Ghaziabad, April 19
After a negligence of 28-long years, the state government has approved Rs 300 crore for the development of the Khoda Colony along NH-24 between Noida and Ghaziabad, which was almost treated as a no man's land.

The colony was conveniently dubbed as a haven for criminals of all sorts.

Now, the state government has decided to spend Rs 200 crore out of the total outlay of Rs 300 crore, on roads, sewer system, education system, electricity and water systems. According to sources, work on preparing the estimates for different projects will be started immediately.

Fifteen BDC and two district panchayat members live in Khoda colony. During last elections the area was the part of the Ghaziabad legislative assembly seat. Now, on realignment, it has been included in the Sahibabad Vidhan Sabha seat area.

UP Chief Minister Mayawati would monitor the progress of the development works. The Noida Authority and GB Nagar Administration would also extend full cooperation in all these works.

For many years, gram panchayats along the NH-24 have been demanding the development of the colony.

According to Ghaziabad district magistrate (DM) Hadesh Kumar, the decision to allot Rs 300 crore for the development of Khoda was taken in a state cabinet meeting in Lucknow on Monday. Noida Authority CEO Rama Raman and GB Nagar DM Deepak Agarwal were also present in the meeting in Ghaziabad Collectorate.

Ghaziabad DM said out of Rs 300, Rs 39 crore would be spent on CC roads, Rs 200 crore on sewerage system, Rs 2 crore on primary education, Rs 20 crore on electricity and Rs 4 crore on public health and Rs 35 crore on potable water and other facilities.

On 10 April, the Chief Minister had called for reports and data from the district administration and the estimates of funds from departments for the needed development.

New Delhi, April 19
Thousands of applicants of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Housing Scheme 2010 have complained about the lack of transparency in the process of draw of lots that was held yesterday at the office of the Centre for Development of Advance Computing (CDAC).

A large number of people had gathered outside the CDAC to watch the draw happen but they were not allowed to enter the building by the police that was barricading the gates of the premises. The applicants criticised about the non-transparent procedure adopted by the DDA as there were no screens installed for the people to watch the draw live as was promised by the authority.

However, the spokesperson for the DDA said while the draw was carried out from the basement of the building, the TV screen was put up in the conference hall which did not have space for more than 25 persons. Only a few mediapersons were allowed to enter the premises before noon.

Some people, who had applied for the housing scheme, had come from faraway places in Haryana after travelling overnight to make it to Noida in time for the draw of lots last morning.

Many more applicants had turned up outside the CDAC. The agitated applicants claimed that the DDA had said that they would, at least, be able to view the process live on a big TV screen which also did not happen."After the bitter experience of previous draw, which was marred with the irregularities, the authority should have learnt some lesson. But it did not improve its standard even this time," said Abhishek Aggrawal, who missed a chance in the draw.

"We travelled overnight from Karnal to be in time for the draw of lots. All our friends had given their application numbers to us to see if they had been allotted a flat. The DDA should have made it clear that there would be no arrangements made for the applicants. We wouldn't have wasted our time like this," said Anuj Shrivastav, a businessman.

People, who tried to check the status of their application online, complained that the DDA's website stopped working after the draw was announced. "The site just did not open as it hanged whenever we tried to open the draw," said Chaitali Vig, an applicant.

Ghaziabad, April 19
Twenty-four children, below six years of age, have been lodged in the district's notorious jail, within the confines of 21 ft high and 5 ft wide walls.

The children are not confined to the jail for any offence committed by them. Their only crime is that their mothers are undergoing sentences for different crimes and the children are so small that they can't live without their mothers.

Dasna Jail was constructed in 1993 to house 1,700 inmates, but it houses no fewer than 3,500 inmates at any time.

The jail administration had to demolish many cells in barracks to accommodate prisoners more than what it was designed to house.

There are separate barracks for women prisoners. According to jail records, 120 women criminals are housed in the jail currently.

Most of them are jailed under dowry Act. Four women prisoners are allegedly Bangladeshi nationals who had trespassed into or overstayed in India.

These 24 women inmates are lodged in the jail with their minor children below 6 years of age.

According to jail superintendent, Dr Viresh Raj Sharma, women prisoners who have no one in their families are allowed the option to keep their children in the jail.

The jail has made some arrangements like a play school, where a teacher has been appointed to teach the children.

Services of educated women inmates are also utilized to teach the children.

The children attend the play school in the morning and by the afternoon they are sent back to their mothers.

But the big question is: is it advisable to keep the children of impressionable age in jail where seasoned criminals are housed and where some prisoners have reportedly lost their mental equilibrium.

New Delhi, April 19
A 65-year-old man will have to pay maintenance of Rs 3,000 per month to his domestic help as she was living with him like a wife, the Delhi High Court has ruled, upholding the order of a family court.

The 30-year-old woman used to live with the petitioner with her three minor children. She stayed with him for three years before he turned her out in December 2009, prompting her to move the family court.

High court judge Hima Kohli said: "The trial court has on a prima facie view of the matter reached the conclusion that as per the settled legal principles, in proceedings under Section 125 (order for maintenance of wives, children and parents) CrPC, the standard of proof required to prove the validity of a marriage is not very stringent, and if it can be shown that the parties living as husband and wife, were being treated as married, then the same would be considered a valid marriage, sufficient to award interim maintenance to the dependants."

"This court finds no illegality, arbitrariness or infirmity in the aforesaid finding reached by the trial court. Further, this court is inclined to agree with the trial court that the determination of the validity of a marriage can only be made in the course of the trial, after evidence has been led by both the parties.

"In this view of the matter, the submission of the petitioner that as he is not married to the respondent, he is not liable to pay any maintenance, is turned down," Justice Kohli said in the order last week.

Mahender, who was a widower, filed a petition in the high court on February 4 against Aarti (name changed), pleading for setting aside the December 2010 order passed by the additional principal judge, Family Courts, Rohini.

The counsel for the petitioner stated that the respondents' petition was not maintainable and should be dismissed, as there existed no valid marriage between the petitioner and respondent.

He said the petitioner was a man of 65 years whereas the respondent was 30 years old, and it seemed improbable that a marriage would have taken place between them.

He said Aarti was a maid servant in the house of the petitioner and she was a widow who had three children from her marriage, "therefore my client allowed her to live in his house".

He said payment of interim maintenance of Rs 3,000 per month was highly onerous as the petitioner was a poor man, with insufficient resources.

As for the contention of the counsel that the petitioner did not have sufficient monthly income to pay maintenance, the court said that could not be accepted, as the sum of Rs 3,000 per month was a paltry amount, especially in light of the fact that the petitioner has allegedly removed the respondents from his house and they had been forced to live with their relatives.

"Having regard to the fact that the petitioner has not been able to place on record any document to show that the respondent is gainfully employed, the finding of the court below - that the respondent has no source of income to support herself and her children - deserves no interference by this court at this stage," said Justice Kohli.

The principal judge, Family Courts, had granted interim maintenance of Rs 3,000 per month to the respondents from the date of the application and had directed the petitioner to clear the arrears of maintenance within a period of six months and pay the monthly maintenance amount regularly by the 10th of each month. -- IANS

New Delhi, April 19
Councillors and Congress activists today voiced their objections over the division of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi into five zones, at a meeting of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee.

The unhappy party members said the decision would adversely affect the party's prospects in the municipal elections to be held next year. They said if the Chief Minister wanted to divide the MCD, she should have consulted the DPCC.

"Senior leaders should be aware of the changes being done in the structure of the local bodies and the government," they said.

While talking to the media after the meeting, the party members said Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit planed to bring the MCD under the Delhi government by forming a metropolitan council and heading it so that she could enjoy all the power.

They were also of the view that once the MCD was divided, it would be easy for the BJP to convince the voters to support it in the upcoming municipal poll.

The BSP and SP will also make dent in the Congress vote bank, they said.

However, Dikshit clarified that the division of the corporation would improve its functioning and speed up the development works.

On the condition of anonymity, a senior minister said that there would be no change in the election process. The election would be contested on party symbols, he said.

According to the proposal submitted by the committee for the division of the MCD, each municipal ward will have 40,000 electorates and each assembly constituency will be divided into six municipal wards. There will be 408 municipal wards and 50 per cent seats would be reserved for women activists in each of the wards.

Favouring the division, the minister said in a small ward, the coucillors would be more accessible and will be able to understand the problems of the people of their area in a better manner.

Under the proposed division of the MCD, there would be five municipal corporations, five commissioners, five mayors and five chairmen of the standing committee.

New Delhi, April 19
National-level volleyball player Arunima Sinha (23), who was thrown off a moving train last week near Bareilly, is gradually coming over the shock of loss of limb which went on to shatter all her dreams, said doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Trauma Centre where she is admitted in the disaster ward.

Following infection in her amputated leg, Arunima who is now stable after a second round of debridement (first one done in Lucknow hospital) on her amputated leg, was shifted from Chattrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University, Lucknow, last night to the trauma centre.

After detailed assessment, doctors found multiple fractures in her body and even as the fractures are of stable nature, warranting bed rest for at least six weeks, rehabilitation would be challenging proposition in her case and it is just her grit and determination that would pull her out.

"A team of four doctors assessed her last night and as she was tired some part of it, including CT scan, was done today. She has pelvis fracture and it looks that she may have spinal injury as she has been complaining of uneasiness in her neck. She is still grasping with the situation, but her infection is under control," AIIMS Trauma Centre head Dr MC Misra said.

In case of open wound, though the chances of bacterial colonisation goes up and in the case of Arunima, she was lying unattended beside the railway tracks for almost five-six hours after the accident, Dr Misra added. Moreover, the affected stump has to be kept open to allow it to heal, he added.

"As her haemoglobin level was low at 7.2 g/dl, she was transfused two units of blood last night and one unit this morning. We have thoroughly debrided her wound and infection if at all is minimal. We would be able to close the wound with the aid of plastic surgeons only after it heals," said Dr Vijay Sharma, associate professor with the orthopaedic department.

While her stump may be closed after two more dressings by Tuesday, one of the priorities for the treating doctors is to fix it with prostheses, as soon as possible and according to doctors, it would take, at least, three-four months given the fracture in her right leg. For this, prosthesis would be obtained either from AIIMS or from the Army Research and Referral Hospital, known to have best set up of prosthetics, said Dr Misra.

"We want to delay the fixation of prostheses and based on how much the stump shrinks. She may be hospitalised for another two-three weeks depending on the healing pace. Before the surgery, she asked me whether she would be able to play again. She had her food today and is laughing with her mother and siblings," Dr Sharma stated.

According to doctors handling the case, including Dr Sanjeev Bhoi from emergency medicine, Amit Gupta from traumatic surgery and Dr Chavi from Anasthesia besides Dr Sharma, Arunima should be able to walk with support after three-four months. "She has shown her determination and she's still saying she'll fight it out. She can play if she maintains that spirit," said Dr Misra.

Meanwhile, hospital sources said, the sports ministry would be bearing the expenses of the facilities.

New Delhi, April 19
Voicing dissatisfaction at the semester system for all courses in Delhi University proposed from the next academic session, a teachers' body of the university said today that the system spelled academic worries for them and tough times for the students.

"The semester system in other countries does not mean having exams twice a year. Its logic is entirely different from that of DU at the moment, which is simply to divide the annual studies and examination into two," said Vineeta Chandra, a DU teacher.

"Instead of choosing a course and a college as students coming to DU now, it would require students taking admission only to a college, and determine their major (subject) and minor (subject) over a period of time. "In order to allow the students to experiment with different courses before determining their major and minor, DU would have to offer a four-year course as is the case in other countries," she added.

The teacher addressed a press conference under the aegis of the Joint Action Body of the varsity's teachers.Chandra said to implement the semester system like in other universities, a large number of courses had to be created .

"And the big problem is that we teachers still don't know what is being planned. There is no structure. So, there are academic worries.

"There is a wrong image that we (teachers) don't want semesters because we are scared of being overburdened with work, but the reality is that even if it is implemented, the amount of work will remain more or less the same," she said.

"Now that the exams are going on until June 9, a lot of students are hassled since their exam dates are clashing with entrance exams" Chandra said.

Generally, DU exams are over by May and the teachers, after correcting the papers, skim through the application forms to determine the cut offs for the next academic session.

"But this year, with no application forms, we have to do a guess work and determine the first cut-off list. Expectedly, the first cut offs are going to be high. So, students will be scrambling from one college to the other," she said.. - IANS

New Delhi, April 19
Three persons, including a couple, were killed in two different accidents reported from the Capital last night.

The couple was killed when a speeding wagonR car hit its motorbike in the Mukherjee Nagar area of north Delhi.

The victims, identified as Sukhbir (38) and his wife Mithlesh (35), were killed on the spot while their young daughter was injured. She is recuperating at a nearby hospital.

"The couple was on way to its home in Burari when the driver of a WagonR car lost control on the vehicle and hit its motorbike. The same car had injured another biker before hitting the couple. The driver of the WagonR car was arrested from the spot," said a police official.

Greater Noida, April 19
Seven policemen, including an ex-station house officer of Badalpur police station here, have been booked for implicating and sending to jail an innocent person who refused to bribe them.

The case against the policemen has been registered on the orders of a court. The policemen are already under suspension.

The case is related to the theft of a JCB machine from Delhi on February 3 this year. The machine was later recovered from Chhapraula. The police arrested two brothers-- Gajjab Singh and Ajjab Singh-- from Jansmana village in connection with the theft.

It is alleged that the then SHO of Badalpur police station Amit Kumar freed Gajjab Singh after taking Rs 50,000 from him and sent Ajjab Singh to jail because he refused to bribe him.

On villagers' protest, the SSP of the area had asked the SP (rural) to probe the matter. The probe found that the allegations against the policemen were true. After this, Ajjab Singh was set free. He then approached the court for justice. The court ordered that a case be registered against the accused policemen of Badalpur police station.

The accused policemen are: SHO Amit Kumar, Satbir Bhatti, Rajinder Singh, Jai Veer Singh, Ravinder, Praveen and Gulab Singh Rana.