New Delhi, December 4
Traders began observing ‘Sealing Chetna Week’ from today in protest against the sealing drive, even as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) continued with its operation against commercial establishments in residential premises.

As part of their week-long agitation, traders are holding protest gatherings and rallies across the Capital to draw the attention of the Centre and Delhi Government, Mr Parveen Khandelwal, the secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders, said.

He said that more than 500 trade associations had a meeting in Hari Nagar in West Delhi where they also organised a rally.

The Supreme Court has given relief to about 20,000 traders who had filed affidavits of voluntary closure of their illegal shops. But there are 500,000 traders who could not file the affidavits.

Observing the ‘Sealing Chetna Week’, traders staged a protest march, hunger strike and torch rallies in several parts of the city. Several meetings will be held throughout the week in different markets of the Capital where political leaders will also be invited to express their solidarity with traders. The traders also demanded that the Urban Development Minister should intervene to stop the sealing drive as he had assured in Parliament that the Delhi Master Plan 2021 would be implemented by January 31, 2007.

They had also planned to meet the Minister of State for Urban Development Mr Ajay Maken to put across their immediate concerns.

Meanwhile, the MCD today sealed 104 illegal units in residential areas.

Of these, 41 units were sealed on road number 62 and 70 near Seemapuri in Shahdra (North) Zone.

Twenty nine properties were sealed at Mayur Vihar Phase-III in front of Gharoli Dairy Farm falling under Shahdara (South) Zone.

Seventeen illegal commercial establishments were sealed on road passing along E and F Blocks of East of Kailash and A Block Amar Colony from Zamroodpur T-junction to Garhi Crossing in South Zone. As many as 14 properties were sealed at Jalebi Chowk to S-Block Sultanpuri in Najafgarh Zone.

The Supreme Court mandated sealing drive resumed last month and the MCD has so far sealed over 2,000 commercial establishments in residential areas.

In November, the apex court had dismissed three petitions moved by the Central government and the MCD with an appeal to stop the sealing drive. 

New Delhi, December 4
The Delhi Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit, today expressed concern at the menace of Hepatitis virus and announced that its vaccination would be made mandatory for all students seeking admission to schools in the Capital.

The Directorate of Education would soon be asked to chalk out a plan of action in this connection, she said after inaugurating the ninth Hepatitis Day Celebrations at GB Pant Hospital.

She also inaugurated an exhibition on the issue of awareness about Hepatitis.

She said that Hepatitis was a global health problem and was one of the most dreaded diseases in the world. Hepatitis B is more common and serious disease. There are 350 million Hepatitis B Positive people in the world on which one million die each year from the infection. The number of patients dying of Hepatitis B in a year are 10 times more than that of HIV/AIDS.

The Chief Minister further said that there were various misconceptions about Hepatitis not only among the laymen but among the medical community as well. No public campaigns can make any difference until people adopt the programme as their own, she added, saying that the most important link in this chain was youth awareness.

She expressed the hope that the campaign did not remain confined to seminars or exhibitions but would reach each and every house not only in Delhi but also in the country. The CM exhorted the people to come forward for vaccination against Hepatitis, although many medical practitioners are said to be reluctant to administer them.

Delhi Government initiated vaccination programme against Hepatitis in 1998. The government will spoon launch an extensive campaign against the disease for which electronic media would also be engaged, the CM said. 

New Delhi, December 4
Disappointed by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s announcement that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) would not be scrapped, a cross-section of people from Manipur who want withdrawal of the Act will stage a protest rally here on Saturday.

“We had lots of expectations from the Prime Minister… We have been demanding complete withdrawal of the Act,” said Mr K. Onil, a rally organiser.

He alleged that the armed forces still had absolute powers in the state.

“Human rights violations will not cease till the security forces have this power. This Act must be scrapped,” he added.

Meanwhile, activist Irom Chanu Sharmila, who claims to have been on a hunger strike for the last six years, has been refusing to take food through the nose and her condition is deteriorating. She was taken by the police to AIIMS last month from Jantar Mantar where she had been camping.

She has also stopped meeting people, including her family.

On December 2, while addressing a function at the historic Kangla Fort in Imphal, the Prime Minister had announced that the controversial law would be amended soon as part of measures to address the grievances of the people of Manipur.

“We need to consider some amendments to the Act by modifying existing provisions or inserting new provisions, whereby it could be made more humane giving due regards to the protection of basic human and civil rights,” he had said. 

New Delhi, December 4
Mr Justice Mukundakam Sharma was today sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court by the Lt-Governor, Mr A. R. Kidwai, at a function here today.

Mr Justice Sharma, a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court, took the oath of office and secrecy at a simple function organised by the Delhi Government at Raj Niwas, the official residence of the Lt-Governor.

Mr Justice Sharma represented different governments of north-eastern states and the Indian Railways after starting his practice as an advocate at the Guwahati High Court under the Bar Council of Assam and Nagaland.

He was appointed a judge of the Guwahati High Court in 1994 and was later transferred to the Patna High Court before joining the Delhi High Court in 1994.

A large number of sitting as well as retired judges of the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, judicial officers, Bar Council members and office-bearers of various Bar Associations besides the Delhi Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit, and her Cabinet colleagues were among those who attended the function. 

New Delhi, December 4
Pre-service teacher education system in the country has failed to keep pace with the changing realities of school education and the system of in-service education has not been institutionalised so far. As a result, it is imperative to have systemic reforms in pre-service teacher education. Besides, there is an urgent need to institutionalise in-service education.

This was the unanimous opinion of experts at a day-long seminar, “Systemic Reforms in Teacher Education,” organised by the Apeejay Stya Research Foundation (ASERF), here today. Leading educationists, like Prof A. K. Sharma, former Director, NCERT, Prof B. P. Khandelwal, former Chairman, CBSE, and former Director of NIEPA, Prof R. P. Singh, former Dean, Department of Education, Delhi University, and Dr Vijaylakshmi Khandavilli, country coordinator, USEFI, were prominent among those who participated in the seminar at the PHDCCI House here.

Educators from leading colleges and schools also debated on programmes for the preparation of school teachers as there was an acute shortage of good, qualified and right kind of teachers.

Faridabad, December 4
The Haryana government’s legislation barring elected representatives of local bodies who have more than two children is still haunting them even though it was repealed about six months ago.

Recently, the district administration recommended DNA test of a sarpanch following after allegations that he had three children when he got elected to the post.

It is claimed that the complaint had been registered when the rule was in place and the matter was still pending.

As per the sources, the case pertains to the sarpanch of Banchari village of Hodal sub-division in the district in which a complaint had been lodged with the authorities that the sarpanch Ashok Kumar should be dismissed from the post as he had been father of three children, which was against the provisions of the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act. According to the provisions, any elected representative of a local body, including the sarpanch of a village, is liable for removal from the post if he has more than two children. The Act was brought into effect by the government to promote family planning in the rural as well as urban areas.

While this rule claimed several heads during the past many years, it was repealed by the state government this year, which exempted the elected representatives from this condition. But in the above stated case, the complaint was registered just weeks before the Act was withdrawn.

While no one told how the sarpanch could be made to take such a test and who would bear the expenses, it is wondered why the legal counsellors of the government had submitted the report about the repealment of the Act, which says no action could be sought or taken on the basis of such an allegation.

New Delhi, December 4
The mercury rose sharply to 13.1 degree Celsius today even as an overcast sky threw up the possibility of rain in some parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

The rise in minimum temperature to 13.1 degree, four degrees above normal, was a sharp relief for Delhiites who have been experiencing night temperatures below nine degree Celsius for the whole of last week.

The relief from the chill could, however, be shortlived with the Met Office forecasting a fall in night temperatures in the next three to four days.

The maximum temperature also dropped to 23 degree Celsius today from 25 degree yesterday.

The weatherman said under the influence of the western disturbance the plains of Northwest India were likely to experience scattered rain or thundershowers from this evening.

As a result, while night temperatures would stay at around 13 to 14 degree, the day temperatures were likely to fall during the next two to three days, it said.

The forecast predicts a cloudy sky with the possibility of rain in some areas of the Capital during the next 24 hours. 

New Delhi, December 4
The Malviya Nagar-based educationist Prof Devendra Gupta and his family members have allegedly been living in fear for the last few months since he lodged a complaint against an illegal construction over his flat.

The family members alleged that they were attacked a number of times in the past, but no police action has been taken so far in this connection. Strangely, even after the intervention of court in this matter, an FIR is yet to be registered against the suspects.

Prof. Gupta had complaint to the police against an ‘illegal’ construction over his flat and some other ‘illegal’ constructions in the area that were carried out in the connivance of a local builder.

According to Prof Gupta, bunking his busy teaching schedule, he has been running from pillar to post for months in hope of getting justice, but to no avail.

He alleged that he had even lodged a complaint in this regard to the Commissioner of Police, but no initiative had been taken so far.

Prof Gupta alleged, “The local police openly demanded Rs 20,000 to lodge an FIR in this connection. The police had even put pressure on my family to withdraw the complaint against the illegal constructions.” “The floor over my flat is allegedly being used to grow some rare medicinal plants, due to which the occupants of floor do not let anybody go to upper floors. The stare case and the door connected to the roof remain blocked all the time causing a lot of inconvenience to my family members,” he alleged.

New Delhi, December 4
The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police today claimed to have arrested one Dhananjay Kumar in connection with a fraud and cheating case committed with a raw cashew nuts businessman of Kerala.

One Mathew Labban had filed a complaint with the EOW saying that his company was engaged in the trade of processed cashew nuts in Kerala. He alleged that Sushant Puri and Dhananjay Kumar had visited him in October 2005 and had offered him to import raw cashew nuts from Nigeria.

According to the complainant, his company had verbally agreed to buy the material from him. Later, in February 2006, Sushant Puri informed the complainant that the raw cashew nuts were ready to be imported.

Due to high seas sales agreement, the complainant company was supposed to make 80 per cent advance payment of the total invoices value. It allegedly made the advance payment through a Demand Draft.

The complainant added that Sushant Puri had sent the original documents
to his company, which included shipping bills of loading, high seas sales agreements, high seas sales invoices etc and collected a total amount of Rs 58,12,973.

The complainant company further alleged that when the cargo got delayed, it found that documents submitted by Puri were forged. Investigations revealed that Puri was a fraud and had already cheated other raw cashew nut processors in Kerala to the tune of Rs 1.26 crore following the same modus operandi. 

New Delhi, December 4
Police today claimed to have arrested one Amrit Pal Singh near Rohini on charges of being involved in human trafficking case.

Following a tip-off, Amrit, who hails from Gurdaspur in Punjab, was apprehended near Rohini with some forged documents.

He allegedly confessed to having involved in the illegal activities since 2002. He had procured a fake passport from the Jalandhar passport office in the year 2002. 

New Delhi, December 4
In five separate cases, seven people accused of stealing power, including an ‘electricity distributor’, were sent to Tihar Jail for 14 days in judicial custody.

According to a senior official of the BSES-YAMUNA, the total power stolen by the accused persons exceeded 2200 KW.

These cases reinforce the fact that the legal machinery had started taking a serious view of power theft, said the officer.—OC

Noida, December 4
The Noida police teams which had gone to Agra, Bharatpur, Mumbai, Goa, for tracing about two dozen abducted children from Nithari village in Sector 31, Noida, have returned empty-handed.

Some 98 persons, including 30 children, have gone missing from Noida’s six police station areas during 2005 and 2006. The cases pertain to mainly Sector 20 police station and most of the children aged between 3 and 15 years, had gone missing in suspicious circumstances while playing outside their homes.

After having failed to make the police act, the worried parents had appealed to the Union Home Minister after which the Noida police had dispatched teams to Agra, Bharatpur, Mumbai and Goa.

On Friday, the police teams returned from Mumbai empty-handed. Even the record of recovered children from the redlight area in Mumbai was also scrutinised but without success. Teams sent to Agra, Bharatpur had earlier reported failures. In Bharatpur, Agra, Basai, etc, the police had reportedly visited even the camps of criminal tribes like Bawariya, but of no avail.

The parents have, meanwhile, alleged that they had caught some suspects and handed them over to the police who later released them.

Police officials had allegedly been misleading the parents of missing children. While small boys are used as beggars and forced into dhabas, shops, factories, etc, girls are allegedly bought and sold in redlight areas. Some of the missing children from Nathari village are: Rachna, 8, Rimpa, 13, Beena, 14, Payal, 5, Jyoti, 10, Harsh, 3, Nisha, 11, Pushpa, 10, Satinder, alias Max, 6, Deepali, 12, Chandan, 10, Krishna Rai, 12, Neeraj, 12, Neelu, 14 and Subodh, 13.

Greater Noida, December 4
A wave of modernity and prosperity here has changed the lives of eunuchs who flaunt firearms and move in their own cars.

Two groups of eunuchs, who had come to bless a newborn and greet the family on the construction of a new house, respectively, clashed on the issue of jurisdiction in Sector Omega here yesterday. Six persons were wounded.

Soon, the two groups exchanged blows. Subsequently, lathis were used in attacking each other. Gunfire was also exchanged in the clash. The family and the neighbourhood were completely shocked at the turn of events.

A man had built a house in Sector Omega here. His neighbour was blessed with a son recently.

A group of eunuchs from Dadri descended on the scene. Another group of eunuchs came from Dankore and told those from Dadri to retreat as it was “their area”. The exchange of heated words soon led to an attack on each other.

Seeing the situation become explosive, people who had gathered to watch the song-and-dance routine, slipped away. As the Dankore eunuchs were more in number, the Dadri group was beaten up. 

Ghaziabad, December 4
Four members of a family were charred to death in a blaze caused by leakage of LPG in a house in Shanti Nagar, Loni, late on Sunday night. By the time fire tenders reached the spot, the whole house had been gutted.

Ram Vir had been living with his family in a rented house in Shanti Nagar for the last three years. At 8 pm yesterday, Ram Vir’s wife Sunita, 24, was cooking food on a gas burner. Her daughter Kushi, 3, son Vishal, 2, nephew Johny, 18, were all sitting in the kitchen near her.

Soon after some gas started leaking from the cylinder and it caught fire suddenly.—OC

Gurgaon, December 4
Former Chief Minister of Haryana and INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala today upped the ante on the issue of Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and reiterated his party’s stand that it would oppose the acquisition of land for the project.

Mr Chautala, who was here on a personal visit, said that INLD was the first political party to object to the concept of SEZ and that its line was now being toed by other parties in Haryana and other states.

Training his guns on the Congress government in Haryana, he contended that it had ‘failed’ on all fronts.

He said that the law and order in the state has become worse after the Congress assumed power in the state.

He also criticised the government for shortage of power and water in the state and said that it has failed to find solutions to such infrastructural problems.

Referring to Gurgaon, he said that the pace of development in the city had taken a beating since the Congress assumed power.

New Delhi, December 4
The two-day annual cultural fiesta of Birla Vidya Niketan came to an end yesterday with the children from both the junior and senior schools putting up a scintillating performance.

It was a celebration of the human endeavour at its peak as each cultural glimpse underscored the relevance of oneness, unity and love that transcends all barriers.

While on the first day, the Chief Minister of Delhi, Ms Sheila Dikshit, and school patron Mr B.K. Birla was the guest of honour, on the second day it was former Chief Justice of India, Mr R.C. Lahoti, who was the chief guest and Mrs Rajshree Birla was the guest of honour.

As the Chief Minister urged the students to work as a unified team to take Delhi and India to new heights, Mr Lahoti, while pointing out to the significance of word attitude, said that that was the only word which reached a complete 100. He said that students should have the right attitude to achieve 100 per cent in life.