Hindustan Times: March 2008

Monday, March 31, 2008

Obese, frequent fliers more prone to sleep disorders

Everyone Envied champion snorer Girdhari Yaday (45) his deep slumber.

At his wife's insistence, Yaday, however, went to the sleep laboratory in Delhi's Indraprastha Apollo HospitaL The businessman, who - at 92 kg - is 30 kg overweight, is worried now He's been diagnosed with a sleep disorder: obstructive sleep apnea, which can shorten his life.

"Relatives would tell me how lucky I was to get deep sleep. But my wife occasionally slept in another room because of my snoring. I went to a doctor, who said I might die early because of it," said this resident of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, who is a frequent traveller and has undergone treatment.

Sleep labs across India - dark, soundproof rooms in which doctors monitor sleep patterns as you snooze with electrodes on your scalp and other places are getting more and more people with sleep disorders, who are obese, frequent fliers and work at call centres. Doctors attribute this to hectic work and unhealthy eating.

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Labels: Delhi's Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Ghaziabad, patients, sleep apnea, sleep disorder, ttar Pradesh

Friday, March 28, 2008

8 out of 10 Delhiites feel encounters are okay, and ' killer cops ' are heroes

This city needs police officers like Rajbir Singh. And it will get officers like him very soon one or two from his many understudies or colleagues will replace him as a leading encounter specialist. And Delhi will guietly applaud him.

An opinion poll done for the Hindustan Times by Cfore in Delhi showed the city is overwhelmingly in favour of encounters because, a) most people think criminals deserve to die and, b) courts are rarely able to convict them.

So, take them out. And here is the odd thing: Delhiites support encounters despite knowing that a lot of them are not genuine, that the criminals did not open fire first, or that they were in any way threatening the police officers.

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Labels: AjaiRaj Sharma, criminals, delhi, Delhi Police commissioner, encounters, Rajbir Singh

Thursday, March 27, 2008

BCCI invokes spirit of Cricket at Indian Premier League

Don't be surprised if you see Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds being far more respectful to each other during the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) than they were in Australia.

Bhajji and Symmo haven't struck up a sudden friendship. But they will have no choice but to behave because the BCCI has taken the business of sledging to heart. It has invoked the Spirit of Cricket for the IPL.

The Spirit of Cricket is the doctrine enshrined by Sir Colin Cowdrey and Lord Ted Dextel: ex-England skippers and MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) members, in the 1990s in the laws of the game.

The Indian cricket board, campaigning for the eradication of sledging and abusive player behaviour, will ask the players to take a spoken oath that will bind them to playing by the spirit of the game and not just its laws.

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Labels: Andrew symonds, BCCI, cricket, harbhajan singh, Indian cricket team, IPL player auction, Marylebone Cricket Club

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

75 million Bangladeshis may inundate India

A scary scenario awaits India and the coastal cities of Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai if global temperatures rise, as projected, by about 4-5 degrees in this century.

About 75 million people from Bangladesh would migrate to India as climate change, rise in sea levels, drought, shrinking water supplies and monsoon variability take a toll on coastal states and regions. In all, about 125 million migrants, including 50 million from densely populated coastal regions and other vulnerable parts of India, could become homeless.

The scale of migration would be equivalent to the Partition ten times over It would displace 375 times the number of people needing rehabilitation from the Sardar Sarovar project.

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Labels: Air India, Bangladesh, Climate Migrants, Sardar Sarovar project, SCARY scenario, South Asia

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Bonanza For Babus

It is a windfall for over 45 lakh central government employees. The sixth Pay Commission on Monday submitted its report to the government proposing a substantial increase in salaries and allowances for government employees, while seeking to streamline allowances, pension and medical insurance.

The revised pay scales will be effective respectively from January 1, 2006, while recommendations relating to allowances will be implemented prospectively. Existing rates of most of the allowances have been doubled for both defence and civilian staff.

As per the revised pay scales, minimum monthly salary at entry level would be Rs 6,660 and the maximum of a Cabinet Secretary and Service chiefs would be Rs 90,000. Secretaries will get Rs 80,000.

In a first of its kind, the commission recommended a performance related incentive scheme (PRIS) by which employees will be eligible for pecuniary remuneration over and above their pay. The PRIS will be budget neutral. "A scheme of PRIS (performance related incentive scheme) has been recommended... It should also work as a substitute for bonus, honorarium and overtime allowances," the report said.

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Labels: bonanza, defence, finance minister, government employees, grade pay, pay hikes, pension, sixth Pay Commission

Monday, March 24, 2008

India has most elected women representatives

India has more elected women representatives than all other countries put together. According to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj's mid-term appraisal of the 'State of the Panchayats 2006-07', "No less than 10 lakh women are in our panchayati raj (local self government) institutions, comprising 37 per cent of all those elected and rising to as high as 54 per cent in Bihar, which has 50 per cent reservation for women."

The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act (1992), which gave constitutional status to panchayati raj institutions, reserved 33 per cent of the seats in panchayats for women.

Speaking at a recent screening of short films on women in New Delhi, Minister for Panchayati Raj Mani Shankar Aiyar emphasised: "There are more women elected representatives in India than the rest of the world. Eat your heart out."

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Labels: Constitution (73rd Amendment) Ac, New delhi, Panchayati raj institutions, State of the Panchayats, Women reservation

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Festive Friday for Amar, Akbar, Anthony

This Friday will arrive with the epic scope of a Manmohan Desai movie. Four blockbuster days on the religious calendar - Chhoti Holi for Hindus, the Prophet's birthday and death anniversary for Muslims, Good Friday for Christians (followed by Easter on Sunday) and Navroz for Iranis and Parsis - have converged on March 21.

Offices around the city have already begun to see a fall in attendance, a trend that is likely to aggravate on Thursday And most hotels in Shimla and Nainital are booked for the weekend.

The aroma of ghee wafts out of the Pandeys' Noida Sector 28 home. The mawa has been ordered and dry fruits chopped for traditional Holi sweets.

"We will have a big party The neighbourhood, a mix of all faiths, is getting together to celebrate," says Savita Pandey, a working mother.

Easter eggs are being prepared with marzipan and dry fruits at Thresia Jose's Janakpuri home. "Easter is the celebration of new life. We will host a grand lunch for friends and relatives on Easter Sunday," says the homemaker.

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Labels: Easter eggs, Four blockbuster days, Good Friday, Holi, Iranis, Nainital, Navroz, Parsis, Prophet's birthday, Shimla

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Stop the violence, or I quit

Even as Beijing launched a strong verbal assault on the Dalai Lama, the temporal and spiritual leader of Tibetans on Tuesday threatened to resign if the violence in Tibet did not stop.

He appealed to the Tibetan people to remain committed to non-violence. "Should the majority of the Tibetan people want to use violence, I would have no other option but to resign from leading the Tibetan struggle," he told reporters in Dharamsala. He expressed concern over the turmoil in Tibet, but said the situation was gradually improving.

The Dalai Lama spoke after Chinese premier Wen JiaBao blamed him for the violence. "There is ample fact and we also have plenty of evidence - proving that this incident was organised, premeditated, masterminded and incited by the Dalai clique," Wen said at his annual news conference at the end of China's national legislative session in Beijing. "

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Labels: Beijing, china, Dalai Lama, Dharamsala, Tibetan Communist Party Committee, Tibetans

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Pollution cloud over Olympics

There's a dark shadow over certain events at the Beijing Olympics this August. In Lausanne on Monday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) didn't rule out postponing endurance competitions like the marathon because of the heavy pollution in the air over the Chinese capital. If that happens, it will be unprecedented.

There may be "some risk (to the health of the athletes)" from the pollution, the IOC said. It will consider a 'Plan B', and may even postpone events if, after daily monitoring of the air quality, weather conditions and other relevant data, it finds the conditions aren't conducive for competition.

Events that require a minimum one hour of continuous physical effort at a high level, are under the scanner; the IOC said. These would include the marathon, swimming, mountain biking, urban road cycling, triathlon and the walks.

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Labels: Beijing Olympics, china, International Olympic Committee, Justine Henin, Plan B

Monday, March 17, 2008

Got a big car? Park it in no-parking zones

HERE'S A good reason to buy a big can Chances are the traffic police will not tow it away even if you leave it in a no-parking zone. And you'll save the Rs 800 fine, and the trip to the police station to get it released.

Almost all of the 11,978 vehicles towed away by traffic police in Delhi in February were either bikes, or small cars like Santros, Indicas and Marutis. The cops don't have specific numbers, but they have no hesitation admitting that very few big vehicles like SUVs, and high-end sedans like Accords, Corollas or Skodas were towed away.

So why do small cars get specifically targeted? Because most cranes the police have are simply too small to pull away big vehicles.

And why don't the police have bigger cranes? "We have more smaller cranes because they are easy to manoeuvre on congested roads," says Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) S.N. Shrivastava. "But wherever needed,

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Labels: antros, delhi, Indicas, Joint Commissioner of Police, Marutis, no parking Zones

Friday, March 14, 2008

India's star rowers train on stinking drain

India two silvers and a bronze in rowing at the 2006 Doha Asian Games and there is hope that the sport will be a major medal grosser in the years ahead.

But if you happen to drop in to watch some of India's present and future champions train at the Chhawla drain (commonly known as the Najafgarh naala), it not only isn't inspiring, it will probably make you want to throw up. Literally

On Thursday, 30-odd rowers, most national level, from the Rajputana Rifles, did what they do for six to eight months of the year: Braving a constant, terrible stench, they trained surrounded by floating sludge and rubbish - lots of it potentially toxic given that effluents from across the Capital flow into this naala - to prepare for the National and Inter-Services championships.

"We used to feel very sick earlier... even wear masks at times, but now we have got used to it," one of the rowers told HT, asking not to be named. "During summers though, it's hell- ish with all the decomposing sewage, so while we have to train in some part of the summer, we try and do most of the training during the rainy season when the drain fills up.

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Labels: Doha Asian Games, Najafgarh naala, Rajputana Rifles, the National and Inter-Services championships

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Hotshot alumni come to cash Strapped SRCC's Aid

What Does a college do when it needs funds urgently for some major refurbishing? For Shri Ram College of Commerce, all it took was a few calls to illustrious alumni.

The alumni association of the college came together to raise funds to improve its infrastructure. In a little over a month, the college was able to raise over Rs 1 crore with help from just 17 top alumni.

The money will help SRCC refurbish classrooms, provide air conditioning in several lecture and tutorial rooms, retro-fit its structure and install a broadband network.

Big names like lawyer and BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley Bharat Hotels CMD Jyotsna Suri, Punj Lloyd CMD Atul Punj, Max India boss Analjit Singh, Yadu Hari Dalmia, vice chairman of Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd and Abhishek Dalmia of Renaissance are among those who have come forward to help their alma mater

"We have tied up with a French university for an exchange programme. We are called the best commerce college in India, but our classrooms needed to be better equipped.

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Labels: alumni, Laptops, LCD projectors, Shri Ram College of Commerce, SRCC's Aid

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

More counters, entry gates at International airport

There is hope for passengers passing through Delhi's international airport. The company carrying out the modernisation project has promised to open more gates to let in people, employ staff to assist them through the overcrowded terminal, and provide more baggage trolleys.

The commitment was made after the government reacted to Hindustan Times's public interest campaign against the conditions at the airport, and pulled up the company, a top official said on Tuesday evening.

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) will also immediately increase the number of immigration counters to 28 from the existing 18, double the number of security-check counters to 16 from 8, and take steps to improve baggage screening, said K.N. Srivastava, joint secretary (airports) at the civil aviation ministry after a meeting with company representatives.

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Labels: counters, delhi, Delhi International Airport(P) Ltd, Entry Gates

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Workers sue US firm, India cracks down on recruiters

THE 120 workers who walked out of Signal International facilities in Mississippi last week rallied outside the office of the lawyer, who acted as a recruiter to bring them from India to the United States.

"The reason we gave up our homes to come here was to get permanent residency," said Vijaka Kumaran, 34. Kumaran sold his wife's jewellery to get the $15,000 he was charged to go to the US.

The workers attempted to present lawyer Malvern Burnett with a federal lawsuit filed in a district court in New Orleans that names two recruiters and Signal as defendants and accuses the companies of human trafficking. The 82-page complaint claims the defendants violated their rights besides violating nine federallaws. It claims they violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act by having both forced labour and trafficking. They also claim violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, fraud, breach of contract, violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and false imprisonment, assault and battery and infliction of emotional harm.

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Labels: Fair Labor Standards Act, Mississippi, ornaments, Signal International facilities, US

Monday, March 10, 2008

US dream lost in packed dorms, stink of stale food

When Kurian David sold his home, he believed he was doing so to seek a better life in the US for him and his family He was promised good wages, decent accommodation, a green card and permanent residency for him, his wife and two sons.

He paid $20,000 (Rs 8 lakh) in exchange for a job at the Signal International shipyard in Orange, Texas.

When he arrived at the facility there was no opportunity for his dreams to come to fruition. Instead, he lived in a room with 23 other men, sleeping in bunk beds and sharing two bathrooms. David, 41, said he worked 10-hour days in the hull of a ship where he inhaled fumes and smoke. He was served stale bread for breakfast and forced to eat lunches left in the elements for hours.

When he and fellow workers at the plant complained, they were told they would be deported, a paralyzing possibility because of the debt he incurred getting the job.

"I decided to gamble everything," David said. "We felt bonded. We felt like we were in prison. None the less, we ate their rotten food and stayed in their degrading conditions because they promised us green cards."

David is one of about 120 workers brought to the US from India to work for Signal International in their two shipyards who walked off the job last week in protest of the conditions.

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Labels: bunk beds, India, Kurian David, Signal International shipyard, stink of stale food, US

Friday, March 7, 2008

City's tallest building is 91.5 m, and growing

The under constructin Centre building on Minto Road has become the tallest structure in Delhi. It has reached a height of 91.5 metres, surpassing the Hansalaya building on Barakhamba Road by 3.5 metres.

The Civic Centre, which will house the MCD headquarters, is scheduled to be completed in March. By then, the 28-storey building will be 101 metres tall, 13 metres more than Hansalaya.

"We crossed the 91-metre mark on February 28. The construction of the building would be complete by March end," said a senior MCD official. The huge complex will be functional by December .

CIVIC CENTRE 91.5metres Once completed, the building will be 101 metres tall. The building will be ready by March. HANSALAYA metres QUTUB MINAR 72.5 metres VIKAS MINAR 54metre

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Labels: citys lallest builiding, Civic Centre building, Minto Road

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Stand in line f or 45 mins, get passport in 15 days

Forget Long queues, greasy touts and phone calls to officers with "requests". Within 45 minutes of entering the passport once, you will know when you are receiving the document - the same day, in three days or in a fortnight.

And in case your waiting time at the clean, brightly-lit passport office takes 46 minutes or more, the service provider will shell out a penalty for wasting your time. A 'FiFo' (first in, first out) system will ensure no one will be allowed to pull strings to push their application over yours.

These aren't just the fantasies of a harassed passport seeker. A mega overhaul of the system, slated for completion by the third quarter of 2009, promises to cut red tape, end harassment and make sifarish redundant.

By March 31, the external affairs ministry will home in on one of six shortlisted companies - Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, infotech, SpanCo, Electronics Corporation of India Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd - to be the passport service provider A total 28 parameters (like cleanliness, courtesy, efficiency etc) will have to be met by the provider, who will be held accountable for any lacunae. The demand for passports is growing at over 18 per cent annually Around 1,250 people apply daily in Delhi alone.

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Labels: infotech, Passport, SpanCo, Tata Consultancy Services, TCS, Wipro

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Against All OZ

They Started the tri-series amid controversy over Harbhajan Singh's alleged misdemeneanours, and the dropping of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. They have no hope, the doubters said - not without the seniors, not against Australia and Sri Lanka.

So, after the victory lap and champagne celebrations were done, it was Mahendra Singh Dhoni's turn to give some of it back. He kept the focus largely on the Australian media, and to their Harbhajan Singh fixation.

"It was getting a bit too much…," Dhoni said. "Every day, there was something new in the papers (about Harbhajan). It didn't matter when some player, even Australians, did something good. It was all about Harbhajan, as if he was Michael Jackson. Who'll they write about once we leave?... Maybe when I go back to India I will surf the net to find what they are doing in the absence of Harbhajan."

The six-wicket drubbing in Sydney on Sunday and the loss in Brisbane on Tuesday ensured Australia haven't won the CB Series trophy for two consecutive years now. The tri-series - for long an integral part of the Oz experience - is now over forever, and India, with their first major tournament victory here since 1985, will be the permanent holders.

When he spoke, Dhoni held little back - but was as firm and as calm as ever. To the rest of the world, he sounded a warning: "There are youngsters in this team who are aggressive. You have to be careful while dealing with them. If you are harsh with them, you'll get it back."

Dhoni's men are going back with answers to many of the questions troubling Indian cricket for some time now. The toughest battlefield has produced a bunch of warriors who will hopefully inspire dreams, not wistful thoughts of past glory and opportunities lost.

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Labels: harbhajan singh, India beats Australia, Sydney, tourism, tri-series

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Whispers of death at 2010 Games hub

The construction site of the Commonwealth Games Village on the Yamuna riverbed has been hit by an outbreak of a deadly brain fever There is talk of deaths and panic, and frightened workers want to leave for home.

"Nine workers from the construction site have come to us with meningitis in the past 10 days," said Dr VR. Sood, Medical Superintendent at Bimla Devi Hospital in Mayur Vihar II, the closest health centre. "So many cases from a single, enclosed space is worrying."

This year, Delhi has had 109 cases of meningitis - from all across the city, with a population of over 1.25 crore, and 13 deaths.

Most workers are from Bihar and UP and live in cramped and unhygienic quarters at the construction site. Meningitis bacteria travels through air riding tiny, invisible droplets on exhaled breath. "An overcrowded, unhygienic and enclosed area fuels the outbreak," said Dr Bir Singh, professor of community medicine at AIIMS. Infection follows high fever, which can turn fatal if not treated aggressively.

Rintu, a worker from Malda, Bengal, told Hindustan Times, "The fever is spreading fast inside the camp. People are falling unconscious. We are scared." Sheesh Mohammad, a worker from Bihar, said: "Doctors at the camp are giving medicine for simple fever But this doesn't look like a simple disease."

Some workers even attributed the outbreak to a curse. "Jamnaji bali maang rahi hain (The river is seeking sacrifice)," said Shankar, for simple fever But this doesn't look like a simple disease." Some workers even attributed the outbreak to a curse. "Jamnaji bali maang rahi hain (The river is seeking sacrifice)," said Shankar, a worker from Bihar. Workers claimed people have died and even named some victims, but HT was unable to verify them independently with the neighbourhood hospital or MCD.

The MCD sent its officials to inspect the site, which happened in the presence of HT reporters. The officials picked up blood samples for testing, but they were certain of the outbreak.

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Labels: brain fever, Commonwealth Games, Panic on Yamuna bank

Monday, March 3, 2008

Madness at Delhi airport

Passengers Trying to board flights at the Indira Gandhi International Airport have fainted or have had epileptic fits due to the claustrophobic conditions prompted by construction work that has led to the closure of large chunks of areas, airlines operating from the airport have said.

The airport - in the midst of a massive face lift - has shrunk considerably, leading to serpentine queues that regularly delay flights. People have missed their flights as they spend hours first battling a gut-crushing rush at the airport's entrance and then the immigration counters during the peak travel season.

The elderly handicapped, and passengers with children are suffering the most, a foreign airline said. It said in a letter to airport operator Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd. (DIAL) that the immigration counters posed the biggest bott1eneck, as several counters were not operational at any given time due to construction.

If you are planning to board an international flight you might want to reach the airport at least four hours before the departure time, or chances are you would return home like Sanjay Kumal: a resident of Hagen in Germany, did when he missed his flight after spending more than an hour to enter the check-in lounge.

"The whole process of entering the airport and clearing the security check is maddening," said Naunidhi Lamba, a Toronto resident who had come to celebrate her one year-old daughter's birthday.

"The queues are huge and the terminals claustrophobic. We had to run around madly to catch our flight in time, which thankfully got delayed as most passengers were stuck in the queues and could not reach the airline counter," she said.

Airlines, including national carrier Air India, have asked DIAL to immediately tackle congestion at all points at the airport - from the road leading to the terminal to the security check points inside.

"Our flights are getting delayed by 30 to 45 minutes as congestion in the terminals mean passengers report late and we cannot close the counters in time. The frequent breakdown of the conveyor belt also leads to delay in loading baggage in aircraft," said an Air India spokesman.

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Labels: Air India, Delhi International Airport(P) Ltd, DIAL, flight schedule, ndira Gandhi International Airport

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