10-yr-old dies after teacher hurls duster

Debajyoti Chakraborty | TNN

Andal (WB): A 10-year-old girl died here on Thursday after an angry teacher hurled a duster that hit her on the forehead.

Shockingly, the school did not inform Babli Ghosh’s guardians—a maternal uncle and aunt, her parents live in another town—until after she had died, at 5 pm. Rekha Bhakat, the teacher, is on the run. The headmistress, too, filed a police complaint, but only after she was gheraoed by angry parents on Friday.

A classmate of Babli alleged, “The teacher found some mistakes in Babli’s Bengali notebook. She shouted at her and in a fit of rage, threw the duster at her. We were shocked.” The duster hit Babli, sitting in front row, on her forehead. She collapsed and vomited four times, she said.

Teachers rushed Babli to hospital at 12.45 pm but her condition deteriorated. At 4.30 pm, when she became still, she was taken to a hospital in Durgapur town where she was declared dead on arrival.

Suu Kyi charged over US intruder, faces 5 yrs in jail

Yangon: Myanmar’s Nobel Prize-winning pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi faced new charges on Thursday less than two weeks before her house arrest was due to end after a US man swam across a lake to enter her home.

Supporters accused the military government of using the incident to keep her in detention ahead of general elections next year.

Suu Kyi, whose detention was set to end on May 27, could face a prison term of up to five years if convicted, said lawyer Hla Myo Myint. The trial is scheduled to start on Monday at a special court at Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison, where she was arraigned on Thursday.

She is accused of breaking the terms of her detention by harbouring the visitor for two days, even though another of Suu Kyi’s lawyers said she told the man to leave her home.

Human rights groups said they feared the trial would be used to justify another extension of Suu Kyi’s years-long detention despite international demands for her release. The 63-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate has already spent over 13 of the last 19 years in detention without trial for her non-violent promotion of democracy in Myanmar.

The motives of the American, John William Yettaw, 53, remained unclear. State TV on Thursday said he had served two years in the military and listed his occupation as “student”. AP

Suu Kyi

John Yettaw

Chemist solves riddle of life’s building blocks

Nicholas Wade

An English chemist has found the hidden gateway to the RNA world, the chemical milieu from which the first forms of life are thought to have emerged on earth some 3.8 billion years ago.

He has solved a problem that for 20 years has thwarted researchers trying to understand the origin of life — how the building blocks of RNA, called nucleotides, could have spontaneously assembled themselves in the conditions of the primitive earth. The discovery, if correct, should set experts on the right track to solving many other mysteries about the origin of life. It will also mean that for the first time a plausible explanation exists for how an information-carrying biological molecule could have emerged through natural processes from chemicals on earth.

The author, John Sutherland, from the University of Manchester, likened his work to a crossword puzzle in which doing the first clues makes the others easier. “Whether we’ve done one across is an open question,” he said. “Our worry is that it may not be right.”

Other researchers say they believe he has made a major advance in prebiotic chemistry, the study of the natural chemical reactions that preceded the first living cells. “It is precisely because this work opens up so many new directions for research that it will stand for years as one of the great advances in prebiotic chemistry,” Jack Szostak of the Massachusetts General Hospital wrote in Nature, where the work is being published on Thursday.

Scientists have long suspected that the first forms of life carried their biological information not in DNA but in RNA, its close chemical cousin. Though DNA is better known because of its storage of genetic information, RNA performs many of the trickiest operations in cells. RNA seems to have delegated the chore of data storage to the chemically more stable DNA eons ago. If the first forms of life were based on RNA, then the issue is to explain how the first RNA molecules were formed. NYT NEWS SERVICE

Green norms must for new bldgs

Centre To Standardise Energy Efficiency & Rainwater Harvesting Rules From Next Year

Nitin Sethi | TNN

New Delhi: The construction and housing sector will get a tad greener by the end of next year. The government has decided to make it mandatory for new buildings to undertake energy efficient measures, rainwater harvesting and use recycled construction material in parts under the sustainable habitat mission of the National Action Plan on Climate Change.

It will also finalise norms for integrating parking, taxation and congestion charges and other measures to promote public transport across cities.

The mission report, finalized by the urban development ministry and cleared by the government, will now be presented to the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change when it is next convened.

At present, several norms exist for energy efficiency and water harvesting and are implemented with variance across different cities. The government will turn them into a national standard so that they can be uniformly applied across the country.

Realizing that urban development measures are under the aegis of state governments, the Centre plans to leverage the grants it makes under the JNNURM to get the states on board.

The grants will have built-in conditions to ensure that national standards are incorporated in the by-laws of cities utilizing the funds. The norms will mandate minimum energy performance standards for residential and commercial buildings. While past experiences raise questions about its implementation, sources said the government is looking at less coercive and inspection-based ways of turning the laws into practice.

It plans to carry out a gamut of climate-friendly activities under the pilot projects of the 11th five-year plan for which demonstration programmes would be carried out and separately budgeted for. The legal and regulatory measures that cover a broad spectrum of areas will be consolidated under the National Sustainable Habitat Parameters.

HOUSE THAT
Recycled construction material to be mandatory for new buildings
Urban development grants to have in-built conditions to ensure states conform to laws
Govt to budget for climate friendly activities under pilot projects of the 11th five-year plan

No 50% cutoff for quota students in AIIMS test

Institute Unable To Fill Reserved Seats, May Face SC Ire

Risha Chitlangia | TNN

New Delhi: Unable to fill all reserved category seats last year, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has decided to do away with 50% cutoff criteria in its MBBS entrance exam from this academic session. The decision is likely to spark controversy as faculty members and junior doctors feel that this is in violation of SC order, according to which, there ought to be cutoff marks in all medical entrance exams.

Now, if a reserved category student scores a zero or negative marks he/she can still get admission in AIIMS provided there is seat available in category he/she belongs to. According to rules, if reserved category seats are not filled, then these will filled up by general category students.

“Now, a reserved category student will get admission in AIIMS even if he/she scores zero in the entrance exam. A general category student with 50% marks will be rejected as the seat belongs to the reserved category. The 50% marks in entrance exam was a way to to get deserving students in AIIMS,’’ said Dr Rahul Bhargava, president of Resident Doctors’ Association, AIIMS.

According to Dr Sunil Chumber, sub-dean academics, AIIMS, “This is a hypothetical situation—no one scores a zero in the entrance exam. And I don’t want to comment on a situation which will never occur. Moreover, only those students are eligible to apply who have scored 50% marks in Class 12.’’

But senior faculty members feel that this will bring down the standard of India’s premier medical institute.

The MBBS entrance exam is scheduled for June 1. Faculty members and resident doctors say that the scrapping of the 50% cut-off marks in entrance exam is against the SC order.

SC seeks Kerala reply on OBC cap:
The SC on Thursday sought response from the Kerala government on its decision to raise the income ceiling for the ‘creamy layer’ among OBCs from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 4.5 lakh.

SC refers UPSC quota row to constitution bench
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday referred to a fivejudge bench the question relating to validity of a civil services examination (CSE) rule virtually stopping double quota benefit for reserved category candidates who qualify on merit after competing under the general quota.

An SC bench looked into many previous SC judgments related to the issue and came to the conclusion that an authoritative pronouncement was needed from a constitution bench. Rule 16(2) of CSE Rules provides an opportunity to reserved category candidates, who rank among the general category, to fall back on their backward class status and improve their service choice. The improved service so availed by the candidate would then be counted against the quota posts specified for that service. TNN

Darkness at noon in city on July 22

Srinivas Laxman | TNN

After a gap of 10 years, a major celestial event, a total solar eclipse will be visible in parts of India on July 22.

Nehru Planetarium director, Piyush Pandey, said in a press release on Wednesday that in Mumbai the eclipse will be a partial event, with the sun appearing like a bitten-off biscuit. In the city, the sun will rise at 6.12 am when the eclipse would have already begun. At 6.22 am, 96 per cent of the sun’s diameter will be obscured by the moon. The partial eclipse will end in Mumbai at 7.19 am, he said.

“July is a month of rains. No one can predict with any confidence where you will have clear skies and no rainfall on July 22. Analysing the weather pattern of the past 20 years it seems Patna, Varanasi and their neighbourhood offer better viewing prospects for enthusiasts,’’
Pandey added.

He said the eclipse will begin at Surat, Gujarat at 6.21 am and leave India at the border of Arunachal Pradesh at 6.36 am. “It will zoom from one end of India to another in about 15 minutes, faster than a jet plane,’’ he said. He added many Indian cities will come in the eclipse’s path and it will roughly have a 200-km wide belt. At Surat the totality of the eclipse will be 3 minutes and 17 seconds and it will increase to 4 minutes and 20 seconds, north of Dibrugarh, in Assam.

The greatest duration of totality on Earth will be in the Pacific Ocean, south east of Japan, where the totality will last for 6 minutes 39 seconds.

When does a solar eclipse occur?
On New Moon, when the Moon passes between the Earth and Sun. If the Moon’s shadow falls upon Earth then a portion of the Sun’s disk is ‘eclipsed’ by the Moon

Partial eclipse
Areas which fall within the Moon’s faint outer shadow witness a partial solar eclipse

Total eclipse
Total solar eclipses are visible in places within the Moon’s dark inner shadow

Precautions
Eclipses, especially partial ones, are dangerous to look at because the un-eclipsed part of the Sun is still very bright

Permanent eye damage can result from looking at the Sun directly, through a camera viewfinder, binoculars or a telescope or even using sunglasses

Only use special solar filters or a specially created pinhole camera to watch an eclipse. Even while using a filter, take care not to stare at the Sun for long. Watch the eclipse through the filter briefly and then look away

Mumbai
will witness only a partial eclipse. In the city it will start before sunrise at 6.12 am and, after peaking at 6.22 am, it will end at 7.19 am

SSC board plans regular upgrade of curriculum

Anahita Mukherji I TNN

Mumbai: At an SSC board meeting in Pune on Thursday, experts in the field of education pointed out the need to regularly update the syllabus, which is currently revamped once in 10 years.

Two years into the brand new SSC syllabus,Vijaysheela Sardesai, chairperson of the state board of education, said
the board is planning a relook at the syllabus, keeping in mind the guidelines laid down by the National Curriculum Framework, 2005.

“The SSC board of studies for math and science also said the level of these subjects is not as high as in the CBSE board and needs to be upgraded, especially since all-India professional entrance tests are based on the CBSE curriculum,’’ said Fr Francis Swamy, board member and principal of Holy Family School, Andheri, who attended Thursday’s meet. “A relook at the curriculum will not just mean adding or subtracting chapters. In view of the NCF 2005,we will also look at new approaches to teaching and learning,’’ says Sardesai.

While the SSC board has three prescribed languages—English, Hindi and Marathi—other boards like ICSE and CBSE have only two. This has resulted in a great deal of angst during admissions, with SSC students pointing out that their scores are lower because of the extra language. At Pune’s board meet, educationists were unanimous about the need to retain all languages, as they felt that neither the state language, nor the national language, could be dispensed with.

While currently, both school report cards and SSC marksheets reflect only academic performance,educationists felt the need for a comprehensive report card reflecting a student’s emotional quotient, extra-curricular skills and personality development.

While teachers have complained of the quality of in-service teacher training workshops,it was suggested that the board call in experts to conduct the training for both teaching and non-teaching staff. Many felt the need for a structured elearning programme for students and teachers in rural parts of Maharashtra.

CONSERVING WATER one building at a time

Recycling Water Systems Soon To Be Mandatory In All New Constructions

Clara Lewis | TNN

Mumbai: In an attempt to tackle the city’s growing water shortage problem, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to pass a proposal making it mandatory for all new buildings to install water recycling systems. Here, grey water (household non-toxic water) is disinfected and then reused for non-potable purposes (see box).

This is to be made a part of the building by-laws, said D L Shinde, deputy municipal commissioner, in-charge of sewage projects. It will be applicable to all building projects where the plot size is 20,000 sq feet and above. The recycling of grey water — which is the norm in the US, the UK and other parts of Europe, Singapore and Australia — has met with success, and the BMC hopes to introduce it in Mumbai.

Besides grey water recycling, the civic body is also planning to make it mandatory for large complexes over 200,000 sq ft to set up sewage water treatment plants. While 20 per cent of the sewage water can be recycled for the complex’s needs, the rest of the treated water will be released into the civic sewerage network. “We are awaiting the election results and will then present the proposals before the standing committee,’’ said Shinde. “The aim is to reduce the burden on the existing sewerage network. Besides, using recycled water will bring down the demand for municipal water. But this will be applicable only to projects where the plot area is two lakh sq feet and above.’’

The cost of setting up the treatment plants will be borne by the builder. “As such big projects are commercial buildings, it makes sense to set up treatment plants. The BMC charges Rs 80 per 1,000 litres for commercial use. If developers set up a treatment plant, the cost can be recovered within two years, and long-term savings will be more, ‘’ said officials.

But in a city where there’s a premium on every sq cm of land, builders remain sceptical. Sunil Mantri of the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing and Industry said, “Such treatment plants are no problem in a large layout and in fact, will be welcomed. But you can’t ignore the fact that space is a big problem. Today, we harvest rainwater as it is mandatory and also useful. Not much space is required to set it up. With grey water plants, the space will have to be exclusive and that can pose a problem.’’

Recycling, however, may be unavoidable, given the city’s water shortage. Besides, recycling water is also a requirement for funds under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), said Shinde. “With the city’s population increasing by 2.5 per cent annually, the infrastructure and sources of water are inadequate to meet the needs of all its citizens. Even with Gargai and Pinjal, two new sources that have been identified, the water supply will only be augmented by another 1,320 mld,’’ said officials, adding that it will not be enough to meet the city’s needs on a long-term basis.

According to a master plan prepared in 1999 under the chairmanship of Madhav Chitale, by 2021, the city’s population will be 1.65 crore and its water demand would have risen to an alarming 5,400 mld. Mumbai receives approximately 3,450 million litres daily (mld), of which the civic body officially accepts that 680 mld is lost through theft and leakages. Of the 2,770 mld that is distributed, 80% is finally converted into sewage water. The actual water required for drinking and cooking purposes is not more than 45 litres per capita per day. “So, if the non-drinking water requirements are met through recycled water, then more citizens will get drinking water,’’ said civic officials.

The BMC’s track record in implementing such resolutions leaves a lot to be desired, say activists. “Though rainwater harvesting has been made mandatory, there are few success stories,’’ admitted civic officials.

ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS

GREY WATER RECYCLING
This is to be implemented in all buildings where the plot size is more than 20,000 sq feet Water from kitchens and bathrooms will be recycled The onus of setting up the system and the plumbing lines rests on the builder A 300 sq ft area must be designated for the recycling tank.

SEWAGE TREATMENT
It will be implemented in all projects (commercial and residential) where the plot size is more than 200,000 sq feet The developer can use 20% of the treated sewage water. 1,000 sq ft of land must be set aside for the treatment plant

A QUESTION OF MONEY
Plots of land over 200,000 sq ft are largely used for commercial purposes such as malls, business centres, etc, where the daily consumption of water is high
A commercial consumer pays Rs 80-80 per 1,000 litres of water, as opposed to residential users who are charged Rs 3.50 per 1,000 litres of water Once the plants are in place, developers will have no need to.

What is GREY WATER?
Grey water, also known as sullage, is non-industrial wastewater generated from domestic usage — bath and kitchen water

It comprises 50-80% of residential wastewater. It does not comprise water sewage or heavily polluted (detergent) water

It gets its name from its cloudy appearance and from its status as being neither fresh nor heavily polluted (black water) purchase water from the BMC

TRACKING THE FLOW
3,450 mld is used in Mumbai 680 mld of water is lost on account of theft and leakages 80% of the remaining 2,270 mld gets converted into sewage water 4,450 mld is the city’s actual need

DAILY USE
Supply perindividual varies from 240 litres per capita per day in high rises to 45 litres per capita per day in the slums

FUTURE IMPERFECT
A 1999 study conducted under the chairmanship of Madhav Chitale, says the city’s population will be 1.65 crore by the year 2021

Demand for water is expected to rise to 5,400 mld

An additional 1,320 mld from two new water sources, Gargai and Pinjal, will be insufficient

SEWAGE WOES: If the proposal is passed, huge complexes will have to set up plants

These kids pooled in books to set up library

Anahita Mukherji I TNN

Mumbai: Who says you need to be an adult to be an entrepreneur? Two 11-year-olds from a Goregaon housing complex, younger siblings in tow, pooled in their private collection of storybooks and started a library in the building garage. They opened shop on Monday. Within two days, they made a profit of Rs 500. Like any good businessperson, they plan to plough the profit back into the business and buy some more storybooks for the library.

Eleven-and-a-half-year-old Yash Harlalka and his neighbour Advika Agarwal, also 11, came up with the idea while sitting together in their schoolbus before the vacations. They set up the library, called Land Words, with Advika’s sister Aneeka (8), Yash’s brother Ayush (9) and his cousins, Shubhangini and Vanshika Halen.

They advertised their service through a handpainted poster at the entrance of the building, as well as handmade bookmarks that the kids distributed door-to-door to the 100-odd families in the housing complex, informing them that the library was open between 3 pm and 7 pm on weekdays, 2 pm to 3 pm on Saturdays and was closed on Sundays.

In addition to a bookstand procured from Advika’s father’s office, the library has chairs, a mattress and wall hangings from the children’s homes. “My five-year-old daughter enjoys visiting the library,’’ says Dr Arshi Tank, a resident of the complex.

The library, which runs out of the Advika’s grandmother’s garage, is dismantled by the time the family car moves in for the night. The children have maintained a meticulous log book of all those who have borrowed books. The rentals range from Rs 2 for the really tiny books to Rs 25-30 for the big ones with lots of stories in them. There’s a Rs 5 surcharge for those who want to renew the books after five days.

In addition to the vast collection of children’s literature, the library also includes magazines belonging to the children’s parents, as well as books on spirituality and acupuncture from their grandparents.

They’ve also included a few value-added services. In addition to the seating arrangement for those who want to drop by and read a book, they even personally read out stories to children who are too young to read. Yash, Advika, and their siblings are all voracious readers. Advika also writes short stories which she hands out to her classmates in exchange for stationery.

Other kids in the neighbourhood have volunteered to donate their old books to Yash and Advika. These books will not be added to the library, but will be donated to an orphanage in Lonavla.

ENTREPRENEURS IN THE MAKING: (From left) Aneeka, Yash, Advika and Ayush at their makeshift library in Goregaon

Dhoondte Reh Jaoge - Just another Copy!

I wonder when will Indian cinema stop borrowing concepts from foreign flicks. The recent movie 'Dhondte Reh Jaoge' staring 'Kunal Khemu', 'Soha Ali Khan', 'Sonu Sood', 'Paresh Rawal' and 'Johnny Lever' is a complete rip off of the 1968 movie 'The Producers' written and directed by 'Mel Brooks' starring 'Zero Mostel' and 'Gene Wilder'.

Here's the plot summary of 'The Producers' - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063462/plotsummary

It’s all about edutainment!

Mother’s Day are always special, especially for mothers. But this Mother’s Day, even the children of Mumbai will have reason to feel extra special. How’s that you ask? Renowned altruist, educationist and creative thinker — Grace Pinto, Ryan Foundation, has decided to present ‘The Mumbai International Children Film Festival’ this year end. The birth place of celluloid in India, Mumbai, since its establishment as a ‘film city’ is showcasing some of the best cinematic arts while being entertaining, inspirational, and educative, in turn tempting Bollywood aspirants from all over the country to become a part of this magic world.

This fervour and prominence of cinema has set-off an idea in the mind of Grace to cater quality world cinema to the children of Mumbai on a single platform. The ‘Mumbai International Children Film Festival’ will feature 200 Films from around 30 countries to facilitate children analyse and judge life on different parameters. Moreover, it will help them watch human aspects with different outlooks. Grace gets ecstatic as she shared her brainwave with us, “This out-of-the-box gift to our children will prove to be a renaissance in education and society upliftment. It will also help provide an equal status even to the underprivileged children of our society who will be involved in various workshops, integrated in the festival.

Furthermore, we aim at bringing the world renowned filmmakers and children face to face, to accelerate the learning process of our kids. Undoubtedly, the MICFF will provide different dimensions to the educational system by showcasing worldwide values and human expressions.” So kids, get ready to discover and share the new side of life with MCIFF.

Grace Pinto strikes a pose with the children