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MTNL feels the pinch as private players raise bar
CGHS scam: CBI tells court 19
MCD directed to give uniform look to
Man kills mother, sets body on fire
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Katara murder case: HC directs Bharti to appear in court
Court reserves order in DUTA election
Delhiites keep date with solar eclipse
Navratri begins today
Forest cover in Capital has increased: Sheila
Govt to intensify campaign on PNDT Act
Kiran Bedi is DG, Home Guards
Education Dept gets first prize at Gandhi Jayanti Mela
Kidney patients have a get-together
Power tripping causes cancellation of 2 Metro trips
Five kids among 11 hurt as RTV overturns
Minor girl rescued, three nabbed
Rs 2 lakh snatched by scooter-borne youth
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MTNL feels the pinch as private players raise bar
New Delhi, October 3 According to MTNL sources, at present 2.71 lakhs telephone connections are in working conditions in this area, of which 1.75 lakh falls in the Laxmi Nagar GM Zone and rest falls in the Dilshad Garden GM Zone. “In the Laxmi Nagar Zone, 90,000 such telephone connection points are vacant and in the Dilshad Garden Zone, 60,000 such connection points are vacant for years, and there seems little hope of its reconnection in the coming days, ” said a senior officer. Another senior officer confessed on the condition of anonymity that they were facing tough competition after the arrival of private players in this field. “Those were the days when we had a monopoly in this field. Now it is not easy due to the cut throat competition in this field,” the officer said. However, he pointed out that they were striving their best to meet the emerging challenges on that front. “We introduced many competitive schemes and plans for our potential customers in the past to cope with this situation. Recently, we have introduced a unique scheme under which our existing customers can take another telephone connection absolutely free. We are taking nothing in lieu of that connection. The customer will have to pay only call charges and nothing else. There is no registration fees and rental charges under this scheme. We are hopeful as far as this scheme is concerned,” said the officer. It is worthy mentioning that the scheme has attracted only 400 customers since its introduction two months back. A senior citizen and the president of a well-known social service organisation, ‘National Development Forum’, Mr Jitendra Nath Dogra, said, “apart from the tariff schemes, timely services and customer’s satisfaction are the basic fundamentals for success in this field. Without doubt, the MTNL is lagging behind on this front in comparison to the private telephone companies.”
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CGHS scam: CBI tells court 19 societies genuine
New Delhi, October 3 Appearing before a Division Bench of Mr Justice Vijender Jain and Mr Justice Rekha Sharma, the CBI said, “However, the RCS before making any recommendations to the DDA, should verify the genuineness and eligibility of each and every member of the society.” Fixing November 16 as the next date of hearing, the court directed the DDA and the RCS to submit details on the modus operandi for reviving the defunct societies in the past. “This scam would not have been possible but for the decision (of the authorities) for the revival of the defunct societies registered in 1970s and 1980s,” said the court. The court asked the DDA Secretary to be present in the court with details on the next date. The list of the societies submitted by the CBI before the court include Anjali Women, Baba Nanak, Bhanu Bhaskar, Bihar Bandhu, CISR CGHS, Directorate of Adult Education CGHS, Harbans Lal Parwana, Jubilee, Kanwar, Madhuban Estate, Padmini, Rail Mantralaya, Ramjas, Sana, Sant, Sant Vivekanand, Shri Guru Gobind Singh, Shri Shanti Sagar, New Shivani and Yagya Jyoti. The RCS office handed over a list of 16 more societies before the court for investigation by the CBI. The court directed the Chief Secretary, Delhi, to provide five vehicles with drivers but without fuel, six stenos and six computers to the CBI to expedite the investigation of the Rs 4000 crore scam. On the submission of amicus curiae K. C. Mittal, the court directed the RCS and the Delhi Government to defer the election of the tainted cooperative societies. Counsel Harish Gulati, appearing for the CBI, said most of the builders allegedly involved in the scam had gone underground fearing prosecution by the agency. The CBI counsel submitted that 13 more apart from the earlier about 25 cases had been registered. The agency seized a truckload of documents for scrutiny from different places and authorities. The court also asked the DDA to state in an affidavit its plan to utilise the corpus funds of Rs 19 crore collected from members for the benefit of weaker sections of society. Hearing the petition of Yogi Raj Group Housing Societies, the court observed that the objective of the cooperative movement was defeated due to the nexus between corrupt officials and the builders. “It is the element of profit-making in view of difference of market value of land and the value on which land is allotted to the societies which has resulted in the nexus of builders and officials to reap gain by
an unholy alliance,” the order said.
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MCD directed to give uniform look to Chandni Chowk
New Delhi, October 3 ‘’While passing these orders, if the MCD is of the view that the shopkeeper or occupant is a bonafide allottee of the ‘chabutara’ but has enclosed an impermissible construction, the remedial action and timeframe to comply with the order shall also be clearly given,’’ said the order pronounced on the petition filed by ‘Chandni Chowk Shop Keepers
Mandal’. In the petition, the Mandal alleged that the MCD had issued notices to the shopkeepers on January 14, 2005 and proceeded to demolish the super-structures on the third floor and above the chabutaras in eleven shops. It was averred that the action of the MCD was arbitrary and illegal. The petitioners claimed that the chabutaras were built by the erstwhile Delhi Municipal Committee more than 80 years back and takhatbandis (upper floors) were built soon after. The allottees and occupiers were the tenants of both the chabutaras and
takhatbandis, the petition said. However, the MCD said the chabutaras were permitted to be used but the shopkeepers could not exhibit goods for sale or enclose it by preventing air and light from coming. Relying on certain photographs, the MCD said that the chabutaras had been misused by converting them into
multi-storied buildings. It is alleged that in no circumstances could permanent structures or blockages called takhatbandis be allowed by the MCD under the 1964 bye-laws. When the durbar of King George V was inaugurated in 1911 at Delhi, the city authorities indicated a line in front of all the shops in Chandni Chowk for the purposes of aligning the buildings and creating symmetry. The court directed the MCD to file a status report every two months, saying that the exercise should be completed in nine months. Justice Bhat asked the
authorities to file the first status report within eight weeks which is to be placed on November 29, the next date of hearing.
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Man kills mother, sets body on fire
New Delhi, October 3 He was later arrested. Reportedly infuriated over his mother Kamla not getting him married, Sandeep who worked as a salesman, strangulated her at his Sector 15 residence in Rohini following an argument at about 1130 hrs, according to a police official. He later poured kerosene over her body and burnt it. He also set his home on fire. Onlookers later said that the accused told his neighbours, when asked about what he was up to, that he had killed his mother and was now doing her ‘antim sanskar’ (cremating her). Neighbours said that he would often have arguments with his mother and had been depressed for some time. During interrogation he told the police that she was being an ‘obstacle’ in getting him married.
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Katara murder case: HC directs Bharti to appear in court
New Delhi, October 3 Acting on the plea of Ms Neelam Katara, mother of slain Delhi executive Nitish Katara, Mr Justice R. S. Sodhi said the trial court should not have dropped England-based Bharti as witness as the prosecution termed her as the material witness. In a petition, Ms Katara sought the direction of the court for the revocation of the passport of Bharti and application of coercive measures to bring her from England to depose in the case. The Delhi prosecution branch on September 29 told the high court that “Bharti Yadav is material evidence and should not have been dropped”. Counsel Mukta Gupta, appearing for the Delhi Government, said the deposition of Bharti before the trial court was essential and she should not have been dropped on the request of the prosecutor from Uttar Pradesh. She said it showed the mala fide intention of the Uttar Pradesh prosecutor to request for dropping of Bharti as the witness. Counsel P. K. Dey, appearing for Neelam Katara, said Bharti had been prevented from coming to India from England to depose in the case. Countering the arguments of counsel P. N. Lekhi and Dinesh Mathur, Mr Dey said Bharti had appealed to the trial court 39 times in the case mentioning her difficulties in coming to India. Mr Mathur argued that the summon was never served on Bharti as she had already left for England before proceeding to call her for deposition was moved. Mr Dey said she knew that she was a witness in the case so she had engaged a lawyer to represent her in the case during the trial. Mr Mathur argued that the accused had been languishing in jail without trial for more than a year as the prosecution failed to summon Bharti for deposition. Earlier in January, 2005, the high court had dismissed the bail plea of Vishal Yadav, who was nabbed along with his cousin Vikas four years back on charges of brutally killing Nitish in adjoining Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. Bharti fled the country after her friend Nitish was allegedly murdered on the intervening night of February 17 and 18, 2002. On the application of Ms Katara, the Supreme Court had ordered the transfer of the case for trial to the Delhi district court.
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Court reserves order in DUTA election
New Delhi, October 3 After hearing the arguments, Justice Vikramjit Sen asked DUTA Election Officer S N Singh to state the formula he applied in rejecting those votes. On the direction of the Court, the Delhi University had submitted the ballot papers of the DUTA election for scrutiny as losing candidate Reader S D Siddque alleged that some ballots were not counted. Mr Siddique alleged that even though his serial number was at four, the votes cast in his favour were counted first with malafide intention. Submitting before the court, Mr Siddique said he had lodged complaint through phonogram to President of India, the Visitor of the University, Chief Justice of India, the Chancellor of the University and the Vice Chancellor about the alleged bungling in the election when the election officer did not accept his complaint on August 31. Justice Sen had issued notices to DU Vice Chancellor, DUTA President and Secretary, Prof S N Singh and Mr Amar Dev Sharma, the winning candidate, on the petition of Mr Siddique who alleged that the election officer deliberately rejected some votes cast in his favour. Mr Siddique, a Reader of English in Sri Aurobindo College, said he had contested for the post of president in DUTA election held on August 31, 2005. “Prof Singh of Faculty of Law, the election officer, illegally abandoned the scrutiny of 12 bundles of votes, whereas there was every likelihood of further votes being discovered favouring the petitioner,” said the petition filed by Counsel Sarbjit Sharma. The petitioner prayed for quashing the result of the election and direction for re-counting of the ballot papers under the scrutiny of the court.
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Delhiites keep date with solar eclipse
New Delhi, October 3 Nearly 400 people turned out to view the projected image of the moon’s shadow over the sun at the Nehru Planetarium this evening. The eclipse, which was partially visible in the country, began at 1620 hrs and ended at 1728 hrs. Amateur astronomers had a field day. Armed with papers and clipboards, many of them drew pictures to calculate the angular diameter between the sun and the moon at the time of the eclipse. “We made a lot of calculations,” said Sneh Kesari, a first-year engineering student and member of the Amateur Astronomers’ Association, Delhi. Planetarium
Director N Ratnashree said that although the visibility of the eclipse in the Capital was less than 10 per cent, still hundreds of people came to view it. More people should view the eclipse just to remove their superstitions, she added. Thousands of people took a dip in the Yamuna river on the occasion and prayed for their ancestors amid chanting of vedic hymns, a ritual performed during eclipses. Scientists had warned people against viewing the eclipse directly with naked eyes.
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Navratri begins today
New Delhi, October 3 Temples across the city have begun preparations for nine days of celebrations. Idols of the goddess in her finery have been readied for installation at various puja pandals in the city. Explaining the relevance of the festival, religious heads said every year the beginning of summer and the beginning of winter were chosen for the sacred event. It was believed divine power provided energy to the earth to move around the sun, causing changes in the outer nature, and this divine power must be thanked for maintaining the correct balance of the
universe. — TNS
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Traffic advisory for Ram Lila
New Delhi, October 3 Since major functions would take place in the Ram Lila grounds on Asaf Ali Road, Parade Ground on Subhash Marg, Dangal Ground on S. P. Mukherjee Marg and on New Daryaganj Road, the motorists are advised to take diversions between 5 pm to 10 pm. The traffic police said that the Ram Lila procession would start at 5 pm from Mandir on Esplanade Road and go through Dariba Kalan, Chandni Chowk, Amir Chand Marg, Chawri Bazar, Ajmeri Gate Monument, Asaf Ali Road, Hamdard Chowk, Minto Road and finish at the Ram Lila grounds. The procession would return via the same route after 10 pm after the Ram Lila finishes.
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Forest cover in Capital has increased: Sheila
New Delhi, October 3 Speaking on this occasion, Ms Dikshit highlighted the importance of co-existence of humans and all other living beings. She said, “We all need to understand this simple fact and learn to co-exist in peace and harmony. In the well-being of our animals and forests lies our well-being as well.” She added the earth did not belong to humans alone. Ms Dikshit further said the forest cover in Delhi had gone up to 268 sq km which had helped in providing a safe environment to wildlife. She also planted a sapling on this occasion. The eco-clubs in schools and citizens groups have contributed significantly in the expansion of green cover, which has brought remarkable transformation. WWF-India is celebrating the National Wildlife Week. The celebrations are aimed at spreading awareness about the flora and fauna to all, especially the younger generation. Ms. Lima Rosalind, Director, Environment Education Programme, WWF-India, said, “The National Wildlife Week is all about celebrating the beauty in nature.”
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Govt to intensify campaign on PNDT Act
Gurgaon, October 3 The Minister, who was here today to inaugurate an eye-camp, reiterated her concern on the skewed male-female ratio, which was loaded against women. According to her, apart from government’s initiative, there has to be a community participation against the violation of the Act to make the campaign a success. The attitudinal change is also long overdue, which is presently against the birth of a girl child. The Minister said that the government plans to set up the “Delivery Huts” in the villages as fast as possible. The government has decided to set up 300 such huts in the state. Some of them have already become functional. The idea behind setting up the huts is to enable delivery of children in the villages with adequate medical facilities. She said that the Congress government in the state is determined to improve the services in the health sector. The government has already taken a slew of welfare measures in the area.
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Kiran Bedi is DG, Home Guards
New Delhi, October 3 While Ms Kiran Bedi, who was on leave since February this year after her deputation with the United Nations, has been appointed Director-General, Home Guards, and Commandant, Civil Defence, Mr U. K. Katna, Director-General, Goa, has been posted back to the Delhi Police. Another officer, Mr Neeraj Kumar, Inspector-General, Mizoram, has been promoted to the rank of Additional Director-General and posted as Director-General,
Goa. — TNS
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Education Dept gets first prize at Gandhi Jayanti Mela
New Delhi, October 3 The second prize went to Conservancy and Sanitation Engineering which created awareness among citizens towards segregation of solid waste through the medium of films, dramas and interesting exhibitions. The third prize was won by the Community Services Department which organised the mela and displayed its efficient management capabilities. Besides the MCD, other government departments were also nominated for prizes. The first prize went to National Gandhi Museum, the second prize to Directorate of Information and Publicity, Delhi Government, which depicted empowerment of women and the third prize went to Gandhi Darshan. Apart from government departments, NGOs also took part in the
mela. The first prize was awarded to Sewa Bharti for the streetchildren stall and allied works. The second prize was awarded to Jyoti Mahila and Bal Vikas Society. The third was bagged by Taramay Samajik Vikas Society.
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Kidney patients have a get-together
New Delhi, October 3 A gathering of peritoneal dialysis patients organised in the city saw the participation of renal patients in a vibrant cultural programme and mimicry performance. The meet was organised by Baxter India as part of their corporate social responsibility programme to encourage and recognise these individuals for leading a life more than ordinary and fulfilling all their responsibilities despite being on therapy. Similar patient meets are being organised in 14 cities across the country. “More than 3500 patients in India and over 1,75,000 patients all over the world are leading a quality life despite being on therapy. Most nephrologists and nephrology centres are today actively practising PD in India” said Mr Sanjiv Verma, Managing Director, Baxter India. Mr Verma further added, “PD is much more than world class dialysis bags & disconnection systems. It is about impeccable teamwork to ensure that the patients are looked after well. Baxter has extensive PD support infrastructure to ensure that patients get timely supplies and clinical coordination
support, irrespective of where they are located.”
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Power tripping causes cancellation of 2 Metro trips
New Delhi, October 3 This train was subsequently taken to the Vishwavidyalaya siding for examination and a standby train was introduced to ensure that train services were not affected, a release said. A total of two trains trips had to be cancelled on this account. The incident took place at 11.03 am and the system was normalised at 11.13 am, the release claimed.
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Five kids among 11 hurt as RTV overturns
New Delhi, October 3 The police said the driver of the bus, ferrying students of Faith Academy in Patel Nagar, apparently lost control after which it ran up a road divider in Chanakyapuri and overturned. There were five children and six adults, including some teachers in the RTV, the police said. While one of the teachers had been hospitalised, the other passengers only suffered minor cuts and bruises and were discharged after
first aid.
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Minor girl rescued, three nabbed
Ghaziabad, October 3 The police have arrested three including two women from Binoli area of Hathras in this connection. Those arrested have been identified as Irfan, his wife Nafisa and Guddi, the SO said. A case naming 8 persons had been filed by the father of the girl in the Sihani Gate police station on September 18. It had been alleged in the FIR that a youth of the neighbourhood, Sonu, had lured the minor girl away, the police said. The police raided the hideout after receiving a tip-off that the kidnapped girl was being kept in Irfan’s house in
Hathras. — OC
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Rs 2 lakh snatched by scooter-borne youth
Ghaziabad, October 3 The two women, identified as Pramila James (60) and her younger sister Prechla (56), had gone to the market in connection with a marriage in the family. A scooter-borne youth snatched the bag near the Gurdwara while they were travelling in an autorickshaw. Even though the women raised an alarm, the criminal managed to escape. Later, barricades were put up but the police are clueless about the
criminal. — OC
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New Delhi, October 3
