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Games Village hygiene under
CAG scanner
Govt to decide on Bluelines today
Eye flu severe this year
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Contrary to popular belief, tea is healthy, say experts
Changes in IIT admission
Students happy with hostels even as fee hike feared
Chatterati
Man arrested for credit card cheating
Men in Metro women coach to be fined
3 labourers hurt as lintel falls
Noida housing scheme allottees
to get possession soon
Handicrafts fair gets tepid response
Sufi music, Thai products draw visitors
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Games Village hygiene under
CAG scanner
New Delhi, October 24 The CAG would investigate into the matter to find out as to who was responsible for the unlivable conditions of the flats that were supposed to accommodate foreign athletes. "We will look into the maintenance related issues at the Games Village by checking the contracts between parties responsible for construction related works and who could be held responsible for hygiene and unpreparedness of the flats even weeks before the games," a top CAG official said. So far, CAG has completed audit of the project till April, a time when the developers claimed that they had started the process of handing over of the flats which continued till August. The CAG in its earlier report on CWG Village in May had pointed out that the builder Emaar-MGF was given a bailout package of over Rs. 760 crore by the DDA. The bailout package was provided by DDA which purchased 333 flats from Emaar-MGF. The package was said to have been worked out by the Delhi's LG, who is the chairman of the DDA, and was cleared by the Centre. The statutory auditor is slated to take up the auditing of the village towards the end of this week. Weeks before the opening of the game, the organisers were caught in an embarrassing situation with pictures of dirty toilets, dogs littering in the rooms and non-functioning lifts appeared in the media. |
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Govt to decide on Bluelines today
New Delhi, October 24 The fate of 1,600 Blueline buses, most of which went off Delhi roads last month in view of the Commonwealth Games (CWG), is likely to be decided at a meeting between transport minister Arvinder Singh Lovely and Blueline bus owners. The buses were supposed to be back on roads from last Monday, but Lovely said that the Blueline buses which are highly unpopular among the public for overspeeding will not ply on Delhi roads till October 25. The transport ministry officials say that the government is committed to phasing out the Blueline buses as the state-owned Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has adequate number of buses to meet the requirements of Delhiites. They also feel that the absence of Blueline buses has not only decongested the roads, but there has also been a decline in the number of road accidents. The state government has decided to withdraw these buses from the Lutyen's zone and a decision on such vehicles in other areas may be taken tomorrow. A total of 1,600 Blueline buses, plying in south and central Delhi and near the Games venues, went off roads in September after a directive from the Delhi government. According to sources, the government may decide to withdraw 1,000 Blueline buses, in the first phase. The meeting comes two days after a youth was killed by an allegedly speeding Blueline bus in south Delhi. Sources say that the government wants to get rid of the private buses in the national Capital and replace them with the DTC's new fleet. Over 1,000 new low-floor buses that were used to ferry athletes and dignitaries during the Games have been included in the DTC's fleet. The corporation will induct more buses in its fleet in coming days. They will be put on various routes in the Capital which are being covered by the Blueline buses. For the past couple of years, the Delhi government has been planning to phase out the Blueline buses, but has not able to implement it in absence of an alternative plan. The Delhi High Court had stayed the government's move to phase out the Blueline buses in February this year, arguing that the DTC alone was not capable to meet the requirement of public transport. The government is also likely to file an affidavit in the Delhi High Court seeking to phase out these buses, permanently.
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Eye flu severe this year
New Delhi, October 24 More so because this time the strain causing the infection seems to be more potent than the past years in the Capital since 2006 and this has resulted with significantly more cases of cornea involvement, say experts. "This time the pattern has been five-ten times more as seen generally both in terms of extent of the spread as well as severity. At AIIMS, the cases with corneal involvement, as a part of viral infection, have been more and the incidence is more than those seen other South-Asian countries," Dr Radhika Tandon, professor of ophthalmology, AIIMS, told The Tribune. Further, among the institute's doctors, four or five doctors underwent treatment every week against two doctors per month every year, said Dr Tandon. Though towards the end of October the infection, caused either due to virus or bacteria subsides in the community, cases do surface round the year. The habit of 'touching the eyes' as a rule must be avoided to prevent the transmission of the infection, say doctors. "Wash your hands with soap and water as they may be contaminated with bacteria. Do not touch your eyes unnecessarily as conjunctivitis spreads through physical contact," said Dr Subrato Roy, ENT surgeon in Maharshi Vailmiki Infectious Disease Hospital (MVID). In case the eye appears red/ inflamed, gritty, watery, there is a sticky discharge at times accompanied with yellowish pus, a visit to an expert is must, according to doctors. "People displaying symptoms should not go for steroid-based drugs and in case of urgency they can take eye drops (antibiotic) and artificial tears. Unsupervised medication is prevalent and this complicates the case," cautioned Dr Tandon. Meanwhile, with the flu entering its waning phase, hospitals in the city have seen dip in the cases. Patients reporting with inflamed conjunctiva to AIIMS have declined vis-a-vis earlier this month when cases stood at 50-60. Similarly, other city hospitals like MVID and Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital have also recorded a dip both in general OPD as well as ENT.
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Contrary to popular belief, tea is healthy, say experts
New Delhi, October 24 A survey carried in 12 cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, reveals that the health drink continues to be popular with people, with 81 per cent of sampled consumers still having it even as 77 per cent of them believe tea to be unhealthy and addictive. The survey was commissioned by Brooke Bond (Hindustan Unilever Ltd.) and carried independently by A C Nielson.It points out that 61 per cent of respondents hold the perception that tea is a drink meant for the older generation. "It is not considered healthy and the youngsters do not find it happening. However, taken in moderation and with proper brewing, it should benefit people. It is only when it is brewed for long that leaching of unwanted substances like tanins take place," said Delhi-based nutritionist Ishi Khosla. There are several myths surrounding tea that the survey tried to gauge upon and it was found that people associate tea with darkening of skin, ailments like acidity and nausea. Also, the notion that tea is bad for children seems to be quite prevalent among the Indians and due to this, the beverage despite all its natural goodness has lost a generation of drinkers, says the study. "Almost a zero-calorie food, tea having a host of health benefits keeps the body trimmed and helps in weight management in addition to keeping diseases at bay. The benefits remain intact even with milk and up to 20 per cent of milk doesn't affect the blood plasma level of tea flavonoids," said Dr Gautam Banerjee from Hindustan Unilever Limited. "Tea improves endothelial dysfunctioning with flavonoids, which are stronger than regular anti-oxidants, like carotene, Vitamin E/C and it doesn't impact the melanin levels and equally healthy for children, but not as a substitution to health diet," underlined nutritionist and director of Health Total, Dr Anjali Mukherjee. It is believed that consumption of three cups of tea daily improves the cardiovascular health and it reduces the risk of myocardial infarction by 11 per cent. "Flavonoids maintain the cardiovascular health; L-theamines-amino acids-keep the mind alert and relaxed and there are other polyphenols which boost oral health and immunity. Each day, 415 ml of flavonoids is important to remain in good health," said experts.
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Changes in IIT admission
New Delhi, October 24 An IIT spokesperson said, "There have been some changes in the admission policy this year. For one thing, the opening and closing merit for all courses is no longer being published and was not displayed at the beginning of the session this year. This used to be the record procedure for filling up vacant seats that are still available towards the close of admission season." A professor at IIT said, "The decision by the IIT to change the admission policy this year has led to the loss of transparency in the admission procedure. This is a backward step. This system had been in force earlier between 2000 and 2008 and led to problems. An RTI enquiry revealed that due to this policy, over a hundred seats were left vacant under the general category. This leads to non-transparency in the admission policy." Besides, IIT Delhi this year has admitted students in the second round of admissions. In the second round, seats that had been vacant due to students opting out at the last moment were offered to the wait-listed candidates. |
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Students happy with hostels even as fee hike feared
New Delhi, October 24 "The agony of those months cannot be taken away, but it is a big relief to come back to the hostels which almost don the look for any top-rated guest house or hotel," said Meenakshi Aggarwal, a student of Miranda House. Most students who have shifted to the college hostels cannot stop gushing about the new facilities. "Despite all the controversy surrounding the Games, we have got our rooms back at last and that too in much better condition. New furniture, comfortable mattresses, vibrant bed sheets, snazzy bathroom fittings, air-conditioned rooms have changed the look of our hostel. There were days in summer when we had to just sleep in the fan. And, most of the times, there was no electricity during night. But it is different now and hostlers will have to use the facilities judiciously," said Smita Chaturvedi, a third year physics (hons) student from Kirori Mal College. The biggest delight are the washrooms, there are new fittings and other equipment that work. "The common rooms and hostel mess have also undergone a makeover. LCD televisions, plush couches and comfortable chairs have also been ordered," said Navin Kumar, 21, another third year student of Kirori Mal College. Most of these hostels were renovated after several decades as the UGC never paid any separate grant for their upkeep. However, the UGC paid between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1.5 crore to DU colleges for renovation of hostels that were to be used as budget hotels during the Games. However, now, a new worry awaits the colleges. Most colleges are worried about the maintenance costs of the hostels. Some colleges are already debating whether they should ask for a new grant from the UGC or hike the hostel fee, as feared by many students. Many colleges are still undecided about the increase in fee, but colleges like -- Daulat Ram in North Campus have mentioned in their prospectus that if a student uses AC, an extra amount of Rs 2000 (per month) will be charged from him/ her. "The rooms are well-furnished. So, their maintenance is also going to be a challenge. The UGC should give us a grant to look after the hostels even after the Games. If we have to meet the costs ourselves, there will be a substantial increase in the fee paid by students," said Chandrachud Singh, warden of Hindu College hostel.
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Chatterati
Aditya Thackeray is the grandson of the Tiger of Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray. There was a time every speech of any opposition leader started by criticizing the dynastic rule in the Congress. Today every political party of the nation has followed the dynasty rule. Bal Thackeray's family feud started when Uddhav Thackeray started to feel insecure of his cousin Raj Thackeray's sharp political pulse. Uddhav's wife is an ambitious young lady who actually has been instrumental in Uddhav and Aditya's entry into the politics. The family more or less broke up then. Smitha Thackeray and Raj Thackeray left the supremo's house and went their own ways. The father realized this and obliviously supported his son. Raj since his college days was a youth leader. Three generations of the Thackerays in politics and the old man thinks he can still afford to talk about dynastic rules. All these political kids and grandkids think this is the easy way to make ends meet by just stepping into their parents' shoes. At one time, politicians discouraged this, but now every state starting from Kashmir to Tamil Nadu, we see the son rise much to the chagrin of the public. The sons many a time are eager to take over the legacy but are not capable of delivering. Then it becomes a sad experience for all at the cost of the aam admi. Rahul set to cleanse Congress As the celebrations in the Capital carry on after the Commonwealth Games, everyone seems to be in high spirits. On the Dussehra day, the President, The Vice-President, the Prime Minister, and the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, all gathered at Ramlila Grounds to burn the effigy of Ravana. The smiling premier was helped by Rahul Gandhi with his bow and arrow. Rahul, it seems, has taken on the role of punishing the corrupt and the non-delivering ones in the Congress party. During the Bihar elections, Rahul with the general secretary incharge Mukul Wasnik has ignored many loyals who were not fit enough and gave tickets to fresh faces. Rahul is out to pick his candidates who have a clean image. So, automatically most of them are first-timers. He is also facing difficulties asking for internal democracy in the party which should be extended to the CWC. For internal democracy, Rahul will have to tread on many toes but with that, will he be able to tackle the culture of backroom manoeuvring which old Congress hands are so good at. He does realize that the democratic process that he has started with the NSUI and Youth Congress will only bear fruit if it is carried all the way to the top. Cards passé
A new trend this festival season--no more sweets and silvery presents. It's now the modern stuff. Well, have you received an e-mail wedding invitation yet? This is the way of the tech-savvy couples. As the marriage season approaches, the traditional wedding card seems to be going out of fashion. The young couples feel that sending innovative electronic cards are a better deal. A traditional card may cost from Rs 50 to Rs 5,000. Then there are hassles of delivering them at the right address. The e-cards can be sent with background music, audio visual chips of pictures too. The elders do insist on getting some cards printed. As in our culture, the first card goes to the temple and then the would-be in-laws. Some of us are surely going to miss the sweets that come with these cards. Seeing this new trend, Chawri Bazaar card-makers are a worried lot today. This trend is a challenge and threat to their livelihood. Unless they come up with something innovative, it's curtains for them. |
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Man arrested for credit card cheating
New Delhi, October 24 The accused has been identified as Yunus, a resident of Laxmi Nagar. The arrest was made after investigation was taken up on a complaint filed by Sharad Kumar of Ranjit Nagar who alleged that some persons had carried out online transactions using his credit card. In his complaint, Kumar alleged that in March 2009, a girl named Pooja had contacted him and offered a plan for credit card of Kotak Mahindra Bank, saying that a representative would visit him to collect his photographs and the photocopies of his PAN card and previous credit cards. On March 25, 2009, Amit Kumar visited the complainant's house and collected the photocopies of his credit cards of Citi Bank and ABN Amro Bank. Later, the complainant realised that his credit cards were allegedly used to carry out online purchases worth Rs 30,100. He informed the police and a case was registered. The police found that the call was made to the complainant from a walky talky telephone of Tata Indicom which was in the name of Yunus. However, screening of call records did not help the police. On verification, it was found that Yunus had purchased the telephone on his PAN card. The details of the PAN card were obtained from the Income Tax office. It was found that the address that Yunus had mentioned as his own in the documents was sold off. However, in the documents related to sale of the property, Yunus had mentioned an address of Laxmi Nagar from where he was apprehended.
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Men in Metro women coach to be fined
New Delhi, October 24 The DMRC will be deploying mobile checking squads to ensure compliance in this regard. So far, mobile squads have imposed penalty on 8,195 passengers for committing various offences such as defacing Metro property, drunkenness, nuisance, spitting etc. in Delhi Metro, thus collecting about Rs 16.41 lakh in fines. |
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3 labourers hurt as lintel falls
New Delhi, October 24 "Some workers were repairing the lintel of a building in the area when the incident took place. It was not a major incident. They received minor injuries only," said the SHO of Hauz Khazi, Suraj Prasad. |
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Noida housing scheme allottees
to get possession soon
Noida, October 24 The development authority is working overtime to give possession of these flats in Sector-99, 126 and 100 at the earliest. It is learnt that a draw of lots is likely to be conducted for a scheme of 371 duplex flats in four sectors of Noida. Prices of the duplex flats vary between Rs 80.53 lakh and Rs 1.11 crore and the flats measure between 125 sq m and 180 sq m respectively. Thousands of people had applied for HIG, MIG, LIG and EWS accommodations, but allotment was made to about 3,000 applicants. They could not be given possession as final touches to the structures were still being given. Now, except for the LIG houses, the scheme is complete and possession letters are likely to be dispatched before Divali, it is learnt. The duplex scheme is the first of its kind in the last six years. The focus, however, remains only on group housing. Earlier, the last date for submitting forms was September 15. Later, it was extended till October 15. The scheme has been launched in Sectors 62, 82, 108 and 135. The announcement for this residential scheme was made during the 168th board meeting in June with the registration amount of the duplex flats fixed at Rs 8 lakh for all categories. The scheme targets buyers in higher income group. While the minimum amount for each apartment built on plot size of 125 square meters starts from Rs 80.53 lakh, the price of apartments built on bigger plots goes up to Rs 1.12 crore. |
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Handicrafts fair gets tepid response
Greater Noida, October 24 Nabeel Ahmad, chief executive officer of Nawab Regency, Moradabad; Prakash Bhatia of Laxmi International Export, Jaipur; and a couple of other exhibitors, said, "The last three days had a good turnout of overseas buyers. But on the last day, there was hardly any overseas buyer. Clash of dates with Hong Kong fair, which opened on October 20, caused the low turnout." The Commonwealth Games also affected the fair turnout. "Earlier, the fair was scheduled on October 15, but it had to be postponed to October 17 as Noida Expressway, the approach road to India Expo Centre, was closed for the Games cycling event," said Ajay Jain, managing partner, Krafts Palace, Agra. However, exhibitors got good business enquiries. "I got enquiries worth Rs 1 lakh from Europe," said an exhibitor. |
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Sufi music, Thai products draw visitors
Noida, October 24 The artisans from different parts of Thailand have put five stalls in the Shilpotsav this time. Candles, agarbati, necklace, ladies shirts, shawl, silk and cotton bags were selling like hot cakes. Candles sets were available for Rs 40 to Rs 130. Thai artisans said they had earlier participated in fairs in Surajpur, Pragati Maidan and Delhi Haat and also those held in Kolkata and Mumbai. The entertainment and cultural programme is a big draw at the Shilpotsav. Sufi and the film music, including "Mar jani mar jani", presented the other day also proved a great draw. |
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