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HC rejects minor boy’s relief claim from Railways
Expo spreads awareness on dying traditions
Solar car flagged off, set to take part in Oz race
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Plan to strengthen city’s sewerage
School comes to them in a yellow bus
Teachers trained in functional English
Blast injuries snuff out another life
Govt to bring more colonies under DJB
ambit: CM
Fasting leader of farmers hospitalised
SAD (Delhi-UK) hails Musafir as chief of
NRI cell
DTC bus crushes man in Khanpur
Three robbers arrested
Man held for 50 robberies
Rs 5 lakh snatched
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HC rejects minor boy’s relief claim from Railways
New Delhi, September 17 Justice Valmiki J. Mehta said, "It is high time that this practice of filing fraudulent claims against the railways... is looked into very strictly, though, of course, in those limited number of cases where it is ex-facie clear that a fraud is sought to be perpetrated on the railways." "I am noticing that many cases are coming up before this court where it is more than amply clear that there is a systematic endeavour to defraud the railways because of the enactment and implementation of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987, which provides for statutorily fixed compensation in case of an untoward incident," he said. Justice Mehta said the applicant committed the offence of perjury, giving false evidence, giving and using false declaration and making a false claim. "Accordingly, while dismissing the appeal, I direct the registrar general to make a complaint to the concerned metropolitan magistrate having jurisdiction," said Justice Mehta on Thursday. The applicant, while appealing against a railway tribunal's order, said that he along with his father, while travelling in an electrical multiple unit (EMU) train on March 2, 2010, from Dayabasti to Sadar Bazar railway station, fell down from the train and sustained injuries. He said that their tickets were also lost in the accident. Dismissing the plea, the court said, "I completely agree with the findings of the Railway Claims Tribunal in that the appellant had failed to make out the requisite case that he was injured while travelling as a bonafide passenger in a train." In the present case, the alleged ticket was admittedly not with the minor, but with his father, who suffered no injuries and who claimed to have continued the travel in the train till the next station, the court said. "The facts of the case show a clear attempt by the applicant, who is only a minor, and therefore actually his father, to defraud the railways," said the court. "For pursuing a fraudulent case and seeking compensation, perjury has been committed by making statements on oath before the Railway Claims Tribunal by filing an affidavit by the minor's father," said Justice Mehta. -- IANS
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Expo spreads awareness on dying traditions
New Delhi, September 17 Anugunj is the travelling exhibition of folk arts, based on the myths and beliefs of several communities across India, including the adivasis, who are the custodians of their traditions. The artwork was based on "creation, sustenance and destruction". It also serves to spread awareness about the dying myths and traditions. Anugunj is a small component of a permanent exhibition at the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS) in Bhopal. Shampa Shah, museum associate of IGRMS, said that the artwork on display creates a sense of identity to communities. "The exhibition has two important functions. First, to spread awareness about the declining traditions of people who are unaware about India's diversified cultures. Second, to create a sense of pride and identity among people who are from the same community as the artists," she said. Shampa said that the exhibition was formed from an idea to visualize myths and beliefs of several communities and then portray them through artwork. A unique style of artwork is inherent in every community, she said. Anugunj mostly contained photographs of the original collection of artwork at IGRMS. The objects included clay works, paintings, terra cotta, iron mural and sculptural forms. "One of my favourite artwork is of the Agaria tribe. It is an iron mural which depicts people nailing the earth to keep it still. According to the legend, when the earth was created it was wobbly so the community believes that it had to be nailed to keep it still. Another artwork that I like is the clay sculpture based on the story of the Narmada river," added Shampa. Near the entrance of the exhibition there is a picture of a granary created by artists from the Gond community. According to the myth, a deity, whom they worship, created land on a spider web at a time when the earth was only covered with water. Amish Dheema, an artist from Himachal Pradesh, said that his artwork was used to show the traditions of his community. "I have been creating carvings and sculptures at temples for the past three-four years. My tradition has been continuing for ages. I continue my artwork to spread awareness to the younger generation," he said. Sanchita Malhotra, who attended the exhibition, said, "I never knew about these different myths created by communities in India. Most of them are unusual and it has also taught me to respect the beliefs of communities."
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Solar car flagged off, set to take part in Oz race
New Delhi, September 17
The Chief Minister said, "I am amazed that a group of undergraduate students from DTU has constructed and designed a solar car which is now ready to participate in an international car race that covers a distance of no less than 3000 km. This achievement should encourage engineering students to undertake more such creative projects. I hope that the solar technology used in the creation of this state-of-the-art car paves way for a revolution of solar cars on Indian roads." Dhiraj Misra, the team leader for the Solaris project, said, "The car is powered by multi-crystalline solar cells with 16.66% efficiency, capable of generating 1 KW electricity. The vehicle can attain a speed of 85 km per hour on solar power itself." He said, "The vehicle is equipped with front disk brakes. The breaking system conserves energy even when the car stops. The steering is supported with the aerodynamics design of the car. The efficient LED lighting system has been incorporated in the car to reduce energy losses." Misra added, "We are quite excited about Solaris going for the world challenge. We are confident that our car will meet the challenge and come out victorious." Vice-chancellor PB Sharma said, "Solar cars are the future. With the increasing pressure of the rising cost of crude oil, the automotive industry in India should turn to innovative automobile solutions such as solar cars, hybrid vehicles and other such efficient vehicles."
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The Citizens Charter Act, which was implemented three days ago, is intended to help the common man get his jobs done promptly without having to grease the palms of government and civic body officials. However, the new provision seems to have made people's task tougher. Citizens are still facing problems in the issuance of ration cards as there is no perceptible change in the attitude of the officials. Touts are still active outside ration card offices. The only difference is that earlier they demanded Rs 500 for a ration card, but now they are asking for more. Following the implementation of the Act, the touts now charge more, saying that the law has become tougher and the officers do not listen to them.
De-silting fund goes down
the drain
The MCD had purchased super sucker machines worth crores of rupees before the Commonwealth Games. The machines were expected to ensure a smooth flow of water into the drains during the rainy seasons, facilitating a smooth movement of the traffic. But, every time it rained this season, traffic went haywire as the roads got flooded with water. Vehicles were caught in jams for hours, giving a harrowing time to the commuters. Every year, the civic bodies claim that they have de-silted the drains and that the water flow will be smooth this time around. But just one spell of rain invariably exposes all their claims. The MCD spends over Rs 2 crore every year on de-silting the drains throughout the year. The de-silting of large drains is done by the PWD. But after every rain and the inevitable jams, the officers of the MCD and PWD start blaming each other for waterlogging. Computer for
the blind
A low-cost computer has recently been invented to meet the needs of the blind people. The computer has been developed as part of a project called 'Samarth', which involves creating technologies for the empowerment of the visually impaired. Samarth project and the computer are the brainchild of the Saksham Trust and Intel. The configured computer has features like multilingual screen-reading software, a book player in braille, word processing spreadsheet, e-mail, internet browser, dictionary, newspaper reading, easy access to thousands of books from book share, audio recording, music playback, inspirational stories of people with blindness who have made their marks in diverse fields like finance, management, science, sports etc. The computer also has a keyboard in braille and a host of other facilities designed specially to serve the needs of the blind. When Samaritans rushed to
donate blood
Despite few instances of mismanagement, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital has not faced much criticism for the treatment offered to the victims of the September 7 high court blast. And in this, apart from the hospital staff, the role of Delhi's Samaritans who rushed for donating blood can't be ignored. While most of the injured had to undergo multiple transfusions owing to massive blood loss, none of the families had to bother for blood. According to doctors, the hospital's blood bank received 300 units of blood following the blast-200 on the fateful day and 100 the next day. Contributed by Syed Ali Ahmed, Himani Chandel, Charu Singh, Ananya Panda) |
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Plan to strengthen city’s sewerage
New Delhi, September 17 Addressing a conference, he said there was need to augment the existing sewerage system to cover the entire population. At present, only 55 per cent of the urban Delhi population has access to a centralized sewerage system. Speaking on the occasion, Ramesh Negi, CEO, Delhi Jal Board, said, "The board is looking into the SMP proposal. Sewerage remains one of the most complex challenges facing us today, and a robust and sustainable sewerage and sanitation plan is the need of the hour."He elaborated on Delhi Jal Board's intention to develop an integrated, sustainable and implementable Master Plan to meet the sewerage needs of Delhi for the year 2021. He said that in this regard the DJB has appointed AECOM as consultants to prepare the Sewerage Master Plan (SMP) 2031. Alex Kwan, executive vice-president, AECOM, said that the SMP proposes to integrate the interceptor sewers into the overall scheme. He said that the identification of unsewered areas, integrating them with the existing sewerage system, designing of techno-economical and feasible schemes, are some of the challenges that need to be tackled in the process. The consultants on the project, AECOM, made a presentation in which the participants were briefed on the proposed SMP.
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School comes to them in a yellow bus
New Delhi, September 17 Known as Chalta Firta School, the yellow bus is a whole school rolled into one bus. There's a world map staring from the front window, bright alphabet charts hanging around, an LCD screen fitted at the back, best drawings stamped A+ blinking from under the billowing curtains, chess and ludo sets preserved under the seats, water colours and sketch pens kept in flower-printed bags, a patient teacher sitting in front, and 40 students giggling to themselves. A Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and NGO Butterflies initiative, Chalta Firta School or mobile learning centre aims to persuade and prepare slum kids in the Capital to join formal schools. "The idea is if children can't go to school, let the schools come to them," Zaved Nafis Rahman, project coordinator at Butterflies, said. On a regular day, the yellow bus shows up at three colonies and stays there for around two hours each. At each place, around 40 kids hop on to the bus and are taken to a nearby place where the bus is allowed to park. On most days, kids sit on a mattress spread outside the bus, but on particularly hot days, they prefer the vivid confines of the vehicle. For 1 hour 45 minutes, they study a particular subject -- English, Hindi, maths, social science or science The next 15 minutes are dedicated to sports, health check-ups, art, depending on what day it is. Fridays are divided into weekly revision tests and sports. Saturdays and Sundays are off. The kids, who are 6 to 14 years old, are divided into different levels depending on an assessment done on the first day. "We first identify a slum area and carry out a survey as to how many kids are not going to schools. Then we organise a meeting for parents. For kids, we usually start by showing a documentary or cartoon in our bus," says Maushmi Baruah, a teacher at Butterflies. "Parents are initially very apprehensive. There are people who spread rumours that we'll kidnap their kids or take them somewhere... but slowly they understand," the 29-year-old says. "There was a girl whose father forced her out of school in Class II. We somehow persuaded him to send her to the bus. She was very sincere and intelligent and got admission in Class V when she joined a formal school." Zaved says ever since the bus' launch in 2008, they have "mainstreamed 100-150 kids each year". "Some need six months, some more than a year... But most of them end up in schools," he says. Amit Sahi is one such kid. The 13-year-old son of a labourer living near the Kalkaji temple in south Delhi had dropped out of school in Class III due to negligence and ill health. One year back, he heard about the yellow bus from a friend and went along with him to get a free ride. It took him 10 months to be ready for school and today he's studying in Class V at a government school. Ask him what he wants to become when he grows up and, without flinching, he says "soldier". He loves skipping, badminton and cricket, apart from reading English poems. His younger brother and sister have also got admission to school. "These kids were focused, a little naughty, but never missed even a single class," Maushmi says, ruffling Amit's hair and in the process spoiling his spikes. Amit's father Ram Vishal Sahi feels proud but is not one of those pushy parents who expect the world out of their children. "I never tell them what to become in life. I just want them to study and decide for themselves." He says, "In my opinion, everyone should study. My daughter wants to be a doctor or a teacher," the 40-year-old says. -- IANS
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Teachers trained in functional English
New Delhi, September 17 The 10-day programme for schoolteachers was especially targeted at upgrading the teachers' skills in functional English. Some 17 schoolteachers participated in the programme, many of them were from Jamia's schools. The Jamia spokesperson, Dr Simi Malhotra, said, "The students from Jamia's schools have to compete with students elsewhere. It is essential that teachers at these schools are versatile in both communicating in English and teaching children in English. The training was undertaken to upgrade the teachers' skills." Dr Ameenas Kazi from Jamia commented, "We use a lot of English in our daily life. English has a historical connection with our country. It has become a vitally important language that a child must master. " A teacher, who participated in the training, said, "I work at one of Jamia's schools and my teaching is done in English. I think it is really beneficial that Jamia is upgrading the teachers' language skills through these programmes. I found the 10-day programme to be most informative." |
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Blast injuries snuff out another life
New Delhi, September 17 It was a fighter's willpower that helped Ratan Lal Saraf (64), a cloth merchant with a shop at Chandni Chowk, to battle for life for 10 days though he lost it, leaving behind a shattered family-wife (Deepa), three married daughters (Suman, Seema and Rachna) and a 22-year-old son Deepak who seemed to have prepared himself for the fateful day. My father's words of strength and sheer determination to strive against death have enabled me to stand firm, said the young son. All these days, the whole family lived through an uncertain phase with the doctors giving no positive signals for Ratan Lal's survival even after he underwent amputation of both his legs. "Nothing seemed to have worked in his case as he had severe infection and also suffered trauma in his lungs. Besides, he had a chest injury and his vitals kept on sinking. As his condition deteriorated, his BP stood at 70/25 and the drug dose was upped, but he couldn't sustain the infection due to the pus that had accumulated in his lungs," said a senior doctor of RML Hospital. At night, doctors informed Deepak that Ratan Lal was slipping and the chances of cardiac arrest were high so he should make his father speak to whomever he wants. "He was bleeding from everywhere, but somehow survived till morning. There was a cardiac arrest at 7:50 am and doctors tried to resurrect him till 8:20 am when finally, he was declared dead," said Deepak, whose composed manner reflected his acceptance of the grim reality. Nonetheless, the son, a BTech student of Rohtak Engineering College, approached the chief medical officer for some specialist pulmonary intervention, but was sent back. The whole night while the family back at home remained anxious, Deepak and his brother-in-law stood outside the RML ICU, waiting for the impending tragedy. "Things had looked difficult for him yesterday. My mother and sisters met him during the day. Then he seemed to be strong even as he was bearing the intense pain," Deepak added in a calm tone. Before Ratan Lal's body was cremated at Nigambodh Ghat, many relatives expressed displeasure at the government's approach, which didn't go beyond a compensation of few lakhs to the blast-hit families. "Everybody has to go some day, but it is painful when it happens in such an incident. The government has failed and it looks to have absolved itself with a mere compensation," said deceased's cousin Vijay Gupta. |
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Govt to bring more colonies under DJB
ambit: CM
New Delhi, September 17 The governments will never like to hike the rates of their civic services though it has to take certain steps to improve the quality of services. The Chief Minister said that water tariff was raised after six years though the government is still giving a subsidy on drinking water. Apart from this, the government is trying to bring more colonies and localities under the ambit of DJB. She exhorted RWA representatives to become vigilant and ensure that there is no wastage of drinking water anywhere in Delhi. Wherever they notice such wastage, they must promptly inform the DJB. Besides, the RWAs can also interact with their elected representatives under the Bhagidari initiative to improve services. Dikshit called upon representatives of RWAs to submit their suggestions and problems so that the government could take corrective measures. CEO DJB Ramesh Negi stated that there are certain suggestions by RWA representatives which will be implemented within 45 days. The meter readers will be provided with identity cards. They will carry a card to mention the present and the past reading. The DJB collected Rs 60 lakh as challan amount in a year on complaints of wastage of drinking water. Negi added that there will be no shortage of machines and supersuckers to tackle the chocked sewer lines. The superintending engineers are being authorized to hire such machines. A company called L and T has been authorized to install 2.5 lakh meters in East and South Delhi with a warranty of seven years. After the implementation of billing system with the help of Tata Consultancy, there will practically be no complaints. The leakages were stopped at 400 places during the last year. The city government started the generation of drinking water at Sonia Vihar 140 MGD Plant after 1994. The DIMTS has been computerizing the functioning of water tankers. The DJB implemented an amnesty scheme to settle the pending bills. The bills amounting to Rs 460 crore were settled and a sum of Rs 200 crore was granted as rebate to benefit four lakh
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Fasting leader of farmers hospitalised
Ghaziabad, September 17 "Tevatia had been taking lemon water and 'gur' (jaggery) for the last six days. He fainted last night and was rushed to the jail hospital... He was put on glucose...," jail superintendent Viresh Raj Sharma said. Meanwhile, Congress leader Parvez Hashmi today came to visit him in prison but authorities did not permit him to meet the ailing farmer leader, officials said. After that, Hashmi with his supporters sat on a protest in front of the Dasna jail, leading to his detention by the police. He was released later, the police said. Tevatia was arrested in Delhi in July by Uttar Pradesh police in connection with the farmers' agitation in Bhatta-Parsaul. Four people were killed and at least 15 injured in a clash on May 7 between farmers and police in Bhatta-Parsaul village in Greater Noida.-- PTI
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SAD (Delhi-UK) hails Musafir as chief of
NRI cell
New Delhi, September 17 SAD Delhi-UK president Jasjit Singh said yesterday that Musafir would be honoured in London soon as maximum Punjabis reside in the UK. Earlier, NRIs were not allowed to cast their votes in their homeland, but with the efforts of Musafir, the government has given them voting rights. Musafir, who is grandson of former Chief Minister of Punjab Gurmukh Singh Musafir, said that his objective would be to connect the Punjabi diaspora to the values of Congress. The cell would ensure that the NRI community remains connected to Punjab and work for the victory of the Congress in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Punjab. He said the cell would provide a platform for addressing the grievances of the NRI community through a website. |
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DTC bus crushes man in Khanpur
New Delhi, September 17 A police official said the man had not been identified yet. "The person does not have a mobile phone and we don't have any information on him. He was rushed to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, where doctors declared him 'brought dead'. The postmortem will be conducted soon," said the official. The official said the driver of the DTC bus escaped after the accident. "The incident happened around 2 pm. The DTC bus was heading towards the Kapashera border. A case under Sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code has been lodged against the driver," added the official.
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Three robbers arrested
Noida, September 17 They were identified as Fahim, Ramchander and Harnam and arrested today from the sector 22 area near Shiv temple, said Anant Dev SP (City). During interrogation, the criminals revealed they used to rob the passengers. Some gang members targeted them while they were waiting for a bus or an autorickshaw in the city. One of them got friendly with the victim and then his accomplice brought an autorickshaw that way. At a lonely stretch after a while, they robbed the person and threw him out of the vehicle. They made the victim unconscious by giving him some sedative in the form of prasad. The criminals confessed to have committed over two dozen robberies in the city and surrounding areas. They robbed one Pradeep Kumar on June 7 and Paras Jha on July 25.
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Man held for 50 robberies
New Delhi, September 17 According to DCP Chhaya Sharma, Chhote Lal, a resident of Uttam Nagar in west Delhi, along with his accomplices Shankar and a few others has committed over 50 such crimes. The police said the arrest came following investigation into a complaint lodged by Mithlesh, who was robbed of her gold earrings and a mobile phone by the accused. "She was targeted outside Safdarjung Hospital and drugged in an autorickshaw. The closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage of the hospital helped investigators to identify Lal," said Sharma. -- IANS |
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Rs 5 lakh snatched
New Delhi, September 17 The transporter has been identified as Gagan Seth (44) and his employee as Avinash Kumar Choudhary. A police official said the thieves might have done a reconnaissance of the victims. "The victims regularly withdrew money from the bank. We have registered a case of snatching," said the official. A police source, meanwhile, said the police suspected that the thieves were acquainted to the victims. "The police plan to see the CCTV camera footages of the area to catch the culprits," said the source. |
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implemented three days ago, is intended to help the common man get his jobs done promptly without having to grease the palms of government and civic body officials. However, the new provision seems to have made people's task tougher.
The trail of death in the Delhi High Court bomb blast continues and the toll now stands at 15 with another victim, a resident of C 38 A, Mahendru Enclave in Model Town, breathing his last at 7:50 am today in Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RML) where two more patients are still in the ICU and 10 others are undergoing treatment at several units.
