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An open invitation to pollution on Yamuna bridge New Delhi, February 2 In the section where the barrage dams the water of the river, doors are lying open for all and sundry to dump whatever they want, rendering the whole carefully designed structure, set up specifically to stop pollution as stated by the legend pasted on it, a farcical exercise. If there were to be so many loose-limbed gates, which are left invitingly open, why construct a fence meant to stop people from dumping things into the river as the “green” symbol adorning it proclaims? It has long been a practice for people traversing the bridge to throw the remains of puja and last rites into the river. Hence the decision to set up the 10-feet-high wire barricade, specially shaped in an inverted L, so as to make it difficult for anyone standing on the pavement to heave anything over it into the river below. The single six-lane carriage for traffic between ITO and Laxmi Nagar across the river had become the scene of frequent congestion aggravated by motorists stopping on the highway to dump refuse over the railings into the Yamuna. Recently a second six-lane carriageway over an adjacent bridge has been constructed to decongest the traffic. Simultaneously, wire barricades were erected on the old bridge and the new one, as well as the one over the Yamuna built by the Japanese near Nizamuddin, with the avowed intention of preventing pollution of the river. It is now not possible to throw anything into the river, except through the farce gates built into the fence in the segment near the sluices of the barrage. This results in motorists coming from the Laxmi Nagar side of the river to take a U-turn at ITO and throw the remnants of puja through the gates, thereby rendering infructuous the entire cost of setting up the barricades. The debris dumped at any one point in the river, particularly in the reservoir created by the barrage at the ITO bridge, will pollute the whole river downstream as well. There is no apparent reason for so many gates in this section, because the sluice gates are operated by electric and manual pullies on top of the barrage and there is no need for any one to have to use the gates. Apart from the very laudable objective of preventing pollution of the river there is a security aspect that needs to be kept in mind. All bridges are vital assets within a security paradigm and a bridge with a barrage doubly so in this day and age of terrorist strikes. The recovery of more than 3 kg of explosives from terrorists in Laxmi Nagar recently draws attention to the security of the ITO bridge. While there is a police checkpoint at the Geeta Colony end of the bridge, there is no overt patrol in the barrage segment and it is, thanks to the unnecessary set of gates, a security loophole anyone with a mischievous bent of mind may decide to exploit. |
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BAWANA PROJECT New Delhi, February 2 The Sheila Dikshit Ministry is talking to the Tata Group for the setting up of a gas-based power plant in Bawana, which has lent credence to speculation about all not being well between the Government of NCT of Delhi and the Bombay Suburban Electricity Supply (BSES) of the Reliance Group of Industries. The idea of setting up a power plant in NCT of Delhi was first mooted almost a decade ago by Reliance. That failed to take off after talks collapsed with the government in power then. Reliance has since gone ahead and announced the setting up of a 3,500 MW power generation project in Uttar Pradesh. The power generation project in Bawana, when it comes up, is expected to give a fillip to the existing capacity. Currently, the Government of NCT of Delhi meets less than 20 per cent of the demand. Although the Pragati Power Plant is operational, the shortfall is likely to persist for some more time. The Sheila Dikshit Ministry is keen to get the project off the ground but admits talks are still to begin with private companies interested in launching this venture. The modalities of talks are expected to take shape when Tata Power’s officials meet with the chief minister. The meeting is likely to take place soon. However, sceptics believe the government ought to take stock of the situation post-unbundling of DVB before it opens up power generation to private players. The distribution network is still to be streamlined and other outstanding issues still to be sorted out even though the DVB was unbundled on July 1, 2002. |
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Delhiites not chickening out over eating chicken? New Delhi, February 2 Sceptics, however, claim that the real picture will emerge only when the mandi reopens after a two-day break owing to Id and the weekly holiday on Tuesday. The pick up in sales was witnessed over the weekend, when more than 100 truckloads on Saturday and 120 on Sunday were sold off well before noon, but at a lower price ranging between Rs 28 and Rs 32 per kg. This was an improvement over the previous day when there were no buyers even at cheaper rates of Rs 18 per kg, traders said. Dealers, however, are still not rejoicing; they say that the increase in the sales may be temporary and owing to demand on Sunday, for Id and some bulk purchases in advance by suppliers to hotels, restaurants and dhabas. Owing to the bird flu scare poultry farmers in the country saw a dip in sales. Poultry farmers claim that while the regular quota of four truckloads was being ferried to the national Capital, the scare had brought down the numbers of units consumed drastically. And while they are being forced to sell chicken at much lower rates, fish sales in the adjoining markets have picked up by over 30 per cent and prices have gone up in the range of ten to 30 per cent. More than 30 tonnes of fish enter the market daily and within hours the stock is sold. |
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Snaps of Manish Mishra’s killer
doing the rounds Meerut, February 2 On the directive of the Director General of Police, a high-level team of has been camping in Baraut since Saturday. At least 9 computerised sketches of Manish’s killer are in circulation. The snaps are being shown to the locals. The police had detained some local youths, but drew a blank. The interrogation is quite hush-hush and the local thana is also keeping the Presspersons at bay. Besides, Baraut police personnel in plain clothes are patrolling Chharauli, Doghat, Ramal, Binoli and adjoining areas in search of Mishra’s killer. A team led by Dy SP O P Garg is on the job and most of the members of the team belong to Baraut and are familiar with the area. Though the Suprintendent of Police, Baghpat, admits that a police team was on the job, he denies that some youths were interrogated by the police. The computerised photographs of Manish’s killer have been also displayed in all the police stations of the 7 districts of Meerut zone. In some of these snaps Manish’s killer has a moustache. In one snap, he is wearing glasses.
Lethal monkey captured New Delhi: After a protracted hunt for the killer-monkey which had mauled a child to death in the Shakurpur area last week, the authorities today claimed to have captured the monkey from Shakurpur area this afternoon. After the monkey was captured, the police informed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), but no one turned up, since it was a holiday. The monkey was finally taken to the Delhi Zoo. Last Monday the monkey had attacked the child while it was sleeping in the courtyard and smashed its head against the wall, cracking its skull. The incident, which had created a sensation in the area, forced the authorities to hunt for the lethal animal.
Spurious ghee factory Unearthed in Najafgarh With the arrest of two persons, the Crime Branch claims to have busted an illegal spurious ghee factory in Najafgarh area and seized spurious ghee of about 2933 liters, including brands like Utsav, Nova, Madhusudhan, Doaba, Ruchie, Mahacob and Scooter. Sealing and packing machines, wrappers and boxes were also seized from their possession. Based on a secret information that some people were involved in making spurious ghee in the Najafgarh area, the Crime Branch sleuths raided a premises at Deepak Vihar near Udasheen Ashram in Najafgarh and found the factory operational. The factory owner, Rajesh Kumar (27), a resident of Najafgarh, was arrested and spurious ghee of various brands was seized from the factory. During interrogation he revealed that he used to sell ghee in Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The roadside dhabas and hotels were the main customers. He also revealed that a huge quantity of ghee has been kept in a godown in Anand Vihar and Todarmal Colony; later, the sleuths seized ghee from there. While one Ravinder Singh was arrested in Anand Vihar, in Todarmal colony, on Jagmohan Gupta’s premises, four boxes of bulbs with Philips marking and three boxes of bulbs without any marking were also seized. The accused revealed that they found the illicit business lucrative; they had duplicated the covers and the wrappers with the aid of scanners.
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A lamb worth a deluxe family car And the handsomest of them all, an alert black and white beauty, hold your breath, was sold for Rs.2.5 lakh. The deal proves, if any proof is needed, that Noida boasts not only of costliest real estate, but even the lambs of Gautam Budh Nagar command the price of a deluxe small family car. The lamb is expected to be in perfect health; it should not suffer from any deformity and should not be without horns. Besides, it should be at least one year old. Goat farmers had brought their flocks from Bulandshahar, Khurja, Aligarh, Dhampur, Bijnore etc to Noida sheep and goat market. Due to the severe cold wave, quite a few goats and lambs had perished, which had hiked their prices by 30 to 40 % this season. Bird flu also aided the boom in the goat market. About 8,000 goats are sold in Noida for Id every year. But this year the number had exceeded 10,000. The price of goat meat has also skyrocketed this year, according to trade analysts, with the price of a goat ranging from Rs.2,500 to 2.50 lakh. |
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Sun fails to take sting out of icy winds New Delhi: Though the sun came out and spread its warmth, Delhiites woke to icy winds blowing in the city, which brought the temperatures down. A chilly night led to a dip in the minimum temperature as the mercury touched 6.1 degree Celsius, three degrees below normal, as against 7.5 degrees, two degrees below normal, recorded yesterday. The day temperature hovered around 15 degrees, nearly seven degrees below normal. Meanwhile, train services affected by fog since December were yet to be fully restored. According to a northern railway release, the Mahananda and the Lal Quila Express were cancelled today. The New Delhi-Patna Magadh Express has been rescheduled and will leave at 00.50 hrs tomorrow.
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Commuters demand regulation of trains Sonepat, February 2 Moreover, the holding up of suburban trains on the wayside stations to allow passage to the long distance mail,
express, superfast and Shatabadi trains has caused widespread resentment among the daily commuters, mainly government servants, school teachers and students. According to a report, though most of the suburban trains originate from Delhi, Panipat, Kurukshetra and Ambala, they are behind schedule by over 30 minutes, stranding thousands of commuters of Panipat, Samalkha, Ganaur, Sonepat and Delhi. The daily commuters complained that passenger trains are often halted to allow passage to goods trains. Thousands of commuters, including women, travel regularly between Sonepat and Delhi. They face chaotic conditions due to unregulated passengers on these routes. A large number of milk vendors travel without reservation with their large containers in the compartment, which causes problems for the commuters. Getting in and out of the compartment becomes hazardous as the entrance gates are clogged with their milk containers. The commuters complained that the EMU trains do not have footboards, with the result that passengers have to often jump out from the coaches. Often, a number of passengers including women, have been injured trying to jump out of the bogies at the railway stations. Rs 319.46 cr for
construction of canals:
He disclosed that the state government would strengthen both sides of the watercourses to check the seepage of water, which would augment the supply of canal water to the tail-end fields in the state. During his extensive tour, the Chief Minister visited a number of villages and listened to the grievances of the people, and often solved them on the spot. Most of the complaints were related to the inadequate and erratic supply of power and canal water, shortage of drinking water, poor conditions of roads and streets and encroachments on public and panchayat lands. Mr Chautala announced that all the encroachments would be removed and the roads would be repaired and streets paved. The state government, he said, would remove all the electric transmission lines, which were passing over the houses. The iron poles would be replaced by cemented poles in order to check cases of electrocution, he said. However, he appealed to the people to pay the arrears on electricity bills so that the money could be used for the development of their villages. He also accepted the demands of the people relating to the upgradation of the schools in the rural areas. |
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FACE TO FACE
Manish is the son of former chief minister of Bihar, Dr. Jagannath Mishra. He did his schooling from Patna and graduated from Delhi in Business Studies. In 1994, he established a venture for cultivation and export of cut roses. From roses he graduated to the Chanakya Parishad, which enjoys the support of nearly 100 like-minded friends in all age groups. They, too, wants to usher in social change through evolution. In a conversation with the NCR Tribune, he talked about his dream organization and its activities. Excerpts. What is the main objective of your organization? We put stress on the fact that all fortunate people, whose basic needs have been met, must come together to speak a common voice for the good of the country and the people. TCP will make all such people unite, irrespective of their profession, age, gender, caste and creed. If one continues to complain about the state of affairs, and prefer not to do anything, nothing would happen for sure. This forum would give an opportunity to any one, who wishes to serve the country in any limited capacity. To serve our country, while living our respective lives, without disturbing our personal equilibrium or well-being. Our aim is to promote Chanakya and his virtues, to promote Chanakya’s teaching and his treatise – the ‘Arthashastra’, Niti Shastra and Chanakayaniti’. We intend to vigorously spread the same in every corner of the country. With him as an example, we endeavor to establish a role model for the people of our country, which is both practical and positive. He gave to us a country, which was fierce, prosperous and united. In the prevailing morass of negativism and indifference, towards the country, this is to initiate positive growth of mind and consciousness. Uniting all concerned Indians on a single platform across India and the world, creating a network of patriotic people for serving the motherland. In the words of Swami Vivakanand: “Arise, awake, stop not till the goal is achieved”. The foundation of hunger for power is personal glorification. The foundation of business is profit. The feeling to do good is a want. Thus, not all wants are bad. However, they will not be asked to make any sacrifice. It is unfortunate that service to a nation is seen as a sacrifice, dissuading people from rendering it. In the prevalent times, when materialism is another aspect of evolution, it is asking too much from anyone to not to have desire, or not to have wants. TCP envisages that in the present environment of dynamics of market forces, if the social sector subscribes to this philosophy, it will change India’s face profoundly. What will be your action plan? For better understanding of our action plan, consider for a moment the Chanakaya Parishad as a company. We all know that a company’s motive is to maximise profit. Instead of profit as its bottom line, TCP’s objective is to enhance prosperity of the country and its citizens by infusing unlimited Nationalism. Instead of creating wealth for its investors and donors, it will create a wealth of satisfaction. At the same time, they can continue to live their lives in the manner they choose to do so. TCP will launch various products just like a company. The first will be a drive for unity. There will be a simple pledge which all Indians are expected to sign: “I do not approve any discrimination or oppression based on caste, creed or color. I pledge for a united India and will protect and preserve fellow Indians, in distress, irrespective of their faith. United we stand, divided we fall. By reaching out to 10 crore individuals – multiplied by a factor of five — we would have reached out to 50 crore or more. Our second launch would be a joint venture of TCP and veteran film director Mahesh Bhatt, in the field of human rights. It would entail justice, equality and unity. The third launch, still in a state of conception, will be an entity operating in 8 different social sectors across the country, aiming to synchronize the working of all NGOs, to attain the common objective in an efficacious manner. Along with these activities TCP will open volunteer offices in all districts of the country. In terms of business, consider these outlets as dealers. These offices would become the distributing point for product launches. There are 600 districts in India. All our district offices will serve as centers of learning and guidance for the youth. How did this idea come in your mind and why did you choose the name Chanakaya for your organization? Our entire concept is a result of three years of thought, discourse and deliberations. After interacting with the cross-section of society, we first started think in this direction in January 2000. Although Chanakya was a man of wisdom, in the same league as Aristotle, Plato and Confucius, he is not given his due. The world chooses to ignore him because of its pro west bias and to some extent due to our ignorance. India’s history of the last 700 years of foreign rule thrived on the maxim of ‘Divide and Rule’. Chanakya, on the other hand, turned the great Maurya empire into complete India, enormously powerful and fiercely feared….A truly Golden Bird. His theories on states economics were profound. He was the first to theorize: “Taxation should not be a painful process for the people. Government should collect tax like a honey bee, sucking just the right amount from the flower, so that both can survive.” On corruption, he said, “It is difficult to detect dishonesty, as it is to discover how much water is drunk by a fish.” Realistically speaking, nobody can become a Mahatma Gandhi today. A Mahatama is born only once, though collectively, we can all contribute, to complete the picture.
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Kalpana Chawla remembered New Delhi, February 2 Speaking at a meeting organised by the Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh Old Boys Association (PECOBA) to mark the first anniversary of the Columbia shuttle crash, Mr. Blake said that recently Mr. A B Vajpayee and Mr. George Bush have agreed to expand cooperation in areas of civil space and high technology trade. Mr. Blake also released three books on the occasion, the first written by Kumar Vikal titled ‘Space Woman Kalpana Chawla’ and its Hindi version, Indira Gupta’s ‘Kalpana Chawla, a Fairy Tale saga with a Tragic End’ and Dilip M Salwi’s ‘Kalpana Chawla – India’s First Space Woman’. Prof. Malhotra, who was considered a mentor by Chawla, read out the message he had received from her from space. Her schoolteacher, Ms. Daljit Kaur Madan, said Kalpana was obsessed with airplanes even in school.
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Japanese team impressed with Noida land use Noida, February 2 The delegation, headed by the Deputy Director General of Japan’s National and Regional Planning Bureau, Shin Shuko Tanaka, had a meeting with senior administrative and technical officers of Noida Authority. The Noida delegation was led by Noida Chairman Vinode Malhotra. The CEO, Debashish Panda, and other officers also attended the meeting. The facts and figures about the projected population growth and economic development in Noida in the next few years were presented to the visiting delegation, along with the proposed rate of growth, as also the power, water, road and connectivity scenario. |
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ncr briefs Jhajjar, February 2 According to information, two women of Chandpur village, Mamta and Minku died yesterday in PGIMS where they were referred by the civil hospital doctors in a serious condition. Mr Mohinder Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, said that the district Red Cross Society is providing a financial aid of Rs 5,000 to each family of the deceased. The society would also incur the medical expenses of the injured.
Woman labourer killed A migrant labourer died when she fell off a three-wheeler near Jahajgarh village on Dadri Road here today. According to information, Anwari, wife of Sattar, hailing from Badanyu district in Uttar Pradesh, was leaning behind a tempo when she accidentally fell off the vehicle. She died of head injuries.
No power, water for
unauthorised colonies Sonepat: The Haryana government has decided to withdraw all the basic facilities like electricity, drinking water, sewerage and roads from the unauthorised residential colonies, came up in a haphazard manner and without the approval of the official agencies in the state. This was stated by Mr Om Parkash Chautala, Chief Minister while presiding over the ‘Sarkar Aap Dwar’ programme function in the PWD (B and R) rest house here recently. He also reiterated his government’s resolve to remove encroachments and illegal occupation of the government and municipal land by the residents and shopkeepers in front of their houses and shops. The Chief Minister said that the government Senior Secondary School, Model Town, would be shifted to the Government Girls Senior Secondary School’s building for the safety of the girl students. Similarly, the Drain No. 6 passing through the city would be covered and the Sonepat Municipal Council would construct shops on both sides of the embankment to augment its income.
Cables, motors worth lakhs gutted in textile mill A variety of goods, including an electricity transformer, electric cables and motors worth several lakhs of rupees were burnt in a devastating fire that broke out in a textile mill at Biswan Meel of the G T Road about 15 km from here last night. According to a report, the fire was brought under control by the municipal firebrigade which was summoned by the supervisor of the factory. A short circuit was stated to be the cause of the fire. Further details are still awaited.
Id celebrated Id-ul-Zuha was celebrated with great enthusiasm in the city and other parts of the district today. According to a report, several hundred Muslims offered ‘namaz’ at Idgah and other mosques in different parts of this city. They also exchanged greetings by the people of other religions on this occasion. Id milan
function was also held at Kundli village. Reports of celebrations were also received from Ganaur, Kharkhauda and Gohana towns in the district. All the government offices and schools as well as other educational institutions remained closed on this occasion.
Bid to smuggle cows foiled The police foiled an attempt to smuggle 24 cows from Haryana to UP and impounded a truck loaded with them at Saidpur police post about 25 km from here yesterday. According to a report, the police also arrested two persons Iqbal and Shakeel Ahmad in this connection. All the freed cows were sent to the Gaushala at Sisana village. The police have registered the case and further investigations were in progress. |
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delhi digest New Delhi, February 2 The tour was organised with the help of an NGO named “Guild of Service” which takes care of the orphaned children whose parents have been the victims of the terrorist attack in the militancy in Kashmir. Mrs Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi was keen to ensure that these children were exposed to the new developments such as the Metro in Delhi. Parking work resumes at Gurdwara Bangla Saheb:
In a statement issued here, Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president, Prahlad Singh Chandok said the construction work has been handed over to Baba Harbans Singh. A cheque of Rs 25 lakh on behalf of the DSGMC was also presented to Baba Harbans Singh. The construction of the hospital at the Gurdwara Bangla Saheb is also going on in full swing, the DSGMC president pointed out. He said that the parking space will help the devotees park their vehicles without hassles. The parking will be computerised and the entry and exit of vehicles will be monitored. It was also pointed out that around 850 vehicles can be parked in the space. Siropas were distributed to those who have contributed towards the building of the parking space. |
Two persons killed as car rams truck Sonepat, February 2 Mr Rohtas was the brother-in-law of Mr Sudhir. Both had gone to Delhi to drop Mr Balraj Singh, brother of Mr Rohtas. The car in which they were travelling went out of control and rammed into a truck ahead of it, resulting in the death of both the occupants. The police has registered the case and sent the bodies for the postmortem examination. According to another report, a youth, identified as Sandeep of Khewra village, was killed on the spot when his motorcycle was hit by a canter on the Sonepat-Meerut inter-state road near Palri village, about 15 km from here last evening. The police have registered the case and sent the body for the postmortem examination. Meanwhile, two persons, including a woman, were killed when they were run over by a train near here last evening. One of the victims was identified as Mr Dalip Singh (50) of Rajlu Garhi village in this district. The woman has not been identified so far. The GRP sent both the bodies for the postmortem examination. According to a report, a police constable, identified as Surinder Singh, died in mysterious circumstances in the Police Lines here yesterday. It is stated that he was a photographer and posted in the office of the Superintendent of Police. He was living in the residential quarters of the Police Lines. He was stated to be suffering from a chronic disease. He died while being shifted to the local civil hospital after his condition deteriorated.
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100 cases of snatching solved with arrest of two New Delhi, February 2 The accused Vikas Dahiya (23), resident of Sonepat, had represented in the junior Indian cricket team and participated in Junior Federation World Cup, while his associate Pradeep Sangwan (22), resident of Jind, is doing an MBA in Amity, Noida. Based on an information that two persons on Pulsar motorcycle have been involved in snatching, particularly of mobile phones, the South district police had deployed various teams in the market places and near cinema halls. On February 1, the police team at around 2 pm spotted the duo on a Pulsar motorcycle and apprehended them near the Press Enclave opposite Khirki Extension. The accused told the police that they were involved in the snatching to make some money. Both Vikas and Pradeep come from good families. While Vikas’ father is a businessman in Sonepat, Pradeep’s father is a senior manager in Government of Haryana, Jind. Robbers’ gang busted:
Based on a secret information, the accused Ranjeet Singh, alias Billa, alias Sahil, (19), resident of Tilak Vihar; Baljeet Singh (19), resident of Sector –16; Charanjeet Singh, alias Sonu, (19) and Subhash (20), resident of Shahbad Dairy, were apprehended and button-actuated knives were recovered from their possession. |
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New director for BHEL New Delhi, February 2 A Mechanical Engineering graduate (1968) from Banaras Hindu University, Mr Ramji Rai joined BHEL in 1969 and played a pivotal role in various fields, such as planning, project management, manufacturing technology and other disciplines within BHEL. A specialist in Electrical machines, he made significant contribution in the area of rotating electrical machines. He was also primarily responsible for absorption and assimilation of Siemens advance technology for manufacture of 210 MW, 250 MW and 500 MW sets. Under his stewardship, BHEL’s Electronics Division was accredited with the prestigious ISO-14001 and OHSAS-18001 certifications. During his tenure as Head of BHEL’s power sector (Eastern Region), many landmarks were achieved including the successful execution and commissioning of 2 cylinder 120 MW steam turbine set for the first time in the country. Mr Ramji Rai has widely travelled abroad to countries like USA, France, Germany, Netherlands and Brazil for business promotion. |
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Noida, February 2
For 32-year-old Manish Mishra life could well have been the proverbial bed of roses. Having been born in an affluent and illustrious family of Bihar, he could have had anything for the asking. But, instead, he chose to involve himself in social work. He has founded the Chanakya Parishad, through which he hopes to propagate the philosophy and vision of the legendary Chanakya and restore the lost `Soney Ki Chidya.’