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Uneven student-seat ratio persists in DU
HC questions DU on medical admission
Chopped parts of woman’s body found in drain
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Faridabad double murder accused still at large
Buyers yet to get possession of Games Village flats
A circus with an aerial twist
Placement agencies abusing poor girls
Chatterati
Woman, daughter found dead in Narela
Vehicle thief held, five cases solved
Boy drowns in Cong leader’s chemical tank
Lottery racket
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Uneven student-seat ratio persists in DU
New Delhi, July 3 The uneven ratio of seats and the number of applicants is a major problem every year at DU and this year the numbers turned worse, colleges say. Teachers who have been associated with prestigious universities like DU, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamila Milia Islamia for over 20-25 years now say that the recent certificate scam at DU that had good families and intelligent students tempted, is also fallout of this problem. A former head of Arts and Aesthetics at JNU said, "The problem is the disappointment that students and their families today face when they cannot get into the colleges and courses of their choice while others with 15-20 per cent less marks breeze ahead in the queue." Talking about the students to seats ratio, a senior DU official requesting anonymity said, "This year, DU had a total of 54,000 seats which is 5,000 more than the seats available last year. While 14,580 seats were reserved for OBC category, 12,150 reserved for SC/ST. Out of the remaining 27,270 seats, three per cent went to the physically challenged, five per cent for foreign students, five per cent for sports and extra-curricular and five per cent for the children of defence personnel. This adds up to 18 per cent, which is 4,908 seats. In total, this comes to 57 per cent (27 OBC, 12 SC/STs and 18 others)." He pointed out, "The seats in the general category are 22,361 in Delhi University. The number of children who passed out of schools in Delhi this year was nearly two lakh. It is impossible to accommodate everyone. On an average, 10 per cent of the total admissions in DU are cornered by students from outside Delhi. For example, this year alone, one-third of the seats in Sri Ram College of Commerce, where the cut-off for B.Com. (H) was 100 per cent, were bagged by students from Tamil Nadu Board." The DU official added, "This is why encourage students to enrol with the school of open learning as that is a less expensive option. If they score well, they can migrate to a regular college in the second year." Now the only options left for those students who haven't been able to secure a seat at DU are distance learning or other private colleges. These students have been visiting DU for a few weeks in the hope of making it to a college of their choice, but haven't had any luck so far. "There is no point in settling for an undergraduate course that doesn't interest us. It's better I take up the same course at some other university," said Karishma Kothiwal from Moradabad today. ‘Possible
solutions’
Many students have spoken their mind on this vexed issue. "We heard that the University Grants Commission will set up 100 centres of excellence all over the country. While it may take another decade or more, immediate solutions would have to be thought of. The least the universities can do is to add 10-12 seats to each college. This does not involve infrastructure makeover, recruitment of teachers or any additional expenditure except placing some furniture in the classrooms," said Eesha Singh, a Lady Shri Ram College passout. Another student, Sameer Saifi of Kirori Mal College, said, "The sought-after universities could think in terms of two shifts. This again does not require any building or other facilities. Only the teachers and supporting staff need to be prepared for this." |
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HC questions DU on medical admission
New Delhi, July 3 The petition was filed by three women who had cleared the DU Medical-Dental Entrance Test 2011 (DUMET) but were denied admission because they did not fulfil the prescribed conditions related to place of residence for appearing in the test. The petitioners alleged that no information regarding the criteria of admission was provided to them and even the bulletin of information-2011, issued by the university, did not specify that only citizens of Delhi could take admission to the MBBS course with hostel facility. Besides the university, Justice M.L. Mehta on July 1 also issued notice to the union health ministry and the MCI and sought their response by Monday. The petitioners alleged that the central government and the Medical Council of India (MCI) had allowed DU to adopt a discriminatory and non-uniform policy. "The omission of the university to prescribe residence requirements for admission to the MBBS course 2011-12 is in violation of the law laid down by the Supreme Court," said the petition. The petitioners sought a direction to DU to consider their admission to the MBBS course in any of its affiliated colleges. "A direction be issued to the MCI and the health ministry and the university to forthwith prescribe a uniform and non-discriminatory policy for the entrance test for the MBBS course," the petition said. "The MCI framed the Medical Council of India Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997, which were conspicuously silent of any provision with regard to allocation of seats amongst the selected candidates on the basis of residence," the petition added.
— IANS |
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Chopped parts of woman’s body found in drain
New Delhi, July 3 "The police found marks of nail polish on foot which suggested that the parts were of a woman's body. The unidentified body was being dragged by animals when the incident was reported to the police," said a senior police official. "The parts were being eaten by pigs when the police reached the spot. We haven't found anything else from the spot. The body is yet to be identified," said the official. "The team recovered the remaining parts of the body from a nearby drain. Prima facie, the body was chopped into pieces as only torso and one leg were found," added the police official. The eyewitnesses said that a foul smell was coming from the area for the past two days, but even the staff of the police station didn't care. "There was nothing left in the body. The remaining parts were badly decomposed and the whole area was stinking," said a resident of Munirka village, Ram
Avtar. The police said no case has been registered so far as the body is yet to be identified. "It could be a murder or suicide. We have preserved the parts. We are now getting the details of missing persons from nearby police stations. The remains will be sent for a postmortem," added the police official. |
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Faridabad double murder accused still at large
Ballabgarh, July 3 However, the friends and relatives of the deceased alleged that the police was not pursuing the case in right earnest. The police's failure to make arrest has also come in for criticism from several quarters in Faridabad. The police registered a case against Sachin, resident of nearby village Kaurali, and three others. Bodies of two youths in their twenties, Manoj, also resident of Kaurali, and his friend Surjeet, were spotted by a police patrol team near the Brijwaasi Hotel along Delhi-Mathura national highway in the intervening night of June 26-27. Meanwhile, a representative of "Pizza Hut" has denied reports that Surjeet, resident of Mandhauli, was an employee of the firm. He was said to be an employee of another firm doing business in pizzas. Manoj ran a garment shop in a mall in Faridabad. The police had registered an FIR in the case on a complaint of Teekan Singh, father of Manoj. According to him, Sachin's cousin, Mahuri, had borrowed a sum of Rs 10,000 from his family. He was refusing to repay the amount. Once there was also a tiff between Mahuri and Manoj on the issue. However, a panchayat held in the village had sorted out the issue. As per the complaint lodged with the police, Manoj along with his friend Surjeet met Sachin and his friends in Sector 3 and perhaps consumed liquor in the evening on June 26. They reached the Brijwaasi Hotel late at night and left the hotel after a while. The two were then murdered. Their bodies had several wounds below the waist line. |
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Buyers yet to get possession of Games Village flats
New Delhi, July 3 The Games Village, meant to house 8,000 athletes and officials who came to Delhi for the sporting event, was built on a public-private partnership basis by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Emaar-MGF. The apartments have been constructed by Emaar-MGF. Upset by the construction of some extra flats in the complex without permission, the DDA had withheld the completion certificates of the residential complexes and is yet to hand over the flats to Emaar- MGF. As a result, the private developer has not been able to give possession of the flats to the buyers. The flats were sold at exorbitant prices ranging between Rs 2 and 6 crore. For the buyers, the situation is very difficult as most of them have bought the flats through loan whose interest rates have been rising. At the same time, they also fear that the flats, if not attended to, will degrade in quality. According to Emaar-MGF officials, the firm cannot carry out the maintenance work till it gets the possession of the apartments, which will happen only when the DDA issues the completion certificates. On the other side, DDA officials say that the civic body has no intentions to obstruct the delivery of the flats to the buyers. The officials said that the DDA wanted to provide value of money to the buyers by ensuring that the flats were structurally safe and built as per the approved plans. "As per the Technical Audit Committee Report, certain waterproofing and structural defects have been found in the flats. The developer has been informed about it. It has been asked to ensure that all these defects are removed before handing over the flats to the buyers," said one DDA official. The DDA said no buyer would like to a defective flat. "The DDA is keen to hand over the flats at the earliest, but before that, it would like to ensure that there are no structural defects in them and that everything is as per the Building Bylaw and MPD-2021," said the official. The DDA, however, said it had never denied access to the project developer for repair or rectification works, as alleged by Emaar-MGF. In fact, they were carrying out the repairs for seepage in the basement and deck areas, it said. The DDA's endeavour is to hand over hygienic and structurally sound buildings to the flat owners, added the official. |
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A circus with an aerial twist
Gurgaon, July 3 The magic starts with two girls entering suspended on aerial rings, followed by as many as 15 breathtaking acts inspired by Mongolian culture performed by 20 established Mongolian artistes, which will leave your jaw hanging to the waist. The excitement heightens when a group of five people enter skipping over ropes, balancing on one hand and somersaulting in between the strings with a continuous smile on their faces. The energy and the zest of the performers wouldn't keep you from rooting and cheering for them. Then comes the hula-hoop act, in which two female performers rotate hoops all over their bodies without stopping even once and keep on adding more hoops. And soon you would see 10 hoops twirling on their waists, arms and toes at the same time. One of the most breathtaking performances was by a group of four male artistes dressed in trousers and vests, flying high up in the air only to land on a foam mattress held by their teammates. During the act, two stand tall on the swing, while the other two hold the mattress to catch them. They start off swinging and as it gains momentum, one of them jumps off, rolls up in the air and lands up on the mattress. The whole act leaves the spectators with their hearts in their mouths. The act that leaves viewers awestruck is when six artistes, dressed in traditional Mongolian costumes, throw their fellow teammate in the air and another one holds him on his shoulder and construct a pillar. The precision and the balance of the performers leave people asking for more. Another act sees two girls suspended mid-air from plastic rings and create some lovely shadow formations. All the performers seem so flexible as if they don't have any bones in their body. The flawless surround sound and marvelous lighting add oomph to the entire show. Most of the performances were done high up in the air and had the audiences mesmerised. Acromania-The Great Mongolian Circus will be showcased at Nautanki Mahal, Kingdom of Dreams till August 7. A circus is incomplete without jokers and jugglers - the latter entertained, but the former failed to charm the audiences. The Mongolian circus, which is celebrating its 70th year, has performed in many countries introducing Mongolian culture to the people of the US, Japan, Turkey, Taiwan, Korea, Russia and China, among others, and has now come to enthrall the Indian people.
— IANS |
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Placement agencies abusing poor girls
New Delhi, July 3 While a recent RTI answer says that only 119 placement agencies have been registered with the government under proper rules, social activists maintain there are around 6,000 illegal placement agencies in Delhi. When the girl was rescued from a home in Gurgaon she was five months pregnant. She was allegedly raped several times by the placement agency owner and was threatened with dire consequences if she disclosed the incident to anybody. Staying at present at Mukti Ashram, a rehabilitation centre for such victims, the girl who hails from West Bengal, shared her trauma with this reporter. "I was brought to Delhi saying that I can study and earn here. The first time I was raped was three months after I was brought here and then the process continued. Whenever I resisted, I was beaten till I fainted," the girl, who is not being named, told IANS. Even after working for almost two years, she was paid nothing; instead she was raped repeatedly and forced to work. Her case points to the grave problem of mushrooming of such illegal agencies in the Capital. "These agencies buy minor girls and boys - who basically hail from poverty-stricken regions of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar - for just Rs 2,000-20,000 as soon as they land up in the Delhi stations,” Rakesh Senger, a social activist, told IANS. “With a dream of earning and living a good life, every year thousands of such children are cheated and made bonded labours," he added. Even after the Delhi High Court's judgment in December last year directed the government to ensure regularization and registration of placement agencies operating in Delhi, several people are openly flouting the rules. "Rescue operations are led by Delhi police, but a lot of work is still required by the labour department and other government departments for the protection of children and against trafficking," Dhananjay Tingal of Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), a child rights organisation, said.
— IANS |
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Major fire at power station
New Delhi, July 3 "Around 25 fire engines were pressed into service," a fire official said. "A transformer outside the power house caught fire. The cause of the fire is not yet known," said AK Sharma, director, Delhi Fire Services. "No casualty has been reported," added Sharma. The firefighters took around one hour to control the fire. The fire created panic among the tourists and bystanders near the Rajghat. They were asked to evacuate the area immediately. "A huge explosion was heard from the power station. We saw a huge, black cloud of smoke," said Milkhaan Singh, a tea vendor who has a stall opposite the power station. "People were seen rushing out of the station," Singh said. Meanwhile, Delhi Transco officials assured that there would be no power cut due to the fire. "The power supply in the connecting areas would not be affected as we have transferred the load to the substations in Kashmere Gate and Indraprastha," said Delhi Transco spokesperson Rishi
Raj. Shoe factory gutted New Delhi, July 3 "We received a call about the fire around 2.25 pm. We sent 14 fire engines there," he said. "We don't know the cause of the fire, but it may be a case of short-circut," said a police officer. — IANS
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Chatterati
The only people getting rich it seems are our politicians. Every third MLA today, a survey shows, is a crorepati. I remember Pranab Mukherjee said that the first election he fought and won was with Rs 100 which was given to him by Jawaharlal Nehru and even out of that amount, he returned some money.
Most politicians who fight elections are only candidates without any 'patis'. But by the time their five-year tenure is finished they are 'crorepatis'. In fact, becoming an MLA is the best investment plan. It seems to be better than investing in gold, mutual funds and fixed deposits. The returns are the highest. So is politics used as a platform to become a crorepati by many today? And for the record, it could also be the other way round: if you are loaded, you can become an MLA. In states like Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry where the Assembly elections just took place, the number of MLAs turning crorepatis has doubled from the last election Karuna’s fish too feel the heat Following the DMK losing the Assembly elections, it is not only party leaders or chamchas who are feeling the heat of the government following the 2G Spectrum scam. Even Karunanidhi's fish are feeling the heat. His aquarium was put in the heat hall of the new Secretariat and it was full of gold fish. The staff at one time used to feed and clean the fish, but now it is filthy. Newspapers are swimming and plastic cups floating in the aquarium. Celebrities in airport trouble
Minissha Lamba was detained at the airport recently with some undeclared jewellery in her luggage. This is not the first time that a celebrity has been detained in this manner. A well-known industrialist was held last year and put in the lock-up for not paying duty on a very expensive watch that he had picked up. Some time back, an industrialist was caught at the airport for not paying for the three huge diamonds that he was carrying with him. He also had to spend a couple of nights in lock-up, but he came out as he had an influential minister as his friend. It is sad that we hear of such incidents of the rich and famous who go abroad for their business/leisure and come back with objects worth crores, take VAT reduction at airport but are not ready to declare their new assets at the customs here on arrival. I wonder why one who is so rich, famous and influential would want to go through such embarrassment. Is it greed or just the thought that with the power you yield, nothing can touch you? |
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Woman, daughter found dead in Narela
New Delhi, July 3 The body of Soni (30), hailing from Punjab, was found hanging while her daughter Rhea was lying dead on the bed at their rented accommodation in Sector 7, Narela, a police official said. Her husband had deserted her and left for Punjab some weeks ago. The incident came to light after a neighbour informed the police about foul smell emanating from the house. The two had shifted to the new accommodation last week. The doors of the house were found locked from inside and the police suspects that Soni first poisoned her daughter and then hanged herself from the ceiling. "There was no forcible entry to the house and it appeared to be a case of suicide," the official said. A mobile phone was recovered from Soni's possession in which only one number was stored. It was traced to a Bobby, Soni's acquaintance. Bobby said she received a call two days ago from Soni who had told her that she was fed up with her life and will commit
suicide. — PTI |
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Vehicle thief held, five cases solved
New Delhi, July 3 With the increase in the number of motor vehicle thefts, a special team was constituted to look into the matter. The team developed the information about the culprits involved in the theft. On June 30, the police received specific information that a desperate vehicle thief would arrive in Bhatti Village with a stolen motorcycle. The team then laid a trap and caught Mukesh after a chase. On verification, the motorcycle was found to be stolen from Mehrauli. Subsequently, the accused was arrested and a case registered. On sustained interrogation, the accused disclosed the name of his accomplice Anmol Meena. He admitted to have stolen four more motorcycles from different areas of Mehrauli and Fatehpur Beri. Mukesh, 27, belongs to Harayana and completed schooling till Class 12. He is married and has two children. |
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Boy drowns in Cong leader’s chemical tank
Ghaziabad, July 3 The pool, which was left open and unattended, was being used to clean bottles containing chemicals for Congress leader Laxman Bajaj's plant. The leader could not be reached for his
reactions. — PTI |
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Lottery racket
New Delhi, July 3 The police said that the accused confessed to be a member of the online lottery racket. He disclosed that they told people through e-mails that they had won substantial money through lottery. "They asked people to deposit some money in the name of service charges, processing fee, RBI formalities, etc in order to get the award. They cheated a number of people through this modus operandi," said Vivek Kishore, deputy commissioner of central
district. — TNS |
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