dare delhis

US agency to fund NDPL's smart grid technology

2011-07-23T04:45:00.000-07:00

Tata-backed north Delhi discom NDPL and the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) on Thursday announced the signing of a pact wherein USTDA will extend a financial grant of US $ 686,447 to NDPL towards implementation of the smart grid technology in its distribution network of North & North-West Delhi.

According to senior officials, NDPL is one of the first Indian utilities to initiate implementation of smart grid technology. Sunil Wadhwa, managing director of NDPL said: "We welcome the association with USTDA. The smart grid solutions are designed to enhance the efficiency and reliability of power distribution and to increase the ability of consumers to manage and use energy in a more cost-effective and energy- efficient way. It will also enable us to optimize our power line grid planning, operations and maintenance, enabling us to deliver power more efficiently.

Display water-supply timings on your website: CIC to DJB

2010-02-04T06:21:00.000-08:00

The denizens of national capital will be able to know the timings of water supply in their area from March onwards if Delhi Jal Board complies with the orders of Central Information Commission in time-bound manner.

The transparency panel has directed the Board to post timings of water supply on its website by February 28 and keep updating it if their are any changes.

"The Commission directs the PIO to ensure that timings of water supply of all areas are displayed on the website of Delhi Jal Board. If these timings are changed the website is updated accordingly," the directive by the Commission said.

Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi was hearing the plea of one Narender Dutt who did not get details of water supply in his area from the Board and filed an appeal in this regard.

Gandhi held that such information should be displayed as part of mandatory proactive disclosure under section 4 of the RTI Act which deals with important information about functions and duties of the organisations displayed in public medium.

"The Commission directs that these timings are displayed on the website under its Section - 4 compliance before 28 February 2010," he said. link

First Indian woman skier to South Pole gets Delhi govt award

2010-02-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu, who became the first Indian woman to ski to the South Pole last year, will be given a Rs 5 lakh award by the Delhi government, an official statement said on Thursday.

"The city Government will honour Reena Kaushal Dharmashaktu with an award of Rs 5 lakh in a function to be organised in near future for her feat of skiing from the coast of Antarctica to the geographic South Pole," the statement said.

"The award is in recognition of her adventurous effort," it added.

The decision was taken in a meeting headed by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

Delhi-based Dharmashaktu, a 38-year-old mountaineer and outdoor instructor, was part of an all-women expedition that skied for nearly eight-nine hours daily for 40 days, braving chilly winds, sub-zero temperatures, the vast emptiness of Antarctica and carried 80 kg of load on their backs to reach the South Pole Dec 31, 2009.

The cost of her venture was around Rs.10 lakh.

Unable to raise sufficient funds, Dharmshaktu had to take a loan of Rs.5.75 lakh from a bank and borrowed the rest from friends.

To mark the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth, the team of eight women from Britain, Brunei, Cyprus, Ghana, India, Jamaica, New Zealand and Singapore were selected for the expedition.

Road signal-free, so kids going to school just dash

2010-01-18T20:48:00.000-08:00

Ever since three new flyovers opened on the Outer Ring Road between Munirka and West End, to make the journey from south Delhi to the airport signal-free, the stretch has become highly accident-prone. At the receiving end of the bad planning are scores of school children who study in about a dozen schools on either side of Outer Ring Road.

The children risk their lives every day as the cross the road, in the absence of a subway, foot-overbridge (FOB) or traffic signal.

Ever since all three new flyovers were made operational in the last months of 2009, the route from IIT to National Highway 8 has become completely signal-free. Speeding vehicles use the route as a quick access from south Delhi to the airport and back. There used to be two traffic signals between the flyovers at Munirka crossing and on Rao Tula Ram Marg, but these were removed when the flyovers were opened.

Turning the stretch into a nightmare for pedestrians. "I feel scared to cross the road. Traffic comes non-stop and all I can do is just run when I see the number of cars becoming a little less,'' said Deepika Sree, a class 8 student of Tagore International School.

Added Mohan Thapa, a Class 7 student of Hope Hall Middle School: "I need to cross the road twice a day to get to my home in D-block, Vasant Vihar. But it's become impossible. I feel like I am going to get hit by a car one of these days as no one stops for us. Even the footpaths are all dug up.''

There are several schools located in the colonies on either side of Outer Ring Road, including Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, Upras Vidyalaya, Hope Hall School, Tagore International School, Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Delhi Public School RK Puram and Vasant Vihar, Kendriya Vidyalaya. As a result, thousands of school children studying in these schools and who live in the vicinity or use public transport need to cross the main road to get to school and back.

Students can be seen crossing the road in hordes in a feeble attempt to prevent their being run over. "I use the route often and I see small children crossing the main road. But even if I want to, it's unsafe to stop my car because I risk being hit by a speeding car from behind,'' said DS Khurana, a resident of Malviya Nagar.

The government, meanwhile, seems to be dragging its feet on construction of pedestrian facilities. "The matter was discussed at UTTIPEC Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Centre) and there is a plan to build a foot-overbridge at this point, which has been approved. Construction should start soon. Though the flyovers have been opened for traffic, work is still going on at the stretch,'' said an official.link

Three FOBs were supposed to come up alongwith the flyovers but the tenders were reportedly not awarded in time as officials were unable to finalise locations. The proposals were finalised only in November last year, after the flyovers were opened for traffic.

TV journalist's house burgled at Mayur Vihar

2010-01-16T23:49:00.000-08:00

Unidentified men burgled the house of a woman TV journalist in east Delhi and fled with cash and jewellery worth around Rs two lakh, police said today.

The incident was reported from Mayur Vihar Phase III late last night.

The victim works as a producer with a reputed news channel. The incident came to light when she returned home from work and found the locks of her ground floor apartment broken.

Cash and jewellery worth Rs two lakh have been stolen from the house, police said.

She alerted her landlord after which police was informed.

The victim's domestic help was the last person who came to the house yesterday.

A laptop, jewellery and cash were stolen from the apartment. Police is questioning the domestic help and security guards, they said.

A case of burglary has been registered at New Ashok Nagar police station.link

Nokia Launches its 3G Touchscreen Nokia 5230

2010-01-16T08:49:00.000-08:00

The mobile giant Nokia has unveiled yet another touch screen 3G mobile phone, Nokia 5230, at an affordable price. It costs approximately Rs 8500 in India.

The new Nokia 5230 touchscreen possesses a resolution of 360 X 640 pixels supporting full 16M color range. In addition, it is equipped with 3G, touchscreen Candybar, 70 MB Memory and microSD support up-to 16GB.

Also, it comes with a 2 megapixel camera with 3x digital zoom with white balance modes, auto exposure and colour tone modes.

Its 33 hours music playback time attributes to one of its key features. The music player of Nokia 5230 supports MP3, MP4, AAC, eAAC+ and WMA formats

Nokia 5230 comes preloaded with various applications, which include Voice command/ dial, photo editor, Flash Lite 3.0, Document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) along with handwriting recognition feature, Email and IM.

Its GPS receiver operating with OVI Maps 3.0 facilitates searching exact location of the desired address, offering you full support wherever your travels may take you.

However, no wi-fi facility adds to its only drawback. link

Aussies to bring own security at Commonwealth Games

2010-01-15T03:22:00.000-08:00

Jittery about their security in India, the Australian delegation for this year's Commonwealth Games in Delhi will be accompanied by the country's Federal Police.

"Travelling there (in India) is something you are always going to have to be very careful doing. We need to talk through how we are going to bring people in and how we're going to bring athletes out," Australian Commonwealth Games Association chief Perry Crosswhite was quoted as saying in media reports here.

"This will be the first time if they are going into the (Games) village with us. They'll have a couple of people attached to the team, not guarding the team but basically helping with briefings on security, with advice on where athletes should go, what they should wear, that sort of thing," he said.link

Several temples across Delhi closed during solar eclipse

2010-01-15T03:16:00.000-08:00

Several temples across Delhi closed their doors as the millenium's longest annular solar eclipse began Friday morning. People offered special prayers and priests said that a proper cleansing process was observed before the temples were opened to public after the eclipse.

The Radha-Krishna temple in central Delhi, also known as Birla Mandir, was closed at 11 a.m. - around the same time as what was visible in Delhi as the partial eclipse started.

“The temple was closed in the morning and no puja was performed because of the solar eclipse. However, a special havan was being performed in the meantime. When the eclipse gets over, the temple will be opened, but not before a cleansing process,” a priest at the temple told.

Narayan Kothari, a priest at a temple in east Delhi, said the temple was closed during the eclipse to “ward off bad energy of the eclipsed sun”.

Explaining the ritual, Vedic scholar A.S. Arvamudan told “The main reason why temples are closed during the solar eclipse is that when the sun is covered by the moon and is not seen, it is said that asuras or demons are worshipped. Therefore, deities should not be worshipped during this time.”

“Similarly, after the eclipse gets over, there is a cleansing process being done - because it is said that asuras are worshipped during the eclipse. Priests take a bath and mantras are chanted before opening the temple's doors,” he added.

A number of people in the capital, like elsewhere, also offered special prayers in their homes during the eclipse and refrained from cooking or eating food.

Said Usha Kaushal, a homemaker: “I performed a special puja during the eclipse. Also, there was no food being cooked or eaten during the period. I have grown up seeing my parents perform these rituals and therefore it's a deeply ingrained belief.”

Added Rakesh Sharma, an advertising professional: “I am not superstitious but my mother gave me strict instructions not to eat duringthe eclipse, so I had brunch at 10.30 a.m. before the eclipse began.”

While the eclipse began at 11.06 a.m. in India, in Delhi the partial phase of the eclipse began at 11.53 a.m. and ended at 3.11 p.m. The maximum eclipse of 53 percent was at 1.39 p.m.

An annular solar eclipse occurs when the sun and the moon are exactly in line, but the apparent size of the moon's shadow is smaller than that of the visible disc of the sun. The covered sun, therefore, appears as a 'Ring of Fire', with its rays appearing spread out from the outline of the dark moon.

Last time India saw this 'Ring of Fire' was Nov 22, 1965. The maximum duration of the eclipse was 11 minutes 8 seconds over the Indian Ocean, making it the longest annular eclipse of the millennium.link

Preity Zinta celebrated Lohri in Delhi

2010-01-13T23:45:00.000-08:00

Former British prime minister Tony Blair's wife Cherie Blair and Bollywood actor Preity Zinta celebrated the harvest festival of Lohri on Wednesday.

Cherie Blair, who is also the president of Loomba Trust that works for the upliftment of widows, was in New Delhi to create awareness about the plight of widows across the world.

Preity Zinta is the trust's global brand ambassador.

Both of them celebrated the festival at a five-star hotel in New Delhi.

"Well I certainly enjoyed the festival very much this evening, and the fire is very welcome, but I think that is the spirit of Lohri. It's about return of the seasons and the hope of better weather to come," she added.

Preity said the celebration was part of raising money for the trust.

"We are here to raise awareness; we are here to raise money tonight especially. Of course, we are celebrating Lohri also, but to raise money for this trust so that it can help widows all over India and all over the world," said Zinta.

The trust aims at helping the disadvantaged and marginalised widows to empower themselves through its various projects worldwide.link

Delhi High Court judges to declare assets next week

2010-01-12T04:16:00.000-08:00

Following in the footsteps of their counterparts in the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court judges said that they too would declare their assets and make available all the information on the website.

"We too will declare our assets by next week," a bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justices S. Muralidhar and Vikramjit Sen said.

The court upheld its single bench order that the office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) comes within the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act and details of judges assets should be revealed under that.

The Kerala and Madras high court judges have already declared their assets. The Allahabad and Delhi high courts had already passed the resolution of declaring their assets.

Emphasising the importance of RTI, the bench said: "RTI has overreaching impact. Citizens who require such information should not misuse the information, thus saving the independence of (the) judiciary."

Judges of the federal court of justice of the US, it was pointed out, had declared their assets last week. link

Mahindra Navistar unveils MN 49 & MN 40 trucks at the Delhi AutoExpo

2010-01-06T06:34:00.000-08:00

Mahindra Navistar Automotives and Navistar Inc. of USA today unveiled the MN 49 and MN 40 trucks for the Indian market at the 10th Auto Expo. These trucks have been designed, developed and tested for Indian roads and usage conditions and is capable of negotiating the toughest terrain. Made for India and made by utilizing Navistar Inc's world renowned trucking expertise of over 175 years, this launch comes soon after the unveiling of the JV’s 25 tonne and 31 tonne trucks in Delhi, recently.

“With the addition of the MN 49 and MN 40 to its product portfolio, Mahindra Navistar is now well poised to cater to a wide spectrum of requirements in the Indian HCV industry. This product line up makes us a credible player in the commercial vehicle industry,” said Anand Mahindra, vice-chairman and managing director, Mahindra Group.

“I am delighted to witness the launch of the MN 49 and MN 40 at the India Auto Expo. India is an important market for us and the Mahindra Navistar JV will redefine the trucking industry in India,” said Daniel C. Ustian, Navistar chairman, president and chief executive officer.

The MN 49 and MN 40 have been developed keeping the unique requirements of the Indian market in mind. They incorporate Navistar’s MaxxForce engine which has been proven across the world for power and fuel efficiency. Their spacious and ergonomic design coupled with a better power to weight ratio and a high load carrying capacity makes them ideal for quick delivery of goods.

At the heart of the 49 tonne and 40 tonne trucks is the world renowned MaxxForce 7.2 litre CRDI engine which is the most modern engine in its class in terms of product configuration as well as components technology for the HCV segment in India. With the 4-valve per cylinder technology, the engine has been designed for better performance, higher power, better fuel efficiency and stricter adherence to emission standards.

The vehicles’ transmission consists of 9 forward synchromesh gears and 1 reverse. Tilt and telescopic power steering make driving these beasts a breeze, while the GPS vehicle tracking system allows you to keep abreast of the truck’s progress along its route. Both trucks have been rigorously tested and meet stringent international safety standards. The spacious and ergonomically designed cabin with various sleeper options also makes them suitable for continuous long hauls.link

Small Car be hot cake at Delhi Auto Show

2010-01-04T20:50:00.000-08:00

A host of new small cars were Tuesday set to jostle for attention at the start of the Indian auto show, a showpiece event for compact vehicles in one of the world's fastest growing markets.

AutoExpo 2010, which runs in New Delhi until January 11, will feature global releases of cars designed for India's growing middle classes, whose appetite for vehicles is driving sales growth of more than 10 percent a year.

Recent months have seen foreign giants Ford, General Motors, Hyundai and Renault join a stampede to India, where each has promised a small, cheap model designed for what Ford boss Alan Mulally termed the "sweet spot" of the market.

Many of these will be on display during the week, including concept small cars from Japan's Honda and Toyota, General Motors' new Beat vehicle, as well as the India-made Polo by Germany's Volkswagen.

Organisers are keen to stress the range of cars and technology on display, the 40-percent increase in exhibition space compared with the last edition in 2008 and the more than 2,000 exhibitors from 30 countries.

"That's what makes us feel now that Delhi is as big and as important as any auto show in the world," Pawan Goenka, president of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), told reporters Monday.

Ahead of the event, General Motors took the wraps off its Beat model which it intends to sell in more than 150 countries worldwide including Europe, parts of Asia and North America.

Karl Slym, head of GM India, said the Beat, priced at 334,000 rupees (7,000 dollars) in its basic form, would help increase Indian sales by 30 percent this year to 100,000 units, but he admitted that the competition was getting tough.

"There is a competitive market in India," he told reporters. "There are more and more players coming in with different capabilities."

All new entrants are looking to unseat Indo-Japanese alliance Maruti Suzuki, which accounts for 55 percent of all car sales in India and has been a top selling brand for two decades.

This year's show is the 10th, but it first caught the world's attention in 2008 when Indian manufacturer Tata Motors unveiled its Nano, the world's cheapest car that has since hit the roads.

The 115,000-rupee (2,500-dollar) Nano kickstarted the race to produce cheap, small vehicles, which account for 80 percent of all car sales in India.

French automaker Renault and Japanese partner Nissan aim to challenge this price level with an ultra-low cost car in 2012.

Renault has projected India's car sales will more than triple within a decade to six million sales annually from 1.8 million.

Incomes are rising steadily, meaning Indians are following the familiar pattern of upgrading their personal transport from push bikes, to motorbikes, then to cars.

Ten global launches of vehicles from heavy trucks to two-wheelers are planned at the Delhi event, which will see an expected 1.8 million visitors pass through its doors.link

Delhi comes third in terms of tree cover

2010-01-02T23:24:00.000-08:00

Despite pressing needs for land in various developmental projects, the national capital comes third after Lakshwadeep and Chandigarh in terms of percentage of geographical area under tree cover.

"Considering the percentage of geographical area under tree cover, the highest rank goes to Lakshwadeep (12.50%) followed by Chandigarh (9.65%) and Delhi (8.29%)," according to a forest survey, the report of which was released recently.

Daman and Diu ranks fourth at 8.04 per cent while Goa (7.73 per cent) and Kerala (7.21 per cent) come fifth and sixth, the report said, while giving comprehensive details on forest status of the states as in 2007.

Delhi has a total geographical area 1,483.01 sq km of which 123 sq km is under tree cover.

The India State of Forest Report 2009 said while the forest cover increased slightly by 14 sq km, the capital city's tree cover rose by 16 sq km from 107 sq km to 123 sq km during the two-year period mainly due to extensive plantation carried out by the state government.

Overall, Delhi's forest and tree cover have increased to 176.58 sq km between 2005 and 2007, thereby constituting 20.2 per cent of the total geographical area of the capital city.

Tree cover comprises patches outside the recorded forest area exclusive of forest cover and less than minimum mappable area (1 hectares). Such small patches comprising block, linear and scattered trees are not delineated as forest cover during interpretation of satellite data.link

Robbers break into United Bank of India, Khanpur branch

2010-01-01T21:05:00.000-08:00

A gang of robbers was good enough to get into a bank in Neb Sarai late Thursday night but not good enough to get into the bank’s lockers.

Police said the robbers got through one wall and one iron grill while the city celebrated the New Year. A case of attempted burglary has been registered at Neb Sarai police station, although bank officials say nothing valuable was taken. The only damage bank officials found when they reported to work the following morning was one half-burnt door and a few burnt pieces of paper.

According to police, the break-in took place at about 3.15 am. The attempted burglary was found out by officials of United Bank of India, Khanpur branch, when they reported to work Friday morning.

The bank has two entrances. The robbers tried to get in from the rear entrance.

They first dug out a portion of the wall around the back door, then broke an iron grill and the door. Inside, they tried to get past another door by setting it on fire. After about an hour of trying to bring down the door, they gave up and melted away, a senior police officer stated.

The bank is on the ground floor, its lockers in the basement. Senior police officers said there are CCTV cameras in the bank but they were of no help because the would-be robbers had cut the camera wires before sneaking into the bank.

A bank employee said, ‘‘We reported to work at about 9.15 am and found the back door broken. There was smoke inside and we found several burnt pieces of paper lying about.”

The bank manager, despite repeated attempts, could not be contacted. Bank officials also refused to say whether any valuables were missing from the bank or not. ‘‘Bank officials so far have not given us any list of stolen items but we are still investigating whether any valuables are missing or not,” said a police officer.

Though no arrests have been made so far, police suspect the involvement of the same gang that is active in the Sarojini Nagar and Kotla Mubarakpur areas and who burn down their targets after they have burgled them.

Joint Commissioner of Police, southern range, Ajai Kashyap said they are working on the case. ‘‘Though there are no clues yet in the case, we are probing it further from all possible angles.”

Dense fog, paralyse Delhi airport operations

2010-01-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

Dense fog coupled with technical snag in the instrument landing system Saturday paralysed the flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

"All flight operations to and from Delhi have been affected following technical snag in the Runway Visual Range (RVR) instrument located on the main runway. Many international and domestic flights coming to Delhi have been diverted," said an airport official.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the visibility was less than 50 metres in the national capital. link

Buses go off Connaught Place

2010-01-01T05:08:00.000-08:00

As the beautification of Connaught Place -- the heart of New Delhi -- begins ahead of the Commonwealth Games, buses plying in the area were diverted from Friday.

New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) is constructing new subways in the Outer Circle, a service corridor in the Middle Circle, and is renovating the buildings and making other improvements.

In view of the construction work, all buses, except those to New Delhi railway station, will be kept away from Connaught Place.

"Buses for New Delhi railway station will continue to ply through Connaught Place. Routes of all other buses have been changed," a joint advisory from Delhi Traffic Police and the NDMC said.

"NDMC has taken up redevelopment work of Connaught Place including construction of eight new subways in the Outer Circle, a service corridor in the Middle Circle, facade restoration and other related improvements. These works are proposed to be completed ahead of Commonwealth Games - 2010," the advisory said.

The Delhi Transport Corporation will notify the changed routes soon.

Other traffic in Connaught Place will also be regulated and parking in the middle and outer circles will be closed.

"General public is advised to use Metro and other public transport to Connaught Place. No parking will be available on middle and outer circle. Only half the width of Outer Circle shall be available for vehicular movement," the statement said.

The restriction on vehicular movements will continue for 80 days.

Connaught Place is one of the largest financial, commercial and business centres in Delhi. It was developed as a showpiece of Lutyens' Delhi featuring a Central Business District. Named after the Duke of Connaught, the construction work was started in 1929 and completed in 1933.link

189 booked for drunken driving in Delhi

2010-01-01T05:05:00.000-08:00

As many as 189 people were booked for driving under the influence of alcohol in the national capital on New Year's Eve, police said on Friday.

The Delhi Police prosecuted 189 people for drunken driving on Thursday night as a part of their drive to check violation of traffic rules.

"Several police teams - static and mobile - kept a tight vigil in the capital to check people driving under the influence of alcohol," Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said.

Two magistrates were stationed at Parliament Street police station to fine the offenders.

Staff equipped with breath analysers and alcometres were deployed near pubs, malls and hotels as part of a drive to check dangerous and drunken driving during the festive season.

Police Control Room (PCR) vans were also pressed into service to ensure hassle-free flow of traffic.link

The number of offenders has come down rapidly this year as 384 people were booked for drunken driving on the New Year's Eve of 2008.

Reena Kaushal is first Indian woman to ski to South Pole

2010-01-01T05:02:00.000-08:00

Reena Kaushal became the first Indian woman to ski to the South Pole.

Ms. Kaushal, 38, settled in Delhi, made the historic ski-run as part of an eight-woman Commonwealth team that crossed a 900 km Antarctic ice trek to reach the South Pole to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Commonwealth.

Skiing eight to 10 hours a day, Ms. Kaushal and her teammates from seven other countries covered the frozen continent to the pole in about 40 days. Each skier towed a sledge with food and gear weighing some 80 kg.

The skiers, Ms. Kaushal said in a statement online, braved blinding blizzards, jet speed winds blowing in excess of 130 km an hour and temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius.

Australia to send big team to Delhi

2010-01-01T04:57:00.000-08:00

Australia is planning to send its largest-ever delegation for next year’s Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. “Australia will send a full team of over 600 athletes, coaches, managers, medicos and officials. The team will be the largest ever to compete in an overseas Commonwealth Games campaign with the first round of team nominations including the provisional selection of eight track and field athletes, including world champions Steve Hooker and Dani Samuels,” Australian Commonwealth Games Association said in a statement. ACGA CEO Perry Crosswhite said no athlete had raised any security concerns about travelling to India.link

Delhi tops online biz for eBay India

2009-12-16T21:04:00.000-08:00

Though Mumbai is the financial capital of India, Delhi has emerged as the top e- commerce hub in the country, according to a study by eBay India, the Indian arm of the global online auction site eBay.

The sentiments of India's online buyers are at an all- time high, it added.

In the list of top e- commerce hubs, Delhi is followed by Mumbai, Chennai, Jaipur and Bangalore.

Overall, there are over 2,400 e- commerce hubs with the information technology ( IT) hubs of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Gujarat originating most of the e- commerce transactions in the country.

In the domestic transactions space, technology buying and selling was a priority area accounting for 44 per cent of the overall transactions that took place. Internationally, shopping for lifestyle products from Indian markets accounted for 64 per cent of sales. Currently, eBay has around 30 lakh registered users in the country, of which nearly 20 lakh are active users.

" Almost every minute a product changes hands on the site. Buying and selling on the Net is now becoming a mainstream activity," said Ambareesh Murty, country manager, eBay India. Buoyed by this high consumer interest eBay said its domestic business would grow by 35 per cent.

" We will maintain a growth of 30- 35 per cent in the Indian market. This growth will be led not only by metros but by semi- urban and rural areas, too," Murty added.

The study also found that the country has 226 export hubs through which Indian entrepreneurs sell a variety of products to millions of eBay customers in 172 countries across the globe. It found that South India dominated with 41 per cent of the total e- commerce deals, followed by West Indian states.

The study revealed interesting buying patterns of consumers, both domestic and international.

In the urban domestic markets, buying BlackBerry and dual SIM phones were two dominant activities, while Tier- II cities witnessed an upsurge in the sale of touchscreen handsets.

Places such as Jaipur and Ahmedabad emerged as significant entrepreneurial hubs.

Internationally, buyers from the US, UK, Spain, Germany and Canada, evinced keen interest in buying items such as horse saddles, golf clubs and home dÃ©cor articles from India.

Belly dancing dresses were bought in large numbers from Delhi by e- buyers from Brazil.

Delhi's buyers showed some interesting trends. While women buyers from Central Delhi bought maximum numbers of sarees, those from North Delhi indulged in the purchase of formal shirts and DVDs of family drama. Fitness DVD sales were high on the list of buyers from East Delhi, while South Delhi's residents bought sports goods, watches, sunglasses and lingerie.

In West Delhi, sales of educational movies soared this year.

Globally, eBay cranked up $ 60 billion in revenues with the US contributing 45 per cent of the overall sales. " The pie of the Indian market is gradually increasing. Recently, we have seen buyers splurge huge amounts on fancy items. To quote an example a towel of Bollywood star Salman Khan was recently auctioned for close to Rs 1 lakh," said Murty.

Vodafone launches per-second billing plan in Delhi

2009-11-04T02:05:00.000-08:00

Telecom services provider Vodafone Essar today said it has launched a per-second billing plan for its prepaid customers in Delhi and adjoining areas.

As per the plan, the company will charge 1 paise per second for all local and STD calls for its prepaid customers in Delhi and NCR, it said in a statement.

To avail this offer the existing customers of Vodafone have to do a one time recharge of Rs 55. This offer is also available for the new customers with recharge of Rs 54, it added.

Earlier, Bharti Airtel, Aircel and Reliance Communications had announced the per-second tariff, intensifying the competition between operators.

Per-second billing was first started by the entry of Tata DoCoMo in June. Vodafone had already introduced per second billing in some circles earlier this month.

Sanjay Warke, chief executive officer, Vodafone Essar– Delhi said, "Vodafone has always catered to the specific requirements of its customers. This recharge will enable our customers to enjoy calling their loved ones at an affordable call rate."

391 Dengue Cases reported in Delhi

2009-11-03T00:18:00.000-08:00

After Swine Flu, Dengue is back to haunt the Delhiites. At least 16 new cases of dengue were reported on Monday, taking the total number of cases in the national capital to 391. Dengue is a vector-borne disease, which is transmitted by female Aedes Mosquitoes. Delhi always reports the highest number of dengue cases in the country.

Last year, a total number of 1,070 dengue cases were reported till November 1, 2008. Health official said that there is no reason to be panic, as situation is under control as of now.

According to them, breeding of mosquitoes are less than last year. The MCD is doing door-to-door checks to prevent minimise the impact of dengue.

Delhi streets to undergo Rs 270-cr makeover for 2010 Games

2009-10-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

Call it the Games effect. Adjoining streets of the Games Village and stadium in the capital will be dotted with specially designed street furniture, new look telephone booths and sleek info kiosks. There would also be drinking water fountains, environment-friendly toilets and dustbins, bright coloured letter boxes along the route to the village and stadia as part of the streetscaping and beautification drive being undertaken jointly by CPWD, MCD, NDMC, DDA and PWD at an estimated cost of Rs 270 crore.

The mammoth task of the complete makeover plan for the capital streets for the Commonwealth Games, the biggest ever sporting extravaganza in the country, will however, be effected in the limited areas covering only 70 km length of the roads in the city.

"We have engaged some reputed consultants with global expertise to beautify and landscape 70 km of roads near the stadium and Games Village in the capital," a senior official involved with the task said. While all streets including traffic island are to be made pedestrian friendly and barrier free, a concerted effort is being launched to convert the central verge as a green belt with thick plantation.

A massive streetscaping drive is being launched to beautify the roads leading to stadia and the Games village. Roads around IG Stadium, Yamuna Sports Comlex, Karnal Singh Shooting Range, Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex, Chatrasal Stadium, Thyagraj Sports Complex, Siri Fort Complex, RK Khanna Stadium and Games Village will undergo massive refurbishing plan as part of the beautification plan.

The installation of smart-looking info kiosks, telephone booths, toilets, dustbins, street furniture, letter boxes and drinking water fountains on the roads will be carried out on a Public Private Partnership model.

These services will be managed by the private operators on build operate and transfer basis (BOT), the official said. After completion of the Games, government is considering to have a comprehensive maintenance plan for these roads. Mechanised cleaning and involvement of trained personnel in the exercise and creating awareness to follow civic norms are some of the steps being considered to maintain the refurbished streets.link

207 fire incidents in Delhi on Diwali night

2009-10-17T23:54:00.000-07:00

As people celebrated Diwali Saturday, the national capital reported as many as 207 cases of fire incidents. But there were no major cases among them, Delhi Fire Service said.

'We received 207 fire calls and they were mainly Diwali related. The number is more than double the number we receive in a normal day,' a fire service official told.

He said in a normal day they receive around 90 cases.

'After midnight of Diwali we received 62 cases,' the official said adding that this post-midnight number is also much higher than a normal night.

'The good part, however, is that there were no major cases of fire across the city. There are a couple of places where we sent two or three fire tenders but the situation was under control,' the official added.link

Delhi Metro may run past midnight during Games

2009-10-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

Delhi Metro could run past midnight during the 2010 Commonwealth Games for the convenience of visitors. It would provide safe transport and access to nightlife in the national capital, says a senior Delhi government official.

"We are in discussions with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and have recommended they keep their services running past midnight," Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta said.

The move, Mehta said, was in tune with the decision to extend timings for markets and malls in the national capital, which mostly close by 9 or 10 p.m., to late hours.

"Safety is still an issue for transport. Metro is the best bet as there will be less congestion owing to cars - something that Delhi Police have reflected upon," Mehta said.

The Delhi Metro, which is rapidly becoming the lifeline of the capital, is set to expand from 75 km to 200 km by opening six new lines on its Phase II by October 2010.

Sports persons as well as spectators will also find the going easy - since 10 of the 11 Games venues will have "easy Metro connectivity".

The Metro is already well connected to the various tourist attractions like India Gate, the Connaught Place market from the British era, and the buzzing markets in the old city at Chawri Bazaar. With the new lines many open markets like Lajpat Nagar and malls in the national capital will also be on the network.

The Delhi government is in talks with several companies to start a smart card-based ticketing service for integrating public transport during the Games, said Delhi Transport Commissioner R.K. Verma.

"The smart card can be used for travelling in both the Metro and buses. The buses will have automated ticketing machines and fare will be deducted by punching of the smart card," he said.

With the completion of Phase II, the Metro ridership is expected to go up to 2.5 million daily from the 950,000 average now. To cater to the growing load, the number of trains will be increased 3.2 times, an official said.

Phase II of the Delhi Metro will provide easy access to most of the sports venues - the Commonwealth Games Village, Indira Gandhi Sports Complex and Yamuna Sports Complex (all in east Delhi), Delhi University Ground (north Delhi), Talkotora Indoor Stadium (west Delhi), Thyagaraj Complex, R.K. Tennis Complex and Siri Fort Sports Complex (all in south Delhi) and the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and the National Stadium (central Delhi).

The Delhi Metro operates three popular lines connecting the northern, central, eastern and southwestern parts of Delhi.

By next year, passengers can use the high speed Metro Airport Express Line. Travellers will be able to get their boarding passes for their flights at the NH-8, Indira Gandhi International Airport, Dwarka sector 21 and the Dhaula Kuan Metro stations. Metro trains on this line will run at a speed of 135 kmph and cover the 21-km distance from New Delhi to the airport in 18 minutes.

The entire National Capital Region (NCR), including neighbouring Noida and Gurgaon, will be linked in the 120 km network.

Keeping in mind the Commonwealth Games in October 2010 and thousands of foreigners expected at the time, the DMRC plans to train 600 customer relations assistants as an interface to make travel "easier".

"Apart from regular training, we are also training them from the tourism point of view. They will guide people the best routes via the Metro and then the buses or rickshaws to reach popular tourist destinations," a senior Metro official said.link

Air India official carrier for Commonwealth Games

2009-10-06T04:58:00.000-07:00

National airline Air India will be the official carrier for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi in October 2010.

The airline would fly athletes to India from other Commonwealth countries for the event.

Air India Tuesday signed an agreement in this regard with the Organising Committee of Commonwealth Games.

"We have been designated official partner of the Commonwealth Games. We would ensure world class services for the athletes and other members of the contingents who will come here to take part in the games," Air India chairman and managing director Arvind Jadhav said on the occasion.

Air India will also charter aircraft and take help from other foreign airlines to bring athletes, he said.

"There will also be special packages from us for people who wish to visit the Commonwealth Games here."

The 12-day event will open Oct 3, 2010 at the 75,000-capacity Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in the heart of New Delhi.

Over 5,000 athletes from 53 countries that were once part of the British empire will compete in 17 disciplines. The event is the biggest India will host since the Asian Games in 1982 that saw 4,595 athletes from 33 nations take part in 21 events.

The organising committee chairman, Suresh Kalmadi, said the partnership would allow Air India to leverage the rights and benefits as permissible under the Commonwealth Games Federation protocol.

Lalit Kapur, who heads sales and marketing of the airline in the northern region, told that it would soon chalk out strategies to effectively manage its flight services during the Games.link

Lankan dancers mesmerize city

2009-10-06T00:23:00.000-07:00

The third day of the Delhi International Arts Festival (DIAF) 2009 belonged to the expression of Sinhala dance and Sri Lanka's modern dance form pioneered by Chitrasena. Besides showcasing the hardship of fisherfolk, it brought out issues of caste, religion, gender, love and identity along with a beautiful contrast of hope and despair.

The 10-day festival organised in association with The Times of India is a curtain raiser to the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2010 in Delhi. The fest is showcasing some of the unique art forms from various Commonwealth nations. And one could not have asked for more from the island nation. The performance by the renowned Chitrasena Dance Company which has presented a dozen scintillating acts that have enthralled audiences across the world for the past five decades was simply spellbinding.

Monday's performances offered Delhiites a glimpse into the best of Amaratunga Arachige Maurice Dias alias Chitrasena, who infused a new dynamism into and revived Sri Lanka's traditional dance. The artistes presented some of the famous dance drama such as Nala Damayanthi and Ravana.

The highlight of the day was the incredible `Theiya' a Kandyan dance technique in which dancers display their virtuoso movements in interpreting a particular segment by switching roles as the lead dancer, presenting sheer joy, energy and movement.

The colourful performances showcased all aspects of the urban and rural life in Sri Lanka and were picked up from different parts of the country and its heritage. The uniqueness of the performance lay in its exotic mask dances, the rhythmic throb of drums and fiery ritual dances that brought alive the centuries-old dance tradition.

Although dance has been a part of the country's culture and tradition for thousands of years, it was only in the 1930s with the vision of Chitrasena an expert in the traditional dance forms of Sri Lanka and the first professional dancer in his country that this ancient art was given a new life as it was adapted on the modern stage. link

Jet Airways launches new Delhi - Hong Kong daily services

2009-10-05T03:12:00.000-07:00

India’s premier international airline, launched its New Delhi-Hong Kong service, its second daily flight to Hong Kong from India, aboard a state-of-the-art wide-body Airbus 330-200 aircraft.

The airline marked the occasion with a small inaugural ceremony at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, in the presence of senior company officials.

Jet Airways will also flag off its inaugural flight to Delhi from Hong Kong on October 1, 2009, China National Day, the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

The new daily flights will facilitate business and leisure travel between the Indian capital and the commercial hub of the East, Hong Kong, and complement the airline’s existing Mumbai-Hong Kong services.

From September 30, 2009 to October 24, 2009 and from March 28, 2010 to October 30, 2010, flight 9W 72 departs Delhi at 2250 hrs, arriving in Hong Kong at 0655 hrs. Flight 9W 71 will then depart Hong Kong at 1330 hrs, arriving in Delhi at 1650 hrs.

From October 25, 2009 to March 27, 2010, flight 9W 72 will depart Delhi at 2245 hrs, arriving in Hong Kong at 0620 hrs. Flight 9W 71 will then depart Hong Kong at 1335 hrs, arriving in Delhi at 1720 hrs.

Jet Airways' Premiere (Business Class) guests enjoy 180 degree lie-flat beds in a unique herringbone configuration that ensures easy aisle access from every seat, an oversized table, laptop power, telephony, SMS, Email and live text news, providing guests who want to work with a 'flying office'. Premiere guests may also choose from a delectable menu of Indian and non-Indian cuisine, and an extensive wine list.

Economy guests enjoy advanced, ergonomically-designed seats to minimise muscular and sinew tension, personal reading lights and on-demand In-flight Entertainment, among other amenities.link

Drinking in public may invite Rs 50,000 fine

2009-10-05T03:08:00.000-07:00

The Delhi government is considering imposing a fine of Rs 50,000 for drinking in public places.

The government also plans to amend the law to make drinking in public a non-bailable offence. As of now, drinking in public attracts a fine of only Rs 200 and is a bailable offence.

The move is being seen as an effort towards better law and order in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games next year. But many fear it would boost corruption as offenders would be ready to pay hefty bribes to avoid the Rs 50,000 fine.

The Delhi government had recently allowed sale of certain kinds of alcoholic beverages, including wine and beer, in malls. link

Six students injured in minor fire in Bapraula

2009-10-05T03:01:00.000-07:00

Six students were today injured when a fire broke out in an MCD school in south-west Delhi, an incident which brought to the fore the need to improve safety measures in government and civic-body run educational institutions.

The blaze was reported from the MCD primary school in Bapraula village in Najafgarh at around 11:15 am, fire brigade officials said.

The fire broke out in an electric meter due to a suspected short circuit and six students standing near the meter suffered "minor" injuries, the officials said.

The injured students were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were administered first-aid and later sent back home, they said.

Two fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

The accident comes close on the heels of a stampede in a government school in north-east Delhi which claimed the lives of five girl students.

Film Festival for older citizens

2009-10-03T04:32:00.000-07:00

As a pilot project, Helpage India has launched a special film festival of feature films and documentaries on senior citizens. The festival will travel to various parts of the country over the next year.

The i’mage HelpAge India International Film Festival 2009 coincided with the International Day of Older Persons on October 1. The Festival has received about 30 feature films and documentaries from Israel, Nepal and the United States besides India.

The festival was launched by Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik who gave details of various schemes of the Government for the welfare of senior citizens.

HelpAge India has been involved in protecting the rights of India’s 90 million elderly citizens since 1978, said Mathew Cherian, a member of the NGO. It was also directly involved with about 10 per cent of this ‘grey’ population, facilitation and mobilising resources to make the society aware of the concerns of the elderly and about ageing issues and help the elderly in understanding their rights and make them play an active role in the society.

Cherian explained that the name i'mage was derived from the word ‘image’, signifying reflection that motion pictures are of ourselves, while the apostrophe breaks the word into ‘I am age’, unraveling the world of the elderly.

The i’mage emblem also incorporates a principal philosophy of HelpAge India’s activities – inter-generation participation. It was conceptualised by a six-year-old.

Speaking on the occasion, festival coordinator Satish Kapoor said that this was the first festival of its kind on elderly people and would travel to various cities of India like Pune, Chandigarh etc.

The films will also be shown to students of Mass Communication, Journalism and filmmaking institutes of various cities. It would be an opportunity to all the students to develop their understanding and perspective relating to elderly issues. This will help the students when they will plan to make a short film/documentary on elderly people, he added.

Asian Academy of Film and Television (AAFT) founder-director Sandeep Marwah offered his services to Helpage India to make features or documentaries on the elderly people through his institution.link

Crane topples at Delhi Metro construction site, two injured

2009-10-03T04:26:00.000-07:00

A crane toppled at a Delhi Metro construction site in New Delhi on Saturday injuring two people, police said.

The accident, blamed on "mechanical failure", took place at the proposed Saket Metro station in south Delhi.

Although Metro officials claimed that no one was injured, police said two workers suffered injuries and were taken to a hospital.

"The incident took place at the Saket station. It appears that one crane developed a mechanical snag and lost its balance," a Delhi Metro official said.

He said there were around 30 workers at the site but no one was injured.

The Saket station is on a Metro route that will link Connaught Place in the heart of the capital to Gurgaon in neighbouring Haryana. The line is set to open in March 2010.

On July 12, an elevated Metro track collapsed in south Delhi's Zamrudpur area killing six people and injuring around 20 workers.link

Public health university in Ghummenhera

2009-10-02T19:06:00.000-07:00

The national capital will soon have its own public health university with the state government today allotting around 51 hectares of land in Southwest Delhi to the Indian Public Health Institute for this purpose.

"The state government had signed an agreement with IPHI in 2007, according to which a public health university will be established in Ghummenhera area," Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said today in a statement.

Stressing on the need to improve health facilities, Dikshit said there was an urgent need for trained health workers to reach out to the needy.

State Health Minister Kiran Walia said the proposed institute would strengthen infrastructural facilities in the health sector. "Such institutes across the city would help in public health and research and policy making," Walia added.

Ban on puffing in public: highest number of violations in Delhi

2009-10-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

Delhi recorded the highest number of violators of the ban on smoking in public places followed closely by Tamil Nadu. Rajasthan has the least number of violators--nine, says the data released by the Union Health Ministry.

Authorities in the national capital fined 11,362 people for smoking in public places collecting Rs 10,7743 in fine till July this year. Tamil Nadu has fined 10,979 people and collected Rs 12,63,100 in fine.

While Gujarat has fined 285 people, Chandigarh penalised 1540 and Karnataka 2465 collecting Rs 84,090, Rs 1,15,398 and Rs 3,08,000 repectively.

The ban on smoking in public places came into effect from October 2, 2008.

India is the second largest consumer and third largest producer of tobacco in the world. The estimates from the latest round of National Family Health Survey indicate an increasing prevalence of tobacco consumption in India, with 57 per cent males and 10.9 per cent females consuming tobacco in some form.

Out of this, 32.7 per cent men and 1.4 per cent women are smokers. Prevalence of bidi smoking is around 54 per cent and that of cigarette 16 per cent.

As per report of the Tobacco Control of India 2004, more than 0.8 million people die due to tobacco consumption every year. Studies indicate approximately 40 per cent of the disease burden in the country is associated with some form of tobacco or other.link

Delhi Metro earned over Rs.10 million in September

2009-10-01T08:04:00.000-07:00

Crossing the Rs.10 million-mark for earnings in a month during September, Delhi Metro Thursday said this was the highest amount achieved by it since it became operational in 2002.

“Delhi Metros average earning during September was Rs.10,027,827. Among the three operational Metro lines, the Dwarka Sector 9 to Yamuna Bank corridor earned the highest revenue at Rs.4,139,892, while the route from Dilshad Garden to Rithala recorded Rs.3,127,559. The earnings from the Jahangirpuri-Central Secretariat corridor were Rs.2,760,426,” Metro’s Chief Public Relations Officer Anuj Dayal said.

Delhi Metro became operational Dec 25, 2002.

The highest revenue (Rs.11,865,996) was earned Sep 7 with an average daily ridership of 853,000.

Delhi govt to rope in private players for old age homes

2009-10-01T03:21:00.000-07:00

The cash-starved Delhi Government has decided to rope in private players to construct and maintain its old age homes on Public-Private-Partnership mode across the national capital.

"The aim is to give better facilities to the senior citizens in such homes as well reduce financial burden on the cash-starved government.

"The firms will be allowed to undertake commercial activities at such sites as permitted under the Master Plan 2021," an official of the Delhi Social Welfare Department said.

"The interested private players will be asked to collaborate with the voluntary organisations working in the area to run the homes," he added.

The land would be handed over to the corporates on nominal lease basis. The government has already issued expression of interest to develop, operate and maintain such homes.link

Hotel management student abducted, raped

2009-09-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

A 23-year-old hotel management student has alleged that she was abducted and raped by four men who kept her confined for about a month, police said Wednesday.

The victim told the police that she was kidnapped from near Pragati Maidan exhibition complex Aug 31 by a man whom she had known for some years.

He first tried to drag her into his car but she resisted. He then beat her and told bystanders not to interfere claiming it was a 'family matter', said a senior police officer.

The victim is a resident of west Delhi's Uttam Nagar area and is an intern in Greater Noida.

'She alleged that the man took her to a friend's residence in Kalkaji in south Delhi. He then allegedly took her to Mussorie, Rishikesh and Greater Noida.

'She said she was raped by four men and they even filmed it,' the officer said.

She said she escaped from their clutches Sep 26 and reached her home. She then approached the police. Her medical tests have confirmed rape.link

Bottoms up! Delhi to open 83 more liquor shops

2009-09-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

The Delhi government Wednesday decided to open 83 more liquor shops in the city and allow opening of alcohol vends in malls too, but said its excise policy encouraged consumption of mild liquor instead of hard drinks.

The decision was taken by a Delhi cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. With these 83 new shops, the number of government controlled liquor shops in Delhi will go up to 590.

'The Delhi cabinet approved the Excise Policy for the year 2009-10, which would encourage mild drinks over hard ones while allowing newer outlets for the sale of liquor,' it was announced after the meeting.

Delhi Finance and Excise Minister A.K. Walia said a new type of licence for wholesale supplies of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) is being introduced where the wholesale supplier would be allowed to open retail shops of his own products registered in Delhi.

'It also permits opening of new vends in malls. A new type of licence for stand-alone restaurants is being introduced where only wine and beer will be served,' Walia added.

The excise minister said that with these new decisions, the government wanted to ensure 'safe and good quality liquor to the people and check illicit trading in liquor'.

The revenue collection for the current year is 14 percent higher than last year and with the opening of new outlets, an extra increase in revenue in terms of duties and fees is anticipated, Walia said without giving details.

The minister said the retail prices of country liquor in Delhi had also been revised in the meeting.

'In view of the revenue potential of increase in retail prices, the Delhi cabinet approved increase in rate of quart from Rs.50 to Rs.60, pint from Rs.25 to Rs.30 and nips from Rs.13 to Rs.15. This would help to increase government revenue to about Rs.35 crore (Rs.350 million),' he said.

Of the 83 new shops, 54 will be of IMFL and 29 will sell country liquor. 'With this, the total number of IMFL vends in Delhi will be 468 and country liquor vends will be 122,' Walia said.link

I can't drive in this city anymore

2009-09-28T19:46:00.000-07:00

Sachin Arora used to deal in cars but today he is too scared to venture out on the city roads riding his favourite set of wheels.

The 28-year-old has been through hell. Two carjackers, disguised as executives interested in buying a new car, took him on a test drive and blinded him with red chili powder and tried to take away the vehicle at gunpoint.

Arora fought back and the assailants ran away when the car hit a road divider, attracting the attention of passersby. The carjackers fled but Arora is still going through trauma.

"I had heard about the Lal Mirchi gang striking in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh but I am shocked that such a thing can happen in Delhi as well. I don't think I have the guts to drive in this city anymore," said Arora, cleaning his swollen eyes.

The young entrepreneur has eight stitches across his face for the wounds that the carjackers inflicted on him by hitting with the butt of a gun.

Arora was at his cousin's auto showroom in Vikaspuri on Sunday when two men who appeared like MNC executives asked him for a test drive of a luxury sedan.

Later, when they neared the Rajouri Garden police station, the two beat him with pistol butt and threw chilli powder in his eyes.

"There was no police official near the spot. As it was near the police station it would have taken just 5 minutes for a cop to reach the place but they took around an hour. That too after the control room was called thrice. Had there been any police official or even a traffic cop on the road, they would not have dared to rob me in broad daylight," added Arora.

The police said that investigations into the case were on and that they had interrogated a few people in the area. "We will issue a sketch of the two accused to get some leads into the case," said a senior police official.link

Diabetes education portal launched in Delhi

2009-09-25T08:12:00.000-07:00

A first of its kind "made for India" diabetes education portal of the Delhi Diabetic Research Centre (DDRC) was launched in the city today.

Launching the website - www.ddrc.in, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said, "DDRC's website will provide information, awareness and education related to diabetes, especially in the context of Indian diabetic patients. It will be different from other websites which primarily cater to western audience and do not have any relativity in the Indian context."

"This website will cater to the Indian diabetic patients' needs. Their queries regarding the disease, all do's and dont's are there in the website," DDRC chairman Dr A K Jhingan said.

The website also has a diabetic matrimony section. More than 1,000 men and women have registered on this website, Jhingan said.link

Sehwag reiterates captaincy stance

2009-09-24T00:20:00.000-07:00

India opener Virender Sehwag has revealed he would captain the team but believes the selectors should groom a younger player to take over the role from Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Sehwag, who served as vice-captain of the Indian team until a shoulder injury laid him low, was reported to have told a television channel that he neither wanted to be captain of the Indian team nor did he want the vice-captaincy.

Sehwag, who stepped down as captain of the Indian Premier League side Delhi Daredevils, said age was against him competing with the 28-year-old Dhoni for the captaincy.

"Look, I am 30 and it is unlikely that I will be made captain once Dhoni's reign is over," Sehwag said.

"Right now, I don't think Dhoni should be replaced, but if he is forced away from the game, say through injury, then I have no problem leading the side if the captaincy is offered to me.

"But I think it is better if the selectors groom someone who can take on the responsibility at a later stage.

"I have led India before and when Rahul Dravid quit, I was not part of the team so there was no question of me being made the captain then.

"At this stage there is no point in my being vice-captain either."

Sehwag, missing the Champions Trophy in South Africa due to a shoulder injury, backed Gautam Gambhir, his replacement as Delhi Daredevils captain, to take over the national captaincy from Dhoni.

"I have watched Gautam operate from close quarters and I know he has the talent," he said.

"He thinks positively and he has great leadership skills.

"One of the reasons for giving up the Daredevils captaincy, apart from wanting to concentrate on my batting, was because I felt Gautam should be given the chance to make the team do better.

"I led Daredevils to the semi-finals in two seasons, but I think he can lead us to the final.

"Also, the next edition of the IPL is the only chance for Gautam because the players will change with another auction taking place after that." link

Delhi Police driver result announced

2009-09-24T00:10:00.000-07:00

The much awaited final result of Delhi Police Constable (Driver) has been announced by the Delhi Police Recruitment board.

For results visit following link:

http://www.delhipolice.nic.in/home/recruitment/driverconst24092009.pdf

Delhi Police driver result can also be accessed from http://www.delhipolice.nic.in/

The Written Test for the recruitment of Constables (Driver) was held on August 20, 2009.

For further details you can log on to http://www.delhipolice.nic.in/

We wish best of luck to all the candidates. The selected students will be appointed as drivers in the Delhi Police.

Delhi cabinet accepts better pay for power employees

2009-09-22T23:32:00.000-07:00

The Delhi Cabinet today approved enhanced pay package for around 4,000 employees of government power companies.

The Cabinet accepted the recommendations of a wage revision committee that suggested slightly better pay package for the power companies than the recommendations of the sixth Central Pay Commission, officials said.

They said around 4,000 employees of the IPGCL (Indraprastha Power Generation Co Ltd), Delhi Transco Limited, PPCL (Pragati Power Corporation Limited) and DPCL (Delhi Power Company Limited) would be benefited from this decision.

The recommendations would be implemented retrospectively with effect from January 1, 2006.

The Wage Revision Committee headed by Justice (Retd) Lokeshwar Prasad submitted its report to the city government in December last year which was further examined by a review committee.

The officials further said that the approved recommendations are slightly better than the recommendations of the sixth Central Pay Commission.

FIFA World Cup trophy coming to Delhi on Jan 16 2010

2009-09-22T04:55:00.000-07:00

Indian Football fans will have a rare chance to have a close look at the coveted FIFA World Cup trophy when it is displayed in Indian national capital New Delhi and Kolkata (the capital of India's eastern state of West Bengal) in January next year.

The trophy, which was unveiled at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich Monday, will reach New Delhi on January 16 and Kolkata next day en route to South Africa, the host country of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Billed as the biggest ever such event, the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour under the aegis of Coca-Cola, the sponsors of the sporting extravaganza in South Africa next year, will pass through 86 countries, including every nation in Africa.link

Tamiflu to be available in 480 select chemist shops

2009-09-22T04:17:00.000-07:00

Tamiflu, the most effective drug against the H1N1 influenza is now available at a chemist near you, but strictly on prescription.

While the ‘not for sale’ tag is out, Tamilfu along with the second line drug Zanamivir or Relenza has been listed under Schedule X of the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 2008.

For you, it will mean that Tamiflu will be available only with 480 select chemists across the country, out of which 30 are from Delhi. To buy Tamiflu you will have to provide three copies of the prescription from a doctor, one will be stamped and returned to you, and the other two will be kept by the retail chemist and the distributor.

The prescription must also clearly contain contact details of the doctor.

The sale of Tamiflu and Relenza will be directly monitored by the respective state drug controllers.

The Government believes the restrictions on the sale of Tamiflu is good because experts worry that easier availability may translate into overuse.

“Over prescription is not correct as we know that these viruses or any bacteria can mutate and develop resistance to the drug,” Dr Suranjit Chatterjee said.

Pharma companies like Ranbaxy, Strides Arcolab and Hetero Drugs will be stockpiling Tamiflu as of now. Ten tablets of Tamiflu will cost Rs 450 and you can buy 20 tablets of Relenza, marketed in India as Virenza by Cipla, for Rs 800.

Relenza is an inhaler drug and cannot be administered to children under the age of seven. link

Prices of LPG cylinders might go up

2009-09-21T04:14:00.001-07:00

Prices of LPG cylinders might go up in the capital with the cash-strapped Delhi Government mulling doing away with or slashing the subsidy offered on them.

"The issue (whether to continue or reduce subsidy on LPG cylinders) will be discussed in the Cabinet meeting tomorrow," Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta said but refused to divulge details.

However, officials said the government might completely withdraw current subsidy of Rs 40 per cylinder or cut down the subsidy by Rs 25 and give subsidy of Rs 15 per cylinder.

In case the subsidy is withdrawn, the consumers will have to shell out Rs 320 per cylinder against prevailing rate of Rs 280 and in case the government opts to cut down the subsidy by Rs 25, a cylinder will cost Rs 305, an official said.link

Bagan eyeing revenge, Churchill 2nd title of season

2009-09-21T04:05:00.000-07:00

I-League champions Churchill Brothers would look to pocket their second title of the season while Mohun Bagan will have revenge on mind when the two sides face-off in the final of the Durand Cup football tournament in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Churchill had beaten Mohun Bagan 2-0 in the final of the IFA Shield in Kolkata just 10 days ago and Karim Bencherifa's boys would want to settle scores on Tuesday.

Mohun Bagan has another record to chase as a win on Tuesday would make them the side with the most number of Durand Cup titles. If they beat Churchill, they will bag the third oldest football trophy in the world for the 17th time and go past their local rivals East Bengal who have 16 crowns.

Churchill's performance in the tournament so far has been far from pefect. They barely made it to the last four stage, drawing with unfancied Assam Rifles 1-1 after beating Sporting Clube de Goa 1-0 in their opening match.

They were at their best in the tournament against their Goan rivals Dempo in the semifinal with star striker Odafe Okolie coming up with an inspiring performance.

In contrast, Mohun Bagan's march to the semifinals was much more convincing. They thrashed ONGC 5-1, before prevailing over JCT 2-0. In the semifinal, they were the deserving winners, beating defending champions Mahindra United 2-1.

For Mohun Bagan, the strike duo of veteran Jose Ramirez Barretto and Nigerian Chidi Edeh have been clicked well.

Barretto did not play in the IFA Shield due to an injury but in their first tournament together, he and Chidi have scored six goals out of nine for Mohun Bagan.

Chidi is the leading goal scorer with four goals to his credit while Barretto has struck thrice so far.

On the other hand, Churchill will be hoping that their star striker Odafe comes up with his best on Tuesday. He showed glimpses of top form against Dempo in the semifinal.

With both teams having quality players upfront, eventually it will all boil down to the performance of players in the backline. Defenders on either side have their task cut out.link

Sehwag quits as Delhi captain in IPL

2009-09-21T03:47:00.000-07:00

Aggressive opener Virender Sehwag quit as captain of Twenty20 Indian Premier League's Delhi Daredevils on Monday.

Sehwag, who is recovering from a shoulder injury sustained during this year's IPL tournament held in South Africa, said he wanted to focus on his batting.

Daredevils franchise chairman Srinivas Bommidala said the team respected Sehwag's decision.

"When he expressed a desire to step down in order to fully focus and concentrate on batting, we respected his decision and accepted his request," Bommidala said in a statement.

Sehwag's opening partner, Gautam Gambhir, will lead Delhi Daredevils in next month's Champions League tournament featuring top provincial T20 teams from five countries.

Sehwag, who will turn 31 next month, averages 24.5 in 47 T20 internationals, with a top score of 94 not out and six half centuries.

That's down on his average of 34.33 in limited-overs internationals for India and 50 in test cricket.link

At 100, Delhi's oldest Durga Puja turns green

2009-09-21T03:37:00.001-07:00

Starting September 23, the Kashmere Gate Durga Puja Samiti is set to recreate the magic in its centenary celebrations from the unique craftsmanship that goes into creating the idol of the goddess, to traditional pujas, right up to the immersion where a bullock cart ferries the idol. Interestingly, the capital's oldest puja also happens to be eco-friendly.

"As the city gears up for Durga Puja celebrations with pandals coming up in several colonies, the Kashmere Gate function will be an occasion of pride for all Delhiites as it will link them to a tradition that is 100 years old,'' said an office-bearer of the Delhi Durga Puja Samiti, which organizes the event in the area. The samiti is set to highlight the culture and tradition that puja pandals in the area have been showcasing over the past century.

The tradition of celebrating Durga Puja started in Delhi around 1910. Puja was performed by ritually consecrating the mangal ghata, the symbol of the Devi. Pratima puja started in 1912. A year earlier, when Delhi was officially declared the capital of British India, there was a major increase in the Bengali population with a number of government offices shifting here.

From 1948 till today, the Kashmere Gate Durga puja remains among the most popular ones and is thronged by people from across the capital. In 1950, Durga Puja celebrations reverberated with the sound of dhaks. In those days, dhakis were not called from Kolkata and locals played the puja percussionists.

The joint Bijoya procession was held in 1952 for the first time. Prior to this, it was a part of the Ramlila procession. This year also saw the Kashmere Gate idol of Goddess Durga being carried on a bullock cart a tradition that is maintained to date.

The samiti is also sending out an eco-friendly message on its centenary. To begin with, the idol will be made of biodegradable material so that the Yamuna does not get polluted after immersion. In addition to this, the colours used to paint the idol would be vegetable dye-based shades. Non-biodegradable accessories will be removed before the final send-off. While clothes adorned by idols would be given away to the poor, flowers collected during the puja period will be preserved and handed over to an NGO for making eco-friendly colours. link

SARAS Mela begins at Dilli Haat Pitampura

2009-09-19T02:25:00.000-07:00

A 16 day long SARAS Mela showcasing a rich tapestry of works from the rural artisans, craftsmen , self help groups and the beneficiaries of Swarna Jyanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana begins this Saturday (19th September,2009) at Dilli Haat Pitampura, New Delhi. The fair has been organized by the Ministry of Rural Development and Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART). The fair will be on till 4th October. It will be inaugurated by Ms. Agatha Sangma, Minister of State for Rural Development.

The Mela aims at facilitating the SGSY beneficiaries, rural artisans, craftsmen and self help groups (SHGs) to exhibit and sell their products. It also provides them the opportunity for additional income as well as wide scale interactions and significant exposure. This exhibition-cum-sale under the brand name of SARAS will display a wide range of products manufactured by the rural artisans, craftsmen and beneficiaries of Self Help Groups from all over the country. It will create an unique platform for developing linkages between the buyers and sellers and also provides an opportunity to deal directly with the buyers.

Around 195 SHGs representing 22 States & different parts of the county are participating in this SARAS Mela at Dilli Haat Pitampura.

Some of the special attractions for this SARAS are Metal work products from Madhya Pradesh, Sambalpur Saris from Orissa, Wood-works from Tamil Nadu, Bamboo Craft from Tripura, Madhubani paintings from Bihar, Terracotta’s from Chhattisgarh, Shawls & Carpets from Jammu & Kashmir and Kantha stitch work from West Bengal. Arrangements are also being made to set up attractive food stalls. Another major attraction of the mega event is the presentation of cultural programs of different States which will be held throughout the duration of the Mela.link

Delhi may be short of 6,500 rooms for Commonwealth Games

2009-09-16T19:14:00.000-07:00

On a day when Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi claimed India would stage "a great Games", a review conducted by the tourism ministry reveals a different reality - at least as far as availability of hotel accommodation during the event is concerned.

Only 3,952 of the 'confirmed' 9,500 rooms - a mere 41% - are currently ready with just about six months to go for the March 2010 deadline to expire. That's not all. Of the 2,194 'likely' rooms expected to come up in time for the October 2010 event, only 50% will be ready, according to the ministry's review.

The 'confirmed' rooms were certain to come up in time for the event, while the 'likely' rooms were those expected to be ready. So, as of now, there's a shortfall of some 6,500 rooms. How much of this would be made up by the time the event is held, is anybody's guess. The deadline for completion of these rooms had been fixed for March 2010 to give time for guests to make bookings etc.

The ministry had estimated a demand for 40,000 rooms. Of this, 10,150 were already available, with plans to construct at least 10,000 more, with the rest to be made up from guesthouses and other sources. link

Over 300 DDA employees face corruption charges

2009-09-16T04:39:00.000-07:00

High-ranking officials are among over 300 employees of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) who are facing anti-corruption cases, some of which are pending for more than two decades.

Out of the total 305 cases, 167 were being investigated by its own Vigilance departments, 72 by Anti-Corruption Branch of Delhi Government and 66 were probed by the Central Bureau of Investigations. The corruption cases were pending against top officers like commissioner, directors, joint directors and deputy directors. Even the superintendent engineers and executive engineers were facing vigilance enquiries.

A total of 39 junior engineers, 11 assistant engineers, six executive engineers and three superintendent engineers among others are found to be allegedly involved in graft charges. Surprisingly, 18 senior officials from DDA retired without completing the pending probe against them.

The revelation came in response to an RTI filed by a social activist, Vivek Garg who sought details of pending corruption cases against DDA employees.

"It is surprising to know that despite several measures, authorities at DDA have failed to curb the menace of corruption," Garg said.

According to a senior official, the strength of Delhi Development Authority is about 22,000. Commissioner (Planning) Vijay Risbud, Directors V K Singhal and Jagdish Chander, Senior PS Ashok Kapoor, three Assistant Engineers Kapoil Deo, P S Rai, S C Verma and 15 junior engineers are among 66 officers against whom cases were registered by the CBI, the RTI reply said.

Whereas, cases were also pending against R C Jain and A K Sharma, both Superintendent Engineers, who have been superannuated from the DDA, it said. Out of the total 72 cases registered by the Anti-Corruption Branch of Delhi Government, four were against assistant engineers and seven were against junior engineers.

The cases were pending against Assistant Engineers S C Garg, Raghunandan, I S Panwar, Brijesh Kumar Garg and Junior Engineers Raj Kumar Malhotra, R C Jai, M S Anand, Kailash Chand Verma, Rajesh Kumar Baliyan, Sat Pal Dabas and Suresh Chand Solanki, the reply said.

The Vigilance Departmental cases were also pending against P M Parate, Director, Joint Director Shashi Kant, Deputy Directors K K Marwah and J B Malik, Executive Engineers S N Paul, S S Bhalla, A K Goel, Lalit Kumar, I J Gupta, Vijay Kumar and Assistant Engineers Shyamlal Singh and B P Badolait, the RTI response said.link

Delhi ill-prepared for Games: Tourism ministry

2009-09-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

Delhi it seems is losing the race to host the Commonwealth Games in 2010. Close on the heels of Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president's SOS to prime minister, now Union secretary of tourism has admitted to the lapses on part of state government.

After several false assurances by the state government, the warning bells are now ringing loud and clear. Will preparations be complete in time for the Commonwealth Games or will it prove to be a major embarrassment? Officials cast doubt about capital's preparedness.

Union Secretary of Tourism Sujit Banerjee said, "It is a difficult task, impossible. I can only leave it as a challenge for you."

The nation's worst sporting fears are close to coming true as these ominous words by the tourism secretary were a clear acceptance of the capital's ill-preparedness to host the Games.

The official also saw merit in the doubts raised by CGF president Michael Fennel. He blamed the situation on those involved in the preparations not realising the gravity of the situation.

"They don't realise that it is a matter of prestige, all thinking that there are still 365 days to go," he said.

But the tourism secretary was not alone in worrying about the slow pace of the preparations for the prestigious games. After being under attack by the CGF for delay in various projects, Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikhsit too had on Monday admitted her nervousness in meeting the deadline.

After the CGF president shot a letter seeking the prime minister's intervention to put things in order, the capital is slowly waking up to the reality. But the big question is whether Delhi will be able to meet the challenge and save itself from the embarrassment of failing to host a prestigious multi-sport event?link

Turkish Tourism to organise film & food festival in October 2009

2009-09-15T01:22:00.000-07:00

Turkish Tourism will organise Turkish film and food festival in Delhi next month as a prelude to Turkish national day celebrations. The three-day film festival will be organised in partnership with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry of Government of India at Siri Fort Auditorium from October 11 to 13.

According to Sevgi Boz, Culture & Tourism Counsellor of Turkey in India, all together seven Turkish films will be screened as part of the festival. “Three Monkeys, a film directed by famous Turkish director, Nuri Bilge Ceylan will be screened on the inaugural day,” she informed.

She also said that a week-long Turkish food festival will also be organised in the capital city as part of the celebrations. “The food festival will be held at ITC Maurya from 22 to 29th of October,” the Tourism Counsellor informed.

Turkey commemorates the proclamation of Turkish Republic by their great leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on October 29 every year. The country became a Republic in 1923.link

Commonwealth Games will be on time, but we're nervous: Sheila Dikshit

2009-09-14T03:14:00.000-07:00

Under attack for delay in various projects related to the Commonwealth Games, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday said her government will complete all work "well in time" although it was little "nervous" about the preparation.

"We are satisfied as well nervous about the preparation for the prestigious event," Dikshit told reporters replying to a volley of questions about delay in implementation of various infrastructure projects in the city.

Asked about Commonwealth Games Federation President Michael Fennel seeking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention to put things in order, she said the CGF chief has every right to meet Singh.

"He (Fennel) met me one month ago and conveyed his concern about the power situation. I told him that the city will have adequate power during the event," Dikshit after a Cabinet meeting which is understood to have discussed the issue.

On the recent criticism by the CAG about slow progress of the infrastructure projects, she said the audit body had prepared the report last month back based on status of works six months back.

"They have the right to criticise. But we are working very hard. We are looking at all alternatives. Nation's pride is involved with the event and we will do everything possible to make it a success," she said. link

Heavy rains lash city, traffic jams in many areas

2009-09-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

Heavy rains lashed the national capital since last night, leading to water logging in many areas and huge traffic snarls.

The city received 93.2 mm of rains since 8:30 pm last night.

The rains led to a dip in temperature with the minimum being recorded at 23.3 degree Celsius.

The heavy rains led to traffic jams in Mayur Vihar, Vasant Vihar, Munirka, Dhaula Kuan, Pragati Maidan, Moolchand, Lajat Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, Bhajanpura and Nizamuudin areas.

Traffic lights were also not working in many areas, adding to the woes of the motorists. Office-goers had a tough time reaching their destination with most of the roads waterlogged.

Delhi has received a total of 538.6 mm of rain this monsoon against an average of 573 mmlink

Ask Delhi drivers to follow lane: Mauritius High Commissioner

2009-09-09T07:56:00.000-07:00

Please ask Delhi drivers to drive in lanes!

This unusual suggestion came from M Choonee, High Commissioner of Mauritius to India during a meeting here today of Heads of Missions on security arrangements for Commonwealth Games due in October next year here.

"Delhi drivers are very bad. They do not drive in lanes. Please ask them to drive in lanes," Choonee said.

Some 30 Heads of Missions or their senior representatives participated in the briefing conference chaired by the Union Home Secretary G K Pillai.

A smiling Home Secretary could only say that he would try to launch a traffic campaign to discipline drivers as soon as possible.

Delhi Police Commissioner Y S Dadwal was also present at the meeting.link

Shastri's watch stolen from his memorial in Delhi

2009-09-09T05:49:00.000-07:00

A gold wrist watch gifted to late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri by his Russian counterpart Alexei Kosygin has been stolen from his memorial in the national capital, police sources said today.

The theft came to light on September three but the authorities of Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial, located adjacent to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's residence, reported the matter to police only four days later, they said.

Memorial Director Prof A K Das approached police on Monday about the theft of the watch, gifted to Shastri during the 1966 Tashkent conference to broker peace with Pakistan, the sources said.

Das told police that an internal inquiry was conducted by his staff but they could not locate the watch and hence decided to lodge an FIR, they said. Das could not be reached for comments.link

Bomb scare at different areas in Delhi

2009-09-08T01:18:00.000-07:00

Panic spread in the national capital on Tuesday with bomb scares being reported from four crowded places, the New Delhi Railway Station, the Safdarjung Hospital as well as the high rise Palika Kendra and Vikas Minar.

The sprawling Safdarjung Hospital in south Delhi was being evacuated.

Intensive searches were also underway at the New Delhi Railway Station, Palika Kendra in Connaught Place and at Vikas Minar near ITO.

"Police got a call in the morning and all precautions were taken. The building was evacuated," NDMC spokesperson Anand Tiwari told.

Police said the call at Safdarjung Hospital was received at 9.30 am and the bomb disposal squad was combing the complex, a police official said.

CBSE plans online school map of Delhi

2009-09-06T19:54:00.000-07:00

For parents looking for their child’s nursery admission, the exact location of all schools in their neighbourhood will soon be just a mouse-click away. As a pilot project, CBSE plans to put all its affiliated schools in Delhi on a public mapping system that will be available online.

‘‘There are so many schools in the capital that parents often have difficulties locating many of them,’’ said a senior CBSE official. ‘‘That’s why we want maps and location of all our schools in the city available online. This will help parents during nursery admissions where distance is such an important parameter.’’

The facility will also help the board analyse the physical distribution of schools in different areas of the capital. Parents may also use the online facility to gather information and basic statistics about the school of their choice as the board will maintain data of all its affiliated schools in Delhi. CBSE also intends to build a blog for each school whose link will be available on the GIS maps of schools.link

Drink this poison you must

2009-09-04T01:12:00.000-07:00

As Delhi gears up for the Commonwealth Games, how is the city going to treat waste water and effluents?

Wazirabad barrage in north Delhi is the last point where Yamuna is just about partially clean. After that there is no freshwater flow in the dirty river. The water is brownish, but many people are swimming in it, risking skin and other infections. "It is hot and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) water supply doesn't suffice," says Jamal. There is not even a signboard to warn people that the water they are wallowing in isn't fit for bathing or any human contact. "Even the ground water is filthy and the water of the river causes skin allergies and irritation," Abdul Sattar, a 'self employed life-saver' told. He saved several school-children from drowning after their bus fell into the waters in 1997.

Recently, when Haryana suddenly increased its deadly chemical effluents discharge in the river, the chloride levels shot up to 500 mg/litre, 20 times the normal level. People from east, north and even south districts of Delhi complained of salty and yellowish water. Kinley, Bisleri and their locally bottled cousins sold like hot cakes. "We are getting yellow water from the past few days. We have no other option, but to buy bottled water," a Delhi University professor complained.

Officials say that chloride is not harmful but renders a salty taste to water. As normally there isn't any chloride in the raw water, DJB has no infrastructure to treat this chloride content. This high chloride content isn't a new phenomenon. In June 2009, people had complained of foul taste as the Chandrawal and Wazirabad water treating facilities could not treat the water. In December 2008, ammonia levels were so high that Chandrawal and Wazirabad plants had to be shut down and taps remained dry in most of the households across the city.

Haryana has a history of dumping sewage and other toxic industrial waste in Yamuna. "The problem of polluted water is not new," Sattar lamented. Delhi gets nearly 300 mgd of water after much haggling as Haryana complains of shortage of water for its own irrigation needs. The tanneries, paper mills and sugar factories in Panipat and Yamuna Nagar in Haryana are allegedly responsible for dumping filth in Yamuna. Reportedly, the water of Yamuna at Yamuna Nagar has all hues, green, red and even black because of the industrial effluents.

It is this water that reaches Delhi. And because of low rainfall, the toxins are not getting diluted. There is no mechanism to check this brazen criminal violation of daily life, leaving the people of city exposed to serious diseases, allergies and long-term side-effects. Besides, DJB's faulty water pipelines and sewage getting mixed up with drinking water is routine.

As Delhi gears up for the Commonwealth Games, how is the city going to treat waste water and effluents? Can this poisonous episode of chemicalised taps be repeated with international athletes and tourists in town? And, will any civilised modern nation ever accept and allow such criminal pollution of mass drinking water?link

City to get 22 new police stations soon

2009-09-04T01:02:00.000-07:00

Twenty-two new police stations will come into existence in the capital by September 21. With these, the total number of such facilities in the city will rise to 155. The maximum number of police stations will come up in areas where the number of residential colonies has gone up.

"We are in expansion mode. We will have enough forces in these police stations. More police stations will surely help in tackling crime," Delhi Police commissioner Y S Dadwal said.

"This will help in better policing. There will be more beats which will help reduce the response time besides simplifying the police-public ratio. This will also help in better handling of complainants," Dadwal added.

Dadwal said the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) had recently given the sanction to set up 29 new police stations in the city, out of which seven were already functioning. Out of the 29 new police stations, 24 are outside the Outer Ring Road where the number of residential colonies has gone up. Four new police stations are added in North-West Delhi followed by three each in South, Outer and North-East districts, two each in South-East, South-West, West and East districts and one in Central Delhi.

Dadwal said that in 1991, there were only 100 police stations in Delhi. Another 16 were added eight years later, he added. "In less than one year, from October 2008 to September 2009, the government has given the nod for creation of two police districts, 12 sub-divisions and 40 police stations," he said.

Replying to a question on mob justice, the police commissioner said, "When a thief barges into your house, what will you do? If he tries to harm you, how will you react?" Dadwal said. He, however, added, "We are not supporting mob justice. One has to follow the due course of law."

His comments came to a question on a 19-year-old boy who was thrashed badly by residents of Geeta Colony after he was caught allegedly stealing mobile phones and other valuables from three houses on Wednesday.

Delhi Stock Exchange to begin trading next month

2009-09-04T00:52:00.000-07:00

Delhi Stock Exchange Limited (DSE), one of India’s premier demutualised regional stock exchanges, has received 110 membership applications from brokers for its deposit based trading memberships. DSE will become operational soon and trading is expected to commence from next month onwards.

Pursuant to its well-formulated revival strategy, DSE’s new deposit based trading membership scheme has received encouraging response from the brokers community in Delhi, Lucknow, Banaras, Moradabad, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Agra, Jaipur, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bhuvneshwar, Indore, Shri Ganganagar, Mumbai and Nanded (Maharashtra) amongst others. It has received an encouraging response from renowned stock broking houses such as Alankit Assignments Limited, Abhipra Capital Limited, Shri Parasram Holdings Pvt. Ltd., Kunwarji Finstock, Globe Securities, Chug Securities, Rajasthan Global Securities, Crimson Financial Services Limited, Smart Equity Brokers Pvt. Ltd. and Master Capital amongst others. Many of these are leading broking houses of NSE and BSE as well as depository participants.

Mr. H. S. Siddhu, Executive Director, DSE, said, “We are very pleased to receive an encouraging and positive response for DSE’s deposit based trading membership scheme. We are expecting that the membership number will cross the 200-figure mark by the launch date because of the enthusiastic responses and the requests for extension of the deadline. We are also getting positive responses from far-flung areas. This is also an indication of the brokers’ confidence in our exchange and we are confident of making it a success.”

The membership, which offers trading rights, is being offered against non-refundable deposit of Rs. 5 lakh and one-time admission fee of Rs. 1 lakh. DSE is also implementing amnesty scheme to revive trading in inactive stocks and encourage compliance among companies. According to the scheme, existing companies would have to comply with the exchange requirements only for two years and a concession up to 50% is being offered on listing fees. New companies will not be charged initial listing and processing fees. Out of the 2,800 listed companies, 300 have so far complied with the amnesty scheme.

About Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE): DSE was incorporated in 1947 as a limited company under the Indian Companies Act, 1913. DSE was granted recognition under section 4 of the Securities Contract (Regulation) Act, 1957 The Central Government vide its Notification dated 1st March, 1982 granted permanent recognition to DSE. Located in Delhi, DSE is the second largest exchange in India in terms of number of scrips listed with 2833 companies. Among these, there are 1800 companies which have been exclusively listed with DSE. As per SEBI guideline, DSE successfully completed its demutualization process on 28th August, 2007. The board of directors of DSE comprise of 16 members out of which seven are shareholder director, four are trading member directors, four public interest directors and one executive director. DSE is establishing a new Online Trading Platform namely Delhi Online Trading System (DOTS-08) for cash, derivatives and debt segments with state-of-art technology which has been constructed in association with Financial Technologies (India) Limited (FTIL) equipped with Exchange Technology Framework Product Suite (ETFPS), a software suitable for promotion and successful operation of the Exchange.link

My dwarka, my delight

2009-09-04T00:41:00.000-07:00

Dwarka sub-city is a well planned and an organised residential area located in the Southwest of Delhi. Around six to seven years back, this place was nothing more than barren land. With huge apartments, tall buildings, clean wide roads and plenty of greenery, it has become one of the healthiest places in the capital.

As a resident of Dwarka, I do face a few problems within the locality. To start with, people here often fall victim to problems like less parking facility, shortage of water, power and lack of transport available and so on. Each problem has to be sorted out meticulously keeping in mind that no place on earth is perfect. As residents of Dwarka, it is not only our duty to make it suitable for living but is also our responsibility to make sure that our area is made better.

Dwarka is my home since seven years and I have seen this bare piece of land turn into a posh locality. Even basic necessities like grocery, water and electricity used to be a problem. People were not only hesitant to visit Dwarka but also stayed away from exploring this unknown piece of land on earth. But today, it is known as the largest sub city of Asia. Some may argue saying, Dwarka does not have theatres or malls. In a way Dwarka-ites should consider it to be a blessing in disguise. Coming up of theatres or malls will pull in more crowd. More crowds would pull in more traffic. People would throng along from different parts of Delhi causing congestion and would make way for unscrupulous activities. As it is, Delhi is called the crime capital and no place in Delhi is free from crime; at least the number of crime happenings in Dwarka are less as compared to the other areas in Delhi.

The minute I slide down from the flyover and enter Dwarka, I get the feeling of entering a new world all together. It appears to be away from the crowds and happenings of the main city. Every sector or rather every plot in Dwarka is developed after a great deal of planning. Almost each sector has a DDA park for the kids to spend their evenings. Not only this, most apartments in Dwarka are spacious and have parking facility inside their apartments. So, one need not worry about parking their cars somewhere outside. Whereas, in the much talked about areas of South Delhi, parking one’s own car nearby becomes a problem.

The domestic as well as the international airports lie in the vicinity of Dwarka. Metro has been Dwarka’s pride ever since the beginning. The metro line connects Dwarka to Central, North and East Delhi. Dwarka has certainly been a blessing to its residents and I would call myself lucky enough to stay in such a place. Right from temples to churches, schools to colleges and hospitals to clinics, Dwarka-ites need not worry about anything.

After setting up a number of schools within Dwarka, the government is already planning to set up colleges here. Delhi University’s Bhaskara Charaya College of Applied Sciences is already functional and along with it Indraprastha University is also hopeful of coming up with colleges within an year. Private colleges like Apeejay Institute of Management and Mass Communication has students from various parts of Delhi. All these colleges offer a variety of regular courses to students. This takes away the burden of commuting to far flung places for a degree or a diploma.

Popular joints have also opened their branches putting an end to travel all the way till Connaught Place or South Delhi. Pizza Hut, Bercos, Dominos, Pizza Corner, Costa Coffee and KFC have all reduced the strain of going out of Dwarka. Everything is made available in an easy manner. Restro-bars like Club 7 and Godavari have come up for those who love to share a drink of beer or whisky.

Dwarka was earlier considered to be a dreadful place with no connectivity to the outside world; but looking at so much of developments, Dwarka has blossomed from a desolate land into a world class habitat in just no time and is no longer a godforsaken place as it was thought to be. Dwarka has changed beyond recognition and in no time it will be among the list of avant-grade places of the country.link

article by: Shilpa Attavar

Nilekani promises unique ID for Delhites in three years!

2009-09-03T03:05:00.000-07:00

As it appears, Nilekani means business. After being appointed by the CM as the chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, Nandan Nilekani has made it a point to ensure smooth transaction.

In a recent report, we hear that the residents of Delhi would be receiving their ID in next three years time. The newly formed body to create Unique Ids is getting full co-opration from the govt.

Nilekani recently met Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to give her an overview of the project and talk about various aspects of the project.

Nilekani is also keen to use the Mission Convergence database for this purpose which has been prepared by the City Govt.

This data base has records of about nine lakh households and 42 lakh people and gives biometric information on each resident.link

New BMW Showroom Launched in West Delhi

2009-09-03T02:59:00.000-07:00

BMW India announced the opening of the new showroom and workshop facility by Deutsche Motoren in West Delhi. Located at Shivaji Marg, Moti Nagar, West Delhi, this is the second facility in New Delhi from Deutsche Motoren. The showroom and workshop are headed by Mr. Yadur Kapur, Dealer Principal, Deutsche Motoren.

Mr. Peter Kronschnabl, President, BMW India said, “BMW India dealerships are presently leading in offering high quality services that are at par with international standards. Deutsche Motoren is our flagship dealership in New Delhi, and we are pleased to see further expansion of Deutsche Motoren in order to support our growing sales in the region.”

Deutsche Motoren is fully equipped to manage this 4S facility comprising of sales, service, spare parts and business systems to ensure that customers receive best-in-class pre and post sales ownership experience.

Mr. Yadur Kapur, Dealer Principle, Deutsche Motoren said, “Our partnership with BMW India has consistently been successful with premium customers in New Delhi. In order to serve our growing clientele with the same enthusiasm and passion we are proud to launch our second BMW showroom and workshop facility in Delhi.”

The facility is spread over 11,500 sq ft. The showroom can display up to three BMW cars and offers the customers a unique retail environment. The showroom is evolved on the signature-BMW concept of street display and the pavement flanking alongside as the customer area. All operations related to sales are efficiently covered from the space, which ensures comfort to the customer at the point of sales.

The workshop has 3 service bays and offers customers a high quality service experience which ensures comfort at all times. The facility will have a staff of 15 people.

As with every other BMW dealership, Deutsche Motoren has provided its staff intense training in management of sales, service, spare parts and business systems to ensure that customers receive best-in-class pre and post sales ownership experience. A team of service engineers have also been trained at BMW’s training centers in Singapore, Malaysia and Germany. link

Delhi will have animal identification system to track record of slaughtered animals

2009-09-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

The municipal corporation of Delhi (MCD) will introduce a modern livestock identification system to keep a record of the slaughtered animals and ensure that they were handed over to the right owners at Ghazipur. This will streamline the operations at its Ghazipur abattoir.

The 'jhatka' section of the state-of-the-art slaughter house in Ghazipur was launched in December last year, while 'halal' and 'buffalo' sections started operating in February and March this year, respectively.

A proposal to engage a private agency for the project to introduce Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID)-based livestock identification and tracking system was adopted by the MCD Standing Committee.

The system would also help in avoiding any mix-up between halal and jhatka goats, officials said. The civic body had received complaints of jhatka and halal meat being mixed, which could hurt the religious sentiments of some communities.link

Spiritual books on high demand as people look for peace

2009-08-31T20:43:00.000-07:00

'Everybody wants peace in life,' says a prominent publisher, explaining why books on the philosophies and meditation techniques of spiritual gurus, general religion, self-help guides and Indian mythology are fetching brisk business at the ongoing Delhi Book Fair.

The boom in religious books trade at the fair, say publishers, reflects the larger trend in the market, which has seen a sharp rise in the demand for spiritual books over the last three years.

'The demand for religious books is unbelievable. Everybody wants peace in life. There has been too much of crime and fiction. Over the last three years, we have seen a sharp rise in the demand for yoga, meditation, self-help and spiritual books. Even teenagers are buying spiritual books,' Ajay Mago, publisher of Om Books, told at the book fair.

Consequently, books on Swami Vivekananda, Osho, Baba Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, J. Krishnamurthi and a host of new age gurus - some written by the spiritualists themselves - are disappearing from the shelves by the dozens, along with the new reprints of the Bhagavad Gita, Ramcharitmanas, Vishnu lores, Buddhist texts, translations of Vedas, mythology and new tomes on palmistry and yoga.

The buyers are mostly high school and college students, young professionals and homemakers - in the age-group of 17 to 35.

A week ago, Om Books launched 'Journey Home', a biographical account of Radhanath Swami, an American yogi who migrated to India from the US 40 years ago.

'It is one of the biggest Om titles this season and a hit,' Mago said. The book is priced at Rs.395.

The publisher is also betting high on 'Sacred Secret' by Ravi Kapoor, 'about the seven wonders of the world and the spiritual secrets behind them'.

Gorakhpur-based Gita Press, which started in 1923 and is one of the oldest publishers of religious books in India, substantiates the trend.

'In 2008-2009, we sold Rs.32 crore worth of religious books - up from Rs.29.5 crore in 2007-2008 despite the downturn. We have had a print run of 80 million for Bhagavad Gita, 75 million for Ramcharitmanas and 76.5 million for Bhakt Charit over the decades. These are our three most popular titles till date - even at the fair,' production manager of Gita Press Lalmani Tiwari told on behalf of Gita Press trustee Baijnath Agarwal.

Prices of books at Gita Press range from Re.1 (for the Hanuman Chalisa) to Rs.1,350 (for six volumes of the Mahabharata).

Spurred by growing demand, the Ramakrishna Mission Society has published 50 new titles this year - all of which are on display at the R.K. Mission stall at the fair.

'The most popular titles are 'Vivekachudamani' by Ranganathananda ji Maharaj, 'Understanding Consciousness', the fourth in 'Our Consciousness' series of books, 'Meditation as Spiritual Culmination: Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali' by Swami Sarvagatananda and 'Encyclopedia of Hinduism' in three volumes,' said Swami Adi Purushananda, head of the Delhi publication division of R.K. Mission.

The books are priced between Rs.600 and Rs.1,500.

'Last year the Delhi R.K. Mission unit alone registered an increase of 30 percent in business and we have 150 centres across the world,' the seer said.

He cited two reasons for the growing demand in religious books.

'The younger generation is finally accepting spiritualists like Swami Vivekananda to overcome psychological stress. He is a national hero. Moreover, the prices of spiritual books are more reasonable,' Adi Purushananda said.

Harpreet Narang, a young Delhi-based professional and homemaker, felt 'that a time would come when Indians would no longer require spiritual guides and astrologers going by the number of religious books being published every year'.

Jagriti, a Delhi-based doctor, who bought books on palmistry and spiritual self-help from the fair, echoed the sentiment: 'I usually look up the internet, but the books are a big help.'

'As India is getting more materialistic, spiritual books are filling a huge void. Readers are starting young - and buying more spiritual books as they have a whole life to read,' Akash A. Shah, publisher of Jaico Publishing House, told.

The total turnover of the Indian publishing industry is nearly Rs.100,000 million.link

Delhi Book Fair : Some interesting stalls for you

2009-08-31T20:35:00.000-07:00

With the first big weekend out of the way, some interesting book stalls out of 600 at the ongoing fair at Pragati Maidan. The list excludes prominent stalls of publishers like Penguin or Rupa, which enthusiasts are likely to visit anyway

Sahitya Akademi (Hall 10, Stall 10)

In keeping with its well stocked library at Mandi House, the Sahitya Akademi stall represents the country’s linguistic diversity with books in Konkani, Malayalam, Assamese and many others. Documentaries on literary heavyweights such as O V Vijayan, Nirmal Verma, Bhisham Sahni and others are available for as little as Rs 90. “I am glad Sahitya Akademi is still dedicated to showcasing writers from Indian languages,” said R Manikandan, a retired government official.

Rave Media (Hall 11, Stall 60)

This is an astonishingly diverse exhibitor, carrying books from across genres. From Thorstein Veblen to DC Comics, and books on Che Guevara to this year’s bestselling novel, Amit Varma’s My Friend Sancho, this stall can satisfy all age groups at the same time. After getting hold of a copy of The Lord of The Rings, 11-year-old Ankush Gupta said, “I want to finish the book, so that I can understand the film better.”

Viva Books (Hall 11, Stall 35)

For the academically inclined, Viva Books has been bringing out books by philosophers like Deleuze and Guattari at affordable prices. This year’s stall has all that and more, including all titles of the popular Beginning series. You might just find that one academic book that you have been hunting for a long time. “Most books by western philosophers are extremely expensive; these cheaper editions allow us access to that sphere of thought,” said Saurabh Kumar, a MA student in JNU.

Vani Prakashan (Hall 10, Stall 2)

For lovers of Hindi literature, this is a must-visit stall. From Premchand’s entire oeuvre to poets such as Firaq Gorakhpuri, it houses a formidable collection of genres and authors. The work of writers such as Saadat Hasan Manto and Ismat Chughtai is available in Hindi, along with many others. “The dominance of English sometimes makes one feel that our books do not exist,” said Kalpana Sharma, 55.

Shrijee’s Book International (Hall 9, Stall 5)

With books selling at a flat rate of Rs 100, this is heaven for pulp fiction readers. There are some lovely second-hand picture books by Life magazine. If you look hard enough, you may find an Joyce Carol Oates or a Saul Bellow lying amid the Sidney Sheldons and John Grishams. “The books here are affordable and in good condition, even though most are second-hand,” Delhi University student Rahul Kumar said.

Arjun Rampal launches his bar-cum-restaurant in Delhi

2009-08-31T02:41:00.000-07:00

Bollywood-town’s hunk and the ‘Rock On’ star Arjun Rampal was the man of the moment on Friday as he launched his new plush lounge- ‘Lap’, in Hotel Samrat in New Delhi.

Dressed in a black suit and looking handsome as ever, Arjun was accompanied by his supermodel wife Meher Rampal.

‘Lap’ is Arjun’s joint venture with restaurateur A.D. Singh. Spread over an area of 17,000 square feet, the lounge would be a blessing for all the party goers as it offers good food, good music together with safety and privacy. The downside is that it is open exclusively for members.

The decor of the lounge is a blend of Victorian era as well as Indian royal heritage. Shahrukh Khan’s wife, Gauri Khan, and designer Tarun Tahiliani and Rohit Bal have contributed to the decor of Lap and Arjun, too, has designed some tables in the restaurant.

Some of the biggies of the Bollywood, including Shahrukh Khan with wife Gauri Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Suzanne, Abhay Deol, Imran Khan and Dino Morea, fashion designers Rohit Bal, JJ Valaya, Reena Dhaka and Tarun Tahiliani, models Indrani and Sonalika Sahay, DJ Akil, hotelier Vikram Chatwal had come to grace the occasion.

Showing his love and support for Arjun, Shahrukh Khan, who was with his wife Gauri said, "Gauri has designed it with Arjun and Meher. I think it would be fabulous.

"I wish them all the best. I am from Delhi and want everyone to visit this place."

"He's my brother, he's my friend. I wish him the best always," said Hrithik Roshan.

About his latest venture, Arjun said, "You have to become a member to know how incredible this place is. It`s for people to enjoy. India can proudly say, we have a place to party. It`s about privacy, a discovery of yourself."

The actor maintained that it would be one of those few places where like-minded people meet and also a perfect place to hang out after a hard day’s work.

He also said that all the guests would get to listen to some of the finest music and it would sure be a delight for the music lovers.

And about the menu, the star gushed, "I am a complete foodie who definitely wants to see Biriyani on the menu."

Arjun insisted that every woman would feel safe at this place. He said, “Today, if you look around at other clubs, people just come from anywhere and everywhere. They have opened their doors for everyone.

"The problem with that is that female partying gangs feel uncomfortable and not at all safe. But with this constraint, I want every women who comes here to feel safe.”

He quipped, “I love women and I want all of them to feel safe in my lap (restaurant).”

‘Lap’ that promises to be a posh and exclusive joint for all the party-lovers is all set to open its doors for the members this week.link

Delhi half-marathon on November 1st

2009-08-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year when Delhi gears up to come together and run on a common platform. Come November 1, the Capital will experience the joy of running while celebrating the second edition of the Airtel Delhi Half-Marathon.

This time, two Australian legends - sprinter Cathy Freeman and former cricket captain Allan Border - would be encouraging the runners as brand ambassadors.

Vivek B Singh of Procam International, the race promoters, said that to encourage runners to attempt the distance seriously, it has been decided to make the timing chip mandatory for all half-marathon participants from this year onwards.

He also said that the event continues to remain the world's richest half-marathon with the prize money standing at $210,000. Recipient of the IAAF Gold Label, it is expected to attract the leading long-distance runners from around the world who would be fighting for top honours over a distance of 21.097 km.

The male and female winners of the half-marathon stand to gain $25,000 each, with prize money percolating down to the first ten places. The male and female Indian winners stand to gain $4,000 each. link

Delhi Book Fair begining on August 29

2009-08-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

The literary treasure of North-East will be the focus of the the nine-day Delhi Book Fair begining on August 29.

"The theme for this fair will be 'Literature from North-East' and the focus will be to promote the vast and rich literary treasure of the region," Subas Pani, Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), said.

Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs Salman Khurshid will inaugurate the fair organised by ITPO and Federation of Indian Publishers.

More than 230 publishers from India and abroad are participating in the fair and about 90,000 books will be on show, R C Govil, President of Federation of Indian Publishers said. The publishers include those from Abu Dhabi, China, Iran, Pakistan and USA.link

Delhi judge held for immoral activities

2009-08-27T18:54:00.000-07:00

A metropolitan magistrate of Tis Hazari courts in Delhi and three others, including a woman, were arrested in the wee hours of Thursday from a house in Samalkha town of Panipat, on charges of indulging in immoral activities. The police caught them during a raid following complaints by neighbours.

Confirming the arrests, SSP Shrikant Jadhav said they raided the premises after a resident of Punjabi Colony here got suspicious about the activities in his neighbourhood and complained to the police. "We arrested all the four persons, including the civil judge, present inside the premises. While the three accused were produced in a local court and sent in 14-day judicial custody, we are following the Supreme Court guidelines in dealing with the judge," he said.

A raiding team arrested the inmates after finding them in a compromising position and booked them under sections 3 (punishment for keeping a brothel or allowing premises to be used as a brothel), 4 (punishment for living on the earnings of prostitution), 5 (procuring, inducing or taking person for the sake of prostitution) and 6 (detaining a person in premises where prostitution is carried on) of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956. It also found a Santro car bearing the sticker of New Delhi-based judicial officer.

The accused have been identified as Rajkumar Aggrawal, magistrate in Tis Hazari court, Subhash Duhan, a Sonepat resident who runs NGO Lok Kalayan Foundation in Samalkha, and Shamsher, from Hansi. According to the police, Shamsher was the pimp, who arranged the girl from Kolkata. link

Nannes picks Delhi Daredevils over Victoria

2009-08-27T03:15:00.000-07:00

Dirk Nannes, the Australian fast bowler, has opted to play for the Delhi Daredevils in the inaugural Champions League instead of his home team, the Victoria Bushrangers. This makes Nannes the only player to pick his IPL team over the other possible side he could have represented in the Twenty20 tournament.

Delhi will have to pay Victoria US$200,000 for Nannes' services in the 12-team event. Nannes, who regularly bowls around 140kmh mark, had kept Glenn McGrath out of Delhi's XI with a string of impressive performances in this year's IPL, and was a instrumental in Victoria's third successive domestic Twenty20 victory last season.

Nannes had also spearheaded Netherlands' bowling during the World Twenty20 in June, and has since been selected by Australia for two Twenty20 games against England next month.

The other players who were eligible for multiple teams in the Champions League will compete for their 'home' teams in the tournament, while Dwayne Smith - considered an 'away' player for both Deccan and Sussex - will represent his English team.link

Class X board exams will become optional in all CBSE-run schools

2009-08-27T00:15:00.000-07:00

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is likely to announce on Friday that from the coming academic year (2010-11), Class X board exams will become optional in all CBSE-run schools.

The board will make a formal announcement once the blueprint of the new system to replace the board exams is frozen.

CBSE sources said board chairman Vineet Joshi would hold the last presentation and consultation session in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday on the changes being brought about before the draft is finalized and made public.

The CBSE has reportedly prepared the format of an aptitude exam that schools can use to test Class X students on their level of understanding in each subject. The emphasis, however, will be on continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) through the year instead of a single public exam at the end of Class X.

“CBSE has decided to go strongly on making the Class X board exam optional and implement CCE grading system and other alternatives. The process of review of the present Class X exam system is over,” Joshi said.

He said that CBSE had also conducted a survey among students on whether they want the board exam to continue.

Joshi said there were apprehensions that the new format would create two categories of students, those who take the exam and others who don't.

Among these alternatives is the provision of an online, on demand test for those who don't take the board exam but want certification later on.

In another major decision aimed at ensuring that schools maintain minimum basic standards, the CBSE has decided to have an independent agency for accreditation of CBSE schools.

All schools under the board will have to get themselves evaluated by this agency within three years. New schools will get CBSE affiliation three years after they have been accredited by this agency.

Joshi said the accreditation agency could be either a government or private body. link

Hydrogen - Fuel of the Future Convention gets underway in New Delhi

2009-08-27T00:07:00.000-07:00

Indian Oil Corporation, in association with Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) is organizing the ‘World Hydrogen Technology Convention 2009’ - a three day summit focusing on Hydrogen as the ‘Fuel of Future’. The Convention is aimed at addressing the issues related to safety, fuel economy and environment conservation.

The convention was inaugurated by former President of India Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Honourable Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Dr. Pawan Goenka, vice-president, SIAM and president-Automotive, Mahindra & Mahindra and Sarthak Behuria, chairman, Indian Oil Corporation.

While inaugurating the Convention, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Former President of India said, “The government should provide facilities to the small time entrepreneurs at cheaper costs, reduction in excise duty, relaxation in tax and help in getting hydrogen technology patent, so that the world can see what India is and contribute in the hydrogen technology."

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Honourable Minister of New and Renewable Energy said, “India is actively involved from past two decades to develop this technology and hence, public private partnership involvement is crucial in the development of hydrogen based technology.”

Sarthak Behuria, chairman, Indian Oil Corporation, said, “The hydrogen technology is often compared with the marathon because we do not usually see the finish line. The global hydrocarbon community realizes the urgency to tame newer and greener fuel solutions. Hydrogen holds a promising potential.”

Dr. Pawan Goenka, vice-president, SIAM and President-Automotive, Mahindra & Mahindra said, “It is very heartening to see that both the Government and industry thought leaders have joined hands to work towards the development of hydrogen technology. Dr. Kalam’s views would surely guide us in the right direction to develop this technology. I am sure Indian Oil Corporation & SIAM would play a vital role in converting this convention’s agenda into reality.”

SIAM, along with its members, is actively working on various projects and initiatives in this area. The Automotive industry has drawn a roadmap to develop vehicles that can run with hydrogen and fuel cells. The programme aims to develop CNG-Hydrogen blend compatible buses, SUVs and other passenger vehicles including three wheelers. Automobile manufacturers like Tata Motors, Mahindra, Eicher, Ashok Leyland and Bajaj have contributed vehicles and are actively involved in these projects. link

Delhi slum women hail a taxi to equality

2009-08-26T23:58:00.000-07:00

A battered housewife, a Muslim widow and an illiterate mother of four are among a group of Indian women looking to carve out a living by breaking into the male preserve of New Delhi taxi drivers.

Hailing from some of the poorest quarters of the capital, they are part of plans to launch the city's first radio taxi-service run by women, in time for the October 2010 Commonwealth Games.

The project is the brainchild of Meenu Vadera of the Azad Foundation, a voluntary group that works with disadvantaged women whose employment prospects -- if they exist at all -- are usually limited to the world of domestic help.

"We have trained one batch of nine women and the training of another batch of 11 is underway," said Vadera, who aims to have five taxis on the road by February and a fleet of 20 by the time the Games begin.

"I was looking at a programme that would combine a livelihood for the girls with the idea of having women cab-drivers who will provide safe transport to working women in Delhi."

Of all major Indian cities, the capital ranks worst in terms of violence against women, with more than 4,300 registered cases in 2007-08, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

To ensure their own safety, the women have received some basic self-defence instruction as part of their training at a professional drivers' school run by India's largest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.

Supplementing these are classes in grooming, etiquette and spoken English.

"The goal is to establish a company with the women as stakeholders. This way it does not look like a charity but a business run collectively," Vadera said.

India's emergence as a global economic power has done little for millions of unskilled or illiterate women for whom menial work as domestics or care-givers remains a chief source of regular but often underpaid employment.

The work is generally unregulated and unprotected, leaving them vulnerable to harassment and exploitation.

"Some come from families where only the menfolk work," said Poonam Bala, a Delhi University Sociology professor.

"For others, their background is such that they are totally unprepared to enter the professional job market."

Rita, 24, ran away from her marriage and home after suffering seven years of abuse at the hands of her parents-in-law.

Living at the home of a friend in Delhi, Rita saw the female taxi project as a way out of a social and economic dead end.

"I jumped at the idea," she said. "It would give me independence and the ability to support myself".

Shanno Begum, a 32-year-old Muslim widow, signed up for the programme last year.

"My husband died three years ago. I had three children and my parents-in-law to support. As a private nurse, I used to earn 4,500 rupees (90 dollars) a month for a 24/7 job," Shanno said.

"Now, I will earn the same amount working eight hours and can devote more time to my children."

For Ekta, a 28-year-old mother of four, the taxi project opened doors that she had thought closed to her as an illiterate woman married into a conservative family.

"Persuading my husband to let me work was very difficult," she said. "Now I feel empowered as if I have my own identity other than a wife and mother."

The project has not been without its problems.

With the commercial licence necessary to drive a taxi-cab requiring a year-long wait, Vadera has been trying to find short-term chauffeur employment for her fully trained drivers -- with little success.

"I underestimated the gender bias," Vadera said, citing repeated questions from potential employers as to whether women could be trusted to drive safely and turn up to work on time.

"Despite my assurances, they decide against women drivers. This is despite the fact that records show women are more careful than male drivers -- they obey traffic rules, don't drink and drive, don't get into brawls on the road," she said.

Some of Delhi's male cabbies, unimpressed by the idea of an all-woman taxi service, have decided the best reaction is one of collective ridicule that panders to a disparaging stereotype of women drivers.

"It's bad enough having women behind the wheel in private cars," said Pamma Singh, who runs a taxi company with his two brothers.

"They take ages to reverse, negotiate turnings, to park properly. So what kind of challenge will they be to us? Just be prepared for more chaos on the roads," he said.

Another of Vadera's recruits, Heena Khan, 22, said she treated such remarks with contempt but was still angered by her inability to get a part-time chauffeuring position.

"It is disheartening that after all this hard work, we still can't get jobs because we are women. I am the sole breadwinner and no work means no food," said Khan, who has 10-member dependent family.link

Batla case: clean chit to police, no judicial probe

2009-08-26T06:04:00.000-07:00

In a big relief to the Police, the Delhi High Court today refused to direct a judicial probe into the controversial Batla House encounter here, in which two suspected terrorists and a police officer were killed, by accepting the NHRC report giving a clean chit to the cops.

The High Court rejected the contention of an NGO that National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has failed to conduct a proper investigation in reaching to the conclusion that it was not a fake encounter.

"It's (NHRC) a statutory body and if that body has come to the conclusion that it is not a fake encounter, then the court should not interfere in it","the Bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice Manmohan said.

Holding that NHRC's findings cannot be overruled, the Bench said the human rights body's "prestige and independence has to be preserved at any cost.link

Kathak-salsa - a happy fusion for dance lovers

2009-08-26T03:30:00.000-07:00

What happens when a kathak maestro meets Latino dancers? A medley of footwork, frenetic hip movement, spins and hand gestures, making for loads of "happiness" on stage.

Leading kathak exponent Uma Sharma teamed up with two Brazilian Latino dancers -- Fernanda Dias and Serginho -- in the capital for a kathak-salsa performance as part of the pre-World Dance Festival.

"India and Brazil have two very different cultures, but the meeting point is happiness," Serginho told.

As Sharma joined the high-voltage salsa and forro dancers -- the latter a northeast Brazilian dance form -- on stage to match steps and movements, she said: "Hum kisi se kum nahin (we are no less than anyone). I will improvise my kathak to blend with salsa on stage."

"The footwork, spins and energy are common between kathak and salsa and other Latino dances. However, Latino dances have more hip movements and gyrations of the belly and waist unlike kathak -- which relies on facial expression or 'natya' and hand movements. The body keeps still," Sharma told at the Brazilian embassy, which was converted into a makeshift dance hall Tuesday for the fusion performance.

"Our mastery over our facial expressions and our footwork is intricate. But since kathak is of Mughal origin, hip movements are frowned upon. But we have the same rhythm.

"In fact, the flamenco dance of Spain is very similar to kathak -- I have collaborated with several flamenco dancers. This time, I plan to fuse kathak with salsa and other Latin dances since both the genres pick up speed and tempo after a point of time. Both Indian and Brazilian dances require rigorous practice," Sharma said.

Serginho said Brazilian and Latino dances in contrast need -- "a happy and free spirit, control over breath and training".

"Indian dances have strong energy, but the movements are different. Latino dances are influenced by African and Caribbean rhythms. Our dances are more sensual, daring and hot," Serginho said.

The dancer, who is self-taught, is one of the most sought-after male dancers in Brazil. "In Brazil, dancing is like football. Everyone does it, but only those who are talented make it big on television, festivals and on professional stage. It's a fight for survival," he said.

The duo hopes to learn the basics of Indian dances while in the country to improvise on their repertoire.

The three-day World Dance Festival-cum-workshops -- featuring 100 Latino, Indian and European dancers and 17 international dance instructors -- will be held Sept 10-13 at Hotel Leela Kempinski in Gurgaon.

The festival is being sponsored by the embassies of Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela, Dominican Republic and Ecuador, along with Surya Brasil, a Brazilian cosmetics giant.link

Jaitley knows women were used to woo selectors: Azad

2009-08-26T03:22:00.000-07:00

Former cricketer and BJP MP Kirti Azad has claimed Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) president Arun Jaitley is aware that alcohol, money and women were used to influence selectors of the Delhi team.

"This is well known in the DDCA and has been going on for a long time, even before Jaitley took charge. I fail to understand why he is trying to hide it. He is very much aware of it," Azad told.

Azad said he had earlier raised with Jaitley the issue of nepotism in team selection and the DDCA president seemed keen to take action, but nothing happened until Sehwag made some noise about it.

"I have nothing personal against Jaitley. I feel sorry for him as people are shooting from his shoulder," he said.

Azad claimed that the problems in DDCA existed even during Tiger Pataudi's time. "Tiger Pataudi played for Delhi about 45 years ago. And he raised the same problems (as raised by Sehwag)," Azad said.

Jaitley has asked for proof of the use of alcohol, money and women to influence selectors, to which Azad said: "I invite Jaitley to come over. I will get all the senior players and the people involved to prove my point."

Earlier this year, Jaitley had opposed Azad's candidature from the Darbhanga Lok Sabha constituency. Asked if the current spat had its roots in the political tiff between the two, Azad said: "Jaitley may not have approved of my candidature, but my fight against the DDCA has been going on even before he became an MP."link

High Court slams Apollo Hospital for charging exorbitantly from poor

2009-08-26T00:14:00.001-07:00

The Delhi High Court was today critical about the Indraprashta Apollo hospital charging exorbitantly from poor patients for treatment.

"Is it the way you provide free treatment to the patients falling under the economically backward section"? a Division Bench of Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice Manmohan told the counsel for the hospital.

After perusal of the details furnished by the hospital following the court's previous order relating to the procedure for treatment of the poor, the Bench slammed the hospital for its attitude towards the poor and asked the Delhi government to verify the details.

According to the hospital counsel, the hospital did not charge for the doctors' fee and the room rent from the poor patients but for other tests like MRI they charge Rs 6000, for X-ray Rs 120 and for liver transplant the hospital charges Rs 12 lakh.

The Bench was hearing a PIL seeking direction to the Delhi government to take action against the hospital as it allegedly violated the Leese deed condition while obtaining the land at a throw-away price to provide free treatment to the poor.

According to the lease deed between the hospital and the government, the Apollo would provide free treatment to the poor.link

Young women trafficking gang nabbed in Nangloi

2009-08-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

With the arrest of three persons, the west district police claimed to have busted a gang involved in trafficking of young women. The accused, including and a woman and her son, used to lure their victims by promising them jobs. Following the arrest, three women were rescued from Delhi and Haryana.

The accused have been identified as Sanjay (33), Vinod Mandal (23) and Savitri Devi (55).

On August 22, one Anita Devi, a resident of Nangloi had lodged a missing report about her 23-year-old daughter Manju who had gone to meet one Sunil for employment on August 16 but didn't return home. Anita complained that she received a call on her mobile phone, saying that her daughter was safe and would come back after sometime. She was also threatened not to report the matter to police or would face dire consequences,'' said DCP (west) Sharad Aggarwal.

"A secret source told us that one Sunil Jha along with his brother Sanjay run a placement agency in Nangloi. It was also revealed that they were selling girls to agents in neighbouring states by promising them jobs as maid servants for the past one year,'' said the officer.

Subsequently, raids were conducted in Delhi and Haryana and Manju, along with two other girls, were rescued.

According to the police, the girls were brought to the capital through agents from states like Orissa, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar. Sunil used to negotiate deals with their associates in Rohtak in Haryana. Once the deal was struck and money was received, they used to hand over the girls to other accused. Girls were then sold off for second time from Rohtak to various parts of Haryana.

A case of trafficking and wrongful confinement was lodged against the three accused.

Over 900 births and 300 deaths in Delhi every day

2009-08-25T20:25:00.000-07:00

Delhi registers over 900 births and nearly 300 people die in the national capital every day, revealed an annual report Tuesday.

The annual report on births and deaths in Delhi-2008 was released by Delhi government's Finance, Planning and Urban Development Minster A.K. Walia Tuesday.

'The report revealed that average number of births per day in Delhi were 915 in 2008 as against 882 in 2007 and the average number of deaths per day in Delhi was 295 in 2008 as against 277 in 2007,' an official statement said.

The report revealed that in nearly 50 percent cases of birth, the mother belonged to the 20-24 age group.

'Age group of the mother at the time of delivery was analyzed and it was observed that in nearly 50 percent cases, it was 20-24 years and in 36.23 percent cases the age group was 25-29 years,' the statement said.

'The report also observes an inverse relationship between the level of education of the mother and birth order. As per the report higher the birth order lesser will be the level of educational attainment,' it added.

The report also marks an increase in sex ration in Delhi.

'There is a remarkable increase in sex ratio in Delhi from 820 in 2005 and 848 per 1,000 in 2007 to 1,004 in 2008. This is because of number of registrations of female birth which increased due to implementation of 'Laadli' scheme,' Walia said.

'There have been 19,000 more female births registered in Delhi compared to last year. Numbers of total female births registered were increased from 1.48 lakhs in 2007 to 1.67 lakhs in 2008,' the statement said.

'Total number of births registered in Delhi during 2008 are 3.34 lakhs against 3.22 lakhs in 2007. Of the total birth registered, 166,583 (49.89 percent) were male and 167,325 (50.11 percent) were female,' it said.

'Out of total births in Delhi during 2008, only 4.55 percent were registered in rural Delhi. Of the total births, 2.45 lakhs (73.45 percent) were institutional births and among them 61.25 percent were in government hospitals,' said Walia adding that among the non-institutional births 56.59 percent were female.

Meanwhile, about 1.08 lakhs deaths were registered in Delhi in 2008 as compared to 1.01 lakhs in 2007.

'Of the total deaths registered, 62.23 percent were male and 36.77 percent were female. In 2008, about 53 percent of the total deaths were reported by the medical institutions and the remaining 47 percent were non-institutional deaths,' the statement said.

'About 16 percent of the total deaths were due to disease of pulmonary circulation and other forms of heart disease, 8.15 percent due to septicemia, 6.98 percent due to diabetics mellitus and 3.74 percent due to T.B,' it added.

'Out of total deaths registered during the year as many as 6,138 were infant deaths. The infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births was 18.38 during 2008 as against 25.44 during 2007. The maternal mortality rate per 1,000 live births was 0.20 in 2008 while it was 0.26 in 2007. The death rate per 1,000 of population worked out to 6.29 during 2008 as against 6.07 in 2007,' the statement further said.link

Delhi gets its own television show

2009-08-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

A television show that Delhiites can truly claim as their own. From its title, to local shooting locales, to an all-Delhi cast and crew. 12/24 Karol Bagh, which premieres August 31 on Zee TV, is being pitted as the first ever ‘truly Delhi’ show on Indian television.

“A place like Karol Bagh in Delhi is the best to bring out a contrast between two different generations belonging to an essentially middle-class family,” says Sukesh Motwani, Creative Head Fiction at Zee TV. “To make it more convincing the entire cast and crew had to be from Delhi… Dilli-waale karenge to dil se karenge,” he adds.

“With Delhi-based actors we didn’t have to work hard on getting the lingo right. Phrases like Tu aa jaiyo or Aur bata yaar come to us naturally,” says Smriti Kalra, who plays Simmi in the show. “But the youth will be able to relate to it more because we’ve even shot at Shri Ram College of Commerce in the Delhi University,” she adds.

Kalra says shooting at places like Bengali Sweets and in the by-lanes of Lajpat Nagar has got people excited about the show. “The crowd goes hysteric when we’re around shooting. Delhiites always want to be in front of the camera, even if they don’t know what’s being shot!”

So what, according to her, are the things that are ‘quintessentially Delhi’? “You can’t replicate the food you get here anywhere else. And T-shirts as cheap as Rs 25... only in Sarojini Nagar,” she smiles back.link

Delhi government ends power subsidy

2009-08-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

In what comes as a double whammy for Delhiites who have had to put up with long outages this summer, the Delhi government on Monday officially rolled back a 10% subsidy on power.

Though the subsidy had come to an end on May 31 - and many residents have since complained of disproportionately high bills - there was much speculation on whether or not the government would extend the relief.

The subsidy was offered for a three-period by the government in 2005 to reduce the impact of a tariff hike. With the city investing heavily on infrastructure for the Commonwealth Games next year, the government said it was not in a position to continue footing the Rs 200 crore subsidy bill.

The impact of the subsidy cut is already visible as Delhiites got escalated bills in the last cycle. The bills for the peak summer months of June and July, this time made worse by errant rain and high temperatures, went up significantly.

Kiran Kapoor, resident of Mayur Vihar-I said: ``We have four ACs in our house but use only two at night. All family members crowd inside two airconditioned rooms to save electricity. Despite this, our power bill shot up to Rs 23,800 in June. The last bill was for Rs 17,874.''

Many residents, however, felt the bills were too high even after accounting for the subsidy rollback and increased consumption.

In 2005, when tariff had been increased, Delhiites had strongly protested against the move, citing poor performance by the discoms as justification for not paying a higher amount. Discoms had been gunning for a tariff hike saying that power rates in Delhi were the cheapest in the country and that there had been no hike for four years. The government had stepped in and agreed to provide a three-year subsidy to the tune of Rs 192 crore that amounted to a 10% reduction in overall bills.

However, the subsidy for agricultural users and that aimed at limited consumption users will continue. The latter, that was started in March 2008, had also come to an end on May 31, leaving consumers across the board paying escalated power bills.

Delhi power secretary Rajendra Kumar said, ``The subsidies were valid till May 31. There had been no order after that and bills were generated on the full tariff. Only now has the cabinet decided that the subsidies on agriculture and for targeted groups will continue for another year. Whatever extra amount these consumers have paid will be adjusted in future bills.''

Milk prices to rise in Delhi within a week

2009-08-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

Milk will soon get costlier by Re 1 in Delhi market, with country’s largest food brand Amul planning to raise prices of liquid milk within a week.

Sources close to the development in the dairy sector revealed that the Rs 6,711-crore Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) that markets Amul brand of dairy products is considering revision of milk prices for full-cream and toned milk. It is believed that other dairy players too will revise prices once GCMMF announces the raise.

"Dairy players usually follow the market leader in every state, irrespective of their national position. However, it is likely to be an unprecedented move by the dairy major GCMMF (Amul) in Delhi market where Mother Dairy is the market leader," said an industry expert. He added that milk price rise is inevitable in the country on account of delayed monsoon and increasing costs of procurement by the dairies. Cost of milk production has gone up by 15-20% in past few months on account of expensive cattle feed.

Last week, capital’s largest player and National Dairy Development Board subsidiary Mother Dairy increased milk prices in select categories. Mother Dairy sells close to 25 lakh litre milk a day in Delhi market. It revised prices of double toned milk by Re 1 to Rs 19 per litre and toned and bulk vended milk to Rs 20 per litre. Prices of skimmed milk of Mother Dairy too went up by Rs 17 a litre from Rs 16 earlier.

Mother Dairy sells close to 11 lakh litre milk a day through its vending machines. Interestingly, Mother Dairy is garnering Re 1 per litre extra in the categories where it is dominating and Amul is not present. The second largest player Amul could increase price of only double toned milk by Re 1 to Rs 19 a litre. However, the move did not improve GCMMF’s revenues since it sells almost 10 lakh litre of full cream milk a day, a price of which has remained unchanged.

"GCMMF is considering revising full cream milk price to Rs 27 per litre from Rs 26 while the price of tonned milk will also go up by Re 1 per litre in 8-10 days. Mother Dairy that beat GCMMF in last price hike will also now have to consider its pricing," said the source. He added that GCMMF will roll out new price as soon as its inventory of pouches with old price print gets over.

It may be mentioned here that recently milk prices went up in majority of the markets across the country. Markets like Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Nagpur and Kanpur saw prices of full-cream milk going up recently. However, Mother Dairy refrained from revising full-cream prices while revising those of other categories. GCMMF’s Banaskantha and Sabarkantha district unions cater to Delhi market.link

Delhi highest municipal solid waste producer: Survey

2009-08-23T07:36:00.000-07:00

India's national capital Delhi is the highest municipal solid waste producer in the country followed by western metropolis Mumbai, says a survey by a business House.

Delhi produces 6,800 tonnes of solid waste a day, while Mumbai generates 6,500 tonnes but in the absence of scientific management facilities these cities were dumping the wastes in landfill sites, says the survey carried out by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in 22 cities across the country.

Mumbai sends 100 per cent of its waste to dumping sites followed by Delhi's 94 per cent, it added.link

Faculty at IIT Delhi to go on mass leave from Tuesday

2009-08-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

The faculty at IIT Delhi has decided to go on mass leave for on Tuesday to protest the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission. The faculty members will also wear black badges from Monday.

The Faculty Forum of IITD decided in its general body meeting on Saturday that its members will take a casual leave to mark their protest and may hold a protest march on the Teachers' Day if the government fails to take any measures before that.

Said S S Murthy, president of Faculty Forum: "Even PSU employees and our own students earn better than us when they join the MNCs. This is why we have decided to protest against the recommendations of the sixth pay commission now.'' link

Buddha Jayanti Park gang rape sentence life imprisonment

2009-08-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

Relatives of the four members of the President's Bodyguard who were convicted and sentenced in the 2003 Buddha Jayanti Park gang rape Saturday said the court had succumbed to "media pressure" and pronounced harsh sentences. They plan to appeal against the court's order.

"The order is very harsh and it is all because of media pressure that the court gave my son life imprisonment. We will appeal against this order," said Paramanand Singh, father of Satendra Singh one of the two held guilty of raping a 17-year-old girl six years ago.

"Who will look after our family now? Satendra is married and his daughter is studying in Class 5. He is the sole bread earner of our family and has to support other family members too," Singh said.

A city court awarded life sentence on Satendra Singh and Harpreet Singh, while two other members of the President's Bodyguard - Kuldeep Singh and Manish Kumar were given 10 years' rigorous imprisonment.

Satender Saturday pleaded his innocence to the court and said he was "being falsely implicated". "There is no evidence that proves my involvement," he said.

Kuldeep also said he was innocent. "I am innocent and how do I prove it to you (court). Please see my family before passing any order."

Mool Singh, a relative of Kuldeep Singh, said: "We are from a poor family and were praying that his job should be saved, but with his conviction all our hopes are shattered."

However, Mool Singh said they will appeal against the verdict.

The victim, then 17, had gone with her boyfriend Ashish to the Buddha Jayanti Park near Rashtrapati Bhavan Oct 6, 2003. She was raped by Harpreet and Satender while the other two - Kuldeep and Manish - kept a watch.

The four first roughed up Ashish and then took the girl to a secluded place inside the park where they raped her, the prosecution said.

Spirituality workshops planned in Delhi

2009-08-21T23:33:00.000-07:00

Spiritual group Kryon Source is holding a series of workshops in the capital from next weekend.
A one-day workshop called Past Life Regression, Karmic completion and New Beginnings will be held Aug 29, followed by a two-day Reiki workshop Aug 31 to Sep 1, and a four-day workshop on the search for the self Sep 3-6.link

Jadeja blames cricketers for Delhi administration

2009-08-21T23:11:00.000-07:00

Ajay Jadeja, the former India batsman and captain of Delhi for two seasons, has backed Virender Sehwag in his criticism of the state's cricket administration but said players are to blame for the dismal situation that exists today.

"We need to look within ourselves," Jadeja was quoted as saying in the Hindu. "If we don't go begging for small favours from the administrators such situations would not arise at all. Can you have any selection in India without the involvement of a player? The selection committee is made up of former players only and if they don't do their job properly, who do you blame? This sports committee is elected by cricketers only. Why don't they send honest cricketers to do the job?"

Earlier this week Sehwag was reported to be seeking a move to Haryana because of interference in selection matters. Other senior Delhi players backed Sehwag's claims about the lack of transperancy in Delhi and Districts Cricket Association's selection procedures.

Jadeja played age-group cricket for Delhi before moving to Haryana in 1988. He returned to Delhi in 2003-04 and shifted to Rajasthan in 2005-06. Jadeja said he was pressured by the selectors when he was the Delhi captain. "I had anticipated these interferences. But I did not budge. I attended only the first selection committee meeting as a captain. Thereafter, they chose the 15 and I picked the playing XI."

Jadeja's solution for a more transparent system was to have one selector make the picks based on suggestions by scouts. "You can fix accountability instead of involving too many cricketers in the selection committee."link

Heavy rains damage Delhi airport terminal, disrupt flights

2009-08-21T22:40:00.000-07:00

Strong winds and heavy rains blew off a part of the roof of the newly constructed Terminal 1D of the Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The water filled the terminal and flight operations were disrupted due to heavy rains in the capital on Friday. The Airport terminal was constructed by a JV headed by GMR Infrastructure.

A DIAL (Delhi International Airport Limited) spokesperson said that over 20 flights got delayed and ten flight were diverted. The maintenance team is working on the war footing to clear the water and restore the displaced sheets of the roof, he added.

Just last month, IGI airport faced a trying when as result of heavy downpour, there was water logging of the airport approach roads and into the domestic arrival terminal as well.

DIAL is a joint venture of Bangalore headquartered GMR Group, Airports Authority of India, Fraport and Malaysian Airport Holdings. Just last month, DIAL had assured of proper steps being taken ahead of monsoon to prevent flight disruptions.