New Delhi, December 26
Tourists who had planned to stay in "dharamshalas" located in the walled city should change their plan and look for guesthouses as India Against Corruption (IAC), an NGO of Anna Hazare, that is fighting for a strong Lokpal Bill got all the dharamshalas booked for its volunteers and guests for three days beginning from tomorrow.

The Team Anna members, including Prashant Bhushan, Shanti Bhushan and Arvind Gaur, will begin their three-day fast at Ramlila Maidan to pressurize the government for a strong Lokpal Bill.

Parliament will start debating the Lokpal Bill tomorrow. It is a three-day debate from December 27 to 29.

Anna is not coming for the fast in Delhi due to chilly weather.

Subhash, one of the volunteers, said that the IAC had got all the dharamshalas booked for its 2,000 men from December 27. The arrangements for stay at night for another 2,000 men, including media persons, have been made at Ramlila Maidan itself. Waterproof tents have been erected.

A tent owner of the walled city has been given a contract. Carpets would be laid for about 20,000 people. 

New Delhi, December 26
A teacher in a government school in South Delhi was arrested for allegedly harassing a 22-year-old former student.

He raped her a month ago and then made an MMS clip of the act.

The victim used to take private tuition classes from him.

The police today said that the accused, Ram Avtar (40), teaches Hindi at Lal Government School, which is located at Ambedkar Nagar, South Delhi.

He tutored the girl who was a former student of the same school.

Sources said that about a month ago, Avtar raped her and made an MMS clip of the act. He then used to harass her.

The victim had passed out from the school in 2002, but decided to take tuitions from Avtar, according to sources.

During one of her tuition classes, he raped her.

The girl registered a case at the Ambedkar Nagar police station.

The man was arrested and sent to judicial custody.

New Delhi, December 26
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has received flak from the Central Information Commission for its failure to provide information to an RTI applicant and claiming otherwise.

The curious case came before the Central Information Commission where an MCD official, when questioned by information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi during the hearing, said information sought by the applicant had been furnished.

When grilled, the official Jagdish Prasad, produced a reply which said, "Since this information is time consuming, the department may prepare the information. When the report will be compiled, it will be provided to you as early as possible".

Such a reply prompted a stern warning from Gandhi.

"The commission warns the PIO not to send people for hearings who do not have the capacity of understanding what information is," he said.

The case relates to Swarn Kumari Sharma of Karol Bagh, who for the past one year had been trying to know details of the Assured Career Progression scheme of teachers in MCD schools, but was not provided any response to her questions.

The RTI Act mandates furnishing of information within a month of filing the application.

"From the facts before the commission, it is apparent that the PIO and the deemed PIO are guilty of not furnishing information within the time specified under sub-section (1) of Section 7 by not replying within 30 days, as per the requirement of the RTI Act," Gandhi said while issuing a show-cause notice to officials of the MCD.

"Vijaylaxmi then PIO and Deemed PIO Jagdish Prasad, school inspector, will present themselves before the commission along with their written submissions showing cause why penalty should not be imposed on them as mandated under Section 20 (1)," he said. — PTI 

New Delhi, December 26
Terrorists, including most wanted Yasin Bhatkal, alias Shahrukh, an Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative who has till date escaped the clutches of the police, are constantly kept on the run so that they are prevented from regrouping.

A police official said that the creation of such a tense environment would act as a security blanket for major cities, including the national Capital.

The forthcoming Republic Day parade on January 26 will also be a motive for the police and the security agencies to prevent any untoward incident.

The official said that a pan-India operation was started by the Delhi police after Parliament attack on December 13, 2001. On this day, a gun-battle ensued for about an hour, killing nine policemen and Parliament staff. Five terrorists were also gunned down.

"After the 2001 Parliament attack, we held operations all over India. We kept the terrorists on the run; killing some in encounters, while capturing those who tried to escape. Our operations were a hindrance for terror groups, who planned to carry out attacks in different cities," added the official.

A special team, consisting of special cell and crime branch officials of the Delhi police, was constituted to tackle the rising terrorist attacks. Their main aim is to "nip a terror module in the bud".

"Although locating terrorists is like searching for a needle in a haystack, we are able to ultimately destroy any of their sinister plans once we learn that a particular group is starting to revive militancy. We are able to bust such terror modules with the help of human assets and intelligence reports," added the official.

He pointed out that terror groups had been sending their operatives to Delhi to establish their base, which would facilitate the attacks on their chosen targets.

"Before the December 22, 2000, attack at an Army camp in Red Fort that killed two soldiers and a guard, one of the terrorists, Mohammed Arif, alias Ashfaq, a Pakistani national had arrived to India and had married a girl in trans-Yamuna, Delhi. Here he had opened a computer centre. He had arrived to India to establish his base," added the official.

Similarly, a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operative, Sarabpreet Singh, alias Prince, had arrived in Delhi to establish a base to recruit men and target religious and political leaders.

Sources said that he was in direct contact with Wadhwa Singh, chief of BKI, who is based in Pakistan and has links with the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

"The ISI is an umbrella over terror groups, including the BKI," said the official.

The ISI had also sent one of its agents, Soofia Kanwal (38), to India to create a foundation for the organisation. She, along with Imran (40) who had links with the secret service agency, was apprehended on December 5, 2011, at the New Delhi railway station.

They illegally entered India through the Sunauli border in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, according to the police.

New Delhi, December 26
The uncertainty that was looming over the Reliance-backed power distribution company BSES seems to be removing with the Delhi government deciding to bail out the company.

In a cabinet meeting that was held today and presided over by the Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, the state government decided to extend financial assistance to BSES which has defaulted on payment of around Rs 3,000 crore to various power-generating and transmission firms.

The company had requested the government to infuse fresh equity so that around Rs 1,000 crore could be generated which would then be used for getting a loan of Rs 5,000 crore from a private bank.

Dikshit said that the decision has been taken after consulting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde about the looming crisis facing the city arising out of BSES failure to pay the dues to the transmission and generation companies.

"We have taken the decision to help the discom so that power cut may not take place in the city. We had discussed the issue with the Centre before taking the decision," Dikshit said without elaborating.

She also indicated that the government may offer financial assistance to Tata-backed NDPL even though the discom has not sought it. "We will not help just one company. We will help both the discoms," she said.

Though she did not give the details about the financial assistance, the officials said that the government is likely to infuse fresh equity of around Rs 500 crore into the company on the condition that the discom would also infuse the same amount.

The Delhi government holds 49 per cent share in BSES.

The NTPC has threatened to cut supply of 2,000 MW of power to BSES if it fails to pay the dues by January 7. If the NTPC stops the supply, it may lead to a blackout in 70 per cent of the areas in Delhi.

The Delhi government would inform the DERC of its decision tomorrow following which the regulator will issue a formal order to resolve the crisis.

The DERC had set a deadline on December 27 for the government to clear its stand on how Rs 3,000 crore would be arranged if the licence of BSES was cancelled for defaulting on the payment.

New Delhi, December 26
The Delhi government will give facilities to the Chief Whip of the Opposition party equivalent to those given to that of the ruling party as the cabinet today approved a draft of salary and allowances of the Chief Whip in the Legislative Assembly (Amendment) Bill, 2011.

The cabinet has also approved the draft of the Delhi Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2011 and given its nod for the construction of a new building for Deen Dayal Upadhyay College.

While briefing the media after the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that by approving the draft of salary and allowances of the Chief Whip, the government had given due consideration to the recommendations of the 14th All India Whips Conference and decided to give similar status to the Chief Whip of the Opposition party in the Assembly.

This needs an amendment in the existing Act, however.

The government will move a proposal in the Assembly in the winter session for an amendment in the Act.

The Chief Whip performs an important role in the functioning of the House, the Chief Minister said.

She said that the cabinet had also approved a draft of the Delhi Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2011 with an aim to amend section 25 and section 35. An amendment to this Act will be moved in the winter session to be started from January 9.

The amendment is being effected to enhance the voting rights of the government nominees up to the extent of its equity in the Delhi Cooperative Housing Finance Corporation Ltd.

The cabinet also gave its consent for the construction of a new building of Deen Dayal Upadhyay College at Dwarka.

The college was established in 1990 and has been functioning in a school building at Karampura. It is one of the largest amongst the government-funded colleges in Delhi. It is a multi-faculty coeducational college having about 2,000 students. The present space is inadequate and the space for laboratories is quite limited. It is primarily a science college.

The government has obtained a plot of 7.65 acres at Sector-3, Dwarka. The cabinet has given its approval for the construction of the building with an estimated cost of Rs 150.98 crore within the next 30 months. The building will include basement and six floors.

New Delhi, December 26
A multi-level underground parking lot will come up soon at New Friends Colony. The parking lot will cost Rs 40 crore. Delhi Mayor Rajni Abbi today laid the foundation stone for the three-storey underground parking lot.

The work on the multi-level parking lot has already begun and the project will be completed by September 30, 2012, according to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

Giving details of the project, officials from the department of engineering, which is supervising the construction work, said the parking lot, spread over 12,089 sq m, would accommodate 512 cars at one time. A park would be developed above the parking lot, they added.

"Around 1,000 vehicles are added to the city roads on a daily basis. The rise in the number of vehicles has increased the problem of parking in the city. The project is an effort to ease the parking problem in an area that has two big hospitals and a hotel in its vicinity," said Abbi.

Talking about the trifurcation of the MCD, chairman of the works committee of the civic body Jagdish Mamgain said with the proposal of three corporations, there were chances that new taxes would be introduced.

"Even after the trifurcation, the citizens would be devoid of many facilities, as the revenue from tax will not be enough to cover the three-fold rise in expenditure of the three corporations," said the chairman of the works committee.

Talking about the achievements of the MCD during the tenure of the BJP, Abbi mentioned the e-governance programme of the civic body. Now, building by-laws are available online, MCD services can be accessed from home 24 hours a day, RTI application can be filed online, she lauded. 

Gurgaon, December 26
Over-zealous traffic police officials in Gurgaon have raised the hackles of religious leaders after they made traffic violators swear on their respective holy books that they would abide by the rules. In fact, a Muslim organisation has threatened to take action.

The Jamiatul Mahim said it planed to issue a fatwa against forcing truck drivers to take oath on the Quran, a cleric said.

Hindu and Sikh religious leaders are also fuming at the exercise by the Gurgaon Traffic Police (GTP) of using sacred books to make people swear by lane driving.

The Gurgaon traffic police had launched a "Sensible Driving" programme on the expressway. As part of the drive, heavy vehicle drivers found violating rules were fined and then asked to take oath on their holy books.

Mushtak Ansari, a cleric from Delhi-based Jamiatul Mahim, said, "Any type of traffic offence on the road should be treated according to the law. Our religion does not allow sacred Quran to be involved in such matters. We will take it up with the ulemas and a fatwa would be issued.

"It's a very serious issue. We are going to take action," said the Imam of Jama Masjid Mosque at Gurgaon.

The president of the Gurudawara Singh Sabha Gurgaon, Santhokh Singh, also expressed his ire, saying, "I can't believe this. There is a particular religious procedure to move the Guru Granth Sahib... We will certainly take strong action."

The chief coordinator of ISKCON - International Society of Krishna Consciousness - here, Achyut Hari Dass said, "Hands have to be washed before touching the Gita."

An official from GTP clarified, "It's an idea of the traffic volunteers and we are only supporting them."

Traffic volunteer Amar Chauhan said, "We have made more than 50 violators swear by their holy books. Hope they will learn lane driving. They comprised Hindus and Muslims. The same procedure would be followed on Saturday too on expressway's Hero Honda Chowk."

He added, "We have arranged for a Gita, Quran, Guru Granth Sahib and Bible." — IANS

New Delhi, December 26
A gynaecologist, arrested for her alleged negligence in a case of childbirth leading to the death of the woman few hours after the delivery, has been given bail by a Delhi court.

Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Kaur let off Dr Namrata of Arogya Niketan Clinic in Dwarka, saying that the police has not been able to link the death to the doctor's negligence.

"The prosecution has failed to show as to what act of the accused was negligent in conducting the delivery of the woman, Lata, and what was the nexus between the negligent act of the accused and the excessive bleeding resulting in her death," the court said.

According to the prosecution, Lata was taken to Dr Namrata's clinic on November 19, 2009, when she delivered a girl child and was discharged the same day. She, however, had to be rushed back to the clinic shortly later as she suffered heavy bleeding and her condition deteriorated.

Dr Namrata allegedly administered some injection to her and referred her to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, where the woman died on November 20, 2009.

The autopsy report said the death was due to full-term delivery under the treatment of "unskilled and non-competent doctor". It added the possibility of medical negligence by the doctor, treating Lata, could not be ruled out.

Dr Namrata, in her bail plea, denied conducting Lata's delivery, saying she had given birth to the child on road. She also pointed out that the postmortem report did not explain as to what act of her was found negligent.

She also pleaded for bail, saying she had been in custody since August 1, 2011, while she was a widow and there was no one to take care of her three minor children.

Granting her bail, the court directed her not to leave the country and asked her to surrender her passport. — PTI

New Delhi, December 26
Colourful season's greeting cards once added warmth to drawing rooms, but thanks to the virtual world, the gesture of sending paper cards is fast becoming a thing of the past. However, for those missing the charm of such cards, personalised paper as well as e-cards are an innovative option.

Jagdeep Sahani, a local greeting card shop-owner, says the business of paper cards has definitely seen a downfall.

"The sale of our New Year greeting cards has decreased considerably thanks to the advent of technology, because now people prefer to send their wishes on email or through SMS," Sahani told IANS.

"Apart from birthday cards, cards that are meant for different occasions and days rarely attract customers," he added.

When the internet was not such a rage, it was almost customary for many to buy bundles of Christmas and New Year cards, personalise it with a message and send it to loved ones, not just within the country but overseas too.

According to Ranjit Singh Chadha, founder director postmygreetings.com, an online greeting portal, "Greeting cards are an old tradition of expressing love and best wishes for loved ones. But people are so busy right now that they don't get time to go and buy cards. That is why the sale of greeting cards has slipped and people are increasingly going the e-way."

However, Chadha has also hit upon a novel way of reviving the love for paper cards - through customised and personalised options.

"We have been creating personalised and printed greeting cards for people to wish their near and dear ones. We create cards as per their needs, as per how they want to design it, whether they want to add pictures or not and there are people who are going for it. The personalisation adds the warmth to these cards. But I agree there can be nothing better than handwritten cards to show your love," added Sahani.

The younger generation feels it is wiser to spend one rupee per SMS or send a free online greeting or a BBM (Blackberry Messenger) message than spend Rs.25 to Rs.100 per greeting card, plus postal charges.

"The SMS gets delivered immediately and people respond to it also immediately. If you compare the cost of an SMS, it is much less than the cards. We live on stringent pocket money; so it is better for us to do with a quick SMS," said Ritika Shah, a college-goer.

For old timers, the charm of cards still remains.

Roma Sharma, who sells handmade cards, says: "With everything going virtual and technical, handmade cards are heartwarming. So many personal things can be conveyed via a greeting card, and it can be kept safe for as long as possible."

Protima Bannerjee, a media professional, has bought bulk of greeting cards created by young kids of an NGO, to send it across to her friends and relatives.

"SMS messages are so impersonal. So I have bought a whole pack of cards, which has the handmade drawings of kids from an NGO. I will send them across to close people. Ever since I have sent the cards, I have been receiving calls from all over, from people thanking me for the cards which nowadays we rarely get.

"There is so much one can do to add a personal touch to these cards. This is also my way of extending a helping hand to needy kids," she said.— IANS