNU unit. AISA-AIPWA is also organising a public meeting on the theme on Monday. The speakers will include poets Anamika and Noor Zaheer, Pankaj Bisht, editor of Samyantar and Rukmini Bhaiya Nair, poet and academic from IIT Delhi.
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Schoolboy in coma after beating
New Delhi, February 14 According to information, the victim Kunal was beaten by a bat and cricket stumps for allegedly staring at the accused Anurag who was playing cricket with his friends in a park near Jor Bagh. The incident took place on February 7. Anurag, an engineering student, is yet to be arrested. According to Kunal’s father Nanak Singh, his son was beaten up by Anurag and his maternal uncle Suresh who was called by the former after an argument with Kunal. “Kunal and his friend Anand were beaten up brutally by Anurag and Suresh. Anand received a few stitches and managed to save himself, but Kunal was hit by a bat on his head. He fell unconscious and is in coma now,” said Nanak adding that Kunal could not run away as he has iron rod fitted in his leg. According to information, Kunal and Anand were passing through the area when they got off their bike and stopped to receive a call. “As Kunal was making a call, he was approached by Anurag who picked a quarrel, saying that he was staring at him,” Nanak alleged. Thereafter Anurag called Suresh and the duo beat up the two boys. A woman government officer who saw the boys being battered informed the police. However, by the time police arrived, the accused had run away leaving behind Kunal in a pool of blood. He was admitted to AIIMS but even a week later, he has not regained his senses. According to officials from the Lodhi Colony police station, they have arrested Suresh, a resident of Sarojini Nagar and an MCD employee, for the attack. However, Kunal’s father alleged that the police is shielding the main accused Anurag. “We have arrested Suresh after our investigations revealed that he assaulted Kunal. However, the matter is not closed. As Kunal recovers, we would further know about their role in the matter,” said a police official.
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Gzb admin warns of action against marriage revelers
Ghaziabad, February 14 "Strict action will be taken against the culprits," said SSP Ghaziabad, Raghuvir Lal. He said, "We will not overlook gunshots fired in marriage functions." While the accused would be sent to jail, action would be taken against organisers of the ceremony, family members and hotel or farmhouse owners where marriages were hosted, Lal said. Licenses of hotels or farmhouses will be immediately revoked where such incidents take place. Action will also be taken if a DJ plays music after 10 pm. District magistrate R. Ramesh Kumar said that the arm license of those who indulge in firing gunshots at marriage functions would be cancelled. People feel that action should be taken against the SHO of the Kotwali where the incident took place.
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Govt mulls law to
control commodity prices
New Delhi, February 14 She said the government was awaiting permission from the Centre to strengthen the Essential Commodities Act to control hoarders and black-marketers. She said this at a public meeting in Tri Nagar today. To keep a vigil on hoarders, Dikshit said the weights and measures department of the Delhi government had started carrying out surprise checks. She warned that strict action would be taken against hoarders and black-marketers. “We aim to sell flour and 10 kinds of pulses only to mitigate inflationary trends in food items,” she said. “In last few months, the wholesale and retail prices of wheat and flour have shown a sharp increase. To combat this, we decided to provide flour and pulses at lesser rate than the market. We are offering a 10-kg bag of whole wheat nutritious flour at Rs 139 as against Rs 189 in the market,” she said. No ration card would be required for the purchase of flour and pulses. She said her government had shown concern about the average household and was quick to announce maximum relief of Rs 40 per cooking cylinder thereby, becoming the only state in India to take the maximum load of the commonman’s pocket.
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Holi colours to be made with flower waste of Yamuna
New Delhi, February 14 These flowers will be used to make natural colours by the mentally challenged adults in the Capital. The colours will then be sold during the festival of Holi. The government has also decided to start a campaign ‘Aao khelen Holi naturally’ in its attempt to popularise the use of natural colour during the festival. The campaign will urge people to use natural colour made of flowers collected from temples and Yamuna banks. For the purpose, the government has tied up with an NGOs, the Society for Child Development, who will take up the task of making natural colours from the flower waste and will rope in mentally challenged adults for the purpose. The NGO will ensure availability of colours made from recycled flowers in various parts of the Capital like Dilli Haat opposite INA and Pitampura. “A huge waste of flowers is collected daily from the Yamuna and temples across Delhi. It is an ideal way not only to recycle the waste but also to give employment to mentally challenged adults and generate revenue from it. For making this campaign successful, the environment department of the Delhi government will come up with a media campaign to exhort the people not to use artificial colours during Holi,” stated a senior Delhi environment department official. The NGO, Society for Child Development, is carrying out this work in partnership with the Delhi government. “We enlist mentally challenged adults who pick flowers from different temples in the Capital. After segregating petals and flowers, they are put into a centralised processing unit to make colours,” stated Dr Madhumita Puri of the Society for Child Development. Dr Puri said her NGO was taking the natural colour recycled from flowers to the cities of Jaipur, Pune and in the coming years it would cover most of the cities inNorth India. She added her NGO collects flowers from the Yamuna bank every year during Durga Puja. Dr Puri stated that this work is ensuring that the mentally challenged adults earn some remuneration while pursuing their education.
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Love in the air
New Delhi, February 14 Most gift shops offered special Valentine’s Day accessories and eating joints had made special dinner and lunch arrangements for couples. “We had opened reservations for a quiet lounge section for couples at our restaurant so that they enjoy their meal with their loved ones in private. Special arrangements for music have also been made today,” said Karthik from Burritos Restaurant in Greater Kailash. Madhur, a shopkeeper on north campus, said, “Be it flowers, greeting cards, gifts, chocolates or anything even remotely related to the occasion is selling like hot cakes. The demand for flowers shoots up a week before Valentine’s Day.” Young lovers in large numbers were seen at malls and parks while it being a Sunday, families also had a good time. “We are planning clubbing tonight with our friends, while during the day we just wanted to spend time with each other. We just watched My Name is Khan and now heading for lunch,” Said Sumit and Ritu, walking out of Select City walk mall. However, there were some in the Capital, who chose to celebrate the eve in a different style. At India Gate, an NGO organised a function in which Muslim women distributed flowers while propagating peace and love in the country. Karol Bagh also witnessed a programme, ‘My Valentine— My Motherland’. Those participated in the event declared India their Valentine by offering flowers to ‘Bharat Mata’.
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Reading culture spreading in Noida, thanks to libraries
Noida, February 14 Till some years back, there was just one library in Noida--the Noida Public Library (NPL)-in Sector-15. Today there are over 10 libraries in the city. The culture is slowly spreading. Most of the libraries have opened in community centres in residential sectors. There is one in Barola village too. It is the only village in the entire Noida to have a library of its own. Significantly, these senior citizens are behind the opening of each library. They are concerned about the tendency of the children spending more time in front of the TV and computer. The residents have contributed liberally towards the cause, in cash and kind--investing their time in manning the library and even by donating books. Each library has a large collection of books on various subjects such as literature, science, social science, engineering, management, health and fitness, etc. Most libraries have a separate section for children with books on Indian mythology and comic books. The Kendriya Vihar library has an added facility. Book reading sessions are held here every month. This library is also turned into a conference hall once a month as an eminent personality comes here and speaks on the issues of social and national importance. "Books are important for everyone," says B.N. Chopra, an office-bearer of the sector 55 RWA. "We have two libraries, one in the community centre and another one in the E Block temple. The one in the temple complex has religious and spiritual books," he adds. "It is important that children are exposed to a variety of books and that each child has access to good books. A good book can transform a personality," says Sanjay Sehgal, the man behind the Shakuntala Devi Public Library in Barola. "I just love coming here. My father works as a guard and cannot afford to buy comics for me," says Rajni Kumari, a student of Class V in the Government Primary School, Barola. "I love books and am very happy we have a library here," says Anushka Sachdeva of sector-14. However, there are still several residential sectors where there is no library. "I wish our RWA would also plan to open a library here," says Upasana Kaura of sector-27. Obviously, the Noida Authority has not done much on this front. While the promised sports library in Noida Stadium is yet to come up, a plot in H Block, sector-41, earmarked for the library, has been encroached upon by villagers.
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Delhi court likely to hear Sajjan Kumar’s bail plea today
New Delhi, February 14 Special CBI judge P.S. Teji would take up the bail application of Kumar who has been issued summons by a court after taking cognisance of the CBI chargesheet against him. In his application, the Congress leader contended that he had been co-operating with the investigating agency and never been arrested by it during the probe. He also claimed that he was granted anticipatory bail by the Delhi High Court in 1990 in similar cases. The court had already reserved its order on the similar anticipatory bail applications of Kumar’s co-accused Peru, Mahender Yadav, Brahma Nand Gupta, Balwant Khokhar, Krishan Khokhar and Ved Prakash. The accused are required to take bail as they have been issued summons by a court on CBI’s chargesheet against them. The CBI, which had chargesheeted 13 persons, including Kumar, on January 13 in two separate 1984 riots cases for allegedly making provocative speeches, leading to the killing of 12 persons in the violence that broke out following the assassination of the then PM Indira Gandhi. The probe agency had filed the chargesheets in the court after concluding its investigation into the cases registered on the recommendation of Nanavati Commission in 2005.
— PTI |
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IGNOU to start course in
dialysis medicine
New Delhi, February 14 The university has signed an MoU with the directorate in this regard. The programme will be offered by IGNOU’s school of health sciences from July 2010. D.K. Chaudhary, pro-vice-chancellor, IGNOU said, “The one-year course in dialysis medicine is being offered through the open and distance learning mode. The programme is expected to fulfill the need of trained health manpower in the field of dialysis.” The programme includes six-month skill development training at the nephrology departments of 10 centres identified by IGNOU. R.K. Srivastava, director general of health services said, “Dialysis is a life-saving therapy for patients suffering from chronic renal failure. It affects a large number of people in the country. They move from one hospital to another, seeking redressal, dialysis and kidney replacement.” Srivastava added, “Dialysis requires services of nephrologists, which needs five-year training after an MBBS degree. In two years, we plan to train over 250 doctors in dialysis, through this certificate programme.” |
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Girl killed in freak accident
New Delhi, February 14 According to police, the incident was reported from house number 1044 in Y block of Mangolpuri in outer Delhi yesterday. Afreen was declared brought dead to the hospital. “We got a call in this regard around 11.35 am. Afreen was alone on the roof of her house where she had gone to study. Her father told us that she was fond of enjoying herself on swings and probably was trying to tie the ends of her stole to bamboo and iron ladder for the purpose. However, even as she had tied one end to the bamboo, her legs slipped from the nearby iron ladder and the stole around her neck choked her to death. She was rushed to hospital where doctors declared her brought dead,” said a police official. According to information, a girl in the neighbouring roof witnessed Afreen hanging and shouted for help immediately. “The family members came to her rescue within minutes, but it seems she had broken her neck bone after the fall. The postmortem will be conducted at Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital,” said the police. Afreen’s father Afzal owns a welding shop in the area. |
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Govt fails to shift polluted industries
New Delhi, February 14 Delhi Pollution Control Committee issued a notification on February 7, 2007 that all the industrial units causing pollution would be closed in Delhi within three years. This is also in the Master Plan of Delhi 2021. This should have been done last week, but nothing has been done so far, sources said. There are 99 types of such industries in the Capital which have 5,000 units. A few industrialists have taken a stay order from the court and 88 types of industries are still there that should have been closed. The majority of these industries are in Badli and Wazirabad. A senior officer of DPCC said that this is the job of the DDA as well as industries department of the Delhi government. The sources said that a few days ago, a meeting was held in industries department that decided to close 250 units of steel nickel polish industries. Additional commissioner, Industries, G. S. Meena said that he was not aware of any notification, but the High Court monitored these industries. The court had issued order to close them. Their sealing and de-sealing is done according to the court’s direction, he added. |
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Chilly morning greets city
New Delhi, Feb 14 “There has been a drop in temperature since the rain late Friday. Today (Sunday) the minimum temperature recorded was 10 degree Celsius, which is average for this time of the year,” an official of the IMD said. Before the rains on Friday, the minimum temperature was mostly above the average. “It will be a clear day today. However, the skies will be partly cloudy later in the day,” the official added. The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 25 degree
Celsius. — IANS |
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Many people treat doctors as gods. But this is not how many doctors would like their patients to think of them. Speaking on the subject at a recent conference at the India Habitat Centre, a panel of medicos said they should not be vested with blind faith. A sagacious doctor said medicine is what works for patients and medical science itself is ever-evolving. What was considered right yesterday is no longer right today and paradigm of treatment will again change tomorrow, he pointed out. However, a certain amount of trust is necessary between patients and doctors. When Alexander the Great was terminally ill, he asked his generals that physicians should be among the chosen few who should carry his coffin to the grave. Such was his faith in the science of medicine when he was dying. “We are not gods, but after all we do save lives,” the doctor said. Customers care for brands
which care
For quite some time, corporate India has been trying to rid itself of the tag of being profiteers by investing in public causes under the banner of Corporate Social Responsibility. Now it turns out that this is a good business model as well. A group of retailers, who were brought together recently by the India Fashion Forum
(IFF), said customers were benevolent to those outlets and houses which put away a certain amount of money from their sales for a good
cause. Gurpreet Singh, who represents a well-known brand of apparel, said his company sponsors campaigns for AIDS patients and victims of calamities like the Haiti earthquake. People are more inclined to loosen their purse-strings when they realise that it would make them part of a larger cause, he said. Now you know why most shops have donation boxes or claim to divert a part of sale proceeds to some charity. Nobody complains as long as their actions match their words. Name games politicians play
The task of naming the Civic Centre coming up at Minto Road has become the bone of contention among municipal leaders with different factions pushing names suitable to their political affiliation. The centre will be the tallest building in the Capital and the new address for Municipal Corporation of Delhi
(MCD). Its name will obviously have a huge recall value and thus the jostling among politicians. The council has already missed three deadlines due to fractious debate over the issue. The
BJP, which currently controls the MCD, wants it to be named after its ideologue Shyama Prasad Mukherjee while the Congress is going all out to deny the saffron party any such success. Its leaders have proposed that the building be named after Mahatma Gandhi, putting BJP in a bind as it would not like to be seen opposing the name of the Father of the Nation. The quip is that had the Congress enjoyed a majority in the
MCD, it would have definitely proposed the name of some Gandhi but perhaps not Mahatma Gandhi! Unsung heroes and credit-hungry politicos Construction work in the Capital is on in full swing to meet the fast-approaching Commonwealth Games
(CWG) deadline and engineers of the public works department are in the frontline of government’s efforts. But they do not seem to be happy. These professionals say the CWG is a big platform for them to show their skills and expertise at an international level but they would remain unsung heroes while netas would walk away with all the glory. When work began on the stinking Barapulla drain, engineers, technicians and labourers entered the drain and laid the foundation stone. But once the project is completed, some high-profile leader will inaugurate the project and with folded hands take all the credit! (Contributed by Ananya Panda, Akhila Singh, Himani
Chandel, Syed Ali Ahmed) |
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10 held for robberies, rape in Gzb
Ghaziabad, February 14 On a tip-off, the men were arrested from a brick kiln near Hapur in Uttar Pradesh. During interrogation they admitted to having committed various robberies between February 5 and 10 this year, senior superintendent of police Raghuvir Lall told reporters. On February 5, they looted cash, mobile phones and jewellery from Chandpur village under Pilkhuwa police station. On February 7 and 9, they robbed about a dozen houses in 10 villages. They also took away the cattle in addition to the household valuables. The men were identified as Rafiuddin, Muleen, Firyaad, Musleen, Zulfiquar, Nadeem, Maazid, Usman, Nanak and Rashid. Musleen and Rashid had killed two home guards in 2007 and also raped a minor girl. The police recovered jewellery, electronic gadgets and cash from their possession.. “The inspector general of police Meerut zone has announced a reward of Rs 10,000 for the police team and a reward of Rs 5,000 has been granted by the Ghaziabad police,” Lall added. — IANS
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Prof shot at, robbed of car
Greater Noida, February 14 Sunil Kumar, 45, a professor at IEC Engineering College in Greater Noida was stopped at gunpoint by three men on a bike around 3:30 pm, superintendent of police (Greater Noida) Surendra Verma said. The assailants allegedly placed a pistol near his head and forced him to get out from the car. When he resisted, the assailants shot at him. While one of the assailants drove the car off, the others fled on their bike, Verma said. Sunil Kumar sustained an injury on his right shoulder. He was taken to the Sharda Hospital where his condition was stated to be serious but out of danger. The assailants also took away his mobile phone, but left the
cash. — IANS |
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Guard found dead
New Delhi, February 14 The incident was reported from Rampura Metro station yesterday and the victim has been identified as Saras Ram. The body was discovered by labourers who made a PCR call. Shahzad grilling
The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra wants to interrogate suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorist Shahzad for any tip-off in connection with yesterday’s terror attack in Pune. Shahzad, who is in the custody of Delhi police’s special cell in connection with 2008 Delhi serial blasts, had reportedly told police that an Indian Mujahideen terror module is presently active in Pune. |
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