Survey on quality of life: Surat & Ahmedabad top the list

NEW DELHI: In sharp contrast with the findings of the first Annual Survey of India's City-Systems , Surat and Ahmedabad topped the list of 11 cities in the public survey on quality of life and city-system. In the Voice of India's Citizens Survey, Kanpur was rated as the worst city to live in.

For the citizens' survey, 4200 people across eleven cities were interviewed and asked to rate the quality of life in the city. Transport, cleanliness, availability of clean drinking water, public amenities, pollution control and greenery, crime and safety and ease of process in government offices were found to be the main concerns of citizens. Pune, Ahmedabad and Surat were seen to be the top three cities to live in.

"People had little problem in dealing with government officials in Pune. On the other hand, the maximum problems were faced by people in Kanpur,'' said Srikanth Viswanathan of Janaagraha. Pune was also rated as the safest and one of the most green cities.

"As for quality of life, despite all the infrastructure problems, citizens rated Pune as the second best city to live in. Kanpur, however , was slammed all around. "It indicates that certain cities have fundamentally good policies, institutions and structures in place but need to be backed by requisite capacities, resources and an accountability mechanism,'' said Viswanathan.

Significantly, on the factor of cleanliness, Delhi, Bangalore and Kanpur are seen to have poor standards and were rated as very dirty.

"The mechanism to ensure that garbage is cleared from garbage dumps on time and that sweepers come on time etc is missing. The civic agencies have not been able to put in place an effective waste disposal system in these cities," said Viswanathan.

Experts say the findings of the people's perception survey are an eye-opener as cities which were rated low in the main survey notched up a big score here.
"People in Surat and Ahmedabad are happy with the present arrangement. At present, the system is working perfectly. But our main focus is whether it is prepared for the future. The government and local bodies need to systematically plan development,'' he said.

In all cities, transport and clean drinking water emerged as the main concerns of the citizens. Despite Metro, Delhi was ranked 6th and Mumbai 4th in the mobility system category. The government is planning flyovers and underpasses to ease the traffic problems but these are temporary solutions. They are not focusing on finding permanent solutions, pointed out Vishwanathan.

While the main survey ranked Kolkata as the number one city in urban planning, people voted for Ahmedabad. Instead of Delhi, people rooted for Surat for having good urban resources. Again Surat came out on the top in transparency and accountability.

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Buta Singh cites Z+ security for Lutyens' bungalow

NEW DELHI: Six years after ordering authorities to "throw him out" of a government accommodation for "unauthorized" occupation, the Supreme Court on Thursday found former home minister Buta Singh continues to occupy a Lutyens' Delhi bungalow citing his Z plus security.

Singh through his counsel pleaded that he faced a threat from militants for his role in rebuilding the Golden Temple and Akal Takht after Operation Bluestar and that he has been paying a licence fee of Rs 50,622 per month after ceasing to be chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC).

"He has already paid more than Rs 15 lakh to the government as license fee," his counsel said.

But the arguments did not impress a bench of Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya who said hundreds of Kashmiri migrants forced to flee the valley fearing militant attacks have been evicted from their government accommodation.

"Why should they be not provided government quarters on security ground? What about lakhs of people in Bihar, of which you were governor for sometime, who face threat from naxalites?" the bench asked.

The court said it has no option but to take matters in its own hands and decided to stay the operation of its earlier order by which it had directed the government to initiate eviction proceedings against employees and bureaucrats squatting on official accommodations for years.

"The government has discriminated while implementing our orders. It has adopted a policy of pick and choose. From now on till we decide the issue finally, the government should stop all eviction proceedings, including suo motu proceedings initiated under Public Properties Act," the bench said.

The order can create a crisis for the government as it will have to flash a "No Room" sign at officials who come to Delhi on transfer or deputation as they would not get accommodation unless current occupants vacate government residences.

A similar story on non-allotment of proper accommodation to judicial members of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) saw the bench issue notices to the Centre with a Monday deadline. The bench gave additional solicitor general P P Malhotra time till Monday and said if things did not work out, the court would be constrained to stay the operation of the NGT Act.

The court's anguish stems from non-compliance of repeated orders by the court to make the NGT operational by providing office and residential space to the tribunal, its benches across India and the members. The court was told members are staying in one-room accommodations in various official guest houses hindering their work.

Advocates Sanjay Parikh and Binu Tamta pointed out that flats allotted to NGT members in Delhi at Commonwealth Games Village had large cracks and were uninhabitable. The court asked both counsel to inspect the premises and give a report to the court on Monday.

On Buta Singh's Teenmurti Marg accommodation, Malhotra said the Cabinet Committee on Accommodation had decided to regularize allotment of the bungalow to the former Bihar governor last year and allowed him to stay till June 24, 2014.

But, the bench was persistent with its query about status of Singh's occupation of the flat between 2010, when he ceased to be chairman of NCSC, and 2012 when it was regularized.

Though Malhotra pleaded with the court not to stay proceedings initiated by the government on its own under the Public Properties Act, the bench said the attitude and approach of the government left the court with no option but to stay all proceedings of eviction.

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DPS Mathura Road to hold seminar on gender issues

NEW DELHI: Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, is holding a national seminar on 'Contemporary Gender issue in Education from Human Rights to Gender Equity new Understanding, New Vision' on April 6. The statement by the school says that, about 100 principals are expected to participate in the seminar which will have Planning Commission-member, Syeda Hameed as chief guest and CBSE chairman, Vineet Joshi as guest of honour.

According to the media release, the issues likely to be discussed at the seminar include, "Understanding the gender construct and its influences - the human rights approach, critical definitions of gender and masculinity, equality, empowerment, women in national development vs. the gender stereotypes, working towards change in attitudes: stereotypes portrayed in mass media, gender-based violence, psycho-social aspects of violence against women and teachers and students as agents of change".

The statement further says that the seminar will "Focus on the interactive role of teachers and students in the key areas of gender equality, empowerment and their role as agents of change in the subject themes in the above context. The seminar aims to enrich education through gender enquiry, addressing gender equity and women's health. Recommendations for creating gender sensitive and gender inclusive schools will be entertained at the end of the session."

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Delhi gang-rape accused beaten, his hand broken in jail: Lawyer

NEW DELHI: Vinay Sharma, an accused in the December 16 gang-rape case, on Friday arrived in court with a fractured hand and his counsel said Tihar Jail inmates and police beat him up as he wanted to appear for an Indian Air Force (IAF) recruitment exam.

Sharma's counsel told the court that "Tihar Jail inmates and police beat up Sharma and broke his right hand so that he could not take his exam".

Sharma was to appear on April 7 for an IAF exam for vacancies of clerks.

His counsel AP Singh told the court that the inmates had said to Sharma: "You want to write the exam? You will write the exam with your right hand. We will break your hand."

Singh requested the court to summon Tihar Jail's superintendent to explain the incident.

He also sought a transfer of the trial and asked that the accused be kept away from Delhi Police.

Special public prosecutor Dayan Krishnan also requested the court to summon the jail's superintendent in court on Friday. "It troubles me greatly. It is my duty to ensure a fair trial. I am also disturbed (with the incident)," Krishnan added.

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BJP woman leader alleges misbehaviour by group of men

NEW DELHI: A woman leader of BJP today alleged that a group of men in inebriated condition misbehaved with her after hitting her car with their SUV in a posh south-east Delhi locality.

Actress-turned-politician Vani Tripathi claimed the five "drunk" men in the SUV hit her car near Savitri Cinema in Greater Kailash.

"They hit my car. The car tyres got burst. They came and tried to pull me out of the car. My driver showed courage and pushed them away," she said.

Tripathi claimed her driver locked her inside the car and countered the men while she called the police but their arrival got delayed because of traffic jam.

"One who was driving the SUV tried to get inside the car. In the police station, the man said he was trying to get an apology but the body language was not like that," she claimed.

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Doctors battle to save acid victim's eye

NEW DELHI: A day after acid was thrown on four sisters in UP's Shamli district near Muzaffarnagar, doctors in Delhi were battling to save the left eye of one of the victims that was badly damaged in the attack.

The 23-year-old victim was brought to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital late on Tuesday with severe burns in the chest, face and neck. Doctors said on Wednesday they were most concerned about the injury in her left eye.

"The cornea has severe acid burn injury. Blood supply to the area is restricted and even the surface area is affected," said Dr A K Grover, chairman of the hospital's ophthalmology department.

The four sisters — aged between 20 and 26, and all working as teachers in different schools at Kandhla town in Shamli — were returning home after invigilation duty when two unidentified men on a motorcycle sprayed acid on them with a pichkari (spray gun used in Holi).

"I spoke to the girls who said that they had stopped students from cheating in the exams," the victims' uncle told TOI. "We do not know why the girls were attacked but it could be related to their invigilation duty."

He said two of the sisters were also pursuing higher studies while continuing to teach. "All four were assigned invigilation duty at the Hindu Inter-college in Kandhla for the UP board exam. They were returning around 5 pm on Tuesday when the two men attacked them,'' he said.

According to the family, all four were rushed to the Shamli district hospital before one of them was referred to a Delhi hospital "The three other sisters are stable," said a family member who requested that they be left alone at this time of crisis.

Dr Grover from Sir Ganga Ram hospital said they had put a graft in the victim's left cornea to supplement nutrition in the area and restore the surface covering. He said the girl was otherwise stable and able to talk.

Meanwhile, reports from Shamli indicated that at least one more girl, a passerby, too have received injuries during the acid attack. A case has been registered against the two men and indications are harsher sections will be added once the victim becomes fit for statement.

No arrests or detentions have been made so far although several youths in the area were being questioned. "It seems unlikely that merely stopping examinees from cheating was the reason behind the attack though we are not ruling it out. We are probing personal enmity angle,'' said an investigating officer at the Kandhla police station.

The attack comes even as President Pranab Mukherjee signed a tough new legislation to counter violence against women. The legislation stipulates a jail term of up to 10 years for acid attacks.

The incident took place in full public view on the crowded Char Khamba road near Kandhla crossing and led to widespread anger among residents who later met the area superintendent of police demanding the immediate arrest of the accused.

The sisters, residents of Sheikhtajganj locality of the town, belong to a lower middle class family. Apart from their salaries, the family depends on a ration shop licensed in the name of their mother. Their father died several years ago. The family consists of a total of nine daughters, four of whom are married.

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Woman dies after wrongly treated for cancer, doctor to pay Rs 5L

NEW DELHI: A Chennai-based doctor and his nursing home have been directed by apex consumer commission to pay Rs five lakh to the father of a young woman who died in November 1992 after she was given treatment for cancer which she did not have.

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) held Dr Kurien Joseph and his nursing home guilty of medical negligence for not performing the requisite tests or consulting an oncologist to confirm the woman had cancer before subjecting her to several rounds of chemotherapy.

"In the instant case, the appellants did not conduct the required tests nor did they consult an oncologist or get biopsy done, which is common procedure undertaken in cases of suspected cancer. Taking into account these facts, we agree with the order of state commission and uphold the same. First appeal is, therefore, dismissed," a bench presided by justice Ashok Bhan said.

The order came on the doctor's appeal against the state commission's order holding him guilty of medical negligence and directing him to pay Rs five lakh as compensation, saying it had not adequately appreciated the evidence on record which indicated the patient had cancer.

The state commission's order had come on the plea of the patient's father Govindrajan, resident of village Perambakkam in district Thiruvallur of Tamil Nadu, who had alleged that his daughter, G Ushanandhini, was wrongly treated for cancer by Dr Kurien when she was admitted in his nursing home and as a result of the treatment she had died.

The doctor in his plea before the NCDRC had said that the patient was admitted in his nursing home with pregnancy related problems and was found having ectopic pregnancy, in which the embryo implants outside the uterine cavity.

While her pregnancy was terminated, her preliminary medical reports were suggestive of cancer and, therefore, she was given chemotherapy for the same, the doctor had said.

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Married woman, family friend found dead in Delhi

NEW DELHI: A married woman and her male family friend were found dead near a railway track here in Thursday morning, police said.

Bodies of Geeta and Amit, both in their early 20s and factory workers, were spotted by passersby in Samaipur Badli area in north Delhi, police said.

Police have not ruled out the possibility of a love affair between the two or their having committed suicide.

"Injury marks have been found on their bodies. The exact cause of death will be known after the post-mortem examination," additional deputy commissioner of police M A Rizvi said.

Both Geeta and Amit lived in Samaipur Badli and their families met frequently. Their kin have been questioned, police said.

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Married woman, family friend found dead in Delhi

NEW DELHI: A married woman and her male family friend were found dead near a railway track here in Thursday morning, police said.

Bodies of Geeta and Amit, both in their early 20s and factory workers, were spotted by passersby in Samaipur Badli area in north Delhi, police said.

Police have not ruled out the possibility of a love affair between the two or their having committed suicide.

"Injury marks have been found on their bodies. The exact cause of death will be known after the post-mortem examination," additional deputy commissioner of police M A Rizvi said.

Both Geeta and Amit lived in Samaipur Badli and their families met frequently. Their kin have been questioned, police said.

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Transport dept yet to share information on Delhi gang-rape, cops tell court

NEW DELHI: Inquiry into allegations that the Delhi gang-rape incident had occurred due to "corrupt" activities in the state transport department, which allowed the bus to ply illegally, is pending for want of information from the department, Delhi Police told a court on Wednesday.

Appearing before special judge Narottam Kaushal, ACP Crime Branch Suresh Kaushik said, "The enquiry into the matter is pending for want of information from transport department.

"Reply is still awaited in response to the notice issued to officials of the transport department for providing names and details of officials posted at the relevant time (when the bus in which gang-rape was committed was given licence illegally)," he told the court.

The official also submitted that the concerned officials shall be interrogated for ascertaining their roles in issuance of driving licence to Dinesh Yadav, the owner of the bus who has already been arrested, and registration of buses in his name.

The court granted time till May 18 to file a report on its enquiry while expressing disappointment for such delay.

The case pertains to a complaint filed by RTI activist Vivek Garg seeking directions to the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police to register an FIR against the transport minister, the transport commissioner and others for allegedly committing offences of corruption, cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy.

Garg's counsel Ajay Goel accused them of unlawfully allowing the bus, in which the 23-year-old paramedical student was gang-raped and tortured on December 16, to run without permit and of issuing a false fitness certificate and driving licence on fake documents.

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