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MCD’s Heritage Cell a non-starter?
Finally, UP agrees to release water
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All but 2 of 1,819 schools have proper buildings: MCD
High Capacity Buses project hits roadblock
Student gang raped in Meerut
Dacoits strike in Dadri again as cops remain spectators
Another woman found dead, police clueless
Mystery continues to shroud Safdarjung doctor’s death
Fake cosmetics unit busted
Hodal ASI caught accepting bribe
Special Cell nabs six gangsters
Gurgaon power demand may hit new high this summer
Guru Arjan Dev’s Martyrdom Day observed
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit with Legislative Assembly Speaker Ch Prem Singh during a function to honour the state’s first Chief Minister Ch Brahm Prakash
at Vidhan Sabha in the Capital on Thursday. — Tribune photo by Mukesh Aggarwal
‘Indi-Park’ to set up new trade avenues
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MCD’s Heritage Cell a non-starter?
New Delhi, June 16 The Cell was inaugurated by the Municipal Commissioner, Mr Rakesh Mehta, in Kudaisia Bagh near Kashmere Gate among much fanfare. Separate staff was deputed to the Cell to keep records and to maintain the hundreds of heritage buildings located in the national Capital. Over 200 heritage buildings are located in the Shahjehanabad (Walled City) area alone. Sources said that ever since the inauguration, the office has not even opened its door to carry out the responsibilities entrusted to it. In fact, even the two security personnel hired to guard the office are missing. These sources said that it was ironic that the Heritage Cell was launched to maintain the buildings, which would require crores of rupees even at a conservative estimate when the civic body does not even have money for paying the salaries of its employees. So far, the MCD has not allocated any money to the Cell, leaving it totally dependent on the largesse of the Delhi Government. It is also understood that there is a strong resistance to the Cell’s functioning from a nexus of builders and government personnel from police, MCD and other departments since many heritage sites stand transformed into commercial centres earning crores of rupees, especially in the congested Walled city area where space is at a premium. These sources said that it was not possible for the MCD to do anything because of the immense clout that this “heritage building mafia” enjoyed. The MCD chief, however, maintained that the Heritage Cell was only closed temporarily because of an incident of theft soon after its inauguration and that it would be reopened as soon as security arrangements were in place. Mr Mehta was confident that the Cell would be able to fulfill its responsibilities once it starts operating in earnest. As far as the finances were concerned, a provision had already been made for the Cell, he said. At present the Cell is being run from Nigam Bhawan and Ms Vartika Sharma is its in-charge.
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Finally, UP agrees to release water
New Delhi, June 16 A decision to this effect was today conveyed by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Ms Neera Yadav to Delhi Chief Secretary Mr S Reghunathan. “Delhi will (now) not have water problem for the next 10 years. We were having discussions with the UP government for quite some time and since the water level has been raising in Uttar Pradesh, the UP government has finally agreed,” Mr Reghunathan said. Earlier, a report of the Central Water Commission had also suggested that UP should release water to Delhi and at the official-level meetings, it was agreed to release some 150 cusecs of water. But it took the intervention of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for the actual release of water to take place. A review meeting will be held in October this year to discuss the issue further.
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All but 2 of 1,819 schools have proper buildings: MCD
New Delhi, June 16 This was alleged by Mr Farhad Suri, Congress Councillor and former Chairman of Education Committee, during the weekly meeting of MCD’s Standing Committee. He urged the MCD Commissioner, Mr Rakesh Mehta, to make proper arrangement for drinkable water for schoolchildren before the new session begins after the summer vacation. The
Councillor also highlighted the fact that there were no playgrounds in primary schools run by the MCD despite availability of space. He suggested that the Education Department develop playgrounds where ever possible. The Municipal Commissioner, however, denied the charge, and said that potable water arrangement had been made in most of the schools run by the civic body. He claimed there were only 30 MCD schools where arrangement for potable water remained to be made. He said that the civic body was running 1,819 schools and all had concrete buildings or pota cabins. Earlier, they were being run in tents due to lack of buildings. Presently, only 2 schools are being run in tents. The Corporation is trying to construct building for these schools too, he said. Regarding electrification of MCD schools, the Municipal Commissioner said that only 53 schools were without proper power connections. He said applications have been submitted for power connections for 27 schools while the remaining were located in non-electrified areas.
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High Capacity Buses project hits roadblock
New Delhi, June 16 The traffic police in its communication to the Transport Commissioner said that since one-third of the present Right Of Way (ROW) will be given to the buses, which comprise only about 2.5 per cent of the total share, the remaining traffic will have to be squeezed into an ROW of approximately 6.5 metres. This is bound to increase the congestion and other traffic related problems on the roads. Since the proposed benefits of the system would be achieved in the distant future, subject to the completion of the entire corridor up to ISBT, and the intervening period is bound to increase traffic volume, the police also asked both TRIPP and RITES to work on increasing the ROW on the entire corridor. The communication also said that while examining the engineering drawings of the section between Moolchand Xing-Joseph B Tito Marg – Lala Lajpat Rai Path, where two flyovers exist in continuation, most buses will not be using the flyovers and instead they shall be operating parallel to the flyover. While the bus shelters are proposed to be built under the flyovers, the police said that there are reservations on this front from traffic point of view. Besides, the additional phase would be required in the signal cycle below Moolchand flyover, which would further add to the congestion and waiting time on Ring Road at this junction. Further, there are also chances that it would impede movement of free left turn at this point, it said. As other representatives of the civic agencies also felt that sufficient space might not be available on the slip roads under the flyovers to accommodate bus shelters, the traffic police said that the issue should be resolved by a joint field survey involving planners, traffic police and civic road maintaining agencies. According to the communication, the issue of exit of school and chartered buses, to drop children at educational institutions and office complexes needs further examination and necessary remedial measures. It is felt that this aspect will further aggravate the congestion in the non-dedicated lanes and the department has been asked to find suitable solutions. It is also apprehended that the proposed signal cycle plan would not be able to efficiently handle the traffic volume and discharge at various intersections in the pilot project corridor.
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Student gang raped in Meerut
Meerut, June 16 It was just by sheer luck that a rickshaw-puller who was passing by heard her cries and informed the police which reached the spot and arrested one rapist from the spot. Two of his accomplices were arrested later. According to police sources, the victim, Deepa (name changed), a
handicapped Dalit student who originally hails from Moradabad, was on way back to her rented house in Subhas Nagar, Meerut. At around 8.30 on Tuesday night, she stopped at a PCO at Old Baghpat stand to make a call. The STD/PCO shop owner asked her to make the call from inside as
the line outside was not |in order. When she went inside, two persons Mange Ram, and Praveen were having drinks. Deepak then followed her and locked the door from inside. The trio Deepak, Mange Ram and Praveen then raped her nine times and forced her to have alcohol. During the traumatic experience, she hit her head on the door. A rickshaw-puller heard her cry and informed the nearby police post. The police rescued the victim at 9 am on Wednesday. The victim has lodged an FIR against the three accused who have been booked under various provisions of IPC and
of SC/ST Act. They were later remanded to police custody. According to the SSP, Meerut, Mr Rajive Ranjan, medical examination of the victim confirmed the rape. While speaking to ‘The Tribune’, the student lamented that her life stood ruined as she was engaged and was going to marry in a couple of months.
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Dacoits strike in Dadri again as cops remain spectators
Noida, June 16 Frustrated at their failure, they later looted about a dozen labourers nearby. According to police, ex-serviceman Karam Veer was asleep in Laharsa village with his family when half-a-dozen men attacked them and started ransacking the house. Karam Veer woke up and raised an alarm. As a result of the commotion, Karam Veer’s uncle Sarvjeet started firing on dacoits with his licensed rifle. He was then joined by a number of villagers who rushed to Karam Veer’s help. Due to the strong resistance, the dacoits took to their heels. Though the police were informed immediately, no one was seen on the spot till daybreak. The dacoits then looted some brick kiln labourers in Begumpur village. Women’s gold and silver jewellery and thousands of rupees in cash were reportedly taken away by the bandits. By the time Circle Officer Triveni Singh along with the inspector in charge of the local police station reached the spot, the dacoits had fled. The police have failed to work out any lead. Interestingly, this incident took place when the PAC and police were on night patrol in the area. The Dadri police have played the incident down and registered it only as a theft case. But such incidents of dacoities have created a panic in the villages. Even the visit of Meerut IG and DIG to Noida and Greater Noida earliert his week seems to have produced no effect on stemming the tide of crime in the area.
Dreaded gangster surrenders
Greater Noida, June 16 The dramatic turn of events is learnt to have taken place under pressure from STF Lucknow and Ghaziabad police and facilitated by a “friendly” minister from
Muzzaffarnagar. The gangster had, in fact, narrowly escaped being nabbed on May 14 when a combined team of Delhi and Kasna police raided his house in Dhandhola village. He had apparently got wind of the action and succeeded in escaping while offering a stiff resistance to the cops who had to be content with nabbing two of his
companions. — OC
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Another woman found dead, police clueless
New Delhi, June 16 The woman had checked-in at Maharaja Kaisal hotel yesterday with a man The man was yet to be traced, said the police. The police sources said the body of the woman, aged about 25 and whose name according to the entry register was Neha, was found dead in Room 207 at about 11.30 a.m. by the staff. There were no external injury marks and it seemed she had been strangulated with a scarf. Her clothes were also intact. The couple, who gave their names as Pramod Kumar and Neha, had given Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh as their home address. The hotel staff said they had last seen the couple together at about 8.30 a.m. and everything seemed fine then. The police officials said efforts were on to trace the man and verify whether the name and address they had given were true.
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Mystery continues to shroud Safdarjung doctor’s death
New Delhi, June 16 While the postmortem of the body is scheduled for tomorrow, the preliminary investigations have revealed that it was a suicide, said a police official. Mamta hailed from Orissa and did her MBBS from Ukraine. She was on an internship in the Safdarjung Hospital. The police officials said that the deceased’s parents wanted her to marry a person of their choice, while she was keen on exercising self-will in the matter. “It seems she was depressed due to this,” surmised a police official.
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Fake cosmetics unit busted
New Delhi, June 16 The police have arrested two persons, identified as S. P Sharma and Ombir Singh, in this regard. The police raided the premises and arrested the accused after interrogating one Ombir Singh who told them that such a unit was being run in the area. The police have seized a motor, milling machine, moulding machine and dye of Shahnaz Hussain used to forge the cosmetics. The accused were supplying the products to Kolkatta, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan.
Bribery cases registered against cops
The CBI registered three cases against police officials of Uttam Nagar and Pschim Vihar for demanding and accepting bribe from bootleggers. The cases have been registered on the direction of the Delhi High Court for permitting the bootleggers and vendors to continue their illegal business. The cases are being investigated by the CBI and action will be taken against the guilty officials, a CBI spokesman
said. — TNS
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Hodal ASI caught accepting bribe
Faridabad, June 16 The ASI had allegedly sought money in connection with a murder case whose investigation was entrusted to him. A complaint of the same was made to the Vigilance department which in turn informed the Deputy Commissioner. The district officials then constituted a team led by the SDM in Hodal to catch the accused. It is stated that the complainant had asked the ASI to receive the money near a bank in Hodal last night and the team caught him red-handed. A case has been booked against him under various relevant sections. Meanwhile, the district police has reported that it arrested at least 6 persons involved in various incidents and seized four illegal firearms from them under ‘Operation Catch’, a 15-day special drive launched in the district by it to check crime, which ended yesterday.
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Special Cell nabs six gangsters
New Delhi, June 16 The police said that the accused were involved in a number of criminal activities. The police said that Sushil Kumar and Shiv Kumar came in contact with one Akash, who offered them a contract killing of his witness in a case registered in Bulandshahr. After their release from jail, the duo met Akash and allegedly killed one Vijender Singh in May 2005. Sushil, Shiv Kumar and Vinod Sher Singh robbed the occupant of a Zen car in Bulandshahr. The DCP, Special Cell, Ajay Kumar, in a press release said that on May 25, 2005, Sushil, Manoj, Satish, Jitu and Kaptan, alias DIG, allegedly killed Dharambir of Ghaziabad. On June 6, Sushil Kumar along with Vinod and Jitu, on the directions of their gang member Sher Singh, lodged in Bulandshahar, killed Ravinder in Ahmadanagar, UP.
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Gurgaon power demand may hit new high this summer
Gurgaon, June 16 The Superintending Engineer (Operations), Dakhini Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd
(DHBVNL), Mr M.L. Goyal, today said that last year, the average demand for power in the town was 60 lakh units per day, in comparison to more than 77 lakh units this year. According to Mr Goyal, there was equilibrium in the demand and supply presently, but any dramatic rise in load could send the system crashing down. The Gurgaon Circle has brought it to the notice of the headquarters that the demand may well hit 90 lakh units a day later in the summer. The highest demand rose to 81 lakh units on May 27. The SE also mentioned that Gurgaon Circle had been able to reverse the trend of “line loss”. In 2003-2004, the loss was about 24 per cent of the revenue collected, whereas in 2004-2005, it was pegged down to 23 per cent. He added that a proposal for a Rs 50-crore project for Mewat has been sent to the headquarters.
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Guru Arjan Dev’s Martyrdom Day observed
New Delhi, June 16 The programme began with the recitation of Sukhmani Sahib and Nitnem, followed by Asa di Vaar and Shabad Kirtan. Ragi Jathas of Bhai Gurnam Singh and Bhai Sarabjeet Singh performed on the occasion. A special lecture on the life and martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev was also delivered. Langar and sweetened drinks were served. DSGMC honoured Mahinder Singh Bhullar with a Siropa for joining the SAD (Delhi) on the occasion. Bibi Ravinder Kaur, president of the Istri Wing of the DSGMC, urged people to follow the teachings of the
Guru. — TNS
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Rich tributes paid to Ch Brahm Prakash
New Delhi, June 16 The Delhi Chief Minister, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, and the Delhi Legislative Assembly Speaker, Mr Prem Singh, led a host of leaders in paying floral tributes at his statue installed in the precincts of the Old Secretariat. An exhibition, ‘Ch Brahm Prakash Ek Nazar Mein’, displaying rare photographs of the freedom fighter, was also organised by Delhi Government’s Information and Publicity Department on the occasion. An all-religion prayer meet was also held.
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‘Indi-Park’ to set up new trade avenues
New Delhi, June 16 The decision to set up the ‘Indi-Park’ comes after a three-day visit of DSIDC Managing Director Jalaj Shrivastava to Senegal. Meanwhile, the Special Advisor to President of Senegal, Mr Pierre G. Atepa, had an interaction with the industrialists of Delhi yesterday regarding the project.
— TNS
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