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No water for Delhi from UP till 2010: Minister
Metro Man urges re-development of Yamuna river
Vendors demand freedom from MCD’s ‘license-quota-raid raj’
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NDMC all set to rid CP of hawkers
Babbar Khalsa in action mode again, say cops
Misuse of red beacon lights due to official apathy
CPI urges Maken to stop demolitions
Role of middlemen to continue in purchase of food stock
Ridge under attack of heavy traffic, illegal constructions
‘No plan to question Salem through
video conferencing’
New BSNL schemes to woo customers
Seven robbers nabbed, arms, goods seized
Officer inquiring into land scams unhappy with police
CAG raps DU for irregular payments to teachers
Woman killed over land dispute
Windy conditions keep Capital cool
Valuables looted from two flats
Dacoity bid foiled as four held
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No water for Delhi from UP till 2010: Minister
New Delhi, March 22 “Until the Tehri dam functions at full steam, we are incapable of releasing water to the national Capital,” he maintained. Under the National Water Policy, of the 4,000 cusecs water to be received in river Bhagirathi from Tehri dam, UP would utilise 500 cusecs water for drinking and the rest for irrigation purposes. “Out of the 500 cusecs water for drinking, 300 and 200 cusecs have been allocated for Delhi and UP respectively,” Mr Meraj-ud-din informed. The Sonia Vihar Water Treatment Plant was to be completed after Tehri dam. However, its construction preceded the dam and it, therefore, awaits its share of water, he said. The Minister informed that the state had released 80 cusecs water for the Treatment Plant on a special request by the Delhi Government. “This water was released for three months out of UP’s share,” he added. Meanwhile, Delhi Jal Board (DJB) CEO Mr Arun Mathur today said that the Board did not intend to raise the water tariff in the Capital while admitting that it was reeling under a severe scarcity of water. He said there is no need to raise to water tariff since they were hiked only last year, refuting recent media reports about a possible increase in tariffs. He said the Board was making efforts to mitigate the problem through measures like rationalisation of the water distribution system so as to minimise water scarcity. Delhi has a total requirement of 900 million gallons per day whereas the total availability from different sources in Delhi is 650 Mgd, Mr Mathur said. “To meet the shortage, we had set up the Sonia Vihar Water Treatment Plant. However, since Uttar Pradesh was yet to supply water to it from the Tehri project, there has arisen a shortage of water,” Mr Mathur said. To meet the shortage, he said, the DJB was trying to tighten the system through the rationalisation of water supply. “Our effort is to try to minimise the scarcity through rationalising the water supply and maintaining an equitable distribution so that the gap between various areas in terms of the water distribution level is reduced, to ensure that the situation of one area receiving water for six hours a day while another getting water for just 15 minutes in two days does not arise,” Mr Mathur said after launching ‘Water and You’, a new magazine focussing on problems and solutions of water-related issues faced by the common man in his day-to-day life, on the occasion of World Water Day. Mr Mathur said the reason for shortage of water in South Delhi areas was primarily because most of the raw water sources in the Capital were in North Delhi and hence majority of the water treatment plants were situated there from where the water was supplied to South Delhi through pipelines. “From North Delhi to South Delhi is a long distance and hence the water has to be routed through a series of pipelines. So, by the time the water reaches these areas, its pressure has been severely reduced. Hence the shortage,” Mr Mathur said. Mr Mathur related several “lesser known” facts about water: that 33 per cent of people have no access to sanitation; that out of nearly eight billion population of the world expected by the year 2010, only one billion will have access to water; that women in Africa and Asia walk, on an average, for six km a day to fetch water and the load they carry is equivalent to the weight of an airport luggage and that 60 per cent of all infant mortality is water-related.
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Metro Man urges re-development of Yamuna river
New Delhi, March 22 Mr Sreedharan further added “As a railway man, I would also like to see the full 245 km of Delhi’s railway line to get upgraded with state-of-the-art facilities, including better trains, rails and systems.” He elaborated that this target was easily achievable with a little effort. However, he stressed that the responsibility for achieving this target should be taken away from the Indian Railways and be given to a special purpose group especially set up for this task. He came up with the suggestions at a conference on ‘The Brand Delhi: What does it Represent’ organised by CII. But perhaps his most hard-hitting statements came out in a brilliant idea shared by him on the re-development of the Yamuna river. “Why can’t we plan Delhi around the Yamuna river as many cities abroad have done so? Take the Thames in London,” he said. He urged planners and environmentalists to shed their reservations on using the river positively. “The river must be made into a well-contained stream by building walls to contain it, then bridges have to be built spanning it, the flow can thus be restricted and the river trained. In addition, this would result in a lot of surplus land which could be used for construction,” he added. He further suggested that all the sewage that currently emptied into the Yamuna could be intercepted by a big sewage line. This could be channeled somewhere else where a treatment plant could be put up. If Mr Sreedharan gave some good suggestions on improving connectivity and environment in the city and bringing it up to international standards then Mr S. Reghunathan, Chief Secretary, NCT, Delhi, felt there could be real improvement in Delhi only if people became more civilised, humane and compassionate. “What bothers me and needs to be immediately addressed is the basic need of bringing about a tremendous change in the current behaviour of Delhi’s citizens. The first impression is one of brashness and aggression. The behaviour of men in the city towards women is simply shocking. Very few women feel safe in Delhi and it is largely because of the attitude of the male population,” said Mr Reghunathan. He also spoke about the increase in road accidents and road rage in the city.
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Vendors demand freedom from MCD’s ‘license-quota-raid raj’
New Delhi, March 22 Hawkers and street vendors in the national Capital are an agitated lot. With the Supreme Court having passed an order for their eviction, it is their sustenance that is being threatened. Urging the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to come up with a workable plan for the relocation of these hawkers and vendors, they claimed their interests were ignored to accommodate the demands of traders’ bodies who will benefit the most from their removal. “On an average, these people pay a bribe of Rs 1000 to the police, Rs 400 to the MCD health officer…all in the name of protection money,” alleged Ms Madhu Purnima Kishwar of Manushi, the body which has been working extensively to provide hawkers and street vendors their rights. Putting forth that as many as 4,000 street vendors and hawkers were facing a crisis in the wake of the Supreme Court’s order, asking the MCD to remove all unauthorised vendors from the streets, she blamed the MCD for failing to provide a workable plan for creating authorised hawker zones. Citing reasons for allowing them to continue operating, Ms Kishwar said they were the most cost-efficient channel for distribution for consumables like vegetables and removing them would lead to prices of consumer goods to sky-rocket. “Street vendors do not generate employment for themselves, they also help generate employment in the farm sector. They support many small-scale industries by acting as a widespread, low-cost distribution channel of their goods, “ Ms Kishwar said. Demanding freedom from the “license-quota-raid raj” of the MCD, they have put forth a demand for implementing the national policy for street vendors by including it as one of the mandatory requirements of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Renewal Mission. Pointing out that refusing to provide gainful employment to these people could lead them to adopt illegal ways of earning a livelihood, Ms Kishwar said, “Through the Sewa Nagar hawker market, we have been able to demonstrate that these people can be easily integrated in the city economy and landscape in a dignified manner”.
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NDMC all set to rid CP of hawkers
New Delhi, March 22 In compliance with the Supreme Court’s recent order, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has decided to shift all registered street vendors and hawkers operating in this area under the tehbazari system to an open area near Shivaji Stadium. According to sources, the council is planning to shift 100-125 such vendors and hawkers there. “No hawkers and vendors operating in other parts of the city will be allowed to shift there. We are mainly targeting vendors and hawkers operating in the inner and outer circle of Connaught Place and Palika Bazar. We were zeroing in on that plan much earlier, but now with the order of Supreme Court we are bound to comply,” he said. He further said Connaught Place was dubbed the heart of the city. “So its original beauty must be protected from street vendors and hawkers. After flushing them out, the area will also become clean and encroachment-free. It would give a good impression to tourists, especially foreigners,” he said. The president of the Palika Bazar Shopkeepers Association, Mr Dinesh Gaur, said it was a good decision. “It will not only give a beautiful look to the market but it will also be easy to maintain security measures for the market.” A senior member of the Palika Place Market Association, Mr S. K. Garg, said the Enforcement Department of the NDMC was doing a good job in this regard. “Two unauthorised parking lots have recently been cancelled. Beggars have also been driven away from subways in the Connaught Place area.”
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Cops issue advisory about swimming pool safety standards
New Delhi, March 22 The Delhi Police have cautioned the public against enrolling themselves as members of a swimming pool without inquiring about the license from the authorities. In a communication issued here, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Licensing, Delhi, said, “The public should be careful before enrolling as a member of a swimming pool and check whether it is licensed or not. If it is licensed, is the license renewed currently or not. This is necessary to ensure that the pools fulfil all parameters of safety and hygiene.” “If any person finds any discrepancy in any of the conditions enumerated above, they should inform the local police station of the area for action in the matter,” the communication said. With the onset of the summer season, swimming pools all over Delhi will be reopening soon. However, the swimming pool licensees are required to get their licenses renewed before their operation in a new season. There are detailed instructions and conditions for grant and renewal of swimming pool licenses, which include testing the quality of water, recommendation of the Sports Authority of India swimming coach, MCD/civic body trade license from health point of view and other safety measures to be adopted by the licensee, i.e. life buoy, life jacket, artificial resuscitator, oxygen cylinder, elevated chair for life guards, qualified instructor/coach, first aid box and medical attendant. The Delhi Police have requested the swimming pool licensees in the Capital to submit the requisite documents — an application accompanied by the original swimming pool license, fresh water test report, recommendation of the Sports Authority of India swimming coach and valid MCD/local bodies trade license — for the renewal of their license. However, renewal notices to licensees of all swimming pools were also being sent by the Licensing Branch, the police said.
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Babbar Khalsa in action mode again, say cops
New Delhi, March 22 Police officials said BK International had been procuring lethal arms from Pakistan, including RDX, AK-47, AK-56 and hand-grenades for quite some time now and was trying to set up bases across North India. “About a week ago, the BKI booked a big consignment of RDX and other weapons from Pakistan and was scheduled to bring it to India,” said a senior police official. “Before they could succeed in their mission, we got information and nabbed them,” the official added. The organisation’s main objective was to set base in Delhi and Punjab so that they could hurt more effectively than ever before, said the police officials. For this purpose, they were looking for rented accommodation in both Delhi and Punjab. “We apprehended the assailants before they could give shape to their plans,” said the DCP, Special Cell, Mr Ajay Kumar. “We have also informed the Punjab Police about their movement. They have also apprehended some of their accomplices there, reacting sharply to the information,” Mr Ajay Kumar added. Besides Punjab and Delhi, the terrorists were planning to set up their base in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and some parts of Himachal Pradesh. “We are likely to get more information about the movement of the BKI,” Mr Ajay Kumar added. The activities of the group were unearthed after the twin bomb blasts in two cinema halls on May 22 last year in the national Capital in which one person was killed and more than 50 were injured. Since then, the security forces had stepped up intelligence gathering information about the activities of the outfit. The security forces, thereafter, apprehended key members of the group, including India operations chief Paramjeet Singh Bheora, who was allegedly involved in the assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. Bheora had taken over operations of the group in the country after the arrest of Jagtar Singh Hawara, who earlier led BKI activities, by the Delhi Police in June last year. Bheora wanted to outshine Hawara and therefore started gearing up his activities in the northern parts of the country, said the DCP. Punjab Police has so far managed to arrest 69 accomplices of Hawara and seized arms and ammunition, including RDX, from them. Besides the arrest of Bheora by Delhi Police, four of the BKI terrorists were arrested in Chandigarh today. Bheora was in Burail jail in Chandigarh but managed to escape from there along with Hawara in January 2004. Thereafter, he had been in touch with BKI chief Wadhwa Singh, who had set up his base in Pakistan and was coordinating the group’s activities with its US chief H. S. Gill, police officials said.
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Misuse of red beacon lights due to official apathy
Faridabad, March 22 It is interesting to note that many police officials themselves have been violating the regulation. According to reports, several private vehicles including taxi operators and individuals have been using beacon lights and hooters freely. According to local residents, the family members of the newly-appointed Chairman of a Board in Haryana have been using red lights on their private vehicles. It is also learnt that heads of some other local bodies and departments have also been indulging in such a practice despite the government directions. Similarly, political leaders and activists of the party in power have also been found to be flaunting the red lights on their vehicles. According to the government order, the red beacon light can be used on official vehicles of selected officials only. According to reports, official cars of even HCS officials in the district are seen with red beacon lights atop their private and official vehicles. It is stated that only the Deputy Commissioner has been authorised to use a red beacon light on the official vehicle among the administrative officials. According to experts, traffic violations and misuse of such facilities by unscrupulous elements had been on the rise due to the apathy of the officials.
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CPI urges Maken to stop demolitions
New Delhi, March 22 The delegation comprised the CPI national secretary, Ms Amarjeet Kaur, the assistant secretaries of the Delhi State Council, Mr Dinesh Varshney and Mr Mahesh Rathi, and members of the state executive of the party, Mr Dhirendra Sharma and Ms Shamkali. The delegation urged Mr Maken to put a stop to the demolitions in residential areas and hasten the process of regularisation of unauthorised colonies. They also demanded that those who had grabbed land must be punished. They asked for “redemption” for people from lower income groups. The delegation expressed its anguish on the list of 18,000 illegal constructions submitted by the MCD in the court. They stressed that this list was based on corrupt practices, non-payment of bribes and land dispute records. The delegation said it was the common man in Delhi who was a victim of this mess and confusion. The delegation also raised the problems of small shopkeepers in the residential areas whose families subsisted on the income from these shops. The issue of shopkeepers in the market was also raised. The delegation demanded that mixed land use be permitted and people who had opened shops on the ground floor be given clearance. They demanded that the government should enact a policy that the shops be allowed on the ground floor in residential areas, in the markets or even in the Lal Dora villages. They said that laws pertaining to houses should be made simpler to control corruption and people should be allowed to build houses up to four floors or 15 metres as the upper limit.
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Role of middlemen to continue in purchase of food stock
Gurgaon, March 22 The Centre had recently taken a decision that State agencies would make the purchase directly from the farmers and cut the role of the middlemen. The Chairman of Confed, Bajrang Das Garg, said here today that the practice of government agencies purchasing food stock from farmers through the middlemen will continue in Haryana. Mr Garg said that Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has already written a letter to the Centre expressing the inability of the state to follow its guidelines on the issue. It may be pointed out that the aadhteeas are traders and their role in the purchase and sale of produce of the farmers to the government agencies is very pronounced in the State. Interacting with mediapersons, he said the state government was taking all measures to promote the business community, including shopkeepers and traders. The government has taken several progressive measures for the benefit of the business community, he added. Referring to the controversy over the district administrations guidelines to the shopkeepers to keep their business establishments closed once a week in the wake of the Supreme Court’s directive to this effect, he said the matter would taken up with the Chief Minister. It may be recalled that a section of the shopkeepers had agreed to keep their establishment closed on Sunday. However, it was opposed by another section of the shopkeepers.
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Ridge under attack of heavy traffic, illegal constructions
New Delhi, March 22 The study also indicated degradation of forest cover in several parts of the Ridge due to various activities such as construction of building and roads and dumping of debris. Inspection records of Ridge Management Board
(RMB) also indicated that land owning agencies like Central Public Works Department
(CPWD) and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had constructed structures and pathways in the area. Evidence of dumping debris on the Ridge had also been noticed. However, RMB has taken cognisance of some activities that did not blend with the surroundings, and issued directions to all the concerned agencies to discontinue such activities. The board had told the agencies that there should be no constructions at the Ridge and all roads inside the area, except lanes essential for protection and maintenance of the Ridge, had to be abandoned. The green area would not be used as a thoroughfare and only native species would be planted on the Ridge, it added. It also called for repair and strengthening of the fencing, absolutely no dumping of garbage and debris, and proper demarcation of the southern Ridge.
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‘No plan to question Salem through
video conferencing’
New Delhi, March 22 “We are seeking his remand and not any questioning through video conferencing,” he reacted to media reports that the Delhi Police might go in for video conferencing as bringing him here was fraught with security risks. “Only after he is brought to Delhi would we interrogate him on the four cases, including three of extortion, against him here,” he said. “There is no question of interrogating him through video conference,” he added. The CBI also denied that it was contemplating any such move. Agency spokesman G Mohanty said the matter was wholly with the Delhi Police and it should be commenting on it. “He is presently under judicial custody so we have nothing to say on it,” he added. Delhi Police has been seeking Abu Salem’s custody since long but a Mumbai court had deferred its appeal twice.
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New BSNL schemes to woo customers
Gurgaon, March 22
The new state-of-the-art instrument has features such as clip facility, speaker phone, memory, different tones etc. “The whole exercise would be completed by the end of May,” he said. Mr Tripathi further said that the department is also providing broadband connection free of cost for two months. Even the modem is provided without charges at the customer’s premise and there would be no registration or installation charges, he added. This scheme is valid upto March 31. He said this offer is also available to customers whose phones were disconnected due to non-payment. The rent of the intervening period would be waived off and the telephone would be restored for incoming calls, he said. It may be pointed out that the Gurgaon circle has a subscriber base of more than 4000 broadband connections. According to Mr Tripathi, they have a target of achieving 5000 broadband connections by the end of the current financial year. He said the ‘One India Plan’ would reduce the bill by more than 30 per cent in the local circle. Mr Naveen Kumar, Deputy General Manager (Urban) and Mr Virender Kumar, DGM (Rural) were also present on the occasion.
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Seven robbers nabbed, arms, goods seized
Noida, March 22 According to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Piyush Mordia, a police team from Phase-II had tried to intercept the Tata-407 in Sector-44, but the driver, identified as Bhupender Prasad Kushwa of Nangla Charan Das, tried to speed away. The criminals also fired at the police team, he added. In retaliatory action, the seven robbers were nabbed. The robbers, identified as Intezar, Kharku, Joginder, Muzafar, Zakir Ali and Kamal Singh confessed to have been involved in three loots, including one in Phase II. The robbers was active in Noida, Ghaziabad, Delhi and other nearby towns. During interrogation, they confessed to have attacked factories and the stolen goods sold to one Kamal Singh of Delhi, who had an electronics shop in Chandini Chowk.
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Officer inquiring into land scams unhappy with police
Greater Noida, March 22 Interacting with the mediapersons yesterday, Mr George regretted that he was not getting the full cooperation from the local police. Even as cases have been registered against 350 persons, the police have arrested only about a dozen persons so far, he said. Even junior revenue officials against whom FIR have been filed are moving about as free men, he said.
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CAG raps DU for irregular payments to teachers
New Delhi, March 22 The university has granted two advance increments from January 27, 1998, to 32 teachers who had secured PhD before joining the university. The grant of two advance increments to such teachers was “irregular” as the orders of the UGC clearly stated the benefit was meant for those teachers who had acquired PhD while in the service of the university, the CAG report said. While the university confirmed that the benefit was admissible to only those teachers who acquired PhD during service before January 1, 1996, in terms of the orders of the UGC, it did not clarify the reason for the benefit being extended to those teachers who had secured their PhD before joining the university, the report further cited. The UGC had extended the benefit of two advance increments to the university teachers at the time of their promotion as reader/lecturer (selection grade). However, this was applicable to those teachers who had acquired or would acquire PhD on or after January 1, 1996.
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Woman killed over land dispute
Ghaziabad, March 22 Rafique’s relatives had burnt down Shabana’s house a few days ago in order to intimidate her and grab her land. According to the local police, Shabana was found missing from her house on Tuesday morning. Later, her body was found in the fields. She had been murdered with a sharp-edged weapon. The police have sent the body for the postmortem examinations.—OC
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Windy conditions keep Capital cool
New Delhi, March 22 And, with maximum temperature also remaining at yesterday’s level of around 30 degrees C, the coolness in the air of the past two days persisted. The weathermen have forecast more surface winds in the Capital during the next 24 hours, indicating that the comfortable weather conditions will continue. The minimum temperature tomorrow is expected to decrease to 16 degrees C while the maximum will remain at 31 degrees C, they said.—TNS
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Valuables looted from two flats
Ghaziabad, March 22 In the second case, robbers entered a flat in Rajinder Nagar in the afternoon and ransacked the house. The robbers locked the son of the owner, Umesh Chander Srivastava, in a room. The robbers ransacked the house and escaped with Rs 15,000 in cash and jewellery. Though reports have been filed in the Sahibabad police station, the police are clueless.—OC
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Dacoity bid foiled as four held
New Delhi, March 22
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