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Sealing drive resumes in Capital
Traders move Supreme Court against drive
Demolition squad retreats in Gurgaon |
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Congress ropes in big fish for DUSU polls
Seven accomplices of dreaded gangster held
Accident victim gets Rs 72 lakh after 20 yrs
Rains lash Delhi
PMO trying to gag Press: DUJ
One held with heroin worth
Rs 1.3 cr
Commando fires shots accidentally
Parkash Utsav celebrated
Special courts for power theft cases
Idols stolen from 200-year-old temple
Blueline bus plunges off flyover
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Sealing drive resumes in Capital
New Delhi, September 1 Traffic was disrupted in many areas as the residents and traders jointly protested against the action of the MCD officials who, they allege, were equally responsible for first allowing commercial activity in residential colonies. The MCD squads, accompanied by a huge security force, this morning began sealing commercial units in areas coming under the South zone, Nazafgarh zone, Civil Lines, Central zone and Karol Bagh zone. A spokesperson of the MCD said the sealing action was being carried out in East of Kailash, Kailash Hills and Zamrudpur areas in the South zone and Nazafgarh, Sant Nagar area of Karol Bagh, Civil Lines areas and many areas falling under the Central zone. Shops in residential areas that violate the rules in six civic zones are being targetted and the stores that sell building materials and liquor vendors will also be razed. However, the violators in categories A and B that include showrooms, schools, banks, nursing homes and guest houses will be spared. MCD teams will initially target the shops selling hazardous printing, dyeing materials, junk shops and polluting units in residential areas. The MCD officials are expected to meet the Monitoring Committee appointed by the Apex Court to work out the details of the sealing drive in categories A and B, under which 70 posh localities of the Capital fall. The shops located on 80-feet wide roads in residential areas will be targetted from September 16. Meanwhile, the trading community today began a three-day dharna against the sealing drive at Jantar Mantar here. Members of the CAIT and their families will join in the dharna and go on a hunger strike on Sunday. The Supreme Court recently stayed some parts of the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006, promulgated by the Centre to put a one-year moratorium on the sealing and demolition action in the national Capital. Thereafter, on August 18, the Urban Development Ministry withdrew exemption granted under the Act to certain categories, following which the MCD announced its decision to begin sealing of these units from September 1. However, in case of banquet halls situated in the residential areas, sealing will resume from September 8. The August 31 deadline for closure of banquet halls was on Wednesday extended to September 6 after a number of representations received by the MCD as well as the Monitoring Committee highlighting difficulties in arranging the alternative sites for marriages and other functions at such a short notice. On Thursday, MCD Commissioner A K Nigam appeared in person before the High Court and informed that an ‘Integrated Task Force’ had been set up by the civic body to detect, demolish and seal all encroachments and illegal constructions. The demolition drive that resumed today has cast a shadow of fear on hundreds of private unaided schools that are facing the prospects of being closed down, thereby jeopardising the career of lakhs of students enrolled in these schools. The Central government had on May 20 passed the Delhi Laws (Special Provision) Act that put a moratorium on the court-mandated demolition of illegal structures and sealing of commercial complexes in residential areas in the Capital for a year. |
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Traders move Supreme Court against drive
New Delhi, September 1 Petitioner Federation has also prayed to the court to order the authority not to remove unauthorised constructions in the city as large-scale sealing and demolition shall cause hardships to people and it will also lead to large-scale unemployment in the national Capital. The petition, which shall come up for hearing on September 8, has also requested the court to take into account the overall impact of such a “drastic” course of action which has rendered the citizens of Delhi not only jobless but also homeless. The MCD and DDA are resuming their sealing and demolition drive from today. As a result, hundreds of private unaided schools of Delhi are also facing the prospects of being closed down jeopardising the career of lakhs of students in these schools. All the nursing homes operating from the premises of less than 200 square yards are also likely to be closed down. All unauthorised constructions and encroachments on public land are also to be removed. The court ordered re-sealing drive is to be resumed from September 16. The government had enacted Delhi Laws (special provisions) Act 2006, to put off sealing and demolition for one year which is under challenge in the Supreme Court. The Federation has also contended that the closure of shops catering to the day-to-day requirements of the residents shall also cause untold hardships to the citizens who will have to cover long distances to buy the articles of their daily requirements. |
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Demolition squad retreats in Gurgaon
Gurgaon, September 1 Before the violence erupted, the squad had bulldozed about a dozen houses. Tension started building up in the area soon after. Irate residents, including many women, gheraoed the team and began throwing stones at the officials. The stone-pelting incident continued for over 20 minutes. Finding themselves at the receiving end of the irate crowd, the officials ran helter-skelter. The mob started dispersing only after police reinforcements reached the spot. After the incident, the district Deputy Commissioner, HUDA Administrator and SSP visited the site. The latter said the ‘culprits’ would be booked. However, neither a case was registered nor anyone arrested till the time of this dispatch. The DC said that the demolition exercise would commence soon. A cross section of people in the city blamed the local administration for allowing illegal constructions and colonies such as Sheetal Colony, which enjoys all civic facilities including electricity connections, to come up in the first place, and alleged that it was all just a money game. |
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Congress ropes in big fish for DUSU polls
New Delhi, September 1 Senior party leaders like Oscar Fernandes and Mukul Wasnik, apart from AICC Secretary, Sudhakar Reddy, have all been designated a role to ensure NSUI’s win at the DUSU polls. Apprehending that the implications of the MCD’s sealing drive that has left the powerful trading community agitated and the NSUI’s stoic silence on the issue of OBC reservation may affect the mood of the young voters, the party has begun a wooing programme. Freebies and allurements handed out at campaigns aside, the party is working doubly hard to connect with the youths. And with the municipal elections not too far, the party wants to take no chances. The NSUI’s National Secretary, Satish Dahiya, has been made in-charge of the committees that have been set up in 130 wards. “Each ward committee has about 10 people who are deputed to interact with the youngsters in their area and inform them of the achievements of the NSUI and the Congress,” said a party worker. Each of the members in these ward committees have been further instructed to ensure that at least 10 students from their area cast their vote for the NSUI in the September 8 DUSU polls. “Winning the DUSU elections is a prestige issue for the parties. We have seen in the past few years’ that the DUSU elections, which were swept by the NSUI, were treated as a precursor to the Congress winning the assembly polls,” said a senior faculty member of the University. Having gauged the importance of the DUSU polls, the party, which has its sight set on the bigger elections, is targetting not just the students, but their families as well. As absurd as it might sound, the NSUI workers say they are trying hard to “impress the families with the achievements of the NSUI so that they can influence the choice of their children”. Meetings are also being organised almost on a daily basis, where NSUI workers thrash out poll strategy with senior leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Mrs Sheila Dikshit. “We look up to senior party leaders to help us learn the intricacies of electioneering. We want to make use of their expertise and at these meetings we take stock of the campaigning, targets are set and the progress made is reviewed,” Kuntal Krishna, NSUI spokesperson, said. |
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Seven accomplices of dreaded gangster held
Greater Noida, September 1 Sunder Bhatti and Jatan Sirohi, lodged
in Bulandshahar Jail, had to appear for a date in court. A white Scorpio
had reportedly accompanied the criminals from Bulandshahr Jail to
Phase-II Noida courts. At Dhandola police post, police had put up
barriers for checking vehicles. When the police searched this Scorpio,
they found seven armed persons sitting in the vehicle. All were arrested
on the spot. Large quantities of weapons, ammunition, including rifles,
guns, cellphones and cash were recovered from them. Armed escorts for
dreaded criminal identified themselves as Devinder, Manoj, Jatinder of
Jansmana, Raj Singh, Sanjay and Jatinder of Secunderabad. The police
are interrogating the persons. The constables are also trying to verify
as from where they had obtained the arms and why they were following
Sunder’s vehicle. However, it is learnt that Sunder Bhatti moves
around with half a dozen armed accomplices as his security guards. |
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Accident victim gets Rs 72 lakh after 20 yrs
New Delhi, September 1 Ashok Kumar, an executive with the IOC, was on his way back from work late in August, 1986 when an over-speeding three-wheeler rammed his scooter at Janakpuri, a few kilometres from his house. He was diagnosed with traumatic paraplegia, which rendered him fully paralysed below the waist. Kumar’s future became increasingly bleak with specialists washing their hands off him as a “hopeless case with no sign of improvement in his condition”. Condemning the gross negligence shown by commercial drivers in the Capital, Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT) Judge Gurdeep Singh said “a young man at the thresh hold of his career has been crippled for life... commercial vehicles have become monsters on the road”. The Tribunal ordered both National Insurance Company and the owner of the autorickshaw, Joginder Singh, a resident of Vikaspuri, to pay Rs 72,51,000 as compensation to the victim within 30 days of the order. In its judgement, the Tribunal highlighted the fact that the number of accidents in Delhi was growing not due to the volume of traffic, but due to the utter lack of respect for traffic laws. Kumar had filed his application for compensation way back in December 15, 1986. He had held out for over 18 years after the accident, thanks to his employer’s decision to retain him in service. But continued bouts of illness found him facing a Medical Board constituted by the Oil Corporation, which subsequently dismissed him in March 2004. The judgement has come at a time when mounting medical expenses are crossing Rs 65,000 a month for Kumar. |
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Rains lash Delhi
New Delhi, September 1 At the same time, strong Easterly winds brought a whiff of cool air giving Delhiites respite from humidity. According to the Met office, about 7 mm of rainfall was recorded till 0830 hours. Today’s showers follow heavy showers on Wednesday morning which resulted in nearly 60 mm of rainfall in the Capital. The weatherman has forecast more rainfall during the next few days due to the Northwesterly movement of the Monsoon depression which lay over East Madhya Pradesh yesterday. “The depression moved in a west-northwesterly direction and lay centred at 1430 hours IST yesterday afternoon near Latitude 24.0: N and Longitude 78.0: E, about 50 km west-northwest of Sagar. The system is likely to move in a northwesterly direction,” the Met office said. |
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PMO trying to gag Press: DUJ
New Delhi, September 1 Reacting to a harsh letter written by the Prime Minister’s Media Advisor Sanjaya Baru to editors, the DUJ has said the restrictions being imposed on the coverage of activities in the PMO are “attempts to deny right to information”. Dr Baru’s letter dated August 24 reads, “I request you to tell your colleague who has been assigned to cover the Prime Minister’s Office that it would not be regarded as good professional conduct to stage demonstrations in pursuit of news either at Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) or at Prime Minister’s House (PMH). I have issued instructions that henceforth only PIB-accredited media personnel will be permitted access to the media stand at PMO and PMH.” DUJ president S.K. Pande has said that the tone of Baru’s letter is “threatening and ominous and does not take into account the role of the local journalist on duty outside the Prime Minister’s Office in search of reactions, bytes and even some additional non-official news”. In a statement issued here today, the DUJ has said, “Are we again set to see the re-emergence of a carrot and stick policy to press persons also reminiscent of two press eras—one to make Emergency and Press censorship shine and the other that worked overtime to make the previous government shine. Let it be known that both backfired..” |
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One held with heroin worth
Rs 1.3 cr
New Delhi, September 1 Abu Tahir has reportedly revealed the involvement of Bangladeshi women who migrated to India in the drug trafficking business. This contraband was being smuggled from Bareilly and Kanpur, the accused allegedly told the police.—OC |
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Commando fires shots accidentally
New Delhi, September 1 However, according to sources, “Commando Meena was frustrated over not getting leave for a long time and fired the shots in protest.” The Deputy Commissioner of Police (PM-Security) R. L. Meena clarified that
it was a case of negligence. “He (the commando) was just checking the magazine when the trigger
accidentally went off,” the Deputy Commissioner of Police said. |
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Parkash Utsav celebrated
New Delhi, September 1 Addressing a congregation at Gurdwara Moti Bagh Sahib here today in observance of 402nd year of First Installation of Guru Granth Sahib, Chairman of the committee, S Tarsem Singh, said as the new generation was indulging in apostasy and intoxicants, the SGPC and other Sikh organisations should pay special attention towards spreading messages and teachings of the Guru. A number of eminent “Ragis” (devotional singers) participated in shabad kirtan. An exhibition of books on Sikh religion was organised on the occasion. |
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Special courts for power theft cases
New Delhi, September 1 Those present on the occasion included Justices Dr M K Sharma, Mr R S Sodhi, Mr S K Kaul, senior government and BSES officials. Another such court (for BRPL) is all set to be inaugurated tomorrow at Vikaspuri. The third one (second for BRPL) is expected to come up shortly at Malviya Nagar.—OC |
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Idols stolen from 200-year-old temple
New Delhi, September 1 Shanti Devi and Raj Bahadur Gupta, joint patron of the temple, found the idols missing when they reached there to pay obeisance. The matter was reported to the police in the afternoon, said a police official. |
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Blueline bus plunges off flyover
New Delhi, September 1 The driver Narendra lost control over the bus, plying between the Old Delhi Railway Station and Devli village, which subsequently hit a Qualis car and fell off the Ashram flyover at around 6:20 am. |
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