New Delhi, February 22
The Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit, today directed the agencies concerned to expedite construction of flyovers and overbridges and underpasses by continuing work throughout day and night as the Capital is to be upgraded for international events of Commonwealth Games 2010 and Asiad Games for which Delhi is likely to become the host city.

There are 25 projects of flyovers. Of these, 15 will become operational by 2008 with an estimated cost of Rs 800 crore.

While having a review meeting of the projects, Ms Dikshit today instructed engineers to develop underpasses as a unique piece of architecture and give them an aesthetic look.

The Delhi Urban Development and PWD Minister, Dr A. K. Walia, the Chief Secretary, Mr S. Regunathan, the Principal Secretaries of PWD, the Urban Development, Finance, the Transport Commissioner, the CMD (DTTDC) and high officials from the DDA and the MCD were also present at the meeting.

Fifteen projects to be completed by 2008 include the Naraina flyover, the bridge over Neela Hauz, the underpass and clover leaves at the ITO chungi, the RUB connecting road no 58 to 64, the RCC underpass to Shastri Park on the Eastern Approach Road, the flyover at Mukerba Chowk, the flyover at Mangolpuri Chowk, the flyovers at Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, Nelson Mandela Marg and Rao Tula Ram Marg, road no 56 near ISBT Anand Vihar and on NH 24 near the Gazipur drain, the Ring Road Shanti Van intersection, the Ring Road Rajghat intersection, the intersection of Rajaram Marg and Pusta Road, the intersection of disused Canal Road and Pusta Road and road no 68 level crossing.

She said all these projects were being implemented to decongest Delhi before the commencement of Commonwealth Games 2010. Apart from this, the PWD is planning to provide link roads to connect different stadiums with alternate routes.

New Delhi, February 22
Nodal officers and the Rapid Response team of the Health Department of the Delhi Government today visited various poultry farms in Delhi to find out the actual health condition of birds, sanitary conditions and the kind of food supplied to broilers.

This is being done to assure the people that broilers and other birds suffering from the flu will not be supplied to the Ghazipur Egg and Poultry Market.

A senior official of the Health Department said that during the visit to the farmhouses no broilers were found ill. All birds were healthy and there was no sign of the bird flu which has killed a number of birds in Maharashtra.

There are a total of 32 poultry farms in Delhi. He said that 33 farmhouses were in South Delhi, 12 in South-West, 17 in North-West and one in West district of the national Capital, a senior official of Food and Supply Department of Delhi Government said.

The president of the Association of Poultry Market said today the business of chicken supply had gone down by 50 per cent. It was sold at the rate of Rs 20 per kg while under normal condition the rate of one kg chicken is Rs 42. Instead of chicken, people are preferring mutton though it is costly. In the retail market, the rate of one kg mutton is Rs 130- Rs 140 while the rate of chicken has come down to Rs 50.

The authorities concerned have again given instructions to hospitals to be prepared to meet the situation arising out of the bird flu scare. Proper attention should be given to any patient of the flu. However, so far, no such report has been received from any hospital in Delhi. All restaurants and hotels have been directed to purchase chicken that have been certified as healthy by doctors at the Ghazipur poultry market. 

Gurgaon, February 22
There is no need to get panicky following the death of one person from avian flu in Maharashtra, suggested the Gurgaon Civil Surgeon, Dr D V Saharan.

He clarified that the non-vegetarians can take chickens and eggs as usual, but they must be cautious while cleaning and boiling them.

As per an estimate by the experts in the market, the sale of chicken and eggs had fallen 50 per cent in the wake of the spread of bird flu in the country. However, the Civil Surgeon elaborated that the proper cooking of meat at more than 70 degree for 30 minutes eliminates the virus and it is absolutely safe to consume properly cooked poultry meat and eggs. He cautioned the public against eating half-boiled or raw eggs.

He also suggested to the poultry farm owners not to start ‘distress sale’ of hens and eggs as still there are no symptoms of this disease in the state. He suggested to the poultry farm owners that they must take all precautions and immediately inform the vet department if there is any unnatural death of a bird in their farm.

Dr Saharan added that one must not spread rumours without knowing the facts. Unauthorised persons should be discouraged from voicing opinions in the media which should be best left to the experts identified by the state
government, added the officer.

He informed that the Director General of Health Services under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had already prepared a contingency plan for managing the cases of avian influenza in December 2005.

There were hardly 70 deaths till December 2005 in the world from avian influenza in five countries: Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, China and Thailand, revealed the Civil Surgeon.

The Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner, Mr R P Bhardwaj held a meeting with all officials concerned yesterday and directed the department to take all precautions to check bird flu in the district.

New Delhi, February 22
Karnataka Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy today took a ride on the Delhi Metro’s both underground and overground sections ahead of his government’s decision on the system to be adopted for the proposed Mass Rapid Transport project in Bangalore.

Mr Kumaraswamy, accompanied by wife Anita, Bangalore Metro chief K. N. Srivastava and senior officials of the Karnataka Government, took the train from the Central Secretariat underground station, changed at Rajiv Chowk and went till Karol Bagh before returning.

Talking to newspersons after the half-an-hour ride, the Chief Minister said the system was a refined version of the London Metro and complimented Delhi Metro chief E. Sreedharan for executing a marvelous job.

There would be no delay in the state government taking its decision, he said, adding that apart from the Metro he would want other modern systems to help overcome commuting problems in Bangalore.

The Chief Minister began his day with a visit to the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. Mr Kumaraswamy entered his comments in Kannada and English in the visitors’ book, asserting that he was greatly influenced by Gandhian ideology and the concept of Grama Swarajya and his government would put all its efforts to realise the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi.

New Delhi, February 22
The MCD drive to collect property tax arrears saw more action today with the civic body attaching the accounts of six more Delhi University colleges while issuing auction notices to as many as 50 residential and commercial properties.

The civic body attached the bank accounts of Vivekananda College, Bhagat Singh College, Motilal Nehru College, Rajdhani College, Zakir Hussain College and Mata Sundri College, a senior MCD official said.

While Vivekananda College owes MCD property tax arrears to the tune of Rs 1.9 crore, Bhagat Singh College has to pay Rs 1.6 crore, Motilal Nehru College Rs 1.4 crore, Zakir Hussain College Rs 85 lakh, Rajdhani College Rs 49 lakh and Mata Sundri College owes Rs 47 lakh.

The MCD had issued notices to these colleges earlier.

Earlier, the MCD had attached the accounts of Desh Bandhu College, Dayal Singh College, Kamala Nehru College, St Stephen’s College, Kirorimal College, Hindu College, Sri Ram College of Commerce and Hansraj College.

Meanwhile, in a novel attempt to get property tax defaulters to pay the tax amount, the MCD today issued auction notices to 50 residential and commercial properties in different parts of the city to the accompaniment of playing of `dug duggi’ (a kind of drum).

“The idea was to embarrass the defaulters into paying the tax,” the MCD official said.

The areas in which the auction notices were issued include East of Kailash, Kailash Colony, Vasant Vihar, Sant Nagar and Shivalik and the total amount owed by these 50 defaulters comes to around Rs 4.18 crore.

With less than a month left for the financial year to end, the corporation has accelerated its drive to recover property tax dues as it has so far collected only Rs 500 crore of its Rs 1,375 crore annual target. 

New Delhi, February 22
The Delhi Commission for Women has sought a report from the Delhi Police on the delay in registering an attempt to rape case involving a journalist. It has also asked the police to promptly register cases of violence against women.

Early this month, a journalist had approached the commission alleging that there had been an attempt to rape her but the police was not registering the case. “It was a serious case. Although one-and-half months had passed since the incident the police had still not registered the case,” said DCW member Yasmin Khan.

The commission provided the victim with legal aid and helped her get the case registered, Ms Khan said.

New Delhi, February 22
On the occasion of the impending Mahashivratri festival, celebrations are being held at Greenfields School, Safdarjang Enclave. The celebrations will be organised till February 27 from 6.30 am to 8 am and also from 6 pm to 8 pm. The celebrations will be organised in the presence of Mahamandleshwar Swamy Nityanandji, according to school officials. 

Faridabad, February 22
In an effort to clear encroachments and illegal commercial establishments, the administration has started sealing shops functioning from residential sectors and colonies in the city. The action was launched after directions from the High Court, which had instructed the authorities to take action against the encroachments.

Meanwhile, Huda also launched a drive to remove encroachments from various areas in the city.

It may be recalled that it removed 350 jhuggis and illegal kiosks in the recent past. Encroachments were removed from over 5.5 acres of land.

According to officials, the encroachments from the green belts would be cleared soon and special drive undertaken in such pockets.

The Municipal Corporation Faridabad has also claimed removing several acres of land from encroachments.

As many as 322 shops were sealed by the Town and Country Planning Department so far, and action against a large number of such violators was awaited.

According to sources, as many as 91 shops operating in the Housing Board Colonies of Sector-7 and Sector 10 here were sealed recently. However, no action was initiated against 232 other violators due to legal hurdles as the owners had obtained a stay from the court.

Due to the apathy of the authorities, illegal commercial activities and encroachments on public and government land had risen sharply in various parts of the city in the last decade, said a local resident.

He said the shopkeepers and traders received political patronage and thus were allowed to continue with their illegal activities.

An office-bearer of the ‘All Huda Market Shopkeepers Association’, however, welcomed the move and claimed that it would promote the markets developed by Huda and the Housing Board.

Gurgaon, February 22
The Chief Minister of Haryana, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, would lay the foundation stone of four long- pending road projects here tomorrow.

Addressing the media, the Administrator, Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda), Mr S P Gupta informed that the four key projects costing around Rs 30 crore would change the face of the city and give relief to the commuters as all these four roads bear a heavy traffic and remain jammed throughout the day.

The widening and strengthening of MR Road has become a necessity. The stretch between IFFCO Crossing to Gurgaon-Mehrauli border remains jammed.

On weekends, the stretch witnesses chaos. Huda would spend Rs 8 crore on this road, said Mr Gupta. A subway connecting malls across the road is also built costing around Rs 2.5 crore on the stretch, added the officer.

Gurgaon and Old Delhi Road from Dundahera to South City crossing remains neglected for a long time despite the fact that it serves Udyog Vihar industrial areas, including Maruti and residential areas of Palam Vihar, Sector 21, 22 and 23.

Huda would spend Rs 7.5 crore to strengthen this 5-km road, added the officer.
A lot of private developers had developed commercial sites and residential colonies on Gurgaon-Sohna Road. Huda would spend around Rs 11 crore on 7.5-km stretch for converting the existing three-lane road to eight-lane road, informed Mr Gupta.

The administrator further said that Huda would also strengthen the 4-km road between Sector 29 to Sector 57, serving sectors 43, 44, 52 and 52A.

It would cost around Rs 3 crore to the department. The official further said that the department has fixed a deadline of each project in consultation with the contractors. All these projects would be completed in a short period, claimed Mr Gupta.

Greater Noida, February 22
Greater Noida police arrested six carjackers who were on their way to Greater Noida in a Travera to commit a theft. One stolen Travera, one Maruti car, two local revolvers and knives were recovered from them.

The thieves confessed to a number of auto thefts. CO police Sarvanand Singh Yadav said on getting information about the car lifters coming to Greater Noida, SO Greater Noida police Reeta Yadav with her team had surrounded the thieves at Pari Chowk. They were overpowered.

During interrogation, they identified themselves as Kalu Gujjar, Sanjay, Sudhir Meena, Vikram Sharma, Prakash Pandit and Surinder Gujjar. The police had recovered two revolvers, knives and a large quantity of cartridges apart from two vehicles. Travera car No. DL-VB-2464 was looted from LG Gole Chakar on February 13 after kidnapping the driver, the CO said.

Besides, a Maruti car No. DL-6CC-6679 was stolen on February 6 from Kasna area after abducting a builder. They admitted to having looted one Maruti and one Santro car from Surajpur industrial area.

Faridabad, February 22
The District Bar Association has submitted a representation to the Union Finance Ministry demanding the revision of the quantum of tax audit limit prescribed under the provisions of Section 44AB of the Income Tax Act-1961.

According to the representation, while there had been a sharp increase in the price index of various commodities, the government had overlooked the provisions of the limit, which deserved an immediate revision. It claimed that it would largely prove helpful to the middle class business community and the small entrepreneurs.

Gurgaon, February 22
The undertrials continue to use mobile phones from Bhondsi jail, located 15 kilometer away from the city.

The jail administration today seized two mobile phones, one battery, one charger, one ear phone and five sim cards (mobile chips) from a person when he tried to hand them over to a hard core criminal.

Anil Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Bhondsi Jail, informed that Anup Kumar, son of Sant Lal of Gurgaon city, today came to meet a hardcore criminal Amit Kumar.

He had hidden the mobiles and accessories inside the lunch box. The authority got suspicious and checked the bag and found the unlawful mobiles and other accessories.

Amit Kumar has been put in jail for various cases of murder, attempt of murder and dacoity, informed sources.

Greater Noida, February 22
One person was killed and six were injured when a Maruti van on its way from Dadri to Gurgaon crashed into a stationary truck near Tilpata village last night. The injured were rushed to Kailash Hospital in Greater Noida. The police have registered a case against the unidentified driver.

According to information, seven employees of JS builders were going to Gurgaon in Maruti van No. DL-9 CJ 7379. Near Tilpata village, a driver had parked his truck in the middle of the road. Since the van driver had failed to see the truck in poor light, the van crashed under the truck from the rear.

Birinder, a resident of Alwar, was killed in the accident and six were injured. The local villagers helped in extricating the injured from the Maruti van who were rushed to Kailash Hospital in Greater Noida. The injured include Dinesh, Moremukt, Chhotey, Narinder, Promode and Prahlad. On a complaint by Ashok, police have registered a case against unidentified truck driver. —OC

Noida, February 22
The residence of a police Sub Inspector, currently posted with the CRPF, was ransacked by her servant, who managed to escape with cash and jewellery in Sector-28, Noida.

When the Sub Inspector, Ms Anita Joshi, returned from her office, she found the servant, Ramani from Orissa, missing.

Anita lodged an FIR with Sector-20 police. The police have nabbed Ramani, who is being interrogated. 

Greater Noida, February 22
Two criminals fleeing on a bike after robbing a Honda Siel factory employee under Surajpur police station were arrested by Surajpur police on Monday night. Looted goods, a local revolver, a dagger and a bike were recovered from them. The criminals confessed to many incidents under Kasna police station, but they were not registered.

Dharminder Kumar of Mainpuri district was an employee in Honda factory. He was waiting at Surajpur for a bus to go to Dadri in the evening. Two robbers came on a black Pulsar motorcycle, putting a gun on Dharminder’s chest, they snatched a mobile phone, a wrist watch and his purse containing Rs 800. After the robbery, they fled towards Devla village.

Dharminder rang up Surajpur police station from a shop to inform about the loot.

The police nabbed both the robbers from liquor shop in Devla village.