The SC order would spell relief for those planning to buy ordinary diesel cars as the National Green Tribunal had in its December 12 interim order brought them also under the ambit of the ban. This definitely is a huge setback for those who were gearing up to own a diesel SUV or a luxury sedan in Delhi. Taking its crusade against the toxic air in the national capital to new heights, the Supreme Court, holding that the “rich cannot be allowed to pollute the environment”, said on Tuesday that it would ban registration of diesel vehicles with engine power of more than 2000cc till April 1, on a trial basis. The court is likely to pronounce a formal order on Wednesday. “Why should rich people move around in expensive diesel cars causing pollution when they can afford petrol cars? Here, life of people are at stake and you are more worried about the dealers? You are selling cars to the rich, while the common man suffers”, Chief Justice T S Thakur told lawyers of car dealers association who pleaded for some more time before the order is implemented, to sell off the existing stock. On the other hand, the SC order would spell relief for those planning to buy ordinary diesel cars as the National Green Tribunal had in its December 12 interim order also brought them under the ambit of the ban.

Being the superior court, SC’s order will override any direction passed by the NGT. The court also indicated to the Delhi government, MCD and toll contractors that it would double the environment compensation charge from the existing Rs 700 to Rs 1,400 for light vehicles and from Rs 1, 300 to Rs 2,600 for two-axle trucks, three-axle trucks and four-axle trucks that enter Delhi and spew poisonous fumes. Though the toll contractors and MCD said the present charges have resulted in 30 per cent decrease in the entry of non-destined trucks to Delhi, the judges were of the view that the fine would be a “proper deterrent” only if it was doubled. The bench said the government shall use the money to improve the environment, augment public transport, improve roads and make extra facilities for pedestrians and cyclists as was mentioned in its earlier order. “Trucks take alternate routes when entering Delhi just to save toll tax. In the process, pollution caused by such traffic inflicts heavy cost on the health of the residents of Delhi. If you are not destined for Delhi, then don’t come. If you come, be ready to pay the heavy tax”, the bench said. The Supreme Court is also likely to suggest alternatives routes which can be taken by such non-destined trucks and ask toll operators at city’s nine entry points to display them prominently for the benefit of the truck drivers. The Chief Justice-led bench said it would not allow the plying of trucks and light commercial vehicles registered before 2005 through Delhi and also make it compulsory for all taxis in the national capital to convert to CNG.

The court was acting on detailed recommendations submitted by amicus curiae (senior advocate assisting the court on an issue) Harish Salve and NGO Centre for Science and Environment represented by its Director General Sunita Narain. The court was also hearing a PIL filed by Arvind Gupta, an economist who sought complete ban on diesel vehicles in Delhi. In his petition, Gupta said:

“The data available from WHO shows that Indian cities are almost 10 times more polluted than the other cities of the world, which is a serious infraction of the fundamental rights of the citizens of India. The WHO estimates that more than two million people die every year from breathing in tiny particles present indoors and outdoors due to air pollution. PM10 particles, (particles of 10 micrometers or less) can penetrate into the lungs and may enter the bloodstream. They can cause heart disease, lungcancer, asthma, and acute lower respiratory infections.” Also read: Odd-even plan: Delhi govt to issue permits to 10k new autos to ease travel Haryana pollution panel slaps notice on Delhi Metro

NEW DELHI: India today said it can undertake operations against the ISIS terror group under a UN flag if the global body adopts a resolution in this regard. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who has returned after a crucial meeting with his US counterpart Ashton Carter in Washington, also said that India has been sharing intelligence on the ISIS and it will be enhanced. “We have made it clear that if there is a UN resolution and if there is UN flag and a UN mission, then as per India’s policy to operate under UN flag, we will participate,” Parrikar told reporters here at India Gate after laying wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti on Vijay Diwas. He was replying to questions on the possibility of India’s participation in operations against the ISIS. Asked specifically if India will operate against the ISIS under the UN flag, he said, “that depends on whether UN takes a resolution”. India had earlier this month, along with major world economies, participated in the first-ever global meeting held in Paris to discuss and evolve mechanisms to combat the clandestine and largely undetected terrorist financing network of the Islamic State terror group.

Indian security establishment suggests that around 20 Indians are currently fighting for ISIS in Iraq-Syria. They include two youths from Kalyan in the outskirts of Mumbai, an Australia-based Kashmiri, one youth from Telangana, one from Karnataka, one Oman-based Indian and another Singapore-based Indian. Last year, a youth from Kalyan had returned home after spending about six-months with ISIS. He was arrested upon arrival in Mumbai. Among the six Indians, who fought alongside ISIS and got killed were three Indian Mujahideen terrorists, including Sultan Ajmer Shah and Bada Sajid, who had joined its ranks after being in Pakistan, two from Maharashtra and one from Telangana. On September 15, the UAE deported four Indians suspected to have links with ISIS. The UAE had also sent back in September a 37-year-old woman, Afsha Jabeen alias Nicky Joseph, who was allegedly involving in recruiting youths for ISIS. In January, Salman Mohiuddin of Hyderabad was arrested at Hyderabad airport when he was preparing to board a flight to Dubai on way to Syria via Turkey. So far, 17 young men, mostly from Telangana, have been prevented from travelling to Syria, ostensibly to join ISIS.

National Society for Equal Opportunities for the Handicapped (NASEOH) is organising a ‘JOB FAIR FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES’ on Saturday from 9.30am to 2 pm.

The Job Fair will be held at Naseoh, Postal Colony, Behind Fine Arts Auditorium, Chembur East.

More than 25 companies are presenting career opportunities for the blind, physically handicapped, deaf, mute and slow learners.

Where: Naseoh, Chembur East
When: December 19
Time: 09:30am-02:00pm

An unidentified person/s burnt a total of eleven motorbikes in Antop Hill area in the wee hours of Tuesday. An FIR has been registered in connection with the incident and the police is on the lookout for those responsible.
The incident came to light early on Tuesday after a local resident saw the motorcycles on fire. While nine motorbikes were completely charred in the fire, two sustained more than 50 per cent damage. Most of the victims live in Motilal Nehru Nagar, a nearby slum and park their motorbikes in the area.
Police sub inspector Shivaji Mohite said the motorbikes were parked illegally on a land owned by the Central government. They were parked in the CGS quarters area in Sector 7. Mr Mohite said that he had not come across any information where people from the area raised objection over the parking.
One of the victims Gopal Gupta (28) said, “I am a resident of Motilal Nehru Nagar which is at a distance of five minutes from the spot. My motorbike was a Honda Unicorn, which was gifted by my parents just 10 months back. I have been parking my bike there for 10 months. The residents used to object about the parking only during festivals.”
“I have no idea who burnt my bike. I have no enmity with anyone. A local resident told me that one person first took out the petrol from the bikes and then used it to burn them. He was also taking out petrol from bikes in the nearby area when the resident screamed at him. The unidentified person then ran off,” added Mr Gupta.
The Honda Activa of Abdul Razak (30), another resident of Motilal Nagar, was charred in the incident too. Mr Razak had bought it just three months ago. “I have no idea who did this. I have no enmity with anyone,” he said.

Thousands of Muslims in India have joined nationwide rallies to protest derogatory remarks against Islam’s founder by a self-proclaimed Hindu activist.

The protests were sparked by a press note from Kamlesh Tiwari, who claims to be a member of a right-wing group called Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM). The note, which was released on Nov. 30, stated that Prophet Muhammad was homosexual.

The demonstrations by members of India’s largest religious minority kicked off in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Dec. 2, and have gradually spread to other parts of the country, although ABHM has denied that Tiwari is affiliated with it.

Large-scale rallies have also taken place in the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir over the past two weeks, with thousands of Muslim protestors demanding the death penalty for Tiwari.

Tiwari was arrested on Dec. 2 hours after the protests erupted.

Police sources told BenarNews that Tiwari was charged under the stringent National Security Act of 1980 (NSA) on Dec. 10 on the directive of state Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, adding that he was being held in a prison in Lucknow, U.P.’s capital.

The NSA, which is used mainly against hardened criminals and terrorists, allows detention of up to a year without trial or other rights.

During a press conference in Lucknow last week, Tiwari’s supporters said he had issued the press note in response to comments made by the state’s Minority Welfare Minister Azam Khan days earlier. The minister had said that many members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), were single because they were homosexual.

Religious attacks are new low

Analysts opined that political parties’ practice of targeting people’s religious sentiments to take jibes at each other is in bad form.

“While Tiwari’s remark is factually incorrect, it marks a new low in Indian politics,” Maidul Islam, a political science professor at Kolkata’s Presidency University, told BenarNews.

In his view, Muslims were overreacting.

“I understand the comment may have hurt them deeply, but they could have ignored it because it is factually unfounded,” Islam said.

Sabir Ahmed of the Pratichi Institute, a Kolkata-based research institute, agreed.

“(Tiwari’s) remark may appear to be a stray one. But it must be seen in perspective. The present political environment has given legitimacy to such remarks.

“While the comment is certainly condemnable, Muslims must not get carried away. They would be better off in the long run if they choose to channel their energy toward demanding better education, health care and employment opportunities,” Ahmed, one of India’s leading Muslim activists, told BenarNews.

Muslim rallies bring arrests

In a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yadav, Rabey Hasan Nadwi, chief of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), warned that Tiwari’s statement would generate strong reactions from Muslims across the country.

Uttar Pradesh-based Naresh Tikait, who heads a union of farmers in India, said that while he condemned such hateful statements, the mass protests by Muslims had the “potential to instigate full-blown riots.”

During a rally in Karnataka’s Hubballi town on Monday, some 3,000 protestors clashed with police after they were prohibited from marching on the road.

Ten people, including two police officers, were injured when police “retaliated with batons to disperse the stone-hurling crowd,” a police official requesting anonymity.

Mild tremors of 4.2 magnitude were felt in parts of Bihar and Jharkhand today morning. People reported feeling mild tremors in Gaya, Jamui, Banka and Bhagalpur in Bihar and Deoghar, Banka and Dhanbad in Jharkhand at about 8.35 am.
Tremors were also felt in Jharkhand capital Ranchi. No loss of life or damage to property has been reported yet.
In April, a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake which struck Nepal had killed 38 people over 120 injured in bordering areas of Bihar.
The April 25 earthquake killed nearly 10,000 people in Nepal and over 25,000 were injured.