New Delhi, March 24
The Supreme Court today directed Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to ensure that the ongoing Jats' agitation for job quota does not affect the supply of water, petrol, milk and other essential commodities to Delhi.

A Bench comprising Justices Altamas Kabir and Dalveer Bhandari asked the three neighbouring states to take firm steps for the smooth movement of petroleum products from Mathura and Panipat oil refineries to Delhi.

The Bench passed an order to this effect at a hurriedly convened special sitting to hear two petitions filed by the Delhi Jal Board and the Indian Oil Corporation apprehending disruption in the supply of water and oil to the national Capital in view of the agitation.

The apex court, which is closed this week on account of Holi, also asked the state governments to ensure that inter-state public transports plied normally. The Bench issued notice to Haryana and UP and posted the next hearing for the second week of April.

Delhi government's standing counsel Najmi Wajiri, who appeared for DJB and IOC, said the city was facing a possible short supply of essential commodities as Jat organizations were holding up road and rail traffic.

"The agitation should not interrupt the supply of water and essential commodities, including milk and milk products. Essential commodities reaching Delhi either by road or railways should not be stopped. It is needless to say that the state governments shall take every necessary step in this regard," the Bench said in the order.

If necessary, the three states could seek help from the Centre to enforce the court order, the Bench clarified.

The apex court said it had taken note of the reported statements of the Chief Ministers of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh giving their tacit support to the agitation.

"We are constrained to pass the order having regard to the statements made by the highest functionary of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh indicating support to the agitation," the Bench observed.

The order should be immediately sent to the chief secretaries of UP and Haryana, besides the resident commissioners of the two states in Delhi and their standing counsel.

New Delhi, March 24
Students of class XI in schools across the country are in for a surprise as the CBSE and 19 other boards are now introducing a new, improved and combined syllabus for science and maths subjects.

The syllabus is first being introduced in class XI from the 2011-12 session, later it will be applied to class XII as well.

The CBSE has already informed all the schools affiliated to it about the new syllabus and also uploaded it on its website. Many boards are still in the process of informing their schools about the changes to the syllabus while some boards will decide on it soon.

A CBSE official said, "The new combined syllabus for science and maths has been introduced in class XI from this year and will soon be applied to other classes as well. The syllabus was developed by a panel of experts from the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and the Council of Boards of School Education (COBSE). It has already been accepted by 19 boards which include CBSE, Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) and state boards of Assam, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala, among others. The UP board is seriously considering the new combined syllabus and will reach a decision soon."

The official added, "The combined syllabus was produced by the efforts of a committee that had been formed back in 2008 by the ministry of human resource development. This committee consisted of members of NCERT and COBSE who consulted a panel of experts to frame a common syllabus for mathematics and science subjects. This syllabus is expected to be made mandatory throughout the country. The purpose is to offer an improved and combined syllabus to all the science students who wish to appear for various competitive examinations."

Some six school boards are currently considering the new syllabus. Further, the first board examination with the new syllabus is scheduled for March 2013.

New Delhi, March 24
The main Opposition in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, BJP, today raised the Shunglu Committee report in the House demanding Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's resignation on the moral ground as name of the Delhi government figured in the report for financial irregularities in the Commonwealth Games.

They said the Chief Minister had no moral right to rule the city government. She should resign from the post of the Chief Minister.

Just after the House proceedings begun, Leader of the Opposition Vijay Kumar Malhotra stood up and showed a report published in the newspapers which claimed that the VK Shunglu Committee had indicted Delhi Lt Governor Tejindra Khanna and Dikshit, among others, for delays and losses in the Games projects.

Later, Malhotra was supported by his party MLAs who came in well of the House chanting slogans against the Chief Minister.

Speaker Yoganand Shastri tried to pacify them asking to occupy their seats. When the BJP members continued making noise in the House and demanding the Chief Minister's resignation, the Speaker got them removed one-by-one by marshals. Only Malhotra and Jagdish Mukhi were left. Later, they boycotted the House proceedings.

Talking to the media, Mukhi said, so far, he did not have a copy of the report. They raised this issue on the basis of reports appeared in the newspapers.

When asked the Chief Minister for the comment against Opposition's allegation, she avoided the question saying that she had not seen the report. "I do not know where from they have got the report", she said.

An official of the Chief Minister Office also said no communication had come from the Prime Minister Office about the Shunglu Committee report.

Ghaziabad, March 24
Students of two primary schools near here refused to take their midday meals after they allegedly found insects and small stones in them, sources said.

The students refused to have kadhi and rice as midday meal at the primary schools in Mataur and Mahmadpur as they saw insects and stones in them, Principal of Mataur Primary School Mahesh Sharma said, adding that the agency changed the menu and offered poor quality food to children.

The principal filed a complaint to senior education officers in this regard at the insistence of village pradhan (head) Om Prakash. — PTI

New Delhi, March 24
The southeast district police has arrested a uncle-nephew duo for allegedly raping a 30-year-old woman and making video clips of the act on their mobile phones.

According to the police, the accused have been identified as Shorum Chauhan (41) and his nephew Umesh (38), residents of Madanpur Khadar in the Sarita Vihar area.

According to the police, the victim was raped twice. Married six years ago and now having a divorce case in a Delhi court, she has living with her parents at Madanpur Khadar.

"On Monday, Shorum Chauhan went to the victim's house in the neighbourhood and asked her to visit his home 'urgently' as his wife wanted to talk to her. When the victim came, Shorum and Umesh raped her and recorded it in their mobile phone," said a police official, adding that they threatened to circulate the video if she told anyone. Shouram and Umesh again raped the woman on Tuesday.

The duo wanted to take the victim out of Delhi when she approached the police.

The police has recovered the mobile phone and arrested the duo. They were also held in a rape case in 2003 and served a five year jail term.

New Delhi, March 24
A valiant constable from Sagarpur police station in southwest Delhi not only prevented an incident of snatching, but also nabbed the armed snatcher who was advancing menacingly with a knife towards a woman waiting at a bus stand.

According to Anil Kumar Ojha, DCP (south-west), constable Kapil without bothering his life, attacked the snatcher, Ghanshyam.

The incident took place yesterday when complainant Anju, along with her husband, was waiting for bus near Hanuman Mandir on Main Sagarpur Road one person pounced on her and attempted to snatch her chain.

"When Anju resisted, the assailant whipped out a knife and menacingly advanced towards her in order to frighten her. However, the constable, who was on the patrolling in the area, noticed the commotion at the bus stop and in a flash, he swung into action and showing immense courage and presence of mind, he overpowered the accused, disarmed and nabbed him," said Ojha.

During interrogation, the accused said he was unemployed and under debt also. In order to meet his daily expenses and to buy gifts for his girlfriend, he decided to resort to committing crime.

New Delhi, March 24
The Delhi High Court yesterday sought a reply from the Delhi government and officials of a school as to why they were not able to provide immediate treatment to a girl whose eyes were injured in an incident in the institution.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna issued notice to the director and secretary of the education department of the Delhi government and Vishwamitra Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in east Delhi.

The court asked the parties to file their reply by April 20.

The bench's observation came after they received a letter written by an NGO alleging that the school principal had failed to provide immediate treatment to Saima, a Class 11 student, and her father, being poor, could not afford to pay for the expensive eye treatment.

According to NGO Patrons for Poor People's Foundation (PPPF), Saima had March 1 gone out of the classroom to drink water when some boys from outside pelted stones at her which damaged her eyes.

"The principal of the school failed to provide immediate treatment to the girl and sent her back to her house. When the girl's parents took her for treatment, they were told the treatment would be expensive," said the letter the NGO sent to the high court. — IANS

New Delhi, March 24
The do-or-die encounter between India and Australia kept the city hooked today as traffic was relatively thin and those on the streets were tuned into commentary while many others made way to pubs and restaurants to watch the action.

The evening life livened up with cricket enthusiasts lined up outside sports bars and restaurants with friends and families.

Some popular bars, especially in south Delhi and Connaught Place, were houseful in the evening and joyful cheers and collective sighs of agony could be heard from some distance. The fate of home team oscillated between two extremes.

"The fun of watching such a big match is in a crowd of fans. It is the next best thing to watching the match live in the stadium. We had booked seats three days back in advance," Ravi Taneja, a youngster watching the match with his friends at a bar, said.

Groups of people could be seen on the roads listening to FM radio commentary.

There was a visible decline in traffic in the afternoon as everybody seemed to be stationed to a place where they could be updated on the match's status.

"Even our bosses took it easy today," said Manish Sharma, a software professional.

New Delhi, March 24
Reading buffs in the national Capital and especially the Delhi University students have a treat coming their way with country's largest government publishing institution, National Book Trust (NBT) organising an extravagant "Delhi book bazaar" at DU's North Campus this weekend.

Starting tomorrow, the literary carnival is designed to give book lovers an opportunity to browse and buy their favorite books at cheap rates. The festival will go on till March 27.

"During the festival, publishers will offer maximum discount and also sell their old stock, rare and antiquarian books, the spokesperson said.

"The Capital has had an old tradition of open book bazaars. The nearly 50-year-old Sunday book market at Daryaganj in the old city has been one of the best places for book lovers to shop all these years. This weekend the bazaar is an attempt to recreate the excitement and the feel that book lovers got at the Daryaganj book market,' the spokesperson added.

With nearly 100 publishers and nearly 150 specially designed pagoda-style vends, the bazaar is an attempt to promote books in a popular culture. A wide variety of books on art, culture, medicine and other topics will be displayed and sold in the three-day extravaganza from 10 am to 9 pm.

Along with books, the festival also offers an intriguing evening of music, "Sham-E-Ghazal", to be presented by the Delhi Academy tomorrow and recitation of Hindi satire poetry, organised by the Hindi Academy on March 26.

The festival is the part of the year-long programme of the NBT to celebrate the centenary of the Capital in 2011, said an official statement from the trust.

This initiative was inaugurated in January by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. The upcoming book bazaar will be inaugurated by the president of the Federation of Indian Publishers, Dina Nath Malhotra.

New Delhi, March 24
With the arrest of two persons, the special staff of east district have solved a sensational theft case and recovered 23 split air conditioners worth Rs 12 lakh.

According to O P Mishra, DCP (East), the arrested have been identified as Faiz Malik, alias Sonu, and Ram Iqbal. The duo along with three other accomplices stole 23 ACs from the office of a tent and decorator in Shakarpur.

"Three days ago, they came to the office of a tent and decorator and told the guard that the manager of Delhi Tent had told them to shift the air conditioners. Believing them, the guard allowed them entry. They loaded 24 split air conditioners from the office in a TATA 407 and fled," said Mishra. A case was registered when the owner came to know of the theft the next morning.

During the course of investigation, the activities of one guard, Ram Iqbal, were found suspicious.

He was thoroughly interrogated during which he confessed that he had passed on the information of air conditioners to one junk dealer Faiz, alias Sonu. Both were arrested wherein Faiz told the police that he along with his accomplice Farukh got in touch with the guard Ram Iqbal.

"Ram Iqbal was in need of money. He passed on the information that 40 split ACs were kept in their office. In the wee hours of March 21, Faiz along with his accomplices came with a tempo and told another guard that they are sent by the manager to shift the ACs. They could load only 24 ACs in that tempo. Faiz then hired a godown in the Sahibabad area and kept the ACs there," said Mishra, adding that 23 ACs have been recovered.