New Delhi, June 17
Going by the rush at Delhi University on the first two days, it looks like there will not be a second cutoff list for many courses in some top notch colleges. The list of such courses include history, political science, BCom (hons), economics (hons) and science courses like physics (hons), maths (hons) and chemistry (hons)

On the second day of admission today, many colleges ended up admitting more students than their capacities, giving clear indication that they may not issue a second cutoff list for some courses.

As of today, Sri Ram College of Commerce has already admitted 378 students against 252 seats in BCom (hons) and 67 students against 62 seats in economics (hons).

"The question of a second cutoff list doesn't arise. We have two more days for admission according to the first cutoff list. We will not deny admission to any student who qualifies for it as per the first cutoff list," said SRCC principal PC Jain.

However, he agreed that next year, the university will have to formulate another system for admission so that the colleges would at least know how many students are applying.

Hindu College also ended up admitting more students than its capacity in BCom (hons) today.

"We have admitted 115 students against 62 seats. Similarly, 37 of 40 history seats are full. In political science also, only nine seats are left. So, history, political science, economics, BCom and even some science courses may not see a second cutoff list," said spokesperson of Hindu College.

Lady Shri Ram College also expects to fill all the seats in courses like psychology, history, sociology, political science and maths as per the first cutoff list itself. However, the college is confident that some of the extra students will be adjusted once other colleges announce the second and third cutoffs.

Daulat Ram College has admitted 117 students against 111 seats in BCom (hons) and 108 students against 92 seats in economics (hons)

JM Khurana, dean, student welfare, said, "There will be a definite movement of students after the second cutoff lists are announced. Also, some science students will undergo counselling for MBBS and engineering colleges over the next few days and many of them will withdraw their admissions. Also, St Stephen's has not closed admissions yet. So, there will be a definite movement of students."

"However, if a college admits more students than its capacity and the status remains the same even after the movement of some students, there will be no second cutoff list for that particular course or college. Hence there is a chance that the movement of students will be restricted. We will have to wait and watch," he added.

With the admission season soaring high at Delhi University, even as students are flooding in to take admission in popular courses like BCom and Economics (Hons), colleges say that more and more students are emphasising on honours courses in rather less known colleges than just normal BA or BSc course in a major college.

"No degree of Delhi University mentions the college name, so what is the rat race about colleges. We as students should be focusing on course content, faculty and the reputation of that course. Every college has amazing courses. Rather than focusing on college name, I am more inclined towards a special Honours programme," said Vidya Saxena, who bought a form for History (Hons).

"As long as students are getting an honours programme of their choice, they are interested in not so 'popular' colleges. The popular colleges have come to be known not by the university but by individual identities. With such competitive professional life ahead, students realise the importance of a good honours course. If the cutoff restraint doesn't permit them to go to their favourite college, they are courageously choosing the course over college," said dean of student welfare, JM Khurana.

"This year, geography (Hons) at Kirori Mal College (KMC) is also ranged between 89 to 92 per cent cutoff, and so is BA programme course at Ramjas and other colleges. The students have been dropping in endlessly to enquire about (Hons) courses more and more. In case they cannot get admission in any major (Hons) courses, they opt for BA programme," said one of the admission committee members at KMC.

The university is also seeing a large inflow of students for courses like Music (Hons) and language honours courses like Persian, Germanic and Romance studies, French, Urdu and Punjabi.

"Every year up to 20 per cent seats go vacant in the general category in courses like Hindi and Urdu in our college, as many students drop out and others shift to other courses. However, on the first two days itself, we have had more than 60 admissions in language courses at our college, which is more than 50 per cent last year. We are hoping for better numbers to come our way this time. I am sure that the reserved category seats will also be adequately filled this year," said Rajendra Prasad, principal of Ramjas College.

In the science stream, the colleges have reported better numbers in courses like environment science (Hons), home science (Hons), food and nutrition (Hons), BSc applied sciences and BSc home science human development (Hons).

"Rather than doing a BA programme or a regular BSc from Ramjas or LSR, I prefer to choose a course like food and nutrition, because the course is more job oriented and equips us with one dimensional knowledge about a particular field," said Nandini Mathur, who got the form for food and nutrition at Archarya Naranedra Dev College.

New Delhi, June 17
All seats for postgraduate and super-specialty courses at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) were filled today on the second day of counseling. Radiology remained the most preferred course, with the first, third and fourth rankers opting for it.

The other preferred disciplines are paediatrics, dermatology, ophthalmology, gynaecology and medicine, while the tail-enders were the para-clinical and non-clinical branches, including pathology, pharmacology, microbiology, anatomy, biotechnology, biophysics, biochemistry and physiology etc.

The girls are known to prefer radiology, dermatology and gynaecology, and going by the trend, even this year, a majority of them chose these disciplines over the surgical ones.

While disciplines like medicine and paediatrics are preferred by both male and female candidates, general surgical branches such as orthopedics, neurosurgery and urology are dominated by males.

Reema (name changed) from Bangalore, who secured the 24th rank in the AIIMS entrance exam, today confirmed her provisional seats in gynaecology and obstetrics.

"I was lucky to get a seat in gyanaecology as there were only three seats available for the unreserved category. There were five girls ahead of me in the list, and since the branch is usually preferred by female candidates, my chance of getting a seat in the course was bleak. But to my good luck, two of the five girls left the seats and three top rankers chose radiology and dermatology, respectively," said Reema. She would have gone for pathology in case all seats in the branch of her choice were exhausted.

Interestingly, pathology, believed to be a less preferred discipline, seemed to be in the option lists of many candidates with moderately good ranks, given the scope it offers to those who want to fly overseas to countries such as the US.

Moreover, there were also some young aspirants who have secured not-so-good positions, who were ready to take admission even in the less-liked branches as they wanted an entry to the premier institute.

So, it was a relief for the AIIMS academic section today as all 134 seats for the MD, MS and MDS and five seats of the six-year MCh courses in five disciplines were filled and the open counselling scheduled for next month may not be held now.

"All seats have been filled, and by evening, the allotment letters were given to the candidates. Now, only if some candidates withdraw their admissions, open counselling would be conducted. But if a doctor leaves, he/she will have to pay a fine of Rs 50,000," said Dr Rani Kumar, dean, AIIMS.

New Delhi, June 17
Incidents of tree falling at many places in Delhi reported due to heavy rain that was accompanied with squally wind this morning that caused traffic jam and water logging.

According to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), five complaints of water logging and 21 of falling of trees were reported. However, nobody was injured the incidents.

The complaints of water logging were received from Bawana Road, Pooth Khurd, Sabji Mandi, Anand Parbat, Kishan Ganj and Kashmere Gate Metro Station, Anand Parbat and Kishan Ganj traffic signal.

An MCD official said the areas from where the complaints were received include Kingsway Camp, Keshav Puram; Karol Bagh, Sabji Mandi, Rajpur Road, Shamnath Marg, Sikandra Road, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg and Pitampura.

The rain also brought mercury level below the normal range bringing relief from the sultry weather and turned the evening breezy and pleasant.

People thronged India Gate and office-goers called it an early day from their workplaces to enjoy the rare June showers.

"One did not expect such a pleasant evening after the weather this morning. It can't get better for a weekend getaway," said Tripti Sharma, a corporate executive working in South Extension.

According to the Meteorological Department, city recorded 12.6 mm of showers from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm. This month alone, the Capital has reported 52 mm of rains, highest in the month for the last four years.

The department has predicted a partly cloudy sky with possibility of rain and thundershowers tomorrow. Some areas may experience squall

The maximum temperature today was 37.5° C, two degrees below normal but marginally higher than yesterday's 37° C. The minimum temperature settled at 28.6° C, a degree above normal.

New Delhi, June 17
Two young women from Assam were rescued from the clutches of a 30-year-old man who ran a placement agency in west Delhi and had locked them up for refusing to work. The women were rescued after two days of confinement, said the police today.

Shambhu, manager of the agency in Saraswati Vihar, brought the two women - Meenu, 18, and Mamoni, 22 - from Assam on the pretext of offering them employment.

However, Shambhu tried to employ them as domestic helps. The girls, who kept mum in the initial days, soon revolted and refused to carry on with the insulting job. This angered Shambhu who locked them up in his office on Tuesday. But Mamoni somehow managed to call her brother working in the city, who in turn contacted the police.

New Delhi, June 17
The Delhi police today arrested three Nepali women with contraband worth around Rs 25 lakh.

Devmata Vishwakarma, Umbeera and Vipinbhooda, all in their mid 40s, were nabbed last night.

They were arrested by a team of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the district police to carry out a joint operation on the Indo-Nepal border in Sunauli town.

"The women have been involved in the drug peddling for the past five years. They operated in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Haryana," said police inspector Mahesh Ram Gautam in Maharajganj, some 300 km from Lucknow.

Noida, June 17
Officers from the Noida authority and the Delhi Metro are likely to decide on the alignment of the Metro line from Kalindi Kunj linking with Botanical Garden and extending the line from Noida City Centre in Sector 32 to Sector 62.

The authority has approved the Kalindi Kunj-Botanical Garden link at a cost of Rs 786 crore. The DMRC has also presented a detailed project report but the Kalindi Kunj alignment was delayed as it falls near the Okhla Bird sanctuary and the DTC bus depot near Sarita Vihar.

According to sources, the authority will generate the revenue to finance the projects by developing commercial areas along the new Metro routes. The authority will bear the full cost of the expansion of the phase III of the Delhi Metro for connecting Kalindi Kunj with outer Ring Road.

The plans to extend the Metro line from Sector 32 to Sector 62 will also be discussed in details with the DMRC officials.

This line is expected to benefit thousands of commuters of Noida and Ghaziabad as it will provide a link to NH-24. There are plans to link Sector 62 to Vaishali and Shipra Sun City, later.

The authority now plans to grant land rights along this route to the private players for commercial development. This will generate sufficient revenue to finance the new Metro link. Shopping malls, modern office spaces and group housing schemes will dot the proposed route between City Centre and the Sector 62 stations.

Noida, June 17
Uttar Pradesh's first sewage treatment plant (STP) has started functioning in Noida.

After checking and ensuring its norms and parameters, Noida Authority officials formally started its operations.

In March 2009, the Noida authority started the work on building the 27 million litre/day (MLD) capacity STP in Sector 54. Earlier, it was to start functioning on March 2011. Its trials were conducted under the supervision of IIT Roorkie.

Instead of expected two months, it fulfilled all the yardsticks and norms and thus started functioning within 45 days.

According to experts, SBR is considered as the best and most dependable techniques among a dozen available STP techniques.

Its capacity has also gone up to 33 MLD and the ratio of clean swage water is also between 5 and 10.

Project engineer Samakant Srivastava said the treated water of this plant appeared quite clean and without any bad smell.

The STP will provide a great relief to the residents in the vicinity.

The Sector-50 STP will also start functioning in a month's time, Srivastava said.

The treated water from the plant could be used for irrigation, construction activity, in industries, fire fighting, etc. It will sufficiently cut down the use of underground water for such activities.

New Delhi, June 17
Two youths have been arrested and a minor has been detained here for allegedly sodomising and murdering an eight-year-old boy after luring him with eatables, the police said today.

Atul Garg (21) and Chhotu (18) were arrested yesterday following an investigation into the murder of the boy who was allegedly sodomised in the Jaitpur area, said Ajay Chaudhry, additional commissioner of police (southeast).

The boy's father approached the police on Wednesday, claiming that his son was missing and he suspected that he had been kidnapped.

Later, in the evening, the boy's body was found in Lakhpat Colony at Jaitpur.

There were no injury marks on the body.

“It has been sent for postmortem and doctors believe that he was probably smothered to death. Sodomy has also been confirmed," Chaudhry said.

A witness, Deepak, told the police that the victim was last seen with three boys of the locality-- Atul, Chhotu and a minor boy.

"The three youths lured the boy with a packet of eatables. They took him to the first floor of an under-construction building and sodomised him. The boy threatened to expose them and so the three killed him," said Chaudhry.

Atul and Chhotu have confessed to have committed the crime, the police added.

New Delhi, June 17
Delhi Technological University completed its first part of the online admission registration process with 10,818 candidates registering for 1,218 BTech seats in 15 disciplines. The registration this year is approximately 25 per cent higher as compared to last year's when 8,685 candidates applied for admissions.

Dr Vivek Tripathi, the assistant registrar, said, "We have just completed the online registration process and this year the response has been excellent. This year the entire process of admission is online via the DTU admission website www.dtuadmissions.nic.in. Under this system, the admissions will be made on the basis of merit ranks in AIEEE 2011."

Tripathi said, "Those who have registered for admission will be allowed to submit their online choices of branches available. A candidate can submit as many as 15 choices in the order of his preference. The submission will commence on June 23 and continue till June 29. During this period, the students will be allowed to submit their online admission form along with their preferences for BTech disciplines. Choices once locked by the candidates will not be allowed to change."

He said the university would make all admissions purely on the basis of merit ranks in AIEEE 2011 so long as the candidates satisfy the other eligibility conditions. The first list of admission would be declared on July 5.