New Delhi, May 27
While the steering committee on empowerment of 'persons with diabilities' (PWD) met to discuss the roadmap of 12 Five Year Plan (FYP), hundreds of differently abled people staged a protest outside the Yojana Bhavan today against the government's 'half-hearted' approach to their needs.

According to the section, with just 10 more months to go for the ongoing 11th FYP to end, the action taken towards facilitating a barrier-free environment to PWD has been hardly enough be it the upgradation of the disability division of the ministry of social justice and empowerment to a separate 'department' or creation of a disability unit in all the apex educational institutions such as UGC, AICTE, NCERT, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan.

"A list of targets was included in the mandate of the 11th Five Year Plan, but the implementation has been sluggish. None of the promises mentioned in the plan has been fulfilled in the last over four years and we have written several letters to all the ministries concerned and the Planning Commission of India, but nothing has come out," said Javed Abidi, the convenor of Disabled Rights Group, which organised the protest.

Secretary of the Disabled Youth Group, Pradeep Raj said the issues of the disabled have never received the kind of attention they deserve and today we are a part of the planning process just because of the efforts of thousands in 2006, following which we made way to the 11 Year Plan for the first time.

"The things should have been brought in place within six months of the operation of the FYP, but the government has failed to keep its commitments," he said.

The PWD has also been pushing for the issuance of certificates to each disabled person within 30 days of making an application.

In no mood to budge from its demands, the section demands the completion of at least three tangible targets, including a well-defined disability policy within the relevant ministeries, introduction of health schemes for the disabled and setting up of a strong review mechanism.

Later in the day, the deputy chairperson of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia is said to have shared the concerns voiced out by the PWD.

"Dr Ahluwalia has asked for a detailed note on the demands that we made today and on Monday a letter regarding the same will be sent to him. We are hopeful," said Abidi, who has been taken on board of the steering committee for the 12th FYP.

New Delhi, May 27
The special cell of the Delhi police investigating the blast that took place outside the Delhi High Court on Wednesday afternoon has detained at least one person from Uttar Pradesh.

According to police sources, the person, identified as Gulfam, was picked up yesterday from Pabla village close to Pilkhwa town of Ghaziabad.

"The youth is being questioned about an Indian Mujahideen terrorist who was known to have lived in the same village. It is too early to say anything about Gulfam's involvement, but the purpose is more to chance upon some clues. Sometimes questioning even innocent people can give a vital lead," said a police official.

He added that the Delhi police was taking assistance from the UP police.

The low-intensity blast of a crude bomb outside Gate Number 7 of the high court created panic across the national Capital.

However, despite the bomb being planted in daylight, no eyewitness has come forward to assist the police.

Helpless, the police is concentrating on the probable places from where the chemical used in the bomb would have been procured.

According to the police, Pilkhwa has become the centre of investigation after it was learnt that a chemical used in the bomb is also used for dying clothes and is easily available in the region.

"There is a lot of dying work going on in the area and a red-colour chemical, which was used in the bomb, is available in many shops there. One needs a licence to sell this chemical, but crimianls can get it easily. The police believes that the culprits certainly have some connection with Pilkhwa," said the offiical.

The police official added that hundreds of people of the area, including shopkeepers, have been questioned about the movement of any suspicious character in the past few days.

Meanwhile, as per unconfirmed reports, a man from the Nizammudin area of southeast Delhi has also been detained.

However, senior police officials refused to confirm it. 

Greater Noida, May 27
Manveer Tewatia, the farmer leader who spearheaded the recent agitation at Bhatta-Parsaul in Greater Noida, has decided to sit on fast unto death at Delhi's Jantar Mantar from tomorrow. He has announced that the motive behind his fast is to overthrow Mayawati's BSP government in Uttar Pradesh.

The Uttar Pradesh government, however, has announced a reward of Rs 50,000 on his arrest.

Tewatia has requested all political parties, through widely distributed pamphlets, to support his fast. He has asked farmers to gather at Jantar Mantar in large numbers tomorrow to show their solidarity and support for the cause.

Tewatia's mother Har Veero Devi has through a letter requested Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi to participate and support her son's fight for the farmers and against the UP government.

Through the pamphlets, an appeal has been made for the dismissal of the Uttar Pradesh government because of its anti-farmer policies and violence against farmers at Bhatta-Parsaul in Greater Noida, Tappal in Aligarh and Choganpur and Bajeina in Agra.

The pamphlets are reported to have been distributed by groups of youngsters who go around with masked faces and disappear from the scene within minutes of accomplishing their job.

This has become a headache for the Uttar Pradesh police which is so far clueless about the whereabouts of Tewatia. Several police teams have conducted about dozen of raids to nab Tewatia, but without any success.

Police sources say Twetia has taken refuge in the house of a political leader in the national Capital and is formulating strategies for his agitation from there.

New Delhi, May 27
Coming to the rescue of a six-year-old boy suffering from critical heart disease, the Delhi High Court today directed state government-run G.B. Pant Hospital to provide him treatment free of cost.

Justice S. Muralidhar said: "The boy (Aman) is directed to appear before the medical superintendent, G.B. Pant (Hospital), Delhi, on May 28 for his medical check-up."

"The boy shall be examined by a senior cardiologist and appropriate treatment should be given to him at the earliest for free," the court said, adding that the hospital shall file the status report on May 30.

The court's order came while hearing a petition filed by Aman's father Suresh Chand, through his lawyer Ashok Aggarwal. Suresh Chand belongs to a schedule caste.

"Aman was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on May 13, where the doctors, after conducting tests on him, asked Suresh to deposit Rs 25,000 as his child was suffering from critical heart disease (a blockage in his heart), and they needed to operate him immediately," said the petition.

But the poor father, who earns only Rs 1,500 per month, was not able to manage the sum so he brought a request letter from the district magistrate of the Uttar Pradesh district where he lives, but the AIIMS authorities refused to consider it.

Suresh Chand then approached the Delhi High Court, seeking direction to the AIIMS to provide free treatment to his child. -- IANS

New Delhi, May 27
The Delhi government lacks land for constructing new schools as the process to acquire land is very long because it is either owned by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) or the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), said additional director of education (schools), Sunita Kaushik and director (examinations), Anil Kumar.

The officers said at present, the directorate of education (DoE) was building new schools at Sarita Vihar, Dwarka's sectors 1, 13 and 19, Madanpur Khadar Phase I, II, and III and sectors 21, 23 at Rohini.

Addressing a conference, they said at present, the DoE had 945 government schools, 215 aided schools and 1,259 recognised unaided schools. These schools have 14 lakh students.

The expenditure and finance committee (EFC) had given approval for the construction of 15 new schools and proposal for another 27 schools was under consideration, they said.

They said efforts were being made to acquire more sites from the DDA and gram sabhas for the construction of schools.

When asked about the performance of the government schools in the class XII exams, the officers said the performance of the government schools of Delhi had been the best in the country for the past five consecutive years.

The pass percentage of class XII students of government schools has increased by 0.48 per cent this year, they said.

"Pass percentage last year was 84.97 per cent, while this year it is 85.45 per cent," they added.

Rashtriya Pratibha Vidyalayas have a pass percentage of 97.92 per cent, which is the highest in the region and better than KVs and public schools.

When asked about the number of vacancy for teachers in schools, the additional director said though this was an administrative matter, the government had created more than 9,000 posts. 

New Delhi, May 27
All set for the admission season, Delhi University is in the process of revamping hostel accommodations along with the construction of two new hostels in the Dhaka Camp area on north campus.

These two hostels, other university and the individual hostels of DU colleges are all expected to increase their fees this time. More hostel seats will ensure accommodation for outstation students, especially girls, though the new fee structure is a concern for everyone.

The two new hostels in Dhaka Camp were promised by the vice-chancellor in his last interaction with the students in early February. One of these hostels would be for the undergraduate students while the other for the postgraduate students. The undergraduate hostel has a capacity of 800 and the postgraduate hostel can lodge 700 students. Both these hostels are for girls.

Delhi University proctor HP Singh said, "Most of the work on the hostels is complete. We are just giving the final touch. Furniture, other modalities, the gas and electric connections will take some time, but we are positive that the hostels will be ready on time before the admission process ends."

The fee structure of these hostels has not been set yet.

"We are still finalizing the fee structure. It will be in sync with the new fee structure of the rest of the colleges. These hostels will have better amenities for the students. So, the prices are bound to be high," added Singh.

The university currently has 15 hostels, out of which 12 are on north campus, while three are on south campus. The university hostel for women on north campus currently houses only 270 postgraduate girl students.

Apart from the university hostels, there are 12 colleges in DU that offer hostel accommodations which include Daulat Ram College For Women, Hans Raj, Hindu College, Indraprastha College For Women, Kirori Mal, Lady Shri Ram College For Women, Miranda House, Ramjas, Shri Ram College of Commerce, Stephen's College, Sri Venkateswara College, International Students House For Women (for foreign students).

However, the fee structure of these hostels is bound to be high this year after their renovation during the Commonwealth Games.

Colleges like St Stephen's, Hindu, Ramjas, Miranda House and Kirori Mal are also pondering over the new fee structure.

New Delhi, May 27
The people living close to India's first waste-to-energy plant in Okhla are up in arms against the project as they fear it might ruin the environment and create health hazards for the already suffering population of the area.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), in collaboration with Jindal ITF Ecopolis, is building the plant where more than 2,000 tonnes of solid waste will be converted into electricity.

The Rs 200-crore initiative called Timarpur Okhla Municipal Solid Waste Management Plant, which is expected to address the waste and power woes of the Capital, is due to start operation in July.

Fearing that the plant may poison their environment, residents of Sukhdev Vihar, Jamia Nagar, Sarita Vihar, Maharani Bagh, New Friends Colony and Okhla have been staging protests outside the office of the environment ministry at CGO complex.

While the project is being seen as an answer to the waste management and energy shortage problems of Delhi, the residents of these colonies fear that emissions from the plant will contaminate the environment with poisonous smoke and chemicals.

The residents had also filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court against the project in 2009. According to the residents the plant is illegal. "It is not legal to run this kind of plant in residential areas. We want the construction of the plant to stop immediately," said Rehman Quraishi, a Jamia Nagar resident.

People are concerned about the loads of garbage that will be brought to the area for producing electricity, as it will cause air pollution and foul smell.

"There will be a huge inflow of traffic with so many trucks coming to the area bringing solid waste to the plant, causing air and sound pollution. The plant will convert this densely populated area into a pollution hotbed," expressed Farooq Ahmed, a resident of the area.

Once completed, the plant will produce 16 MW, enough to serve six lakh homes, from more than 2,000 tonnes of solid waste, which is 25 per cent of the waste generated in Delhi every day.

The plant is ready to generate the much-awaited electricity within next two months as 70 per cent of the work is complete.

New Delhi, May 27
Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Paramjeet Singh Sarna today announced that cash awards would be given to the teachers in whose subjects students secured good marks. They will also be given handsome annual increments.

He said this decision has been taken to inculcate professional commitment of the teachers. Teachers' sincerity is significant for improving the educational standard of a school.

He said this year majority of the Guru Harkishan Public Schools (GHPS) secured more than 90 per cent passing percentage. This achievement was due to the professional dedication of principals, teachers and other staff members of the schools.

Giving a break-up the of GHPS branches, he said that the Hargovind Colony school secured 98.3 per cent, Loni 97 per cent, Nanak Piao 96.6 per cent, India Gate 92.3 per cent, Vasant Vihar 96.3 per cent, Kalkaji 85.2 per cent, Fateh Nagar 92.3 per cent, Tilak Nagar 83.8 per cent, Punjabi Bagh 96.3 per cent, Hemkunth Colony 92.3 per cent and Karol Bagh school 75.2 per cent.

These schools are run by the DSGMC.

He said that principals and teachers of the Kalkaji, Tilak Nagar and Karol Bagh schools have been called by the DSGMC to explain the reason for the poor results.

Davinder Singh Kawatra, chairman of the Nanak Paio branch of the GHPS, said that a total number of 241 students had appeared for Senior School Certificate Examinations of class XIIh. Of them, 230 secured distinction marks. This remarkable result has been achieved due to the continuous efforts of the school management.

He said that opposition has been claiming for the last many months that the standard of schools run by the DSGMC had gone down. But this year's result of class XII has proved them wrong.

New Delhi, May 27
The crime branch of Delhi police has arrested two persons, allegedly involved in a daylight shootout case of the Bindapur area of outer Delhi.

Two pistols with live cartridges were recovered from their possession yesterday near the Dwaraka flyover.

According to Ashok Chand, DCP (crime), the arrested have been identified as Roshan Gupta (26) and Arvind Sharma (24).

Sharma was wanted in the shootout case of May 19 when the duo intercepted the car of their rival gang member, Arjun Rana. Rana sustained gunshot injuries in the incident.

The police is also looking for the third accomplice involved in the shooting.