Serve society by means of Mediation Centres

New Delhi, Jun 15 (UNI) Mediation Centres, established by the Delhi Government, are providing a unique opportunity to people who want to serve the society by way of resolution of those disputes which have been lying in courts for years together.

In this initiative, taken up by Delhi Dispute Resolution Society (DDRS) in the Department of Law, Justice and Legislative Affairs of the Delhi government, not only lawyers are involved but members of various Resident Welfare Associations, retired
officials, bureaucrats, social workers and socially spirited people are also enrolling themselves.

''All respectable citizens can become the mediators by undertaking prescribed training by the DDRS,'' Principal Secretary (Law, Justice and LA) M L Mehta told mediapersons today. He added that interested people could also join the Society in spreading awareness about the programme.

Various non-governmental organisations (NGO) and other organisations which have been dealing in consumer affairs and/or family disputes have also approached the Society to workout mechanism for resolving the pre-litigative disputes, Mr Mehta
informed.

In regards to lawyers, those who have undergone training as prescribed by Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC) of the Supreme Court and have got the certificate of trained mediator, are eligible to become the mediator.

At present, there are three such centres working in three different districts of the national capital located at Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Patparganj and IP Estate. Four other centres are coming up at Parliament Street, Rohini, Nand Nagri and Rajpur Road.

In addition, sub-centres will also be set up in public places like hospitals and markets.

The kind of cases enlisted in the rule-book of such centres include neighbourhood issues, family disputes, student issues, commercial complaints and other miscellaneous like human rights, cross-cultural and religious disputes, police, petty crime, disabilities, charitable, among others.

Within last three months, altogether 97 cases have been resolved by these centres, Mr Mehta said.

''Cases that had been lying pending in the courts for more than ten years were resolved at these centres within 45 minutes,'' he added.

Fear of honour killing? Approach Mediation Centres

New Delhi, Jun 15 (UNI) At a time when honour killings are a shock not only to Haryana but also the national capital, Delhi government's Mediation Centres today reminded people that they are here to provide counselling and enable mutual settlement.

An initiative by Delhi Dispute Resolution Society (DDRS) in the Department of Law, Justice and Legislative Affairs of the Delhi government, the Mediation Centres are a forum in which an impartial and neutral mediator tries to bring the disputant parties to arrive at a mutually agreeable solution.

''In times when children and parents are not able to convey their feelings to each other in a right manner, these centres can provide an opportunity to ventilate their feelings and grievances and thereafter work out the solution to meet their interests,'' Principal Secretary (Law, Justice and LA) M L Mehta told UNI today.

He said both the parents and the children can be counselled thereby increasing the possibility of settlement.

Mr Mehta, who is also the Chairman of DDRS, detailed that mediation was done in a very neutral and friendly atmosphere.

''The mediator establishes communication between the parties and also listens to both the parties separately to generate options for amicable settlement,'' Mr Mehta said.

However, to a query, he noted that even in such counselling sessions, the mediator could not impose anything on the parties. ''The cases are solved through settlement but not by passing orders,'' he said.

He added that these centres could not take up the cases of honour killings as ''they are very serious ones''. The kind of cases enlisted in the rule-book of such centres
include family disputes, domestic violence, parent-child disputes, human rights, cross-cultural and religious disputes, among others.

At present, there are three such centres working in three different districts of the national capital located at Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Patparganj and IP Estate. Four other centres are coming up at Parliament Street, Rohini, Nand Nagri and Rajpur Road.

In addition, sub-centres will also be set up in public places like hospitals and markets.

The reminder comes a day after a girl and a boy, allegedly in a love relationship, were brutally killed by the former's family as the two belonged to different castes.

Delhi Task Force to curb illegal water bottling plants soon

New Delhi, Jun 14 (UNI) The Delhi government will soon intensify its special drive to seal such illegal water bottling plants in the capital which are running without legal authority and proper licence.

To ensure for providing safe, pure and clean drinking water to the people, the government will form a state level task force to check on clean water in Delhi and will seal the illegal drinking water bottling plants.

''A nine-member state level task force, headed by Director, Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA), will have members nominated from Delhi Police, Divisional Commissioner, MCD Commissioner, NDMC, Dy Secretary (Home), Drug Controller, two SDMs (One from North and One from South),'' Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia said today.

She said the task force will have full rights to check the quality of water being packed in bottles at the water bottling plants and on violation they will have the right to seal the plants and get registered a case against the defaulters.

Prof Walia added that though Department of Prevention of Food Adulteration was engaged in conducting drives to check the purity of all types of eatables and food and drink, there was a need to launch a special drive to check the illegal water bottle plants.

''Such bottling plants not having BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards Certification) will be sealed out rightly by the task force authorities,'' she noted.

She said the department was facing a lot of difficulty in picking samples of packaged drinking water as the exercise required the services of other related departments too.

''Keeping this in mind, the government has decided to constitute the task force to check the purity of water and to ensure the sealing of illegal water bottling plants prevalent in Delhi,'' she said.

During a special drive launched in the last week of May, 56 samples of special packaged drinking water were lifted from various corners of Delhi. Prof Walia said violators could be punished with imprisonment from six months to three years under provisions of law apart from sealing the plant.

Become a star online!

New Delhi, Jun 11 (UNI) Gone are the days when an upcoming writer, director or actor had to wait and go door to door to vouch for his or her talent as the ticket to fame is now just a click away.

Indian social networking portal, ibibo.com, in collaboration with Maruti Suzuki, has come up with a new concept, iSerial Star, inviting writers, directors or actors to come online and showcase their respective talents to get selected for the country's first online serial.

''In this talent hunt game, the aspirants have to upload a video showcasing their respective talent on their own profile page. Once uploaded, the ibibo community will then vote for the person, making him or her popular,'' a company's spokesperson said today.

The participants can upload the videos made through their mobile phones also, he added.

At the end, the participants who will be able to garner the maximum number of votes would be chosen for the online serial.

''A total of eight actors, two script writers and two directors will be chosen for the 24-episode-show. They will be making the serial under the supervision of country's two well-known directors,'' the spokesperson said.

Raman Kumar of the serial 'Tara' fame and Khalid Hashmi, the man who played a pivotal role in the launch of 'Zee News', have joined hands to bring forth this serial which is likely to go online this August.

Anderson flew in, out of Bhopal in state govt's plane: Capt SH Ali

New Delhi, Jun 10 (UNI) Claims that Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson had flown in and out of Bhopal in a state government plane was today strengthened by the aircraft's pilot.

''We got flight information from the then Director of Aviation R S Sodhi for a flight from Bhopal to Delhi and were told to keep the aircraft, a state government plane, ready,'' Captain Syed Hasan Ali claimed.

He added that Anderson's identity was kept a secret from him. ''We did not know who he was,'' he said.

Capt Ali further claimed that Anderson was alone in the aircraft and looked upset and tired.

''As we waited for him, he came with the then SP and the District Magistrate of Bhopal. When we landed in Delhi, an ambassador picked him up from next to the plane and I left him with the airport manager,'' he claimed.

Capt Sodhi, seconding the pilot's claims, said it was on orders of Arjun Singh government that Anderson was allowed to fly.

''I had received a call from the office of the then Chief Minister, Arjun Singh, ordering to arrange Anderson's departure on December 7, 1984,'' Captain R S Sodhi claimed in an interview to a news channel today.

He alleged Anderson, a few hours after he came to know about his charges with culpable homicide, reached the airport where the Chief Minister's official plane stood waiting for him, along with senior bureaucrats and police officers.

The city's Superintendent of Police and the district magistrate, Moti Singh, waved to Anderson as he boarded Singh's plane, he said.

Earlier, Moti Singh had also alleged that the then Chief Secretary of the state had called him to his room and told him to arrange for the flight of Anderson out of Bhopal.

''The then chairman Keshub Mahindra and UCIL's then managing director Vijay Gokhale after landing in Bhopal were taken into custody at the airport itself but soon after that, he and the district police chief were told by the Chief Secretary to get the
US citizen released on bail and send him to Delhi by plane,'' he said.

Global Acceptance becomes theme of World Accreditation day '10

New Delhi, Jun 9 (UNI) Global Acceptance became the theme for this year's World Accreditation day as it plays an important role in the support of competitive markets and cross-border trade.

Jointly established by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), this worldwide initiative is celebrated every year this day to raise awareness of the importance of
accreditation-related activities.

''Global acceptance of accredited certificates is a central pillar of accreditation as it provides businesses and regulators with confidence that products entering the market conform to specification, meet national legal and regulatory requirements,
therefore serving to protect public interests in general,'' a spokesperson for Quality Council of India (QCI) said today.

He explained that in global trade, reassurance in the measurements, tests, inspections and certification performed in another jurisdiction was essential.

''Without these standards, the free exchange of goods and services would be hampered by technical barriers, thereby increasing costs for importers and consumers,'' he said.

QCI, the apex accreditation body of India, was mandated to create an accreditation infrastructure in the country in line with the developments around the world and obtain international acceptance of conformity assessment.

This was sought to be accomplished through the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB), National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) and National Accreditation Board for Education
and Training (NABET).

Animal welfare: Volkswagen withdraws 'Polo' ads

New Delhi, Jun 9 (UNI) Volkswagen, a major player in the automobile industry, has withdrawn the television and print commercials of its new car, Polo, as they could ''instigate cruelty to animals''.

The Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) had requested the company to discontinue the advertisements as they encouraged audience to speed through buffalo and rhinoceros herds, a FIAPO spokesperson said today.

''Aggrieved by the instigation that could potentially hurt animals, we had requested the company as well as the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) to initiate appropriate actions,'' she said.

The official informed UNI that FIAPO is also working on a draft code to be submitted to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and ASCI that would regulate the depiction of animals in films and advertisements.

She said violence towards animals displayed on television, even when staged, made light of a very serious issue, and public perception about the treatment of animals was often strongly influenced by images in the media.

Although the Animal Welfare Board of India sets minimum standards for animal care in some circumstances, the laws are insufficient and loosely enforced, she said.