Municipal leaders, including mayor of the BJP-ruled North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), on Sunday took part in a sanitisation drive outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence on Flagstaff Road here. The sanitisation exercise is part of the NDMC's campaign to prevent spread of COVID-19, said Jai Prakash, chairman of the standing committee of NDMC. "We have been sanitising the whole municipal area with mechanical and manual spray of sanitisers. So, we are here on Flagstaff road which comes under the NDMC's jurisdiction," Jai Prakash said. The municipal corporation has deployed nearly 40 large truck mounted power sprays and around 40 smaller mechanical sprays, to cover roads, residential areas, markets and other public places under the NDMC, he said.

Azaan is an integral part of the faith, not the gadget, says veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar, asking that the Islamic call to prayer on loudspeakers should be stopped as it causes "discomfort" to others. In a tweet on Saturday, Akhtar wondered why the practice was 'halaal' (allowed) when it was, for nearly half a century in the country, considered 'haraam' or forbidden. "In India for almost 50 years Azaan on the loud speak was Haraam. Then it became Halaal and so halaal that there is no end to it, but there should be an end to it. Azaan is fine but loud speaker does cause of discomfort for others. I hope that atleast this time they will do it themselves (sic)," Akhtar tweeted. When a user asked his opinion on loudspeakers being used in temples, the 75-year-old writer said everyday use of speakers is a cause of concern. "Whether it's a temple or a mosque, if you're using loudspeakers during a festival, it's fine. But it shouldn't be used everyday in either temples or mosques. "For

Several NGOs working in the disability sector are facing severe financial crunch as most of the funds and donations they would earlier get has been diverted towards tackling the COVID-19 crisis. Prashant Verma, general secretary, National Association for the Blind, says he could just pay 65 per cent salary to his employees in the last two months due to financial crunch and if no fresh donations are made he does not have any money to pay his 120 staff members this month. "We feel as if we are at the end of the line," he told PTI. Verma said his organisation used to get grants from many companies under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and even from individuals, especially during March as it was the end of the financial year. "But this year we didn't get any money. Some of the companies, which even committed to us, are saying that this time they have to think about their own survival. Many individuals (who earlier donated) don't have money to support us. A lot of the money is ...

Since the introduction of the central government's Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme, enrolment numbers in schools have gone up. But how reliable and meaningful are the enrolment figures? Deepa A uncovers major indications of things having gone wrong in SSA's quest for targets.

Male prostitution, both forced and voluntary, is a reality that is often forgotten in the discourse on gender rights and issues. Tejaswini Pagadala throws light on the lives of male sex workers in the country.

The fleeting attention that is given to the rape of a girl in school hides the systematic harassment and violence that so many are subjected to - an important reason why girls drop out of the education system around the age of puberty. Deepti Priya Mehrotra reports.

The India Together editorial.

Ramesh Ramanathan

Women in India have continually faced restrictions on how they dress, whether it is on wearing jeans to college or sports gear on the fields. Shoma Chatterji looks at this persistent trend of sartorial repression and urges women to reject such diktats.

Over the next two decades, Indians are going to see an enormous challenge to the value systems of the past, being replaced by the new value systems of globalisation says Ramesh Ramanathan.

The top down approach of the Disaster Managment Act had its advantages but completely ignored local knowledge and ways of living. The need is for a judicious mix of the traditional and technological, argues Max Martin.

An INASAF investigation finds the state grossly indifferent to the health, medical needs, and humane treatment of its prisoners, some of whom haven't even received trials.

No sane person can accept the immorality of using economic and military superiority to bludgeon inconvenient nations into falling in line, says Kalpana Sharma.

While arguing that he is doing what he is to make the world more peaceful and stable, in fact George Bush has pushed the world closer to greater conflict and war, says Kalpana Sharma.

While women who have to commute at night, or use public transport, are forced to remain alert at all times because they are aware of the dangers, call centre employees who believe that "the company" takes care of all their needs might just let their guard down. Kalpana Sharma answers a reader's question: will it ever end?

Sania is the star today, but there are many more waiting on the horizon, expecting to be noticed and determined to excel. Sania has forced the media, and the country, to sit up and take note. Sania and her "sisters" will not be stopped, says Kalpana Sharma.

There is plenty of native intelligence among the people that is very useful in averting and responding to disasters. Planning for disaster management must see this as an asset. The top-down planning and implementation currently in vogue is a poor substitute for community participation, says Videh Upadhyay.

Hundreds of child marriages are held across Rajasthan with no one stopping them. Tiny boys and girls, some of them asleep and all of them unaware of what is happening, are betrothed to each other. The reality sinks in when the children attain puberty by which time they are told they have no choice. But they do, writes Kalpana Sharma.

A New York judge rules that trying to patent genetic information cannot be permitted - the first serious setback to the genetic technology industry, which will have implications worldwide, writes Sujatha Byravan.

As the government shows Doordarshan's director the door, Prasar Bharati member B G Verghese protests the intrusion by the administration into constitutionally protected domain.

Can technology restore the balance between people in their conversations about public issues? And can this help foster a better and more inclusive democracy, asks Shubhranshu Choudhary.

Lalit Vachani's latest film places the Mahatma's historic Dandi March in perspective, juxtaposing it against the reality of the depriveations faced by the poor. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film.

Debaranjan Sarangi, a documentary film maker, writer and human rights activist was arrested recently in Kashipur, Odisha. Shoma Chatterji writes about Sarangi's arrest, his activism and his films which deal with Adivasis and their struggles.

Shunyota, a feature film in Bengali, has an all-India resonance that will echo across the country if and when it’s subtitled version will be screened, writes Shoma Chatterji.

Maternity leave is generally not available to adoptive mothers in India, even though an adoptive mother needs it just as much as a biological mother. The central government recently passed an order reversing this situation in part, thanks to Atmaja, an association of adoptive parents in Kolkata. Ranjita Biswas reports.

Moved by a personal tragedy, young Bengali engineer-turned-actor Bobby Chakraborty has launched a singular campaign to educate schoolchildren about the impact of alcohol and other addiction and deter them from the path. Shoma A Chatterji brings us his story.

The death of 14 women in Chhattisgarh following botched sterilisation procedures has rightfully led to furore across the country. But a detailed, historical analysis of family planning as it has evolved, by Shoma A Chatterji, exposes an inherent and sustained gender bias in policy as well as practice.

If you raise the price of your product and offer a discount on the higher price, some people will get taken in by such 'sales'. The WTO has just pulled off this kind of scheme, says Devinder Sharma.

Though FDI in retail is being projected as a cure-all for the ills in the agriculture and food sector, Devinder Sharma cites examples from the world over to argue why we should not be pinning our hopes on it.

During an interview with TOI, world No. 3 Thiem spoke about his comeback plans and how he is keeping himself ready for the season, as and when it restarts.

A pandemic-forced lockdown may not be the ideal way to get families together, but it's not something that's under human control. What's in your control is to stay safe at home, hug your mom and say 'Happy Mother's Day'.

Minister for Industries, mines and parliamentary affairs Prakash Mehta will attend the programmes regarding 26/11 on behalf of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Scientists are developing a predictive model to help Nasa anticipate conflicts and communication breakdowns among crew members and head off problems that could make or break the US space agency's future manned mission to Mars. Nasa has formalised plans to send a crewed spacecraft to Mars, a journey that could involve 250 million miles of travel.

Former Union minister G K Vasan, who quit the Congress recently, unveiled a tri-colour flag for his yet-to-be named party on Wednesday.

Tom Clancy rode the wave for nearly two decades with stunning success because he mastered the balancing act between the believable and the outlandish.

The festival has its origins in the combination of two different medieval events. Commercial secular fairs were held at the beginning of the summer.

A film club that screens politically and socially charged films in the hinterland has been resisting sponsorship and censorship with equal vigour.

These are the last-mile months to convince your boss that you deserve the coveted grade with some quick moves

The truth is, there can be no fair, defi nitive answer to the query. The two careers overlapped a bit. But remember: pitches, bowlers, batting equipment, rules – all have changed dramatically since 1989, when Sachin played his fi rst Test and ODI.

Mota Samadhiyala village, in Una block in Gujarat’s Gir-Somnath district, has now become a place-name for social terror. The video that went viral a few weeks ago, of cow-protection vigilantes beating seven Dalit men for skinning a dead cow, was recorded and spread by the gau rakshaks themselves.

नई द‍िल्‍ली: अगर आप भी सैमसंग के इलेक्ट्रॉनिक प्रोडक्ट को खरीदने का विचार कर रहे हैं तो यह खबर जरूर पढ़ लें। लॉकडाउन खत्म होते ही टेलीविजन और अन्य डिजिटल अप्लायंसिस खरीदने की योजना बना रहे लोगों के लिए सैमसंग ने

Instant messaging platform WhatsApp today opposed in Delhi High Court a plea alleging that privacy of its users has been threatened by a new privacy policy announced by Facebook, saying regulations were in place and the latter does not have access to any data as it provides end-to-end encryption.

A public interest litigation in the Delhi High Court (HC) challenges the change in WhatsApp's privacy policy.