New Delhi, August 9
During a mahapanchayat, attended by senior Congress leader and former South Delhi MP Sajjan Kumar, people of Sultanpur Dabas village today warned the North Delhi Municipal Corporation that they would agitate on roads if the move to set up a sanitary landfill was not reversed.

In this regard, they passed a resolution in a mahapanchayat, held at Prem Piao Chowk outside the village against the proposed sanitary landfill in Sultanpur Dabas.

Resolving to oppose the sanitary landfill tooth and nail at all levels till the BJP-ruled municipal corporation withdraws its decision, they also declared that in the next 15 days, the members of the 'Samiti' would go from home to home in every village and colony and a memorandum on the subject signed by five lakh villagers and residents of colonies would be submitted to the Lt. Governor.

Organised under the banner of 'Dehat', the mahapanchayat called the move anti-village accusing the local representatives of the BJP of indifference on the matter. Those attending the gathering said that the residents of villages have been compelled to come on the roads today.

Extending their support on the issues and demands raised, Sajjan and former MLA Surender Kumar said that the BJP government has been making "false claims" of development in all the areas as people are living in appalling conditions in villages.

Surender stated that in the history of rural Delhi, it has never been seen that a sanitary landfill was established in any of the two sides of a village. While strongly condemning the decision of the corporation, he stated that a sanitary landfill is already in village Sannot near Sultanpur Dabas much to the distress of the people.

He said that this decision will not only pollute the water and environment of the village, but will also affect the residents' health.

New Delhi, August 9
A 17-year-old boy was found dead with his throat slit in Sadar Bazar area of north Delhi today, police said.

The deceased has been identified as Idu, a resident of Bihar. He had been living with his relatives in Kumharon Wali Gali in the area for the last one year and did random jobs.

The incident took place around 12:15 am when the victim had gone to a water cooler installed at a temple close to his residence.

On the way, he had an argument with two to three persons following which his throat was slit and he bled to death, a police officer said, adding, an empty water bottle was found lying close to his body.

It is not clear what was the reason behind this fatal attack on him and who carried it out, but it seems that he was attacked by more than one person. Personal enmity could be the reason behind the attack but it is still too early to tell the reason behind the murder, police said.

"We have registered a case of murder at Sadar Bazar Police Station and further investigations are on," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Madhur Verma. — PTI

New Delhi, August 9
Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president and MLA Arvinder Singh took on the BJP-led Central government today saying that it had totally failed to ensure the safety and security of women as the number of rape cases has shown an upward trend.

Stating that before the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had put up huge hoardings claiming to ensure women's safety, but now the BJP-led Central Government was working against such promises.

He alleged that the helpline started for women has been shut down.

"The Union Home Ministry, headed by Rajnath Singh, has failed to prevent crime against women as attacks on them are on the rise," he said while addressing a seminar organised by the Mahila Vikas Manch on the subject of "Balatkar ko rokne me samaj ki bhoomika" at the Constitution Club.

The women's organisations and speakers at the seminar felt that in order to prevent the increasing incidents of rape, society should stay vigilant.

All India Mahila Congress president Sobha Ojha said the time had come for women to strongly fight for their safety and security. Some political outfits talk about the protection of women only during election time, and after that they forget all about women's safety.

Senior leader Mukesh Sharma said even after the Nirbhaya incident, heinous incidents are still occurring which shows that Delhi is witnessing a 'jungle raj'.

He said if immediate steps are not taken, the number of tourists arriving in Delhi would come down to zero, which will in turn affect the economic development of Delhi.

New Delhi, August 9
Taking exception to the 'bypassing' of Prof. Nirmalangshu Mukherjee for the position of the Head of the Department of Philosophy of Delhi University, the Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) today demanded reversal of the decision and appointment of Prof. Mukherjee as the Head in accordance with the principle of rotation as laid down in the ordinances of DU.

According to DUTA, the move is 'vindictive' in nature for voicing against the VC and administration's 'unilateral' decisions on several occasions while Prof Mukherjee, professor of Philosophy since July 1998, has taken up the matter with the VC.

Slamming the VC, he has asked the reasons for denial of promotion to the post to which his colleague Prof. H. S. Prasad has been appointed.

He said going by the time-tested principle of rotation of headship between professors followed by the university, it was his turn to be the Head but he has been targeted for criticising the VC's authoritarian ways.

"....whether the denial is the consequence of the mala fide enquiry supposed to be constituted by the university against me. As I have written repeatedly to the relevant authorities in the university, the said enquiry was proposed in a memorandum of 13 January, 2014 on the basis exclusively of vindictive and false accusations reported by Ashok Vohra, the previous head," said Prof Mukherjee in the letter.

Over the matter, the university has maintained deafening silence for seven months after his rebuttal, he said, "Unless it is satisfactorily explained, the conclusion is unimpeachable that the false enquiry was constituted solely for the purpose of denying headship to me."

"This is yet another example of the vindictive attitude of the administration towards those who expressed opinions not to the liking of the varsity Vice-Chancellor Prof Dinesh Singh and his team," said DUTA president Nandita Narain and joint secretary Anita Ghosh.

New Delhi, August 9
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is going to celebrate Independence Day this year with weeklong celebrations involving a series of activities, including Metro rides 
for differently abled children and senior citizens of some non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

All the premises of the Delhi Metro such as stations, viaducts, depots, residential enclaves, etc. will be decorated with the Tricolour, banners, illumination during the week.

The national flag will be hoisted at all the major offices, depots, stations of the Delhi Metro.

Patriotic songs will be played at stations during the week commencing from August 10. A short film on the Delhi Metro will be screened on the LED screens installed at stations.

New Delhi, August 9
Blood donation camps, sanitation drive, poster-making competition, health check-up camp, cultural show in colleges, involvement of indoor patients in flag hosting and plantation drive are part of the weeklong celebrations of the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Delhi Government, ahead of 68th Independence Day.

Health secretary Dr. SCL Das said that as a part of weeklong Independence Day celebration of Government of Delhi as per directions of Lieutenant Governor, Department Of Health and Family Welfare has started a series of activities and celebrations too.

The general public is invited to take a pledge and commit to saving lives through donating blood or supporting blood donation.