|
|
|
|
|
Shunglu Committee Report
Pay maintenance to aged parents, court orders son
Back to normalcy at Jantar Mantar
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Students welcome entrance tests for English, journalism
107-year-old woman undergoes hip replacement surgery
Few takers for HOHO buses
‘DTC buses hardly different from Bluelines’
‘Community involvement key to curbing child trafficking’
Lid off double murder, man arrested
PG programme in sports communication
Jamia admissions on
Kids don’t listen to us, parents tell police
Russian women teased, driver stabbed
Rs 2 lakh looted from house in Sahibabad
Chatterati
|
|
Shunglu Committee Report
New Delhi, April 10 "Under the pretext of upgrading of Shivaji Stadium, the stadium was demolished and is being reconstructed, aided by a nexus formed between officers of the NDMC, the consultant (M/s Raja Aederi Consultants) and the contractor (M/s China Railway Shisuji)," the committee said in its report recently submitted to the Prime Minister's Office. "It was observed that the stadium was initially identified as a venue for women's hockey in 2004...The decision to use Shivaji Stadium as a hockey training venue was communicated by the organising committee in December 2005. "The decision to demolish and reconstruct the stadium was not available on file. The contract for the 'Improvement/Upgradation of Shivaji Stadium' was finally awarded to M/s China Railway Shisuji for Rs 160.27 crore, over 10 times the initial projected cost of Rs 15 crore," it said. "Also, revised administrative approval and expenditure sanction was obtained for Rs 185 crore after award of contract, with no reasoning for the inclusion of the additional Rs 25 crore," the report said. The panel slammed the NDMC for taking up the project which could not be completed before the start of the Commonwealth Games last year and remains incomplete till today. "The entire project was not in the first place required, however, the NDMC was determined to renovate the stadium for future use, and thus used the Commonwealth Games-2010 as a ruse to obtain the funds for the same from the government. Work at the stadium is still continuing as on date (February 2011)," it said. Interestingly, the work was sub-contracted to M/s Simplex Projects at Rs 80 crore, nearly 50 per cent below the actual cost of work awarded to M/s China Railway Shisuji, a Chinese firm. "Contract was awarded to an ineligible party, a Chinese company which had not executed any work in India at an exorbitantly high cost of Rs 160.27 crore. The work was promptly sub-contracted to M/S Simplex for about Rs 80 crore. In the meanwhile NDMC officials obtained administrative approval for Rs 185 crore. At least for the CWG 2010, such an investment was not necessary," the report said. The committee under the chairmanship of former CAG chief VK Shunglu found irregularities in "substitution of stadium chairs" which cost a loss of about Rs 6 crore to the exchequer. "As per the tender and the agreement, chairs of notified specifications were to be fixed at the stadium. The price of these chairs as per the tender document was assessed at the rate of Rs 1,200 each. The firm, China Railways Shisuji Group Corporation, had quoted the price of the said chair at the rate of Rs 1,730 each...," it said. The firm later expressed inability to provide the type of chair mentioned in the contract and agreed to provide the "same chairs (which) were supplied to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and other stadiums during the Games." "Claims by the firm about the supply of the same chairs were incorrect. It was found that the chairs for the lower tier were supplied by M/s Swadeshi Construction Co at the rate of Rs 1,462 per chair... "The firm has raised the bill for these chairs at the rate of Rs 5,777 per chair and with VAT and fixing charges it works out to Rs 7,781 per chair. If this bill is paid as proposed by the firm, NDMC would pay Rs 7,31,41,400 against the agreed cost of 1,62,62,000 which works out to the payment of Rs 5,68,79,400 above the agreed cost," it pointed out. "There have been various instances of collusion between the NDMC and other parties such as the consultant and contractor, which have resulted in appointment of an ineligible consultant as well as contractor, as also unwarranted expenditure on this (Shivaji Stadium) project," the committee said. In its report, The committee has pointed out several irregularities on the part of Lt Governor Tejindra Khanna, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, sacked Games Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi and secretary general Lalit Bhanot among other senior government officials.
— PTI |
|
Pay maintenance to aged parents, court orders son
New Delhi, April 10 Additional Sessions Judge Rajneesh Kumar Gupta ordered Girish Saluja, a resident Ramesh Nagar, to pay his parents Mahesh Kumar and Veena Saluja Rs 4,500 each every month, dismissing his plea challenging a magisterial court's interim order for maintenance. Endorsing the magisterial court's order, Gupta said the amount was not "unreasonable or excessive". "Keeping in view all the facts and circumstances of the case, the interim maintenance of Rs 4,500 per month each to the respondents (mother-father) cannot be said to be unreasonable or excessive," Gupta said. The judge dismissed Saluja's petition against the order of magisterial court passed last October under the provisions of Section 125 of the CrPC, providing for maintenance to estranged or divorced wife, minor children or dependent parents. "I do not find any infirmity in the order passed by the trial court and it is upheld. The revision petition is without any merits and it is dismissed," Gupta added. The magisterial court ordered Saluja to pay Rs 9,000 monthly maintenance to his parents on a plea by the senior citizens, who told the court that they were suffering from heart problems and did not have means of livelihood. "Girish has neglected and refused to maintain us though he is earning around Rs 2 lakh per month," the parents had alleged in their complaint before the court. During adjudication of his parents' plea, Girish admitted that he owns and runs a shop at Moti Nagar, but showing his I-T return, contended that his annual income was merely Rs 1.6 lakh. He also contended that his father himself owns a shop at Moti Nagar, besides having an additional income from the business of Tanjore gold paintings. He, however, failed to prove his contentions. Girish, in his defence, said despite the fact that his parents had their own business, he was sending Rs 3,000 every month to them as per their family settlement. The court, however, rejected his contentions and said, "There is no material on record to show prima facie that the respondents (parents) have sufficient means to maintain themselves as there is no record to show that they have earnings from the business as alleged by the petitioner
(Girish)." — PTI |
|
Back to normalcy at Jantar Mantar
New Delhi, April 10 The scenario today on the Jantar Mantar road was lull with no more barricading, clean roads with almost no public, where on the other hand, over the past some days, thousands of supporters had been thronging Jantar Mantar to support Harare, including national and international media, film stars and other social activist groups. The site had been buzzing with activity as students, activists and housewives converged at the site for a glimpse of the 73-year-old Gandhian who was leading a popular mass movement unparalleled in recent history. However, the road was deserted today and the majority of eateries that did brisk business during the five days remained closed. "We had never seen so much madness and mayhem at Jantar Mantar in the recent past. There have been many protests, but this one was something else. With so many people coming in everyday, we always had to be vigil in case of a stampede or if the crowd got out of control. Traffic remained terribly hit on the surrounding roads as well. We saw many people who arrived as early as 6 am and stayed till evening, just to catch a glimpse of Hazare. Today, the scene is entirely different. It is very quiet and calm. We cannot believe it's the same place," said one of the senior constables at Jantar Mantar. The only trace of the previous five days at the Jantar Mantar today remained torn posters of Hazare's agitation at some of the trees. Auto-rickshaws were parked at the site where the dais once stood, and the drivers played cards and smoked beedis nearby. Meanwhile, many Delhiites who had come to Connaught Place to enjoy their Sunday made a point to visit the site. "This is a victory of the people of India, but I am not sure of its future. We don't know whether it will be passed by Parliament or will it really be beneficial for us?" said Sanya Gurung, a management student. |
|
Students welcome entrance tests for English, journalism
New Delhi, April 10 A few days ago, four more DU colleges decided to opt for the Combined Aptitude Test for English (CATE). Last year, the number of colleges that had participated in the CATE test was 17, which has increased to 20 this year. The four newest participants in the CATE examination are Janaki Devi Memorial College, Vivekanand College, Rajdhani College and Kirori Mal College. Lady Sri Ram College, which had been a part of CATE last year, has now decided to opt out of the entrance test owing to a packed academic calendar. English department head Sumanyu Satpathy said that despite having a good experience with the test last year, LSR had to pull out of the examination due to lack of teachers needed to help with the procedure. He added, "There might be a slight change in the format of the CATE test this year. The process for deciding and discussing the format and content of the test is still going on." "The common entrances relieve the pressure of visiting different colleges for individual entrance exams. Both English and Journalism entrance in DU colleges are followed by a strict interview process as there are a limited number of seats for students. With the online registration in place and a common exam, students will be relived of most of the formalities. However, the rest of the details are being talked upon now," said one of the faculty members at LSR College. More than 4,000 applications are expected this year for the BA (Hons) Journalism course. The five colleges offering the course are Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Kamala Nehru College, Lady Sri Ram College, Kalindi College and Maharaja Agrasen College. All these colleges are expected to be a part of the test that is scheduled to be conducted on June 19. Around 800 students will be seeking admission to the English Hons. programme of the university across 20 colleges. The application process including the sale and submission of forms will begin on May 18 and the CATE test will be conducted on June 12. The application procedure for both the courses are also to be completely conducted online this year, which has come as a big relief to students. This year, the common entrance will be coordinated by Maharaja Agrasen College. |
|
|
107-year-old woman undergoes hip replacement surgery
New Delhi, April 10 Vidyavati Chopra, of Delhi's Bengali Market, underwent a partial hip replacement surgery three days ago and is possibly the oldest person to have such a procedure. Vidyavati, who may be among the few lucky ones still alive to have seen the trio of Bhagat Singh, Sukhbir and Rajguru in prison, had met with a freakish accident and fractured her hip this week leaving her family worried about the option of surgery because of her age. But Chopra was readily willing to go under the surgeon's scalpel which was an assuring sign for Dr M K Magazine, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Primus Ortho and Spine Hospital, who convinced the family. Dr Magazine, who has been treating Chopra family for over 25 years and has treated their four-generations, told PTI that she recognised his touch when in operation theater and told him that she wants to be on her feet as soon as possible. "It is common for people in 80s and 90s to get partial hip replacement surgery done. I have even treated a 104-year-old patient through this procedure. Hip fractures are quite common in this age-group but it was actually the grit of Vidyavati Chopra which makes her stand out," Dr Magazine said. The surgery was nearly an hour long affair for the team comprising Dr Saurav Shukla, Dr Dattatreya Mohapatra, Dr Pradeep Govil and Dr Aman Dua who were led by Dr Magazine. "We have replaced the fractured bone with an artificial one made of steel using special bone cement as her bones are too fragile to take the load of screws. She will be discharged by Monday or Tuesday," he said. The surgeon said Vidyavati had broken her bones three to four times and every time recuperated back to normalcy quickly under his supervision. "She is a survivor", he said. "She will get back to her feet within a fortnight. In normal cases, we put patients on a walker within a couple of days of surgery. The patients are constantly instructed to not put weight on the injured leg. Since she is hard of hearing, constant instructions cannot be given. We will wait for a week or so and then put her on walker," he said. Vidyavati's daughter-in-law Shresht Lata Chopra, who is in her late sixties, said her mother-in-law spent her childhood in Sindh in Pakistan and got married at Nawanshahr near Jalandhar in Punjab before moving to Delhi in 1940 with her husband who was manager at an English company here. "She was FA of that time which is equivalent to Higher Secondary of present times. Her mornings used to begin with newspapers and a cup of tea till her eyesight began to fade. She still relishes ice-cream. This is not her first accident and every time she had got normalcy back," she said. Vidyavati had lost her only one son in 1999 and her husband long ago but she still controls affairs of the household. "She tells us about her visit to the jail where Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were kept before their hanging. She describes them having a "sher jaisa (lion-like)" imposing personality. "She is not a freedom fighter but she had taken part in the march that took place after the death of Lala Lajpat Rai and many other such activities. She even wore Khadi till freedom was achieved," Shresht Lata
said. — PTI |
|
Few takers for HOHO buses
New Delhi, April 10 Even though the HOHO bus service of the Delhi tourism is nearing to complete its six months, hardly any takers can be seen enjoying the city's beauty from aboard the catchy buses. The buses are yet to find enough takers, which was said to be the best way to see the city. The bus service was launched by the Delhi tourism with much fanfare just few days before the commencement of the Commonwealth Games. The officials admitted that the service is not earning the profit that was projected when it was launched. "We have not been receiving target customers for the buses," said a senior Delhi tourism official. According to the officials, the tourists and other local people do not have awareness about the services. "We have seen that not many people are aware of this service. This is the main reason why it is not making enough sales," said the officer. Fourteen buses do the rounds of the city covering many important tourist destinations, including historic monuments, museums and markets between 8 am and 8 pm and can be boarded from any of the 19 HOHO points. In a bid to fill the empty seats in the buses, the Delhi tourism had lately increased the validity of the bus ticket, which costs Rs 300 per person, from one to two days. The second visit in the bus can be taken any day within a week of buying the ticket. The bus provides few brochures containing information about the national Capital, important places, markets, historical monuments, etc. The buses also showcase a 10-minute documentary depicting India's heritage. While the official also added that the HOHO buses would be the most suitable way for visiting the city. "We are stressing upon doing the right publicity of the bus service as it will take some time to reach the target," said the officer. |
|
‘DTC buses hardly different from Bluelines’
New Delhi, April 10 According to Delhi police statistics, 21 fatal accidents were reported by Delhi Transport Corporation buses this year till March 31 as against 11 during the corresponding period last year. As against 454 prosecutions in first three month last year, there has been a quantum jump of prosecutions this year to touch 1,799, which is nearly four times than last year. The police has also impounded 234 DTC buses. Last year, the number of buses impounded was 39 in the same period. Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (Traffic) said, "This makes a sharp increase in fatal accidents by DTC buses. People have been raising serious concerns about how dangerously the DTC buses ply on the road and the same is reflected in fatalities caused by these vehicles." "Sensitizing senior officers of DTC about the ground situation, it is hoped, will lead to better situation during the rest of the year. People rightly expect government-owned DTC buses to be model for public transport," he said. Another menace on the city roads is believed to be the Gramin Sewa autos meant to cater to rural areas. In the last month or so, there have been 2,961 cases of prosecution, including 296 cases of impounding. "The vehicles are flouting all the rules of road discipline. We are prosecuting them despite people sometimes accusing the traffic police of patronising these vehicles," Garg said. |
|
‘Community involvement key to curbing child trafficking’
New Delhi, April 10 Radhika, a 14-year-old girl from a poor family in Andhra Pradesh's Kakinada district, had to work till midnight at a bank official's house where she was employed as a maid. The trio are among the fortunate few to have been rescued and now having the opportunity to enjoy their rights to read and write. But thousands of children are still waiting for such miracles to happen in their lives despite various laws that prevent child labour and immoral trafficking being in place. "By making laws only we cannot curb these social menaces. What needs to be done is that to bring in awareness at the grass-root level and engaging the community where such crimes are originated to act against them," said Dola Mahapatra, national director of NGO ChildFund India. "Unless, the community is committed to protecting its children from being victims of trafficking and slavery, these crimes are likely to stay," he
said. — PTI |
|
|
Lid off double murder, man arrested
New Delhi, April 10 Investigations revealed that Dinesh is a contractor. He had borrowed some money through an agreement from 60-year-old Krishna Devi for some investment in business. Krishna had been insisting on early payment of the loan. Due to constant pressure, Dinesh and his brother Vicky went to her house on April 2 to take back the agreement. When she again demanded the money, they expressed their inability. On some pretext, they stayed overnight at the house of the old woman and once her grandchildren were asleep, Dinesh asked her to hand over the copy of the loan agreement. On refusal, Dinesh and his brother smothered her with a pillow. Her 15-year-old granddaughter woke up hearing the cries. The accused smothered her too. The above incident was witnessed by another nine-year-old granddaughter of the woman who escaped and bolted herself in another room. Thereafter, both the accused ran away from the spot. After the incident, Dinesh had been evading the police arrest. Krishna and her granddaughter were declared dead in hospital. After the inspection of the scene of crime by the local police and information given by another surviving granddaughter, it was clear that Dinesh, a distant relative, had committed the murder. |
|
|
PG programme in sports communication
New Delhi, April 10 It has recently introduced a postgraduate programme in Sports Communication and Management for the students who want to see their future in sports. The course looks into sports journalism in depth including in the print, cyber, radio and television sectors. It will also take care of sports marketing and branding as another specialization. Celebrity management is the third specialization. Prof. Ujjawal Kumar Choudhury, ISB&M, said, "With this course, the students will get to know about interrelationship between finance and sports, communication with the electronic and print media, knowledge about sports law on contracts. The course syllabus has been designed by a panel of experts from the sports industry. The course will include an interaction with celebrity sportsmen and coaches." |
|
|
Jamia admissions on
New Delhi, April 10 Dr Simi Malhotra, the Jamia spokesperson, said, "The response from students this admission season has been overwhelming and within the first week itself, we have sold some 15,000 forms. We have also been getting a lot of queries from aspiring students on different courses and the varsity has also introduced a number of new courses, the response for these courses is also encouraging." Malhotra added, "One of the new courses that has been introduced is an MA in early childhood development that is being offered under the newly created Centre for Early Childhood Development and Research. Meanwhile, students could be seen collecting admission forms. Nasreen, an aspirant, said, "I am interested in the engineering programme at Jamia and have already collected the admission forms." Zaida Iqbal, another aspirant, said, "I have come from Allahabad to apply here and am interested in the humanities programme. I have already submitted the application form. I believe there is an entrance exam." |
|
|
Kids don’t listen to us, parents tell police
New Delhi, April 10 Similar was the complaint by an ex-Army officer when confronted by traffic policemen for allowing his son to drive the car without a licence. These incidents were narrated by Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic), as he said the police would do what could be done but the trend showed the crumbling of institutions which did not augur well for the society. "A concerned citizen informed me that a 15-year-old child in posh Mehrauli drives his mother's car, which has tinted glasses and fancy number plate, very rashly. As it was dangerous for both the child and the safety of others, I sent traffic officials to their residence and found that car had the mentioned defects," Garg said. When confronted, Garg said, the mother conceded that it was true and she indeed had no control on the child. "He does what he wants and does not listen to her at all and she was helpless. In front of him, she told the police that they should be tough with him and tell him not to drive. "We did that and told the child firmly that if he did that we would take severe action against him and his mother. He agreed but it remains to be seen how much the child abides," Garg added. In a similar case, he said, an ex-Army officer's son was caught racing on NH-8 with others at a speed exceeding 100 km per hour when he had no driving licence. He was fined and the parent admonished but again the plea was same that young persons do not listen to elders. "There should be institutions apart from the police to make children abide by rules. Else there would be danger to them and others," he said.
— PTI |
|
|
4.85 lakh appear for IIT entrance exam
New Delhi, April 10 The exam will be held in two sessions - from 9 am to 12 noon and 2 pm to 5 pm - across 1,051 centres in 131 cities across the country, an official statement said. The results will be declared on May 25. For the first time, students will get to see scanned answer sheets online after the results are declared. The number of students appearing this year is 30,000 more than last year's figure, a rise of 6.5 per cent. Model solutions of the paper will be put up on May 15, according to the IIT-JEE website.
— IANS |
|
Russian women teased, driver stabbed
Ghaziabad, April 10 According to SP (rural) A K
Mishra, two women from Russia were travelling to Nainital in a cab late on Friday night when they decided to have a meal at a roadside eatery at
Garhmukteshwar. "Three men, who were in a car, teased the women and when their driver Rahul protested, he was stabbed by one of the three men. The assailants then escaped," he
said. Rahul was taken to a local hospital and was shifted to AIIMS in Delhi yesterday in a critical condition, the SP said, adding that the two women were escorted to the national Capital by the police. However, no information has been received on the three assailants as the registration number of their car was found to be forged, he said.
— PTI |
|
Rs 2 lakh looted from house in Sahibabad
Ghaziabad, April 10 The theft took place in Pankaj Kumar's house at the Parshav Nath Paradise Apartment here last night when the family members were sleeping and the thieves allegedly decamped with the ornaments and cash worth around Rs 2
lakh. They might have entered the house from the side window as the house was locked from inside, the police said. It is suspected that the thieves might have used some intoxicating material to make the family members unconscious, it added.
— PTI |
|
|
Chatterati
So what if the West Bengal Chief Minister Buddha does not own a house or a car and that he has only Rs 5,000 cash in hand. He has no bank deposits or investments. But his wife Meera has an income, according to her tax returns, of approximately Rs 7 lakh in 2009-10 and jewellery worth many lakhs along with investments.
It is an odd situation today where the political bigwigs are relatively poorer than their wives. Assam has the richest political wives. A senior minister's wife in the Gogoi government owns 17 plots of land. The wives of 13 of the 19 ministers, including the Chief Minister, are all crorepatis. Interestingly, the declared assets of Chief Minister Gogoi and his several ministers were only worth a few lakhs of rupees. Their wives seem to be savvy in their investments. They have shares of different companies valuing in crores and are land owners driving in posh cars. These political wives have flats and houses in Delhi and Guwahati too. The husbands may be lakhpatis, but the wives are all
crorepatis. VIPs catch cricket fever
The Gandhis are no doubt a spontaneous lot. As the cricket fever caught up with the rich and poor last week, Manmohan Singh sat in VIP box in Mohali while Sonia Gandhi sat in the stands with her son Rahul and the aam aadmi cheered the Indian cricket team. Even during the Commonwealth Games, they sat with the public and not in any VIP enclosure. After the match, Rahul Gandhi went off to the guesthouse in Chandigarh for a meal. Though the kitchen was nearly shut, he did get a bite there. Sonia Gandhi's enthusiasm led her to the streets at midnight shaking hands with the public at large after the World Cup win. Pranab Mukherjee was so excited with the fact that he was the finance minister in 1983 when India lifted the World Cup and he is finance minister even today when India lifted the World.Cup after 28 years. Wow! The spontaneous gestures of the Gandhis leave the Congress walas amazed. Rahul also walked into Advani's chamber at Parliament to sip coffee with him on the latter's birthday. Rahul can be seen at many local places like Sagar Ratna or the Big Chill in Khan Market with a friend sharing a meal. He stops his car to help a cycle wala if he notices someone needs help or lift a cute kid walking in the park. So it's not really that you will find the first family only at 5 star hotels. In fact, their favorite joints are where most locals eat. Mostly mother and son travel in the economy class in every airline. Designers, models savvier
As Fashion Week proceeds, it is a full season for our designers who are well known internationally. One notices instantly a difference in our designers and models as being savvier and have learnt the ropes of promotion. It is not just the event where you have to show your designs but every move here is a tactical well-thought-of be it a hug or a wave. The right media coverage may lead to a new contact, client, even a business deal if your after-show party is a hit. Celebrities and bigwigs may arrive wearing the creation of the designer which helps in getting the right media hype and which will lead to business. The parties are hosted at 5-star hotels where some ambassadors of different nations will be present. You might spot Robert Vadra at designer Rohit Gandhi's after-show party. Rahul Gandhi and Robert Vadra are usually present at Ashish Soni's parties. So, fashion parties are now more business than pleasure with the right PR thrown in and as it so happened last year and now this year too the Fashion Week and the IPL season are neck to neck. So all around the atmosphere is of celebration and every moment is a PR exercise for liquor companies or new clubs. |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Classified Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
