New Delhi, December 16
A man was arrested for allegedly shooting at a dhaba worker in Connaught Place this morning. The incident occurred during a scuffle between the two men after the accused allegedly told the worker to eat his leftover.

A police official alleged that Rajesh (27) had fired at Monu (22), who works at Jain Dhaba, a food outlet, located at Shivaji Stadium in Connaught Place. Rajesh has been arrested under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act. The police is trying to find out the owner of the .32 bore pistol allegedly used by Rajesh. It has seized two live cartridges.

The official said that Rajesh sells chole-bature at a weekly market in West Delhi. He had arrived at the dhaba this morning with his two friends -Neeraj and Sahil - in his Santro car. They were drunk, according to the police.

"Monu was mopping the floor when Rajesh told him to eat his unfinished parantha. Monu refused, but Rajesh kept saying. The other dhaba workers interrupted and told Rajesh to leave him alone. A fight started among them. Rajesh took out a pistol and fired a round at Monu. He ducked and the bullet hit the sunshade of the dhaba. Monu escaped unhurt," said the official.

The workers overpowered Rajesh who was trying to escape in his car. They broke the windshield of his car.

A police constable patrolling the area at that time rushed to the vehicle and caught him. Rajesh's friends, however, ran away from there. The police is trying to trace these two men.

New Delhi, December 15
Abandoned, abused, malnourished and without access to education, health facilities or legal protection, over 1 lakh children living on the streets of the Capital continue to turn into just figures, making Delhi the city with the highest crime rate against children (25.4 per cent as per the National Crime Records Bureau, 2011).

For many years now, numerous reports have pointed out how these children fall prey to substance and physical abuse. However, the latest data establishes that one out of five children is dependent on drugs, be it sniffing whiteners, petrol, pharmaceutical drugs or even hard drugs like charas, ganjha and cannabis. Nearly 58 per cent of street children in Delhi today stay on pavements or under bridges, and over 67% are runaways from home, either from within Delhi or even outside at times.

These street kids below 18 constitute one per cent of the national Capital's total children and over 51% of them have never held a pen, let alone going to school. One in every five of them is a ragpicker. Many others become part of gangs that use them for begging or prostitution. Worse, they are pushed into an organ trade and even lured into illegal adoption network.

"Street children are most vulnerable to all the forms of exploitation. What adds to their vulnerability is the fact that even within the city, they are often dislocated. There is no record of their birth, death or status as an individual. Most of them become dependent on drugs to escape the reality, at times to beat their hunger pangs," said Luke Samson of Sharan Society for Services to Urban Poor, which recently conducted a study on the substance abuse among Delhi street children.

The study establishes certain areas with the highest density of substance abuse among street children at Meena Bazaar in Jama Masjid, Hanuman Mandir and Minto Road near Connaught Place, Old Delhi and New Delhi railway stations and Inter-State Bus Terminus.

Vinod Kumar Tikoo, Member of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), also admits that the problem is simply growing in magnitude with the government agencies unable to check the menace.

"Since these children don't have a vote and are in an unorganized sector, they slip down to being nobodies. Despite various government schemes and work by the non-government organizations for street children, we haven't been able to do much. There are a lot of intertwined socio-economic reasons that add up to the problem. Just treatment for their drug abuse is not enough. A more holistic approach is required to deal with the problem. The NCPCR is undertaking a nationwide study. The findings will be submitted to the government in June next year with certain recommendations," said Tikoo.

What is worse is that even with the alarming increase in crime against street children in the Capital, laws fail to solve the problem. For example, there is no ban on sale of whiteners to small children.

Dr Deepak Yadav of National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (AIIMS) mentions another unnoticed facet of the problem.

"Besides malnourishment, substance and physical abuse of these small children, what is most worrying is their mental abuse. There is no system within the government policies to look into the mental health of these children. Most of them display symptoms of depression and other behavioural problems which do not allow them to grow up in a healthy manner. They are often maladjusted in society," said Dr Yadav.

The most unfortunate fact is that in the nation's Capital, their welfare is low on priority which is evident from the size of the shrinking Delhi state budget for them.

New Delhi, December 16
Nearly 7,000 Bangladeshi immigrants have been apprehended by the Delhi police for staying illegally in the national Capital in the last five years.

A total of 6,942 Bangladeshis were either arrested or handed over to Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) for their deportation in the last five years, according to the information provided by the Delhi police in reply to an RTI query filed by activist H R Bansal.

In North Delhi district, 1,369 immigrants were apprehended of which 1,360 were sent to FRRO while nine were arrested for their involvement in crime.

A large number of illegal immigrants, 3,419, were apprehended and handed over to FRRO from South district while 344 in Central district, 660 in South West district, Outer district 47, South East 200 and 903 from West district.

No Bangladeshis were residing illegally in New Delhi district while other districts had no record, the RTI reply said. — PTI

New Delhi, December 16
Children and their families may celebrate Christmas with Disney at Pacific Mall in Tagore Garden. There is a storytelling session apart from other fun activities during the celebratory period till December 31.

Bright lights will illuminate the place where visitors can also view Santa's sleigh.

Children can make clay models of Disney characters, create some exciting stuff from the waste and recyclable materials and learn different ways of painting--thumb painting, blow pen painting and spray painting.—TNS

New Delhi, December 15
Issues of sexuality and hypogonadism (andropause) are still considered a taboo while women's related disorders do get attention to some extent though without much outcome. However, the attention is minimal in case of men, said experts here according to whom there is a 20 per cent jump in hypogonadism, predominantly in the young working population in Delhi.

They also pointed out at a worrying shift in the patients' age group from 50 to 30-35 years recently.

According to them, this is attributable to low awareness in the medical practitioners as well as people and fast-paced lifestyle, odd working hours and the resultant stress apart from the stigma associated to the subject.

Male hypogonadism or andropause is a condition in which the body does not produce adequate testosterone hormone, vital for masculine growth during puberty. It manifests itself with lethargy, mental stress, reduced concentration, decreased libido, impaired erectile function, muscle weakness, progressing obesity, etc.

"Hypogonadism is on the rise and there has been a 20 per cent increase in patients. Those aged between 30 and 35 years report to us with the disease nowadays. This is due to increasing corporatisation and stress levels," said senior consultant urologist & andrologist at Delhi's Apollo Indraprastha Hospital Dr Ajit Saxena, who sees five to six patients of andropause every day at the OPD. Due to low awareness, people fail to report to the doctors early. Increasing intake of alcohol, tobacco and overdose or rather misuse of drugs, especially antidepressants further contribute to it, said Dr Saxena.

According to Dr Shalender Bhasin, Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, who is in India these days, androgen deficiency is more than sexual dysfunction and can hamper men's health in many ways.

"Male hypogonadism is not only about the sexual health of men, it also contributes to osteoporosis, reduced muscle mass and density, increased risk of metabolic disorder. However, it remains an ignored area and talked as a secret set of disorders while the condition is often missed by physicians," noted Dr Bhasin.

Dr Bhasin said, "Accurate diagnosis and treatment is required just like other diseases and patients should be encouraged to engage in an open discussion."