New Delhi, October 22
The activist-turned politician Arvind Kejriwal and his associates under India Against Corruption sat on a protest outside the office of the Bombay Suburban Electric Supply here today, supporting its employees in their agitation against the management for its alleged autocratic functioning and irregularities in remuneration paid to the employees.

Kejriwal warned the Reliance’ BSES against taking any action against the contractual workers.

Balbir Singh, general secretary of the trade union affiliated to the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, had met Kejriwal a few days ago to seek his support. He along with his colleagues has threatened to go on “mass leave” on Divali night if their concerns are ignored.

He informed Kejriwal that they are even made to sign on resignation papers. 

New Delhi, October 22
Anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal was slapped with a legal notice today by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's political advisor Pawan Khera in view of his alleged derogatory remarks against the Chief Minister (CM).

However, a defiant Kejriwal went on with his tirade against the Delhi government during a protest today even as the defamation notice sought an "unconditional apology" within two days.

The notice issued to him accused him of using "foul and filthy" language against the CM, particularly the usage of the word "dalal" (broker) for her during a TV talk show.

It also substantiates what the CM had earlier said that the unlawful campaign-bijli-paani satyagraha-is politically motivated, intended towards gaining publicity for the political mileage (in view of the next assembly elections).

"Tender an unconditional public apology to my client to her satisfaction through print and electronic media with regard to the said baseless allegations and aspersions," the notice filed by lawyer Mehmood Pracha read.

Khera said, "The notice comes following the allegations made by Kejriwal in order to maliciously defame the Chief Minister and all those who are working with her. He should refrain from using such uncouth language that is unbecoming of civil-public discourse."

In response to the notice, Kejriwal said, "Send as many notices as you can and I am not afraid of them. The protest will continue against the government till it mends its ways and does away with the corrupt practices."

During several protests, activists of India Against Corruption have launched a scathing attack on the Dikshit-led Congress government over the hike in electricity and water tariffs, alleging a collusion between the government and the discoms.

New Delhi, October 22
Amid widespread protest by the BJP, IAC activists and RWAs against the hike in electricity bills, the Delhi's Electricity Regulator Commission (DERC) today made adjustments in the tariff structure which could reduce monthly bills of low-end consumers by around 15 per cent.

The DERC today announced a new slab abolishing the current one that was Rs 3.70 per unit up to 200 units; Rs 4.80 per unit up to Rs 400 units; and Rs 6.40 per unit above 400 units.

The new slab of power tariff announced today is Rs 3.70 per unit up to 200 units; Rs 5.50 per unit from 201-400 units; and Rs 6.50 per unit above 400 units.

The change in power tariff has been done after going through the suggestions given by the consumers, said Secretary DERC, Jayshree Raghuraman.

In June, the DERC had issued a proposal on power tariff--Rs 3.70 per unit up to 200 units; Rs 5.70 per unit from 201-400 units; and Rs 6.40 per unit above 400 units. Against this proposal, the DERC sought comments and suggestions of all the stakeholders.

In order to hear the concerns of stakeholders on the proposal, the commission issued a notice regarding the public hearing for rationalization of tariff slabs for domestic consumers on September 27 and 28 in various newspapers.

The commission heard a few stakeholders during the public hearing on October 8. The commission has also perused the written comments of various stakeholders and the distribution licensees. Thereafter, it announced today the revised slab of power tariff.

New Delhi, October 22
Under the "Meri Shakti, Meri Beti" (MSMB) project, an initiative to check the incidents of sex selective abortions, Centre for Social Research (CSR) has roped in college students, cooperative societies (Dwarka) and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) to promote awareness about the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act.

Their services are being utilised by the Community Watch Groups (CWGs) and Committees Against Female Foeticide (CAFFs) constituted in collaboration with the German embassy, in the posh localities of Delhi.

A protest was held today to mobilise people against the rampant practice of sex determination in Delhi's southwest district, which holds the dubious distinction of having the lowest sex ratio of 836 girls per 1,000 boys in the Capital.

Teams comprising students along with the locals visited Dwarka's market at sector 6 and Kusumpur Pahari in Vasant Vihar, the largest slum in Delhi as part of the initiative.

"Since February 2012, under our MSMB project, we have been building a community network. Women are being told how to respond to the occasions when they are forced to subject themselves to sex determination tests," said Manasi Mishra, head of the CSR's research and knowledge management section.

The project was implemented in Najafgarh, Narela and Punjabi Bagh, the three areas of Delhi figuring quite low in the child sex-ratios.

To ensure a better outreach, the youth is being involved and in this regard a signature campaign was also conducted at Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences in August. Other colleges and institutes were also covered. They were: Lady Irwin College, Shivani Niketan, Gargi College, Kamla Nehru College, Acharya Narendra Dev College, Jagrati Public School and Jagannath International Management School (JIMS).

In February this year, more areas were taken as the target areas with a view to catching the offenders of the Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act 1994.

"The fact that no encouraging results have been witnessed even after five years of running the project indicates the irony of the issue," said the CSR director Ranjana Kumari.

New Delhi, October 22
Opposing Delhi University's decision to abolish the provision of granting a 'special chance' to former students who return after many years to take the exam and get a degree, the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) has sent a notice to the administration, asking it to withdraw the decision at its earliest.

DUSU today announced that if students' grievances are not resolved, a mass movement will soon be organised against the administration over the next few days. An RTI has also been submitted by a group of affected students seeking clarification on the sudden move by the administration.

The October 10 notification by the university for the same has been a shocker for over 200 students who have already submitted their applications for special chances this year.

The registrar in her notification had stated: "It is hereby notified that applications for grant of special chance beyond the stipulated span periods shall not be considered by the university. Consequently, students will have to complete their courses of study within the span periods prescribed for the courses concerned. The applications already received by the university shall not be processed further for consideration."

According to former committee members of the academic council which overlooked the requests for a special chance till now, around 5,000 applications annually came from the students studying in the School of Open Learning (SOL) and Delhi College of Engineering.

"A majority of SOL students come from financially weaker sections. They have to take care of their families, get jobs and study without much assistance. They may be unwell or there is some mishap in the family. There are plenty of pressures. Students have come back after 15 to 20 years in rare cases," said another former member.

"Any new rule should take effect after a prior notification period of at least a year which was not granted to the thousands of distressed students. This year, hundreds of students were assured by the college authorities and the university examination branch that they may apply for a special chance. They were provided with special chance application forms which were then duly signed by the college authorities and forwarded to the university examination branch. And now the same administration is rejecting these applications without any prior warning," said DUSU president Arun Hooda.

The Vice-Chancellor has refused a meeting in this regard.

New Delhi, October 22
A 25-year-old graduate from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM-Kozhikode), allegedly committed suicide this morning by jumping off the eighth floor of his office on Barakhamba Road, Central Delhi, the police said.

He had been posted as an analyst with IMS health information and consulting firm in Delhi for the past four months.

The deceased has been identified as Gaurav Patil, a resident of Nashik in Maharashtra and residing in West Patel Nagar with his friend Ankit in rented accommodation. He jumped off his office balcony, situated in Ashoka Estate building on Barakhamba Road, around 9.40 am. He was rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

The police has recovered a two-page suicide note, written in English, from his wallet, which is being examined. "In his suicide note, he has not written any specific reason behind this extreme step and didn't blame anyone either," said the official. Patil urged through his letter to donate all his body organs.

"I have gone through all the truths of life, now I am going for a journey in search of real truth. I thank people who helped me to know about the facts of life," reads Patil's suicide letter.

The body has been preserved for the postmortem examination and Patil's family in Nashik has been informed about the incident. "We are scanning the CCTV camera footages and also taking the help of a hand-writing expert," the police said.

"Ankit said that Patil had been reading some philosophical books, written on the truth of life, for some times," said a police official.

After completing his MBBS from Mumbai, he went to Kochi to do his MBA from IIM.