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Near total strike of petrol pumps jars city
Haryana to do ‘whatever possible’ for Delhi: Hooda
HUDA cancels five publicity deals |
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Sonia to inaugurate Metro’s stretch to Central Secretariat
Apollo Hospital to start stroke clinic to mark ‘World Stroke Day’
Faculty wants JNU health centre upgraded
One lakh new kidney patients in India every year
Region in the grip of power crisis
Two succumb to sunstroke in Faridabad
Two minor girls kidnapped
‘Transport hassle a disincentive for late night shopping’
No let up in heat wave conditions
MCD to study slaughterhouse management
Tax evaders caught in the noose
Minor fire at Sapru House
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Near total strike of petrol pumps jars city
New Delhi, June 20 All but 24 of the 375 petrol stations in Delhi remained closed in response to the strike called to press for hike in commission on sale of petrol and diesel. With such a majority of petrol pumps wearing a deserted look, vehicles were seen
queuing outside the handful of open outlets. “We had stocked up the company-owned retail outlets during the past two days. We anticipate some rush but there are adequate quantities to meet a day’s requirement,” an official of the Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) said. The 24-hour strike, called by the All India Federation of All India Petroleum Traders (FAIPT), began at midnight last night. FAIPT is demanding an increase in dealer commission to five per cent from the existing 1.59 per cent on petrol and 1.27 per cent on diesel currently. It has threatened to go on an indefinite strike from next month if its demands are not met.
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Haryana to do ‘whatever possible’ for Delhi: Hooda
New Delhi, June 20 Mr Hooda was speaking at a civic reception, organised in his honour at Bawana, in Outer Delhi, here last evening. He said that Haryana had already been providing sufficient water to Delhi; it was supplying 425 cusecs of water for Hayderpur Treatment Plant and 40 cusecs for Nangloi Treatment Plant. He also stressed the need for cleaning of the Bawana distributory. Mr Hooda said that the people of Outer Delhi had always helped the Congress and when he had taken out a padyatra from Jind to Delhi after the Kandela episode, Delhiites had helped him wholeheartedly. Though the Haryana Government was constituted only about 100 days ago, a large number of welfare works had been undertaken, he said. The works of the previous government during its tenure of five and a half years were no match to those of the present government, claimed the Haryana CM.
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HUDA cancels five publicity deals
Gurgaon, June 20 The ‘scam’, amounting to crores of rupees, covers almost the entire city, including prime areas like DLF, MG Road, HUDA sectors, Sushant Lok and important intersections. Mr Anurag Aggarwal, Administrator, Haryana Urban Development Authority, has declared that the five agreements, made with five different publicity agencies, had ignored all prescribed rules and regulations. Three agreements were signed by the Estate Officer and two by the Executive Engineer of HUDA without taking the approval of their seniors, revealed Mr Aggarwal. Stating an example, the HUDA administrator said that an executive engineer signed an agreement with M/s Sonal Publicity Service on May 23, 2003, for five years. As per agreement, the advertisement company had to build public utility services in Sector 4, 14, 17, 21, 22, 23 and other places. After investigation, it was found that the company did not build the toilets and other public utility services. Instead, it had constructed just walls on three sides for displaying the advertisements of big companies, said the Administrator. As per the information available with the department, the ad agency used to charge lakhs of rupees per month for one site for displaying advertisements. Likewise, more than 30 shelters were erected for police vehicles in different parts of the city. On paper, these shelters are meant to be the places where the police jeeps and motorcycles can be parked for better patrolling. Above the shelter, three sides would be used to display the advertisement. But in a number of places, the shelters have turned out to be just kiosks for publicity, added the officer. Mr Anurag Aggarwal said that the names of the Estate Officer and the Executive Engineer (XEN), who had executed the agreement, had been forwarded to the Chief Administrator, HUDA, Panchkula for necessary action. The officer expressed surprise that these five agreements were executed for five to eight years whereas as per the convention, they were executed for an year only. An agreement with M/s Woods Advertiser Private Limited was executed for eight years, he said. He said that while making these agreements, proper procedure was not followed: no tender, no provision for income for HUDA and no advertisements in newspapers inviting bids for the agencies. According to sources, a committee under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner has now been constituted to choose the agencies for publicity in the city.
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Sonia to inaugurate Metro’s stretch to Central Secretariat
A DMRC official said Union Urban Development Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad will preside over the flagging-off function, to be held at the Central Secretariat Metro station. The Delhi Government was keen to have Mrs Gandhi, who is yet to have a first-hand experience of travelling in the Delhi Metro, inaugurate the section. The Chief Commissioner for Railway Safety had granted the safety clearance to the DMRC for operating passenger service in the underground stretch between Kashmere Gate and Central Secretariat on June 8 after an extensive line inspection lasting for two days on June 6 and June 8. On June 9, the Delhi Chief Minister, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, after examining the progress in the stretch, expressed her satisfaction over the work done by the DMRC and made the formal announcement of it being made operational by June–end. While the official date for commissioning of this section of the Metro was advanced from September 30 to June 30, the DMRC, known for its respect for deadlines for competing work and commissioning of lines, had set June 13 as the date of completion for itself and its contractors. Works on all major systems on the section are already over along with trial and testing. While civil, electrical, ventilation, air-conditioning, signal and telecom works have been completed, some finishing touches will continue on the six stations along the stretch till the last 48 hours, which are crucial before any operations begin on a line. The 7-km section between Kashmere Gate and Central Secretariat will put to an end the traffic problems in one of the most congested areas of Delhi. The stretch will connect some important landmarks like Delhi University, Old Secretariat, Kashmere Gate, Old Delhi Railway Station, New Delhi Railway Station, Connaught Place and Central Secretariat. The 4-km stretch between Delhi University and Kashmere Gate is already operational and the new section will be its extension. The section will put an end to the miseries of traffic in some of the most congested parts of Delhi and reduce hours of journey to just 18 to 20 minutes. At present, about 20,000 persons use the Kashmere Gate and the Delhi University section everyday and with the full route becoming operational about one lakh persons could travel on the line. The opening of this section would also give a big boost to the commuter traffic on the Shahdara-Rithala line that meets at Kashmere Gate.
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‘Develop National Capital Region to save Delhi’
New Delhi, June 20 It has been suggested that unless time bound and planned development of the entire 63,373 square kilometre area of the NCR is not done, Delhi will continue to be among the ‘slum capitals of the world’.
Talking to reporters here today, Delhi Pradesh BJP president Dr Harsh Vardhan said that Delhi has been burdened by excessive population, which has resulted in the deterioration of basic infrastructure. Unless the entire 63,373 square kilometre area under the NCR is developed simultaneously, Delhi’s problems will remain unsolved, he said. He said that today Delhi is craving for power, water and housing. It is also burdened with pollution problem. “The problem of garbage disposal has become grave. There is lack of additional garbage dumping sites for Delhi,” he said. He alleged that Delhi government had not tried seriously to make basic facilities available to its residents. The entire attention of the government is on the privatisation of the government facilities, he alleged. Even as the ‘evil consequences’ of the privatisation of power is before us, he said, the Congress is bent upon privatising the city’s water supply also. Bringing up the problem of ‘illegal Bangladeshi migrants’ in Delhi, he said that inspite of court orders, the government had not been able to solve this problem. Dr Harsh Vardhan also expressed concern at the depleting green belt and ground water in the Capital. He also brought up issues like unauthorised colonies and crime. “The people living in 363 villages, about 1500 unauthorised colonies and slums have been forced to live like second-class citizens. The industries and dairies are being uprooted unreasonably. The senior citizens and women are not safe”, he alleged. He demanded that the Master Plan should be amended to have some kind of long-term agreement with the Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal governments on new hydro- electric projects. This will lead to a permanent solution to the power problems of the national Capital, he added.
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Apollo Hospital to start stroke clinic to mark ‘World Stroke Day’
New Delhi, June 20
“Several hospitals are treating stroke but the purpose of having a specialised clinic is to offer specialised care. On an average, we see about 100 patients of stroke in a month. Studies have shown that if a patient is managed in Stroke I.C.U (Intensive Care Unit), his condition improves 20 to 30 per cent more than a patient managed in a medical ward. The stroke clinic will comprise a dedicated six-bed stroke I.C.U, a dedicated ambulance service besides a team comprising neurosurgeons, vascular surgeons, neuropsychologists, neuropsychiatrists, stroke nurses, respiratory specialists and social workers.” He said that the stroke clinic would be run as an OPD and will comprise in-patient services of I.C.U and a High Dependency Unit (H.D.U). “A patient admitted to the stroke I.C.U. for a week should be prepared to spend over Rs 1 lakh. Admission for the same duration in a high dependency unit would cost the patient anything between Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000.” He said that the stroke clinic would pick up patients who have got modifiable and treatable risk factors and treat them at the preventive stage. “While the modifiable risk factors are Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA) where the blood supply to the brain is interrupted, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, alcohol consumption and sedentary lifestyle, the non modifiable risk factors are age, sex and ethnic groups. Men are more at the risk of getting stroke than women. We want to rehabilitate the patient at the earliest. Rehabilitation does not mean physiotherapy alone. It means rehabilitation of physical disability besides occupational therapy, speech therapy and cognitive therapy,” Dr Renjen said. He said that the incidence of stroke in the developing world is 200 to 250 per 100,000 persons compared to 70 to 80 for the same population in the developed world. “By setting aside a day to mark the ‘World Stroke Day’, the World Health Organisation has recognised its growing incidence. Stroke is the third most common killer in the world after heart disease and cancer. In addition to being a cause of death, it is a cause of significant neurologiocal morbidity. It is a disease related to age.” Dr Renjen drew attention to a WHO projection that warns that if preventive factors of stroke or cerebro vascular diseases are not attended well in time, stroke will become a public health problem in the developing world by 2020. “Stroke is of two types- Ischaemic and haemorrhagic. Seventy per cent of the strokes are Ischaemic. In this, a blood clot goes to the brain and blocks one of the arteries and blocks blood supply to one particular area of the brain. In haemorrhagic stroke, the artery burst inside the brain. Brain haemorrhage carries a high mortality risk. Diabetes, hypertension, hypercholestemia, lifestyle changes, smoking, alcohol intake, dietary patterns and sedentary lifestyle are increasing the chances of stroke in the developing world. The symptoms of stroke are sudden onset of weakness in right or left half of the body, tingling numbness in one half of the body, speech difficulty, headache, giddiness and sudden loss of vision in one eye. All these problems can be sign of an impending stroke,” he said.
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Faculty wants JNU health centre upgraded
New Delhi, June 20 Only that would explain the lack of a 24 hours ambulance and a cardiologist in the university’s health centre. “In our experience there are not many cardiac cases among students. Regarding a cardiologist, we do not have the infrastructure to run a cardiology department. Patients have to go to a hospital,” says Dr Patra. The faculty is not amused by the situation. “The health centre is not equipped to handle an emergency and I have been highlighting this inadequacy in services from February. But nothing has been done so far,” said Dr Rupamanjari Ghosh, president of the JNUTA, who has now taken up the issue with the acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof Balveer Arora. “The lack of preparedness of the JNU health centre is shocking. The abysmal state of affairs was reiterated when Prof. Ramprasad Sengupta, Dean, Schools of Social Sciences, had a heart attack on June 6 and the JNU ambulance was not available. He was sent in a taxi to the Holy Angels Hospital, which also could not provide him with any treatment,” Dr Ghosh pointed out. Irked by the lackadaisical attitude of the health centre, the JNUTA has raised a demand for the induction of medicine/cardiology and Ayurved consultants at the health centre. “We also want the updating of all information, including names and visiting hours of all consultants, laboratory services available with rates on the JNU website, a medical attendant and basic life-saving equipment for the ambulance, apart from introduction of a complete health insurance scheme parallel to the CGHS for willing members of the community,” pointed out Dr Ghosh. Reacting to the demand for an ambulance, the CMO has written back “for round the clock medical attendants. We require five medical attendants. If we cannot recruit persons, we should hire a private agency that can provide medical attendants with basic life-saving equipment in the ambulance for 24 hours”.
Dr Ghosh is agreeable to the proposal of hiring a private agency. “We agree with the CMO’s proposal of hiring a private agency that can provide an ambulance for 24 hours on the campus. An under-utilisation of such a facility should be greeted as a positive and happy outcome for the campus,” she said.
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One lakh new kidney patients in India every year
Noida, June 20 Nephrology and urology camps are being organised followed by regular medical education programme which includes discussions on the latest medical trends and technological advancements regarding early detection and prevention of chronic kidney diseases. According to Alok Roy, Chief Operating Officer, Fortis Hospital, Noida, chronic kidney failure is a condition which not only causes serious effects on the overall heath of the patients but also adversely affects the social and economic conditions of the whole family. The treatment is expensive and often has to continue for life. The only way to manage this disease is by preventing the kidney failure and – if it comes to that – providing quality dialysis at a reasonable cost. Dr Dushyant Nadar, Associate Consultant at Fortis Hospital says that kidney diseases usually progress silently, often destroying most of the organ’s functions before any symptoms are visible. Therefore, one should undergo regular assessments of the organ’s condition in case of the slightest doubt. High blood pressure, swelling of eyes, hands and feet, presence of protein/albumin in the urine, unexplained fatigue or anemia and loss of appetite or weight are the usual symptoms of the disease. Sometimes, however, even people with serious kidney disease may not have any symptoms, although a simple blood or urine test can reveal its presence. Control of blood pressure, intake of a balanced diet and plenty of fluids (6-8 glasses of water every day) and regular exercise can help control the disease.
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Region in the grip of power crisis
Noida, June 20 While the 220 KV sub-station in Sector-20 Noida is reported to be overloaded, the commissioning of the new 400 KV sub-station at Pali has already been extended thrice. It was stated by the Managing Director of UP Power Corporation, Deepak Singhal, who said that the Pali sub-station will be operational by early July. It is, however, likely to be commissioned only by August. The construction of the 400 KV Pali power station began many years ago and it should been commissioned by December 2004, but the construction company has been postponing the commissioning date on one pretext or the other. Meanwhile, people have to suffer power cuts for three to five hours daily. The conditions in Greater Noida are even worse. The rapid development in Noida and Greater Noida does not seem to have been foreseen by the state power corporation or the Noida and Greater Noida Development Authorities.
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Two succumb to sunstroke in Faridabad
Faridabad, June 20 It is learnt that the victim had been riding a bicycle around noon today and had stopped to recover his breath under a tree when he fell unconscious. He was taken to the civil hospital where he was declared brought dead. The second incident took place near the Bata railway overbridge where an unidentified person fell unconscious here. He was taken to the civil hospital, but had already succumbed to sunstroke. This is perhaps the first time that the district has witnessed deaths from heat wave conditions although hundreds of persons, mostly in the rural and slum areas, have fallen prey to water-borne diseases. Around half a dozen persons have reportedly died of diarrhoea in the past 15 days. Though the health authorities claim to have sent teams to the affected areas, the situation is stated to be serious, mainly due to the unavailability of medical facilities, and supply and sale of contaminated water and eatables.
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Two minor girls kidnapped
Faridabad, June 20 Both the incidents took place under the Sector 7 police station area. The police have registered a case against two youths, Rajesh and Sharif, alias Imran, in the first case. The relatives of the girl, a resident of Ram Nagar Colony, have alleged that the two had abducted the girl on the night of June 18. The family members of the victim had been away to attend a wedding function and the girl was alone at home. The second case was booked today after a complaint was lodged by one
Rambilash, a resident of the same area who alleged that Ajay, a resident of Kamal village of UP’s Farukhabad district, had abducted his 15-year-old girl. Ajay happens to be her cousin. Meanwhile, the police is yet to trace the middle-aged woman who has been missing from Gandhi Colony here for the past two weeks. The woman is wife of one Inderjit, who has stated that his wife had been missing with their son, aged five. He lodged a complaint with the NIT area police station here. In other cases of crime during the past 24 hours, the local police have arrested at least four persons, including a woman, in connection with alleged smuggling of illicit liquor and gambling. The woman, identified as
Basanti, was arrested from Saran police station area last night on charges of illegal sale of liquor. The police seized 12 bottles from her possession. In yet another case, three persons identified as Dayashankar Surender and Subhash were nabbed on charges of gambling. A sum of Rs 4,600 was recovered from them.
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‘Transport hassle a disincentive for late night shopping’
New Delhi, June 20 Complimenting the Delhi Government for allowing commercial establishments to remain open till 11p.m. and eateries till midnight, the PHDCCI, however, said unavailability of public transport after 10 p.m. and rampant harassment by autorickshaw drivers was undermining the effort to encourage people to shop and enjoy late night outings. In a representation to the Delhi Government, the PHDCCI said a majority of the city’s population was dependent on public transport. Therefore, the government would have to issue broad guidelines to enable the public transport to remain open beyond 10 p.m.
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No let up in heat wave conditions
New Delhi, June 20 By noon today, with most people wanting to stay indoors, the city wore a deserted look. The Capital has been recording day temperature about four to five degrees above normal for the last few days. It recorded 44.2 degree Celsius yesterday and 43.7 degree Celsius the day before yesterday. The officials at the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) are hopeful of some relief in the next 24 hours in the form of dust-storms or pre-monsoon squalls. The normal date of the monsoon’s arrival in Delhi is June 29. Akali faction to meet PM over Punjabi’s status An Akali delegation is scheduled to meet the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, tomorrow to demand the full implementation of Punjabi as Delhi’s second official language, which has been delayed by two years since a Central notification in 2003. On June 25, 2003, President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam gave his assent to the Delhi Official Language Bill, 2000, making Punjabi and Urdu the second official languages of the Capital, fulfilling a four-decade-old demand, especially of Delhi’s large Sikh population. The Delhi Assembly earlier passed the Bill in
2000.—TNS
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MCD to study slaughterhouse management
New Delhi, June 20 The slaughterhouse at Ghazipur is being constructed by a German company on the basis of German technology and it is likely to be completed by the end of this year. Once it is completed, the Idgah slaughterhouse will be closed, as it is located in a congested area. It is not modernised and animals are slaughtered manually in unhygienic conditions. The Ghazipur slaughterhouse is being constructed after the direction of the Delhi High Court. The finance for the construction has been sanctioned by the Union Government. It may be mentioned that even though the Ghazipur slaughterhouse is being constructed on the basis of German technology, the ground situation in India is different from that of Germany.
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Tax evaders caught in the noose
Noida, June 20 As part of the special campaign, all departmental constables were issued with rifles and ammunitions. There was reportedly a heavy exchange of fire between the department’s constables and tax-evading gangs in Khurja and Javer areas. The tax evaders were known to be using smaller roads as escape routes by avoiding main highway. The department had received information that some gangs were active in Khurja, Javer, Chandose and Thorau Mode. In all, five trucks were captured, which contained rubber sheets, school bags, readymade garments, foreign textiles, plastic goods, utensils, electronic goods and hardware.
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Minor fire at Sapru House
New Delhi, 20
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New Delhi, June 20