New Delhi : More than 60 National Film Awards recipients on Thursday said they will skip the ceremony this evening because President Ram Nath Kovind will be presenting only 11 awards, a departure from established tradition.

The artistes from across the country have written a letter addressed to the Directorate of Film Festival, Office of the President of India and the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to express their disappointment.

They said they were “disheartened” on being informed at the last minute that the President will present only 11 awards. The rest will receive it from Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani.

“It feels like a breach of trust when an institution/ceremony that abides by extreme protocol fails to inform us of such a vital aspect of the ceremony with a prior notice. It seems unfortunate that 65 years of tradition are being overturned in a jiffy,” the letter read.

The artistes said they discussed the matter with Irani last evening and were promised a reply.

“In the circumstances of not receiving a response for our grievance we are left with no option but to be absent for the ceremony. We do not intend to boycott the award but are not attending the ceremony to convey our discontent and are awaiting a more just solution,” they said in the letter.

Meanwhile, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said today that the President attends all award functions for a maximum of one hour and this was conveyed to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

“President attends all award functions and convocations for a maximum of one hour. This has been the protocol since he took office. It was conveyed to Information and Broadcasting Ministry several weeks ago and the ministry knew this all along. Rashtrapati Bhavan is surprised by the 11th-hour questions that have been raised,” said Ashok Malik, Press Secretary to the President.

New Delhi : Amid continuing stand-off with Delhi over water, Haryana on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it had been receiving only half the water it was supposed to get from the Hathni Kund barrage in the Yamunanagar district.

“We are receiving only 50 per cent water from the Hathni barrage. There is a huge distress of water level in Haryana,” the counsel told a Bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur.

The state’s counsel, however, told the Bench that the state would continue supplying 150 cusecs of water to Delhi till May 15. The court posted the matter for hearing on May 11.

Piqued at wrangling between bureaucrats of Delhi and Haryana over supply of water to the National Capital, the top court had last month ordered chief secretaries to appear before it.

“People are dying. But no urgency is being shown by you people,” the Bench had said, taking a strong exception to the apathy shown by the authorities concerned in dealing with the water crisis in the National Capital this summer.

On Tuesday, the Bench was informed that a meeting of the chief secretaries of Delhi and Haryana and secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources was held on April 23 and its minutes had been placed on record.

The Delhi government has been in talks with Haryana for the release of 450 cusecs of water of the Yamuna daily for the National Capital.

The DJB had moved the top court in March seeking a direction to Haryana to release 450 cusecs of water per day meant for the Wazirabad reservoir in Delhi. Haryana was supplying 120 cusecs less water, the DJB alleged.

In its petition, the DJB had accused Haryana of reducing the supply of water by one-third for the Wazirabad reservoir, leading to a serious water crisis in the National Capital. The Haryana government was violating the 1996 top court order regarding supply of water, it alleged.

Haryana was supplying only 330 cusecs of water per day to Delhi as against 450 cusecs per day agreed upon between the two sides. While Delhi’s population had increased phenomenally over the years, there had not been a commensurate rise in the water supply, the DJB had submitted.

Due to drop in the water level in the Yamuna, water treatment plants either stopped functioning or were running on below capacity, the DJB had said accusing Haryana of releasing polluted water which could not be treated.

As a result, the DJB was rationing water supply, causing water shortage in large parts of Delhi, it submitted.

The situation was likely to get worse with the onset of summer and rising demand for drinking water, the DJB had said.

Shahjahanpur : A 15-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly thrown off the terrace of her house by a teenager when she resisted his molestation bid, police said on Wednesday.

The incident took place at Pilkhana village in Rojaarea here when a 15-year-old boy of the same village entered the house of the girl and tried to molest her, they said.
When the girl resisted, he threw her off the terrace of the house, injuring her seriously. The girl has been admitted to a hospital, they said.

An FIR has been registered in the matter. The accused is absconding.

Salem(TN) : Three members of a family allegedly committed suicide at their house in Thammampatti in the district after being 'harassed' by a money lender, police said on Wednesday.

Fifty five-year-old farmer Arjunan, his wife Vennila (45), and two sons had allegedly consumed some poisonous substance after being harassed by one Kumaran, to repay the debt, they said.

While three of the family were found dead this morning, the farmer's son Mohan has been admitted to a government hospital, police said adding a case has been registered.

New Delhi : Five men were arrested for their alleged involvement in robbing a cash van of Rs 12 lakh and the killing of two custodians of the van in outer Delhi's Narela on April 26, the police said.

One of the accused was arrested following a shootout with the police this morning. Further details were awaited.

The robbery-cum-killing took place when the van had come to pick cash from a wine shop at DSIIDC (Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation) industrial area, in Narela.

Cashier Rajnikant and guard Prem Kumar was shot at by three unidentified motorcycle-borne persons.

The accused fired at the victims 18-20 times and then fled with the cash box containing Rs 12 lakh. The accused were wearing helmets to hide their faces.
Both the victims succumbed to injuries at Raja Harishchandra Hospital in Narela.