DELHI

THE HINDU

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2012

Pages 4, 5 & 8 More Regional Advertisements: Pages 6, 7 & 8

CITY

Young man crushed under train

NEW DELHI: A young man was

crushed under a train at Azadpur here on Thursday. The police are trying to ascertain if it was a case of suicide. The man was apparently crossing the road while listening to music on headphones when the incident took place around 4-45 p.m. We have come across an eyewitness in the case whose statement is being recorded. We found a PAN card from his pocket, issued in the name of Satish. Preliminary investigations have suggested that he was a resident of Paschimpuri, said a police ofcer. The ofcer said the eyewitness account suggested that it could be a suicide, but all possibilities were being probed.

JNU Students Union elections this month

After an intense stand-off between the administration and students
Vijetha S.N
NEW DELHI: Almost two months after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of students union elections at Jawaharlal Nehru University here and after an intense stand-off between the administration and students organisations marked by protests and hunger strikes, the university will nally be holding the elections in February. The Vice-Chancellor has told us that we can hold the elections by February end and a grievance redressal forum, a requirement to hold the elections as per the new norms, will be set up at the earliest, said Students Federation of India vicepresident Zico Dasgupta. According to the Supreme Courts guidelines released in December last, the elections had to be conducted within months of the university reopening and the administration was unsure whether elections could be conducted almost at the end of the academic year. Therefore, they had asked the students to wait for legal conrmation before going ahead with the elections. However, the students, who had not seen an elected union for almost four years

Battered baby still on life support

She is suffering from septicaemia
Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI: The condition of the battered two-year-old baby girl who has been battling for life at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences Trauma Centre here has neither deteriorated nor improved in the past 24 hours, said doctors on Thursday. The only positive development is that the childs X-ray shows that the chest has been cleared of pneumonic patches, though her culture shows presences of infection in the chest, brain and blood, said

Pakistani national arrested

NEW DELHI: A teenaged

Pakistani national was arrested near Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Wednesday while he was loitering around in the vicinity. Nineteen-year-old Aftab Khan was loitering suspiciously near Rashtrapati Bhavan around 9-30 p.m. when Police Control Room staff caught him. Aftab, who claimed to be a resident of Islamabad, purportedly told the police that he had lost his passport and visa in Ambala and wanted to meet the President to seek her help. He was arrested under the Foreigners Act.

were angered at the prospect of losing out on another year. Camping for almost a week outside the ViceChancellors ofce, they had gone on hunger strike demanding an immediate commitment from the indifferent administration. However, contending that even their position was precarious, the administration had stood rm and refused to give in to their demands. The hunger strike continued for more than a week before the students nally calmed down after the administration promised to make haste in getting the legal conrmation. After the Vice-Chancellors assurance on Thursday morning, the election commission appointed by us decided to meet on Friday and decide the schedule. According to new rules, polling has to be conducted within 15 days of lling of the nomination papers. We have lost four years and we do not want to lose any more time, said All-India Students Federation member Sandeep. Meanwhile, the news of the upcoming elections was met with jubilation. We will hold a victory march in the university in the night and everyone is invited, announced Zico.

We are administering antibiotics to counter the infection, says doctor

AIIMS Trauma Centre associate professor Dr. Deepak Aggarwal. The child has been suffering from septicaemia, a lifethreatening infection in her blood. She still continues to

be in a state of deep unconsciousness and is very critical, he added. The childs condition had shown a slight improvement late last week and she was even taken off the ventilator. But by Sunday her condition took a turn for the worse and she continues to be on life support system. Her chances of survival are down to 30-40 per cent. We have been draining out the brain uid using a lumbar drain and are administering antibiotics to counter the infection, said Dr. Aggarwal.

Woman arrested on charge of sexual abuse

For pushing teenaged girl into prostitution
Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI: A 25-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with alleged sexual abuse of a teenaged girl who had admitted a two-yearold baby to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences here earlier this month. A total of four persons, including two women, have been arrested so far in this connection. We arrested Arti while carrying out investigation into the teenaged girls sexual abuse case. She has been charged with pushing the girl

MCD employee held

NEW DELHI: A 32-year-old

MCD employee has been arrested for allegedly opening re at a young man causing injuries. The accused suspected the victim of having stolen his puppy. According to police, Karambir alias Sonu and his friends reached Bajitpur village in Bawana in a car and one of them allegedly red a shot at Happy (21). The bullet hit Happy in the left thigh and he survived.

Pachauri is my role model in the eld of environment Power bills in the Capital
I am prepared to work with environment crusader Schwarzenegger: Abhishek
Madhur Tankha
NEW DELHI: Bollywood actor

into prostitution. Arti is known to Sandeep Pandey and his wife Pooja who had been arrested earlier, said a senior police ofcer. Arti, who stays in Munirka, is in a live-in relationship. The teenaged girl had earlier told a Child Welfare Committee that her father would beat her up and abuse her. She then ed home and fell into the hands of an alleged human trafcking gang and was repeatedly sexually abused by several people. Based on her statement, the police had arrested her fa-

ther, Sandeep Pandey and his wife Pooja on Wednesday. Meanwhile, a local court on Thursday remanded the accused to three days police custody. The accused will be interrogated to ascertain their role in the case and about the role of others involved in the crime. Their interrogation will also lead to more information about Raj Kumar who had been staying with the teenaged girl. Raj Kumar is also an important link that could lead us to the baby girls parents, said a senior police ofcer.

to go up from this month

Provisional 5 per cent fuel price adjustment surcharge
Smriti Kak Ramachandran
NEW DELHI: Consumers in the

Two-day music festival

NEW DELHI: Sunaad,

dedicated to promoting and preserving the countrys music and ne arts, is hosting a two-day music festival titled Sangamam-2012 that begins at India Habitat Centre here on February 9. The rst day will see a jugalbandi by Saraswati Rajgopalan and Ustad Saeed Zafar Khan. It will be followed by a performance by Carnatic autist Dr. N Ramani.On the concluding day, the festival will begin with a performance by Carnatic vocalist Kiranavali Vidyasankar. Later, Carnatic vocalist T. V. Sankaranarayanan will give a recital.

DELHI
February Fri (03) Sat (04) Sun (05) Fri (03) Sat (04) Sun (05) Rise 07 09 07 08 07 08 13 49 14 42 15 40 Set 18 01 18 02 18 03 03 10 04 01 04 49

Abhishek Bachchan on Thursday said he is prepared to work with former California Governor and environment crusader Arnold Schwarzenegger in creating public awareness about steps that need to be taken to protect our environment on an international platform. Speaking to the media after receiving the Green Globe Foundation Award for outstanding contribution by a celebrity for his active role in creating widespread awareness on the issues affecting the earth, the elegantly dressed actor said his role model in the eld of environment was undoubtedly The Energy and Resources Institute Director-General R. K. Pachauri whose dissemination about basic things that individuals can do to reduce carbon footprints helped him to become a responsible citizen.Whether you switch off the power or use less air-conditioner at home or ofce, you can certainly make a change. Celebrities the world over are working in this direction and even if two individuals get the right message then all this work is worth the effort. As actors we can lead by example. In the lm industry we have extended support to the Earth Hour. The actor said he was keen

Director-General of The Energy and Resources Institute R. K. Pachauri (right) presenting the Green Globe Award for outstanding contribution by a celebrity to Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan (left) during the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit on Thursday. - PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT
to work in a lm that creates awareness about preserving the environment for the future generation. But we need to have a compelling story. If we make a lm that is boring, then we would not get the audience. Earlier speaking at the award function, Abhishek described Dr. Pachauri as a beacon of light for all those who are keen to do their part in saving the earth. When I was a young student, I was taught not to enjoy myself at the cost of Mother Earth. On my part, I try to do little things like sleeping without an air-conditioner at night. It is nice and cool in Mumbai these days. But I think it is due to the climate change. We can do small things every day that can make a big difference. Switching off your television from the mains can save energy. They say it is only a drop in the ocean, but we forget that it is those drops that make up the ocean. The awardees included journalist Joydeep Gupta for outstanding contribution by a media person, Indian Forest Service Chief Conservation of Forests Alok Kumar Upadhyay on behalf of Government of Madhya Pradesh and Centre for Research on Environmental Development bagged the award for work by a NGO. A green globe was given to Salwan Public School, Gurgaon, for extraordinary contribution by an educational institution.

Capital will have to shell out more for power from this month with the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission on Thursday allowing a provisional 5 per cent fuel price adjustment surcharge for the power distribution companies BRPL, BYPL, TPDDL and NDMC. This means the companies will be able to recover the extra money spent on purchase of power on a quarterly basis. While passing the tariff order this past August, the Commission had agreed to allow fuel price adjustment on a quarterly basis to be implemented from October 2011. Under this adjustment, any variation in fuel cost incurred by the discoms will be passed on to consumers as fuel surcharge every three months. On Thursday, the DERC said it has allowed only a provisional 5 per cent hike and is examining the claims submitted by the companies. The companies had sought an increase in the variable part of the tariff ranging from 9 per cent to 12 per cent, but we have allowed only a provisional 5 per cent. The rest will be decided after

the prudence check is carried out, said a DERC member. The regulator said it will verify the data submitted by the companies in respect of power purchase bills, energy charges etc. before arriving at a nal gure. This is a time consuming process and is being done for the rst time, said the ofcial. The DERC downplayed the increase, pointing out that the consumers will not be saddled with a huge increase in power costs. The 5 per cent increase on the variable part of the tariff will not amount to very much. It will not result in a sharp rise in power costs, said the member.

Disappoint
The provisional raise is, however, expected to disappoint the power distribution companies that have been pressing for a quarterly adjustment of prices. Based on the audited account for the quarter October to December 2011, BRPL, BYPL, TPDDL and NDMC had sought an increase of 10.75, 12.43, 9.12 and 9 per cent respectively. The DERC also hinted that a 22 per cent increase in the tariff announced in August 2011 could also be a reason

for not allowing the quantum of increase as was sought by the discoms. The provisional raise will be effective from February for three months. The discoms have been arguing that they have to pay power generation companies like the NTPC on a monthly basis and the present method of recovery of these expenses takes them at least two years to get their legitimate returns. The process of quarterly reimbursement is prevalent in several States like West Bengal, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Even the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission allows the NTPC to pass on the fuel price adjustment surcharge. With this money the discoms will need to borrow less money on higher interest rates from banks and other nancial institutions, and in the long run, the consumers stand to benet, said a senior discom ofcial. The ofcial said in the power sector fuel prices account for up to 80 per cent costs of power procurement and there has been a sharp rise in fuel prices in the past several years, which has had an impact on the discoms nancial condition.

Conference on disability to promote assistive technology

NEW DELHI: BarrierBreak Technologies is organising the third edition of Techshare India, the countrys only pandisability conference and ex-

hibition, in association with the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) and the Royal National Insti-

tute of Blind People (UK). The two-day event that begins here on February 6 is aimed at promoting assistive technology for people with

disabilities.BarrierBreak Technologies Founder and Techshare 2012s chief organiser Shilpi Kapoor said: In 2008, we invited the world

wide web consortium to speak on accessibility guidelines, which provided inputs to the government guidelines on accessible websites issued in Ja-

nuary 2009. In 2010, we focused on talking ATMs. Subsequently, the RBI passed a regulation that 33 per cent of all ATMs to be made acces-

sible for the differently-abled. Techshare 2012 will focus on making gaming and entertainment accessible for the differently abled.

IN THE CAPITAL TODAY

GENERAL

RELIGION

Lalit Kala Akademi: Indo-US print exhibition, Multiple Encounters, Lalit Kala Akademi galleries, Rabindra Bhavan, 35 Ferozeshah Road, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Latitude 28: Exhibition, Slipping through the cracks, curated by Meera Menezes, F 208 GF, Lado Sarai, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Shrine Empire Gallery: Solo exhibition, Pro.ject 2012.01 by New York-based artist Kiran Chandra, 7 Friends Colony (West), 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Indira Gandhi National Centre

for the Arts: Exhibition, The Embodied Image: Krishna Reddy -- A Retrospective, Twin Art Gallery, C.V. Mess Building, Janpath, 10 a.m. to 5-30 p.m. Triveni Kala Sangam: Exhibition of
sculptures by George K., Shridharani Gallery; Exhibition of paintings by Chander Shekhar Sain, Triveni Gallery, 205 Tansen Marg, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Sri Devi Kamakhsi Mandir:

Special Alankarams ` Andal, A-11, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg.

The Cell Press-TNQ India Distinguished Lectureship Series: Celebrated stem cell
researcher Shinya Yamanaka to speak on ` New Era of Medicine with iPS Cells, Teen Murti Auditorium, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, 4-30 p.m.

CULTURE

Shakuntalam Theatre: Screening

of Hindi lm, Agneepath, Pragati Maidan, 12 noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society: Digital art exhibition by
Anolie Ela Menon, Ra Marg, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Government dispensary, Pitampura; Suprabhat Group: Sangam Park, Delhi Govt. dispensary; Programme of Recovery Group: Dwarka Health Centre, Sector-12; Naya Din Group: Goyala Dairy, C-286, Satya Public School Galli; Prashanti Group: Lord Mahavir School Sector-29, adjacent to Bhramaputra Shopping Complex ; Chetna Group: Delhi Govt. dispensary B1, Block Yammuna Vihar, near Mother Dairy; Shahdara; A.A. Ujala Group: Muktidaan Group: and St Marks Church, Punjabi Bagh West, 7 p.m.

Alcoholics Anonymous: Meetings -- Awareness Group: CD Block Delhi

Published by K. Balaji at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Limited, B-2, Sector 63, Noida, Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P., on behalf of KASTURI & SONS LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Siddharth Varadarajan (Editor responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).
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