New Delhi, June 16
The south district police has claimed to have solved the Niti Bagh murder of an elderly couple.

Their servant, Mukesh Yadav and his cousin Ghanshyam have been arrested. Ashok Goel, 65, and Lata Goel, 58, were found with slit throats and stab injuries in their house on May 26. The house was ransacked.

It was found that the verification form of Mukesh Yadav was filled just a day before the gruesome murders took place.

It was learnt that the Mukesh was found roaming with his cousin in the area Ghanshyam a few days before the crime took place.

Ghanshyam works as an attendant in a house in the Gulmohar Park area. He revealed that he had assisted Mukesh in committing the Niti Bagh crime.

He disclosed that some of the stolen articles were in his possession. Bloodstained clothes of the accused, Rs 8,700 cash and some robbed jewellery was recovered at his instance.

Raids were conducted at the possible hideouts of Mukesh. He was arrested from Sonagachhi in Kolkata.

New Delhi, June 16
The last day saw a moderate rush at Delhi University with mostly students from outside Delhi or those who had committed errors lining up for forms and submissions which were happening simultaneously.

Panic and nervousness prevailed among the latecomers as they hastened to complete the formalities.

On the flip side, some colleges saw the bare minimum student presence on the
last day.

The number of forms sold on Monday was a mere 5,631 which is less then those sold on other days. In total, the form sale comes to over 1,35,000 and forms received on Monday were 14,974. The total number of forms received so far stand at 92,758.

The university had made special arrangements at 15 admission counters spread across Delhi University. Extra officials had been appointed to man the centres and assist students expediting the admissions process.

The deputy dean student welfare, North Campus, informed, “All care was taken today to help students complete the registrations process. The late-comer rush was moderate as mostly last-minute outstation students turned up or those who had made errors and had come to refill and re-submit their forms.”

He said statistics were being compiled to compare the sale of forms with previous years. The first cut-off list for DU will be announced on June 26 followed by the second third and fourth cut-off lists with an interval of four days each.

St Stephens College declares its results earlier, that is on Tuesday. With their recent decision of going in for a 50% Christian quota, admission is going to prove tough for the general category.

Suresh Aggarwal from Bareilly informs, “I reached Delhi only last evening and have reached the university the first thing in the morning to submit my form. I was delayed due to home circumstances and am relieved that I have been able to fill
and submit my form. My first priority is a BSc Physics course, then Mathematics honours. Let’s hope I get the course I want. I am open to most colleges though I prefer some.”

Greater Noida, June 16
As many as 120 villages in Greater Noida are faced with a grave water crisis. The underground water table in the area has hit such a low that water pumps are no longer able to lift water from the ground.

The underground water table is said to have sunk to greater depth during the past two years. Haphazard planning and hectic construction activity is said to be responsible for it.

Greater Noida area is dotted with high-rise buildings which are changing the skyline at a fast pace.

Omax’s under-construction mini Connaught Place in Beta Sector, Amarpalli’s apartment blocks in Sakipur, commercial compartment complexes in Kasna village, commercial compartments in Site IV and under-construction towers near golf course are collectively learnt to have done the damage.

The construction companies are recklessly pumping out the water from the ground at a very large scale, which, according to experts, has drained the sub soil of underground water reservoirs. 

According to the national chairman of Environment Sanchetic Samiti, Vijay Pal Badhel, ground water table is sinking by 10 to 20 ft annually in this area.

About five years ago only 20 ft boring was needed for sinking a hand pump
in the area. But now it needs 100 to 120 ft deep boring for a hand pump to
become functional.

With this speed, villagers will not be able to get water through hand pumps after three years, says Vijay Pal Badhel. Even GNIDA borings could also become unyielding after a few years. 

According to Greater Noida’s general manager Projects, SSA Rizvi, water tanks will soon be constructed in the villages in the area. In the next two years, every village will have a water tank of its own, Rizvi claimed.

Ganga Jal project will also be taken up soon enough. Greater Noida, he said, has planned availability of 85 cusec Ganga Jal in the next two years.

Faridabad, June 16
An unidentified woman (47) created a flutter in police and village circles when she climbed up an electricity pole carrying high-tension wire in village Palli, near here.

The villagers saw the woman perched on a high-risk situation today and informed the police.

Police officials led by the area DSP rushed to the spot but the woman was bent on remaining there.

A fire brigade had to be pressed into service and force had to be used to bring the woman down.

It was anxious two hours for the residents of Palli and surrounding area as the woman was spotted perched on the pole and finally brought down.

The anxiety was heightened as she was making attempts to reach higher and get closer to the 11,000 volts wire passing through the village from the pole.

The police could not ascertain her identity till the time of this despatch. The police feels she was insane as her responses relating to identity were incoherent.

New Delhi, June 16
The Indian Capital will continue to be dotted by dingy, dirty shantytowns by the 2010 Commonwealth Games, as the government may be able to churn out only around 100,000 new houses for slum dwellers by then as against the required figure of 800,000.

“There are 860 slum clusters and each of them has 100 to 1,000 huts. The estimated population is 3.5 to 4 million and around 800,000 units may be required to accommodate them,” Delhi’s urban development minister Raj Kumar Chauhan said.

Chauhan said that it would not be possible to provide residences to all slum dwellers by 2010, but around 100,000 huts around the various sites earmarked for the Games would certainly be taken care of.

The government is trying to beautify the city by 2010 as the Games are expected to bring in thousands of foreign tourists. The slums present a grim picture, with people living there without basic facilities like water and sanitation.

Chauhan said under various housing schemes of the government, 400,000 houses would be provided to slum dwellers. However, required number is around 800,000.

Chauhan said that the process to invite applications for the first 10,000 houses from slum dwellers would begin shortly. “The real picture will emerge only after we get applications for the 10,000 units.”

These houses are being built under the Centre’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and will be given to those whose annual income is not more than Rs 60,000 per annum.

The slum residential complexes under the Centre’s Rajiv Ratna Awas Yojana
have been planned in the city’s peripheral areas like — Narela, Najafgarh, Shahdara and Jahangirpuri.

These will have basic amenities such as schools, parks, transport, drinking water, electricity and shops for daily needs, state government officials said.

“Wherever land is available, the government will construct multi-storey apartments for them. The first 10,000 units will be constructed in Bawana. It will be ready for allotment by August 2008,” said Chauhan.

Presently, the city’s Yamuna riverbed and the embankments of few major storm water drains like those at Najafgarh and Barapulla house nearly 100,000 huts.

Residents use open areas for defecation and the untreated waste is discharged into the river.

The Planning Commission estimates a shortage of 25 million houses for the urban poor in the next five years. — IANS

New Delhi, June 16
The Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT) has urged the Chief Ministers of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to restrict the registration of new CNG fuel mode vehicles and conversion of existing diesel/ petrol vehicles in view of the continuing severe shortage of CNG.

In a written communication to them, the IFTRT said the shortage was the direct result of the stupendous increase in the number of vehicles using the clean fuel and the inability of Indraprastha Gas Limited to implement its expansion plans to keep abreast with the growing demand.

The foundation, an independent body which has been engaged in the research of the transport systems, said there had been a rush for conversion of diesel and petrol vehicles in the National Capital Region after the recent hike in prices of fuel.

As a result, the demand for CNG had gone up considerably and Indraprastha Gas Limited, which is the sole supplier of the clean fuel, is finding it extremely difficult to meet the demand.

According to official figures, there are 22,500-CNG run buses, 55000 autorickshaws, 24,500 CNG-run light goods vehicles and about 1.3 lakh private passenger cars and vans operating in the National Capital territory of Delhi.

In addition, a large number of vehicles from the neighbouring cities of Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurgaon and Faridabad also depend on Indraprastha Gas limited outlets for the fuel. This obviously has put a lot of pressure on the supplier.

According to the foundation, the Indraprastha Gas limited had visualised the increase in demand and consequently had finalised expansion plans to keep up with the demand.

However, the plans had to be put on hold on the directions of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board. As a result, the supplying capacity of the sole distributor for Delhi and NCR has fallen short by as much as four lakh kilogram daily.

This has now resulted in long queues at various outlets and contributing to revenue loss because the operators have to wait for a long time to get their vehicles filled and in the process lose business.

It was precisely for this reason that the gas company had recently asked the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) to allow private buses to avail of the facilities at its 23 DTC depots.

New Delhi, June 16
A day after the onset of the south-west monsoon in the Capital, two weeks ahead of its scheduled date, heavy rains lashed the city today, keeping the temperatures and humidity down at comfortable levels.

According to the Met office, the heavy monsoon showers brought down the minimum temperature to 25.7 degree Celsius, three degrees below the normal.

The subsequent waterlogging contributed to heavy traffic snarls in several parts of the Capital. Traffic jams were seen at the ITO crossing, Nizamuddin Bridge, Lajpat Nagar, Model Town and Azadpur.

The met office has forecast a generally cloudy sky during the next 24 hours with few spells of rain and thundershowers, one or two of which could be heavy.

New Delhi, June 16
The first day of the monsoon caused water logging across most of the Capital except a few VIP areas.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has decided that all drains will be de-silted by June 25 and Rs 37 crore has been allocated for the purpose.

Standing Committee member and Congress councillor Captain Khavinder Singh said that there were 1,296 drains in the Capital. As per the MCD record, 1,000 drains have been de-silted, which makes it to just 30%.

Khavinder Singh said that this year’s budget was Rs 17 crore more than the last year. During the budget meeting it was decided that the de-silting work would be carried out twice in a year. But the work has not been done. Crores meant for it would lapse, he lamented.

Khavinder Singh said that water logging was reported from 12 places in South zone, 10 in Central zone, 14 in West zone, four in Najafgarh, three in Shahdra South, one each in Shahdra North, Karol Bagh, Sadar, Paharganj, Civil Lines and two in Rohini.

He said that the de-silting issue was raised in the standing committee also. The opposition members have warned the BJP-ruled MCD saying that if the work was not done in time, life of the people would become hell and the first day of the monsoon has proved that.

New Delhi, June 16
The government has started installing security gadgets at the Delhi Secretariat with an estimated cost of Rs 20 crore.

A scanner has been installed on the entrance of the secretariat. Now, everything that will be taken inside will be scanned as it is done at the airport.

Such scanners will also be installed where ministers, MLA and senior officials park their vehicles. Tight security arrangements will also be made.

Till now, private security guards and few Delhi police personnel were deployed
at the entrance.

Close circuit cameras have already been installed, so that every person entering the secretariat can be identified.

The government has also planned to have a modern system to lock and unlock the offices of the ministers.

New Delhi, June 16
Preservation and thorough examination of the crime scene is vital to any investigation. If evidence is not collected from the scene in a proper and timely manner, it would be lost forever, said special director of the CBI M. L. Sharma at a four-day international training initiative by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (USA) on “Evidence Recovery, Presentation and Exploitation”.

Inaugurating the training programme, the special director said behind every blast, terrorists’ basic aim was to cause destruction of life and property on a large scale and instill a sense of insecurity in society with a view to create religious and ethnic divide. Until a few years ago, terrorism was considered a regional phenomenon but with globalisation and advancement in information technology, it has now become transnational in nature.

One of the most important methods of beating terrorism is effective investigation leading to prosecution and exemplary conviction of terrorists. Therefore, the role of investigators had become more important.

The FBI training programme will enable the participants to hone up their investigative skills for handling post-blast investigations.

He hoped that this partnership would grow and the FBI would continue such programmes in future for the benefit of Indian police officers.

A total of 28 cops from various state police organisations, National Security Guards and CBI are participating in the programme.

The first three days of the training module include crime scene management and administration, photography, sketching, collection of DNA evidence, fingerprinting, digital evidence collection, bombing crime scene management, introduction to improvised explosive devices (IEDs), introduction to explosives and forensic analysis of bomb scenes.

The last day of the course would involve practical exercises at the range covering post-blast crime scene analysis and demonstration.

Noida, June 16
After having tried and tested solar energy to power the traffic lights dotting the city, it has now been decided to light up the Noida streets in an environment-friendly way, through the solar energy.

Streetlights are usually the first casualty of a power outage leading to total darkness on the streets.

But, according to Noida Authority officials, soon all streetlights in the city will be  ready to light the way.

Explaining the decision to change to solar power, a Noida Authority officer said, “The solar system functions all the time supplementing utility power during normal times and providing stored up power during outages. It will certainly help in lighting up our streets and avenues 24 hours a week, once all the lights are in place.”

According to the sources, Noida city consumes 540 megawatts of power daily of which maximum load is from the big industries located in the city. The solar system takes about 48 hours to fully charge itself. Once done, the lights powered by solar energy will remain lit for five days.

Moreover, the solar systems will also be equipped with an emergency connection which will get triggered on and get connected to the city power supply apparatus  in case the system trips or develops a sang.

With power playing truant frequently, the solar power will not only help in dealing with the outages but also cut energy costs with low on maintenance bills besides addressing the problem of overloading, the official said.

In the first phase of the project, the solar system will be put into place in sectors which record high consumption of power.

The system will also be incorporated in sectors housing BPOs and call centres. The next phase of the venture will see the rest of the city being lit by the solar energy.

Noida, June 16
The state government has announced that some 72 lakh students of 36,000 government high schools in UP will be medically examined once every year.

These health check-ups will be carried out under the “School Health Mission”. Besides, a target of 15 lakh has been kept for controlling the mother-child fatality rate as against the target of 9.63 lakh in the past year.

This information was given by principal health secretary of  UP, Neeta Chaudhary while she was speaking at State Bank Auditorium, sector 62 Noida.

 Meerut Division was at 12th place in the health services in the state which was quite disappointing as Meerut was among the foremost divisions of UP.

She expressed satisfaction at improvement of safety norms and protection of pregnant women and nursing mothers during 2006-07.

Neeta Chaudhary said the budget of National Rural Health Mission has been enhanced to Rs 1500 crore from Rs 600 crore.

The health secretary said there was shortage of 2200 doctors in UP with 30 doctors short in each district. The government was trying to bridge this gap, she added.