New Delhi, October 25
If the Delhi government has its way, the sight of decrepit Blueline buses hulking down the road would be history from December 14.

Transport minister Arvinder Singh Lovely today said the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) areas, which were made out of bounds for the private buses due to the Commonwealth Games, would remain off-limits to them, and soon, the rest of Delhi would also be rid of these buses, which are considered an anomaly in the country's modernising Capital due to their poor maintenance and track record of accidents.

Lovely said the recent death of yet another person in an accident caused by a Blueline bus was a confirmation of the government's belief that the buses were unfit to run on roads.

"Besides being a minister, I am also a citizen of Delhi. We all know that Blueline buses are dangerous. The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has adequate number of buses to replace them," he said.

However, the final word may still come from the Delhi High Court where a case filed by the Blueline bus operators is pending. The operators have got a stay order on an earlier decision of the government to phase out their buses.

Lovely said the case would be heard on October 28. "The government will apprise the court of the issues and number of accidents caused by Blueline buses. We will also submit an affidavit before the court, seeking permission to phase out the remaining Blueline buses. I hope the court will accept the plea," he said.

Meanwhile, Blueline bus operators protested outside the minister's residence and decided to fight it out in the court. "The government has stabbed us in the back. We are not going to accept it," Ravinder Arora, an operator, said.

Lovely said the operation of 1,600 Blueline buses was banned from the routes of the Games venues and NDMC areas in September. Of them, 835 buses were two days back allowed to move on some routes, and on the very first day, one of the buses was involved in an accident which forced the government to continue the ban on their operation on selected routes.

He said a file of the order had been sent to the Lieutenant Governor for notification. Within a few days, the order will be notified and implemented.

He further said all Blueline buses would be phased out from the national Capital from December 14. Low-floor buses of the DTC will ply on all routes.

When asked if the government had sufficient number of DTC buses, the minister said at present, the DTC had over 6,500 low-floor buses. Besides, gramin bus service has been started for rural population. The transport department will also bring cluster service of buses from November-last or December first week. Under the cluster bus service, corporate houses will operate buses.

"We are going to recruit 5,000 drivers. There will be sufficient staff to drive DTC buses," Lovely said.

Earlier, there were 3,200 Blueline buses and 2,800 DTC ones.

New Delhi, October 25
A couple living in the Sarita Vihar area allegedly committed suicide, after snuffing out the life of their physically-challenged son, the police said today.

Karandeep (18), son of the deceased couple Saminder and Nimmi Arora, was found dead in the house by his 80-year-old grandfather Daljit Singh. As search for his parents began, two dead bodies were found on the tracks near Okhla today. The bodies were identified to be of Saminder and Nimmi Arora. Their car was found at some distance.

Additional commissioner of police Virender Chahal said that a suicide note was found from the victims' house. The tragedy which has sent shockwaves across the neighbourhood, with people pouring into the locality, "appears to be a case of suicide", he said.

In the note, Saminder Arora has written about the losses he had suffered in business. He ran an aluminum ware-making factory in Sonepat. He had reportedly asked his father to contact some persons, if he needed some help.

Before leaving the house last night, the couple had told Singh that they were going to attend a wedding ceremony. They asked him to keep the door open. However, the suicide note stated, "It was going to be a long night and it would be too late by the time people would get to know about it."

The cause of Karandeep's death, who also suffered from dengue, remains a mystery as the police said he bore no external injuries. "The exact cause could be found only after his postmortem report arrives," Chahal said.

Saminder Arora had an hour-long discussion with his father yesterday, before he and his wife left home around 10 pm. His father told the police that his son was distressed due to the losses he had suffered in business and the debt. "I am devastated. Everything is gone. What do I do now?" he mumbled as people streamed in to express their condolences.

In his last letter, Saminder had told his father that he had left behind some money. When Daljit Singh discovered his grandson's body, he informed the police and called at his son's mobile number many a times.

The police sent out teams to find the couple. It learnt that the railway police has found a man and woman's body on Okhla tracks, which is not far from Arora's residence.

The police has begun their probe, but said that the case appeared to be "an almost certain case of suicide" and the only mystery was to unravel the cause of Karandeep's death.

Greater Noida, October 25
Two candidates belonging to the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party clashed over the district panchayat election. Lathis, batons and guns were used in the clash in which two persons, including the brother of a candidate, were wounded.

One of the assailants Ajit is said to be a Delhi policeman.

When the wounded were taken to a hospital, their assailants followed continuing the firing. They created scenes in hospital also. The clash took place late last night at Mandi Shyam Nagar in Dankore.

Both the candidates belong to the Bahujan Samaj Party though the BSP has not sponsored either of them for the poll.

While Deepak Bhatti, younger brother of Sunil Bhatti and his cousin Rohit were returning to Shyam Nagar late on Sunday, Yoginder Bhatti, his brothers Ravinder Bhatti, Ajit and Bhupender in an Innova and Santro cars fired on Deepak and his cousin. Bullets hit Deepak and Rohit. A large number of Sunil Bhatti's supporters rushed to the spot and surrounded the assailants. A free-for-all, with lathis and batons ensued. The assailants fled while firing in the air.

Wounded Deepak and Rohit were rushed to Kailash Hospital, Greater Noida. A large contingent of police reached hospital after getting the news of gunbattle in hospital.

Greater Noida DSP Shailender Lal said neither of the party has filed a compliant. PAC has been deployed in Kailash Hospital in view of tension there.

New Delhi, October 25
On the first day of the five-day strike of the Delhi university teachers' association against implementation of semester system at undergraduate level today, vice-chancellor Deepak Pental asked the teachers to return to classrooms. Pental said such strikes would affect students badly.

Speaking to the media, Pental said the strikes had eaten up 17 of the 90 working days in this semester, and anymore disruption will harm the students significantly.

"We have postponed the examinations by about 15 days so that the loss incurred till now due to strikes could be covered up. But now, this fresh strike will do irreparable damage. The teachers should come back to classes for the sake of children. They are the prime stakeholders in any university. It will be very difficult for them to cope up with the syllabi at the last moment," said Pental.

However, adamant DUTA members say they will not budge from their stand.

Pental said the administration would appeal to the University Grants Commission and the ministry of human resources minister to see that the teachers responsible for students' loss are not paid salaries.

Earlier, the VC office had written to the colleges to monitor the attendance of their teachers and not pay them for the days on which they were on strike. However, the move has been stalled midway because of huge opposition from many teachers and staff associations.

"The delay in this semester will affect the start and end of the next semester which will in turn shorten the summer holiday. Who will be responsible for the delay in declaration of results?" said Pental, who is in office only for a few more days.

Currently, out of the 30 colleges in the university which run science courses, 19 are following semester system, and 11, including the likes of Kirori Mal, Bhaskarachrya and Daulat Ram, are still teaching as per the annual mode.

New Delhi, October 25
Emaar-MGF, the private firm which developed the Commonwealth Games Village, on Monday moved the Delhi High Court against the central government's direction to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to confiscate the company's Rs183 crore bank guarantee.

The guarantee was furnished by the builder before taking up the construction of 1,168 flats in the Village on the bank of the Yamuna river in east Delhi at a cost of over Rs1,000 crore.

Asking the DDA to respond to the Emaar-MGF's petition by November 11, the high court said that if the guarantee had not been encashed by the authority a status quo had to be maintained.

The DDA informed the court that Rs 90 crore had already been encashed by it and Rs 60 crore had been deposited in its bank account for clearance through cheque.

The rest of the amount of Rs 33 crore is still to be encashed.

On hearing the DDA's submissions, Justice Vipin Sanghi said a status quo would have to be maintained in respect of Rs 33 crore out of the bank guarantee and Rs 60 crore which was still to be cleared through cheques.

Emmar-MGF through its plea submitted before the court that the DDA had given it a week's time till October 16 to explain why it delayed the construction of the Games Village flats and also sought damages worth Rs 80 crore.

The developer said the Village was built to the "highest standards of quality and design" and all the pertinent milestones were achieved as per the scope of the work.

The company also said all deficiencies in the Village pointed out by the DDA or any other agency were duly rectified by it. — IANS

New Delhi, October 25
The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report alleging that a labourer died in South Delhi when he was forced to clean sewer without being provided mask or necessary safety kit, a NHRC spokesperson said today.

The incident was reported on October 21, Reports alleged that one Mahesh Kumar was asked to clean a sewer late on the October 19 evening by the hospital authorities of L.R.S. Institute of Tuberculosis and Related Diseases in Mehrauli. As Mahesh went down the sewer, a sudden burst of harmful gas numbed his senses and he lost consciousness, the spokesperson said quoting the reports. His condition became critical before he could be rushed to the hospital. He died early morning of October 20, 2010. As per report no criminal case has been registered in the matter, he said.

The commission in its proceedings today observed that the contents of the reports, if true, raise serious issue of human rights violation of Mahesh, and issued notices to the Delhi's chief secretary and the police commissioner, calling for reports in the matter within four weeks.

New Delhi, October 25
Uncertainty is looming over the schools running in unauthorised colonies of the national Capital.

The private schools in illegal colonies are facing shutdown as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has refused to regularise them.

According to MCD officials, the schools do not ply with the rules and regulations laid down in the master plan, which make mandatory for them to have a built-up area of 800 sq mt.

"The schools in the unauthorised colonies are built in small areas ranging from 300 sq mt to 500 sq mt. Some are even as small as 200 sq mt. According to the master plan, a school with a total area of less than 800 sq mt cannot be given approval certificate," said a senior MCD official of education department.

The additional commissioner, Education, MCD, has written a letter to the urban development ministry in this regard. The civic body in the

letter has requested to exempt the schools from the clause of the master plan which makes it compulsory for a school to be built in an area of more than 800 sq mt.

"The schools cannot be legalized if they do not adhere to the master plan 2010 rules. So we have asked the ministry to excuse them off the clause," said the officer.

The master plan has also made it mandatory for schools to have 40 per cent of the land as playground for students. It's not only the illegal schools, even the MCD schools in many parts of Delhi do not have appropriate playgrounds.

On the other hand, maximum schools in the illegal colonies are built in small areas and most of them do not have play fields, open areas and proper infrastructure. There are more than 1,700 municipal schools in the city, whereas the number of schools in authorized areas is more than 1,000.

New Delhi, October 25
Most men travelling on the Delhi Metro today said that they were unaware they would have to pay a fine of Rs 200, if found travelling on coaches reserved for women. The Metro needs to spread awareness before imposing the penalty, they felt.

"I don't know about any such fine ... generally I don't travel in women's coach. I think the Delhi Metro should create awareness about it before imposing any penalty," said Amit Singh, a college student.

The Delhi Metro on Sunday had announced a fine of Rs 200 for every violation, to be enforced from Tuesday. Children up to 12 years, accompanied by women, can travel in the reserved coaches. Mobile squads will be deployed to ensure compliance, Metro officials said.

The fine follows the October 2 decision to reserve the first coach in every train for women. But many men have been found to disregard the rule, particularly during rush hours.

"Most of us don't know about the fine. I think men board the reserved coach only when rest of the compartments are overcrowded, and there is some space in the women's coach," said Atul Saxena, a government employee.

Women commuters were all praise for the penalty.

"Many men travel in the reserved coaches, and they don't move even after being told by women passengers. It is good that Delhi Metro has started penalising the defaulters," said Sangeeta Singh, a college student.

"Thanks to the Delhi Metro for reserving a coach for women. When it is an all-women coach, I don't mind taking a crowded Metro, which is unthinkable for a general coach," said Tripti Singh, a marketing professional.

Some male commuters too have supported the move.

"It is a good move. I think the penalty will act as a deterrent," said Sanjeev Arora, a bank employee. — IANS

New Delhi, October 25
"Indians have always believed in free dissemination of knowledge for the benefit of mankind, but today we are in an entirely different set-up and if we don't safeguard our intellectual property, it will be claimed by someone else," said Delhi Technological University's (DTU) vice-chancellor, Prof P.B. Sharma.

The vice-chancellor was speaking at a two-day workshop on intellectual property rights at DTU.

DTU spokesperson Rashmi Sablania said, "In today's global community, it has become critical to safeguard one's ideas and innovations through proper patenting and copyrights to avoid any infringement and misuse by others. It is keeping the importance of intellectual property rights that we have held this workshop. The idea is to build awareness in students on intellectual property rights with a focus on its policies, implications and objectives."

The workshop has been organized by the department of information technology at DTU.

At the workshop, the vice-chancellor announced the setting up of an IPR cell in DTU to assist faculty members and students for filling and processing their patent applications.

Dr Bhooshan Kelkar, country manager IBM India Ltd, mentioned in his address that, "intangible ideas need to be converted into tangible properties. Intellectual property is a form of intangible property and consists of trade secrets, patents, trademarks, copyrights and publications."

He added, "Much like personal or real property, IP holds ownership rights and can be protected from use or theft by others."

Elaborating on copyrights and patents, Kelkar said, "Copyright is a product of human skill and the mental capacity for original and creative work. Patent protects the idea itself as opposed to copyright which protects the expression of idea."

He went on to explain that everything however cannot be patented, including discoveries of laws of nature, production of films, music, etc. "An innovation is patentable only if it is new, useful and non-obvious," added Kelkar.

New Delhi, October 25
With the arrest of two boys -- Ajay (18) and Bharat, alias Vijay (18), both residents of Metro Vihar in Phase II, the Delhi police has solved two cases of murders in which victims were allegedly killed for robbery.

On October 23, the police got information that a person was allegedly injured by some assailants. He was taken to M.B. Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

"Some residents, on condition of anonymity, told us that two youngsters had robbed the victim Budhpal of Siraspur Village and ran towards their village, after stabbing him," said a police official.

The police apprehended the accused youths and seized the weapon used in the crime. The robbed artificial jewellery and mobile phone have been seized from them.

The police found that the SIM card used by them belonged to one Vijay Kumar of Narela whose murder was reported on October 13.

The accused youths have confessed to be behind both the murders. "On October 12, when the victim was going on his cycle for night duty, the accused accosted him and stabbed him when he resisted them. They fled, after taking his mobile phone," the police said.

Noida, October 25
A 13-year-old boy was arrested from the jhuggis in Sector 8 Noida for bootlegging. A middle-aged man was also nabbed. The police arrested Muna and Alok (names changed) and recovered 20 packets of ganja. The police had noticed Alok bargaining with some people in Bamboo Market in Sector 8. He was caught on suspicion.

The duo told the police that they received their supply of drugs from Bihar which is brought in large quantities in a rail coach for Ghaziabad and Delhi. It is brought to Noida in a luxury car. Small packets of ganja are sold in Noida for Rs 20 to Rs 30 a packet. The ringleader of this smuggling gang is identified as Shekhar and his wife Tara, but both have escaped the police dragnet for the last many years.

The police had locked up minor smuggler in Sector 20 Kotwali along with Guna Yadav, the ganja smuggler. The minor was later taken out from the lock-up and sent to Juvenile Home, Meerut.