Faridabad, July 10
The state government appears in no mood to adopt and implement the Haryana School Rules Act, 2003, and has had been finding ways to circumvent or reframe them under pressure from those running private education shops in gross violations of all norms.”

This has been alleged by the Haryana Abhibhawak Ekta Manch, the leading body of parents of schoolchildren in the state. The manch has protested and challenged the recent move by the state Education Department to invite suggestions from the public to change the rules regarding the provisions of land required by any school for recognition.

The manch, in a statement issued here today, charged the Education Department of Haryana, with deliberately delaying the implementation of the rules provided under the Act adopted by the state Assembly in 2003 and looking for means to change its provisions in an illegal manner.

According to the Act, a primary school in the urban or rural area must possess 0.5 acres with classroom of 24 feet by 18 feet size and a verandah of 10 feet.

The middle-level school should have 1.5 acres in rural and one acre in urban areas, while those operating a secondary or senior secondary school ought to have land measuring between two to 2.5 acres, respectively. But the Education Department of Haryana carried out an advertisement in The Tribune dated July 1, inviting suggestions or opinions from the public regarding the land or building norms for various categories of schools. The last date of receipt for suggestions is July 10.

This move has, however, enraged the Haryana Abhibhawak Ekta Manch, which has been spearheading a campaign for strict rules and absolute implementation of the Act of 2003. The manch has shot off letters and representations to the President, the Prime Minister, the Union Minister for HRD, the Governor of Haryana and the Chief Minister lodging its strong protest over this development.

The general secretary of the manch, Mr Kailash Sharma, said that no changes in favour of the private education mafia would be accepted. The manch had decided to file a PIL in the Supreme Court in this regard. He said the school rules Act had been formulated after thorough discussions and interaction with the public and experts over four years. The Act was announced for adoption in June 2003 but, he said, certain private schools violating the norms had built up pressure politically and got it stalled temporarily.

According to the manch, the advertisement by the department had been given in only one newspaper. It was clearly an attempt to escape the attention of a large number of people. It is claimed that had the Act been put into place it would have helped thousands of students and their parents to escape from exploitation by these teaching shops operating from every nook and corner.

They claimed such a move would not only encourage commercialisation but also lead to unbearable damage to the government schools of Haryana on which hundreds of crores were spent each year.

New Delhi, July 10
An ambitious proposal to develop an adventure park in the green belt area of Sanjay Jheel at Mayur Vihar in the East Delhi area, to be landscaped by Delhi Tourism, has finally been approved by the Screening Committee of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

The matter had been pending for a long time due to differences among members of the committee over the proposal. The committee has also approved another proposal to connect this tourist spot to nearby National Highway 24.

However, prior to connecting this spot to the highway no-objection certificates from the National Highway Authority of India and the Delhi Traffic Police will have to be obtained to ward off any traffic-related problem in future.

According to sources, Delhi Tourism wants to develop this spot as the most attractive tourist destination in the trans-Yamuna area, keeping in view the forthcoming Commonwealth Games 2010.

“Actually, Delhi Tourism wants to explore all possible opportunities due to the spot’s proximity to the proposed Khel Gaon and its tremendous potential from the point of view of tourism. Another reason behind this move is that Sanjay Jheel has the biggest green belt area in the vicinity of the proposed Khel Gaon. Work is expected to started by next month,” said an official of the DDA.

An official of Delhi Tourism said there were ample opportunities to explore and beautify the area. “At present, there is a boat club besides some eating joints here. The whole area can be developed as an attractive tourist destination. The adventure park will be developed on one side of the green belt area of Sanjay Jheel. The breeding of colourful fishes and ducks in is also included in the proposal. Arrangements will also be made for seasonal birds’ advent to the lake. A small children’s park will also be crafted in the proposed adventure park. Special arrangements will be made for senior citizens with regard to walking, jogging and meditation in the green belt area. Delhi Tourism is also planning to make staying arrangements for fishermen associated with boat club of this lake,” he informed.

According to the president of the Bharastachar Nirodhak Morcha, Mr Narender Kumar Singh, the DDA has been presenting proposals galore about this lake surrounded by a big chunk of green belt but it is ironical that not one proposal has been implemented so far. “Prior to drafting any proposal related to this lake, coordination with the landscaping department of the civic agency is essential. Otherwise, there is little chance of the proposal seeing the light of day,” he felt. 

New Delhi, July 10
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has submitted a proposal to the Delhi Government to construct two more Metro corridors in the city before the 2010 Commonwealth Games. It had been suggested to construct an 18.2-km-long line from Central Secretariat in Central Delhi to Badarpur near the Capital’s border with Haryana in the South East, and another 10.4-km-long line from Adarsh Nagar in North Delhi to Rajouri Garden in West Delhi, DMRC sources said.

The proposal came in response to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit asking Delhi Metro to suggest more lines—besides the six lines being constructed under DMRC’s phase II project—which could benefit people living in those parts that had so far not been connected with the Metro network and which would be commercially viable and could be completed before the Games..

There had been a demand for a Metro line connecting Central Secretariat with Badarpur while the Adarsh Nagar-Rajouri Garden line would link the existing Line 2 (Viswavidyalaya-Central Secretariat) with Line 1 (Shahadra-Rithala) and Line 3 (Barakhamba-Dwarka).

Both the lines would be mostly elevated—Central Secretariat-Badarpur 13 km and Adarsh Nagar-Rajouri Garden 8.4 km—and only a small portion would be underground.

The first line was expected to cost Rs 2,860 crore and the second Rs 1,510 crore. The state government, however, had not given its response to the proposal so far.

The Central Secretariat-Badarpur line was slated to pass through Defence Colony, Jangpura, Lajpat Nagar, East of Kailash, Nehru Place and Okhla Phase I and II.

The Adarsh Nagar-Rajouri Garden line was slated to run parallel to the Ring Road while passing by areas like Punjabi Bagh. It would link up with Line 2 at Adarsh Nagar, Line 1 at Netaji Subhash Place and Line 3 at Rajouri Garden. It would also connect the under-construction Inder Lok-Mundka line at Shivaji Park.

The Central Secretariat-Badarpur line was originally conceptualised in the Mass Rapid Transport System Master Plan to be undertaken as part of Delhi Metro’s phase III project.

DMRC’s phase III had three mostly elevated lines totalling 62.2 km. Besides the Central Secretariat-Badarpur line, it planned connecting Dwarka with Vasant Kunj via Delhi Airport, and a Rithala-Bawana line.

DMRC’s phase IV had four mostly elevated lines totalling 68.2 km. It planned lines from Kakrola (Dwarka) Mor to Narela, Jhangirpuri to Sagarpur (Janak Puri) along the Outer Ring Road, Andheria Mor to Iffico Chowk (Haryana) that was now being taken up along with phase II, and Dilshad Garden to Nandnagari.

Meanwhile, Detailed Project Report for a two km-line in Ghaziabad had been prepared and submitted to Ghaziabad Development Authority.

The line would have two stations—Kushambi and Vasundhara. It was proposed to complete the line by 2010.

New Delhi, July 10
Making an impassioned plea for justice for Priyadarshini Mattoo who was found murdered in her house in the national Capital on January 23, 1996, a group consisting of her friends, activists and NGOs under the banner of ‘Justice for Priyadarshini’ is garnering public support. The group, which is seeking a retrial of the case, has already begun a signature campaign to elicit public support and will organise a protest march and candle-light vigil at India Gate on July 23, which would have been Priyadarshini’s 34th birth anniversary.

Priyadarshini Mattoo was brutally raped and murdered in 1996. The son of an IPS officer was suspected of having committed the crime, but was released after the trial. “This has been the only case in the history of India where the judge himself clearly wrote that he knew the accused was the culprit and the CBI had not acted fairly,” said a spokesperson for the group, Adityaraj Kaul.

The group that has demanded an immediate retrial of this case claims it has sent appeals “to the Chief Justice of India, the Delhi High Court and the Director of CBI for early intervention so that the justice, denied for the last 10 years, may finally be delivered to the parents of the victim”.

Noida, July 10
Former Army Chief, General V. P. Malik, while paying tributes to martyrs of the Kargil war at the Shaurya Divas organised in their memory on Sunday here, said the Indian soldier was the best in the world. General Malik said the nation which forgot its heroes also lost self-respect and eventually the country’s freedom. The freedom of the country and the self-respect of the nation had to be zealously guarded always, the General said.

The president of the Anti-Terrorist Forum, Mr M. S. Bitta, said if the politicians made up their mind to end terrorism once for all wars like Kargil would not take place.

He pleaded for waging a final war against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir like the one fought in Punjab. “This is the only way to finish terrorism”l, he emphasised.

But for this political parties must take a stand unitedly against terrorism which was bleeding the country in one way or the other. He said the government should never have
a dialogue with terrorist outfits.

Wives and kith of war heroes of Noida were also honoured at the function. The wife of war hero Brigadier V. P. Singh, Ms Savita Singh, and Ms Alka Ahuja, wife of Kargil hero Sqn Ldr Ajay Ahuja, were specially honoured. Ms Bhavna Trevedi, wife of Major Trevedi and mother of Army officer Hanifuddin, Ms Hema Aziz, and a number of other jawans and kith of the martyrs of Kargil war were also honoured.

The Army jawans who had captured Tololing Peak during Kargil were also honoured. Member of Parliament Ashok Pradhan said heroes like Capt Shashi Kant Sharma and Lt Vijay Thapar who had made the supreme sacrifice for the country’s defence had brought glory to the country, the Army and Noida. Patriotic and religious songs were sung on the occasion.

New Delhi, July 10
It was another pleasant day in the National Capital Territory of Delhi as thick monsoon clouds and cool North Westerly winds provided relief from the scorching heat of the last week even as the Met office forecast more rains.

The overcast sky and the cool North Westerlies brought down the minimum temperature this morning to 24 degree from 28 degree Celsius yesterday even as light rains continued last night as well as this morning.

The Capital yesterday received its first Monsoon showers as the south-west monsoon advanced into Delhi and parts of western Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Haryana.

The weather office said nearly 20 mm of rainfall has been recorded in the Capital till 11.30 am today.

The Met office has forecast a generally cloudy sky with more spells of thundershowers in the Capital during the next 24 hours

The coming days promise a pleasant weather for the people. The rains ended the long wait of people of Delhi for the Southwest Monsoon, which was earlier scheduled to arrive in the Capital on June 29. 

New Delhi, July 10
Delhi Power Minister Haroon Yusuf has categorically said that the unscheduled loadshedding should be avoided.

He has told the Discom companies to provide accurate information to the consumers in Delhi and develop a mechanism of fault control to minimize response time.

He also asked the private power distribution companies to deploy their senior officers in all district complaint centres.

The minister gave these directions in a meeting attended by Chief Secretary, Mr R. Narayansami, Principal Secretary of Power, Director, Operation Transco and senior officers from Discoms.

There was no incident of loadshedding for the second consecutive day today except for a brief period. Peak demand of 3100 MW power was fully met,
he claimed.

The Chairman of the Central Electricity Authority has gone to Lucknow to expedite completion of Tala transmission lines to enable carriage of 250-500 MW power from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Orissa at the earliest. Sixty MW power supply from silt-affected Salal hydel project has been restored.

Thirty MW power supply from NTPC gas plant in Dadri and 300 MW from Naptha Jhakri is expected to be restored by midnight. Restoration of power from these plants would make situation comfortable, the Power Minister claimed.

The Minister has also directed discoms to publicize names of senior engineers and telephone numbers of their district complaint centres.

New Delhi, July 10
On a day when the Union HRD Minister, Mr Arjun Singh, approved the timebound steps to improve the learning levels of children and fill up infrastructure gaps in the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, hundreds of students were shown the door by a government-run school in the national Capital.

Most of these students were not even given an explanation for being denied admission. Others like Neetu (name changed) were luckier. “They told me that the school does not admit students who have scored less than 55 per cent in class X,” she said.

The school, Government Girls’ Senior Secondary School, K Block Jehangirpuri, in an attempt to improve its performance at the examinations is following the public schools’ policy of saying ‘no’ to students who do not score well.

“The school has refused to even readmit those students who took the class X and XII examinations from here itself, but failed to make it to the next grade,” alleged Ashok Agarwal of the Social Jurist.

Twin sisters Shilpa and Shikha (names changed) who have passed out of an NDMC School and are seeking admission to class VI were sent away too. Their fault: “The computer did not show their names.”

“I was told that the school does not admit students from Open School and because I was forced to take a year off, my chances of getting into class XI are minimal,” said Hansna (name changed).

Hansna who took her class X examinations from the National Institute of Open Schooling had to take a year off because her marksheet indicating that she has passed her compartment examination came much after the admission to the new session was over.

Taking cognisance of the school’s refusal to admit students, Social Jurist, an NGO has written to the Education Minister of the NCT of Delhi, Arvinder Singh Lovely and the Director of Education, Vijay Kumar.

“We have apprised them of the situation, but it is heart-wrenching to see that the government, which is responsible for providing quality education to children, is washing its hands of them in order to prove that they are at par with public schools in terms of performance at the CBSE examinations,” said Mr Agarwal.

Gurgaon, July 10
The district police today arrested two persons on a complaint made by a youth from Delhi that he was held in illegal detention and asked to pay more than Rs 1 lakh as ransom money.

The two persons arrested are Pradeep of Bhiwani district and Amit of Sampla in Rohtak disrict of Haryana.

The victim, Kartiken, a resident of Defence Colony in Delhi, allegedly got message on his e-mail last Saturday, asking him to arrive near the Management Development Institute (MDI) here. When he arrived, he was taken by the two accused to a place in the Old DLF area in a vehicle and asked to pay the ransom money. He was detained and also beaten up during the period. His captors let him go when he pleaded to be let off so that he could bring the money.

After Kartiken went home he informed his mother about the development. The matter was brought to the notice of the local police. The police nabbed the two accused at a shop in Sector 14.

Gurgaon, July 10
The district police administration has ordered a departmental probe into the alleged incident of manhandling of about four personnel of the Haryana State Vigilance Bureau by constables and employees in the Sadar police station a few days ago.

The Vigilance Bureau personnel had visited the police station following a complaint made by a local shopkeeper that the two constables were demanding Rs 500 from him.

The Vigilance personnel visited the police station along with the complainant and allegedly caught the two constables red-handed. But the constables along with their colleagues allegedly manhandled them, forcing them to leave from there.

The Vigilance Bureau registered a case against the personnel and also took up the matter with the district police. However, the district police did not register a case. The matter is said to have been brought to the notice of the Director-General of Police, Haryana, Mr Nirmal Singh.

Noida, July 10
Three persons lost their lives in various road accidents in Noida in the past 24 hours while two others were injured seriously.

In the first accident, a tractor-trailer collided against a car near Chhijarsi village, killing one person. In the second accident, two labourers were mowed down by a dumper while another person was injured. The injured were rushed to a private hospital in Sector 41 here where their condition is also stated to be critical. At about 1 am yesterday, Suresh Chand of Faridabad was returning after attending a function in a Tata Indica car (HR-29P-3258). At Chhijarsi village, suddenly, a tractor-trailer appeared from the opposite direction. Suresh Chand was killed on the spot and his car was badly smashed. The driver of the tractor ran away.

In the second accident, three labourers from Bihar were mowed down by a dumper (38-S-0476) hurtling down on the expressway last morning in Sector 99 here. Opendra, Sanjeev and Ashok were crushed by the dumper. Opendra died on the spot while Sanjeev was declared dead in hospital. The police have sent the bodies for autopsy and registered cases against the two drivers for reckless driving. A hunt is on for the absconding drivers.

New Delhi, July 10
The Delhi High Court today held the Municipal Commissioner and the Chief Law Officer of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) guilty of criminal contempt for desealing illegal farmhouses in the Capital which were earlier ordered closed by the court.

A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Kailash Gambhir asked the two officials to file their replies and directed them to appear in person before the court on August 21. —TNS

New Delhi, July 10
A city court today remanded two persons accused of the Rs 4000-crore Cooperating Group Housing Scheme (CGHS) scam in the CBI custody for four days.

The investigating agency has arrested Yogi Raj and Subhas Dabas on Saturday in INALSA CGHS scam.

After hearing the arguments of both the prosecution and the defence, Patiala House Court Special Judge Indermeet Kaur Kochchar, remanded Yogi Raj and Subhas Dabas in CBI custody till July 14 for intensive investigation.

Both the persons in connivance with some officials in the office of registrar of cooperative societies forged the documents and allegedly misused their official position, according to a senior CBI official.

Meanwhile, the court also issued a production warrant against the prime accused Narayan Diwakar, Vinod Kumar Gupta and Nanak Chand for tomorrow. All the persons are lodged in Tihar Jail.

Both Yogi Raj and Subhash were arrested under Sections 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy), 419 (Cheating by Impersonation), 420 (Cheating), 467 (Forgery of Valuable Security), 468 (Forgery for the Purpose of Cheating), 471 (Using Forged Documents as Genuine) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 12 (1) (d) and 13 (2) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.

New Delhi, July 10
Dr Ashok K Chauhan, founder president of the Ritnand Balved Education Foundation, today awarded certificates to the kin of the personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) who had completed a six-month course in computer application organized by the Amity Institute of Education and Training here.

The Director General of the CISF, Mr SIS Ahmed, was the chief guest at the function held on the premises of the CISF headquarters in CGO Complex, Lodhi Road here. The six-month computer application course has been specially designed for the benefit of the personnel of the defence and police forces. —TNS

New Delhi, July 10
The Deputy Speaker, Delhi Vidhan Sabha, Mr Shoaib Iqbal, accompanied by prominent Muslim personalities of the walled city of Delhi, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today and urged him that the Muslims be allowed to offer prayer in the 53 historical mosques under the jurisdiction of the Archaeological Survey of India.

The ASI has barred the Muslims from offering prayer in the mosques as protected monuments in Delhi.

The delegation also appealed that the ASI should swing into action and check immoral activities at these sites such as gambling and amorous acts. —TNS