Pirate falls into choppy waters

Posters of the latest Pirates of the Caribbean pasted on the walls of his shop, Mahendra Kumar Singh earned lakhs illegally, selling recorded copies of movies and songs. He earned the sobriquet of “the pirate” among fellow shopkeepers.

That was until last Friday, when a team of Delhi police’s special cell swooped on Singh and his cache of pirated movies and music at old Delhi’s Lala Lajpat Rai market. Over a thousand DVDs, and about 500 each of VCDs and MP3s were seized from Singh.

“He has made more than Rs 5 lakh through piracy in the past year alone. His arrest will lead us to others,” deputy commissioner (special cell) Alok Kumar said.

The Indian Music Industry, a forum of 74 top music companies that has been battling piracy, welcomed the arrest. “Such arrests raise our morale in the struggle against piracy. It is a long fight, often without much success. What is good is that the police is with us every step of the way,” Vijay Lazarus, the forum’s chief.

Monsoon squad on guard

People save for rainy days. In Mumbai’s Chembur, a colony isn’t taking any chances with the monsoon this time.

esidents of Pestom Sagar, a cluster of 120 buildings along the Eastern Express Highway, have their own disaster-management kit — life jackets, lifebuoys, stretchers, a van and a fogging machine. Everyone here believes in the adage: God helps those who help themselves. And, the last thing they count on is the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

If you thought the plan to battle the downpour and deluge cost a huge sum, you’d be surprised the rain warriors have mounted their efforts on a shoestring budget. Nothing more Rs 25,000 has been spent by the Pestom Sagar Residents’ Forum. Doctors and first-aid workers are part of the team that will help the colony tide over the wet months.

New chapter for library

Just ahead of the new academic year, Jamia Milia Islamia has launched a learning centre that aims to help differently abled students make the best use of its library.

The new centre at the university’s famous Dr. Zakir Hussain Library is complete with modern software, ramps, wheelchairs and other amenities.

A student can open a book to a specific page and place it before the reading software at the centre — the computer will read the text aloud at the speed one chooses.

Another software allows students with speaking disabilities to communicate clearly with teachers.

During tutorial classes, they type in what they wish to speak, and the computer does the talking. A team is deputed at the library to help students with the software. They also help physically challenged students use the ramps and wheelchairs, university spokesperson Rakshanda Jalil said.

No tax queues

Delhiites will no longer have to queue up to pay property taxes. They can simply click “pay”. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi last week launched an online facility for depositing the tax. The move could save Rs 2.5 crore each year in collection expenses.

This money is now spent on running a facility, called the citizen services bureau, where the taxes are collected. A four-member team has been formed for on-the-spot collection of taxes from several colonies and DDA flats.

The online facility has already taken off, and civic authorities expect over 5.5 lakh property owners to pay taxes this month.

Chennai: The dress circle is open in Chennai. Drop in at an exhibition of Kalamkari saris, Kutch embroidery, Gujarat kurtis and Sambalpuri saris till June 7, from 10 am to 9 pm. The venue is C.P. Art Centre, Mini Hall, No.1 Eldams Road, Alwarpet.