Barber feels law bite for cruelty

A barber who thought he would have a close shave after killing a stray dog is feeling a bite of Rs 2,500 into his small earnings.

A local court fined him the sum under the prevention of cruelty to animals act. The person who dragged him to justice was Poonam Jaykar, a darling of Mumbai’s dog lovers who works for an NGO, Defence of Animals.

Jaykar, who lives with seven dogs in a one-bedroom apartment, had been feeding the stray for three months. Then, one day earlier this month, she found the dog missing.

Kuttewali madam, as Jaykar is fondly called, asked the children in the neighbourhood if they knew anything. They told her they had seen a barber threaten the dog.

“The children told me they had seen Mansoor Alam Sheikh, the barber, stuff the dog into a gunny bag,” Jaykar said.

Jaykar lodged a compliant with Khar police station and had Sheikh arrested. He owned up to the crime in Bandra's small causes court.

Novel course on ‘exclusion’

Days after the furore over a Delhi police advisory for students of the Northeast comes a course on social exclusion.

The programme — social exclusion and inclusive policy — is being offered by Jamia Milia Islamia at the postgraduate level.

The course, university officials say, will focus on case studies in India. Examples could be the social exclusion Muslims in Gujarat have faced for the past five years, starting with the 2002 riots.

“Field trips will be an integral part of the course. Students will be taken to ghettos in Delhi to start with. This could be those of religious communities as well as based on the part of India they come from,” an official said.

Anand Niketan, a locality where many students from the north-eastern states live in Delhi, will also be surveyed. A locality right next to Jamia, where Kashmiris stay, will be another subject of the case study.

Leap over Rajdhani

Hyderabad has a feel of the Rajdhani Express. Now, if all goes according to plan, it will have multi-destination trains that will leave the railway’s showpiece carrier trailing by miles.

Chief minister Y.S.R. Reddy has asked his officials to draw up the blueprint for a 3,000-km high-speed rail corridor to Mumbai, Bangalore, Visakhapatnam and Chennai.

Under the plan, which will be sent to the Centre soon, the trains on the special tracks will run at 200km per hour. At its best, the Rajdhani does no more than 160km.

Officials say it is possible that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be treated to a presentation on the project.

The Centre will be requested to take up the project on its own, or allow the state to go ahead with a plan where any shortfall would be met with funds from Delhi.

Home run

If that small apartment in Delhi was out of reach for years, don’t lose heart. Master Plan 2021 might do what the countless new housing societies haven’t been able to — check prices.

Behind the optimism is a proposal in the plan to boost private sector involvement in low-cost realty projects.

“The Delhi Development Authority has a monopoly in the capital. We have allowed private participation in the plan. We will bring a policy without delay,” Union urban development minister Ajay Maken said earlier this month.

He said he expects court approval for the plan, which aims to make Delhi world class in infrastructure, soon.

Delhi: When “Wonder boy” Raunaq is born to Arun and Meera Nayyar after 10 years of marriage, life suddenly seems perfect, till they discover he has thalassaemia. Watch the trials and tribulations of the Nayyars in Sarita Vohra’s play, Mr and Mrs Nayyar, at India International Centre on July 30 at 6.30pm.