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Now online birth, NEW DELHI, Nov 7: Forget the long queues and waiting for hours to get the birth and death certificates, as now they are available at the click of a mouse. .....more Cyber laboratory to be set up to assist cyber crime cell CHENNAI, Nov 7: With a view to enhancing the investigative capabilities of the police department dealing with ......more Singing Ganesha: Dragon’s shadow over Indian Deepawali LUCKNOW, Nov 7: As if fancy lights and decorations were not enough to pep up Deepawali celebrations, Chinese ....more Rise in gay population in Chennai makes activists worry CHENNAI, Nov 7: Gay population in the ‘conservative’ metropolis of Chennai has been .....more |
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Navy Chief stresses for undersea nuke deterrent capability NEW DELHI, Nov 7: Asserting that undersea nuclear deterrent capability should form the core of a second-strike ......more ‘Cure on Wheels’ speeding ahead on its mission NEW DELHI, Nov 7: Powered by people believing firmly in hoping and dreaming big, the lifeline express, a modern ......more Railway Ministry opposes separate tariff regulator NEW DELHI, Nov 7: The Railway Ministry has sent a cabinet note to the Government strongly opposing the proposal .....more SC directs payment of Rs 50,000 for breach of promise to marry NEW DELHI, Nov 7: The Supreme Court has directed a man to pay Rs 50,000 holding ......more |
Now online birth, death certificates NEW DELHI, Nov 7: Forget the long queues and waiting for hours to get the birth and death certificates, as now they are available at the click of a mouse. The Delhi Municipal Corporation which has recently launched the new scheme not only makes these certificates available online but also couriers it to the people. "The Health Department of the MCD has launched this scheme so that the people will not have to wait in long queues," said Dr S Patnaik, senior MCD official who has developed the software. People can collect birth and death certificates online from www.Mcdonline.Gov.In by using plastic money or credit cards, he said and added already nine certificates had been issued using the technology and everyday more and more people are availing the online service. He said that of the 450 hospitals in Delhi, 281 city hospitals and nursing homes had empanelled with the MCD website during the past one year and they were updating the data everyday regarding birth and death happening in their premises. This data was being compiled by the deputy health officers of 12 MCD zones. The hospitals issue an authorisation slip regarding such happenings and individuals could fill the form for birth/death certificate online using the particulars mentioned in the slip. The individuals can pay Rs 20 as fee for birth certificate and Rs 10 for death certificate along with a courier fee of Rs 10 in each case by using credit card and the MCD would send the certificate to their home, he informed. Any change and correction in the names, spellings in the certificate could also be done online. "Delhi on an average witnesses about 2.5 lakh birth and 60,000 to 70,000 deaths every year and this online service will make the registration of birth and deaths very easy," he said. Dr Patnaik said this service was available only in the MCD areas and the whole of Delhi could not be covered as NDMC and Delhi cantonment did not have such service. He also called for a coordination between the various agencies to make this service available to all. Meanwhile, the MCD has also launched a software which would help in collection of data regarding spread of notifiable and dangerous diseases within the city so that quick and effective remedial action could be taken. Dr Patnaik said that all the 281 hospitals would also inform the MCD about 48 diseases online inlcuding their symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Information regarding dangerous diseases like HIV/AIDS and SARS could also be collected through this system. "We have received crucial information like spread of dengue in the capital by using this software. This will not only help in doing epidemiological studies but devising effective strategy for controlling the disease in the beginning itself." The MCD is also digitalising all the information about birth and deaths in the city. All the records of the year 1998 to 2001 have already been computerised while the rest is in the process of being digitalised, he informed. It company Wipro had recently signed an agreement with the MCD for developing hospital information service. More and more hospitals were being linked to this service, he added. (UNI) |
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Cyber laboratory to be set up to assist cyber crime cell CHENNAI, Nov 7: With a view to enhancing the investigative capabilities of the police department dealing with cyber crimes and white collar crimes, a cyber laboratory will soon be set up to assist the activities of the cyber crime cell. "The laboratory will further enhance the investigative capabilities of the cyber crime cell, attached to the Central Crime Branch (CCB)," Chennai City Police Commissioner R Nataraj said while inaugurating a workshop on combating counterfeiting organised by the Manufacturers’ Association of Information Technology (MAIT) here yesterday. The one-day workshop was aimed at sensitising the law enforcement agencies like the police, customs and excise on the increasing counterfeit crimes in IT products and services in the country. "As counterfeits in software products are intangible to detect, the state police have to learn to handle such cases related to the it act 2004 passed recently," he averred. At present, the CCB deals with nearly 1,400 cases of cyber and white collar crimes. "But we have to restrict our investigation to such cases," he said and added that the newly-created economic offences wing had the mandate to investigate into sophisticated cyber crimes. "More than awareness on such crimes, the important aspect is the police acquiring advanced expertise with the help of the IT industry," he added. Besides software piracy, hardware materials were also being counterfeited and hence there was an urgent need to be sensitised by training with technology support from the it sector, Mr Nataraj said. Labelling the IT counterfeit and cyber crime as the crime of the 21st century, Tamil Nadu IT Secretary Vivek Harinarain said such crimes were 400 times more in value than robberies and other physical crimes in the world. "Counterfeit refers to unlawful production and sale of goods and the magnitude and size of counterfeit crimes in IT products and services is yet to be realised in full terms," he added. Quoting conservative estimates, Mr Vivek said about seven per cent of goods traded in the world was counterfeit. The problem of jurisdiction was also there as goods were produced, transported and sold in different places. "This problem cannot be addressed merely through judicial intervention as criminals will always find loopholes. Instead other areas have to be explored to combat this menace," he said. Prevention of cyber crimes through awareness workshops should be followed up by imparting vigorous training to enforcement agencies with change in mindset, besides enforcing stringent laws, he said. He cautioned that considering that over ten lakh people were employed in the IT industry in the country, they were sure to face economic death if counterfeit crimes in software products and services were not checked in time. (UNI) |
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Singing Ganesha: Dragon’s shadow over Indian Deepawali LUCKNOW, Nov 7: As if fancy lights and decorations were not enough to pep up Deepawali celebrations, Chinese Ganesha’s have flooded the markets to provide you with a wider choice to select festive gifts for friends. After literally invading the Indian markets with fancy lights and decorative lamps during Deepawali festivities about four years ago, the Chinese have taken a step further by launching statues of Ganesha — in all shapes, colour and sizes to catch the fancy of the Indian market. But the Chinese have committed a mistake — instead of placing Lord Ganesha on his ‘mouse’, he has been mounted on a horse. Though such idols are rare. The variety of Ganeshas available are small enough to fit the dash board of your car and big enough to aquire a space in your ‘puja ghar.’ most of the idols are made of plastic or synthetic and cost anything between Rs 40 to Rs 2,500. Made of radium which glows at night, some Ganesha idols are available for Rs 400. "This is quite similar to the radium peppered posters available a few years ago. But a glowing idol looks more impressive," said Sandip Bansal, a wholeseller at Lakad Mandi market. But if the idea is to go for a fancy gift, then there are statues with a built in chip of pre-recorded ‘bhajans’. The ‘bhajans’ recorded in the chip include ‘Ganesh Aarti’ and the famous ‘Vakratunda Mahakaya’ Shloka. If you want to be a little more indulgent, you can buy idols made of marble dust with a fountain attached to it. The fountain, which runs on electricity, showers water on Lord Ganesha’s feet. "But it comes at a cost. For such idols people have to shell out anything between Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000," says Som Sharma of Janpath market here. Shop-keepers procure these idols from Sarrafa bazaar in Mumbai. "Chinese businessmen meet the bulk buyers there and collect specifications. They manufacture the idols as per the specifications only...In Maharashtra it is considered auspicious to buy Ganesha idols with its trunk curved on the left. The Chinese ensure that the trunk in most idols is curved to the left," Sharma added. But some shoppers lamented that the Chinese Ganeshas lack ‘Indian look’. "The features are mongoloid if you pay attention to the details," said Kamal Kapoor who had planned to gift the idols to his employees on the festival. Anything Chinese sells today. Shop-keepers warn that fake Chinese Ganesha idols have also flooded the state markets. "Manufacturers in Meerut have been producing such idols. But if you know well about the original Chinese stuff you can easily find flaws in the finish and the texure of the colour," warned Dharmesh Singh who runs a shop in Badshah Nagar area. (UNI) Rise in gay population in Chennai makes activists worry CHENNAI, Nov 7: Gay population in the ‘conservative’ metropolis of Chennai has been burgeoning much to the concern of social activists. From Swanky shopping malls to the world famous Marina beach, there are 72 "cruising areas" in and around Chennai where the gays regularly meet and pick up their partners. According to a study made by a city-based NGO a few years ago, there are roughly 7,000 identified MSM (Men having Sex with Men) in the city, involved in commercial sex. The gay population has been steadily increasing in Chennai and may well pass the 20,000 mark, including those involved in the pleasure circuit, says Mr A J Hariharan, secretary, Indian Community Welfare Organisation, an NGO. The gay network comprises people from all walks of life and it is very difficult to arrive at an accurate figure as those in the elite society choose to keep their affairs private, he points out. "Ours is truly a secular group with no caste, creed, religion and status dividing us. We have rickshaw-pullers as well as advocates, doctors, bureaucrats and artistes as our members," says Satish (27) called ‘Lalitha’ in the gays’ circle. He has been living together with his gay partner in a portion of his house for the past five years after ‘persuading’ his parents. A post-graduate degree holder in Commerce, he also works as a peer educator, spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS and on the need to use condoms. While AIDS activists are worried about msm being the high risk population, the gays, on the other hand, want the society to understand and accept them in the mainstream. Stressing on the need to "educate the society about homosexuals," Satish points out that gays as well as eunuchs, being driven out of their homes, unwittingly fall into the hands of anti-social elements. "Parents should respect and understand their children’s feelings and provide them social security. This way, we will not be forced into commercial sex, drug trafficking or begging to earn our livelihood," he argues. The MSM have built a strong network among themselves through frequent get togethers. "We even adopt each other as mothers and sisters to provide emotional support if any one of our friends is driven out of his home," says Mohan alias ‘Mohana.’ Twenty five-year-old Mohan, who sports a thick moustache to conceal his "true identity," is living with his large family which depends on his income. While his family believes that he is an employee with a private concern, Mohan daily goes to a "cruising area" in T Nagar to pick up his customers. A commercial sex worker for the past five years, Mohan says he doesn’t have the desire to get married to a woman. "If my family forces me to get into wedlock, I will prefer to walk out of my home rather than doing injustice to a girl," he says. "We also have feelings such as spirituality, parental care and family affection. But unfortunately, we are being considered as mere sex objects," regrets young Kumar alias ‘Nagma’ who is into commercial sex to support his family. Though his aged parents are aware of his activities, they could not raise objections as he is the only breadwinner of the family. While the pleasure circuit restricts itself to limited partners, those in the commercial circuit attend to an average of three to four customers per day either through direct contacts or pimps. "It is a social taboo if a boy puts his arm around a girl, but if he does the same with another boy it is considered as healthy friendship," Mr Hariharan points out. Most of the schools, colleges and hostels have common toilets and bathrooms providing opportunities for boys and girls to take interest in their own sex, he reasons out. Admitting that the growing population of homosexuals is of serious concern in a country which already has more than four million HIV/AIDS affected people, Mr Hariharan calls for the urgent intervention of Government and NGOs to create awareness among the public in this regard. (UNI) |
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SC directs payment of Rs 50,000 for breach of promise to marry NEW DELHI, Nov 7: The Supreme Court has directed a man to pay Rs 50,000 holding him liable 16 years after he breached a repeated promise to marry a girl, who submitted herself and became pregnant. The girl would be immediately paid Rs 10,000, while the rest would be kept in fixed deposit in the name of the child born from the relationship, a bench of Justice P V Reddi and Justice P P Naolekar said in a recent judgement. Deelip Singh was convicted and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by a Bihar trial court on charges of rape holding that the girl was minor and consent for a sexual relation was obtained by means of false promises of marriage. The Patna High Court had affirmed the trial court’s order. After examining trial court records and the statement of the prosecutrix, who is now married and had delivered a girl child from the said pregnancy, the Apex Court said though the accused wanted to marry her, he was forcibly taken away by his elders from the village as she belonged to a different caste. The bench said facts and statement of the girl indicated that Singh might have been prompted by a genuine intention to marry which did not materialise on account of the pressure exerted by his family elders. "It seems to be a case of breach of promise to marry rather than a case of false promise to marry," it said while acquitting Singh. But, the bench did not lose sight of his reprehensible conduct of persuading her to have physical relations on the promise of marriage. Though the man has extricated himself from the clutches of penal law, his act left behind a trail of misery, ignominy and trauma for the woman, the Apex Court said and added "the only solace is that she married subsequently." It was informed that a girl child was born to the woman from the illicit relationship and is now 14-years-old. "Though there is no evidence to establish beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant made a fradulent promise to marry, there can be no denial of the fact that the appellant did commit breach of the promise to marry, for which he is prima facie accountable for damages under civil law," Justice Reddi, writing for the bench, said. Singh said that he was prepared to pay Rs 50,000 by way of monetary compensation irrespective of his acquittal. It said "though the said amount is not an adequate compensation, we are not inclined to call upon the appellant to pay more for more than one reason: First, the appellant has been in jail for about two years now; secondly, he belonged to a backward class and his family is not affluent; Lastly, the incident took place about 15 years back and in the meantime, both the prosecutrix and the appellant married. In these circumstances, we accept the offer of the appellant." The bench directed handing over the draft deposited by the appellant in the Apex Court to the Area Magistrate where the woman now resides. The court said Rs 10,000 will be paid to the woman immediately and the rest would be put in fixed deposit in the name of the child born from the illicit relationship, the Apex Court said. (PTI) |
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Increase number of schools, improve standards: Niepa NEW DELHI, Nov 6: Large scale irregularities currently going on in the garb of admission process for nursery and kg classes can only be curbed if the number of schools are increased and the wide gap in standards among them reduced, Niepa has said. "There should not be wide disparity in the standard of education imparted in different schools. It is this gap that makes parents converge and crowd on a few schools creating a scramble for the seats," National Institute of Education Planning and Administration stated on affidavit in Delhi High Court. This results in concomitant evils of unaccounted capitation fees and mock interviews of children and questionable interaction sessions with parents, it said. The response came on a petition challenging admission test and interview of three to five year-old children for admission to nursery and kg classes and seeking to implement a policy giving preference to admitting students living within three km radius of a school through ‘draw of lots’. "The present methods adopted by various schools leave much to be desired. The norms, standards and methods adopted vary from school to school... There is no uniformity and no prescribed standard and methods." "Undoubtedly and undeniably there are aberrations committed by the management of even the most prestigious schools. The problem is complicated by the fact that there is an acute disparity between the demand and supply for good value oriented standard schools." Meanwhile, the Delhi Government has said that the policy of calling parents with their wards for ‘observation of child and interaction with the parents could not be treated as test/interview. The Delhi public school society has opposed the idea of granting admission to children through draw of lots, saying it will purely become a game of chance and is in the nature of gambling. "If a child is admitted on the basis of draw of lots, the only sufferer is the child and institution due to of lots does not recognise any interaction, evaluation or assessment," society’s officiating secretary Sheila Markan stated on affidavit, filed through counsel Punit Mittal. "School Education therefore should not be compared or made to appear like a housing scheme or selection of lottery number." It was stated that schools run by the institution did not conduct any test for admission to lkg or pre-primary classes but a basic assessment process was not only necessary but essential to make assessment in regard of awareness of the child. The interaction with the parents was for the purposes of assessing the student’s cultural and family background, and not in a manner of interview or test as misunderstood and opposed by the petition filed by three parents, the affidavit said. The manner of assessment should be best left to the school itself. Draw of lots could not be a means of selection of a child for admission. In fact, the draw of lots makes the selection of students more difficult and it becomes more of a chance that was not in the interests of the child, institution or education as a whole, it added. "The scheme as suggested by the petitioners is neither feasible nor in the interest of the students," the affidavit stated. On the other hand, public study group on central advisory board of education committees has suggested various steps to reduce the number of applications that schools were flooded with, which prompted them to resort to selection and sorting of children causing tremendous psychological pressure and stigma on children as well as their parents. It was suggested that neighbourhood policy should be followed, schools should not ask unnecessary questions, transparent draw of lot/distribution of seats through resident welfare associations could be done, in case of interactions children should not be called and most importantly Government should open more schools for children excess of seats available in neighbourhood schools, even private groups and NGOs could be told to start primary schools. While paediatricians had warned that admission tests and interviews of little children as well as coaching in prepatory schooling was harmful for them. Nursery and Kg admission procedures of many leading schools in the capital put very young children to gruelling tests and interviews, including elements of formal learning like numbers, and alphabets which the kids should actually be learning in subsequent years, the doctors said. On August 31, the High Court had issued notice to Attorney General Milon Banerjee seeking his assistance for smoothening the admission procedure to nursery classes. The Judges also directed all bodies/individuals/schools who were interested in assisting the court on the issue to file their submissions in the form of affidavits. On September 22, the Centre had informed the court that it was considering the issue very seriously and urgently. Banerjee and Additional Solicitor General Amrender Saran said inputs on the systems/procedures from foreign countries were also being collected. On October 4, prompted by the school admission frenzy, the Government had informed the High Court that it was consulting various experts and agencies concerned to hammer out a solution to the vexed problem. It sought time to come out with detailed suggestions on the issue after consulting psychologists and sociologists besides all departments concerned. (UNI) Chennai’s residents pin hopes on north east monsoon CHENNAI, Nov 7: This is one north east monsoon that people in Chennai are hoping will break in full fury. For a special reason too. They don’t want another year of suffering by running around with pots looking for enough drinking water to quench their thirst. Their hopes, as it appears so far, will not be dashed this time, going by the heavy rain that lashed Chennai last evening and more of it forecast over the next two days under the influence of a well marked low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal. The city folks’ hopes were raised when the north east monsoon, the duration of which is for three months, till December 15, broke out on time in the second week of October. The rains, which lashed many parts of Tamil Nadu, especially the southern districts, were not so kind to the water-starved city of Chennai until last evening. For the last one year, the State Government has been facing the uphill task of fulfilling the drinking water needs of the city. By drawing water through borewells outside the city in areas like Thiruvanmayur and nearby places like Neyveli, the residents are being supplied their daily needs through water tankers. This was so even as the three reservoirs— Red Hills, Poondi and Cholavaram—supplying drinking water to the city were literally empty. The Jayalalithaa Government was even forced to seek assistance from the Centre to mitigate the city’s drinking water crisis as well as the drought in other parts of the state. It was also forced to turn to the Andhra Pradesh Government for water from the Krishna river as part of the ‘Telugu Ganga’ project. At the time of writing, a paradoxical situation exists in the state regarding the benefits from the active north east monsoon so far. The vigorous monsoon has led to floods in many districts like Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Tiruchirapalli, forcing the State Government to embark on rescue and relief operations, spending from the calamity relief fund. Standing paddy crops have been inundated in Cauvery Delta, which at this time, last year, was hit by drought putting farmers in great distress. Lakhs of acres of standing crop are facing the danger of being decimated. Several villages have been inundated too. Many dams like Amaravathy, Pechiparai, Perunchani, Krishnagiri, Satanur and Thirumurthy are almost full. But the situation in the city’s reservoirs is still far from satisfactory. However, there is hope as the inflow into the Red Hills, Poondi and Cholavaram reservoirs has just begun and there is a good chance that these reservoirs will become full before the north east monsoon withdraws by December 15. The situation is still "delicate but better than what it was this time last year," according to officials in the metrowater department. In the last 48 hours, since it really started pouring in Chennai city, Red Hills has received 12 cm, Cholavaram 9 cm, Poondi 6 cm and another source of drinking water supply, the Chembrambakkam lake, 7 cm of rain. Red Hills has had an inflow of 9000 cusecs in the last two days, Poondi 66 cusecs and Cholavaram 230 cusecs of water, raising hopes of the city tiding over the drinking water crisis through the north east monsoon this year. The combined storage in these three reservoirs was 7412 mcft. The State Government is also mitigating the water famine in the city by bringing water from the Veeranam lake as part of the contentious new Veeranam project. And much to the triumph of the State Government and the joy of chennites, the lake is full, thanks to the monsoon rains. (UNI) |
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