New Delhi, August 9
The Delhi Government employees are up in arms against the government and have decided to go on mass leave as a mark of silent protest for non-implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission Recommendations.

Around 10,000 employees of the Delhi Administrative Subordinate Services (DASS) cadre will remain on casual leave on Monday to push their demand for implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission Recommendations. It was decided in a recent meeting of the DASS association which also introspected on taking the protest further in pursuit the demand.

The dispute of pay scale of DASS employee, which includes grade I, II, III and IV staff, has been continuing since 2007. Treating equally the employees of the Union Territory and the Central Government, the Sixth Pay Commission had recommended to increase the pay scale of DASS cadre to the level of Central Secretariat staff in 2008, though it had to be implemented with effect from 2006.

The decision was also approved by the Central Government Cabinet but was never notified by the Delhi Government.

The mass leave of DASS employees might also affect the launch of government's ambitious food security scheme on August 20 as almost the entire staff who is behind the implementation of the scheme is of the DASS cadre.

"This is our first step of protest. It is a wake up call for the government," said one of the members of the DASS association on the condition of anonymity. "It would be almost impossible for the government to launch the food security scheme if we continued our protest as all staff from inspectors to supervisors are under the DASS cadre and will be on leave," he said.

Considering the demands of the cadre, the then Lieutenant Governor (LG), AR Kidwai, had ordered to increase their pay scale in 2007 but the decision was later revoked by the Home Ministry in 2010.

"We had approached the LG but it did not turn up any positive results as the powers of LG were objected to by the Central Government," said the member. "The state government cannot deny the recommendations as they have already been approved by the Central Government," he added.

New Delhi, August 9
Muslims across the national Capital today celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr, marking the culmination of holy fasting month of Ramzan, by offering prayers in mosques, giving alms to the needy and visiting friends and relatives.

Despite overcast conditions and scattered rains in some areas, hundreds of faithful dressed in their festive best turned up at historic Jama Masjid, Fathepuri Masjid, Hazrat Nizamuddin and other mosques in the city to offer special prayers.

Soon after the namaz was over at the mosques, people hugged each other and wished "Eid Mubarak", exchanged gifts and enjoyed special dishes, particularly "sewayian" made of vermicelli and different varieties of biryani and kebabs.

They also offered food to the poor and needy outside the mosques. Markets in various Muslim-dominated areas in the city have been decked up on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the most joyous days in the Islamic calendar.

President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh greeted the people on Eid-ul-Fitr and hoped that the festival will instill a sense of unity among all faiths and pride in the composite culture of country.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge too greeted people on the festival.

New Delhi, August 9
An 11-year-old boy was killed and his sister was critically injured when a portion of a balcony of a building fell on them in Saraswati Vihar, north-west Delhi, this morning.

The deceased, Suraj, stayed with his family at Saraswati Vihar C-Block. He studied at a government school. He was declared dead when he was taken to Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital. His sister, Kajal (14), is undergoing treatment.

According to the police, the mother of the children, Reena, works as a domestic help in the area. "The two children were playing outside the building when the incident took place around 11.30 am," said a police officer.

An initial police probe revealed that a part of the balcony on the first floor had collapsed. The house belongs to a retired schoolteacher named Kamla Chawala.

A case under Section 304-A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at the Rani Bagh police station.

"We have not named any accused at the moment, as it will be done after the conclusion of the investigation," said the officer.

It is believed that the condition of the balcony had deteriorated due to continuous rains since Sunday.

New Delhi, August 8
Security has been beefed up in the national Capital following inputs from central security agencies that Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba terror group may attempt to attack markets or places of strategic importance.

The alert quoted a paragraph from speech of Hafiz Saeed, founder of Lashker-e-Taiba, delivered last month in Pakistan where he had openly threatened that his terrorists will carry out an attack in the national Capital.

The information was shared with the Delhi Police which immediately beefed up the security in market places and important government and private buildings.

Close circuit television cameras installed in various market places and shopping malls were being thoroughly monitored by the police, besides sensitising the shop and business establishment owners in the city, sources in the police department said.

However, Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi sought to downplay the heightened security in the city, saying the force has been constantly reviewing the security arrangements in view of the Independence Day celebrations. — PTI