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Lenders likely to accept DMRC

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 30 Juni 2013 | 22.10

NEW DELHI: The DMRC decision to run the Airport Express line from Monday seems to be suiting everybody, including the lenders. Reliance Infrastructure-led DAMEPL, the company running the premier Metro line, will hand over the project to DMRC on Sunday.

It has already informed DMRC twice in the past one month, the DAMEPL spokesperson said.

DMRC has said it would operate the line in " public interest" . But the lenders have the right to substitute the concessionaire , said its spokesperson on Saturday. "Our aim is to maintain continuity in service . If the lenders won't wish to replace us, we would operate the line," he added.

DMRC informed DAMEPL on Friday about the board decision but is yet to get any response in writing till Saturday evening, the spokesperson said.

A senior union urban development ministry official said the decision was necessary as DAMEPL had been "threatening" frequently to leave the project.

"The project cannot be allowed to face uncertainty. Once the situation is under control, we can work out how and who would pay back the lenders' debt," said the official.

An executive of one of the lenders said DAMEPL had never defaulted.

He added that the lenders had learnt that DMRC would take over the project while the arbitration process of DAMEPL's claims would continue.

There are indications that the lenders won't push for substitution as DAMEPL had been pushing for early exit after it underwent huge loss, sources said.


22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Govt taking its time to name new National School of Drama head

NEW DELHI: Seven months after the National School of Drama's selection committee sent its recommendation for the next director of the institute, the ministry of culture is yet to appoint anyone. Theatre artistes and scholars have sent a memorandum to culture minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch, urging her to appoint Arundhati Nag-—whose name was recommended by the committee—as the new director at the earliest.

Theatre artiste Maya Krishna Rao and theatre scholar Keval Arora met Katoch on Thursday and gave her the memorandum, which was signed by 29 theatre personalities, including actress Seema Biswas, Mahesh Elkunchwar and Roysten Abel. The selection committee had sent a prioritized list of three names, the top one being Nag, who is an eminent film and theatre actress and winner of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2008.

"We wanted to know why there was delay when the recommendations were sent in November last year. We were worried if the priority order had been upturned," said Rao.

The other names on the list were Waman Kendre and Abdul Latif Khatana, said a source. "We met the minister for some 50 minutes. All she said was that she had sent the list to DoPT (Department of Personnel and Training) in February, but she didn't know why there was a delay. She also reiterated that the ministry was not bound to follow the priority order," said Arora.

The term of director Anuradha Kapur ended in July 2012, but it was extended in the absence of a successor. Kapur's extension period ended in April this year. However, no announcements regarding the new director have been made and Tripurari Sharma is the actingdirector.

As per the memorandum, the process of selection was started by the NSD Society with the approval of the culture ministry in August 2012. An advertisement inviting applications for the post was given. A selection committee was formed comprising Shyam Benegal, Girish Karnad, Satish Alekar, Govind Deshpande and Amal Allana. They scrutinized the applications for the post and also invited some other candidates. Nag was among the invitees. A source, however, said only two people had been invited. After interviewing those eligible, the committee prepared a prioritized list of three names. The list was sent to the ministry on November 22, 2012.

"The committee is made for searching and selecting the NSD director. If the panel does not find the applicants good enough, they call some other candidates," said Rao. Both Rao and Arora hinted that the problem with the list was regarding educational qualification. "Unlike other universities, a degree in theatre is not so important. What matters is the experience and work of the candidate," said Arora.

"Earlier, the NSD Society used to nominate names and the first name was invariably chosen. If the priority order is not followed this time, it would be a first. It would break the precedence," said Rao. Katoch could not be contacted for comments.


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Snag causes outages in east Delhi

NEW DELHI: With heavy winds gripping the city on Saturday evening several parts of east Delhi experienced outages for over five hours. Discom officials said the snag was caused due to tree branches falling on two 66KV cables supplying power to Mayur Vihar, Patparganj and neighboring areas.

While the discom claimed the outages were brief, residents said that they lasted for more than five hours. "The outages ruined our entire evening. There was no electricity from 4.30pm to 9pm," said Shonali Dey, a resident of AIIMS apartment in Mayur Vihar extension. However, in several parts of the area, supply was not restored till 9.30pm.

Brief outages were also reported from several areas in west Delhi which officials said were caused by local faults. "There was no power in our colony for over an hour," said Shankar Bharti, a resident of Ambika Enclave in Nihal Vihar in north-west Delhi.


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284 Delhiites still missing from Uttarakhand

NEW DELHI: At least 284 Delhiites haven't returned home from Uttarakhand, says Delhi government's 24/7 helpline, which was made operational since Monday. Of the 368 people reported missing, 84 have been traced and 29 of them are stranded in Badrinath; 45 have returned. But, there is no data on the death toll and there may be many more missing people.

Delhi's divisional commissioner Dharampal said a database of missing people based on calls on the helpline is being prepared and sent to the Uttarakhand authorities as well as Delhi officials manning the control rooms in Dehradun and Rishikesh. Delhi officials there said they received 15 cases of missing people till Friday evening. Without any consolidated data, they are making do with data uploaded by the Uttarakhand government and comparing those with their own data.

That state's government is also learnt to have tied up with the Union telecom ministry to search for the missing by tracing their cellphone signals.


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Property dealer kills self

A property dealer on Saturday allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his residence in Shalimar Garden area in Ghaziabad.

Police have identified the victim as 33-year-old Rajeev Kataria who was alone in his room on Saturday morning at the time of the incident. Police has recovered a suicide note in which Kataria has said that no one should be held responsible for his death. He didn't state any reason for his death, said police. The body has been sent for postmortem examination to ascertain the cause of death.


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Sheila Dikshit takes potshot at Kejriwal

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 29 Juni 2013 | 22.10

NEW DELHI: Chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday took a potshot at Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal for raking up the issue of inflated electricity bills in the city.

"In the last few years, the sale of generators has declined in Delhi and the sale of air-conditioners has increased significantly. If you use an air conditioner than you will have pay for it. Your bill is going to go up. But Kejriwal does not understand it," Dikshit said.

She was addressing a function at industry chamber Assocham.

"As per a media report, electricity connection in his house in Ghaziabad was snapped by the authorities. But he restored it," Dikshit said.

Kejriwal has been attacking Dikshit for "inflated" power bills in the city and even accused her of siding with the private power distribution companies.


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DPCC reshuffled, poll panels formed

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday reconstituted the Pradesh Congress Committee executive and set up manifesto and publicity committees. The new team strikes a balance between factions loyal to DPCC chief J P Agrawal and chief minister Sheila Dikshit. Both the new committees will be headed by Agrawal, while the CM will remain in those as ex-officio member. A lot of senior leaders are also part of the panels.

Surprisingly, tainted leaders such as Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar have been included as 'permanent invitees'. The two were denied tickets in the previous Lok Sabha elections due to their alleged role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. AICC general secretaries Ajay Maken and Janardan Dwivedi, Union ministers Kapil Sibal and Krishna Tirath are permanent invitees to the 23-member DPCC executive. The manifesto committee also has Kiran Walia, Ramakant Goswami, Arvinder Singh Lovely, Vishwabhandu Gupta, Dhirendra Tyagi, Suresh Mallick, Abhijit Singh Gulati, Mukesh Goyal, Farhad Suri and Varyam Kaur.

The publicity committee has Rajkumar Chauhan, J K Jain, Karan Singh, Anil Bhardwaj, Devendra Yadav, Abhishek Dutt, Amrita Dhawan, Sanjay Puri, Brahma Yadav and A Sharma as members.


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Delhi set to have a children's academy

NEW DELHI: While launching the city's cultural calendar, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday announced that the capital will soon have a children's academy functioning under the aegis of the department of art, culture and languages.

"We have around 4,000 to 5,000 schools in the capital, both private and government. We have had many children-related activities before like painting but having a children's academy will help focus on them in a concentrated manner," Dikshit said on the sidelines of unveiling the annual cultural calendar, Delhi Celebrates.

As of now, the department of art, culture and languages comprises seven academies—Sahitya Kala Parishad, Sindhi Academy, Punjabi Academy, Hindi Academy, Urdu Academy, Maithili and Bhojpuri Academy and Sanskrit Academy. She also laid emphasis on making art and cultural activities an integral part of our daily lives.

"Co-existence of art and life is as important as having food and living," she said.

The city is set to witness many cultural activities including a Punjabi theatre festival, thumri festival, magic show, Urdu heritage festival and a lot more.

"Each year a huge number of artistes from all corners of the country fill Delhi with colour, music, dance, drama, flavour and fervour for the Delhi Celebrates series of events which has succeeded far beyond anyone's imagination," said Dikshit. The unveiling of the calendar was followed by a santoor duet by Pandit Bhajan Sapori and Shri Abhay Sopori.


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Property dealer commits suicide by hanging himself

GHAZIABAD: A property dealer on Saturday allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his residence in Shalimar Garden area here, police said.

Rajeev Kataria (33) took the extreme step early this morning when he was alone in his room, they said.

Police has recovered a suicide note in which Kataria has said that no one should be held responsible for his death.

Kataria has not written any reason in his suicide note, said Arvind Yadav, circle officer, Ghaziabad.

The body has been sent for postmortem examination to ascertain the cause of death, he said, adding investigation in the case is on.


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Punjab girl to represent India at Google Science Fair

NEW DELHI: A 15-year-old girl from Punjab has become the only Indian student to make it to the finals of the Google Science Fair, 2013, a company statement said here on Saturday.

Shrishti Asthana, a Class 11 student from Millenium School, Mohali, had presented a project on a solar power-assisted green technique for degradation of detergents and was chosen from among thousands of participants from 120 countries.

"The inspiration for the project came when Shrishti went on a field trip to Ludhiana and was disturbed by the dire state of the disposal technique of industrial waste... She began her journey to find a green solution to turn waste detergent water from industries into an eco-friendly alternative," the statement said.

According to Google, Asthana would be competing with 14 other finalists from around the world who would be taken to the Google headquarters in the US Sep 23 to submit their projects to a panel of international scientists.

The winner will receive a 10-day trip to Galapagos Islands with National Geographic expeditions, $50,000 in scholarship funding and other prizes.

The Google Science Fair is an online science competition started in 2011. It is open to students of 13-18 years of age, who formulate hypothesis, perform experiments, and present results to a panel of experts.


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Traffic hit as concrete falls off Metro pillar

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 28 Juni 2013 | 22.10

NEW DELHI: Commuters at Tagore Garden Metro station had a scare on Thursday after a piece of concrete fell down from the top of a pillar in the afternoon. The large chunk fell on to the median, bringing traffic to a standstill. While Delhi Metro claimed it was a piece of "waste material" , bystanders said the incident left many shaken.

According to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation spokesperson, Anuj Dayal, the piece fell down due to ongoing maintenance activities. The large chunk of concrete fell near pier number 441, right next to the Tagore Garden Metro station. Bystanders said that the chunk seemed to have just fallen through, leaving many surprised and shocked. "Fortunately, there was little traffic along the road, so no one was injured," admitted a Delhi Metro official. The DMRC spokesman added that no damage to any Metro pillar or pier has been sustained.

Dayal maintained that the "waste material" was part of the junk cleaned out from the drainage on the top of the pier. "As part of the cleaning process, the manhole on the pier is opened and the central drain of the pier is unclogged and choking is removed. This activity takes place in the night when trains are not running and requires 2-3 nights for completion. In this instance, the work had only been partially done on the first night and some loose material which had not been fully removed fell down during the day time," said Dayal. He added that the rubble would have been removed before completion of cleaning activity.

The incident led to the DMRC chief, Mangu Singh, directing that the person in charge of supervising the work during the night be chargesheeted and taken up for negligence on this account. "He has also directed that the level of supervision for such activities should be raised to avoid re-occurrence of such incidents in the future," added Dayal.

The piece fell down due to ongoing maintenance activities and was waste material, says DMRC spokesperson.


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308 from Delhi still missing in Uttarakhand

NEW DELHI: The number of capital denizens missing in Uttarakhand continues to rise. The Delhi government received 64 distress calls on 1077 informing them of loved ones who have not returned home till reports last came in.

Though it will take a few more days to find out the exact number of dead and missing, government officials and NGO workers on the ground at Gauchar and Dehradun say that a minimum of 308 persons are still missing, up from 283 on Wednesday.

The Uttrakhand government had tallied this figure with the Armed Forces and said that at least 722 people from Delhi were affected by the disaster. Northern Railway said, so far, 6,692 passengers have availed of its free train services from Haridwar and Dehradun to Delhi.

"The ground situation is still very challenging. There is mismatch in the numbers reached by ITBP and the Indian Army from the higher areas to Gauchar and Dehradun," said a senior Delhi government official.

Ashok Randhawa of Sarojini Nagar Mini Market Association said most of those stranded from Delhi are near Harsil near Badrinath and Pithoragarh. Among those who are missing during Chardham Yatra are a group of 28 from Khanpur in southeast Delhi, 18 from Peeragarhi in west Delhi, 11 from Ghazipur in east Delhi and nine from Chandni Chowk. Another six persons-including the head of the family, Nand Kishore Sharma, is missing from Mansorovar Park. Five members of the Nautiyal family who reside in Mayur Vihar Phase-I, too, have been untraceable even though his younger son and family managed to get rescued via Army helicopter. However, reports just came in that 19 people from Dwarka have reached Gauchar and are on their way back.

Anil Gulati has been spending sleepless nights ever since he heard about the calamity in Uttarakhand. Eighteen people from his locality, Meeyavalli Nagar, had left for Badrinath on the morning of June 15 and not returned but he is in touch with them on phone.

Gulati, though, blamed the Delhi Government for "sending its team late". "All state governments are actively taking part to provide relief measures but our government is lagging behind. Police stations and helplines are unable to provide us answers," he said. He claimed that private helicopters were evacuating people based on the state of their origin. Hostile weather coupled with lack of food and water at Badrinath still remains a concern. "They throw down bottles of water from the helicopter and some people get hold of 10 at a go. Everyone should be given at least one bottle. People who are sick should be rescued on priority basis instead of VIPS," Gulati said.

Meanwhile, Meena Sharma, a widow from Khanpur in south Delhi, is distraught. A bus with 32 people of whom 28 are from Khanpur had left for the pilgrimage. "Twenty-one people from my family had gone on the Yatra. Only three people from Gurgaon have come back. My family is still missing," Sharma said.

(with inputs from Ambika Mehrotra and Ikshita Tewari)


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Chandni Chowk mourns hero who died saving pilgrims

NEW DELHI: Shops along the cramped Chandni Chowk lane leading up to Flight Lt Tapan Kapoor's house remained shut on Thursday as an eerie quiet prevailed in the otherwise-noisy neighbourhood. Tapan, a resident of Katra Khushal Rai in Kinari Bazar, died in the Mi-17 V5 helicopter crash on Tuesday and families remembered the 27-year-old as the toddler who played in the lane and the friendly and jovial youngster they witnessed grow. Friends and dear ones visited his home to pay condolences to his parents as did Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel. But those close to him were still in denial.

The sociable and adventure-loving Tapan studied at Ramjas School and later joined Indian Institute of Aeronautics to study Aeronautics Engineering. He was an excellent athlete and good at sports. Professionally, too, he made unconventional choices. After completing engineering, he was already working for a private airline company. But he had more on his mind.

Tapan quit his comfortable, well-paying job to join the Indian Air force and was posted at Barrackpore Air Force Station. The rescue operation at Uttarakhand was one of his first major assignments. "He was very passionate about his work. He would put his heart into whatever he did. I think he chose to join IAF because he loved adventure," his friend, Praful Gadodia, who runs a textile business, said. Many shops in Chandni Chowk remained closed on Thursday in his memory.

Tapan's choice of profession was also unique considering his father, Naresh Kapoor, works for a perfume company, mother Lata Kapoor runs a lace shop and elder sister Shweta Kapoor is an MBA working for a private firm. "Tapan is probably the only engineer in the family. Most of the other family members including his father and uncles are in business or other professions. Only one of his cousins is in merchant navy," said Tapan's uncle, Satyendra Jain.

Tapan was very excited about his assignment in Uttarakhand. "He was satisfied that his services were being utilized for an important cause. Everyday he called from Uttarakhand to share anecdotes," added Jain. Like most people in Chandni Chowk, Tapan loved street food. Jain said he would not miss chat and pakori every time he was home.


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Pranab Mukherjee seeks action plan to restore Rashtrapati Bhavan

NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee has sought a time-bound action plan to conserve and restore Rashtrapati Bhavan in accordance with the original plan by Sir Edward Lutyens and others.

"Every effort should be made to preserve and protect the country's glorious heritage and architectural properties," Mukherjee said after receiving a comprehensive conservation management plan (CCMP) prepared by INTACH.

The President, after assuming office, had instructed that a CCMP be prepared to serve as a blueprint for all future constructions so as to restore the President's Estate to the best extent possible.

After receiving the report, Mukherjee asked his secretariat to examine it and draw up a time-bound programme for implementation of CCMP's recommendations.

Secretary to the President, Omita Paul, assured that every effort would be made to maintain and preserve Rashtrapati Bhavan. "Attempts would be made to rectify the mistakes of the past and ensure that there is no repetition of the same in future," Paul said, adding that work had already begun to implement the recommendations of the report.

The CCMP noted that while the status of Rashtrapati Bhavan as a Grade 1 Heritage Building defined the limits of intervention to conserve the building and the site, it also accommodated the highest office of the government, including the residence of the President. "This makes it a 'living heritage' building which creates genuine needs to cater to its efficient functioning," it said.

The vision guiding the preparation of the CCMP took into account the wider context of the estate and its contemporary functional needs. As a 'living' heritage building, the original design and layout has been modified because over the years, the functional role of Rashtrapati Bhavan increased tremendously, both in size and complexity.


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Won't allow high-rise buildings in Delhi as long as I am alive: Dikshit

NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday continued to oppose Union urban development minister Kamal Nath's push for vertical growth in the city, saying she won't allow construction of high-rise buildings as long as she is "alive".

She has been opposing vertical expansion arguing that it will put additional stress on existing resources and infrastructure in the city besides severely impacting the ecology.

"I agree with you that eventually perhaps Delhi will need high-rise buildings. But it will not be allowed as long as I am alive," she told a function organised by industry chamber Assocham.

Earlier, a number of speakers had underlined the need for allowing vertical growth of the city.

The Union Urban Development Minister has been strongly pitching for allowing high-rise buildings in Delhi to accommodate the growing population.

As per existing norms height of a building in residential areas cannot go beyond 15m.

The urban development ministry is currently in the process of reviewing the Master Plan of Delhi 2021 and is expected to finalise a number of amendments soon like allowing high-rises and increasing the existing floor area ratio (FAR). FAR is the ratio of the total floor area of a building to the plot area.

Earlier this month, Delhi's Urban Development Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely had supported Nath's push for vertical expansion but demanded adequate central funds for enhancing existing infrastructure if such a policy is finalised.

"We absolutely have no problem with vertical expansion of Delhi. But when approval is given to high-rises, then we will have to strengthen existing infrastructure like sewage network, water distribution system and power transmission. The Centre will have to provide Delhi government funds for enhancing the infrastructure," Lovely had said.

In her address, Dikshit also spoke about flash floods in Uttarakhand and blamed "unregulated constructions" for the disaster.

"What had happened in Uttarakhand is really tragic. It was a man-made disaster. Let us assume, the cloud burst had taken place because of god. But still it is a man made disaster as construction activities had been going on without any logic, without looking into safety issues," she said.

Underlining the need for protecting the eco-system in Delhi, Dikshit exhorted people to plant saplings to extend the green cover further.

"We started the plantation drive when we came to power in 1999. We saw the Rajasthan desert coming towards Delhi. If we had not carried out the plantation drive, probably the sands in Rajasthan deserts would have come here," she said.


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Govt plans better link to Mehrauli

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 27 Juni 2013 | 22.10

NEW DELHI: Getting to Mehrauli could finally become easier. The Delhi government is exploring the possibility of providing better linkages to the area. On Wednesday, chief minister Sheila Dikshit, in a meeting held with senior PWD officials, decided to hire a consultant for the project.

As per the initial plan, elevated roads from two points in the area will be built for better connectivity. At present, there is a single lane of 35 feet to gain entry into Mehrauli. "There is no alternative route available and it takes at least one hour to one-and-a-half hours from Qutub Minar to Mehrauli road due to heavy congestion," said a senior government official. The plan proposes building two separate roads—a 1.2km road from the Mehrauli bus terminus to Mehrauli-Badarpur Road near Anuvrat Marg Ahimsa Sthal and a 1km road from Shahi Idgah to Aruna Asaf Ali Marg via Sanjay Van.

Dikshit, taking note of the difficulties faced by residents and commuters, added that a "tentative" alignment was also discussed in the meeting. Delhi assembly speaker, Yoganand Shastri, who was also present, said PWD has conducted a preliminary survey. Shastri is also the Mehrauli MLA.

If approved, the project will provide relief to commuters using the Mehrauli bus terminal to Mehrauli-Badarpur Road and Idgah to Neela Hauz road. Officials say the entire stretch comes under forest land and permission of forest department is needed before the conceptual stage of the project.


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Business’s stalkers held; planned to rob him

NEW DELHI: Four people who were about to rob a Chandni Chowk businessman were arrested on Wednesday. They had followed him from his residence to his electronics showroom.

The main accused, Anees Khan, was found to be involved in the kidnapping and rape of a minor in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh. Cops are also questioning him in a robbery and attempt to murder case as they believe that he might be involved in the shooting of a constable that happened on Friday. Nirale and Aamir also have two cases of snatching against them.

According to DCP (northeast) Dheeraj Kumar, the Operations wing of northeast district led by ACP Rajender Tyagi has seized two country made .315 pistols, four live cartridges, one butcher's knife and one razor from the accused. They were alsocarrying red chillis with them. The other accused have been identified as Shahid Ali (38)from Badaun, Nirale Khan (40) from Kasganj and Aamir alias Salman from Badaun.

The cops arrested the accused from the hints that they gathered while investigating the shooting at a police constable. A 42-year-old Delhi police head constable, posted as the PSO to the DC (New Delhi), was shot at in the wee hours of Friday morning in a failed robbery bid when he was returning home. The victim, Ajay Verma, was a resident of West Nathu Colony in northeast Delhi.


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Nirbhaya case: Juvenile pleads innocent

NEW DELHI: The sole juvenile accused in the gang rape and murder of Nirbhaya denied all the charges against him on Wednesday and said he did not participate in the horrific crime. Pleading innocence before the juvenile justice board chaired by principal magistrate Geetanjali Goel, the youth refuted the police accusation in the chargesheet of him being the "most brutal" of all the six accused. He also claimed that he was not a participant in the crime and has been "falsely implicated" in the case.

The juvenile claimed innocence when the board put before him the evidence collected by the police. He said he was victimized by his employer and prime accused Ram Singh who allegedly did not pay him for his work. While the juvenile is facing trial before the JJB, the four adult co-accused are being tried before a fast-track court.

The board has recorded the statement of all the six prosecution witnesses against the juvenile. Meanwhile, the fast-track court has completed recording of statement of all the 80 prosecution witnesses. The JJB has now fixed the matter for July 5 for final arguments. Besides the juvenile, four adult accused facing trial in the case are Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur.


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Nirbhaya case: Juvenile pleads innocence

NEW DELHI: The sole juvenile accused in the gang rape and murder of Nirbhaya denied all the charges against him on Wednesday and said he did not participate in the horrific crime. Pleading innocence before the juvenile justice board chaired by principal magistrate Geetanjali Goel, the youth refuted the police accusation in the chargesheet of him being the "most brutal" of all the six accused. He also claimed that he was not a participant in the crime and has been "falsely implicated" in the case.

The juvenile claimed innocence when the board put before him the evidence collected by the police. He said he was victimized by his employer and prime accused Ram Singh who allegedly did not pay him for his work. While the juvenile is facing trial before the JJB, the four adult co-accused are being tried before a fast-track court.

The board has recorded the statement of all the six prosecution witnesses against the juvenile. Meanwhile, the fast-track court has completed recording of statement of all the 80 prosecution witnesses. The JJB has now fixed the matter for July 5 for final arguments. Besides the juvenile, four adult accused facing trial in the case are Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur.


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NCERT campus deaths propel probe

NEW DELHI: Government agencies woke up to the emergency on the NCERT campus only after contaminated drinking water was blamed for two deaths.

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), which had done little to address people's complaints late last week when they reported getting dirty water, has ordered a probe into the lapse with uncharacteristic haste.

The department has ordered that a member committee investigate the reasons for contamination and suggest remedies besides fixing responsibility within three days. The committee has been asked to file a report.

CPWD is responsible for distribution of water inside the campus while the Delhi Jal Board tankers supply water to NCERT in bulk. A senior CPWD official said their teams had lifted two water samples—one from the underground sump and another from a house—and sent it for testing. "Preliminary findings suggest that the backflow of sewage led to its mixing with drinking water. We are waiting for the test report to ascertain what went wrong," the official added.

He claimed that CPWD had cleaned the underground sump only 15 days ago. The official added that sewage seems to have got mixed with drinking water as DJB's sewage line was blocked, which resulted in backflow. Several calls to the DJB spokesperson went unanswered.

CPWD expedited the replacement of water pipelines and cleaning of the underground water tank on Tuesday evening. People engaged in laying pipelines said the work would be wrapped up by Thursday evening.

"We had filed complaints at the CPWD office on the campus but they did not take any action. Since Tuesday both CPWD and DJB have been working meticulously to clean and change the pipelines," said Ved Prakash, president of the employees' committee.

Residents said DJB had been sending enough water tankers to the colony since Tuesday, and they have also filled the colony's bigger water tank with fresh water. Tankers are also being sent to individual blocks, so that people can store water to fulfil their daily requirements. Ravinder Dagar, a resident, said CPWD officials have assured them that the supply will normalize soon.

NCERT officials have visited the affected families. NCERT spokesman Hemant Kumar said, "The campus as a whole has been affected by the event. DJB is responsible only for water supply, while CPWD looks after maintenance of the storage tanks. We have stationed an ambulance and doctors are taking care of the sick."

Geeta Verma, another resident, said NCERT director Parvin Sinclair also visited them and had promised strict action against those found negligent.

(With inputs from Aditya Shailaj & Akshay Kumar Singh)


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One dead, several hurt as bikers go berserk

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 26 Juni 2013 | 22.11

NEW DELHI: There was chaos on city streets late Monday night as around 2,000 bikers in festive mood zipped dangerously through traffic and showed off stunts, resulting in the death of one rider and injuries to several others, including two policemen who were targeted with stones.

Traffic came to a halt at several places as hundreds of commuters returning home late were caught in a frenzy with the bikers pulling wheelies, weaving in and out of lanes and even stopping cars. Some reportedly jumped on bonnets of cars and banged on the windows.

The 'wild' celebrations again exposed the poor preparedness of police who had reason to expect chaos because of Shab-e-Barat festivities, which on previous years has seen dangerous driving late at night.

The worst hit areas were India Gate, Connaught Place, ITO crossing, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Delhi Gate, Pragati Maidan and Sunder Nagar. The mayhem spilled over to the BRT around Oberoi flyover as the cops tightened vigil at India Gate and ITO areas.

Police said a biker lost his life when he, along with two other bikes, jumped a red light and collided with a car coming from the opposite direction. Two policemen sustained injuries in stone pelting by a mob while several bikers hurt themselves while performing stunts on roads, cops said.

Police claimed they took strict action and detained 11 men, seized 90 bikes and registered two criminal cases at Tilak Marg and Mandir Marg police stations under sections of rioting, causing hurt to a public servant and obstructing a public servant.

Some of the seized bikes are suspected to be stolen, police said. Four men were arrested and others detained under the Delhi Police Act. The traffic police said 234 challans were issued through the night - 93 of them in the southern range, 97 in central , 28 in western, 13 eastern and three in the northern range. All challans pertained to dangerous driving, triple riding and driving without helmet.

Cops said 40 pickets had been set up and around 100 traffic personnel were posted there along with local police and PCR.

On Monday, police had said they had made adequate arrangements by distributing pamphlets in colonies asking youths to refrain from such activities and roped in elderly people through community policing so that the youths are convinced. However, the efforts clearly went in vein.

The tone for the night set in around 9pm when bikers began to assemble in different areas. The situation remained under control in the first two hours due to the heavy police presence. However, all hell broke lose after midnight when police presence decreased. People could see three or even four men riding on one bike.

Commuters returning home late at night had harrowing stories to tell. Utkarsh Anand, an engineering student, was travelling back with his mother after having dinner at Connaught Place. "I started at 11.30pm in my car and reached home at 1.15am and thanked my stars. I was scared and my mother began to cry seeing the mob go crazy. When I signalled two bikers to move from the way, they began to bang on my window panes. There were policemen on the side of the road who were doing just nothing," he said.

Many women TOI spoke to said they had the worse time of their lives reaching home. Many women driving alone could be seen in tears. Families were shocked after the mob stopped autos and even began to do summersaults on their car's bonnets.

With bikers weaving through lanes, motorists had to brake often. Many cars had minor collisions. "Why were the police so helpless?" asked Rekha, a housewife who was returning home with her husband after watching a movie at Connaught Place.

Even commuters coming from other parts of the city were caught in the frenzy as they crossed India Gate, which had been virtually turned into a fortress.

The bikers went on the rampage after police began to seize their vehicles and detain them around midnight.


22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kejriwal to contest against Sheila in New Delhi

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal will contest from New Delhi assembly constituency to take on CM Sheila Dikshit directly in the Delhi assembly elections.

With this, AAP has announced the names of 20 candidates. In the second list released here on Tuesday by the party for nine assembly constituencies, the names of Kejriwal, and his colleague and activist Gopal Rai figure among others. Rai will contest the polls from the Babarpur assembly constituency, while former Congress worker Gajanan will be candidate from Bawana.

Other candidates include Rishipal (Chhatarpur), Sushil Chauhan (Krishna Nagar), Sohail Salauddin (Matia Mahal), Vandana (Shalimar Bagh), Kapil Dhama (Mushtafabad) and Dr Atul Gupta (Vishwasnagar). AAP had on June 15 announced the first list of 11 candidates. The candidates —which include ex-servicemen , former Congress workers , scribes, advocates, engineers , sportsperson and social workers — were selected after a month long screening by the party's selection committee.


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Arvind Kejriwal to contest against Sheila Dikshit in New Delhi

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal will contest from New Delhi assembly constituency to take on CM Sheila Dikshit directly in the Delhi assembly elections.

With this, AAP has announced the names of 20 candidates. In the second list released here on Tuesday by the party for nine assembly constituencies, the names of Kejriwal, and his colleague and activist Gopal Rai figure among others. Rai will contest the polls from the Babarpur assembly constituency, while former Congress worker Gajanan will be candidate from Bawana.

Other candidates include Rishipal (Chhatarpur), Sushil Chauhan (Krishna Nagar), Sohail Salauddin (Matia Mahal), Vandana (Shalimar Bagh), Kapil Dhama (Mushtafabad) and Dr Atul Gupta (Vishwasnagar). AAP had on June 15 announced the first list of 11 candidates. The candidates —which include ex-servicemen , former Congress workers , scribes, advocates, engineers , sportsperson and social workers — were selected after a month long screening by the party's selection committee.


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Nirbhaya case: Juvenile claims innocence

NEW DELHI: The juvenile accused in Nirbhaya case denied all the charges against him, claiming that he was not a participant in the horrendous crime.

Pleading innocence before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) presided by principal magistrate Geetanjali Goel, the youth refuted the police version in the charge sheet of him being the "most brutal" of all the six accused persons.

He claimed that he was not a participant in the crime and has been "falsely implicated" in the case.

The juvenile claimed innocence when the board put before him the evidence collected by the police. He said he was himself victimised by his employer and prime accused Ram Singh, who he said did not pay him for his work.

A native of Uttar Pradesh who moved to Delhi as a 11-year -old and took up menial jobs, the juvenile was one of the six accused persons arrested after the gangrape of the girl in a moving bus in which the victim's male friend was also assaulted.

The juvenile is facing trial before the JJB while the four adult co-accused are being tried before a fast track court.

The board has recorded the statement of all the six prosecution witnesses against the juvenile. Meanwhile, the fast track court has also completed recording of statement of all the 80 prosecution witnesses.

The JJB has now fixed the matter for July 5 for final arguments.

Nirbhaya and her 28-year-old friend were assaulted and beaten and she was repeatedly raped when they boarded a bus after a visit to the cinema. She died two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.

Ram Singh was found hanging in Tihar jail in March and the proceedings against him stand abated.

Besides him, four adult accused facing trial in the case are - Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur.

They have been charged with gang rape, murder, criminal conspiracy, unnatural sex and robbery besides other sections of IPC and their trial is proceeding in a fast-track court on daily basis.


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Delhi Police seize ephedrine worth Rs 125cr, arrest four men

NEW DELHI: 370kg of banned ephedrine worth Rs 125 crore was seized in the capital with the arrest of a Nigerian national and three other men, police said on Wednesday as it claimed to have busted an international drug racket.

Nigerian Arther Frank (42), Mehboob Khan (68), Sandeep Bansal (36) and Krishan Kumar (42) were apprehended following investigations into a tip-off, DCP (special cell) Sanjeev Yadav said.

"Both technical and human surveillance was kept upon activities of members of this syndicate. After their arrests, we seized 370 kg ephedrine from them. The value of drugs is about Rs 125 crore," he said.

The special cell had received a tip-off that Khan, a resident of Thane in Maharashtra, would deliver a big consignment of ephedrine to Frank in east Delhi's Shakarpur on June 15.

Khan along with his aide had reached the spot in an autorickshaw and handed over the drug consignment to Frank when they were apprehended.

50 kg ephedrine was recovered from Frank while another 290 kg was recovered from Khan, Yadav claimed.

"They were acting on the behest of one Abu Dada alias Baba, who is based in Dubai. Khan and Frank acted as courier and supplied ephedrine to various Nigerian nationals in Delhi who smuggled it to other countries through courier," he said.

It also came to light during probe that on May 31, Drona, a prominent member of the syndicate, received a consignment of ephedrine from Bansal Pharma in Bhagirath Palace and sent it to Hapur in Uttar Pradesh to deliver it to a buyer.

"But later the Nigerian buyer insisted delivery in Delhi and consignment was brought to Delhi by Drona. Khan and his associate took delivery of the consignment of ephedrine," Yadav said.

On June 21, a raid was conducted at Bansal Pharma and Bansal was arrested. 20 kg ephedrine was found from Bansal's office.

Kumar, who had supplied the drug to Bansal, was arrested from Chandni Chowk and 10 kg ephedrine was seized from his possession. Both Bansal and Kumar are traders.

Yadav said Khan, who originally hails from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, went to Dubai in 1967. He had resided there for three years and ran a general store.

"He befriended Abu Dada in Sharjah and later, he came to Mumbai and started doing odd jobs. He kept visiting Dubai to meet Dada, who lured him to work as his agent for supplying ephedrine and directed him to develop his network in India. When Khan came to Delhi, Dada introduced him to Frank," Yadav said.

After arriving in India in 2001 on a tourist visa, Frank did not return to his country. He started allegedly supplying heroin. In 2002, Frank and another alleged drug peddler Yasin Phalwan were arrested. The Nigerian was convicted in the case.

"Frank remained in jail from January 2002 to March 2011. He has filed an appeal in the Delhi high court against his conviction and was out on bail. After his release from jail, he started supplying narcotic drugs including ephedrine," Yadav said.


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Teenager takes cops for a ride with kidnap tale

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 25 Juni 2013 | 22.10

NEW DELHI: A teenager keen to meet her boyfriend but unable to do so due to strict parental curfew took Delhi Police for a ride with a kidnap-and-escape story before being found out. She was returned home with a reprimand.

The teen had been left at Rithala station about 8.30 am by her uncle on the promise that she would go straight to Anand Vihar by Metro where her father, who lives in Loni, Ghaziabad, would pick her up.

The girl, though, fixed up an appointment with her boyfriend at a fast food joint outside Kashmere Gate. When the boyfriend kept her waiting, she realized it would be difficult to explain her delay. She sent three texts to her uncle, father and cousin saying she had been kidnapped from Rithala Metro station by five men.

While her father and other uncle went to the Jyoti Nagar police station to lodge a complaint, the girl decided to end the kidnap story. She boarded the Metro again from Kashmere Gate and returned to Keshavpuram. She walked to a PCR van on Lawrence Road and told them about her escape from her fictitious kidnappers.

"She even switched off her mobile and threw it away to avoid detection," a senior police officer said. Top crime branch officers confirmed the incident. "It was a prank," addl commissioner of police (crime) Ravinder Yadav said.


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Demand-hit Connaught Place still among most expensive office markets

MUMBAI: Despite weakening demand for office space Connaught Place (CP) remains the fifth most expensive office market in the world.

In property consultant CBRE's semi-annual Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey, CP has retained its earlier ranking in the list of the world's 50 most expensive office markets. The latest survey provides data on office rents and occupancy costs as of March 2013 across 133 countries.

"Though demand for office space has reduced, occupancy costs remain high, especially in Connaught Place, due to limited supply in the near future," said Anshuman Magazine, chairman and managing director, CBRE.

And the gap in office real-estate occupancy cost between central business districts (CBDs) such as Connaught Place and suburbs such as Gurgaon (ranked 72nd) stays wide.

In Mumbai the occupancy costs in Nariman Point, the country's first planned CBD, have reduced further. In the CBRE survey, Nariman Point dropped to 26th position at $90 per sq ft per annum. In December 2012, it had ranked 25th.

But the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) retained its earlier ranking (11th) among expensive office markets, CBRE said.

CBRE analysts said the Mumbai CBD — including the micro markets of Nariman Point, Fort and Cuffe Parade — had seen office space absorption of only 8,000 to 10,000 sq ft during the quarter. Office rental values in these micro markets declined 3-4% sequentially in January-March, they said.

In the past few years, Nariman Point has lost some of its sheen and has seen rising vacancy levels since many companies have chosen to move offices to locations such as BKC, Lower Parel and Andheri. Rentals in the CBD have also fallen from over Rs 300 per sq ft a month in early 2011 to about Rs 250 now.

Transaction activity was upbeat in BKC, with around 0.18 million sq ft of Grade A office space absorbed during the quarter. "The existing vacancy pressures and further supply addition (in BKC) during the current quarter have led to a decline in rental value by 3-4% quarter-on-quarter," the analysts said.


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Harnessing of people’s power

NEW DELHI: The agitation against the upcoming shopping mall in Alaknanda is not just a spontaneous burst of anger. It's a planned campaign, put together carefully by residents who have probed different aspects of the project. They have filed RTIs, ran online campaigns and used their own domain knowledge to understand the impact of the mall on the neighborhood.

Ashutosh Dixit, resident of Mandakini Enclave and president of 'The Citizen's Alliance', was the first to start engaging residents in his own colony. He managed to get about 200 petitions signed which were sent to the lieutenant-governor, Tejinder Khanna. Gradually, word spread and other colonies like Godavari, Aravalli and NRI Complex got involved. "We dropped pamphlets saying 'Stop the Mall' in front of houses. On February 24, we held our first meeting with residents which was attended by over 200 people," recalls Dixit.

The alliance has lawyers, architects and economists as members. They used their expertise to probe further. "For instance, one of the architects, Ravi Kaimal, made schematic maps of all commercial hubs in the area to understand how the mall would affect life and mobility," adds Dixit. Economist Laveesh Bhandari analysed how big the mall was going to be and what would be the size of the crowd it would attract by digging out data on commercial establishments and analyzing it. Soon, RWAs from GK-II and C R Park also got involved.

They formed sub-committees and held meetings in their own areas. They started a common group mail, opened a facebook page and even launched an online campaign on change. org. Around 2000 petitions signed online were sent to the LG, urging his intervention. "We downloaded the state level environment clearance from the website which gave us most of the specifications of the mall. Then some of us individually went to the government departments to get more information," said Dixit.


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‘Alaknanda mall to be traffic nightmare’

NEW DELHI: Residents of a cluster of colonies in south Delhi have come together, in a unique mass movement, to oppose a mall that they say threatens to derail traffic in the area, cause pollution and severely strain the limited civic resources.

The mall will be coming up on a 3.76-acre plot between Kalka Public School and a petrol pump in Alaknanda and will be spread over 7.3 lakh square feet, just a little smaller than Select Citywalk in Saket.

The mall is a commercial project of Reliance Eminent Trading and Commercial Pvt. Ltd. The plot is surrounded by residential buildings and there are schools in the vicinity. It will house a hyper market, retail space and office area. There will be shops, restaurants and food courts. The residents, who got into the act only after the deal was done and all clearances secured, are now worried that quality of life in the area is going to be severely hit. The affected colonies are all the Alaknanda residential societies, Chittaranjan Park and Greater Kailash II.

Even as the DDA and company officials insist that everything is in order, there is a sense of disbelief among the residents. They allege that the plot had been earmarked for a community centre and sports complex, a claim denied by DDA. "This plot is part of a community centre which is third in the hierarchy of planning of commercial places as per the master plan. Since it is a commercial area, it was put to tender in 2007 and sold on a freehold basis for Rs 304 crore. There was never any proposal for a sports complex," said DDA spokesperson Neemo Dhar.

The residents point out that access to the entire area is through a narrow road near Savitri Cinema and that the internal roads of all the colonies are already choked. The traffic that such a huge mall will bring to the area - and with it the attendant parking problem - will be a nightmare, they say.

It was about eight months ago when tall metal sheets came up around the plot that people realized there was something amiss. "All along we believed it was meant for a sports hub for residents. We started digging deeper and found out it was going to be a massive structure. The sheer scale of it got us concerned," said Ashutosh Dixit, president of 'The Citizen Alliance' formed to campaign against the project.

"Has anybody considered the impact of vehicular pollution on residents ? What about parking space? Visitors will end up parking outside, eating into our road space," added Dixit. This had indeed happened at the malls on Press Enclave Road and even a prominent club in the area.

Then there are basic questions about water and power. "The mall will need over 2 lakh litres of water. Where will it come from when Delhi already has a severe water shortage," asked Laveesh Bhandari, a resident and treasurer of the alliance. Bhandari, a prominent economist, added that some residents believed that a mall would increase property costs in the area but that is unlikely. "In fact, it's going to be just the reverse. Property prices rise less in areas where there are malls because people are concerned about infrastructure-related problems and the law and order situation," he said.

Many residents have since then filed RTIs with various departments, including DDA and the environment department, to check if the mall has got necessary clearances but got evasive replies.

Greater Kailash municipal councillor Sunita Guliya said she opposed the project because it would ruin the traffic situation in her area.


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Delhi University student stabbed to death

NEW DELHI: A 22-year-old Delhi University student was stabbed to death near his home here, police said on Tuesday, blaming it on personal enmity. One of the attackers was arrested.

Five people attacked Pankaj Kashyap in south Delhi's Madan Gir area on Monday night. He was a student of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College.

Kashyap was stabbed 12 times. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead.

The assailants came on motorcycles and fled after the attack. Six months ago Kashyap had a scuffle with one of the attackers, who threatened him with dire consequences.

Alleging police inaction, Kashyap's relatives and neighbours blocked a street.


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Swell in Yamuna kills the stink

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 22 Juni 2013 | 22.10

NEW DELHI: If you thought the Delhi stretch of Yamuna had long become a sewage pool, visit the river now. Flooded to the brim, it is reminiscent of what Yamuna may have originally looked like. The flood may have played havoc by displacing communities but it has also managed to dilute the polluted water and enliven a dead river.

Towards Okhla (downstream) the river water usually has a biochemical oxygen demand of 40 to 50 mg/l but since June 15, the BOD measured less than10 mg/l according to Central Pollution Control Board.

BOD is an important determinant to show how polluted the river water is. It is a measure of the quantity of oxygen used by microorganisms in the oxidation of organic matter. The acceptable limit of BOD is 3 mg/l.

"The pollutants have been washed away but the water is very turbid because of the debris that has come with the floodwater and runoff from agricultural fields. Even after the water level recedes, there will still be surplus water and we expect that pollution levels will be low for about two months," said a senior officer from CPCB.

The flooding will also have an impact on the groundwater say scientists. Saumitra Mukherjee, professor of geology and remote sensing, School of Environmental Sciences, JNU, says that there are lots of negative effects of flooding but one of the positive impact is the improvement in soil quality. "The flood brings with it fine silt, clay and sand. These and the sediment formed from them are usually fertile and can be beneficial for agricultural purposes. The floodwater also helps recharge underground aquifers," he says.

However, he warns that the floodwater loaded with fecal matter can contaminate both the surface water and groundwater. "There has to be intensive monitoring of the water quality to check if it can cause contamination. When the floodwater starts receding there is a high chance of an epidemic and spread of bacterial infection among communities living by the river," he adds.

The flooding also impacts aquatic life. The dead river may now have enough water to create the environmental conditions for spawning of certain species of fish.

"Floods are very important for Yamuna in Delhi. Earlier we had a lot of wetlands but development has eaten in to those. Usually during floods when the floodwater recedes, these pools or wetlands are recharged. Even our floodplains have been encroached upon. We need forests and grasslands by the river to retain and use the floodwater. We need a river front forest ecosystem," adds Faiyaz A Khudsar, scientist at Yamuna Biodiversity Park.


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LG okays 8 DDA flats as women’s centres

NEW DELHI: The lieutenant-governor, Tejendra Khanna, has approved a plan to provide eight DDA flats for setting up reception-cum-care centres that will be run by National Commission for Women, in partnership with NGOs, as temporary shelters. This was announced at the third quarterly meeting on women's security and safety.

In the aftermath of December 16 gang-rape case, it had been decided to hold quarterly reviews on safety of women.

The meeting was attended by women's organizations besides senior cops. The organizations raised concern over how coordination meetings were not held regularly at quite a few places. The LG directed cops to instruct all stations to hold these meetings without fail. Special commissioner of police Taj Hasan will now hold meetings with women groups on last Friday of each month.


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Man accused of raping maid, freed

NEW DELHI: The government should frame a policy or law to regulate placement agencies, which supply domestic helps, so that proper verification of servants can be done to curb false rape cases, a trial court said.

"Considering the need of the day, it is required that some regulatory law or policy is made by the government and police," said Nivedita Anil Sharma, additional sessions judge, while acquitting a man of the charge of raping his maid.

While absolving the charges against Delhi resident, Narender Singh, the court observed that this case appeared to be a clear example of false cases. The agency maid levelled allegations of rape out of vengeance as a theft case was lodged against her by the accused. "There are no laws, policies or rules to regulate the placement agencies which supply maids and servants for working in houses," it said.

The court also directed that a copy of the judgement be sent to secretaries of ministry of law and justice, chairpersons of National Commission for Women, Delhi Commission for Women and commissioner and additional commissioner (west) of Delhi Police.

The 19-year-old maid, who was hired through a placement agency, had alleged that she was raped by Singh in his father-in-law's house on May 12, 2009. She was threatened by him to not disclose it to anyone, she said.

During the trial, Singh said she had implicated him in a false case as he and his family had lodged a case of theft against her. The stolen articles were recovered from her and also from Priyanka and Nayar, owner of the placement agency.


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Man freed in sodomy case

NEW DELHI: A trial court has acquitted a man, accused of abducting and sodomizing a boy, stating that complainants have resiled from their statements recorded by cops.

Additional sessions judge Renu Bhatnagar let off the UP resident, saying "there is no incriminating evidence" as all the three star witnesses have turned "hostile". The accused was arrested by the police on a complaint lodged by the boy and his father that on December 30, 2005.


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Speeding DTC bus kills biker in south Delhi

NEW DELHI: A 45-year-old man died after a speeding bus hit his motorcycle on MB Road near Okhla More in southeast Delhi on Thursday.

The victim, Sarvan Kumar Mishra, suffered severe head injuries after the bus hit his motorcycle from behind. The incident is said to have taken place around noon. He was rushed to AIIMS Trauma Centre where doctors declared him dead.

The driver and the conductor of the bus are absconding. Witnesses said the bus belonged DTC's old fleet, however, police are yet to confirm this.


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Aarushi case: Two examined

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 21 Juni 2013 | 22.10

NEW DELHI: The first two defence witnesses in the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case, Dr Amulya Chaddha and Rajinder Kaul, recorded their statements in the Ghaziabad court on Thursday.

Dr Chaddha was asked about the neck injuries on Aarushi and Hemraj. He said a dental scalpel is hardly 1.5 inch long and has a cutting edge of just 1cm. "How can it inflict such injuries? Chaddha also told the court that this scalpel is not kept by any dentist at home for any emergency purpose and is rarely used in the practice," said defence counsel Satyaketu Singh.

The second witness was Rajinder Kaul who told the court that when he had gone to Dr Rajesh Talwar's house after the incident, "there was grief in the house".


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Water recedes, disease threat looms

NEW DELHI: Much to the relief of the city, the Yamuna started receding by Thursday morning and its level had come down to 206.44 m by 6 pm. The river attained a peak of 207.32 m, the second highest recorded level after the floods of 1978 when it had touched 207.49 m.

"The river peaked by 7pm on Wednesday and maintained that level till about 3am on Thursday. The water is now expected to reach Mathura and the level will keep falling here. There has been no further rain in the catchment area," said officials from Central Water Commission.

Revenue secretary Dharampal chaired a high-level meeting on Thursday to discuss the fallout of the flood and relief measures. "The meeting was held to discuss how to control the outbreak of diseases in the relief camps, especially waterborne diseases like typhoid and cholera and airborne ones like chikungunya, malaria and dengue. It has been decided that anti-malaria spraying will be undertaken in the camps, fumigation against mosquitoes will be done once a day and chlorine bottles will be provided to the flood-affected families," said an official.

Delhi Jal Board has been asked to provide drinking water to all the camps. The health department and municipal corporations have been asked to maintain cleanliness and sanitation around camps to avoid any health hazard. They will also be increasing awareness about possible outbreak of diseases by distributing pamphlets.

The government claimed that the number of flood victims went up from 5,500 on Wednesday to 10,000 on Thursday. Officials said that 1,153 tents have been set up and all evacuees are being provided with food, drinking water and health services. Divisional commissioner Dharampal said more tents are being pitched even as many were still waiting at Geeta Colony bridge, Gandhi Nagar, Seelampur, Usmanpur and Garhi Mandu villages. He added that besides the authorized food contractor, NGOs and gurdwaras have come forward to provide food.

Meanwhile, in the Tibetan refugee colony at Majnu ka Tila, many houses were still partially submerged in water and families were stranded on higher floors, waiting patiently for the river to recede. There has been no electricity here for two days and thus most of the market remained closed.


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Four held at Indira Gandhi International Airport, gold worth Rs 78 lakh seized

NEW DELHI: Four persons, including one who tried to smuggle gold bars concealed in his lower abdomen, were arrested in two separate incidents of smuggling at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here.

All four, who were involved in alleged smuggling of three kilograms of gold valued at over Rs 78 lakh, have been arrested, a customs official said.

Acting on a tip-off, customs officials on Wednesday intercepted Dilare Singh and Jitender Singh on their arrival in Delhi from Bangkok.

"On detailed examination of their baggage and personal search, two kilograms of gold bars were found being concealed in two TV stands provided with 32 inches Samsung LED TVs," a press release issued by the customs said.

The two, who live in Shastri Nagar area of the national capital, were arrested and the recovered gold was seized.

On the basis of duo's interrogation, another person Pramod Saini, who was waiting to receive them, was also arrested, it said.

In another incident, Sanjay Kumar was arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle a gold bar weighing a kilogram by hiding it in his lower abdomen.

Kumar, who lives in Paschim Vihar area of the capital, had arrived from Bangkok.

Following intelligence and suspicion of his involvement in alleged smuggling, Kumar was intercepted on his arrival and his baggage and personal search was conducted, the release said.

The search did not detect any gold and the officials then decided to conduct Kumar's full body X-ray. "During X-ray of his body at Safdarjung hospital, some foreign body was noticed in his lower abdomen. The foreign bodies turned out to be six rectangular gold bars collectively weighing one kg," it said. The total value of seized gold in both the cases is more than Rs 78 lakh, the release said.


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Yamuna recedes in Delhi but more people evacuated

NEW DELHI: The water level of the Yamuna has fallen below the danger mark of 204.83 metres in the capital, a government official said on Friday. However, more people were evacuated from many areas along the river late on Thursday as a precautionary measure.

"The water level of the Yamuna now stands at 204.63 metres, which is just a little below the danger mark of 204.83," Dharmpal, secretary of Delhi's revenue and disaster management department, said.

The Yamuna river rose to 207.25 metres late on Wednesday, the highest since 1978 when it had reached 207.49 metres.

As the swollen river waters moved downstream into Delhi, over 5,000 peope were shifted out of their marooned houses and localities. More people from the city's south, central and the north districts were evacuated on Thursday night by authorities, who fear that these areas are prone to flooding if the city receives more rain in coming days.

"In total, now around 10,000 families have been evacuated from several areas along the Yamuna and shifted to about 9,000 relief camps erected around the city," Dharmpal added.

According to the official, the water level may rise if there is heavy rainfall in the city in the next few days.

In the last four days, 900,000 cusecs of water has been released into the Yamuna from Hathinikund barrage in Haryana, resulting in rise of the river in the national capital.

"The release of five lakh cusecs of water from the Hathinikund barrage is normal for Yamuna. But on Friday only 25,000 cusecs of water is being released from the barrage," Delhi chief secretary DM Spoli said.

The 145-year-old double-decker rail-cum-road bridge over the Yamuna, which was shut for traffic for two days, was re-opened on Thursday.


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Man accused of selling wife to friend

NEW DELHI: The city police on Friday opposed the anticipatory bail plea of a man, accused of selling his wife to another man who allegedly raped her, before the Delhi high court claiming that it has evidence against him and he is not entitled to bail.

Filing a status report before a vacation bench of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Public Prosecutor Navin Sharma submitted that during the preliminary investigation, the rape accused has disclosed that he had paid money for the woman and the husband had received the amount saying that the woman is a divorcee.

The lawyer also argued the allegations are serious against the man(husband) and the court should not grant bail to him.

After taking the police status report on record, Justice Sachdeva adjourned the matter for July 2 and said " till then no interim relief to the petitioner."

The court was hearing the husband's plea which challenged the lower court's order rejecting his plea for anticipatory bail in a case of rape, illegal confinement and criminal intimidation.

The case was lodged by the wife against the man, to whom she was allegedly sold, and her husband and in-laws for their alleged role in it.

The FIR was registered with Hari Nagar police station by the woman against the man who raped her and also the husband for the alleged conspiracy as they were not on good terms for the past several months.

The petitioner's counsel contended the woman was misusing the police and law.


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2 pipelines leak near Wazirabad

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 20 Juni 2013 | 22.10

NEW DELHI: Two water pipelines along the Ghaziabad-Wazirabad highway leaked on Wednesday, threatening to flood Shri Ram Colony, Khajuri Khas and areas along the Sonia Vihar water treatment plant. Emergency operations were launched to plug the leaks, but the highway leading to the Wazirabad bridge had to be shut down.

Engineers found that the back flow was caused due to an open manhole in a pipeline laid down by the UP Jal Nigam downstream of Wazirabad as an outfall for treated sewage water. Due to this open manhole, river water entered the pipeline with force and caused the leakage.

At Khajuri Khas, a crowd had gathered after a leak was spotted in the pipeline. Chief engineer (Irrigation and Flood) V P S Tomar told TOI that there was a gap below one of the pipelines running below the arterial highway. With the Yamuna raging with full strength, the small gap was enough to cause the outflow. Tomar said that the PWD was doing its best and the crisis will be averted.

Meanwhile, PWD minister Raj Kumar Chauhan visited the spots ad directed DTTDC to check for any further trouble spots along the under-construction approaches to the state government's Signature Bridge project at Wazirabad.


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Delhi Jal Board rescues nilgai caught in flood water

NEW DELHI: A young nilgai was rescued from Wazirabad water treatment plant by Delhi Jal Board staff. The animal sustained external injuries. After treatment, it was released in the Asola Wildlife Park on Wednesday evening. Rescue operations were on to save another one in the same area.

One more nilgai was caught in the flood water at Geeta Colony. The animal was spotted by DJB's staff It flowed to the plant around 6.30am.

"There is a bar screen just before the water intake point which stops all floating material from entering the pumps. The animal was spotted when it came near the screen. Till then we did not know what animal it was," said BM Dhaul, member (water), DJB.

DJB has deployed divers at the plant who dive in the river in times of emergencies, usually to remove large floating material and bodies on some occasions.The divers went into the Yamuna, caught the animal, tied the rope around its neck and pulled it out of the water.


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Yamuna recedes in Delhi but flows above danger mark

NEW DELHI: Low-lying areas along the Yamuna remained submerged for the second consecutive day though the water level in the river started receding today.

The water level in the river was recorded at 206.83 metres at 2pm which is two metres above the danger mark, officials in the Delhi disaster management authority said.

Last night, the water level had touched 207.32 metres The highest water level of 207.49 m in Yamuna was recorded in 1978 when several areas in the city had witnessed flash floods.

Various low-lying areas along Yamuna like Usmanpur, Yamuna Bazar, Bhajanpura, Shastri Park, Garhi Mandu, Manju ka Tila, Usmanpur Pusta and Jagatpur remained flooded today.

Authorities had yesterday evacuated over 5,000 people from vulnerable localities. 19 shelter camps have been set up while 500 tents were erected to provide shelter to the affected people.

The water level in Yamuna had gone up primarily due to release of around 11 lakh cusecs of water into the river by Haryana from its Hathnikund barrage in the last four days.

The officials said the water level is expected to recede further.

The 145-year-old Old Yamuna Bridge connecting east Delhi with the heart of the national capital, was shut for rail and road traffic for the third consecutive day.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority has been overseeing the rescue operation along with departments and agencies concerned.

Mobile medical teams and water tanks have been pressed into service to help the affected people.


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Indian film festival of Houston invites entries

NEW DELHI: The Indian Film Festival of Houston (IFFH) returns for its fifth edition beginning October 4. Entries for the festival, that showcases quality Indian films, close on June 30.

IFFH 2013 will be hosted over three nights and present more than 12 screenings. The festival will also hold special symposia and educational events in the Houston area. The final IFFH line-up will be announced on August 31.

"We love Bollywood, but we're beyond Bollywood. The new generation has evolved into something new. There was stagnation for a long time, where we were doing the same thing over and over. Now, the younger generation is doing something different. We want to showcase the best of Indian cinema before the world," says producer Sutapa Ghosh who founded the festival.

Also, IFFH's Asia Society will give scholarships to students who are interested in attending Film and Television School in Houston.

An official event on the international film festival circuit, IFFH offers jury awards for best feature, best documentary, best short and special recognition awards for industry leaders.


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DU student files rape case against Facebook friend

NEW DELHI: A 21-year-old Delhi University student has alleged that she was raped several times by a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) student, whom she first befriended on social networking site Facebook two years ago, police said Thursday.

The incident was reported in west Delhi's Nihal Vihar area May 4, after the victim, who also works in an NGO, found that the accused abruptly stopped answering her phone calls two months ago.

The accused, Vipin, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Mathura district, is enrolled for the BDS course at a private institute.

"The girl alleged she was betrayed by Vipin, who entered into sexual relations with her on the promise of marriage. The girl first met the man two years ago on Facebook," a police officer said.

"A case has been registered in this connection. The accused is absconding," the police officer said.


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Fire in Safdarjung child wing

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 18 Juni 2013 | 22.10

NEW DELHI: A minor fire was reported from the pediatrics wing of Safdarjung Hospital early on Monday morning. The area was evacuated immediately and no casualties were reported.

The fire was detected after smoke was seen coming out of one of the air-conditioners in ward no. 3. Five fire tenders were sent to the spot and the flames were doused within 25 minutes.

According to A K Sharma, head of Delhi Fire Services, the fire brigade was informed at 4.12am. "A team of firefighters was dispatched and 14 new born babies were shifted from the ward. The fire was controlled by 4.40am," he said. Sharma said the plastic of the split AC had caught fire, most likely due to a short circuit.

Police said certain blocks of the hospital complex are yet to receive NOCs from the fire department. "We are trying to ascertain if this ward was one of them. Several fires have been reported at the hospital in the last year with the last one being reported a week ago from the hospital's sub-station," police said.


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Soon, 'vulnerable' witnesses won't have to face accused

NEW DELHI: Realizing the need of having a better witness protection programme in place, lower judiciary is now working towards creating a new 'vulnerable witness facility' that will help witnesses who are under threat or are likely to be threatened by the accused to come out and depose without any danger.

This facility, first to come up in the Tis Hazari court complex, will have a separate room for vulnerable witnesses to provide congenial environment to them during deposition. While the witnesses now come face to face with the accused in the courtroom while giving their statement, under the vulnerable witness facility witnesses will sit in a separate room and depose via video-conferencing that will be connected to the courtroom, enabling the judge and the accused to see and hear him, sources said.

It will also have a huge one-way mirror window from where the accused will be able to see the witness. But the accused will not be visible, reducing the chances of the witness feeling threatened, they added.

District and sessions judge A K Chawla recently constituted a committee of three senior judges to supervise the construction of such a facility. The committee will look into its planning and arranging the logistics.

The lower judiciary is playing an active part in developing the comprehensive witness protection plan, especially after the Delhi high court's directions to the Delhi government to prepare a witness protection scheme while sending the case of Shyan Munshi and Prem Sagar Minocha-witnesses in the Jessical Lal murder case-to trial court for perjury proceedings.

"In any event, the law enforcement agencies shall conduct an assessment of the threat or potential for danger to any witness or witnesses.... If such threats are assessed to be sufficiently serious, and the witnesses request law enforcement assistance, witness protection funds can be used to provide assistance to witnesses which helps law enforcement keep witnesses safe and help ensure witnesses appear in court and provide testimony," the HC had said.

At present, the trial courts can arrange for police protection for the witness till the deposition is done. However, there is no arrangement to protect the witness once the examination is over.

Trial courts have often voiced their concern over the lack of any witness protection programme. "Threats to the witnesses do not result in fair trial. It has become very common now a days for the courts, particularly the courts dealing with criminal cases, to be confronted with such situations," additional sessions judge Kamini Lau had said while dealing with the issue of threat to a witness in a case.

The Supreme Court had discussed the issue extensively during the Best Bakery trial. It had said it is the obligation of the state to protect the citizens' lives, liberties and properties and duty of the court to step in to prevent miscarriage of justice which is perpetuated upon the victims and their families. The fate of the proceedings cannot always be left to the hands of the parties, the court added.


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Yamuna flowing close to danger level, flood prone areas being evacuated in Delhi

NEW DELHI: The Yamuna river is flowing over the danger mark in the national capital, an official said on Tuesday.

"By 9 am today (Tuesday), the water level in Yamuna had reached 204.98 metres. The danger mark is 204.83 metres. We are keeping a close eye on the level of the river," an official from irrigation and flood department told IANS.

The official said about 8.06 lakh cusecs of water from Haryana was released on Monday at the Hathnikund barrage and an additional 3.38 cusecs of water was released on Tuesday morning.

The Delhi government on Monday began evacuating people from low-lying areas along the banks of the Yamuna.

The highest levels recorded were 207.49 metres in 1978 and 207.11 metres in 2010.


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Yamuna flows over danger mark in Delhi, flood prone areas being evacuated

NEW DELHI: The Yamuna river is flowing over the danger mark in the national capital, an official said on Tuesday.

"By 9 am today (Tuesday), the water level in Yamuna had reached 204.98 metres. The danger mark is 204.83 metres. We are keeping a close eye on the level of the river," an official from irrigation and flood department told IANS.

The official said about 8.06 lakh cusecs of water from Haryana was released on Monday at the Hathnikund barrage and an additional 3.38 cusecs of water was released on Tuesday morning.

The Delhi government on Monday began evacuating people from low-lying areas along the banks of the Yamuna.

The highest levels recorded were 207.49 metres in 1978 and 207.11 metres in 2010.


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Yamuna crosses danger mark, people evacuated

NEW DELHI: People from low-lying areas along the Yamuna were evacuated today as the water level in the river crossed the danger mark.
The water level of Yamuna crossed the danger mark of 204.83 metres at 1pm and it reached 205.24 metres at 2.30pm, officials in the flood and irrigation department said.

They said the water level in the river is expected to rise further as Haryana has released 1.54 lakh cusecs of water into Yamuna this morning.

The city government had started the evacuation of people living close to the river bank yesterday.

Some 20 camps have been set up to provide shelter to the people affected by the rise in the level of water, and arrangements for medical and food facilities have been made, the officials said.


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