'Music trumps stem cell therapy'

NEW DELHI: Having experimented with several new treatments, including stem cell therapy, researchers the world over seem to be falling back on behavioural intervention and music to heal autistic children.

According to Dr Sheffali Gulati, chief of child neurology division at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), there is no conclusive evidence for the role of stem cell therapy in curing the neurodevelopment disorder and reducing its impact.

"Music therapy, on the other hand, is an extension of the behavioural therapies given to such patients. While its effect on cognitive functions is debatable, there is no risk of side-effect. We are starting a research to find out music and instruments that can benefit the most," she said.

Music therapy uses singing, live music making and composition techniques to encourage people to engage in spontaneous and creative musical activities. It is based on the theory that this can lead to positive changes in behaviour and emotional well-being.

Autistic children have difficulty in communication and social adaptation. This leads to inability to express themselves and poor understanding. This often leads to increased anxiety level and tendency to remain withdrawn.

According to medical experts, listening, singing, music-making and rhythmic movements can help by improving auditory perception and associated movement. "Music is an effective medium for non-verbal social exchange. Also, it helps build up positive emotions which further lead to reduced negative behaviours," said a doctor. He said some children on the autism spectrum respond to music, but not voices, in which case a melodic or 'singsong' voice may be preferred. "One can also try different voices and pitches, and gauge a child's reaction," he added.

In Western countries, several experiments have been carried out successfully to improve the cognitive functions in autistic children through music therapy. Some of them are-Tomatis method by Alfred Tomatis delivered by electronic ear and Samonas sound therapy. In some cases, high-frequency (close to 20 kHz), unpredictable modulations from Mozart have also been used. Researchers in India are also looking at identifying local classical music with similar notes.

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Missing boy found hanging from tree, family suspects murder

NEW DELHI: A 14-year-old boy, who went missing a few days back, was found hanging from a tree in Vasant Vihar, south Delhi, on Saturday afternoon.

The body of the boy, Aniket, was spotted by his neighbours in a park in the area. Locals said he was hanging from a shoestring tied to the tree. However, they added, his feet were touching the ground and the noose around his throat wasn't tight because of which they suspect that he was murdered by someone and then hung.

"The string was loose and a piece of wood was kept to support his head so that it did not move," said a relative. Police have registered a case and are now trying to find out the exact cause of death.

The boy's father, Rakesh, a resident of Bhanwar Singh Camp in Vasant Vihar, alleged that Aniket had been missing since a few days. He also added that the boy had recently dropped out of studies and had been keeping bad company. "I asked him not to be with a group of local boys who were involved in illegal activities. He was probably murdered by them," he said. Aniket's family members also suspect that he might have been sexually assaulted before being killed, though the cops have not confirmed it and have sent the body for a postmortem.

The family members added that there were other minor injuries on Aniket's body but the police believe that it could not have been the cause of his death.

Police suspect that the boy might have been murdered over a money dispute.

The cause of death in preliminary investigation has come out to be asphyxiation-death due to deprivation of air. Police said they will also question his friends in this connection.

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Delhi misses date with monsoon

NEW DELHI: The southwest monsoon missed its date with Delhi on Sunday and is not expected till the end of this week. Though parts of the city reported light to medium thundershowers on Sunday night, Met officials said they were pre-monsoon showers.

June 29 is the normal date for monsoon to break over the capital but the system stalled over central India between June 15 and 19 and is running late by around two weeks in parts of the country.

TOI had reported last week that the monsoon would be delayed over Delhi.

"During last week, there was no advance of the monsoon and its northern limit continues to pass through Veraval, Surat, Nashik, Washim, Damoh and Sultanpur. Its western end touched the southern tip of Gujarat on June 15 and has been stuck there since then. From there it crosses the northern part of Maharashtra, cuts through Madhya Pradesh and has moved over the southeastern part of Uttar Pradesh. However, its progress over eastern India also last took place on June 19," said a senior Met official.

However, indications are that the system is finally set to advance further. "Conditions are becoming favourable for the advance of the southwest monsoon into some more parts of Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu the Kashmir during the next 3 to 4 days." said BP Yadav, director, IMD.

He also added that monsoon revival is likely over many parts of east, adjoining central and north peninsula India from July 6 onwards when above normal rainfall activity is expected. West coast is also likely to experience above normal rainfall activity from the beginning of July onwards.

Meanwhile, Delhi will continue to receive isolated light rain. Thundershowers were reported from some part of the city, sources said that this would be partly due to a fresh western disturbance that is expected to affect northwest India around July 2.

"Rain and thundershowers may occur at one or two places over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and east Rajasthan on July 2 and 3. However, monsoon is not expected over Delhi till the end of the first week of July," said Met officials.

No significant change in maximum temperatures is expected over northwest, west and central India till Tuesday and then a slight fall over northwest India.

On Sunday, Delhi's maximum temperature was 39.7 degrees celsius, three degrees above normal while the minimum as 30 degrees celsius, two degrees above normal.

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NDMC plans houses for AAP MLAs, MP

NEW DELHI: NDMC might have a solution to Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal's housing woes. The civic agency has passed a proposal for allotting accommodation to its elected members — two MLAs and one MP — and will send it to the Union home ministry for approval.

New Delhi Municipal Council has written to the ministry thrice since government formation here last year. However, AAP's resignation followed by the Lok Sabha election put the matter on the back burner. A resolution was finally passed in the last meeting of the council on June 20, attended by New Delhi MLA Kejriwal, New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi and Delhi Cantonment MLA Surinder Singh. "We will soon send the proposal to the ministry," said Srivastava.

NDMC officials say that while all its nominated members, appointed by the previous Congress-led governments, have been provided with accommodation, there is no provision to extend the benefit to elected members. In NDMC's 11-member council, there are three elected and four nominated representatives — Tajdar Babar, Ashok Ahuja, IA Siddiqui and Suka Ram.

Chairman Jalaj Srivastava says, "Elected members are part of the council's decision-making body. They need an accommodation in the area as they represent the people living in NDMC areas.

Officials say the matter was taken up by NDMC after Surinder Singh requested for an accommodation in January after becoming a member of the council. Though Kejriwal is still house hunting, which has again attracted attention, he has not made any official request for accommodation to NDMC.

Sources say that if this proposal is passed, NDMC will immediately allot houses to both Singh and Kejriwal. As for Lekhi, sources say she will be allotted a house under the MP quota. "Unlike MPs, MLAs are not entitled to accommodation but can get one as NDMC members if the proposal is approved by the ministry," said an official.

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Arvind Kejriwal won't shift to Civil Lines house

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal has finally decided against shifting to the house in Civil Lines that had been offered to him by Naren Bhiku Ram Jain, son of former Congress leader Bhiku Ram Jain.

Sources indicate that the Kejriwal family is now trying to get back his old flat in Ghaziabad's Kaushambi district, initially allotted to his wife Sunita, who is a revenue department official.

Kejriwal had vacated this flat in January 2014 before moving into the official residence of Delhi chief minister on Tilak Lane.

"It has not been decided where Kejriwal will shift. However, he and his family will be vacating the Tilak Lane residence before the end of July," said Sanjay Singh, senior Aam Aadmi Party member. Party members are also looking for other houses that have been offered by supporters.

"The Kaushambi flat was given up as the family could not retain two flats allotted by the government. Now that the CM house on Tilak Lane will be vacated, Sunita will once again become entitled to the government accommodation," said a source.

Civil Lines house that had been offered to Arvind Kejriwal by Naren Bhiku Ram Jain (TOI file photo)
The Civil Lines house — 4B, Flagstaff Road — has been embroiled in controversy after Naren's brother, Virender, alleged that it was a disputed property and took the matter to court. Even the matter of the house being "offered" to Kejriwal was being questioned with Naren initially claiming that he was not even aware of who was shifting into the house.

The first indication that a house had been found for Kejriwal came through his tweet on June 20: "I have finally decided upon a house offered by Sh Naren Jain in Civil Lines area. Thanks Naren ji".

Initially Naren said he was not aware of who the tenant in the house would be but the same evening he said that the house was indeed being rented out to Kejriwal. He, however, refused to disclose the amount of rent, claiming "it would be in thousands but discounted as Kejriwal is a celebrity". All this while, Kejriwal's team maintained that the house had been offered to them for a rent of Re 1 per month.

A day later, Virender alleged that the property was disputed and hence could not be rented or sold. At this point, Naren said that he would have rented the house to Kejriwal for Re 1 per month but due to his brother's allegation, he would have Kejriwal live in the house as his guest.

However, AAP would pay for the renovation of the house. "The estimate for that was around Rs 6 lakh initially but when work started, we calculated that it would be much lower," said a party source.

However, even the renovation work had stopped as Naren waited for clarification on the matter from the high court.

READ ALSO: NDMC plans houses for AAP MLAs, MP

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Blame game starts, but no accountability fixed

NEW DELHI: North Delhi Municipal Corporation, immediately after the collapse, suspended two officials and ordered an inquiry. But every time after such a collapse in Delhi, officials are suspended and then later quietly reinstated. Even this time, the corporation officials - unwilling to come on record - are falling back on a technicality as they reason that no structure had come up on the ground on the vacant plot and hence they couldn't have taken any action. In fact, they are accusing the cops of not having done their job.

A building was demolished 20 days ago and digging started to construct a basement without any building plan sanction. How could this escape the notice of the corporation officials and how can they argue that they couldn't have intervened?

In fact, Tulsi Nagar — an unauthorized regularized colony - has many haphazardly constructed five-six storey houses, not allowed under the building by-laws. It is not difficult to guess how these structures have mushroomed, certainly not without the connivance of the civic officials and cops. Delhi Fire Services chief AK Sharma, after taking stock of the situation, said: "The structures in this area aren't safe. They are constructed randomly and the entire area is in a danger zone."

Will the corporation learn any lessons or will it once again get away without fixing accountability? In the past such building collapse cases, suspended officials were back on duty in a few months — Uttam Nagar (2011) and Chandni Mahal (2011) are prime examples (see box). However, Karol Bagh zone deputy commissioner Dharmendra Kumar, who was present at the site, blamed the cops, saying the beat constable is also responsible for reporting such violations to the corporation. "If digging is taking place, the beat constable has to report to the corporation," he said.

Replying to allegations that they were late in reaching the spot and arrived only around 10 am, one-and-a-half hour after the collapse, he said: "By 9:30am, the sanitation staff had rushed to the spot. But the earthmovers and heavy machinery took time to reach as the lanes had to be cleared."

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For them, the world collapsed

NEW DELHI: Mohd Naeem was on his terrace after taking a bath on Saturday morning when the ground beneath him shook and in the next few moments, everything that he owned and loved, was lost. Naeem's wife and three kids died when a four-storey building in Inderlok's Tulsi Nagar collapsed. Naeem (39) is admitted to Hindu Rao Hospital and remained unconscious for most of the day.

Another resident, Abdul Rashid (38), lost his two kids and wife in the collapse. He has suffered injuries on his hip and shoulder. Doctors say that he was unconscious and did not know anything about his family till 8pm.

"They were unconscious when they were brought to the hospital. Both are stable but Naeem suffered a serious head injury and is under observation," said Dr R B Mittal, medical superintendent, Hindu Rao Hospital.

Rashid's brother-in-law, Mohd Ateeb, rushed from Seelampur to the hospital on hearing about the incident. "My wife had spoken to her brother just last night and now she is in a deep shock. I will now go to Acharya Shree Bhikshu Hospital to collect the bodies of his two kids". Rashid's kids, Abdul Adeeb (7) and Shabba (5), were choked to death in the building collapse.

Most people were either sleeping or had just woken up when the incident occurred. "I woke up a few minutes before the tragedy and was brushing my teeth. I heard a rumbling sound and rushed outside. To my horror, the four-storey building was coming down and in a few seconds there was a huge dust cloud," said Mohammad Chand (21), an eyewitness.

As the news spread in the locality, residents rushed the spot to help the trapped victims. Mohd Shakeel, elder brother of Naeem, lives just two lanes away from the building that collapsed. He had just reached his workplace when his 12-year-old son came running with the news.

"I work in the nearby sweet shop. My son came running and told me that Naeem's house had collapsed. I rushed to the spot without wasting a moment," said Shakeel.

Anwar Khan (24), who lives a lane away from the collapsed building said, "My father leaves for work around 8.30am every day. I was taking out the bike parked inside the house. Suddenly, I heard a deafening sound and thought a blast had happened. I ran in the same direction as the others to check. On reaching the spot, we started removing the debris and saw kids trapped inside. The police and ambulance was called".

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'Emergency services reacted late'

NEW DELHI: A loud rumbling sound jolted Mohd Mujahid out of sleep around 8.30 on Saturday morning. It took him a few seconds to gather himself. The 27-year-old then rushed out after telling his wife not to let their three children go out and saw a cloud of dust as high as his first-floor house.

Sensing a disaster he started removing debris frantically to save people who might be trapped under it. "After a few minutes, I saw bodies of two children," said Mujahid (27), who lives just opposite the collapsed building.

Not only people from the colony but many Good Samaritans from other areas also came forward to help the victims. One of the neighbours called the ambulance and cops at 9.15am. By then locals had already brought seven bodies out of the rubble.

Government authorities-police, fire department and corporation officials-arrived almost two hours after the collapse, claimed the residents. Corporation and police officials said narrow lanes and congestion in the colony forced them to wait outside the lane as their machines couldn't enter.

However, residents blamed the laxity of the officials for the death toll. "We had already rescued four unconscious children and two men. The body of a woman was also found. Police, firefighters and the disaster management team reached the spot after 10am," claimed Mohd Ikram, a resident of Tulsi Nagar.

A relative of a victim said had the volunteers not acted on time, the injured would also have choked to death. "The civic agencies are responsible for the deaths and the officials should face strict action," said an inconsolable Mohd Shakeel, brother of Naeem who has not only lost his family in the collapse but was also seriously injured.

Many blamed the lethargic response by the departments for the death toll. "Police and firefighters came around 10.30am. For more than two hours locals tried to help in every possible way to save the victims trapped in the wreckage. Maybe some of the lives could have been saved had the government agencies reached on time," said Rehan Alam (23), one of the volunteers.

Most of them had taken leave from work or closed their shops to help. Mohammad Faiyad (20), a resident of Tri Nagar, rushed to the spot immediately after he came to know about the incident from his doctor whom he had visited on Saturday morning.

The officials clearing the debris said special live detection machines were being used to check for any possible survivor. "Till now, we have not been able to find any other victim trapped inside. But we are not going to leave anything to chance. Locals say there could be more bodies," he said at 5pm on Saturday.

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2 IITians open tea cafe chain in NCR; looks to VC funding

NEW DELHI: Quitting high flying jobs in the US, two IITians have joined hands to start a tea cafe chain 'Chaayos' in the NCR region and are looking to raise venture capital to open nearly 50 odd stores across the country.

Currently, there are five cafes with the theme 'Experiments with Chai' in Gurgaon and Noida and five more would be opened by the end of this year.

"We already have raised one round of angel investment of over Rs 2 crore from Powai Lake Ventures, led by Zishaan Hayath who is an angel investor. We are planning to go in for institutional round towards end of this year," said Nitin Saluja, founder of Chaayos.

The chain plans to add another 50 cafes in the next two years by covering at least two more cities and increase penetration in Delhi NCR region.

"We are targeting cities with lots of young population," he said.

Talking about USP of Chaayos, Saluja, an IIT Bombay graduate, said that they give customer the flexibility to customise their chai in their own way.

"Customers can customize their chai in over 12,000 ways depending on the various add-on choices they make," he said.

The chain's co-founder, Raghav Verma, an IIT Delhi graduate, said the chai cafe offers over 25 interesting tea flavours and some delightful tea-snacks.

"We have wide range of varieties. It starts from traditional desi-chai to Kangra tea to unique aam-papad and harimirch-chai," Verma said.

"Since India is a tea-drinking nation and we believe that Chaayos can grow to over 1000 cafes in next few years," said Saluja.

In order to allow patrons to enjoy its chai at their homes, the chai chain is also looking to sell merchandise including adrak-tusli chai, desichai, green tea, chai masala and chaimug.

"We will be selling our merchandise from our outlets, starting next month," he said.

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Delhi Police station heads to get Toyota Innovas

NEW DELHI: The 180 police stations across Delhi are set to be equipped with the swifter, roomier and cool-looking Toyota Innova vehicles, with the staid old Gypsies being relegated to the background.

Delhi Police already have around 600 of these multi-utility vehicles being used as mobile patrolling vans. Now the Innovas are set to be given to the inspectors heading each of the police stations in the national capital.

Delhi Police have requested the union home ministry to provide Innovas to all station house officers, sources told IANS.

The police force has sent a proposal in this regard to the home ministry for final approval.

The station house officers (SHOs) have been using the white-coloured Maruti Gypsy vehicles for travelling and patrolling in their respective jurisdiction areas. The 180 police stations have a combined strength of 80,000 personnel.

The Innovas will come as a boon, as each vehicle can carry up to 10 people, are faster and the mileage is also better, the sources told IANS.

However, the old Maruti Gypsies will not be discarded.

They will be used by the other two inspectors in each police station. The station house officer is the seniormost of the three inspectors, the other two are an anti-terrorist officer (ATO) and an investigation officer.

In the absence of the SHO, the two other officers look after his work by turn, day and night.

Each police station also has two other Gypsies - one used as a quick response team (QRT) vehicle and another as an emergency response vehicle (ERV). These two vehicles are stationed at market places or any vulnerable place round the clock.

The Innova will be an additional vehicle in a police station, which would be welcome as the other officials rarely get a police vehicle to do their work in.

An inspector posted as investigating officer at a police station told IANS that he never got an official four-wheeler to do his running around in.

The officials would usually commute to investigation or crime spots using their own personal two-wheelers like motorbikes, or even for patrolling.

"I use my personal car, or sometimes I drive my motorcycle to reach the crime spot," an officer, who did not wish to be named, told IANS.

Innovas equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) are now being used as police control room (PCR) patrolling vehicles.

Until last year, the mobile PCR vans used to be Gypsies or Qualis vehicles.

"The Innovas are more spacious than the Gypsy. In terms of speed and mileage, they are also far better than the old vehicles," said the officer.

The maintenance cost of the old Gypsies is also high, and it is difficult to find good mechanics, added the officer.

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Two held for raping two Tanzanian women

NEW DELHI: Two men, in their late 20s, have been arrested for raping two Tanzanian women here, police said on Saturday.

Kunal and Satish, residents of Shastri Nagar and RK Puram respectively, were arrested from the house of a common friend in south Delhi's Sarojini Nagar area after the two women made a call to police at 4.30pm on Friday.

The complainants told police they were taken to the house and raped by the two men.

Police said the men were known to the women, and that an argument on a trivial issue took place following which the women called the police.

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4-storey building collapses in north Delhi, 1 killed

NEW DELHI: A four-storey building collapsed in Inderlok area in North Delhi on Saturday morning and some persons are feared to be trapped under the rubble.

One woman, who was rescued from the rubble, was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

4 people have died due to the collapse of the structure, according to TV reports.

While around 10 people have been rescued from the debris, some other people are believed to be trapped under the debris.

"The building was around 50 years old and a number of families lived there. 8 to 10 people have been rescued from the debris so far. Search and rescue operations are on. Some more may be trapped in the rubble although the number cannot be ascertained as of now," deputy commissioner of police (north) Madhur Verma said.

Rescue operations at the site of the collapse (ANI photo)

According to fire officials, they got a call at around 9am about a building collapsing at Tulsi Nagar in Inderlok, following which four fire tenders were rushed to the spot for the rescue operations.

The incident took place in a congested locality and seems to have been caused by construction work on an adjacent plot, a fire official said.

Site of building collapse in Delhi (ANI photo)

(With inputs from PTI)

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Building collapses in Delhi, six injured

NEW DELHI: Four people were killed when a four-storey building collapsed in Inderlok area in North Delhi on Saturday.

Twelve people were rescued from under the debris and rushed to hospitals, police said.

While three people were brought dead at Bara Hindu Rao Hospital, one person was brought dead at Acharya Bhikshu Hospital.

"Five people were brought to our hospital out of which three were brought dead. Two others were injured and they are being treated," said Dr RB Mittal, medical superintendent, Bara Hindu Rao Hospital.

Rescue operations at the site of the collapse (ANI photo)

According to fire officials, they got a call around 9am about a building collapsing at Tulsi Nagar in Inderlok, following which four fire tenders were rushed to the spot for the rescue operations.

The incident took place in a congested locality and seems to have been caused by construction work on an adjacent plot, a fire official said.

"The building was around 50 years old and a number of families lived there," said deputy commissioner of police (north) Madhur Verma.

Site of building collapse in Delhi (ANI photo)

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4-storey building collapses in north Delhi, 4 people dead

NEW DELHI: Four people were killed when a four-storey building collapsed in Inderlok area in North Delhi on Saturday.

Twelve people were rescued from under the debris and rushed to hospitals, police said.

While three people were brought dead at Bara Hindu Rao Hospital, one person was brought dead at Acharya Bhikshu Hospital.

"Five people were brought to our hospital out of which three were brought dead. Two others were injured and they are being treated," said Dr RB Mittal, medical superintendent, Bara Hindu Rao Hospital.

Rescue operations at the site of the collapse (ANI photo)

According to fire officials, they got a call around 9am about a building collapsing at Tulsi Nagar in Inderlok, following which four fire tenders were rushed to the spot for the rescue operations.

The incident took place in a congested locality and seems to have been caused by construction work on an adjacent plot, a fire official said.

"The building was around 50 years old and a number of families lived there," said deputy commissioner of police (north) Madhur Verma.

Site of building collapse in Delhi (ANI photo)

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10 killed in building collapse in north Delhi

NEW DELHI: Ten people including five children and three women were killed while two others injured when a 50-year-old dilapidated four-storeyed building on Saturday collapsed in a congested area in north Delhi, police said. Two injured persons, who were rescued from under the debris are recuperating in the hospital, police said.

"Ten people including five children and three women have been killed in the building collapse while two persons have been injured. Rescue operations are still on and debris is being removed," said Deputy commissioner of police (North) Madhur Verma.

An assistant junior engineer and a junior engineer of NDMC's Karol Bagh zone have been suspended, NDMC PRO Yogendra Singh Mann said, adding that an inquiry has been ordered into the incident in Inderlok area.

"The commissioner has ordered an inquiry into the incident under Additional Commissioner (Engineering) of the corporation and errant civic officials in this connection will not be spared, if found guilty of any irregularity," he said.

NDMC officials suspect construction work at an adjacent building may be one of the reasons behind the building collapse.

"A notice was also sent to the neighbouring plot to stop construction earlier, but by continuing to dig, they have violated the order and hence due action will be taken against that party, if found guilty post the municipal inquiry," Mann said.

Rescue workers and volunteers load debris onto a truck at the site of a collapsed building in New Delhi. (Reuters photo)

According to fire officials, they got a call around 9 AM about a building collapsing at Tulsi Nagar in Inderlok following which four fire tenders were rushed to the spot for the rescue operations.

"We got a call about the incident at 8:55am. The building was around 50 years old and a number of families lived there," said Verma. He said it was an "unauthorized" building and investigations were underway in this regard.

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Chimps like Indian, African music over Western: Study

NEW DELHI: Chimpanzees seem to like Indian and African music over Western music, finds new research conducted by scientists at Emory University, US. But what chimps like the best is silence. The findings are published by the American Psychological Association (APA).

Previous research had used only different types of Western music — pop, blues and classical — and found that chimps preferred silence over the music. Emory University researchers from the Yerkes National Primate Research Center decided to check out the chimps' response to completely different music.

"Past research has focused only on Western music and has not addressed the very different acoustic features of non-Western music. While nonhuman primates have previously indicated a preference among music choices, they have consistently chosen silence over the types of music previously tested," said study coauthor Frans de Waal, according to an APA statement

Sixteen adult chimps in two groups were given the opportunity to listen to African, Indian or Japanese music playing on a portable stereo near their outdoor enclosure over 12 consecutive days, for 40 minutes each morning, the APA said.

When African and Indian music was played near their large outdoor enclosures, the chimps spent significantly more time in areas where they could best hear the music. When Japanese music was played, they were more likely to be found in spots where it was more difficult or impossible to hear the music. The African and Indian music in the experiment had extreme ratios of strong to weak beats, whereas the Japanese music had regular strong beats, which is also typical of Western music.

Another portable stereo not playing any music was located at a different spot near the enclosure to rule out behavior that might be associated with an object rather than the music. The different types of music were at the same volume but played in random order. Each day, researchers observed the chimps and recorded their location every two minutes with handwritten notes. They also videotaped the activity in the enclosure. The chimps' behavior when the music was played was compared to their behavior with no music.

"Chimpanzees may perceive the strong, predictable rhythmic patterns as threatening, as chimpanzee dominance displays commonly incorporate repeated rhythmic sounds such as stomping, clapping and banging objects," said de Waal, according to an APA statement.

Previous research has found that some nonhuman primates prefer slower tempos, but the current findings may be the first to show that they display a preference for particular rhythmic patterns, according to the study. "Although Western music, such as pop, blues and classical, sound different to the casual listener, they all follow the same musical and acoustic patterns. Therefore, by testing only different Western music, previous research has essentially replicated itself," the authors wrote. The study was published in APA's Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition.

"Chimpanzees displaying a preference for music over silence is compelling evidence that our shared evolutionary histories may include favoring sounds outside of both humans' and chimpanzees' immediate survival cues," said lead author Morgan Mingle of Emory and Southwestern University in Austin. "Our study highlights the importance of sampling across the gamut of human music to potentially identify features that could have a shared evolutionary root."

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UPSC aspirants protest against CSAT, 4 Delhi Metro stations closed

NEW DELHI: Scores of UPSC aspirants on Friday staged a protest in north Delhi's Civil Lines area demanding scrapping of Civil Services Aptitude Test, following which four metro stations have been closed, police said.

Anticipating the protesters to reach Rajghat and Prime Minister's residence on Race Course Road, the police advised Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to prohibit entry and exit from four metro stations-Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Race Course and Udhyog Bhavan-from 11:15am till further notice, a DMRC spokesperson said.

The agitators were planning to take their protest march to Rajghat and then toward Race Course Road, police said.

UPSC aspirants had staged a protest last week outside the residence of Union home minister Rajnath Singh demanding a four-year age relaxation for appearing in the examinations of these services.

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Partly cloudy day ahead in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Delhiites woke up to a sunny Friday morning with the minimum temperature recorded at 28.8 degrees celsius, a notch above the season's average. The Met office has forecast a partly cloudy day ahead.

"The skies will be clear in the morning, but will turn partly cloudy from noon onwards," said an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The maximum temperature on Friday is likely to hover around 40 degrees celsius.

Humidity at 8.30am was 68 per cent.

The maximum temperature on Thursday was recorded at 38 degrees celsius, a notch above the season's average while the minimum temperature settled at 23.5 degrees celsius, five notches below the season's average.

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4 Metro stations closed as UPSC aspirants protest

NEW DELHI: Scores of UPSC aspirants on Friday staged a protest in north Delhi's Civil Lines area demanding scrapping of Civil Services Aptitude Test, following which four metro stations have been closed, police said.

Anticipating the protesters to reach Rajghat and Prime Minister's residence on Race Course Road, the police advised Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to prohibit entry and exit from four metro stations-Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Race Course and Udhyog Bhavan-from 11:15am till further notice, a DMRC spokesperson said.

The agitators were planning to take their protest march to Rajghat and then toward Race Course Road, police said.

UPSC aspirants had staged a protest last week outside the residence of Union home minister Rajnath Singh demanding a four-year age relaxation for appearing in the examinations of these services.

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Delhi Cong slams Goyal for power situation

NEW DELHI: Delhi Congress on Friday attacked Union power minister Piyush Goyal for misleading people on the power situation in the capital and accused him of preparing ground for a power tariff hike with his statement that people have to pay more to get quality power supply.

The party demanded that the BJP government at the Centre should immediately fulfill its election promise of reducing the power tariff by 30 per cent.

"The power minister (Goyal) said if people want to get quality power they have to pay more. This is strange as BJP had promised to give 30 per cent discount in power rates in its manifesto. So, I think it is the moral responsibility of the BJP to fulfill its promise now," Congress Legislative Party leader and former Delhi power minister Haroon Yusuf told reporters.

DPCC chief spokesman Mukesh Sharma accused Goyal of trying to pressurise the DERC to hike power tariffs.

He claimed that there is an understanding between the power companies and the Union power minister "which needs to be exposed". He also said that the "silence" of Arvind Kejriwal on this issue was pointing a finger at his collusion too.

"Goyal's statement has come at a time when DERC is about to give its decision on whether to hike power tariffs in the city or not. This proves that he is trying to build pressure on the power regulator to hike the power rates. This is a conspiracy by the Central government," he said.

Coming down hard at Goyal's statement that it would take at least two years to fix Delhi's "poor" power infrastructure, Yusuf said that he (Goyal) will take time to understand the issue.

"We had supplied 5654 MW of peak power demand with the same infrastructure last year, so how can it be poor. This year the peak demand has not crossed it and it has been between 5400 and 5500. So there is no meaning in giving such statements," the former Delhi power minister said.

On the issue of the rising prices of sugar, Yusuf said that the BJP had failed to fulfill its promise of not raising prices of essential commodities.

"BJP made promises to cut down the prices of essential commodities. But the party recently hiked sugar prices. I want to request the BJP government to give respite to Delhiites from the power crisis as well as from the increasing prices of the essentials," he said.

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‘PWD not desilting city’s drains’

NEW DELHI: A delegation from municipal corporations met the lieutenant governor, Najeeb Jung, to discuss plans for the monsoon season. However, during their meeting, the delegation blamed public works department for not carrying out de-silting and has asked the LG to ensure it does its job.

"PWD isn't carrying out the work and all the major drains are with them. Monsoon is expected to hit Delhi by this weekend and, when we inspected some areas, we found desilting work hasn't even started in some places," said north Delhi mayor Yogender Chandolia. However, the corporation has proposed the LG entrust one agency with the de-silting work to avoid lack of coordination and passing of buck.

"To address this problem, we have constituted six teams, comprising officials from other civic agencies as well," Chandolia said. Even manholes in the city are being inspected.

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Shutdown: Students fume, owner frets

NEW DELHI: There's a tussle between the Jawaharlal Nehru University administration and students' union ever since an eviction notice was served to Ganga dhaba and a few other shops in the campus. Students have also started an online and offline campaign to save these shops.

"After we got to know about the notice, we talked to the VC and deputy registrar about finding a viable solution. Next meeting is due in July. It's part of JNU culture and a centre of all kinds of activities from academics to campus politics," said Sarfaraz, joint secretary of JNUSU. The students' union has strongly opposed the move and proposed a 'progressive shop allotment policy' in the campus.

The last notice was served to the owner of this eating joint, Sushil Rathi, on May 29, and he was given time until June 7 to evict. Rathi wants the shop to be transferred in the name of one Bharat Tomar. The shop was allotted to Tomar's mother who died in January 2012. Rathi is now a worried man, staring at a bleak future.

"I used to take breaks from my late night studies and come here for a coffee and bun-omelettes. This place is a crucial part of JNU's ecosystem. It will be a great loss for all of us. I wish it never happens," said Lokesh Jangid, said a former student who secured 68th rank in civil services exam.

"I visit this joint almost everyday as it is the only place near my hostel and it provides cost-effective food. It is also a place where we discuss and prepare our subjects. I oppose the move to shut it down," said Sonali Maurya, an MPhil student and a boarder of Ganga hostel.

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UGC sets today's deadline for compliance by DU on FYUP

NEW DELHI: With admissions delayed over the FYUP row leaving students in the lurch, Delhi University Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh and registrar Alka Sharma remained incommunicado throughout Wednesday as the University Grants Commission kept up the pressure. In the evening, UGC wrote to DU asking it to direct colleges to start the admission process immediately while asking for compliance of its directives on scrapping of the four-year undergraduate programme by Thursday.

UGC secretary Jaspal Singh Sandhu reminded Sharma of her June 23 letter to colleges in which she had annexed the commission's directive and told them "it is self-explanatory". Now UGC has asked Sharma if the June 23 letter implies compliance. "We are confident our latest directive will be complied with. DU administration is getting increasingly isolated. Our demand for compliance is non-negotiable," said a UGC source. University has been told that because of its refusal to comply there is uncertainty among students, parents and other stakeholders.

UGC's confidence emanates from the fact that many former teachers, considered close to the VC, came up with a proposal agreeing to three-year honours undergraduate degree but also retaining FYUP for some courses and in some form. But UGC is unrelenting. Though UGC officials met them, the commission also made it clear that "compliance from DU has to be unconditional". UGC also said the proposal made by those close to VC will be referred to the Standing Committee that has been set up to oversee migration of students from FYUP to the three-year course.

UGC sources also denied that DU VC was threatened of police case at any point. "UGC will not do anything that takes the focus away from admission and students. Section 24 of the UGC Act says that any contravention of its directive can result in fine. DU VC has not been threatened," a source said.

While UGC kept waiting for compliance, it was decided that no backroom parleys would be done with the university. Decision by academics to come up with a formula was the first sign that DU administration could be buckling under public outcry.
READ ALSO: Delhi University VC Dinesh Singh resigns

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Delhi Metro's Mandi House-Central Secretariat line opens

NEW DELHI: The much-awaited Mandi House to Central Secretariat Metro section was thrown open to the public on Thursday by Union urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu.

The minister flagged off the first train, operated by a woman driver, on this route from Mandi House Station at 9:30am and then himself took a ride on the train along with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Managing Director Mangu Singh and other senior officials and media persons.

The metro section will open at noon today for the general public.

The 3.2km-long underground metro section from Central Secretariat to Mandi House is part of the 9.37km long Central Secretariat to Kashmere Gate line, which is an extention of the Badarpur corridor (22km) of Phase two.

This section comprising three stations-Central Secretariat, Janpath and Mandi House-was completed in a span of 36 months within the stipulated cost.

"I feel very proud that DMRC has started the Mandi House to Central Secretariat Metro rail today. I congratulate Delhi Metro authorities, Delhi Governments and all the workers and those who made this work successful.

"This is one of the important steps that DMRC has taken since 2002 for improving lives of the people of the national capital. When the Phase III Delhi Metro, with construction of 140 kms of metro rail is completed, it will significantly change the way we travel in the national capital region," Naidu told reporters at Central Secretariat Metro Station.

The Minister noted that quick and comfortable travel is the essence of urban life. "Metro services combined with other efficient modes of transport will reduce hardship of urban travel. One of the major challenges is management of urbanisation," he said.

This section is an extension of 'Violet line' and is expected to decongest Rajiv Chowk station as commuters of Badarpur-Central Secretariat line bound for Noida, Vaishali and Dwarka will be able to change trains at Mandi House without changing trains twice at Central Secretariat and Rajiv Chowk.

Presently Rajiv Chowk station handles 5 lakh passengers everyday, the minister noted. The ridership in 2016 is expected to be 1,34,879.

Trains on the Mandi House-Central Secretariat section will run at a frequency of 3.25 minutes, he said, adding the new stations Janpath and Mandi House are equipped with token vending machines and add-value cards readers besides other facilities for passengers.

"I have seen that they have depicted historical background of regions at stations so that the new generation can know about the archaeological and historical importance of this region.I commend metro railway for taking this initiative along with Indian Council of Historical Research," he said.

This section will cater to about 70,000 additional commuters everyday.

There will be 13 such interchange stations in Phase III and this phase is going to be completed by March 2016.

"By that time the major portion of Delhi will be connected with metro rail. This is an ambitious programme and I hope DMRC is able to achieve this," he said.

The Union Minister said he has also written to all his colleagues, suggesting they avail metro facility for travelling in the national capital region.

"I have also written a letter to all my colleagues in the cabinet suggesting they avail the facility of metro rail when they come to Delhi from other destinations. They will help reduce pollution and congestion and make their travel comfortable and save time," Naidu said.

He said, "Whenever I come to Delhi I will travel by Metro rail so that I can get first hand information and in my own way contribute to decongesition and reducing pollution."

On increasing metro travel fares, which have been pending for a long time now, the Urban Development Minister said, "I have told DMRC to study project fares and then see whether some revision can take place".

"When the oil cost and other costs are increasing there are two ways - one to pass on to commuters and the other is to generate revenue from other sources like using premises in a more effective manner for commercial purpose like advertisements, ATMs, food court and other facilities to generate additional revenue and income which can take care of increasing cost of maintenance," Naidu said.

In the long term, Metro rail has to be made a viable proposition for which different avenues will have to be explored, he said.

On the issue of land acquisition for Delhi Metro projects in phase three, he said the issues have to be discussed with the Lt Governor.

Land acquisition will be discussed with Delhi authorities, he said.

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Now you can Yo, aiYO and Oye

NEW DELHI: The million-dollar free viral app Yo has inspired two Indian copycat spinoffs on Android - aiYO and Oye!

Yo, which was launched in April, sends a single text-and-sound notification to a contact of choice - "Yo!". Earlier this month the app received 1.2 million dollars in funding. The Indian spinoffs do exactly (and just) what Yo does except with the words "aiyo" and "oye", making the app something of a meme.

The new spinoffs studiously mirror the original's design of broad, brightly-coloured brands with contact names that send a yo on a single tap. Developers behind both apps say these were born of light-hearted, fun weekend projects. But downloads are already running into hundreds.

While aiYO is upfront about their app being a spoof that they don't intend to follow up, Oye is open to letting things develop on their Awesome Simple Apps. Viraj Shah, one of the people behind 'Oye!', says that he and his team of five IIT grads started on Oye as a weekend project. But the response was far beyond expectations. "We got more than 500 downloads in the first hour. More than 15,000 Oyes were sent on the first day itself," says Mumbai-based Shah, whose primary work is around a deal and discount app called Niffler.

"My partner Rohith walked into the office one day and told us about the Yo funding. We were aghast! It was so ridiculous! We just built it over the weekend as a joke," says Bangalore-based Amit Singh, founder of Wow Labz which came up with aiYO. The description of the free app on the Google Play store says, "The lamest most annoying communication tool in the world," and later adds, "This app is created with the intention of creating humour, killing time and taking a dig at investors who invest on ideas with no barrier to entry."

Once the news of Yo's funding broke, the dominant sentiment among startups and app developers was that the app was overvalued, while other "useful" apps suffered from not getting enough recognition or funding. Never mind the fact that some of the funding came from a co-founder the developer's boss himself. "Consumer internet and mobile in India are not as mainstream as in the US. Developers in the start-up space here too have to struggle with funding," says Singh who has worked on apps on Indian language mobile support and single-point smartphone authentication for signing into multiple accounts. Shah too believes that the American startup is overvalued. "I really don't think it was worth that much. They must have just left it out there to build something else," he says.

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BTech students call off their stir

NEW DELHI: The only group of students which had been opposing the rollback of the FYUP has called off its protest after an assurance by the University Grants Commission on Tuesday.

Students demonstrating outside the UGC office and on North Campus were told that their course would not be scrapped even if the three-year format is restored.The students were opposing the rollback as they won't be left with any specialization after finishing their course.

About 3,000 students are pursuing BTech in various colleges introduced along with FYUP. The UGC directed the university and its colleges to restore the earlier format and ensure migration of the FYUP batch to 3-year structure.

In that case, BTech students would have graduated with a BSc degree. DU was told to enrol new applicants under the earlier courses, failing which the UGC might freeze funds to the university.

The standing committee proposed that these students should be allowed to complete the fourth year and be given the degree . There is still no clarity on whether the courses will be offered.

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Flip-flop: UGC was Delhi University VC cheerleaderÂ

NEW DELHI: As the University Grants Commission gnawed at Delhi University over the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme, it came as a surprise to those who have seen the regulator over the years. But many are also shocked at its U-turn on the FYUP that came into force in the last academic session.

UGC along with a set of HRD officials, led by present education secretary Ashok Thakur, was at the forefront of celebrating FYUP last year. Not long ago, UGC chairperson Ved Prakash at a function in DU campus showered praise on VC Dinesh Singh and FYUP.

So enamoured was UGC of FYUP that it would hear nothing against the new course. Even when former HRD minister MM Pallam Raju asked if it was advisable to go ahead with FYUP, UGC had convinced him that the regulator's job is to fix minimum standards and institutions were free to set higher standard for themselves.

"UGC has a lot to explain about its earlier position. Had it read UGC Act closely FYUP would not have been foisted on thousands of children," a source said. Late last July, two UGC members - Yogendra Yadav and MM Ansari - were not allowed to raise FYUP in the commission. "I find it surprising that UGC is raising the same arguement that I did last year," the sources said.

Yadav, not personally opposed to FYUP, was worried about the manner in which changes were being brought by the Delhi University.

Yadav had objected to UGC not discussing FYUP in the full commission meeting but later setting up a committee to monitor FYUP. He had told Ved Prakash that UGC has the mandate to examine new models such as FYUP for higher education.

Yadav had argued that UGC has been less active on this front. At the same time, Yadav had objected to UGC's monitoring committee and called it an example of "avoidable over-regulation."

Ansari had also demanded that implications of policy departure from +3 to +4 years of degree programme should be examined and an urgent meeting of the Commission should be convened to discuss the issues arising from FYUP, mainly to deliberate on the issue of the UGC's monitoring of university programmes and voluntarily providing 'aid and advise' to any university.

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BTech students call off their stir

NEW DELHI: The only group of students which had been opposing the rollback of the FYUP has called off its protest after an assurance by the University Grants Commission on Tuesday.

Students demonstrating outside the UGC office and on North Campus were told that their course would not be scrapped even if the three-year format is restored.The students were opposing the rollback as they won't be left with any specialization after finishing their course.

About 3,000 students are pursuing BTech in various colleges introduced along with FYUP. The UGC directed the university and its colleges to restore the earlier format and ensure migration of the FYUP batch to 3-year structure.

In that case, BTech students would have graduated with a BSc degree. DU was told to enrol new applicants under the earlier courses, failing which the UGC might freeze funds to the university.

The standing committee proposed that these students should be allowed to complete the fourth year and be given the degree . There is still no clarity on whether the courses will be offered.

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Will Bachelor of Management Studies be a casualty of FYUP rollback?

NEW DELHI: As the stalemate between the University Grants Commission and Delhi University continues, the 25,357 aspirants of Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) have been left wondering whether the course will survive if FYUP is rolled back.

The entrance test for the course was to be held on June 26. Introduced under the four-year undergraduate programme, BMS is one of the popular non-technical professional courses and attracted a large number of applicants for its 840 seats.

The course was introduced after scrapping three popular finance and management courses. However, with UGC ordering %restoration of the three-year structure at Delhi University along with the courses which were scrapped to launch FYUP, applicants have been left with no choice but to wait and watch. "I don't want FYUP and BMS to be scrapped. It is a course of my choice and I am working really hard to clear this exam," says Agastya Sood.

While some students are reconsidering taking admission in BMS amid such confusion, others just want to get in, irrespective of whether they are enrolled under the three-year programme or the four-year one.

Preeksha Sharma, who spent hours at the coaching centre, preparing for the entrance test, says, "I just want to be done with admissions. I have invested time and money in preparing for the BMS exam and if the course gets scrapped all my efforts goes down the drain."

Many students are also thinking of waiting for admissions to Economics and BCom honours courses as they cannot depend on Bachelor of Management Studies alone.

"With all the uncertainty surrounding the course, its just not worth the risk," says Sakshi Jain.

However, there are also those hoping that UGC's standing committee will keep the best interest of the students in mind while deciding on the issue.

"BMS is my priority. I hope the authorities will think of us while deciding," said Shivani Dang.

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Mandi House-Central Secretariat line opens tomorrow

NEW DELHI: The Mandi House-Central Secretariat line will be thrown open to commuters from Thursday — cutting down travel time for those on the violet and yellow lines and decongesting Rajiv Chowk station, besides providing a one-point transfer to commuters headed from Central Secretariat for Vaishali and Noida.

Urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu will flag off the first train from Mandi House station at 9.30am on Thursday, a DMRC official said.

Three months behind schedule, the 3km-long underground corridor will have one station in between — Janpath — and is expected to benefit some 70,000 commuters. Once it becomes operational, Mandi House will be the interchange point for three lines — Noida-Dwarka Sector 21, Central Secretariat-Badarpur and Jahangirpuri-Huda City Centre.

Earlier, commuters had to negotiate a bustling Rajiv Chowk station to change trains. Mandi House as an interchanging station will take away 40% of the crowd from Rajiv Chowk, says DMRC, easing the load on the busiest station on the network.

"The Central Secretariat-Mandi House section has received the mandatory safety clearance from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety and the line is expected to be opened for commercial services for the public this week itself," Delhi Metro Rail Corporation spokesperson Anuj Dayal said on Tuesday. The clearance comes months after Delhi Metro completed work on the station. It is among the first lines under phase III to be thrown open to the public.

The key advantage of the Mandi House station for commuters will be the distance from Central Secretariat, cutting down travel time. The distance between Central Secretariat station — which is connected with the Badarpur-Central Secretariat (Violet line) as well as the Jahangirpuri-HUDA City Centre (Yellow line) — and Rajiv Chowk is 4km. Once Mandi House becomes the transfer point, the distance will be 3km, shaving off several minutes of travel time. Metro officials say commuting from places like Nehru Place, Lajpat Nagar, Saket, AIIMS or Gurgaon to central and east Delhi will come down substantially. "That 1km distance is crucial as it will save on travelling time by almost 7-8 minutes," said the official.

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Pro-VC: We're asking him not to take this step

NEW DELHI: Pro-vice chancellor, Sudhish Pachauri, who has apparently not resigned, has issued a statement. " We got to know about the resignation and came here to meet him and ask him not to take this step. We appeal to the VC not to resign and to the government to take a decision that's favorable for the students and I hope that DU and government will come to a solution amicably," he says.

The dean students' welfare JM Khurana and director, campus of open learning, CS Dubey both came to the VC's residence for the same reason.

What DU authorities are refusing to clarify is whether VC Dinesh Singh has actually resigned and on whose prompting, DU spokesperson Malay Neerav announced the resignation earlier in the afternoon.

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Venkaiah Naidu asks DMRC to revisit IGI line fares

NEW DELHI: Union urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu has rekindled hopes of hundreds of daily commuters using the Delhi Airport Metro Line by hinting at a possible reduction in fares. The minister, who took the train while returning from Hyderabad, said he has asked the DMRC chief to look into this aspect so that there is "full capacity utilization" of the premier Metro service.

He announced efforts would be made to popularize the service and make it more viable. During his 18- minute ride, Naidu interacted with the passengers. "I spoke to commuters. They have three suggestions. One, fares should be reduced. Two, frequency should be improved and three, the last mile connectivity should be improved. I have asked DMRC to work on all the three. We should take DTC's help to increase number of buses for the last mile connectivity," he said.

Naidu is not the first minister or politician, who used the Metro line. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and a host of former UPA ministers have travelled on Express Metro.

An official release said the minister expressed concern over under-utilization of the line. Naidu also suggested optimum use of land, buildings and other properties at Metro stations for increasing revenue. "First of all, we have to now think about ways and means of making Metro rail viable. You cannot rely on subsidy for long. It has to be on its own ... People placed bids when the market was very high, subsequently it was down so they are not getting income as expected. But by popularizing this and providing commercial space, they (DMRC) can get some more revenue," Naidu said.

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Vrindavan widows come to Delhi with hopes from Modi govt

NEW DELHI: A hundred widows from Vrindavan and Varanasi were provided a platform by NGO Sulabh International to give voice to the many inequities and injustices suffered by them on International Widows' Day.

The women, who gathered in the capital, appealed to the Narendra Modi government to introduce and pass a bill to protect their rights drafted by Bindeshwar Pathak, Sulabh founder, in the Budget Session of Parliament next month.

"We will approach Modiji and our MP from Mathura, Hema Malini, for measures to ensure welfare of widows who are living in Vrindavan and Varanasi," Radha Dasi (84), who is originally from West Bengal, said.

Vrindavan is home to thousands of old widows from West Bengal and their condition used to be pitiable until the Supreme Court intervened and NGOs took up the challenge to ameliorate their plight.

NGOs take care of all needs of widows living in six government-run ashrams.

To highlight inequities and atrocities suffered by many women once they lose their husbands, United Nations officially recognized International Widows' Day at a New York conference in 2011. "No woman should lose her rights when she loses her husband," UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon said.

Some 40 million of the world's widows live in India and life for many of these women is hard and fraught with struggle. Often with no social security, they are made to feel worthless, undesirable and a burden by their in-laws.

While 8% women in India are widows, only 2.5% men are widowers as men usually remarry. "Widows, sometimes teenagers, are mostly not allowed to remarry. Some mothers have even been cast out by their children and forced to live on streets," said Pathak, who felt the Bill must be passed at the earliest, said.

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AIIMS conducts its maiden swap kidney transplant

NEW DELHI: To see their husbands back on their feet, two women, Rekha Tyagi and Baljeet Kaur donated their kidneys to each other's husband through 'Swap Kidney Transplant' in AIIMS.

Rekha's husband Sant Kumar Tyagi was in need of a kidney for the last one year and was looking for a donor. They live in Ghaziabad.

Similarly, a native of Uttarakhand, Baljeet, was also looking for a donor for her husband Jagpal Singh and had been making rounds of AIIMS for the last few months.

The families were introduced to each other by the doctors in AIIMS where they came to know about the 'Swap Kidney Transplant' also called Kidney paired donation.

"Kidney paired donation occurs when a living kidney donor is incompatible with the recipient, and hence exchanges kidneys with another donor-recipient pair. Such transplantation enables two incompatible recipients to receive healthy, more compatible kidneys from each other," said Dr S K Agarwal, Professor and Head of Department of Nephrology in AIIMS.

The families were introduced to each other by the doctors after which they applied for the no objection certificate from the state authorities.

"The transplant surgery was performed on June 2. It took about five to six hours and two operations were conducted simultaneously," explained Dr Agarwal.

This transplant, Agarwal said, are cost-effective. However, the recipients have to take medicines worth Rs 10,000 - 12,000 per month life long.

This was the first Swap Kidney Transplant performed in AIIMS.

"We were previously planning to take the kidney of my mother, however, the age factor became a barrier. I am lucky to have met Baljeet who agreed to donate her kidney to my husband saving his life," said Rekha.

Baljeet was also equally happy to have got Rekha who saved her husband's life by donating her kidney.

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DU vs UGC: 9 things you should know about FYUP row

The continuing face-off over the four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP) earned Delhi University a dubious distinction on Monday. For the first time in the varsity's 92-year history, principals of all constituent colleges on their own decided to defer admissions for 2014-15 till the FYUP issue was resolved.

Admissions on the first cutoff were to start from Tuesday. However, the complete silence of the University Grants Commission and DU authorities through the day meant college principals were left with absolutely no directions on how to set the cutoffs. Needless to say, the anxious wait continued for students seeking admission.

1. UGC panel says to admit on 3-year pattern

The standing committee set up by University Grants Commission to advise it and Delhi University on scrapping the four-year-undergraduate programme (FYUP) and reverting to the three-year course held its first meeting on Monday afternoon and proposed a number of measures. It recommended conducting this year's admissions on the three-year pattern — in line with the 2012-13 admissions — and pointed out the need to protect the interest of students enrolled under FYUP's BTech programme.

READ MORE: Admit on 3-year pattern, UGC says

2. DU can do what it wants: FYUP camp

While one group of students held a slightly premature celebration of the FYUP rollback-still not announced formally-a teachers' group, Academics for Action and Development (Mishra) got together to tell students, teachers and the media all the reasons the UGC doesn't have the right to intervene. On top of the list is that Delhi University is an autonomous institution and UGC's actions are in violation of that. This group also reminded that the HRD ministry and UGC, which has suddenly found FYUP "illegal", hadn't objected to its introduction last year.

READ MORE: DU can do what it wants: FYUP camp

3. 7 colleges tell UGC they will offer 3-year course

The see-saw battle between Delhi University and UGC over FYUP continued till late on Monday night, even as some colleges-reportedly seven of them-have written to the UGC clarifying that they will observe the traditional three-year degree course.

READ MORE: 7 colleges tell UGC they will offer 3-year courses

4. Reverting to old system won't need fresh approval

If FYUP has to be rolled back in a way that's legally tenable, what should be the steps to complete the process? According to former members of the executive council, university officials and teachers, the transition from a four-year structure to a three-year one won't be very difficult as it would simply mean reverting to the system that existed till 2012-13.

Redistribution of discipline courses and scrapping of foundation and applied courses would require the academic council's approval and course committees would have to be consulted.

READ MORE: Reverting to old system won't need fresh approval

5. All parties welcome rollback decision

All political parties, including Congress, have welcomed the University Grants Commission's decision on the four-year undergraduate programme. Congress, which supported Delhi University's decision to introduce FYUP, admitted it was a mistake and wants the programme to be rolled back.

"We want FYUP to be rolled back. Though it was implemented during our regime, we have realized that the students are against it. We are rethinking our stand. Now we want BJP to ensure that it is scrapped as promised in their manifesto. Our students' wing (NSUI) has always opposed it," said Arvinder Singh, president of DPCC.

READ MORE: All political parties welcome UGC's decision on FYUP

6. Crisis leaves first batch in a bind

Students enrolled in the first batch of the four-year undergraduate programme are the worst placed. About to start its second year, this batch is now wondering where the potential rollback leaves them; all the more so after the UGC's communication to the colleges mentions their migration to the three-year programme. Those enrolled in courses that were launched or changed significantly with FYUP are especially concerned.

READ MORE: Crisis leaves first batch in a bind

7. SRCC cutoffs out, but wait for seats on

The cutoff marks for commerce and economics at Shri Ram College of Commerce are 97.5% and 97.75% — up by 0.5 percentage points from last year. SRCC announced these despite the Principals' Association resolving to defer admissions and withhold cutoffs because the Delhi University administration steadfastly refused to handle any queries from colleges. PC Jain, SRCC principal, had even announced admissions open from Tuesday but later decided to defer.

READ MORE: SRCC cutoffs out, but wait for seats on

8. No admission till picture clears

As ambiguity continued, the DU principals' association convened a meeting at Khalsa College. By then, several colleges had already decided cutoffs, some were already holding meetings and the rest had deferred the process. Instead of waiting for DU to decide, the 36 principals who attended the meeting passed a resolution in favour of deferring the process.

READ MORE: DU colleges defer admissions as FYUP impasse continues

9. Vital questions

— What happens to Bachelor in Management Studies, which replaced three management and finance courses - BBE, BFIA, BBS? — What will happen to new courses launched by colleges with seats released from 'programme' ones? — How will withdrawal of newly-launched courses affect students already enrolled under FYUP and the workload of teachers?

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Indian Bank at Tihar to hire inmates

NEW DELHI: Tihar Jail inmates with proven good conduct and qualifications will soon be working at "non-sensitive" positions at the Indian Bank branch at the prison.

"We have been associated with Tihar Jail for the past several years and our branch there today has a business of Rs 100 crore. A proposal to employ Tihar Jail inmates at non-sensitive positions in the branch has been approved and will soon be implemented," chairman and managing director of Indian Bank T M Bhasin said.

Tihar Jail spokesperson Sunil Gupta said inmates of the Semi-Open Prison (SOP) will get jobs like that of peon, security guard and computer operator as per their educational qualification. pti

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IGI infrastructure faces summer test

NEW DELHI: With all trains booked two months in advance , many travellers during the summer vacation are usually not left with any option but to fly to their destinations. This summer, IGI's domestic terminal has already witnessed a 1.5-2-fold rise in footfall compared to the offpeak period. The rush that began in May is likely to continue till August.

According to airport sources, the extra rush at the domestic terminal—25 ,000-30 ,000 people are stepping in daily while off-peak footfall was 15,000-20 ,000—is putting resources to test. The most intense periods are during Friday and Saturday evenings with the numbers peaking around 6pm when a lot of local passengers arrive for their weekend getaways. The time between 6am and 8am on Monday morning is another mad scramble when these travellers presumably return.

The airport operator, Delhi International Airport Ltd, says resources at the airport have already been augmented to match the increase in number of flyers and further expansion is being considered.

"We have increased our security screening capacity (Xray machines to check hand baggage) as only 12 out of 14 machines were being used earlier and we have the capability of increasing it further by 30%. We were also not utilizing all 14 male passenger search booths and the six women passenger search booths. We operate with an on-time performance of about 88-90 % which wouldn't be possible had there been delays between to and from trips of aircraft," said Marcel Hungerbuehler, chief operating officer, DIAL.

Hungerbuehler said the airport operator was also working closely with the airlines to find more ways of reducing the passenger checkin time. A self check-in counter being operated by IndiGo Airlines for the past 2-3 months is one such initiative.

"We are looking to reduce the security and check-in times to 15 minutes and 10 minutes, respectively, which is the internationally followed standard. To achieve it, perhaps we can begin our day early," the COO added.
Shifting one or two airlines out of the domestic to international terminal to ease the pressure, however, was a tough call, said officials, and it is unlikely to happen at least this season.

"Shifting airlines from one terminal to another is a huge operational procedure. The airline's ground staff must be retrained in handling aircraft at the new terminal. A lot of airlines which use buses to transport passengers from departure lounge to aircraft will suddenly find their inventory redundant as Terminal 3 does not require buses. So we are trying our best to have operations running smoothly and have passengers' comfort on top of our priority list," said another DIAL official.

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Holi and Diwali come together for DU ABVP

NEW DELHI: Though nothing concrete has yet been announced regarding the fate of Delhi University's Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP), celebrations are on in North Campus.

Student's group Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad is holding a "vishaal juloos" to celebrate what they see as victory in their campaign against the reforms. "This is not over yet as the vice-chancellor is yet to resign," says ABVP-member Rohit Chahal.

It isn't just a march-and-speeches affair. There are crackers, colours, sweets. There's frantic dancing. Chahal clearly means business when he says, "It'll be like Holi and Diwali have come together." Meanwhile DU has changed the text on its website saying admission into "undergraduate courses" instead of "FYUP."

However, some disgruntled students of BTech courses also showed up to proclaim their support of FYUP — they can't get a BTech course in three years.

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Pension relief for ex-teacher, NHRC notice to DU, college

NEW DELHI: National Human Rights Commission has charged Delhi University and Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College with human rights violation and putting the life of a former professor at stake.

The commission recommends provisional pension be released to Rajesh Mohan without further delay and has summoned the chairman, governing body of ARSD, principal, ARSD, and registrar, DU, for an appearance on July 10 to explain discrepancies in their reply.

NHRC has heard the case of the 66-year-old retired physics and electronics teacher who, after 42 years of service, was served a show-cause notice for allegedly diverting Rs 1 crore without prior approval two weeks ahead of his retirement and chargesheeted a day before retirement which led to the blocking of his provident fund, leave encashment amount, pension and other benefits.

In its April 16 order, NHRC had stated the college authorities "tried to mislead the commission by giving irrelevant details to the points raised by the CAG audit observations". It added that "non-payment of the provisional pension required for the very survival of an employee after retirement is a flagrant violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India — right to life" and "non-payment of GPF is flagrant violation of the provisions of Provident Fund Act, 1925".

On May 21, the principal of ARSD and DU submitted to the commission that the complainant has filed a frivolous complaint and that he has suppressed facts before the commission.

NHRC in reply to ARSD's submission stated "it has already made it clear and states again that everyone has a fundamental right to earn livelihood under Article 21 of the Constitution of India which includes that after the retirement he is also entitled to receive his deferred wages in accordance with rules.

Non-payment of the retirement benefits, therefore, is violation of one's fundamental right".

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Principals' association to meet at 4pm to discuss admissions, FYUP

NEW DELHI: With Delhi University maintaining strict silence on four year undergraduate programme, colleges are confused about admissions. The DU principals' association has called a meeting at SGTB Khalsa College at 4pm today (June 23).

"We are totally confused and there is total silence from all sides," says a north campus college principal. Cut-offs at this college were ready on Saturday itself. "If the BA, BCom and BSc programme courses are restored, I'll have to tell the teachers to set fresh cut-offs keeping the reduced number of seats per course in mind," he says.

Another principal of a South Campus college said he will decide what to do after the principals' meeting.

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'To employ children is illegal and unethical': Activist Kailash Satyarthi

Activist Kailash Satyarthi is the founder of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, an NGO that works on freeing children from bonded labour. He spoke with The Times of India about his work and more.
What inspired you to work towards alleviation of child labour?

Even as a child, I was passionate about issues related to child labour. On my first day of school, I saw a child of my age sitting on the doorsteps of my school along with his father. They were cobblers. It was the first time that I saw a contrast in the lives of two kids. I asked my teacher, we are sitting in the classroom and that boy is sitting outside, working. Why is that? My teacher was a little surprised. He said, "They are poor and it is not uncommon for a boy to be working." I asked my headmaster the same question. He said the same thing, more or less. I was from a background that was neither rich nor poor, so I hadn't heard about poverty. My teacher and my headmaster were telling me that these people were in this position due to poverty. I saw the boy everyday for several days.
One day while coming back from school, I gathered courage, went up to the father and asked him why he didn't send his son to school. The father told me that no one had ever asked him this before and he had never thought of it. His father worked as a boy, so did he and now even his son. He said they were born to work. I could not understand this — why people are born to work. It's because of the caste system, definitely. So that went on and I could not find the answer for a very long time. I realized that many of my friends left school as it was expensive and education was not free at that time. Around the age of 12, I began to collect used textbooks and pocket money for poor children. I realized this is not the real solution. I completed my engineering and started teaching. I realized that engineering is not for me and took up this cause.

How do you identify areas which are prone to child labour or have children working in them?

BBA has been working in this field for over 30 years. We receive information from a large network of volunteers — approximately, 80,000. Our activists are working all over the world. A lot of research and investigation is required to identify these areas. Sometimes the parents inform us. The media also plays a vital role.

What has been the most exciting child rescue mission so far?

All of my rescue missions have been exciting. Rescuing children or a child gives you a feeling that cannot be expressed in words. However, I will elaborate on a recent rescue of a girl from Assam a month ago. She had been missing since 5-6 years. One day, the girl called up the father and told him that she was in Delhi. The father came to Delhi in search for her. After his third attempt to search for her, he contacted us, and after a period of time we got to know that the girl was in Punjabi Bagh working as a domestic help. We went to rescue the girl. On seeing the father, the girl cried and screamed loudly and went inside the house. Sensing something is wrong, the women activists who were with me went to see inside what had happened.

The girl couldn't face the father as she was raped by the trafficker and was pregnant. She wanted to commit suicide. She was 15-16 years old and didn't know what to do.

According to you what steps can be taken to protect children from being exploited?
Consumers can boycott goods and services that involve children in manufacturing goods. Don't accept hospitality from restaurants and shops or roadside dhabas that employ children. Have courage to tell them that you refuse to eat there because they have employed children, which is a crime. It is illegal, immoral and unethical. This will put psychological pressure on the industries. You can also demand a guarantee from the shops you visit, be it sporting goods, or even clothes, that they do not employ children. Even if you do not buy anything, just simply question the salesman whether he can guarantee that no child labour was involved in the production of their goods.

Social media is now a way to prevent exploitation. With just a touch of a button you can create quite a lot of noise which is a different way of raising a voice. You may not chant a slogan on the streets but you can create an even bigger impact with your gadgets.
Do personal attacks on you, your team and your offices in retaliation to rescue missions unnerve you? What keeps you going?

It's a part of life. We're working with broken families and broken people who have lost all hope and are helpless. If people criticize me, oppose my work, launch personal attacks, we know that we are on the right path. One of my colleagues was shot and another was beaten to death. I myself have been injured my shoulder, leg, back and head. All my activists have experienced this. What we are working against is a social evil. If this evil is not reacting or retaliating it means we are not a threat to it.

What is the philosophy you live by when times look bleak?

My philosophy is that I am a friend of the children. I don't think anyone should see them as pitiable subjects or charity. That is old people's rhetoric. People often relate childish behaviour to stupidity or foolishness. This mindset needs to change. I want to level the playing field where I can learn from the children. Something I can learn from children is transparency. They are innocent, straightforward, and have no biases. I relate children to simplicity and I think that my friendship with children has a much deeper meaning than others.

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Temperatures down in Delhi, rain likely: Met

NEW DELHI: With drop in temperatures, people got respite from the hot weather sweeping the national capital for the past few days as the weatherman predicted rain in the city.

The maximum temperature settled at 40 degrees celsius, two notches below normal, and the minimum was 30.6 degrees celsius, three notches above normal, Met department said.

On Saturday, the maximum temperature was recorded at 41.7 degrees celsius while the minimum was 32.7 degrees celsius.

Humidity levels were recorded between 66 and 41 per cent till 2.30pm.

The Met department predicted possibility of light rain and thunderstorm in some areas of the city for the rest of the day.

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BJP ready for Delhi assembly polls, will come to power: Ramesh Bidhuri

NEW DELHI: Amid continuing uncertainty over government formation in the national capital, senior Delhi BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri said the party was ready for fresh election in the city, where it had come first in 60 of the 70 assembly segments in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

The South Delhi MP, who is also general secretary of Delhi unit of the party, said elections appeared to be the only option as BJP, which is the largest party in the 70-member House, did not have the numbers to form a government.

"BJP is ready for assembly election in Delhi and I am confident that this time we will come to power with a thumping majority as we were ahead in 60 Assembly segments in the Lok Sabha polls," Bidhuri told PTI.

The BJP had secured 33.07% vote share in the assembly polls which increased to 46.1% in the Lok Sabha polls.

The AAP's vote share also increased to 32.9% from 29.49% in the assembly polls. In the assembly polls, Congress had secured a vote share of 24.55 which came down to 15.1% in the Lok Sabha election.

Asked whether the BJP would prefer going to polls, Bidhuri said party leadership will take a final decision on the issue soon. "The top leadership of the party will take a final call on the issue soon."

He said the AAP, which had made a dream debut in the assembly polls, will not be a major factor as people have realized their "inefficiencies" during their 49-day rule.

A number of senior leaders from BJP, Congress and AAP have admitted that their MLAs were reluctant to face the elections anytime soon but said there appears no option but to go for fresh polls.

A sizeable number of party MLAs has apprised the leadership about their unwillingness to go to polls again but they have been told to get ready for elections.

Sources said a section in Delhi BJP had made some efforts to form a government but senior leaders in the party did not support the move.

President's rule was imposed in Delhi on February 17 and LG Najeeb Jung is likely to send a report to the Centre in a month or two on the political situation.

The Union Cabinet is likely to take a decision on whether to extend President's rule by another six months or go for fresh polls based on LG's report.

The BJP had won 31 seats in the assembly polls in December but its number came down to 28 after three of its legislators Harsh Vardhan, Ramesh Bidhuri and Pervesh Verma were elected to Lok Sabha.

After expulsion of rebel MLA Vinod Kumar Binny from the party, the number of AAP MLAs has also come down to 27 from 28. Congress has eight MLAs while BJP ally Akali Dal has one MLA.

Following its drubbing in Lok Sabha polls, AAP had expressed willingness to form the government but Congress made it clear that it will not support the party again.

The Congress has already held a number of agitational programme in the city demanding better power and water supply, in an effort to connect with the masses.

After Congress' refusal to support it, AAP announced that it was ready for election. The party has launched 'Mohallah Sabha' programmes in the city to touch base and extend its support.

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Post-Nirbhaya, Delhi theatre focuses on women-centric issues

NEW DELHI: Post-Nirbhaya, both professional as well as amateur theatre in the capital, is witnessing a definite shift towards addressing women-centric issues such as eve teasing, molestation, harassment, sexual assault and patriarchy.

Plays such as Sarkari Feminism by the Pandies Theatre Group and Draupadi by Atul Satya Koushik were staged in support of women who had survived gruesome crimes. Even campus theatre, notably Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, IP College for Women and Jesus and Mary Convent staged plays on women. Some colleges took the additional step of creating their own websites for signing petitions and taking these issues ahead.

"We should all have a feminist approach, if we want to visualize a better nation," says Sanjay Kumar, director of Pandies Theatre Group, which has been focusing on women-centric plays. He adds, "There is too much misogyny in this country and the problem lies in the overpowering dominance of men. This is one of the main reasons why we stage these plays."

Theatre has given these groups an excellent platform to express the unsaid, but more importantly it has given them the power to act out their opinions and incorporate another point of view too. Kumar's ribald but humorous play, Sarkari Feminism, first takes an irreverent look at commissions and committees appointed by the state to look into women's problems. It then asks: is the intervention of independent groups better than that of the state? Are they more capable of surmounting their class biases and address the issues better? Leaning on the group's incessant work with women in slums and bastis of north India, the play presents stories that scream to redress these issues on their own terms.

On the other hand, Draupadi directed by Atul Satya Koushik, takes excerpts from the age-told story of Draupadi and adds imaginative sequences to bring out the real essence of association between Draupadi and today`s women. The juxtaposing makes this work fit to be called an imaginative re-telling of certain chapters from Draupadi`s life.

The incidents in the play take place in an Indian village in the late 1960s. A bunch of playful females of a large family of Haryanvi rural performers, decide to play Draupadi in the absence of all the males of the family. In the process they discover how closely their lives are a reflection of Draupadi's. This intense story unfolds in a light and seamless manner. Like all other productions of the society, this play also scores high on folk music.

"Everything circles around women. And it's a shame that they are disrespected in our society," says Koushik. He feels it is his responsibility as a theatre artist to bring about awareness among people and he believes that theatre has immense potential to reach out to a large audience and make a difference.

Similarly, taking campus theatre forward is practitioner, director and activist Kuljeet Singh who organizes 'Ateliers', an annual theatre fest which picks out the best of DU plays and stages them for the public. They are then performed in reputed auditoriums such as Kamani Auditorium and Sri Ram Centre.

Others are using internet to spread the message. Aniket Jaiswal, a former member of the Hans Raj College dramatics society, has now started his own YouTube channel ' Old Delhi Films' and has posted videos like ' Real men don't rape and tape' and 'She' which are focused on the ordeals faced by women today.

Theatre has immense potential to bring about a change in society. As US playwright Thornton Wilder once said, "I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share the sense of what it is to be a human being". Eighteen months after the sexual assault and killing of Nirbhaya shocked the nation, Delhi theatre is taking some small but sure-footed steps in that direction.

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Labour ministry kicks off process for national employment policy

NEW DELHI: In tandem with labour law amendments, the Union labour ministry has now sought inputs and suggestions on its website for a proposed national employment policy (NEP).

Though the proposal did not figure in BJP's election manifesto or President Pranab Mukherjee's recent speech in Parliament, the Centre seems to be setting to work to formulate the NEP.

The UPA government had prepared a draft but did not announce a national employment policy. An inter-ministerial group had studied the draft and given its recommendations.

However, "keeping in view the dimension of the challenges involved", the ministry wants wider consultations. As a result, it has sought inputs by June 30.

The NEP will have to synergise the country's advantage of a young population with inherent challenges in the work force, for instance, to reap dividends globally.

According to government statistics, while the economy grew around 8% annually in the last decade, growth in jobs was below 1%.

"The proportion of persons in the labour force declined from 43% in 2004-05 to 39.5% in 2011-12 with a sharp drop in female participation rate from 29% to 22.5%," as per statistics.

Besides, only 10% of the labour force has some technical skill and about a quarter of them had formal technical education. The thrust will be to expand vocational training, upgrade and enrich skill base and productivity levels of the growing non-farm employment sectors like construction, said a ministry official. The effort will also be transform informal skills into formal skills.

According to its website, the labour ministry's role in the proposed NEP "is in areas like vocational training, national career service, social security and promotion of industrial harmony through labour regulations".

The National Career Service Portal is likely to be up by December. The Centre proposes to encourage "flexi MoUs" to cater to market specific skill needs of industry. Employment exchanges would be reoriented for career counselling, vocational guidance and employment services to youth.

Through an online portal, the Centre also proposes to ensure single window compliance of labour laws, including online registration by employers, returns, inspections and redressal of grievances.

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Local train users slam fare hike

NEW DELHI: At a time when irregular service and constant delays are common, a 14.2% rail fare hike is not acceptable to most EMU (electric multiple unit) train users. The customer base of Indian Railway's suburban rides is mostly the salaried class that gets to traverse great distances at a fraction of the fare levied by other public transport.

The hike in railway fare means monthly season tickets (MST) or passes used by most on suburban trains will be costlier by about Rs 10 (from Rs 85 to Rs 95) for travel up to 20km, and by Rs 25 (from Rs 160 to Rs 185) in case of travel between 21km and 45km.

"As a family of two working professionals, we will be set back by Rs 50 monthly. The hike should have been more selective. The government should have been more sympathetic towards local passengers," said Suresh Pal, who works in a factory in Rohtak along with his wife and resides in Shahdara.

Regular commuters are dissatisfied with railway service. A train which usually runs late was stone-pelted on Thursday evening. "I have been travelling on the Shahdara-Ghaziabad local for the last 40 years and have seen trains coming an hour late, though the journey is not more than 20 minutes. As a retired government servant with limited finances, I am not in favour of the hike," D Bijnori said.

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Govt doctors oppose biometric attendance

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government's plan to introduce biometric attendance system in its hospitals has become a point of contention between the doctors and authorities. Faculty members at Lok Nayak hospital, where this system is being introduced, have registered their protest against the move in a letter to the lieutenant governor recently.

"The introduction of biometric system will rip away the much needed flexibility and reduce us to drones. A biometric system works effectively for those with fixed working hours and faculty members can't be included. Biometric attendance is not the norm in any office governed by Central Health Service, a cadre we belong to," said a senior doctor.

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