New Delhi, August 28
It was a day of traffic jams in several parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi as a large number of people were in all modes of transport earnest to reach the homes of their sisters to celebrate Raksha Bhandan today.

Traffic snarls were reported in the Inderprastha Extension area of East Delhi and the main Vikas Marg in Laxmi Nagar. Residents complained that it took them virtually an hour to negotiate a kilometre. Similar situations were reported from the Central and North West areas of the city.

Harried traffic police personnel struggled to restore some kind of order on the roads as many in their hurry to get to their destinations drove on the wrong side.

A senior traffic police officer said that the problem was because of the large number of private vehicles on the roads. "Even those people who would normally take the public transport, took out their vehicles as they wanted the entire family to travel together", said another officer.

The irrepressible auto -rickshaw drivers once again had a field day as they over -charged the passengers at will because of the heavy demand for transport today leading to some ugly scenes.

Meanwhile, Raksha Bhandan was celebrated with the usual traditional fervour with sisters dressed in their finery tying Rakhis to their brothers. The brothers in return showered their sisters with gifts.

New Delhi August 28
Raksha Bandhan, the day celebrating the bond of protection, became the Yamuna Satyagraha's latest effort "to save the Yamuna and Delhi's green zones".

Environmentalists Rajendra Singh, Vandana Shiva, Radha Bhatt, S A Naqvi tied rakhis on trees at the Satyagraha site, starting with the shisham tree under which satyagrahis have been camping since August 1.

According to satyagrahis, the word "rakhi" means protection in Punjabi. Rakhi is also a reference to colorful and ornamental wristbands that sisters in India tie on their brothers' wrists during the festival of Raksha Bandhan as a symbolic promise that brothers will always protect their sisters from any harm or danger. When we tie rakhi on trees, we all take a pledge to respect and safeguard the environment, they add.

"The chipko movement is the contemporary expression of a continuing heritage of peaceful resistance by the people of Uttarkhand. Chipko in Hindi means to cling, reflecting the protesters main technique of throwing their arms around the tree trunks designated to be cut, and refusing to move. In the 1970's, women of Chipko movement in the Himalayas tied Rakhis on the trees, which they had pledged to protect. It was a movement of peasants in the Uttarakhand region of India that acted to prevent the felling of trees," explains Vandana Shiva.

New Delhi, August 28
Ruling that the testimony of a hostile witness can be taken into consideration for convicting an accused, the Delhi High Court yesterday dismissed the appeal of two convicts in a decade-old gang rape case.

One erratic answer of the witness (prosecutrix) does not wash out the entire testimony of the witness, observed Justice Shiv Narayan Dhingra as he upheld the trial court order convicting Pramod and Kamal Kishore of raping a married woman near Kalkaji temple.

It was argued by the accused that they should be acquitted as the prosecutrix in her testimony during cross-examination told the court that three persons were arrested on the spot. However, only the two accused were arrested from the spot.

Even the testimony of a hostile witness can be taken into consideration for convicting an accused, if the witness has supported the prosecution case in examination-in-chief but turns hostile at some point during the cross-examination, the court said and rejected the arguments of the appellants.

Justice Dhingra relied upon the testimony of two other witnesses, who had rescued her on hearing her cries and caught hold of the accused on the spot and had said that the two accused were arrested.

In October 1999, a sessions court had sentenced both the accused to life imprisonment for raping a married woman.

Faridabad, August 28
About 200 workers of Faridabad Municipal Corporation today attended a general house meeting of the union in spite of Rakhi festival and decided to step up their lobbying with political quarters against the move of the civic body to dispense with the services of about 570 daily wagers.

A unanimous decision was taken at the meeting to convene another general house meeting of the workers' union on September 5 to chalk out the further course of action. However, gate meetings and demonstrations have been put on hold by the union, according to the union leader, Rattanlal Rohilla.

The rationale for convening another general house meeting stems from the fact that many workers and union leaders could not show up at the meeting in view of the Rakhi festival. Besides, it would be clear by the time of next meeting whether the government wanted to dispense with the services of workers.

The workers have been put on the backfoot on account of the Municipal Corporation authorities' assurance yesterday that a solution has been worked out in favour of the workers. However, the workers nurture apprehension as the authorities have not spelt out the stated formula.

The union leaders say that the workers are wary of the authorities. There would be no let-up against the authorities and the government, they added.

Also, the workers see hope in the statement of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's statement yesterday that the government would reinstate the workers in various departments in Haryana who were retrenched during the time of the preceding government in the state.

New Delhi, August 28
A crane driver died on Tuesday after a cement concrete block fell on him due to a "technical failure" at a Delhi Metro construction site.

The victim, B. Singh, was an employee of Navyug Construction Company that is building the metro line on the Mayur Vihar-Noida stretch.

Delhi Metro chief communication officer Anuj Dayal said the accident occurred near Mayur Vihar in East Delhi at around 4.30 pm.

"The victim was rushed to the nearby Kailash Hospital and he died in the hospital. It was a technical failure and we have set up an inquiry team to look into the matter," Dayal said.

"We will see that the victim's family gets maximum compensation," he added.

Delhi Metro ferries 525,000 passengers daily over its network of 65 kilometres.

The modern mass transit system will see an addition of 118 km to its existing network before the commencement of the Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010 —IANS.

Noida, August 28
Well-known designer Varun Behl has reported a loss of 4050 garments and computers from his showroom in Sector-2, Noida. The designer has put this loss at RS. 50 lakh.

The police has launched a hunt for a show-room security guard who has gone missing. Varun Behl works with noted designer Rohit Bal and has a show room in B-106, Sector-2 Noida.

Varun Behl has lodged a report in Sector-20 police station that on Saturday night his designer garments worth RS 50 lakh were stolen from his showroom. The police said the glass of the window from, which garments were taken out, was opened from inside and there was no grill fitted on that window.

Suspicious is on guard Bachan Singh Yadav of Aligarh, who has gone missing since Saturday, the police said. The SP (City) said each garment weighs four to five kg .

The weight of the garments will be around 250 kg.The security company employing guard Bachan Singh said the guard had proceeded on leave. 

New Delhi, August 28
A court here has denied bail to a businessman who allegedly evaded customs duty of around Rs 30 lakh by providing false information about the quantity of the consignment, imported from Hong Kong.

After going through the documents, accused Deepak Kumar appears to be actively involved in this import in which there is evasion of custom duty of about Rs 30 lakh, said additional sessions judge V. K. Maheshwari, adding considering the gravity of matter it is not a fit case for grant of bail.

Dismissing the bail plea, the ASJ said the value of the goods in the bill of entry was declared Rs 3.06 lakh, however, according to the accused actually imported goods valued Rs 87.07 lakh.

The court, in a recent order, said it was a case of mis-declaration and mis-description and accused deserved no leniency.

Citing the statement recorded by Deepak Kumar during his custody, customs department said the accused, who was arrested on August 3, had categorically stated the goods were imported from Hong Kong in the name of a firm, M/s Om Prakash Deepak Kumar. Searches conducted on the premises of the firm revealed that the goods imported were different from those mentioned in the bill of entry, the department alleged.

The accused had tried to defraud the exchequer by importing undeclared goods without having the valid permission, it said. Considering the accused's admission that the exporter had deliberately put more articles as there was space in the container, the court rejected his bail plea —PTI

Noida, August 28
Three persons were killed while 15 others were wounded when a bus in an attempt to save a biker turned turtle near Nangla Chiti on the Secunderabad -Dankore road yesterday.

The injured were rushed to Greater Noida's Kailash Hospital and the Secunderabad Govrenment Hospital.

S.P. Rural, Avdesh Kumar Vijeta and a team of police personnel rushed the injured to the hospitals.

Bus No. 13F 3710 was plying from Secunderabad to Dankore on Monday afternoon with over two dozen passengers. Near Nangla Chiti culvert, the driver tried to save a motorcyclist coming at high speed from opposite direction and lost control and bus turned turtle. The wails of the passengers, attracted the passers-by who extricated the injured and the dead from the bus. This resulted in a traffic jam on the Secunderabad -Dankore road for an hour.aSoon after getting the information SO Arjun Singh Bhagel of Dankore police station and his team reached the accident site and helped the passers-by in extricating people from the bus. The SP (rural) ,who reached there a little later ,said bus driver Mahinder had succumbed to his injuries on way to hospital. While conductor Ganga Ram of Dankore had died on the spot. Besides, 12-year-old Dinva had also died.

New Delhi, August 28
Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss today announced that the government would set up an ayurvedic medical college in Delhi on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to carry out research and referral work in the field traditional Indian system of medicines.

"We are setting up an All India Institute of Ayurveda in Delhi over a land area of aroud 15 acres. It will be set up near Apollo hospital with an investment of Rs 1.5 billion", the Union Health Minister said while inaugurating the home herbal ground (HHG) project.

He said that the development of medicinal industry, which was expected to be worth $5 trillion by the year 2050, was one of the main focus areas of the ministry by setting up the ayurveda institute.

''A Rs 120 - crore system called 'golden triangle for scientific validation of Indian medicines' especially for Ayurveda and Siddha medicines was being propagated by the ministry,'' Dr. Ramadoss said.

The HHG project is a joint venture of the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) under the community outreach programme.

The minister said under the aegis of the project ,residents would be encouraged and assisted to grow selected medicinal plants - Tulsi, Brahmi, Ashwangandha, mint, lemon grass, Aloe vera, and Manduk parni - within their homes to use them as herbal remedies for minor ailments.

Speaking at the function, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that the Delhi government was in the process of developing bio-diversity parks and sprawling 170 acre land had been allotted for the same near Dabur, on the outskirts of the national Capital.

''Along with those 17 new forest areas have been identified for growing medicinal and decorative plants. This initiative will not only revive the traditional medical system, but would also make a huge difference to the atmosphere of Delhi, that has over the years improved with such initiatives,'' she added.

The project aims to fill the critical void in the area of herbal resource development and extension activities and to create community awareness on 'herbal medicine and herbal gardens.'

The first phase of the programme would be operational with the help of selected 100 to 150 resident welfare associations in South and South-West districts of national capital territory of Delhi.

Select residents, especially senior citizens and women, will be trained in the maintenance of these plants and their use in primary health care.

The community outreach programme will create awareness about the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal and aromatic plants.

Besides, it will also conserve plant resources used in Indian systems of medicine and demonstrate the contemporary relevance of the theory and practice of the systems. 

New Delhi, August 28
Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Ram Babu Sharma has exhorted the party MLAs, municipal councillors and party workers to get set for the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections to ensure the victory of the Congress-backed candidates.

This statement was issued after the party meeting held at the DPCC headquarters. All India Congress Committee general secretary (AICC) and in-charge of Delhi affairs Ashok Gehlot also attended the meeting.

Addressing the gathering Ashok Gehlot said that the NSUI would once again triumph in the DUSU elections to give a befitting reply to the communal forces. Every effort would be made to give better facilities to students and solve their problems which could only be done under the rule of the Congress government and the Congress Party and under the inspiring leadership of Sheila Dikshit. He said that Delhi was not only political Capital but also a centre of excellence in education.

Delhi University was considered one of the best universities in the country .It was responsibility of the Congress Party to conduct campus politics in a fair manner and without affecting the academics. Ram Babu Sharma said that it was essential for the Congress backed NSUI candidates to win to counter the nefarious designs of the communal forces. He said that DUSU elections assumed great importance as the future leaders of Delhi and even the country came out of the precincts of Delhi University, and it was therefore, essential to ensure responsible campus politics in the national Capital.

The students in Delhi have been reposing their faith in the NSUI candidates for the last many years, he said.

The Congress Party has sanctioned a fund for students to ensure a bright future for them and for pursuing courses in management, computers, information technology and the mass communications.aAICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik said that the NSUI had been winning all the four posts in the DUSU for the past many years and should sweep the poll this time too. 

Noida, August 28
A man, shot at and wounded by his own son on August 13, succumbed to his wounds Monday night. According to doctors at Vinayak Hospital Noida, the victim was in a critical condition after he was shot.

The angry son, Ravinder had shot his father Satpal Bhatti in the head after an altercation on selling the family land which father was resisting. After attacking his father, the son had absconded and before police could nab him, the son had surrendered in a court.

It may be recalled that Satpal Bhatti, 50, resident of Dewta, Dankore, was shot at by his 24-year-old son Ravinder in Sector-27 near Vinayak Hospital, Noida.

The bullet had hit Satpal in the head. Satpal Bhatti was employed as a guard in telephone office in Sector-27 Noida. 

New Delhi, August 28
Even though the forthcoming DUSU elections are hogging the limelight on campus, the DUTA is also quietly going about organizing its election. Everything is in readiness for the poll scheduled for August 29.

The DUTA will elect its president tomorrow and the chairman of the Academics for Action, Dr S.S. Rathi, has appealed to the teaching community to elect a person who can mobilise the teaching community on issues confronting the higher education system.

The AAD has fielded former DUTA president, Aditya Narayan Misra for presidentship and other executive candidates include Dinesh Adlakha from the Jesus and Mary College, Dr Rajesh Upadhyaya from the Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Dr Punam Tyagi from the Kalindi College and Dr Rajesh from the university department of adult, continuing and extension education.

The priority tasks for the AAD representatives include a fair deal to university teachers in the new pay revision and reform in the selection process of teachers as to grant weight to academic record and teaching experience in appointments on permanent posts.

Apart from the DUTA president, 15 members of the DUTA executive will also be elected and later these 16 elected representatives will elect from among themselves other DUTA office-bearers, including the vice-president, secretary, joint secretary and 
treasurer.