Cultural Extravganza with Birju Maharaj and some Goan Flavour at IFFI this Year

NEW DELHI: A cultural extravaganza with special choreography by dance maestro Birju Maharaj to showcase 100 years of cinema and glimpses from the local Konkani-Portuguese artistic traditions will kickstart the the 44th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on Wednesday in Goa.

Though Maharaj's tribute to Indian cinema through dance is the highlight of the event, performances from Bharat Natyam exponent Shobana and sitar aficionado Ustad Nishat Khan are also part of the evening that will open the festival. The showcasing of local Goan culture through performances on the evening is happening for the first time in the festival, said sources.

The decision to focus on local Goan flavour in the larger Indian cultural context was taken as the event is now a decade old in the state. Earlier cultural events during the inaugural ceremony encapsulated the composite Indian culture through a significant dose of Bollywood. The cultural event would be preceded by speeches from Hollywood veteran Susan Sarandon and actor Kamal Haasan, who are both chief guests at the event.

Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Manish Tewari, Goa CM Manohar Parrikar and I&B secretary Bimal Julka would also address the gathering before the opening film 'Don Juans' is screened. The film's director, Czech filmmaker Jiri Menzel, would also be receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, said festival director Shankar Mohan. Centenary Award for the Film Personality of the Year, instituted for the first time in the festival, will go to veteran Indian actress Waheeda Rehman. Mohan said there were many firsts in the 44th edition of the festival which include screening of 15 Oscar-nominee films among the 326 films from 76 countries being screened at the festival.

"The participation of films on digital platform this year is as high as 80% in comparison to 50% last year," he said. The festival is also screening cinema from Afghanistan, Jammu and Kashmir and the North East. The Country Focus this year is on Japan and the segment will showcase a special package of the best that Japan has to offer.

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Metro ordered 80,000 tonnes cement

NEW DELHI: In October this year, more than 80,000 metric tonnes of cement came to Delhi. The cement—one of the largest consignments—was earmarked for Delhi Metro and its Phase III construction work. The amount was only for the month of October and exceeded peak consumptions of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation during Phase II construction. The 80,000-metric-tonne consignment was equivalent to a goods train coming to Delhi everyday, bearing cement for the 91 stations on the 140km network that will be functional in 2016.

It's not the only eye-popping number that details Phase III project. Again in October, 16,000 metric tonnes of steel was consumed. This is equivalent to 1,000 road trailers carrying steel to Delhi. Additionally, two lakh cubic metric tonnes of ballast was used. Incredibly, one can build a 100km long two-lane (7m wide) concrete road or cover the entire periphery of Delhi with a single concrete lane of 3.5m width using this material.

That's not all. In Phase III construction, the Delhi Metro has used 225 cranes at over 200 construction sites in October this year. This is besides the 15 launchers that were in use to build the viaduct and five tunnel boring machines engaged in tunneling work. Incidentally, Delhi Metro will use 33 TBMs in Phase III to make 74 tunnels. "Use of 33 TBMs within NCR would be among the highest number of TBMs ever used in any urban centre more or less at the same time in any part of the world. In Phase II, when 34.89 kilometres of underground corridors were built, DMRC used 14 TBMs," added a Delhi Metro spokesperson.

As part of the construction of the 140km long network, which consists of two new corridors with 91 stations, of which 35 are underground, Delhi Metro has set up 24 casting yards. These are locations where parts of the construction, like the segments of the elevated sections or the rings of a tunnel, are pre-fabricated. Here, 52,510 rings are being fabricated to be used for the underground tunnels in Phase III. Compare this to the phase II figure where only 17,734 rings were constructed. Also, the casting yards have built 15,170 segments or girders for the elevated sections, along with 2,339 pillars or piers. In Phase II, the corresponding figure was 2,310 only. The length of the track in Phase III is also longer than that in Phase II: 280km as against 250km. This phase will also see 486 coaches being procured for the two corridors.

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Delhi Metro resumes service at Noida City Centre

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Tuesday resumed train operations at its Noida City Centre station, which was shut for repair work since September.

The station was shut since the last week of September. Train services since then were only available till the Golf Course Metro station on the Dwarka-Noida line, causing much inconvenience to commuters.

The repair work included concreting and stabilizing the pillars of the station. The defects were highlighted by a high-level committee constituted by the DMRC during a routine inspection. The defects also led to the suspension of two DMRC engineers.

According to a DMRC official, the repairs are now being wrapped up and the station is fit for passenger services.

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UN bodies explore private-public partnership to find climate change solution

WARSAW: Sensing that the government alone cannot bring climate change solution, the UN climate bodies on Tuesday launched a first of its kind platform where chief executives of big MNCs will join top government officials to share solutions, commitments and plans towards climate action at green talks which may end up as a robust deal in Paris in 2015.

India is also one of the participants at the inaugural Caring for Climate Business Forum where it is being represented by Tata Cleantech Capital.

Though this attempt is seen as a step to involve private sector in co-creation of climate change solutions, profile of participating companies -- including the Dow Chemicals -- will sure to raise an eyebrow in developing world including India.

Dow currently owns Union Carbide, the company responsible for the 1984 Bhopal Gas tragedy. Although Dow did not have any ownership in Union Carbide until 16 years after the Bhopal tragedy, its presence at any such forum always creates flutters all around in India.

The Forum is a joint initiatives of the United Nations. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat and UN Environment Programme.

It is expected that the CEOs of the participating companies will during their two-day meet showcase to diplomats, policymakers and world leaders the contributions that business and investors are making towards climate action.

Seriousness of such effort may be known later as, at present, this move is being debated whether it is merely an instrument of rich nations led by US to emphasize on market-based mechanism to deal with climate change which has been responsible for number of natural disasters across the globe.

"COP (Conference of Parties) 19 is a pivotal moment to both step up and showcase climate action," said Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of UNFCCC.

"Businesses must be heard, leveraged and invited to develop scalable climate change solutions to drive climate action. This can create the political space for more ambition in the UN climate process, which as part of a virtuous cycle can in turn catalyze more business action,"" she said.

The UNFCCC claimed that the Forum will showcase some of the most innovative commitments and solutions for climate change from businesses, including plans by Ikea to use 100% renewable energy by 2020, and a new global framework by Dow to mitigate the footprint of large-scale events and help to produce the first carbon neutral Olympic Games.

It may be noted that the Dow's participation as one of the sponsors of London Olympics last year was resisted vehemently by India. New Delhi had even wanted that the company be dropped as sponsor of the London Games because of its links to the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.

The International Olympic Committee had, however, rejected Indian demand, arguing that the Dow Chemicals neither owned or operated the plant at the time of the Bhopal gas leak disaster.

The two-day Business Forum will conclude here with a report-back segment and a formal announcement of new commitments to action.

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Cultural Extravganza with Birju Maharaj and some Goan Flavour at IFFI this year

NEW DELHI: A cultural extravaganza with special choreography by dance maestro Birju Maharaj to showcase 100 years of cinema and glimpses from the local Konkani-Portuguese artistic traditions will kickstart the the 44th International Film Festival of India ( IFFI) on Wednesday in Goa.

Though Maharaj's tribute to Indian cinema through dance is the highlight of the event, performances from Bharat Natyam exponent Shobana and sitar aficionado Ustad Nishat Khan are also part of the evening that will open the festival.

The showcasing of local Goan culture through performances on the evening is happening for the first time in the festival, said sources. The decision to focus on local Goan flavour in the larger Indian cultural context was taken as the event is now a decade old in the state. Earlier cultural events during the inaugural ceremony encapsulated the composite Indian culture through a significant dose of Bollywood.

The cultural event would be preceded by speeches from Hollywood veteran Susan Sarandon and actor Kamal Haasan, who are both chief guests at the event. Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Manish Tewari, Goa CM Manohar Parrikar and I&B secretary Bimal Julka would also address the gathering before the opening film 'Don Juans' is screened.

The film's director, Czech filmmaker Jiri Menzel, would also be receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, said festival director Shankar Mohan. Centenary Award for the Film Personality of the Year, instituted for the first time in the festival, will go to veteran Indian actress Waheeda Rehman.

Mohan said there were many firsts in the 44th edition of the festival which include screening of 15 Oscar-nominee films among the 326 films from 76 countries being screened at the festival. "The participation of films on digital platform this year is as high as 80% in comparison to 50% last year," he said.

The festival is also screening cinema from Afghanistan, Jammu and Kashmir and the North East. The Country Focus this year is on Japan and the segment will showcase a special package of the best that Japan has to offer.

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Man held for acid attack on 2 teenaged girls

NEW DELHI: Police on Monday arrested the 23-year-old man who was allegedly behind an acid attack on two teenaged girls here.

"The attacker, Manoj, was nabbed from Bawana bus stand here this afternoon," said a senior police official.

According to police, Manoj had thrown acid on an 18-year-old girl and her 16-year-old friend after the former refused his proposal for marriage. The victims were on their way to a market when Manoj attacked them on Sunday evening.

Police said Manoj is already married. While the 18-year-old received around 50 per cent burns, her friend sustained 20 per cent burn injuries. The two have been admitted to the Baba Bhim Rao Ambedkar hospital.

Passers-by had on Sunday tried to catch the accused after he carried out the attack, but he had managed to flee the spot.

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Two women injured in acid attack

NEW DELHI: Two women were injured when a man, stalking them for the last few days, threw acid at them in the Begumpur area of outer Delhi on Sunday. The two women identified as Gayatri (26) and Parvati (20) were attacked by Manoj, a daily labourer. While Gayatri suffered 20% burns, Parvati had 40% burn injuries. The two were immediately taken to a hospital.

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GK needs breathing space, politics of development

NEW DELHI: The crowded BRT corridor leads up to the assembly constituency of Greater Kailash. The area is marked by a mix of planned upscale colonies, including Greater Kailash I and II and Panchsheel, middle-class hubs of DDA flats in Kalkaji, Sant Nagar, Sheikh Sarai and Chittaranjan Park, as well as urban villages like Chirag Dilli.

Traffic congestion is inescapable in the constituency, where planned colonies of the 1970s have expanded from single-storey houses to four-storey apartments, and roads, once wide, have been reduced to lanes by haphazard parking. Greater Kailash best illustrates this. The popular GK-I market has been overshadowed by the chaos, and commercialization of residential properties at the entry to Greater Kailash II near Savitri Cinema has been a sore point with residents.

Asha Sharma, a senior citizen who has lived in GK-II for more than 35 years, says the area may seem clean and orderly to outsiders but those who have been here for decades find little improvement. "We have never seen MLA Vijay Kumar Malhotra. Now his son is fighting the elections and we don't know him at all," said Sharma, a doctor, before crossing a crowded road leading to the M-Block market.

Rajesh Malhotra who lives on the main road near Savitri Cinema points to the big boards at houses to express his discomfort with the commercialization. "This is no longer a place worth living in."

Chittaranjan Park, a colony that came up decades ago to rehabilitate refugees from East Pakistan and now crammed with middle-class families, is confronted by a parking mess, traffic jams, broken footpaths and markets spilling onto the roads. C Ghosh, a resident, complains about heavy traffic but notes an overall improvement in the electricity and water situation.

As you move towards DDA flats in Kalkaji, most roads are under repair, footpaths and central verges are being dug up. Sultan Singh, a resident walking past, spoke of works, including those on drainage, that have been undertaken only in the past few months.

Ajay Malhotra, who has got a BJP ticket, will be tested on his father's performance. Congress, departing from the tradition of fielding a Punjabi, has chosen a Gujjar and councillor from CR Park, Virender Kasana. For Kasana it is a test of his mettle on a turf where he and his brother have been active as councillors. While colonies like GK, Panchsheel and Kalkaji have been a BJP stronghold, urban villages of Shahpur Jat, Zamrudpur, Chirag Dilli, with concentrations of different communities likes Jats and Muslims, can change fortunes.

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Grand launch of charity 'Dreams For You' and Ruby Red Fashion Label in Delhi

The launch of the historic charity Dreams For You & the Ruby Red Fashion Label designed & created by Dr. Ruby Dhalla took place on the evening of October 29 in New Delhi India at Talkatora Stadium with over 5000 youth in attendance and Minister of External Affairs of India, the Hon. Salman Khurshid, Minister of State for External Affairs, Maharani Preneet Kaur, and Members of Parliaments from all political parties, bollywood celebrities, and decision makers.

Global music sensation, Yo Yo Honey Singh mesmerized the crowd with his performances and latest bollywood hits. It was an evening of inspiring the young generation to join in a global effort to empower mothers, daughters, and sisters.

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Leave alone Modi, even God can't save BJP in Delhi: Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi factor will hardly help BJP's fortunes in Delhi, believes Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal who said that "even God can't save" the saffron party as it seeks to wrest power in Delhi.

"BJP ko Delhi mein Bhagwan bhi nahi bacha sakte, toh Modi kya bachapay enge (God can't save BJP in Delhi, what could Modi do)?" Kejriwal said during a press interaction here.

And, as the political atmosphere hots up in Delhi ahead of the December 4 assembly elections, Kejriwal responded to comments by chief minister Sheila Dikshit that he had no experience of governance saying that neither did she have any prior experience of running a state before coming to power.

But the AAP leader noted that Congress acknowledges he was a "honhar" (capable) candidate.

"Congress has acknowledged that our intentions are clear and that I am 'honhar' (talented).

"Dikshit has said I am 'honhar' and, during one of their programmes, Congress MP Dipender Hooda accepted that our intentions were clear," Kejriwal said.

Dikshit had yesterday said at a rally in the city that although Kejriwal was "honhar", he "lacked experience" of governance.

Meanwhile, talking about trade and commerce in the national capital, Kejriwal alleged that faulty VAT rules here was the reason why some businessmen were moving out of Delhi even as he stressed that business and trade policies should be simplified to ensure growth and employment generation.

"I have been told that Delhi is the biggest wholesale market but, due to complicated VAT policies, many traders have moved out of the city.

"VAT is an extremely complicated issue, it needs to be simplified, only then will businesses grow and employment rise," he said.

He slammed Delhi government for "extortionist" policies which did not favour traders and were aimed instead at taking money from them.

Emphasising the need for decentralisation to ensure greater participation by common man in governance, he said, "political decentralisation in our manifesto will make us different from other parties. We would be passing Law of Swaraj in Delhi after winning to ensure this."

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