Delhi sky-gazers recall thrill to have witnessed 2013 lunar eclipse

NEW DELHI: Avid sky gazers, who had waited with a baited breath, for the first total lunar eclipse of the year enjoyed the spectacle as Moon's white bright glow turned into luminescent orange.

The spectacle of the moon being eclipsed and then turning a moderate to dark red colour was a celestial treat, visible all over the country, including the national capital.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly behind the Earth into its umbra (shadow). This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can only occur the night of a full moon. The type and length of an eclipse depend upon the Moon's location relative to its orbital nodes.

The shadow of the Earth can be divided into two distinctive parts - umbra and penumbra. Within the umbra, there is no direct solar radiation. However, as a result of the Sun's large angular size, solar illumination is only partially blocked in the outer portion of Earth's shadow, which is given the name penumbra.

Across the world, the eclipse was visible in the region covering most part of Asia, North America, South America, Australia, Antarctica, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

As the earth came in between the sun and the moon, its shadow first began to sweep across the moon blocking out much of its bright light. The moon's face turned crimson brick red as the shadow descended gently. Many astro-enthusiasts gathered at the Nehru Planetarium to watch the cosmic event.

"I was just mesmerised by the way the lunar surface was completely covered by the earth's shadow," Nisha Gupta, who along with her two children came, said. People had also gathered at the India Gate to watch the eclipse.

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Delhi reposes faith in Jesus’ message

NEW DELHI: Recent attacks on churches in the city were no deterrent to devotees who thronged in thousands to observe Good Friday. As they prayed in silence, musical renditions and recitation of the story of Jesus Christ too marked the three-hour service in churches across the city.

The capital witnessed a peaceful Good Friday as police and armed forces manned every church across the city.

"The occasion is a very sacred day for every Christian. Even those who are not able to visit church regularly make sure that they are present on this day. Recently, there were many attacks and we have asked the government beef up security. Every church is being manned by armed forces today across the city," said spokesperson of Delhi Catholic Archdiocese, Savarimuthu Sankar.

To give the three-hour service a zing, many churches had local bands— especially of teenagers—performing during the service. "Music gets people more involved. I never used to go to the church until I became a part of the band. For me it's more like singing than praying to God," said Sophia Patrick, who sings every week during the mass.

"People conclude their 40-day fast today so after the service gets over, we arrange some refreshments for them. Sweet buns, with a cross sign, are served traditionally along with tea," she said.

"Few Christian communities celebrate it as the sacrifice of Christ. The method of observing the occasion may differ from each community but the tradition remains the same. Also music has become an important part and it has now been adopted by most of the churches to break the monotony of the service," said Mohit Hitter, Father of St James Church, Kashmere Gate.

Legend has it that Jesus Christ spoke seven times while dying on the cross to save mankind and free them of their sins. These seven expressions are termed as his 'Seven Words". During the service, people read out the story of Jesus Christ and how he was crucified. The occasion marks the death anniversary of the Christ.

Good Friday coincides with the Jewish observance of Passover.

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FIR lodged after 2 women thrashed by cops in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Two women belonging to scheduled caste were thrashed by a few police personnel on Friday. The victims complained that the cops accused them of being involved in a theft case.

The victims complained that they had no connection with the incident, which is six-months old, and the cops were trying to frame them. When they resisted, they were beaten up, they alleged.

On basis of victims complaint, Delhi Police has filed an FIR under SC/ST Act and 323 (causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 509 (outraging the modesty of women) of the IPC, DCP (Outer) Vikramjeet Singh said.

The FIR names a sub inspector and two women police personnel for assault.

Delhi Police has suspended the three women police personnel and sub inspector named in the complaint filed by victims. An enquiry has been ordered against them.

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4 Delhi cops suspended for thrashing 2 women

NEW DELHI: Two women belonging to scheduled caste were thrashed by a few police personnel on Friday. The victims complained that the cops accused them of being involved in a theft case.

The victims complained that they had no connection with the incident, which is six-months old, and the cops were trying to frame them. When they resisted, they were beaten up, they alleged.

On basis of victims complaint, Delhi Police has filed an FIR under SC/ST Act and 323 (causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 509 (outraging the modesty of women) of the IPC, DCP (Outer) Vikramjeet Singh said.

The FIR names a sub inspector and two women police personnel for assault.

Delhi Police has suspended the three women police personnel and sub inspector named in the complaint filed by victims. An enquiry has been ordered against them.

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Unseasonal rain brings down Delhi's pollution

NEW DELHI: The unseasonal wet spell, while giving the people of Delhi a respite from the heat, had another bonus - bringing down pollution levels in the city ranked the world's worst polluted by the WHO.

A comparative analysis of the real-time ambient air quality data of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee showed a significant drop in the level of pollution.

Online data recorded a level even lower than 60 microgramme/cubic metre (mcg/cu.m, which is the ambient air quality standard for PM2.5 set by the Central Pollution Control Board for dust, dirt, soot, smoke, and liquid droplets particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10) which pose a health concern because they can be inhaled and accumulate in the respiratory system.

The WHO norm, however, is 25 mcg/cu.m.

Centre for Science and Environment programme manager Vivek Chhattopadhyay said the rainy season records best pollution levels while the winter and the summer seasons are the worst.

"Rains will definitely bring the pollution level down as pollution is the lowest during rainy season. The PM level reduces because dust particles are soluble in rain drops," Chhattopadhyay told IANS.

The busy neighbourhood of R K Puram in south Delhi, for instance, registered the highest level at 38 mcg/cu.m during the three days the data was recorded between March 29 and April 4. It was the week Delhi received untimely showers.

This is in sharp contrast with the levels during March 22-28 that were over four times higher than even the standard, with highest touching 280 mcg/cu.m and the lowest settling at 80 mcg/cu.m.

However, Chhattopadhyay was quick to caution that the "good news" wouldn't last for long because "the dust particles will rise up again when the rain stops".

"The question is whether we depend on rain or check the problem of pollution all year long," he said, and called for checking the scourge of pollution instead of depending on rain as solution.

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Annual ‘Reh’ youth festival held in Delhi

NEW DELHI: It's been more than a quarter of a century since Kashmiri Pandits' exodus from the valley. Pandits' long pending demands for a separate homeland seem quite out of sight, but their efforts to preserve their culture are quite visible, especially in forms of rituals and annual festivals. 'Reh', the annual youth festival is in its fifth year now and this year's lineup of performers include not only professional singers but two children who come from migrant camps in Jammu.

It is for the Vishal (14) and Vishali (16), siblings born in Jammu's migrant camps, where a large Kashmiri Pandit population, displaced after violence in early 1990s had shifted and continues to live till today. The siblings' family originally lived in Pulwama. Organisers say that through the festival, organized by Kashmiri Pandit youth, they're trying to provide the siblings with a platform which their otherwise poor financial condition isn't likely to get them.

"The young boy has performed in a television channel before, his sister hasn't. Both are amateur singers with a lot of talent and we're invited them here to help them showcase it. Crowd pullers like King Paul Singh, noted Bollywood singer, will also be part of the festival. Our aim through the festival is to preserve our culture and our language along with the youth," said Amit Raina, coordinator, Roots in Kashmir (RIK).

The annual 'Reh' youth festival has been held in KECSS grounds, Pamposh enclave for the last four years. It is held around the Pandit New Year - Navreh - to get the new Pandits together and celebrate their culture. Navreh, is loosely translated in Kashmiri as the New Fire or Light, so Reh alone is a celebration of light.

"We started this idea of getting the young Kashmiri Pandits together and involved in our cultural celebrations. For the start we got Kashmiri folk songs for the audience we didn't quite work as we intended. Then we added some rock into it and brought out this fusion of new age rock with old style Kashmiri folk and most of our audience got hooked to it. It's been a pleasure being part of this celebration from then on," said Ashish Zutshi, of Roots in Kashmir (RIK) that has been organising this festival.

The festival has been drawing increasing number of people. The first festival held in 2011, had an attendance of 350 people, about 600 people participated in the last year's Reh. Organisers say that more than 900 people are expected to attend this year's Reh, which will be held on April 4.

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Delhi government won't take excuses for electric cuts

NEW DELHI: Delhi government on Tuesday warned the city's three discoms BSES Rajdhani, BSES Yamuna and Tata Power Delhi of "serious consequences" if they resort to unreasonable excuses for load shedding and directed them to ensure uninterrupted power supply in the national capital. The move came after the government claimed they had received reports of load shedding by discoms in different parts of the capital, particularly in slums and JJ clusters.

The power department, on the direction of power minister Satyendar Jain, issued a written direction to the CEOs of all the three power distribution companies. "The department has directed discoms to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply across the city with immediate effect," said a senior official.

Discoms have been directed that in case there are valid and justifiable reasons for load shedding, then "it should be ensured that such load shedding at any level of shortage does not exceed one hour at a stretch and should be strictly on rotational basis in different areas and not only in slums and JJ clusters".

BSES discoms, meanwhile, said they were prepared to meet Delhi's peak power demand which is expected to touch 6,400 MW this summer. "The peak power demand in BRPL's areas of south and west Delhi, which had reached 2,550 MW during the summers of 2014, is expected to touch around 2,630 MW this year. In BYPL's areas of east and central Delhi, the peak power demand had reached 1,496 MW last year. This year, it is expected to touch around 1,520 MW," said a spokesperson.

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Waste now flung on North Delhi roads

NEW DELHI: Sanitation workers of North and South Corporations have gone on strike as their demands for regularization of their jobs and a cashless medical insurance scheme have not been taken up. While sanitation workers in north Delhi flung garbage on the streets, their counterparts in south announced that dhalaos would no longer be emptied from now.

"We want regularization of our jobs. Arrears haven't been cleared for almost a decade. East Corporation has agreed to some of our demands but North and South Corporations aren't even considering them," Rajinder Mewati, president, Akhil Bhartiye Safai Mazdoor Union, said.

On Thursday, not only sanitation workers but also dengue and malaria breeding checkers and health workers joined the protest as they, too, have been demanding job regularization for long.

"Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, promised us that all contract employees would be regularized. Our protest is against municipal corporations for not clearing our dues, against AAP for not taking up the regularization issue and against the NDA government at the Centre for not intervening and providing help in the form of funds," Mewati said.

On April 15, sanitation workers will gherao Kejriwal's residence and on April 24 they will protest at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence. "Every political party has ditched us and used our votes. The strike will continue in both north and south Delhi," Mewati said.

Not only sanitation workers, but doctors, nurses and teachers are also planning to go on strike as their salaries haven't been paid since January. "If protesting on the street and going on strike is the only way to get them to pay us, we have no choice but to do that," said a member of the corporation schools' guest teacher association.

However, in east Delhi, garbage was removed from the roads and dumping sites and the strike called off. Sanitation workers worked on Thursday despite it being a public holiday as dhalaos and collection centre at Vivek Vihar had not been cleaned for close to four days. "Our workers cleaned all roads and dhalaos," said the East Corporation spokesperson.

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Delhi corporation contractors plan strike from Monday

NEW DELHI: After sanitation workers, municipal contractors are now threatening to go on strike over non-payment of dues. Contractors say the North and East corporations owe them close to Rs 500 crore.

"The corporations have not released funds for over a year now. We have decided to go on strike from April 6 if our money is not released. It has become difficult for contractors to work and take up new projects," Satish Lamba, president, Municipal Contractors' Welfare Association, said.

Contractors say civic agencies have been sanctioning new projects from non-planned head (revenue generated by the corporations) and have increased the councillor's fund, but still insist they don't have money to pay them. This is why basic work civic works like road repairs and maintenance, installation of streetlights and maintenance of parks have been put on hold. "Now, we will no longer take up projects which are sanctioned from councillor's funds or any other non-plan project. We want the corporations to pay us now," Lamba said.

Worst-affected are contractors working for North Corporation which reportedly owes them close to Rs 300 crore under non-plan head. Contractors say the civic agencies have not released funds for the past three years. "Ever since the three corporations were formed, we have not been paid for projects sanctioned under non-plan head. We want corporations to release money in instalments so that we can take up new projects," said Sunil Vohra, president of Delhi Municipal Contractors Association, which works for all three agencies.

Months before the assembly election this year, all three BJP-ruled corporations had gone on a spree of launching development projects in the city. But contractors had refused to take up the projects due to non-payment of dues. To make contractors start work on development projects, corporations had partially cleared the dues.

BJP claim it doesn't have the money to pay contractors. "At present, we are struggling to pay salaries to our employees. We don't have money to pay contractors right now. Last year, we had cleared some dues. We are trying our best to clear all dues. But it will take some time," Yogender Chandolia, North Corporation mayor, said.

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Delhi woman robbed in Udhampur-New Delhi Duranto

CHANDIGARH: Tall claims of union railways minister Suresh Prabhu about safety and security of women passengers on board was thrown to winds as two unidentified robbed a Delhi resident woman on board an 'unguarded' Udhampur-New Delhi Duranto, near Kurukshetra on the night intervening Thursday and Friday.

Venika Gupta, the victim passenger has lodged a complaint with GRP Kurukshetra. She boarded the train from Udhampur, police said adding that the robbers were carrying knives and did not harm her as well as her children.

They snatched the purse containing cash and jewellery worth around Rs 5 lakh. They made a good escape after force stopping the train by pulling the emergency chain, near Doda Kheri village falling under Kurukshetra district. The train remained stranded in the Doda kheri village for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, police was informed and a case was registered.

Shockingly, what to talk of presence of guard in reserve categories like AC tier cars, there was not even a single RPF jawan on the train to guard the train having around 1,500 passengers on board.

Inspector Suresh Kumar, the SHO of GRP police station confirmed that a dacoity case has been registered at Kurukshetra's GRP police station. `` We are in the process of releasing the sketches of the accused based on the input given by passengers in the train,'' said GRP inspector.

As to how the robbers boarded train could not be ascertained, it is learned that after Jammu, the train had a halt at Ambala railway station before heading towards New Delhi. Police believes that the robbers boarded the B 2 coach ( 2nd AC) of the train and waited for the appropriate time to strike.

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