IAC activists lathicharged
New Delhi, October 21
In a clash between the police and the activists of the India Against Corruption (IAC) here today, as many as ten people, including four policemen, sustained injuries. The police first used water cannons to disperse the activists. When they could not be controlled and tried to enter the residence of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda at Pandit Pant Marg, the police used lathicharge, resulting in six of them sustaining injuries.

IN FOCUS
JNU ‘festival’ leaves a bitter taste in the mouth
New Delhi, October 21
Last month proved to be a roller coaster ride for the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, who were planning to organize a beef and pork festival on campus that was called off after the intervention of the Delhi High Court and an inquiry by the administration. While the event did not occur, it left the students of this prestigious university with a food for thought--Right to Freedom of Food--not just inside the campus but in the city too.

Changes, a big threat to varsity, say DUTA protesters
New Delhi, October 21
The discontent of teachers at Delhi University against the administration is now getting deeper. A large number of teachers at the Delhi University Teachers' Association's indefinite relay strike gave vent to their anger through speeches and slogans.

IN MEMORIAM: The Delhi police jawans paying tribute to martyrs on the occasion of Police Commemoration Day at New Police Lines in Delhi on Sunday. Tribune photo: Manas Ranjan Bhui

BJP MLA demands potable water supply to Cantt
New Delhi, October 21
BJP MLA from Delhi Cantonment Karan Singh Tanwar in a letter written to the Lieutenant Governor, Tejendra Khanna, urged that civil population in the Delhi Cantonment area should be provided potable water supplied by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). Delhi Cantonment, besides military population, has five villages - Jherera, Old Nangal, Prahladpur, East Mehram Nagar, Meharam Nagar and Naraina CB - where about 5 lakh civilian people reside. They have been residing in the area for the past 98 years.

Govt focusing on infra development: CM
New Delhi, October 21
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said that the government was giving priority to the development of infrastructure in order to make the Capital a world-class city. Apart from concentrating on infrastructure, the government has also decided to accelerate the implementation of various welfare schemes as 65 per cent of budget allocation has been earmarked for this purpose.

IAC activists lathicharged
Ten, including 4 policemen, injured
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 21
In a clash between the police and the activists of the India Against Corruption (IAC) here today, as many as ten people, including four policemen, sustained injuries. The police first used water cannons to disperse the activists. When they could not be controlled and tried to enter the residence of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda at Pandit Pant Marg, the police used lathicharge, resulting in six of them sustaining injuries. Four policemen also received injuries in the melee, said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi), Sanjay Kumar Tyagi.

He said that the police detained 25 men, including four women, when they tried to barge into Hooda's residence protesting against the Vadra-DLF land deals.

When the incident occurred, Kejriwal and other senior leaders of the group were not present at the protest. Protesters, most of them from the Haryana wing of the IAC, claimed that over a dozen activists were injured in the police action.

The activists had assembled near Gol Dakhana and marched towards Hooda's residence, where the police had put up barricades.

The police said that the protesters breached the barricades and continued to march towards Hooda's residence. As they were stopped, the activists insisted on going ahead and reached near the residence.

The police then used force and water cannons to disperse the crowd, said the Additional DCP.

Reacting to the incident later, Kejriwal said people were "peacefully" protesting against Vadra and Hooda. "This is the way the government is reacting to a peaceful protest which is a constitutional right. They are brutally attacking people which is unacceptable in a democracy," he said.

Kejriwal had alleged a nexus among the Haryana Government, DLF and Robert Vadra over the land deals.

IN FOCUS
JNU ‘festival’ leaves a bitter taste in the mouth
Jyoti Rai
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 21
Last month proved to be a roller coaster ride for the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, who were planning to organize a beef and pork festival on campus that was called off after the intervention of the Delhi High Court and an inquiry by the administration. While the event did not occur, it left the students of this prestigious university with a food for thought--Right to Freedom of Food--not just inside the campus but in the city too.

Ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Delhi government faced a similar situation when reports of beef to be served to the international players resulted in a tumult in the Delhi Assembly, forcing the Games Organising Committee to formally declare that beef would not be served.

Serving beef is illegal according to the Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act of 1994. Such festivals do attract attention since it is considered sacrilegious hurting the sentiments of the majority Hindu community.

While JNU avoided the festival, a similar incident at a Hyderabad university in April this year resulted in violent clashes when the police had to step in to control two groups. JNU students are wondering how an on-campus discussion attracted vehement opposition from outside, including from the groups like Gowraksha Sena.

Though the JNU authorities have closed the inquiry against the people who initiated the debate, the students associated with it virtually lived in fear that the move would affect their academic pursuits following showcause notices accompanied by a threat of suspension.

Yet, the student community at JNU still believes that the incident should not deter them from expressing their thoughts with a free mind. The students have formed a new Committee for Democratic Right to Choice of Food which believes that the debate should not be allowed to die.

"Our country houses multiple ethnicities. Unfortunately, we have had a history of the majority thrusting their values upon the minorities. At times, overlapping values between two sets of cultures lead to a lot of problems. But in this democracy, we believe that the best way out is a reason and debate, so as to negotiate a stand, which doesn't hurt anyone. Based on that reason, we believe that the debate should continue," Committee's convenor Gideon Shdang told "The Tribune".

Spokesperson of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, one of the fronts that opposed the JNU festival, said, "Our Constitution grants every citizen the freedom of expression, but nowhere does it permit anyone to hurt the sentiments of fellow citizen. Debating is not a crime, but if anyone thinks that the debate on freedom to eat beef is their right, then we too, on the other hand have the right from the same Constitution to oppose it with all our might."

The larger question is while the students found themselves in trouble what about those who trade in the product in the Capital and NCR region - just flip through Yellow Pages or an Internet Search for answers to this worst-kept secret.

Changes, a big threat to varsity, say DUTA protesters
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 21
The discontent of teachers at Delhi University against the administration is now getting deeper. A large number of teachers at the Delhi University Teachers' Association's (DUTA) indefinite relay strike gave vent to their anger through speeches and slogans.

The DUTA continued with the strike today, even on a Sunday, and has already notified all the staff associations across the university that the agitation will continue even at Dusshera and Eid in the coming week.

Meanwhile, lack of response from the administration has disheartened the teachers. The striking teachers now describe the Vice-Chancellor (VC) an "institution-breaker" who has brought about a wave of changes that is a big threat to the university. "The university is perceived to be washing its hands of the responsibility to conduct the exams and maintain its standards. The onus of the entire clerical work related to the exams is being put on teachers, and individuals are being exposed to all the contingencies that may arise out of the exams. The students are deeply perturbed by the decision to do away with secrecy and confidentiality and also have raised questions about the possibility of teachers' wards getting an unfair advantage over other candidates," said a senior DUTA member.

"The misfortunes of School of Open Learning students who have been arbitrarily denied the flexibility of time to complete their degrees are also unhappy," he added.

Teachers also condemned the VC for pressing on with the salary cut for participating in the one-day token strike. "The 'no work, no pay' announced by the VC is a clear gesture through which he has conveyed his intolerance against anyone who dares to disagree with him," added DUTA president Amar Deo Sharma.

BJP MLA demands potable water supply to Cantt
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 21
BJP MLA from Delhi Cantonment Karan Singh Tanwar in a letter written to the Lieutenant Governor, Tejendra Khanna, urged that civil population in the Delhi Cantonment area should be provided potable water supplied by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

Delhi Cantonment, besides military population, has five villages - Jherera, Old Nangal, Prahladpur, East Mehram Nagar, Meharam Nagar and Naraina CB - where about 5 lakh civilian people reside. They have been residing in the area for the past 98 years.

The Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, promised before the Commonwealth Games 2010 that civilian population of the cantonment area would be given water connection. But so far the Chief Minister could not fulfil her promise. People still depend on groundwater.

In 1997 when the BJP was in power in Delhi as well as at the Centre, the government had prepared a plan to provide potable water connection to the civil population of the cantonment area. But the plan could not be implemented due to the application of code of conduct prior to elections to the Delhi Legislative Assembly. In 1998, the Congress had come to power and since then the plan has been in cold storage.

Tanwar said that he approached the Chief Minister several times demanding water supply to the area. The Chief Minister called a meeting with station commander and officials of the Delhi Cantonment Board and the DJB and said that the Civil Cantonment area would be provided water from the Sonia Vihar treatment plant. But this promise has not been fulfilled so far.

Govt focusing on infra development: CM
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 21
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said that the government was giving priority to the development of infrastructure in order to make the Capital a world-class city.

Apart from concentrating on infrastructure, the government has also decided to accelerate the implementation of various welfare schemes as 65 per cent of budget allocation has been earmarked for this purpose.

The Chief Minister expressed these views after inaugurating a bridge across Najafgarh drain at village Ambarahi in Dwarka. The bridge will connect a number of colonies near Ambarahi to other developed parts in Dwarka.

She announced that four more such bridges on Najafgarh drain are being constructed to provide an effective link to the unauthorised colonies around Ambarahi.