DLD‰‰†‰KDLD‰‰†‰DLD‰‰†‰MDLD‰‰†‰C THE TIMES OF INDIA Tyra banks on find your first name Saturday, a suitable boy January 17, 2004 to tie the knot initial here School charges students for trips to toilet Page 5 Pay toilets are not unusual, ter students vandalised bat- but pay toilets at school? St- hroom fixtures. City educa- udents at a high school in tion authorities, on their the southern Russian city part, have made a move to of Taganrog ha- halt the practice. ve to do more th- Recently, a lo- an raise their cal TV channel hands and ask broadcast part for permission of an amateur to use the bathr- video taken in a oom — they have school hallway, to pay cash. showing a boy School officials have inst- asking a female teacher ituted a plan to charge pu- whether he could use the pils for toilet trips in order bathroom. Her reply: ‘Pay.’ to pay for repairs needed af- Now that’s a stinker! OF INDIA MANOJ KESHARWANI Delhi answers poll call with sop opera ARUN KUMAR DAS both domestic and commercial use, ost- reveals a senior DTC official. The DTC Delhi residents; betterment tax, which Times News Network ensibly because the tariff on water in apart, the DMRC will also have to wait involves Delhiites paying 5 per cent of Delhi is 35 paise per kg as against Mum- till the elections are over before it can their electricity bills for the developme- ops, sops everywhere, not a sin- bai’s Rs 3 per kilo litre. ‘‘Our proposal hike the metro’s ticket rates. ‘‘Though nt of roads and infrastructure; parking gle tax hike in sight. It’s as good was based on bringing Delhi at par with maintaining the metro has become a tax, which is applicable to commercial S as it gets for the Capital’s citize- Mumbai,’’ informs a DJB official, ‘‘Ho- costly affair for us, the government is vehicles entering the city; and transfer- ns... kyunki, poll politics is at work. Wi- wever, no hike will be implemented till unlikely to effect a rise in fare because of-property tax, which envisages a 2 per th elections to Parliament slated for Ap- the parliamentary elections are over.’’ of the poll factor,’’says a DMRC official. cent rise in the existing duty.If you ha- ril, the Delhi sarkar is emulating the NEELABH ven’t guessed already, these sugge- Centre by putting on hold proposals sted taxes have been put on hold bec- to implement hikes in power and wa- ELECTION ECONOMICS ause they are not poll-friendly! ter tariff, plus bus and metro fare. With the parliamentary elections due in At another level, the Delhi govern- ‘‘With the Centre announcing a sl- April, the Delhi government postpones the ment’s newfound ‘generosity’ sees ew of sops to woo voters, the Delhi implementation of new taxes, hikes in tariff meters being installed and power be- government can’t afford to ignore po- ing supplied to slums. Besides, the litical compulsions,’’ says Delhi CM on power & water, plus bus & metro fare demolition of slums on the banks of Sheila Dikshit. So, for starters, ther- PROPOSALS PUT ON HOLD the Yamuna has been postponed till e’s a breather on the paani and bijli a more suitable time. front. While tariff on water was set z Eight-fold rise in tariff on water Meanwhile, the Union governme- to rise eight-fold, the corresponding z 10-12 per cent hike in tariff on power nt is set to okay a proposed merger of figure for electricity was to be raised z Increase in existing DTC and metro fare 50 per cent of the dearness allowan- by 10 to 12 per cent. Now, there’s eve- ce of Central government employees z Introduction of professional tax; parking ry chance of the hikes in the pipeline with their basic pay.While this move being deferred. ‘‘While the recomm- tax for commercial vehicles; betterment will entail an additional burden of endations of the Delhi Electricity Re- tax; and transfer-of-property tax Rs 1,000 crore on the Central excheq- gulatory Commission (DERC) will uer, the Delhi government too will be considered, the government will ta- It’s a similar story for the proposed Meanwhile, the MCD continues to sit see its finances suffering because of its ke a final decision in this regard soon,’’ jump in DTC fare. ‘‘While the DTC hop- on four new tax proposals. This list inc- election-inspired sops. Of course, if this says power secretary Jagdish Sagar. es to raise its revenue by hiking the exi- ludes professional tax (1 percent of tax- initiative translates into votes, it will be On the water front, the Delhi Jal Boa- sting fare, the city government has she- able income), which will be levied on th- paisa vasool for the city sarkar! rd (DJB) has inked substantial hikes for lved our proposal for the time being,’’ ose who work in the Capital but are not [email protected] THE SPACE RACE IS It’s pester power at arsenic hour! ANUBHA SAWHNEY kids choose to impose their demands.’’ OVER THE MOON! Times News Network These are times of the ‘latchkey kid’, a term used to describe a child JYOTI SHARMA a single-stage-to-orbit rocket, at icture this. It’s almost di- who returns from school to an em- Times News Network the price for a luxury tour of a P nner-time. Mom or Dad, or pty home and must take care of European capital.’’ This is the both, have just arrived home him/herself. ‘‘Unable to give th- he sky is no longer the lim- claim of the Artemis Project. and are tired after a long day at eir children enough time, wor- Tit... it’s time for an out-of- Meanwhile, scientists at the the workplace. Topping their king parents develop a guilt the-world experience on the Indian Space Research Organi- agenda is rest. Only,Mom and complex,’’ explains psychiatr- moon. In fact, investors in the sation (ISRO) are fine-tuning a Dad might be tired, but their ist Samir Parikh, MD, ‘‘The lunar business lunar project. kids are all wired up with a latest products in the market have posted LUNAR LURE ‘‘Chandraya- list of demands to be met. are used as a substitute for par- plans to build an I is a scien- Let’s take a sneak peek in- ental attention. Kids, in turn, townships on tific mission to a household. The son has are manipulative by nature the moon and which envis- two must-have demands: the and exploit the time when th- are dickering ages placing latest GI Joe toy and a cellpho- eir parents are most vulnerable IN FULL SWING! With promising Bollywood projects tucked under her over the price a 525-kg spac- ne just like the one his friend — arsenic hour — to get dem- reel belt, Amisha Patel makes a standout statement for Delhi Times of lunar pro- ecraft in the across the street wants. The dau- NEELABH ands fulfilled.’’ perty! 100-km polar ghter is particularly fond of a This analysis is corroborat- (To send this photograph to a friend, log on to www.timescity.com/delhi/) Hilton, for orbit of the pink frock she recently saw at CHILD S PLAY ed by Seema Agnihotri, a fi- instance, has moon by a departmental store... ‘please Parents are most prone to nancial analyst and the moth- invested mill- 2008,’’ says an can I have it?’ is her non-stop give in to the demands of er of two boys. ‘‘While we have Amisha rises to the occasion ions of dolla- ISRO official. demand. The pet dog decides given our six-year-old son Sau- rs in feasibili- Visionaries forecast the possibility of According to pick this particular mome- their kids at ‘arsenic hour’ vik a cellphone, 11-year-old Ri- SHALAKA PARADKAR museums and seeing period films; I wrote my ty studies. Pl- the moon hosting townships, hotels to David Cris- nt to start scratching the paint — when they return home shabh is will be presented the thesis on religious architecture in India.’’ ans span a th- and expeditions in weightlessness well, a profes- off the door. And the cat re- after a tiring day at office latest version of the Playst- ogged out in faded jeans, a powder-pink At the Nawab of Pataudi’s hoary homeste- ree-level Orb- sor of physi- lieves itself in an unauthoris- ation recently introduced in Tfitted T-shirt under a fuchsia shirt-dress ad Ibrahim Palace, Amisha has settled in for it Hilton on PROJECTED POSSIBILITIES cs at the Un- ed location. Welcome to ‘arsenic hour’. the US,’’ she reveals. Incidentally,the term ‘ar- and with Fendi sunglasses perched on her he- a shooting schedule. ‘‘Kaho Na Pyaar Hai the surface of A temperature-controlled, three-level iversity of ‘‘The time after parents arrive home from senic hour’ has a number of synonyms: rush ad, Amisha Patel looks every bit the Bollyw- was a superhit, so was Gadar; I hope The Ris- the moon, wi- hotel on the lunar surface Houston, ‘‘In work just before dinner can well be the most hour, witching hour, sour hour, hurricane ood filmstar — albeit a trifle out of place in ing will turn out the same way!’’ Next off the th various se- Solar panels on the moon which will 50 years’ ti- hectic part of their day,’’ explains psychiatrist hour... clearly,a deep well of black humour is dusty Pataudi, where she is X-TRAA HOT BYTES blocks is Zameer, in which ctions of the provide Earth a source of electricity me, the moo- Sanjay Chugh, MD, ‘‘Pester power rules at ‘ar- the source behind these terms.